Lessons of History and Trying To Avoid the Same Mistakes

[Sixties Fan]

CNN’s Chris Wallace checked Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel over her criticism of President Joe Biden’s “vacation” time since his administration began in 2021.

Wallace, in an interview that aired Friday, asked the RNC chair whether former President Donald Trump has a “winning” strategy with his insistence that he won the 2020 election.

McDaniel, who once spoke out about “irregularities” with the 2020 election, pivoted to concerns with inflation before taking aim at how Biden spends some of his time away from the White House.

“Go to the grocery store — I don’t know if Joe Biden’s gone to the grocery store because he’s spent 40% of his presidency on vacation,” said McDaniel, citing numbers that the RNC used to criticize the president for “rewarding himself” earlier this year.


Wallace hit back at McDaniel over her remarks as he cited his time covering Ronald Reagan.

“No president is ever on vacation. The job travels with him,” Wallace declared before bringing up one of Trump’s hobbies that he took part in hundreds of times as president.

“And, you know ... if we want to do rounds of golf, I think Donald Trump has him beat.”

Trump played golf at his properties at least 289 times during his presidency to the tune of a “tab” that cost $151.5 million, according to a HuffPost analysis in December 2020.

McDaniel later asked Wallace whether he thinks Biden “should skip a vacation” before the host returned back to Trump railing about his 2020 election loss.

“Let me ask you this, Chris. Don’t you think maybe he should skip a vacation once in a while and say, how do I right this ship? He’s not. Maybe don’t go to the beach, Joe! Maybe…,” McDaniel said.

“I think that would have been a much better answer for Donald Trump than to say ‘I won in 2020,’” Wallace replied.

Chris Wallace Swiftly Pulls Brakes On RNC Chair's Biden Vacation Concerns

"No president is ever on vacation," argued the CNN host before pointing to one of former President Donald Trump's hobbies outside the Oval Office.

news.yahoo.com

 

[Sixties Fan]

 

[Sixties Fan]

 

[Sixties Fan]

An Iowa judge on Monday temporarily blocked the state’s new ban on most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, just days after Gov. Kim Reynolds signed the measure into law.

That means abortion is once again legal in Iowa up to 20 weeks of pregnancy while the courts assess the new law’s constitutionality.


(full article online)

Abortion in Iowa is legal again, for now, after a judge blocks new restrictions

An Iowa judge on Monday temporarily blocked the state’s new ban on most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, just days after Gov. Kim Reynolds signed the measure into law. That means abortion is once again legal in Iowa up to 20 weeks of...

www.dailykos.com

 

[Sixties Fan]

[ The endless victimhood of the GOP, where they become the super majority in some States, but the complaining goes on, and on, and on. The Grievance Party ]

 

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[Sixties Fan]

[ To MAGA/QANON Congress is a for Pornographic Circus and a Carnival Show in order to humiliate and defeat Joe Biden, NOT for taking care of issues the country needs to take care of. No wonder the border, immigration, and other issues, which they keep crying about to the voters, do not have a chance of being heard ]


“Marjorie Taylor Greene is currently brandishing Hunter Biden nudes during a House hearing. I’m not going to post it. Disgusting,” journalist Aaron Rupar tweeted, adding: “Your taxpayer dollars paid for Marjorie Taylor Greene to print Hunter Biden nudes on poster board so she could pull this stunt during a House hearing.”


(full article online)

Marjorie Taylor Greene faces backlash after showing explicit photos of Hunter Biden

‘Should we be displaying this in the committee?’ Maryland Democratic congressman Jamie Raskin interjects

www.independent.co.uk

 

[Sixties Fan]

Wesleyan University announced Wednesday it is ending its legacy admissions policy following the Supreme Court’s controversial ruling ending affirmative action.

University President Michael S. Roth said in his statement on the decision that while legacy status has played a “negligible role” in the university’s admissions for many years, the school is officially ending the policy.

