Tag Archives: Trumpism

Pro-trump propaganda: A rebuttal (Long)

Posted on by The Old Wolf

Warning! Wall of Text!

This post crossed my screen a couple of weeks ago, and after a bit of research I discovered it’s being shared across multiple channels on Facebook and elsewhere. It’s so outrageous in its content that I couldn’t sleep much last night, so I was compelled in the name of decency to offer a fact-based rebuttal. I won’t name and shame the author, because that’s not my privilege, but it’s out there if you want to search for it. Original text in italics, my responses follow.

𝐼’π‘š π‘›π‘œπ‘‘π‘–π‘π‘–π‘›π‘” π‘‘β„Žπ‘Žπ‘‘ π‘‘β„Žπ‘’π‘Ÿπ‘’ π‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘’ π‘ π‘œπ‘šπ‘’ π‘“π‘œπ‘™π‘˜π‘  π‘‘π‘œπ‘–π‘›π‘” π‘ π‘œπ‘šπ‘’ π‘ π‘’π‘Ÿπ‘–π‘œπ‘’π‘  π‘€β„Žπ‘–π‘›π‘–π‘›π‘” π‘Žπ‘π‘œπ‘’π‘‘ π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘‡π‘Ÿπ‘’π‘šπ‘ π‘Žπ‘‘π‘šπ‘–π‘›π‘–π‘ π‘‘π‘Ÿπ‘Žπ‘‘π‘–π‘œπ‘›. π‘†π‘œ 𝐼 π‘‘β„Žπ‘œπ‘’π‘”β„Žπ‘‘ 𝐼’𝑑 π‘π‘œπ‘ π‘‘ π‘ π‘œπ‘šπ‘’ π‘‘β„Žπ‘œπ‘’π‘”β„Žπ‘‘π‘ .

“Whining” about the Trump administration is, more properly stated, resisting autocracy, oligarchy, and a rising tide of fascism that needs to be fought at every turn. Consider these points:

  1. 𝐴𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑝𝑑 π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘“π‘Žπ‘π‘‘ π‘‘β„Žπ‘Žπ‘‘ π‘‘β„Žπ‘–π‘  𝑖𝑠 π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘™π‘’π‘Žπ‘‘π‘’π‘Ÿπ‘ β„Žπ‘–π‘ π‘‘β„Žπ‘Žπ‘‘ 𝑀𝑒 (π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘šπ‘Žπ‘—π‘œπ‘Ÿπ‘–π‘‘π‘¦ π‘œπ‘“) π‘€π‘œπ‘Ÿπ‘˜π‘–π‘›π‘”, π‘šπ‘–π‘‘π‘‘π‘™π‘’ π‘π‘™π‘Žπ‘ π‘  π΄π‘šπ‘’π‘Ÿπ‘–π‘π‘Žπ‘›π‘  π‘€π‘Žπ‘›π‘‘π‘’π‘‘. π‘Šπ‘’ π‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘’ 𝑝𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘’π‘π‘œπ‘›π‘œπ‘šπ‘–π‘ π‘€π‘’π‘–π‘”β„Žπ‘‘ 𝑖𝑛 π‘‘β„Žπ‘–π‘  π‘π‘œπ‘’π‘›π‘‘π‘Ÿπ‘¦ π‘Žπ‘›π‘‘ 𝑀𝑒 π‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘’ π‘‘π‘–π‘Ÿπ‘’π‘‘ π‘œπ‘“ 𝑝𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘€π‘’π‘–π‘”β„Žπ‘‘ π‘œπ‘“ π‘‘β„Žπ‘œπ‘ π‘’ π‘‘β„Žπ‘Žπ‘‘ π‘‘π‘œ π‘›π‘œπ‘‘ π‘π‘œπ‘›π‘‘π‘Ÿπ‘–π‘π‘’π‘‘π‘’.

Donald Trump has absolutely no mandate, given that 75,019,230 Americans voted for reason, sanity, and compassion instead of madness and oligarchy. Trump’s 77,303,568 votes constitute a razor-thin margin of 1.48%, or 2,284,338 people – less than the population of Houston, Texas.ΒΉ

In our nation, Republican-leaning states take more in federal dollars than they contribute, where Democratic-leaning states provide more tax revenue to the nation than they get back, so please don’t tell us that Republicans are “pulling the economic weight in this country.”Β²

  1. 𝐼𝑓 π‘¦π‘œπ‘’ β„Žπ‘Žπ‘£π‘’π‘›’𝑑 π‘Žπ‘™π‘Ÿπ‘’π‘Žπ‘‘π‘¦, 𝑔𝑒𝑑 π‘Ž π‘—π‘œπ‘. πΈπ‘£π‘’π‘Ÿπ‘¦ 𝑏𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑖𝑛 π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘π‘œπ‘’π‘›π‘‘π‘Ÿπ‘¦ 𝑖𝑠 β„Žπ‘–π‘Ÿπ‘–π‘›π‘”. 𝐴𝑛𝑑 π‘¦π‘œπ‘’ 𝑔𝑒𝑑 π‘π‘Žπ‘–π‘‘ π‘“π‘œπ‘Ÿ π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘€π‘œπ‘Ÿπ‘˜ π‘¦π‘œπ‘’ π‘‘π‘œ. 𝐴𝑛𝑑 π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ β„Žπ‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘‘π‘’π‘Ÿ π‘¦π‘œπ‘’ π‘€π‘œπ‘Ÿπ‘˜ π‘Žπ‘›π‘‘ π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘šπ‘œπ‘Ÿπ‘’ π‘¦π‘œπ‘’ π‘™π‘’π‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘›, π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘“π‘Žπ‘ π‘‘π‘’π‘Ÿ π‘¦π‘œπ‘’ 𝑀𝑖𝑙𝑙 π‘Žπ‘‘π‘£π‘Žπ‘›π‘π‘’, π‘Žπ‘›π‘‘ π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘šπ‘œπ‘Ÿπ‘’ π‘¦π‘œπ‘’ 𝑀𝑖𝑙𝑙 π‘’π‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘›. 𝐼𝑑’𝑠 π‘Žπ‘› π‘Žπ‘šπ‘Žπ‘§π‘–π‘›π‘” π‘π‘œπ‘›π‘π‘’π‘π‘‘.

