The paragraph about the guy looking at photos of his penis: US POLITICS, JULY 2025

Let's go!

good dooming!

what does thraed title refer to?

NOEM: We Love Everybody. We Do.

TRUMP: Not Everybody.

NOEM: Well, Yeah.

https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3lsw3ejfrrc2g

The paragraph about the guy looking at photos of his penis.

July thread title

― J Edgar Noothgrush (Joan Crawford Loves Chachi), Thursday, June 19, 2025

The hate budget (untold billions for secret police and concentration camps, all coming out of Medicaid and other social programs) has passed the Senate 50-50 with Vance breaking the tie.

Collins, Tillis, and Paul voted no.

fucking Murkowski

We can’t give you health care but we’ll give you the gulag

Tillis is absolutely right... the Dems are gonna campaign on the Medicaid cuts from here to eternity (or at least til the midterms)

I hope so but frankly I doubt it, that would be too effective

They will probably campaign on: We Denounce the Following Members of Our Own Party

the massive increase to ICE funding is also extremely worrying. for one it'll be better funded than the Marines and the entire Ukrainian army. on its own, it would be the 8th largest military in the world. for two the puds they got in ICE already seem like incompetent, evil cowards, and those were the *good* applicants, I can only imagine the caliber of person they'll have to turn to now that they need to hire thousands more

what does thraed title refer to?

― WmC, Tuesday, July 1, 2025 11:15 AM (forty-six minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/how-my-reporting-on-the-columbia-protests-led-to-my-deportation

xpost might have to start recruiting immigrants

I guess a lot of the current ICE kidnappers are pulled from other agencies like ATF etc

Given the incompetence and greed common to all things Trump, there is gonna be so much grifting going on. So many "contractors" getting massive, multi-million-dollar ICE contracts for equipment that never shows up or doesn't do what it's supposed to do, etc., etc. I can't wait to see the bidding process open up.

So are the ICE guys always masked? Is Anonymous still around? I don't know what good it would do but doxing those bastards would be nice.

Apparently a lot of the masked guys are agents that aren't usually doing this kind of abducting and are freaked about being filmed and identified, per an ex-FBI director

Poor things.

This might be a topic worthy of its own thread but I'm just curious if any of y'all have a personal tipping point for fleeing the country. I never thought I'd even consider it but things are getting bad fast and I'd like to at least have some kind of criteria and a plan bc right now I feel like a frog in boiling water.

Apparently a lot of the masked guys are agents that aren't usually doing this kind of abducting and are freaked about being filmed and identified,

Snowflakes

This might be a topic worthy of its own thread but I'm just curious if any of y'all have a personal tipping point for fleeing the country.

So much of what's going on is invisible if you don't pay attention to the news. I was in Los Angeles a few days ago and it certainly didn't feel like a city under siege by marines.

This might be a topic worthy of its own thread but I'm just curious if any of y'all have a personal tipping point for fleeing the country.

I don't know about a tipping point, but my wife and I are having conversations and doing research. We think we've spotted an exit route, we just want to do it in a way that doesn't fuck ourselves over too much financially speaking. We just bought a car last year and in ordinary circumstances would be making payments on it until 2028, for example.

The ICE officers in the Bay Area are off-duty parole officers and sherrifs making massive bank on overtime, from what a little birdy in municipal funding oversight told me.

_Apparently a lot of the masked guys are agents that aren't usually doing this kind of abducting and are freaked about being filmed and identified,_

Snowflakes

It’s hilarious because they’re public servants,we have a right to know who they are.

Fuckin Elon was mentioning on X the names and titles of all the random government bureaucrats he wanted to fire. But we had to give the DOGE kids their privacy!

My wife and I had another one of our periodic discussions about “what if we wanted to leave the country?” I don’t remember which things set it off, probably the Supreme Court rulings. But realistically, we don’t particularly have the means, nor the desire. Moving to another country is hard in all sorts of ways, and also other countries all have their own problems. I have a hard time loving America, but I’d have a harder time leaving it.

(I also do love lots of particular Americans and lots of particular things about America.)

Moving to another country is hard in all sorts of ways, and also other countries all have their own problems.

