U.S. Politics

[altcunningham]

I dropped a long term friend today because I have no more space for hand waving.

Before that it was just a lot of neutrality and fence sitting and head in the sand from their end, but done with that quasi intellectual veneer of "I KNEW this would happen, thus I'm smarter than everyone else, but also if ANY of this concerns you, you're just a drama queen, it's not that deep" etc.

Cannot abide "it's not that deep" at this stage. It's been this deep. They had the published agenda on a website. They're very honest if you listen and get past the doublespeak and euphemisms. And if you want to just benchwarm and bitch, sure. But to acknowledge and then tell everyone to chill out. No.

 

[Goldbug]

Top private prison companies see profits amid administration's immigration crackdown

The country's largest private prison companies are reporting significant profits amid the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.

abcnews.go.com

State Department rolls out scaled-back Human Rights Report

The State Department is out Monday with its long-delayed annual Human Rights Report, and this year's edition looks much different than previous installations.

abcnews.go.com

 

[altcunningham]

All I can do is blast Propagandhi while I process these links.

 

[TheSameIdiot]

Then, the White House ordering a review of Smithsonian exhibits to make sure they align with Trump's vision of "American exceptionalism", including removing any reference to his impeachment. So basically, removing the real "history" from the history museum.

Donate to Wikipedia if you can afford it. We need to make sure the truth still exists somewhere.

I wish the next Democratic administration luck. They have a lot of work to do to restore this country. One of the first orders of business will be to return the gutter racists to where they belong.

https://bsky.app/profile/hannahgais.bsky.social%2Fpost%2F3lw7mfm6t3c2s

https://bsky.app/profile/cwarzel.bsky.social%2Fpost%2F3lw7p5yol2k2o

https://bsky.app/profile/nycsouthpaw.bsky.social%2Fpost%2F3lwa5e574vs2c

https://bsky.app/profile/cwarzel.bsky.social%2Fpost%2F3lw7vdy7wr226

 

[altcunningham]

Re the basement dweller and trolling.

I can do a whole essay on how I tracked all this shit since the early 2010s, certainly when GamerGate kicked off and introduced key figures and started indoctrinating people.

I hate to say I was almost in the corral with them for a second.

Maybe there was more lead up, but that was the part I was existing in, and I remember even...I don't want to be derisive and just say The Left, but even when I tried to educate and contextualize myself with progressive ideas, I was met with hostility. So it doesn't surprise me they were able to recruit and repurpose people to where we ultimately are.

 

[Misfit]

Just incredible levels of evil on display these days:

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article311666872.html?tbref=hp

 

[TheSameIdiot]

I can do a whole essay on how I tracked all this shit since the early 2010s, certainly when GamerGate kicked off and introduced key figures and started indoctrinating people.

I think folks who are perpetually online saw the rise of the 4channers coming. I didn't think it'd land them in the White House. Twice.

 

[docsilence]

I think folks who are perpetually online saw the rise of the 4channers coming. I didn't think it'd land them in the White House. Twice.

I've got a few friends who I chat with sometimes about how tired we are because people told us we were fucking insane pointing out this stuff was happening - those early online canaries in the coal mine are not happy about being right, but a lot of us were tracking this shit so early on and nobody listened. It's almost like (gasp) the bad actors knew how to build this stuff up in places vanilla Americans wouldn't take seriously.

 

[Chooch555]

Oh, so the Big Balls thing wasn't a joke??? Sweet 10 lb 8 oz strawberry-blonde baby Jesus.

 

[docsilence]

Gawd I wish it was a joke.

 

[CTV]

It was a joke, just not the kind that's funny.

 

[TheSameIdiot]

I've got a few friends who I chat with sometimes about how tired we are because people told us we were fucking insane pointing out this stuff was happening - those early online canaries in the coal mine are not happy about being right, but a lot of us were tracking this shit so early on and nobody listened. It's almost like (gasp) the bad actors knew how to build this stuff up in places vanilla Americans wouldn't take seriously.