More than 1/3 of Americans have a second job or side-hustle just to survive.Β³ In 2020, 4.1% of our nation was classified as “working poor,” people who have jobs but still fall below the poverty line.⁴ The old GOP line about “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” is a cruel philosophy that leads to things like opposing the cancellation of student debt. “I had to pay off mine, why should other [implied: undeserving] people sponge off my taxes?” In Romanian, they say “sΔƒ moarΔƒ Θ™i capra vecinului” (may the neighbor’s goat die too), expressing a desire for others to suffer if you cannot thrive yourself, a feeling that is inherently worse than Schadenfreude.⁡ “Wage theft is a costly and pervasive problem that affects millions of workers across the country. For example, Cooper and Kroeger (2017) investigated just one type of wage theft (minimum wage violations) and found that in the 10 most populous states in the country, 17% of eligible low-wage workers reported being paid less than the minimum wage, amounting to 2.4 million workers losing $8 billion annually. Extrapolating from these 10 states, Cooper and Kroeger estimated that workers throughout the country lose $15 billion annually from minimum wage violations alone.”⁢ “According to the Economic Policy Institute, wage theft costs U.S. workers as much as $50 billion per year — a number far higher than all robberies, burglaries and motor vehicle thefts combined.”⁷

  1. π‘ˆπ‘›π‘‘π‘’π‘Ÿπ‘ π‘‘π‘Žπ‘›π‘‘ π‘‘β„Žπ‘Žπ‘‘ 𝑖𝑓 π‘¦π‘œπ‘’ π‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘’ π‘Ž π‘ˆ.𝑆. 𝐢𝑖𝑑𝑖𝑧𝑒𝑛, π‘œπ‘Ÿ β„Žπ‘Žπ‘£π‘’ π‘Žπ‘™π‘Ÿπ‘’π‘Žπ‘‘π‘¦ π‘ π‘‘π‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘‘π‘’π‘‘ π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘™π‘’π‘”π‘Žπ‘™ π‘π‘Ÿπ‘œπ‘π‘’π‘ π‘  π‘‘π‘œ π‘π‘’π‘π‘œπ‘šπ‘’ π‘Ž π‘ˆ.𝑆. 𝐢𝑖𝑑𝑖𝑧𝑒𝑛 π‘‘β„Žπ‘Žπ‘‘ π‘¦π‘œπ‘’ π‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘’ π‘›π‘œπ‘‘ π‘”π‘œπ‘–π‘›π‘” π‘‘π‘œ 𝑔𝑒𝑑 π‘‘π‘’π‘π‘œπ‘Ÿπ‘‘π‘’π‘‘! 𝐼 π‘‘π‘œπ‘›’𝑑 π‘π‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘’ π‘€β„Žπ‘Žπ‘‘ π‘¦π‘œπ‘’π‘Ÿ π‘“π‘Žπ‘£π‘œπ‘Ÿπ‘–π‘‘π‘’ π‘™π‘–π‘π‘’π‘Ÿπ‘Žπ‘™ π‘šπ‘’π‘‘π‘–π‘Ž π‘β„Žπ‘Žπ‘›π‘›π‘’π‘™ π‘ π‘Žπ‘¦π‘ .

The fact that you don’t care what “liberal media channels” say doesn’t change reality. American citizens are being caught up in Donald Trump’s sweep for undocumented immigrants. It’s happening, it will continue to happen as long as ICE is given carte blanche by the current administration and MAGA-dominated Congress.⁸

  1. π‘‡π‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘–π‘“π‘“π‘  π‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘’ π‘Ž π‘π‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘”π‘Žπ‘–π‘›π‘–π‘›π‘” π‘β„Žπ‘–π‘. π‘Šβ„Žπ‘’π‘› π‘¦π‘œπ‘’ π‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘’ 𝑖𝑛 𝑏𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠 π‘¦π‘œπ‘’ π‘šπ‘Žπ‘˜π‘’ π‘‘π‘’π‘Žπ‘™π‘ , π‘Žπ‘›π‘‘ π‘ π‘œπ‘šπ‘’π‘‘π‘–π‘šπ‘’π‘  π‘¦π‘œπ‘’ β„Žπ‘Žπ‘£π‘’ π‘‘π‘œ π‘π‘™π‘Žπ‘¦ β„Žπ‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘‘π‘π‘Žπ‘™π‘™. π‘‡β„Žπ‘Žπ‘‘’𝑠 β„Žπ‘œπ‘€ π‘¦π‘œπ‘’ 𝑔𝑒𝑑 π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘‘π‘’π‘Žπ‘™π‘  π‘¦π‘œπ‘’ π‘‘π‘’π‘ π‘–π‘Ÿπ‘’.