Both these things are true, but honestly, unless you were planning on moving to a former Soviet republic, the US is becoming dramatically worse than pretty much any other industrialized country with incredible speed. I mean, we now have a government that is deliberately making its people sicker and forcing them to abandon clean energy.

Yep no argument there. If you’re not rich, the minuses of the US keep mounting.

But President Whitmer will reverse all this foolishness on DAY ONE

every four years we all talk about abolishing the electoral college, then we forget about it for four years, and then it's a hot topic again

Maybe we need to talk about it more often

Smart European countries with aging demographics should be falling over themselves to recruit bright young educated Americans.

I have some friends that are ex-pats in the Netherlands... they've talked about moving back to California but have put that move on hold for now

i try not to make assumptions about class or identity here, but as a lower middle class, mixed-race gay couple, the idea that we would ever have the resources to leave the US is laughable.

i also say: stay here and fight.

(but! to some xposts above: a number of countries are trying to recruit people for work, including New Zealand, Denmark, Canada, and Australia— I know because i have been fed ads related to such).

as a lower middle class, mixed-race gay couple, the idea that we would ever have the resources to leave the US is laughable

People poorer than you have made it here from elsewhere; you could make it out if you wanted to.

?

Less of that bootstraps mentality, please. It’s much harder and more expensive to migrate to eg. UK/Europe than it was when I moved.

My situation is this: not wanting to set foot in the US unless a family emergency arises.

Unperson is a part-time coyote

honoured to have my words quoted in the title at this august time for us politics, in july

No, august is next month.

it is awfully hard to move to Europe from the US from what I can tell. Maybe easier to move to other countries in south or latin america.

I did see a Scottish MP was proposing opening up immigration pathways for people from the US.

my American friends in the Czech Republic didn't seem to have that much trouble.

it is awfully hard to move to Europe from the US from what I can tell.

Some countries make it harder than others. Some countries make it very easy.

Just take a slow ride.

I did see a Scottish MP was proposing opening up immigration pathways for people from the US.

I would 100% move to Glasgow or Edinburgh. Love it there.

Which do you recommend: the high road or the low road?

depends on your desired eta

You can probably get a job in Ukraine.

Jesus Christ, there's a video of "Alligator Alcatraz" going around social media, it's a fucking concentration camp without a doubt. Calling it a kennel would be too kind. And Trump gave DeSantis his "approval" to deputize the National Guard to act as immigration judges. I feel like I'm going fucking insane that this is all happening in real time in front of our eyes.

(putting approval in scare quotes because of course he can't do that, but it no longer matters)

the "Alligator Alcatraz" is such a stupid stunt

they said they're gonna send 30,000 to Guantanamo Bay but there's like 80 detainees there, and most of them will be returned to the U.S. before deportation

In the interest of bipartisan bashing, Molly White has a good bit on the shiftiness of Schiff:

Ten days after The Lever published leaked messages between Democratic operatives and members of the crypto industry suggesting that pro-crypto Democrats could get air cover for supporting Trump-supported crypto bills by introducing “symbolic anti-corruption amendments to the final bill prohibiting President Donald Trump and elected officials from profiting from cryptocurrencies knowing the effort would be ‘doa,’ or dead on arrival” [I86], Adam Schiff has triumphantly announced his Curbing Officials’ Income and Nondisclosure (COIN) Act to “put a stop to [Trump’s] corruption in plain sight”.8 He announced the bill, which will not pass, less than a week after voting in support of the GENIUS Act. Schiff benefitted substantially from the crypto industry’s $10 million opposition to his fellow Democratic opponent in the primary, Katie Porter, and he received direct support from various executives at companies including Ripple, Coinbase, and Andreessen Horowitz.

https://www.citationneeded.news/issue-87/

I feel insane that ICE funding is going from 3.5 bil to 48.5 bil

I feel like I’m going crazy how cryptocurrency now owns the government. I’m imagining an alternate universe where Big Beanie Baby calls the shots

that's their insurance policy against a grossly unpopular bill designed to immiserate as many people as possible

xp

I feel insane that ICE funding is going from 3.5 bil to 48.5 bil

only about 10 countries have total defense budgets larger than this

wtf does ICE need a spaceship or something?

it's sickening

they need to vastly grow ICE so that it can be employed for other types of enforcement

I mean, simply put, because they aren't going to stop rounding people up. SCOTUS has already helped pave the way for stripping citizenship on pretty much any pretense.