They lucked out to a certain extent. Trump is an ideological blank slate. He doesn't care what you believe in as long as 1) you worship him, 2) you punish those he hates. (It'll be interesting to see how Vance fares whenever he runs. He's a genuine groyper with the charisma of a genuine groyper.)

The White House is staffed by online racists who can't interact with a woman without screaming and pissing their pants. The White House, DHS, and other major agencies are recreating Nazi propaganda on social media, and maybe 20% of the public is aware. Another L for the Fourth Estate.

 

[docsilence]

They lucked out to a certain extent. Trump is an ideological blank slate. He doesn't care what you believe in as long as 1) you worship him, 2) you punish those he hates. (It'll be interesting to see how Vance fares whenever he runs. He's a genuine groyper with the charisma of a genuine groyper.)

The White House is staffed by online racists who can't interact with a woman without screaming and pissing their pants. The White House, DHS, and other major agencies are recreating Nazi propaganda on social media, and maybe 20% of the public is aware. Another L for the Fourth Estate.

I left newspapers 20 years ago because I figured out if I wanted to make more than 32 grand a year, I'd need to play the bullshit game. (Also why everyone should subscribe to a small local paper if you can... that's where the last in-it-for-the-right-reasons journalists ad starving and contemplating going into marketing.) The abject failure of American journalism started with FOX but it ends with... well, everyone.

I really do hope Vance and his utter lack of charisma helps. The cult of personality behind Trump is not transferrable. The cult will choose their own demigod when he's gone.

 

[mrboshek]

Re the basement dweller and trolling.

I can do a whole essay on how I tracked all this shit since the early 2010s, certainly when GamerGate kicked off and introduced key figures and started indoctrinating people.

I hate to say I was almost in the corral with them for a second.

Maybe there was more lead up, but that was the part I was existing in, and I remember even...I don't want to be derisive and just say The Left, but even when I tried to educate and contextualize myself with progressive ideas, I was met with hostility. So it doesn't surprise me they were able to recruit and repurpose people to where we ultimately are.

I noticed a lot of Putin Lovers around that timeframe in the "Misc." section of bodybuilding.com . It ties into that whole admiration for Strongman leaders.

 

[TheSameIdiot]

I left newspapers 20 years ago because I figured out if I wanted to make more than 32 grand a year, I'd need to play the bullshit game. (Also why everyone should subscribe to a small local paper if you can... that's where the last in-it-for-the-right-reasons journalists ad starving and contemplating going into marketing.) The abject failure of American journalism started with FOX but it ends with... well, everyone.

1000%.

If I had to rank the reasons for 2016 (and later 2024), I'd start with social media, but the death of local news would be a close second.

Without a shared reality, you get Donald Trump.

I wish left-wing billionaires would stop fucking around and looking for the "left-wing Joe Rogan." That's not something you can create out of thin air. The left is too fragmented, and we don't listen to meatheads. We already have Rachel Maddow and Marc Maron. Their money would be far better spent by re-investing in local news. Create local papers in rural Wisconsin. Staff the newsroom and distribute the paper for free (both online and in print). You could do that for a few million dollars a year and still collect some ad revenue.

As someone who works in communications, I know countless "former journalists." Their stories are all the same as yours. Either their paper shut down or they couldn't afford to live on 35K a year anymore.

I really do hope Vance and his utter lack of charisma helps. The cult of personality behind Trump is not transferrable. The cult will choose their own demigod when he's gone.

If you're losing faith, this is where to put your hope. No one else in the Trump ecosystem has the juice. Can you imagine Kristi Noem, Marco Rubio, JD Vance, etc., packing arenas across the country? The cult of personality dies with Trump. It's why they're desperate to prop up 19-year-old Barron Trump. They know Trump's other failsons are hopeless.

It's why they're trying to solidify the regime before he dies. Unfortunately for them, it's not going to happen at 35% approval.