(full article online)

Wesleyan University Ends Legacy Admissions In Light Of Supreme Court Ruling On Affirmative Action

Wesleyan University announced Wednesday it is ending its legacy admissions policy following the Supreme Court’s controversial ruling ending affirmative action. University President Michael S. Roth said in his statement on the decision that while legacy status has played a “negligible role” in...

pocketcastnews.substack.com

 

[Sixties Fan]

[ Either he feels he is beyond and above the other candidates because of polls, or he is really afraid of the questions which should be asked all of the candidates ]

Does anyone really think the notoriously thin-skinned narcissist will skip an opportunity for awkward clashes with the moderators or the other candidates AND monopolize all the coverage leading up to the debate – all while sticking it to the news outlet he believes abandoned him after his failed coup attempt by sitting with the guy Fox News fired largely for amplifying the conspiracy theories Trump fed him? Yeah, no way he doesn’t do this.


(full article online)

Trump Considering Tucker Interview to Compete With Foxâs GOP Debate

The famously ratings-obsessed ex-president is looking for ways to draw attention to himself if he decides to skip next month’s first GOP primary debate.

www.thedailybeast.com

 

[Sixties Fan]

Facing an order to draw new congressional district lines, Alabama Republicans advanced dueling proposals on Wednesday that boost the number of Black voters in a district, but Black lawmakers called the plan an insult to the court directive to give minority residents a greater voice in elections.

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives and Senate advanced separate plans that increase the number of Black voters in the state’s 2nd congressional district, but do not establish the second majority-Black district sought by plaintiffs who won the Supreme Court case last month.




(full article online)

Black lawmakers say Alabama GOP's proposed new congressional map insults the Supreme Court

Facing an order to draw new congressional district lines, Alabama Republicans have advanced proposals that boost the percentage of Black voters in a district.

apnews.com

 

[Sixties Fan]

The new DeSantis trustees then fired the college’s president, Patricia Okker, and put in a DeSantis loyalist as interim president at more than double Okker’s salary. Next, DeSantis pushed legislation giving boards of trustees and presidents sole decision-making power over hiring at Florida public colleges and universities, weakening faculty tenure, and banning gender studies majors or minors as well as all diversity, equity, and inclusion programming. That affects every public higher education institution in Florida, but it was clear which college was most in the crosshairs of efforts to impose DeSantis-approved ideological conformity.

Go figure that faculty at New College who had the opportunity to leave are doing just that. Some of the 36 faculty who are leaving—out of fewer than 100 full-time faculty—had already planned retirements or other ways out. But most hadn’t. It’s a “ridiculously high” number of departures, according to the provost.

Richard Corcoran, the highly paid interim president, whined to the trustees, “The majority of faculty who have left have not given us any kind of consideration, or notice, or thought or anything.” The world’s tiniest violin may be playing for Corcoran, but this is a real problem for students at New College. There will be just one neuroscience professor this academic year, down from three, the Tampa Bay Times reports, which means there will be no upper-level neuroscience classes. That’s a big problem for juniors and seniors who have started a major in neuroscience that they now can’t finish.

This is what happens with the current wave of hateful Republican policies more generally. The people who can leave do. It’s not just faculty leaving New College if they can get jobs elsewhere, it’s families with trans kids moving out of hostile states to find the care and support they need, or businesses and the military paying for abortion-related travel. But while some people are able to escape these repressive Republican policies, the most vulnerable people are left to struggle.


(full article online)

DeSantis attacks on Florida's New College hit home as faculty flee

As Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis attempted to burnish his hard-right credentials for a run for president, one of his big moves was a hostile takeover of the New College of Florida, known as the state’...

www.dailykos.com

 

[Sixties Fan]

Matt Gaetz introduces bill to literally defund Jack Smith's investigation — yes, to defund law enforcement

Matt Gaetz – a poster boy of faux Democrats are soft on crime whining – is calling to defund law enforcement, only not to advance criminal justice reform or address the epidemic of Black men dying during routine encounters with police, but to spare the disgraced ex-president from accountability for some of his many many crimes. If this works (it won't), expect Gaetz to introduce bills to defund investigations into Members of Congress sex trafficking underage girls across state lines. It's personal.

Matt Gaetz unveils measure to defund Jack Smith’s investigations

The question isn't why Matt Gaetz introduced a bill to defund Jack Smith's investigations. The question is what Kevin McCarthy intends to do about it.

www.msnbc.com

 

[Sixties Fan]

Florida church grifter and his sons convicted in COVID bleach cure scam

A federal jury found Mark Grenon, 65, and his three sons guilty of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government for illegally distributing their bleached-based “Miracle Mineral Solution” through their Genesis II Church of Health and Healing that they claimed cured COVID-19 and other ailments from AIDS to cancer. Seems a relevant time to recall that this poisonous snake oil was legitimized by Donald Trump during a White House briefing in 2020. It's bad enough Republicans want to whitewash history. Don't let them white wash your veins.