International trade is not a zero-sum game. You don’t have to have a winner and a loser – the best deals are made when everyone wins. Sadly, Donald Trump – and hence MAGA – believe something entirely different: “You hear lots of people say that a great deal is when both sides win,” he writes in Think Big and Kick Ass, co-authored with Bill Zanker of the Learning Annex. “That is a bunch of crap. In a great deal you win β€” not the other side. You crush the opponent and come away with something better for yourself.” To “crush the other side and take the benefits,” he declares, is “better than sex β€” and I love sex.”⁹ In other words, it’s not enough for Donald Trump to win – π‘’π‘£π‘’π‘Ÿπ‘¦π‘œπ‘›π‘’ 𝑒𝑙𝑠𝑒 β„Žπ‘Žπ‘  π‘‘π‘œ π‘™π‘œπ‘ π‘’. Treat business collaborations or international relations in this cruel and narcissistic manner and you will only generate one thing – massive resentment and a decreased desire to do any business in the future. That’s not winning – it’s self-sabotage in the long run.

  1. π‘‡β„Žπ‘’ 𝐢𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑙 π‘…π‘–π‘”β„Žπ‘‘π‘  𝐴𝑐𝑑 π‘œπ‘“ 1964 π‘π‘Ÿπ‘œπ‘‘π‘’π‘π‘‘π‘  π‘¦π‘œπ‘’ π‘“π‘Ÿπ‘œπ‘š π‘‘π‘–π‘ π‘π‘Ÿπ‘–π‘šπ‘–π‘›π‘Žπ‘‘π‘–π‘œπ‘› 𝑏𝑦 π‘Žπ‘”π‘’, 𝑠𝑒π‘₯, π‘Ÿπ‘Žπ‘π‘’, 𝑒𝑑𝑐. 𝐷𝐸𝐼 π‘œπ‘π‘’π‘›π‘™π‘¦ π‘£π‘–π‘œπ‘™π‘Žπ‘‘π‘’π‘  π‘‘β„Žπ‘–π‘ . π·π‘’π‘šπ‘œπ‘π‘Ÿπ‘Žπ‘‘π‘  π‘€π‘Žπ‘›π‘‘ π‘¦π‘œπ‘’ π‘‘π‘œ 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑣𝑒 π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘œπ‘π‘π‘œπ‘ π‘–π‘‘π‘’ 𝑖𝑠 π‘‘π‘Ÿπ‘’π‘’ π‘π‘’π‘π‘Žπ‘’π‘ π‘’ π‘‘β„Žπ‘’π‘¦ π‘£π‘Žπ‘™π‘’π‘’ π‘¦π‘œπ‘’π‘Ÿ π‘£π‘œπ‘‘π‘’ π‘šπ‘œπ‘Ÿπ‘’ π‘‘β„Žπ‘Žπ‘› π‘¦π‘œπ‘’π‘Ÿ π‘žπ‘’π‘Žπ‘™π‘–π‘‘π‘¦ π‘œπ‘“ 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒.

If you think the Civil Rights Act has eliminated racism in America, you are living on your veranda, sipping mint juleps while the “darkies” work happily in the fields. The Brookings Institute, writing about systemic racism in America, said “The reality of this history has been on stark display in recent weeks. From the terrible killings of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery, to the countless, untold acts of racism that take place every day across America, these are the issues that are defining the momentβ€”just as our response will define who we are and will be in the 21st century and beyond. Truly, the very nature of our β€œnational soul” is at stake, and we all have a deep responsibility to be a part of the solution.”¹⁰

“At this point, it’s evident that DEI has become interchangeable with a less socially acceptable racial slur” – specifically, the “N-word.”ΒΉΒΉ And sadly, discrimination across the board which remains endemic in our society and which Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity, and DEI attempt to combat includes not just people of color but women and all sorts of minorities as well.

  1. 𝐼𝑑’𝑠 π‘›π‘œπ‘‘ π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘”π‘œπ‘£π‘’π‘Ÿπ‘›π‘šπ‘’π‘›π‘‘’𝑠 π‘šπ‘œπ‘›π‘’π‘¦, 𝑖𝑑’𝑠 π‘¦π‘œπ‘’π‘Ÿ π‘šπ‘œπ‘›π‘’π‘¦. π‘Œπ‘œπ‘’ π‘Žπ‘π‘ π‘œπ‘™π‘’π‘‘π‘’π‘™π‘¦ π‘ β„Žπ‘œπ‘’π‘™π‘‘ 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒 π‘Ž π‘‘π‘Žπ‘šπ‘› π‘Žπ‘π‘œπ‘’π‘‘ β„Žπ‘œπ‘€ 𝑖𝑑 𝑖𝑠 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑑.

This is 100% true – and it’s why Trump and Company want to eliminate all financial oversight, such as the elimination of organizations like Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.ΒΉΒ²

  1. π‘Šπ‘’ π‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘’ π‘›π‘œπ‘‘ π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘Šπ‘œπ‘Ÿπ‘™π‘‘ π΅π‘Žπ‘›π‘˜. 𝐼𝑓 π‘œπ‘‘β„Žπ‘’π‘Ÿ π‘π‘œπ‘’π‘›π‘‘π‘Ÿπ‘–π‘’π‘  𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑 β„Žπ‘’π‘™π‘ π‘‘β„Žπ‘’π‘¦ π‘ β„Žπ‘œπ‘’π‘™π‘‘ π‘Ÿπ‘Žπ‘–π‘ π‘’ π‘‘β„Žπ‘’π‘–π‘Ÿ π‘œπ‘€π‘› π‘“π‘–π‘›π‘Žπ‘›π‘π‘’π‘ . 𝐼 π‘‘π‘œπ‘›’𝑑 π‘Ÿπ‘’π‘π‘Žπ‘™π‘™ π‘Ÿπ‘’π‘π‘’π‘–π‘£π‘–π‘›π‘” π‘Žπ‘›π‘¦ β„Žπ‘’π‘Ÿπ‘Ÿπ‘–π‘π‘Žπ‘›π‘’ π‘Ÿπ‘’π‘™π‘–π‘’π‘“ π‘šπ‘œπ‘›π‘’π‘¦ π‘“π‘Ÿπ‘œπ‘š πΌπ‘›π‘‘π‘–π‘Ž π‘œπ‘Ÿ πΆβ„Žπ‘–π‘›π‘Ž.

