;)
The Conversation -- September 5, 2023
Daniel Barnes & Ryan Reilly of NBC News: "Enrique Tarrio, the former chairman of the far-right Proud Boys, was sentenced to 22 years in federal prison Tuesday afternoon following his conviction on a seditious conspiracy charge in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. His sentence is the longest so far in a Jan. 6 case so far, surpassing the 18 years given to Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, who was also convicted of seditious conspiracy. Tarrio was one of four Proud Boys found guilty of seditious conspiracy in May."
Brett Samuels of the Hill: "President Biden tested negative for COVID-19 on Tuesday and will wear a mask while around others indoors after first lady Jill Biden tested positive for the virus a day earlier, the White House said. The first lady is experiencing 'mild symptoms' after testing positive Monday, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters. She will remain in Delaware to quarantine."
Dan Mangan of CNBC: “'Daily' statements by ... Donald Trump 'threaten to prejudice the jury pool' in the federal case where he is charged with crimes related to trying to reverse his loss in the 2020 election, prosecutors said Tuesday. Prosecutors made that claim as they pushed back on a call by Trump's lawyers to allow a three-week briefing process for Judge Tanya Chutkan to decide whether 'every ordinary' court filing that refers to sensitive materials should be placed on the court's public docket."
Sara Murray, et al., of CNN: "Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and the remaining defendants in the election interference case in Fulton County, Georgia, have pleaded not guilty and have waived their arraignments, new court filings show. Misty Hampton, who faces charges related to the Coffee County voting system breach and was the last holdout among the 19 defendants changed in District Attorney Fani Willis' case, entered her plea early Tuesday afternoon. The other defendants have been filing their pleas in recent days."
Jack Smith Keeps on Keepin' on. Zachary Cohen & Paula Reid of CNN: "Special counsel Jack Smith is still pursuing his investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election a month after indicting Donald Trump for orchestrating a broad conspiracy to remain in power, a widening of the probe that raises the possibility others could still face legal peril. Questions asked of two recent witnesses indicate Smith is focusing on how money raised off baseless claims of voter fraud was used to fund attempts to breach voting equipment in several states won by Joe Biden.... In both interviews, prosecutors have focused their questions on the role of former Trump lawyer Sidney Powell. According to invoices obtained by CNN, Powell's non-profit ... hired forensics firms that ultimately accessed voting equipment in four swing states won by Biden: Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Arizona. Powell faces criminal charges in Georgia.... Powell has also been identified by CNN as one of Trump's un-indicted co-conspirators listed in Smith's federal election indictment."
As the Worms Turn. Josh Gerstein & Kyle Cheney of Politico: "The finger-pointing among Donald Trump's inner circle has begun. And as his four criminal cases march toward trials, some of his aides, allies and co-defendants are pointing at the former president. In court documents and hearings, lawyers for people in Trump's orbit ... are starting to reveal glimmers of a tried-and-true strategy in cases with many defendants: Portray yourself as a hapless pawn while piling blame on the apparent kingpin.... In late August, an information technology aide at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort dramatically changed his story about alleged efforts to erase surveillance video and agreed to cooperate with special counsel Jack Smith.... Then, three GOP activists who were indicted alongside Trump in Georgia ... asserted that their actions were all taken at Trump';s behest. And last week, Trump's former White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows -- also charged in the Georgia case -- signaled that his defense is likely to include blaming the former president as the primary driver of the effort."
Enough Already. Dan Mangan of CNBC: "New York Attorney General Letitia James asked a judge Tuesday to sanction Donald Trump, other defendants and their lawyers for rehashing the same failed legal arguments in James' big civil fraud lawsuit against the former president.... In her filing Tuesday, James said that since last October, the defendants have made the same legal arguments against her lawsuit five separate times.... James asked that all the defendants be fined $10,000 collectively, and that another fine of $10,000 be imposed on their lawyers collectively. James' request came four weeks before trial in the lawsuit is set to begin in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan."
Marie: In today's Comments, there's a good discussion of Project 2025: the Heritage Foundation's manifesto on how Donald Trump, upon resuming office, should take control of the federal government, dismantle it and replace career employees with people "loyal" to him and an extreme right-wing "vision." As Patrick notes, the "plan looks more Soviet than Stalin." Here's some more background on Project 2025 from the AP (Aug. 29). It even sounds Orwellian, doesn't it?