Florida ‘Church’ Conman, Sons Convicted in COVID Bleach Scam

Mark Grenon and his three sons face up to five years behind bars when they’re sentenced in October.

www.thedailybeast.com

 

[Sixties Fan]

 

[EvilCat Breath]

https://twitter.com/MarkJacob16

With all the arguments over whether MAGA Republicans are fascists, I reread William Shirer’s “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich” to see how much the rise of Hitler and the rise of MAGA smell similar. Conclusion: They do. This thread lists 10 ways. Please take a look.

1. A big lie about treachery is used to foment resentment. Nazis: We didn’t really lose World War I. It was a “stab in the back” by Jews and other "November criminals." MAGA: We didn’t really lose the 2020 election. It was a “steal” by politicians and Blacks in big cities.




2. There’s an obsession with purity of the culture. Nazis: “Racial mixture” was a threat to Aryan culture, Hitler wrote. MAGA: “Great replacement theory” says immigrants threaten white culture.



3. Chaos is something to be exploited, not addressed. Nazis: Economic distress is a great political opportunity. MAGA: Economic distress is a great political opportunity.



4. The super-rich bankroll the right-wing seizure of power. Nazis: Thanks to I.G. Farben, Deutsche Bank, Thyssen, Krupp, etc. MAGA: Thanks to the Mercers, Uihleins, DeVos, Thiel, etc.



5. Some people think the fascist threat is overblown. Nazis: While Hitler posed a major threat, some said he "ceased to be a political danger.” (2 weeks later, he was chancellor.) MAGA: While Trump poses a major threat, many people think it’s “just politics,” no worries.


6. There’s a cult of personality. Nazis: The German army made a pledge of loyalty to Hitler personally. MAGA: Trump’s supporters bill him as “the most moral president” in U.S. history.



7. Christianity is used to legitimize the movement. Nazis: “The party stands for positive Christianity.” MAGA: Trump is described as the “Chosen One” protecting American Christianity.





8. Books are the enemy. Nazis: Any book that “acts subversively on our future” must be burned. MAGA: “I think we should throw those books in a fire,” says a Virginia school board member.




9. An independent news media is the enemy. Nazis: Any newspaper that “offends the honor and dignity of Germany” must be banned. MAGA: The press is the “enemy of the people.”



10. Educators are pressured to be politically compliant. Nazis: Teachers took an oath to “be loyal and obedient to Adolf Hitler.” MAGA: Florida’s DeSantis accuses teachers of “indoctrination” and pressures them to avoid references to America’s racist history and LGBTQ people.



I'm not saying that MAGA will end up as horrifically as Nazism. I am saying that America 2022 feels too much like Germany 1932, and I don't want to take the risk of watching MAGA cultism play out. We have to stop it now.



Why did Twitter put a “sensitive” warning on this thread? Who knows? My only theory is that it has a “hateful symbol”—a swastika on the cover of Shirer’s book about Nazism.

Yes. It is true. Nazis are better than democrats.

 

[EvilCat Breath]

Florida church grifter and his sons convicted in COVID bleach cure scam

A federal jury found Mark Grenon, 65, and his three sons guilty of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government for illegally distributing their bleached-based “Miracle Mineral Solution” through their Genesis II Church of Health and Healing that they claimed cured COVID-19 and other ailments from AIDS to cancer. Seems a relevant time to recall that this poisonous snake oil was legitimized by Donald Trump during a White House briefing in 2020. It's bad enough Republicans want to whitewash history. Don't let them white wash your veins.

Florida ‘Church’ Conman, Sons Convicted in COVID Bleach Scam

Mark Grenon and his three sons face up to five years behind bars when they’re sentenced in October.

www.thedailybeast.com

Is this supposed to justify democrats mutilating children?