Despite the fact that Colin Turnbull’s analysis of the Ik in his book π‘‡β„Žπ‘’ π‘€π‘œπ‘’π‘›π‘‘π‘Žπ‘–π‘› π‘ƒπ‘’π‘œπ‘π‘™π‘’ has widely been discredited, Lewis Thomas in his seminal work π‘‡β„Žπ‘’ 𝐿𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑠 π‘œπ‘“ π‘Ž 𝐢𝑒𝑙𝑙 wrote: “For total greed, rapacity, heartlessness, and irresponsibility there is nothing to match a nation. Nations, by law, are solitary, self-centred, withdrawn into themselves…. They bawl insults from their doorsteps, defecate into whole oceans, snatch all the food, survive by detestation, take joy in the bad luck of others, celebrate the death of others, live for the death of others.”¹³

America is not an island, and as the world’s wealthiest nation we have done more than our fair share to assist the global community in many ways, which is only right and proper. The Brookings institute soundly refutes many myths about foreign aid, including “America spends too much on foreign aid,”(foreign assistance is less than 1 percent of the federal budget), “Others don’t do their fair share,” (There is a broad international commitment that wealthy countries should provide annually 0.7 percent of GNP to assist poor countries. Five countries (Norway, Sweden, Luxembourg, Denmark, and the U.K.) exceed that benchmark. The average for all wealthy nations is around 0.4 percent. The U.S. ranks near the bottom at below 0.2 percent), and “U.S. foreign aid is mainly backed by Democrats” (Foreign aid historically has been viewed more as a Democratic than Republican program. The Marshall Plan was initiated by the Truman administration, and in the 1990s, when votes in the Congress on foreign aid spending were close, the appropriations bill garnered more Democratic than Republican votes. But every president, Democratic and Republican, until the current occupant of the White House, has been a strong proponent of foreign assistance. In fact, some of the most rapid increases in foreign aid have come during Republican presidencies)¹⁴

The shuttering of USAID will literally kill people, and it’s unbelievably cruel and xenophobic. “The Roman Catholic Church’s worldwide charity arm sharply criticized President Donald Trump’s cuts to U.S. foreign aid on Monday, saying his plans to end funding for relief agency USAID will have a “catastrophic” impact in the developing world. ‘The ruthless and chaotic way this callous decision is being implemented threatens the lives and dignity of millions,” Caritas Internationalis, a Vatican-based confederation of 162 Catholic relief, development and social services organisations working in more than 200 countries, said in a statement.'”¹⁡

  1. π·π‘Ÿπ‘–π‘™π‘™ π‘π‘Žπ‘π‘¦, π‘‘π‘Ÿπ‘–π‘™π‘™. π‘Šπ‘Žπ‘›π‘‘ π‘‘π‘œ π‘˜π‘›π‘œπ‘€ π‘€β„Žπ‘¦? π΅π‘’π‘π‘Žπ‘’π‘ π‘’ 𝑀𝑒 β„Žπ‘Žπ‘£π‘’ 𝑖𝑑. π΄π‘Ÿπ‘’ π‘’π‘™π‘’π‘π‘‘π‘Ÿπ‘–π‘ π‘π‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘  π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘“π‘’π‘‘π‘’π‘Ÿπ‘’? π‘π‘œπ‘‘ 𝑖𝑛 π‘‘β„Žπ‘’π‘–π‘Ÿ π‘π‘’π‘Ÿπ‘Ÿπ‘’π‘›π‘‘ π‘“π‘œπ‘Ÿπ‘š. π‘‡β„Žπ‘’π‘Ÿπ‘’ 𝑖𝑠 π‘€π‘Žπ‘¦ π‘šπ‘œπ‘Ÿπ‘’ π‘œπ‘–π‘™ 𝑖𝑛 π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘”π‘Ÿπ‘œπ‘’π‘›π‘‘ π‘‘β„Žπ‘Žπ‘› π‘™π‘–π‘‘β„Žπ‘–π‘’π‘š, π‘Žπ‘›π‘‘ 𝑔𝑒𝑒𝑠𝑠 π‘€β„Žπ‘’π‘Ÿπ‘’ π‘šπ‘œπ‘ π‘‘ π‘œπ‘“ π‘‘β„Žπ‘Žπ‘‘ 𝑖𝑠? πΆβ„Žπ‘–π‘›π‘Ž. π‘Šπ‘Žπ‘›π‘‘ π‘“π‘œπ‘œπ‘‘ π‘π‘Ÿπ‘–π‘π‘’π‘  π‘‘π‘œ π‘π‘œπ‘šπ‘’ π‘‘π‘œπ‘€π‘›? π‘‡β„Žπ‘’π‘› π‘’π‘›π‘’π‘Ÿπ‘”π‘¦ π‘π‘œπ‘ π‘‘π‘  β„Žπ‘Žπ‘£π‘’ π‘‘π‘œ π‘π‘œπ‘šπ‘’ π‘‘π‘œπ‘€π‘›. 𝐴𝑛𝑑 π‘‘β„Žπ‘Žπ‘‘ π‘šπ‘’π‘Žπ‘›π‘  π‘œπ‘–π‘™, π‘”π‘Žπ‘ , π‘π‘œπ‘Žπ‘™, π‘Žπ‘›π‘‘ π‘›π‘’π‘π‘™π‘’π‘Žπ‘Ÿ. π‘ˆπ‘›π‘–π‘π‘œπ‘Ÿπ‘› π‘“π‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘‘π‘  π‘Žπ‘›π‘‘ π‘™π‘–π‘π‘’π‘Ÿπ‘Žπ‘™ π‘‘π‘’π‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘  π‘€π‘œπ‘›’𝑑 π‘π‘œπ‘€π‘’π‘Ÿ π‘¦π‘œπ‘’π‘Ÿ π‘π‘Žπ‘Ÿ!