Alabama. Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "A panel of federal judges rejected Alabama's latest congressional map on Tuesday, ruling that a new map needed to be drawn because Republican lawmakers had failed to comply with orders to create a second majority-Black district or something 'close to it.' In a sharp rebuke, the judges ordered that the new map be independently drawn, taking the responsibility away from the Republican-controlled legislature while chastising state officials who 'ultimately did not even nurture the ambition to provide the required remedy.'" NPR's story is here. MB: I believe the order ran along the lines of, "Don't you be fucking with federal judges, you piss-ant weanie bigots."
South Carolina. Shawn Nottingham, et al., of CNN: "Attorneys representing Alex Murdaugh, the notorious South Carolina fraudster who was convicted earlier this year of murdering his wife and son, filed a motion with the South Carolina Court of Appeals on Tuesday demanding a new trial and alleging jury tampering by the Colleton County Clerk of Court. The filing states that the Clerk of Court, Rebecca 'Becky' Hill, 'tampered with the jury by advising them not to believe Murdaugh's testimony and other evidence presented by the defense, pressuring them to reach a quick guilty verdict, and even misrepresenting critical and material information to the trial judge in her campaign to remove a juror she believed to be favorable to the defense.'... The motion cites at least three sworn affidavits, including one from a juror and one from a dismissed juror, as well as excerpts from Hill's book..., which was published last month."
Texas. The New York Times is liveblogging the impeachment trial of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R): "... the impeachment trial of Ken Paxton, the Republican attorney general of Texas, began on Tuesday morning on the floor of the State Senate.... Mr. Paxton, a third-term incumbent championed by hard-core conservatives and ... Donald J. Trump, is facing 20 articles of impeachment, which the Republican-dominated Texas House adopted in May by a vote of 121 to 23. The allegations focus on Mr. Paxton's use of the office to benefit an Austin real estate figure. In the trial's earliest moments, Mr. Paxton's lawyers put forth a series of unsuccessful motions to dismiss the case; all but one failed by a vote of more than two-thirds of the senators present. The unsuccessful maneuvering provided early hints into how the trial might take shape: Mr. Paxton appeared to have the support of at least six senators, but a solid majority of Republicans do not appear to view the trial as a 'sham,' as some of his supporters have called it."
~~~~~~~~~~
Fatima Hussein of the AP: &"President Joe Biden, who often says he's the most pro-union president in history, touted the importance of unions and applauded American workers in building the economy during a Labor Day appearance in Philadelphia on Monday.... 'This Labor Day we're celebrating jobs, good-paying jobs, jobs you can raise a family on, union jobs,' Biden told the crowd gathered Monday. Instead of standing at the podium, the president held the microphone in his hand and walked around the stage behind signs that read 'UNION STRONG.'" (Also linked yesterday.)
Michael Shear of the New York Times: "Jill Biden ... tested positive for Covid-19, the White House announced late Monday night, but she is experiencing only mild symptoms and will remain at the family home in Rehoboth Beach, Del., where she and President Biden spent part of the weekend. Mr. Biden tested negative for the virus after the first lady's diagnosis, a spokeswoman said. The president returned to the White House on Monday evening. Officials said Mr. Biden would continue to test on 'a regular cadence' throughout the week and would monitor for possible signs of infection." CNN's story is here.
Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro, of the Air Force Frank Kendall & of the Army Christine Wormuth, in a Washington Post op-ed: "... the foundation of America's enduring military advantage ... is being actively eroded by the actions of a single U.S. senator, Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), who is blocking the confirmation of our most senior military officers.... Senators ... are free to introduce legislation, gather support for that legislation and pass it. But placing a blanket hold on all general and flag officer nominees, who as apolitical officials have traditionally been exempt from the hold process, is unfair to these military leaders and their families. And it is putting our national security at risk.... Three of our five military branches -- the Army, Navy and Marine Corps -- have no Senate-confirmed service chief in place. Instead, these jobs -- and dozens of others across the force -- are being performed by acting officials without the full range of legal authorities necessary to make the decisions that will sustain the United States' military edge." ~~~
~~~ Marie: There are probably several ways for the Senate to quash Mr. Potato Head's holds. Whatever they are exactly, Chuck Schumer should begin every session every day by demanding that Republicans go along with the program.