 

[Sixties Fan]

Jen Rubin (~40): I want to end with one more question, which I think is very easy to forget. The authoritarians are so good at picking out vulnerable people that it’s sometimes hard for someone who doesn’t fall within one of those vulnerable populations to understand that that’s a threat to them. But empathy for individuals, even if you’re not LGBTQ, even if you’re not a teacher who believes that race should be taught in schools, even if you’re not a woman who may someday need abortion, that that has to be you, too. That has to be of concern to you. How do you reinforce that sense that we really are all in this together and that there’s no one who is safe if some of us are not safe?

Ruth Ben-Ghiat: I’m so glad you brought that up. Two reasons.

One is that, it’s kind of flown under the radar in a funny way, but we have been assaulted since 2015, so we’re in the eighth year here. A psychological warfare operation may sound overblown, but to emotionally retrain us, Donald Trump himself, since 2015, has used his rallies—he’s a superb propagandist in the manner of the demagogues, the fascists.

Two, he’s used his rallies to preach over and over again the virtues of violence. “In the old days, you used to be able to punch someone and you got away with it.” And part of my report for the January 6 committee—I was interviewed twice and I did a report—was, I had an appendix which was very long that listed all the times that he was doing this. And it adds up to a kind of emotional retraining.

And that’s what these Republican legislations or legislation is about, to ban the teaching of anti-racism or slavery. The wording is very telling. “We don’t want students to have any emotional distress or psychological problem.” That’s their conscience. What the Republicans are doing is engineering a population that has no conscience, that doesn’t have to hear about injustice and thus will be more amenable to brutalism....


Ben-Ghiat chose her words carefully, I suspect. There’s little chance that she lucked upon the words “preach” and “virtue.” Trump has used the strictures of scripture to seduce his potential recruits over to his side. He has received excellent tutoring from his evangelical co-creationists, who have collaborated with him in their joint project to overhaul American society. Trump borrows techniques and tenets from prosperity gospel to tell his disciples that they deserve to be on top of the heap, and that they can anticipate looting their neighbors and gaining the spoils of war.


Mind what Ben-Ghiat said while taking in what Robert S. Baron had to say about techniques of intense indoctrination:

“[C]ertain religious and philosophical groups have developed indoctrination procedures that have extraordinary impact. These groups have persuaded young adults to cut off all contact with family; to accept vows of poverty; to devote extremely long hours to prayer, meditation, fundraising and recruitment; and to forsake promising careers and educational opportunities….
“The most dramatic examples of the power of such indoctrination undoubtedly are cases of group suicide that have punctuated the news from time to time. Thus, one can point to the tragedy at the Jonestown settlement of the People's Temple, which claimed 914 lives in 1978; the suicidal resistance at the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, in 1992; and group suicides among members of the Order of the Solar Temple and Heaven's Gate sects in the 1990s as indications of the persuasive power of group indoctrination.” (p. 238)

Baron published his piece in 2000. Thus he had no opportunity to foresee the events of January 6, the rousing of political adherents to perform actions on behalf of a dictatorial, narcissistic person in a position of power and who held extraordinary sway over messagecraft via public airwaves. Surely he couldn’t have begun to predict such an example being added to his list.

“Almost all early descriptions of intense indoctrination acknowledged that such indoctrination involves an initial period of psychological and physical stress[.]” (p. 238)
“Individuals react to stress, curiosity, or social pressure in fairly predictable ways. Similarly, a number of well-known persuasion processes can account for attitude and value change observed in the internalization stage. Thus, various recent accounts of intense indoctrination identify mechanisms such as conformity processes, desires for group acceptance, heuristic message processing, group polarization, group think, stereotyping (of outgroup members), foot-in-the-door processes, and cognitive dissonance mechanisms as important mediators of attitude and value change in these manipulative settings[.]” (p. 242)

“A key assumption here is that the internal states produced by intense indoctrination impair attentional capacity, thereby dramatically enhancing the effectiveness of various social psychological processes.” (p. 242, emphasis added)

(full article online)

Ruth Ben-Ghiat warns: Trump has emotionally retrained us—not just his followers, but ALL of us

Yesterday, Jen Rubin, who writes for the Washington Post, served as host of one of Politicon’s podcasts. Politicon is the platform best known for boosting the signal of Mary L. Trump, Donald Trump’s niece who wrote a tell-all book about their...

www.dailykos.com