First of all, your data is incorrect. The world’s leader in lithium production is Australia, followed by Chile. China is only third.¹⁢ Your quote about unicorn farts and liberal tears sounds like something you’d hear on Breitbart or OAN or Fox News, and is petty and childish. Europe is the world’s leader in replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy sources, and is on track to reach a target of a 42.5% share of renewables by 2030.¹⁷ It can be done if the social and political will is there, but in the USA the fossil-fuel lobby is immensely wealthy and powerful, and our legislators receive massive amounts of money to ensure that renewable energy is consistently sidelined in favor of more drilling and coal digging.¹⁸

For what it’s worth, it’s worth mentioning in the service of full disclosure:

    O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O
     THIS POST MOVED STICKY BLACK FILTH FROM THE BOWELS
        OF THE EARTH, AND SET IT ON FIRE IN YOUR AIR
    O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O

On the other hand, 15% of my energy consumption comes from a solar farm in Maine, and similarly did for many years in Utah thanks to their Blue Sky program. It can be done, and people who care about our environment will continue to fight the fossil fuel industries’ dominance.

One point on which we agree: Nuclear power has been given a bad rap, and we need more of it – along with increased research and development on how to reduce or treat nuclear ash.

  1. π‘‡β„Žπ‘’ π‘’π‘π‘œπ‘›π‘œπ‘šπ‘¦ π‘Žπ‘›π‘‘ π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘ π‘’π‘π‘’π‘Ÿπ‘–π‘‘π‘¦ π‘œπ‘“ π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘π‘œπ‘’π‘›π‘‘π‘Ÿπ‘¦ π‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘’ π‘“π‘Žπ‘Ÿ π‘šπ‘œπ‘Ÿπ‘’ π‘–π‘šπ‘π‘œπ‘Ÿπ‘‘π‘Žπ‘›π‘‘ π‘‘β„Žπ‘Žπ‘› π‘¦π‘œπ‘’π‘Ÿ 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠, 𝑔𝑒𝑑 π‘œπ‘£π‘’π‘Ÿ 𝑖𝑑.

R. Buckminster Fuller, one of the world’s greatest forward thinkers and the inventor of the geodesic dome, had a philosophy that came to be known as the “World Game” – “Make the world work, for 100% of humanity, in the shortest possible time, through spontaneous cooperation, without ecological offense or the disadvantage of anyone.”¹⁹ Historically, progressives have aligned themselves with this concept in various ways, while regressives – those in favor of preserving a world where only the wealthy and influential have rights – have sought to accumulate power and build walls to keep the “unworthy” out.

A big subset of MAGA today are evangelical Christians who wear their religion on their sleeves, who in the words of Paul the Apostle are “having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” (New Testament, 2 Timothy 3:5)

Russell Moore, long one of the top officials in the Southern Baptist Convention, said “Well, it was the result of having multiple pastors tell me essentially the same story about quoting the Sermon on the Mount parenthetically in their preaching – turn the other cheek – to have someone come up after and to say, where did you get those liberal talking points? And what was alarming to me is that in most of these scenarios, when the pastor would say, I’m literally quoting Jesus Christ, the response would not be, I apologize. The response would be, yes, but that doesn’t work anymore. That’s weak. And when we get to the point where the teachings of Jesus himself are seen as subversive to us, then we’re in a crisis.”²⁰

It is only the feelings of people – whether from doing their best to follow the teachings of Jesus, or from a humanistic sense of wanting the best for the greatest number of people – that will help humanity crawl out of the mud and reach for the stars, by building a world that works for everyone, with no one left out. And we will never “get over” that.

  1. π‘‡β„Žπ‘’π‘Ÿπ‘’ π‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘’ π‘šπ‘’π‘› π‘Žπ‘›π‘‘ π‘‘β„Žπ‘’π‘Ÿπ‘’ π‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘’ π‘€π‘œπ‘šπ‘’π‘›. π‘†π‘–π‘šπ‘π‘™π‘’ π‘Žπ‘  π‘‘β„Žπ‘Žπ‘‘.

Sure, if you want to base your opinions solely on the Bible or what you’re hearing over the pulpit instead of science. In reality, it’s not simple at all.

“Sex can be much more complicated than it at first seems. According to the simple scenario, the presence or absence of a Y chromosome is what counts: with it, you are male, and without it, you are female. But doctors have long known that some people straddle the boundaryβ€”their sex chromosomes say one thing, but their gonads (ovaries or testes) or sexual anatomy say another. Parents of children with these kinds of conditionsβ€”known as intersex conditions, or differences or disorders of sex development (DSDs)β€”often face difficult decisions about whether to bring up their child as a boy or a girl. Some researchers now say that as many as 1 person in 100 has some form of DSD. When genetics is taken into consideration, the boundary between the sexes becomes even blurrier. Scientists have identified many of the genes involved in the main forms of DSD, and have uncovered variations in these genes that have subtle effects on a person’s anatomical or physiological sex.”Β²ΒΉ

Even if you want to discount the science, which is a terrible thing to doΒ²Β², people need to understand that LGBTQIA+ people have always existed, they will always exist, and no amount of oppression or erasure will stop them from existing. Gay rights are human rights. Trans rights are human rights. There’s no question that inclusion and respect for non-binary people brings social challenges and demands difficult adjustments, but to do anything else – especially to work to strip rights from your fellow sojourners in mortality – is in direct opposition to the teachings that most MAGA adherents claim to honor: “That which is distasteful unto yourself, do not unto others – this is the whole Torah, the rest is commentary.” (Rabbi Hillel).