Zach Montague of the New York Times: "After being subpoenaed last year by the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, riot..., [Peter] Navarro refused to comply, insisting that Mr. Trump had directed him not to cooperate and dismissing the subpoena as 'illegal' and 'unenforceable.' Now, after more than a year of legal wrangling, Mr. Navarro, 74, will defend those claims in a trial that starts Tuesday, when jury selection is expected to begin in Federal District Court in Washington. The case centers on a relatively simple question: whether he showed contempt for Congress in defying the House committee's request for documents and testimony."
The Decline & Fall of the American Empire. John Rapley in a New York Times op-ed: "At the famous Bretton Woods Conference [of 1944], the United States developed an international trading and financial system that functioned in practice as an imperial economy, disproportionately steering the fruits of global growth to the citizens of the West. Alongside, America created NATO to provide a security umbrella for its allies, and organizations such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to forge common policies. Over the second half of the century, this system attained a degree of world domination no previous empire had ever known. In the past two decades, however, it has sunk into decline.... [Like Rome's,] America's decline is a product of its success.... [Population m]igration may have eroded the Roman Empire's wealth. Now it's what stands between the West and absolute economic decline.... [To prevail,] America will need to give up trying to restore its past glory through a go-it-alone, America First approach. It was the same impulse that pushed the Roman Empire into the military adventurism that brought about its eventual destruction."
Kirk Swearingen in Salon: "New York Times columnist David Brooks has been writing of late about how we should all just get along. In two August opinion pieces, he places the onus on the 'highly educated elite' to take more responsibility in forming Abraham Lincoln's more perfect union.... As many on the right ... determined to take down our democracy, those on the left were asked why they couldn't fall in line and be ... nicer. The gist of Brooks' argument seems to be that educated liberals need to take responsibility for annoying conservatives.... Mixed in with a lot of well-intentioned bromides about character and community are suggestions for the well-educated ... on how to be friendlier fellow citizens to their QAnon, 'stolen-election' brethren.... Brooks never mentions Trump voters, who ... are coddled in a comfy blankie of lies, obfuscations and conspiracy theory.... Fox News ... viewers are constantly assured that harboring their darkest impulses about women, people of color and people with different sexual and gender identities is completely understandable, even proper. After years of this steady diet of malign disinformation, they trust their authoritarian cult leader more than their religious leaders or even family and friends.... There's no functional relationship between the right and the left in this country because the right purposefully destroyed that relationship." Thanks to Laura H. for the link.
Presidential Race 2024
Sabrina Siddiqui & Catherine Lucey of the Wall Street Journal: "Voters overwhelmingly think President Biden is too old to run for re-election and give him low marks for handling the economy and other issues important to their vote, according to a new Wall Street Journal poll that offers a stark warning to the 80-year-old incumbent ahead of the 2024 contest.... And Biden is tied with ... Donald Trump in a potential rematch of the 2020 election, with each holding 46% support in a head-to-head test.... Although the candidates are only three years apart, 73% of voters said they feel Biden is too old to seek a second term, compared with 47% of voters who said the same of the 77-year-old Trump. Two-thirds of Democrats said Biden was too old to run again. By an 11-point margin, more voters see Trump rather than Biden as having a record of accomplishments as president -- some 40% said Biden has such a record, while 51% said so of Trump. By an eight-point margin, more voters said Trump has a vision for the future. And by 10 points, more described Trump as mentally up to the presidency." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: As you know, I don't often link poll reports, but this one was so horrifying, I thought I'd share it. The notion that Trump could boast more "accomplishments" than Biden is mind-blowing. Fox "News" or Facebook must be sending subliminal messages to viewers & users. On the other hand, I do think Biden should drop out of the race now. As the reporters point out, he would be 86 at the end of a second term. That's just too old. Trump would be 82; not that it matters, because he probably would refuse to leave office. BTW, I don't know why I was able to link to the WSJ story, since I don't have a subscription. But I got a possible clue: at first, the page showed up blank & contained a notice that I'd have to buy a subscription to read the story; then the whole article appeared, and at the end of the URL, there's an extension that reads, "mod=followamazon". So I suspect my Amazon Prime account is giving me access. If you're logged into an Amazon Prime account, you too might be able to link WSJ stories, or at least some WSJ stories. Or maybe not. ~~~
~~~ Update: Kevin Breuninger of CNBC reports the same stats.