It's not coming, it's here. This is an authoritarian state. Call me out for doomposting all you want, this is the endgame. It's not coming, it's here and soon to be fully funded.

it's key to their strategy to win the next round of elections after their popularity craters

they're using FEMA funding to reimburse Florida for the 'Alligator Alcatraz' concentration camp... fucking sickening

‪Andy Craig‬
✧@andycr✧✧✧.b✧✧✧.soc✧✧✧‬
· 2h
$45 billion is just for expanding detention capacities. In total, it throws $175 billion at immigration enforcement. ICE's current budget is only about $8bn / yr., the entire federal prison system is about the same.

For perspective, Russia spent about $145 billion on its entire military last year.

So I guess Trump's executive orders are retroactive now-- University of Pennsylvania going back in time to strip trans swimmer of wins from 3 years ago.

https://www.ajc.com/news/2025/07/upenn-to-ban-transgender-athletes-feds-say-ending-civil-rights-case-focused-on-swimmer-lia-thomas/

Appalling

bring it

https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:j5hrotody26iqi24hcusufxu/bafkreih2fnb2hc7qdwuhg62gp5t3hrawesy35jult4yjuj444xd6lvhptq@jpeg

Some posts from Bluesky regarding the budget (and yeah, I'm paying attention to this because I work for a health insurance company that does a lot of Medicare business):

If this bill passes, the hospital closures start nearly immediately. Can't even imagine how many tens or hundreds of billions in corporate debt/credit is calculated on the presumption of these funds. We are potentially talking "GOP loses every single senate race in 2026" territory

The duration mismatch is fascinating. On an annualized basis, tax cuts are a bottom line improvement, netted against top line payments to Medicaid. But those Medicaid assurances are used for leverage *and* debt underwriting years/decades out

Will roil credit markets and is recessionary to boot

The medicaid budget is worth *more* than its dollar value because of financial leverage whereas tax cuts are more like treats you pocket at the end of the year. Anyways, if this passes, America is dead. T'was a good ride

On the upside it will be very funny when KKR, Apollo and Blue Owl implode

I always thought the "the government budget and economy is like balancing a household budget" operator was a thing they all secretly knew was bullshit red meat for the hogs but nah they really are that dumb. It's incredible

it's a good thing bond traders are notoriously forgiving of guaranteed fiscal shortfalls that'll hit before notes come due

oof, thx

"GOP loses every single senate race in 2026" territory

This should be the case but, man, these fucking creeps are certainly not acting like they need to worry about that at all.

that's because they don't plan on there being elections ever again.

these fucking creeps are certainly not acting like they need to worry about that at all

They're stupid; they're in a cult; and they're currently very high on their own supply, in full "fuck yes, we're fucking fascists, and fuck you too" mode. Anyone who points out the very obvious problems with their "plans" gets called a liberal cuck and/or threatened with extrajudicial deportation. But the numbers are the numbers, and as a T-shirt I swear I saw somebody wearing one time has it, facts don't care about your feelings.

currently very high on their own supply

agree w/this fwiw

the metaphor I cling to: right before a star dies, it explodes in a brilliant, bright, violent flash

Hoping the GOP is doing their final flash right now... yes, some Americans are stupid and hateful and poisoned by the Fox pill.. but most aren't like this

I certainly appreciate the optimism and wish I could share in it, but I'm really really fuckin' skeptical that we'll have anything even approaching "normal" elections, even as soon as the midterms. With SCOTUS basically giving this administration free reign to do whatever they want until class action lawsuits wind their way through the system for years on end, I don't feel great about the outcome of any elections even if, as you say, we have the numbers.

yeah, this abuse of the shadow docket is pretty shocking.. they might as well just hand Trump a giant rubber stamp to with whatever the fuck he wants

A Chilean communist just decisively won a primary vote - if elected, she'll be the first communist president in the history of Chile, a country known for violent, repressive fascism and disappearing people

how many times over the last 9 years have you said to yourself, "this is outrageous! this has to be the last gasp. certainly now there will be consequences!"

well, I'm heartened by this fact: the 'No Kings' protest was the largest in U.S. history, more than any Civil Rights/Vietnam/Climate/Police Brutality protest

Got to take my encouragement where I can

Chile, a country known for violent, repressive fascism and disappearing people

Disappearing people including elected leftist leaders …

Chile's current (term-limited) president, Gabriel Boric, is a 39-year-old leftist

Yeah they haven’t couped in a while. But we have a whole new CIA now, they might be looking to get back in the game.