  1. πΈπ‘‘π‘’π‘π‘Žπ‘‘π‘–π‘œπ‘› 𝑖𝑠 π‘‘π‘œ π‘’π‘ π‘‘π‘Žπ‘π‘™π‘–π‘ β„Ž π‘Ž π‘™π‘’π‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘›π‘–π‘›π‘” π‘π‘œπ‘Ÿπ‘’ π‘‘β„Žπ‘Žπ‘‘ π‘π‘Ÿπ‘’π‘π‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘’π‘  π‘Ž π‘β„Žπ‘–π‘™π‘‘ π‘“π‘œπ‘Ÿ π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘Ÿπ‘’π‘Žπ‘™, π‘€π‘œπ‘Ÿπ‘˜π‘–π‘›π‘” π‘€π‘œπ‘Ÿπ‘™π‘‘. π΄π‘›π‘¦π‘‘β„Žπ‘–π‘›π‘” 𝑒𝑙𝑠𝑒 𝑖𝑠 π‘€π‘Ÿπ‘œπ‘›π‘”.

“The modern education system was designed to teach future factory workers to be β€œpunctual, docile, and sober.”Β²Β³ 𝐓𝐑𝐒𝐬 is what’s wrong, and utterly so. In 1928, Margaret Mead, an American Cultural Anthropologist, was famously reported saying, “Children should be taught how to think, and not what to think.” It turns out she was way ahead of her time and was already tapping into a theory that educational psychologists would later term ‘Metacognition’.²⁴ For societal progression to occur, children need to be taught more than reading, writing, and arithmetic – they need to learn critical thinking, social consciousness, and life skills as well, and they need music, literature, world history, and the arts.²⁡ And they definitely don’t need religious indoctrination, as specified in the Establishment Clause of our nation’s Constitution. Public funds must be used for public education, not private religious institutions. If people want their children to attend such schools, they should pay for them out of their own pockets, not via tax-supported vouchers.

  1. π·π‘œπ‘›π‘Žπ‘™π‘‘ 𝐽. π‘‡π‘Ÿπ‘’π‘šπ‘ 𝑖𝑠 π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘ƒπ‘Ÿπ‘’π‘ π‘–π‘‘π‘’π‘›π‘‘ π‘œπ‘“ π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘ˆπ‘›π‘–π‘‘π‘’π‘‘ π‘†π‘‘π‘Žπ‘‘π‘’π‘  π‘Žπ‘›π‘‘ β„Žπ‘’ π‘€π‘œπ‘› 𝑏𝑦 π‘Ž π‘™π‘Žπ‘›π‘‘π‘ π‘™π‘–π‘‘π‘’ β€” π‘π‘œπ‘‘β„Ž π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘π‘œπ‘π‘’π‘™π‘Žπ‘Ÿ π‘£π‘œπ‘‘π‘’ π‘Žπ‘›π‘‘ π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘’π‘™π‘’π‘π‘‘π‘œπ‘Ÿπ‘–π‘Žπ‘™ π‘£π‘œπ‘‘π‘’. 𝐺𝑒𝑑 π‘œπ‘£π‘’π‘Ÿ 𝑖𝑑.

In 2020, Joseph Biden won the popular vote by a margin of 4.45%, and for 4 years MAGA screamed “Not my President!” in 2024, Trump won the popular vote by a margin of 1.48%. In 1972, Richard Nixon’s margin over George McGovern was 23.15%; 𝐭𝐑𝐚𝐭 was a landslide, despite Nixon’s later disgrace and resignation. Trump has no mandate for anything despite what you might hear on Fox News. It’s worth mentioning that the “electorial” (sic) college has long been recognized as an outdated construct designed to preserve the power of white landowners²⁢ and deserves to be replaced by a one-person, one vote Presidential election. Yes, even if this had been the case in 2024, Donald Trump would have won the election, but the results would have been entirely different in 2000 (Bush/Gore) and 2016 (Trump/Clinton) and Trump would never have ascended to the presidency at all.²⁷