How a Fake Free-Speech Guy Learned to Blame the Victim. Doha Madani of NBC News: "Elon Musk posted that he was against antisemitism Monday and blamed the Anti-Defamation League for lost advertising revenue since his acquisition of X...-Twitter. The tech mogul posted his stance on free speech and antisemitism seemingly out of the blue on his verified account Monday afternoon. When asked by a user who was questioning his stance, Musk alleged that the ADL has been 'trying to kill this platform by falsely accusing it & me of being anti-Semitic.... If this continues, we will have no choice but to file a defamation suit against, ironically, the "Anti-Defamation" League,' Musk wrote. 'If they lose the defamation suit, we will insist that they drop the the "anti" part of their name, since obviously ...' He later wrote in another post that X has 'no choice but to file a defamation lawsuit' against the group to clear its name." MB: You know, Elon, I don't like to own up to my failures, either. But, like Jimmy Buffett, I know it's my own damned fault.
~~~~~~~~~~
Connecticut. Amelia Nierenberg of the New York Times: "State officials believe that ... more than 100 Connecticut state police officers ... may have filed false reports of traffic stops in recent years, possibly to boost the internal statistics used to measure their performance. A recent audit described 'a pattern of record manipulation' and said there was a "high likelihood" that at least 25,966 recorded stops between 2014 and 2021 were false and that as many as 58,553 may have been, at minimum, inaccurate.... The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating, state officials said. Gov. Ned Lamont, a Democrat, has launched a separate inquiry.... The ticket reports under scrutiny may have also irrevocably tainted the racial data that the state collects on traffic stops ... because the motorists who were purportedly stopped were disproportionately white...." MB: As nearly as I can tell, there were no tickets issued, so no drivers were ticketed for fake infractions.
~~~~~~~~~~
Edward Wong & Julian Barnes of the New York Times: "Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, plans to travel to Russia this month to meet with President Vladimir V. Putin to discuss the possibility of supplying Russia with more weaponry for its war in Ukraine and other military cooperation, according to American and allied officials. In a rare foray from his country, Mr. Kim would travel from Pyongyang, North Korea's capital, probably by armored train, to Vladivostok, on the Pacific Coast of Russia, where he would meet with Mr. Putin, the officials said." The AP's story is here.
Kim Tong-Hyung of the AP: "Russia has likely proposed that North Korea participate in three-way naval exercises with China, according to a lawmaker who attended a closed-door briefing with the director of South Korea's top spy agency Monday. The briefing came days after Russia's Ambassador to North Korea, Alexander Matsegora, told Russian media that including North Korea in joint military drills between Russia and China 'seems appropriate.' Matsegora added it was his own point of view and that he wasn't aware of any preparations, according to Russia's Tass news agency."
News Ledes
They Also Serve Who Only Stand and Wait. New York Times: "Marilyn Lovell, who, as an object of fascination for the news media, the inspiration for movie and TV characters and a figure in history books, incarnated for many Americans the hardships and glamour of being an astronaut's wife, died on Aug. 27 in Lake Forest, Ill. She was 93."
Pennsylvania. CNN: "The manhunt for Danelo Cavalcante has shifted, leaving two nearby school districts closed and the community on high alert, after the escaped murderer was spotted outside the original search area, Pennsylvania police said Tuesday. Cavalcante escaped from Chester County Prison on Thursday morning and authorities began by scouring a heavily wooded area in Pocopson Township and Chester County within 2 miles of the prison -- around 30 miles west of Philadelphia. Police have now expanded the perimeter of the search area after a security camera recorded Cavalcante at a popular botanical gardens [-- Longwood Gardens --] on Monday evening. That's south of where the previously established perimeter was, Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said during a news conference Tuesday."
Share Article
Reader Comments (11)
So how did the WSJ find all those Faux "news" watchers to poll? And did they do a followup story listing all of Biden's actual impacts on our economy and trump's actual attempts to destroy it? Ha, I amuse myself.
Democracy Dies in Darkness, indeed. Stick a fork in it....
The Fall, praise Jesus.
If one is to compare the fall of Rome to a modern day empire (the United States), it might be instructive to heed the observations of the historian Edward Gibbon who chronicled the demise of Rome.