I don't know if the current CIA could overthrow the management at a Chilli's, much less the current Chilean government.

how many times over the last 9 years have you said to yourself, "this is outrageous! this has to be the last gasp. certainly now there will be consequences!"

― budo jeru

how many times on this board in the last nine years have we said, "No free elections! Not anymore!"

It's a treadmill of doom

If this bill passes, the hospital closures start nearly immediately. Can't even imagine how many tens or hundreds of billions in corporate debt/credit is calculated on the presumption of these funds

I don’t think hospitals will be closed. First there will be cost-cutting measures and other ways to generate revenue from the site. Portions of facilities will be leased out to retail that find the location ideal. The other thing they do, which we saw during the mortgage crisis, is repackage and sell the debt/equity to other investors.

NEWS: I just got the name struck off this bill with a move on the floor of the Senate.

It is no longer named “One Big Beautiful Bill.”

The bill is a BIG, UGLY BETRAYAL of the American people by the Republicans.

And the American people will remember it. pic.twitter.com/KN7bexIJNa

— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) July 1, 2025

So pathetic.

makes Led By Donkeys look good

we don't have a national federal election system it's all up to the states so not sure how we would not have fair elections anymore

also re closing rural hospitals i tend to listen to an expert

https://www.npr.org/2025/06/30/nx-s1-5451401/republicans-big-bill-could-hit-rural-hospitals-hard

"Medicaid cuts would place significant financial pressure on hospitals in rural states, where many hospitals are already at risk of closure. In more than half of states, reductions in Medicaid funding for rural hospitals would exceed 20%," according to the National Rural Health Association.

when Josh Hawley is concerned rural hospitals will close then you should probably listen

I don’t think subleasing to retail is a viable option for rural hospitals in dying towns in the Great Plains.

Wonder if DeSantis and Trump had this in mind:

https://i.imgur.com/NDlZcuI.png

Just realized that that “Alligator Alcatraz” is literally a FEMA camp, like in right wing fever dreams.

we don't have a national federal election system it's all up to the states so not sure how we would not have fair elections anymore

The president is currently threatening to deport a candidate in a local mayoral election. The governor of Texas has delayed a Congressional election in a blue district by about 6 months, leaving the seat open. Add in a massively expanded ICE goon squad, and compliant judiciary, and many more scenarios become possible.

i don't think you have calculated the other side of that equation

what happens to Mamdani's support when he gets arrested/pre deported. what do you think is going to happen to his support and the support of the anti Trump movement

The governor of Texas has delayed a Congressional election in a blue district by about 6 months, leaving the seat open.

Agree that this fucking sucks but you're making my point for me. the governor of Texas is a chode, but he's allowed to do this and he's not cancelling a "fair" election in doing it

massively expanded ICE goon squad,

ICE sure is getting a lot of money in the bill for new stuff.

who is going to work for ICE? Where are they going to be trained? How will they recruit bodies when this is already one of the least popular programs Trump has ever done

yeah I don't think we're at the "actually deporting a major public figure" phase yet, but the threatening to do so phase is certainly frightening enough

the open racism expressed towards Mamdani by both Republicans and Democrats is also a worrying sign of potential movement to somewhere even worse

this Mamdani video on how his campaign won is worth watching btw:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjgI-nK1PHE

who is going to work for ICE? Where are they going to be trained? How will they recruit bodies when this is already one of the least popular programs Trump has ever done

Well, you obviously already have an inbuilt population of racist gun lovers / militia cosplayers who fantasize about doing violence to people of color.

They just need to shift their priorities slightly away from Bundyesque antigovernment / antitax / antiregulation agitation to straight up Deportation Goon Squad fandom.