ΒΉ https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/statistics/elections/2024
Β² https://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2023/07/red-states-feed-at-the-federal-trough-blue-states-supply-the-feed.html
Β³ https://www.newsweek.com/americans-side-hustles-survey-1930416
https://www.newsweek.com/vault/banking/savings/gen-z-money-habits-bank-of-america-survey/
⁴ https://www.bls.gov/opub/reports/working-poor/2020/
⁡ https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/2023/06/we-must-banish-bootstraps-mythology-from-american-life
⁢ https://www.epi.org/publication/wage-theft-2021/
⁷ https://inthesetimes.com/article/wage-theft-union-labor-biden-iupat
⁸ https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/trump-immigration-raids-citizens-profiling-accusations-native-american-rcna189203
⁹ https://www.vox.com/a/donald-trump-books
¹⁰ https://www.brookings.edu/articles/systemic-racism-and-america-today/
ΒΉΒΉ https://archive.ph/5TPDb (archived from http://readcultured.com/how-white-people-quickly-turned-dei-into-a-racist-slur-1866e4e3dedd)
ΒΉΒ² https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/us-senator-vows-to-fight-back-against-trumps-plan-to-dismantle-financial-watchdog/3478108
ΒΉΒ³ https://www.goodnews.ie/betweenourselvesjune2005.shtml
¹⁴ https://www.brookings.edu/articles/what-every-american-should-know-about-u-s-foreign-aid/
¹⁡ https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trumps-foreign-aid-cuts-catastrophic-says-global-catholic-charity-arm-2025-02-10/
¹⁢ https://www.sustainabilitybynumbers.com/p/lithium-electric-vehicles
¹⁷ https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/analysis/indicators/share-of-energy-consumption-from
¹⁸ https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/summary?cycle=all&ind=E01&mem=Y&recipdetail=S
¹⁹ https://www.bfi.org/about-fuller/big-ideas/world-game/
²⁰ https://www.npr.org/2023/08/05/1192374014/russell-moore-on-altar-call-for-evangelical-america
Β²ΒΉ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/sex-redefined-the-idea-of-2-sexes-is-overly-simplistic1/
Β²Β² https://aphelis.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/ASIMOV_1980_Cult_of_Ignorance.pdf The salient quote here from Isaac Asimov is this: “There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that ‘my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.”
Β²Β³ https://qz.com/1314814/universal-education-was-first-promoted-by-industrialists-who-wanted-docile-factory-workers
²⁴ https://coachbit.com/the-parent-bit/metacognition-reflective-learning-can-help-kids-perform-better/
²⁡ https://artomicparticles.tumblr.com/post/95126208009/no-child-left-behind-cartoon-by-david-horsey
²⁢ https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/electoral-colleges-racist-origins
²⁷ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_presidential_elections_by_popular_vote_margin

Why do people keep supporting Trump no matter what he does? (Alternate title: Cruelty is the Point.)

Posted on by The Old Wolf

Slightly bowdlerized from the original

From a lady named Jen. Seen at reddit, posted by u/xenophonXiphos, but shared widely elsewhere and originally posted (I think) on Facebook.

β€œYou all don’t get it. I live in Trump country, in the Ozarks in southern Missouri, one of the last places where the KKK still has a relatively strong established presence. They don’t give a 🀬 what he does. He’s just something to rally around and hate liberals, that’s it, period. He absolutely realizes that, and plays it up, they love it, he knows they love it, and the fact that people act like it’s anything other than that just proves that liberals are idiots, all the more reason for high fives all around.

β€œIf you keep getting caught up in why do they not realize blah blah blah and how can they still back him after blah blah blah, you are not understanding what is the underlying motivating factor of his support. It’s 🀬 liberals, that’s pretty much it. 

β€œHave you noticed he can do pretty much anything imaginable and they’ll explain some way that rationalizes it that makes zero logical sense? Because they’re not even keeping track of any logical narrative, it’s irrelevant, 🀬 liberals is the only relevant thing, trust me, I know first hand what I’m talking about. That’s why they just laugh at it all, because you all don’t even realize they really, truly, don’t give a 🀬 about whatever the conversation is about, it’s just a side mission story that doesn’t really matter anyways. That’s all just trivial details- the economy, health care, whatever. 🀬 liberals.

β€œLook at the thing with not wearing the masks. I can tell you what that’s about. It’s about exposing fear. They’re playing chicken with nature and whoever flinches just moved down their internal pecking order, one step closer to being a liberal. 

β€œYou gotta understand the one core value that they hold above all others is hatred for weakness, because that’s what they believe strength is, hatred for weakness. And I mean passionate, sadistic hatred. And I’m not exaggerating. Believe me. Sadistic, passionate hatred, and that’s what proves they’re strong, their passionate hatred for weakness. Sometimes they lump in vulnerability, a compromised circumstance, or an overwhelming circumstance in there with weakness, too, because people tend to start humbling themselves when they’re in those circumstances and that’s an obvious sign of weakness. 

β€œKindness = weakness. Honesty = weakness. Compromise = weakness. They consider their very existence to be superior in every way to anyone who doesn’t hate weakness as much as they do. They consider liberals to be weak people who are inferior, almost a difference species, and the fact that liberals are so weak is why they have to unite in large numbers, which they find disgusting, but it’s that disgust that is a true expression of their natural superiority. 

β€œGo ahead and try to have a logical, rational conversation with them though. Just keep in mind what I said here, and think about it.”

I’m seeing calls from right-wing “thinkers” to impeach President Biden, Vice-president Harris, and any and all Democrats. This is the sheerest nonsense; Tumblr user “biokitty” explained it this way (emphasis mine):

These are people who don’t understand politics as an entity that actually affects them, they can’t be reasoned with because they know being like that pisses off liberals. It’s honestly the most juvenile, immature tactic that elementary school-aged bullies use but they get a rise out of liberals repeatedly by doing it. It’s why so many of them comment on social media β€œtrump 2020β€³ on posts that aren’t even about politics: because they know just posting that on a tasty video or something will piss off a bunch of liberals.

And now its “Trump 2024.” God forbid.

You see, Trump is an evil bastard, bred and raised by an evil bastard, a sociopathic serial narcissist and compulsive liar. His moral failings are too many to list here in full, but are well-documented. He’s a racist, sexist, abusive, heartless, bullying, spiteful, vengeful, cheating con man. And he deserved to be impeached, twice. And should have been convicted, if the Republicans in the senate had anything resembling decency, or a spine. But they’re all terrified of him and his evil vindictiveness, and their political careers are worth more to them than honor.