There were, of course multiple problems opening fissures as Rome left behind the Republic and entered into its age of empire. One in particular involved the richest inhabitants who felt themselves above everyone else (a condition we still suffer from) and whose children learned, not the lessons of citizenship, but the ways in which their wealth and privileges insulated them from the vast majority of Roman citizens (lookin’ at you, Junior, Eric, and Javanka). The lack of attention to duty as citizens increased by corruption and selfishness greatly advanced the corrosion of the formerly great empire.
But the biggest cause for the fall of the Roman Empire, according to Gibbon? Religion. Specifically, Christianity.
Here he is in chapter 15:
“A CANDID but rational inquiry into the progress and establishment of Christianity may be considered as a very essential part of the history of the Roman empire. While that great body was invaded by open violence, or undermined by slow decay, a pure and humble religion gently insinuated itself into the minds of men, grew up in silence and obscurity, derived new vigour from opposition, and finally erected the triumphant banner of the Cross on the ruins of the Capitol.”
Gibbon also reminded readers that the more baleful effects of Christianity were still around:
“Nor was the influence of Christianity confined to the period or to the limits of the Roman empire. After a revolution of thirteen or fourteen centuries, that religion is still professed by the nations of Europe, the most distinguished portion of human kind in arts and learning as well as in arms. By the industry and zeal of the Europeans it has been widely diffused to the most distant shores of Asia and Africa; and by the means of their colonies has been firmly established from Canada to Chili, in a world unknown to the ancients.”
He goes on to point out that Christian ideology taught that its adherents need not heed the rules of earthly constructs such as governments because they were granted immortal life after death, and caring about earthly matters could pour sugar in the gas tank propelling them to their heavenly reward.
One has only to listen to the propaganda and diktats emanating from the Christian nationalist movement which instructs its followers that their religion trumps any earthly duties and responsibilities.
That Fall of Rome stuff ain’t just ancient history. Not only do we have federal, state, and local governments salted with religious fanatics, the current Supreme Court is ruled by them.
As they used to say in Rome, before it disappeared, quod erat demonstrandum.
Oh, and I meant to point out that today, right this minute, our military capability is being affected by one guy who insists on placing his religious beliefs above the safety of the country and his oath of office to uphold the Constitution. He is, in effect, establishing a national religion, the rules of which, according to him, must be obeyed by all.
Need more proof?
The Dobbs decision was made solely on the basis of religious beliefs. That’s it. Not legal, not medical, not with any concern for personal autonomy. Religion.
And if religion don’t kill us…
As if we didn’t have enough to worry about with right-wing Savonarolas running around denouncing the infidels (most of us), here comes Project 2025.
Have you heard about this lovely little scheme? The Heritage Foundation authoritarians have a little plan cooked up to outlaw the American Experiment the second Trump or some other Party of Traitors wannabe autocrat steals the next election.
“Organized by the Heritage Foundation, the sweeping new initiative called Project 2025, offers a policy agenda, transition plan, a playbook for the first 180 days and a personnel database for the next GOP president to access from the very beginning to take control, reform, and eliminate what Republicans criticize as the "deep state" bureaucracy. Their plan includes the possibility of firing as many as 50,000 federal employees.”
That’s right. Anyone who can’t be trusted to shiv democracy in the back is right out in favor of goose stepping sieg heilers.
“By replacing federal employees with like-minded officials, Trump-era conservatives are planning to remove federal employees whom they perceive as obstacles to the president's agenda early on. This would avoid "the pitfalls of Trump's first years in office," and eliminate the possibility of any resistance a Republican president would encounter, the AP reported.”
And get a load of the psychos they’re gonna installin place of those tens of thousands of civil servants!
“Trumpworld is already lining up names of loyalists to fill top jobs if Trump returns to the White House in 2025, including former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark, who tried to take over the DOJ to help Trump overturn his election loss. Other names for top administration roles include Kash Patel, a former top aide to ex-Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., who helped run interference in the Mueller probe; former adviser Peter Navarro, who played a key role in pushing Trump's Big Lie about the election; and Stephen Miller, the architect of Trump's controversial family separation policy.” This doesn’t include an army of Gym Jordans and James Comers who will be handed the keys to the kingdom.
I’m tellin’ ya, kids, these fuckers never sleep. Where are the Democrats, progressives, liberals, and believers in the American ideal while all this is going on? Where’s our plan to thwart these cockroaches?