But calls to impeach the Biden administration are being made for one reason, and one reason only: spite. Whereas the Orange Screechweasel belongs in jail on any of hundreds of counts of moral turpitude, business fraud, and outright criminal behavior, President Biden is an honest and decent man as politicians goΒΉ and is working hard to undo the devastating damage the former guy did to our nation both domestically and internationally. He cares about you and me, regardless of our political affiliation. He wants all Americans to have a better life. But the alt-right, in their slavish, brainwashed devotion to the cult of personality that has sprung up around The Thermonuclear Bowel Evacuation Formerly Disgracing the Oval Office, are mightily offended that their Golden Calf was so unfairly maligned, and they want revenge. Revenge on a political party whose platform essentially says “build a world that works for everyone, with no one left out,” as opposed to the one that says “🀬 you, I’ve got mine.”

The GOP has become a cult of personality, filled with wannabe autocrats who have chained themselves to a violent, hateful, despicable (and piteous) human, one who makes Richard Nixon look like Romper Room’s Miss Julie. If democracy is to survive in our nation, this faction must be sidelined and rendered impotent and irrelephant [pun intended.] Based on what I’m seeing in the way of Democratic disarray, the presence of two additional Republicans in the Senate – specifically Manchin and Sinema – and the growing efforts of GOP-led state governments to implement disenfranchisement strategies, I don’t have much hope for 2022 and 2024. We may be in for a very, very dark time before sanity once again prevails, as it always seems to do.

The Old Wolf has spoken.

Footnotes

ΒΉ Politicians in general have a less-than-stellar reputation, largely deserved. Most of them are a bought-and-paid-for bunch; Congressmen and women, for example, are encouraged to spend at least 30 hours a week calling potential donors for contributions instead of doing the people’s work. As long as Citizens United is in effect, corporations will in effect write our laws and determine the direction and tenor of our society. That said, there is a bell curve of decency, and from everything I’ve seen President Biden is a couple of “honorable” standard deviations from the mean.

Ode to [De]Joy

Posted on by The Old Wolf

The essay below by one of my friends appeared on my Facebook feed yesterday, and it broke my heart.

We read during the election of Louis DeJoy’s efforts to hamstring the post office in order to bolster the irrational claims of The Thermonuclear Bowel Evacuation Formerly Disgracing the Oval Office that mail-in voting would lead to massive fraud. It wouldn’t, and it didn’t. But the actions of this Trump sycophant and donor, a man who has no business as Postmaster General of our nation, are continuing to have repercussions down the line and will continue to do so as long as this waste of human cytoplasm is permitted to continue castrating one of our nation’s most important institutions.

This is a cry from the trenches.

There is a gravestone somewhere with the inscription:

When you go to work tomorrow, I will be going, too, but only long enough to turn in my ID and my laptop.

The GOP Ten-Year Plan To Rape The Postal Service took its first blood on Friday, with hundreds of postal employees and contractors getting the word that their position has been eliminated. As usual, there will be new jobs posted, maybe, at facilities somewhere far from home and at a lesser salary, but a job is a job, and there will be struggles for these positions that will be as entertaining as the old gladiator battles in the Coliseum. And with similar results.

This came about because Louis DeJoy, who ran a shipping company that competed with the USPS, and was a major GOP donor, was appointed Postmaster General during the last administration. The board that oversees the PMG is still a pack of GOP curs, and will not remove him until enough of them are removed to force a vote. By then, it will be too late to save much of the USPS.

In the past year, the IT office that I work in has gone from twelve people to five. The UNIX support group is perhaps 2/3 the size it was at this time last year. The workload has not been reduced at all. Overtime is strongly discouraged. If you think this is a recipe for a catastrophe, I will not contradict you. But it will SAVE MONEY. Just like trashing the sorting machines just before the 2020 election was going to save money. I didn’t notice any savings, because the O/T put in by the employees to take up the slack would have more than eaten it. Oh, wait, they weren’t allowed to charge O/T. So a lot of them did their work off the clock. What a savings!

It will also cripple the USPS even further, so there will be more pressure to simply disband it and give the work to private corporations. Sending a birthday card by FedEx will cost about $15, instead of $0.55. But, hey, small government, right?

And giving us the shaft on a Friday morning of a long weekend was THE morale-booster that we all needed.

Oh, and the USPS employs more veterans than any other government function. So the “We Support Our Troops!” boys have just screwed over the veterans. Again.

I’m a contractor, not a USPS employee. The USPS unit at Peraton is only about 6 months old, having just been acquired from NorthropGrumman. So the scramble for new jobs there will be at least as bad as the one at USPS, because they were still trying to fit us into the organization as it was.

Screw it. I’m six months from turning 66. I may just sign up for the dole, and Medicare, and let the people who are trying to support their families get the jobs. I’m sick of this. I’ve watched the front line get screwed at Kodak, Informix, IBM, and now USPS, and the old men who made the decisions that got us there walk away with fat wallets. This is not how I had thought of retiring, those 40+ years ago, but, as some profound thinker said, it is what it is.

So, tomorrow I drive to San Mateo (55 miles each way, and that I will not miss), turn in all my gear, and drive home to see what happens next. I’d like to thank all the people who voted GOP in 2016 because they were afraid they’d lose their guns, on behalf of the hundreds of us who just lost our jobs.

On behalf of my friend who lost his livelihood and the countless others who have or will, many of whom will not be in a position to retire and say “Screw it,” thank you, Louis DeJoy, for shoving a stake into the heart of our nation’s postal system in the name of ideology and personal profit. May you roast in Hell forever, you simpering, thermonuclear asstrumpet.

The Old Wolf has spoken

PS: Congress, please remove the insane requirement for the USPS to pre-fund its retiree health benefits. Adopting a traditional β€œpay-as-you-go” method would produce billions of dollars of desperately-needed additional cash flow.