The playbook of Project 2025 "Mandate for Leadership" probably
is the English translation of "Mein Kampf", written in 1924 by
the hero of the right, while in prison serving a sentence for a failed
coup.
Sound familiar? Can't wait for trump's book to come out, the one he
writes while in prison serving a sentence for a failed coup.
Thanks, AK, for expressing so eloquently the corrosive effects of magical thinking. Under a form of government that is designed to allow thoughts and projects to rise or fall on their own merits, any argument or initiative that includes Christianity is initially given the benefit of the doubt. I truly wish that weren't so because the same minds that were doomed as children to believe nonsense like Noah and the Whale Raising the Dead While Walking on Water with Moses at a Wedding in Cana (go ahead, tell me this one is more far-fetched than the ones you were taught) lose at least some of their capacity to evaluate the whoppers they hear as adults. When I was a kid in a Roman Catholic household that was more nominally than deeply religious, I heard that Madalyn Murray O'Hair was irredeemably evil. Why? Because she made people think about their blind adherence to a doctrine that had been edited more times since Christ than Peter Navarro's upcoming defense summation. So, again, thanks.
Project 2025 describes a governing system very much like the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (the old one, not the current rump). National power and authority resided in the Party; the "elected government" and the "constitution" were tools to effect Party policy. Not all citizens belonged to the Party, but all had to comply with Party directives, union-wide, national, and local. Party leadership could "inform" judges of "correct" verdicts, and reverse "incorrect" ones. Bureaucrats were threatened and bribed with purges for "failure" and promotion for obediance. Every manager learned to falsify data in order to "meet plan." The way to personal wealth ran through political influence, available only in the Party. Corruption was endemic, a social and economic cost of government by Party.
The Heritage wonks who propose government by party purity (2025) have never really seen this, which is almost unbelievable, since any USG analyst of Soviet affairs knows this stuff by heart, as self-evident. And Plan 2025 looks more Soviet than Stalin.
Project 2025 scares the liver out of me.
Also Daily Kos has a letter people would be interested in, from a liberal to a trumpian. I will get it soon for you.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/9/4/2191543/-No-I-can-t-agree-to-disagree-over-Trump-You-Are-Wrong
Jack,
I’ve probably mentioned before that I have nothing against the basic tenets of most religions, the ideas of caring for fellow human beings, a belief in their innate importance, and a sense of connected purpose. I have no problem with spirituality, empathy, compassion for others and an altruistic outlook on life, all good things.
My problem is the way those ideas are collected into an organized structure that demands not only blind obedience but which weirdly weaponizes such positive human feelings against those who think otherwise. This includes shoving your beliefs down the throats of everyone else (see Alito, King), and deciding that those who don’t go along need to be punished (you’ll recall Trump demanding punishment for women obtaining abortions).
The worst, most vicious and bloody wars in history have all had a religious component. The thing that I find most appalling is the way organized religion, or at least those professing to follow their teachings, blithely ignore the core values that supposedly underpin their belief systems in order to achieve and hold on to political power, power that allows them to starve the hungry, ensure that the homeless stay that way, cause the afflicted additional discomfort, and kowtow to the rich and powerful.
I can’t speak for everyone, but I grew up in an Irish Catholic household. None of the people in my family were mean, evil, or stupid. They were, in fact, decent to a fault and they never felt it necessary to ram their beliefs down the throats of those who didn’t share their positions.
Some of that may have had a connection to religion but I think it was mostly because they were just good people at heart. This is not something I can say about the MTGs and other Christian nationalists out there today. And I’m sure religious beliefs play a role in their behavior, but it’s probably just as true that they are, at heart, grade A assholes. Religion, for these people, isn’t a path to a more decent and loving existence, it’s a cudgel to beat people over the head with. So fuck that.
Forrest,
Ixnay on the Rump-tay ook-bay.
Fatty doesn’t write books. Hell, he doesn’t even read books, including those he supposedly wrote. He’ll have to get his cell mate to ghostwrite his own “Mein Kampf”.
(Sidebar: I just Googled “Mein Kampf” as I wasn’t sure I had the publication date correct—July, 1925, full English translation 1939–but what pops up is the helpful little note that “81% [Google users] liked this book”. Jesus Christ! Seriously? Must be all those people the Project 2025 is looking at to fill government positions after they get rid of the competent, non-treasonous civil servants.)