Fortunately Trump has given them the permission space to make that switch. He's an antigovernment figure who became the head of the government, almost by accident.

what do you think is going to happen to his support and the support of the anti Trump movement

As I said multiple times, the ICE expansion is their insurance policy against these shifts in support. Can they ramp up ICE quickly enough to contain a public that rapidly loses patience with Trump's crimes? I have no idea, but that is certainly what they are aiming for.

ICE containing the public seems a bit farfetched

They just need to shift their priorities slightly away from Bundyesque antigovernment / antitax / antiregulation agitation to straight up Deportation Goon Squad fandom.

There's a really big piece you are missing here I wonder if you can discover it

The president is currently threatening to deport a candidate in a local mayoral election talking shit like the senile zombie/racist Fox News grandpa that he is.

Unrelated question: Can anyone think of another example of a leader of a country going on television to sell branded perfume? Jesus, you wanna talk about national humiliation...

_They just need to shift their priorities slightly away from Bundyesque antigovernment / antitax / antiregulation agitation to straight up Deportation Goon Squad fandom._

There's a really big piece you are missing here I wonder if you can discover it

They’re incredibly out of shape?

Waterface if you are asking about racism it's in the previous paragraph

not asking about the racism no.

asking how you think it's going to go down for antigovernment & antitax folks to start working for the government

we've been witnessing exactly this all year

where

where is the conversion story of a Bundyesque (they were/are pro immigration btw) cowboy into a ICE squad member

ICE agents get pretty decent salaries and pensions, I'm sure there will be plenty of assholes ready take those jobs,

I read "antitax" as "antivax", so was going to say RFK jr.

I'd say that DOGE is very much an antigovernment project.

We don't really know who is showing up to kidnap people off the streets because they are hiding their identities.

I don't think it's gonna be the Bundyesque types, but absolutely every goof wearing a red hat and driving a needlessly gigantic pickup truck would love to get government permission to harass minorities.

I seriously doubt that

like that doesn't seem a little outlandish to you? EVERY one with a red hat wants to work outside in the heat, physically grabbing people, getting yelled at, spit on, harrased? really?

We don't really know who is showing up to kidnap people off the streets because they are hiding their identities.
we don't know their names, sure. it's folks from other agencies

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/thousands-agents-diverted-trump-immigration-crackdown-2025-03-22/

Cops are having a hard time recruiting, despite the sweet overtime pension, early retirement, general societal respect (not by us I know), and legal impunity.

Xp - I wasn’t thinking about rural hospitals fwiw. I was thinking about hospitals in low income urban / suburban areas that will also suffer, especially ones with a lot of elderly people (which considering demographics… is almost everywhere?) … there will be lots of strikes when they try to cut costs. The states will pass the buck to cities and counties and there will be a bevy of bond measures and sales & property tax increases. It will suck for everyone who isn’t rich.

also the amount of richness it will require for it not to suck will be very very high

richness is not gonna protect you from death or an infection when you're in a rural area with no hospital near you for hours

Yes! Idk if the provision about home equity value and Medicaid qualifications will be in the final bill, but that is basically going to fuck over many upper middle class people and force them to either sell, take out reverse mortgages or other debt once someone gets alzheimers, has a major stroke, or certain cancers that require extensive long term care.

The president is currently threatening to deport a candidate in a local mayoral election talking shit like the senile zombie/racist Fox News grandpa that he is.

It's clearly both, though. Trump is a racist Fox News grandpa who can also command government agencies to commit crimes. I'd be more sanguine about his on-camera mutterings if his second term didn't prove that he is wholly committed to exacting retribution against his perceived enemies.

wealthy rural people need to self-deport to cities with medical care imo. xp

which is what they do no tbh

now

Cops are having a hard time recruiting, despite the sweet overtime pension, early retirement, general societal respect (not by us I know), and legal impunity.

Most people don't want to be cops (or soldiers — the military has been having trouble meeting recruitment quotas for a long, long time). The people that want it most are exactly the people that law enforcement agencies really don't want to take.

Have a feeling that ICE will be happy to scrape the bottom of the barrel for recruits, though.

^^^

waterface you are acting like any of this is about ideological consistency as if any of these groups approach their lives from a rational standpoint

i mean, how could a libertarian possibly be a hypocrite and a disingenuous weasel? it's shocking

Super Rich people have private jets and helicopters….

was gonna say

Most people don't want to be cops (or soldiers — the military has been having trouble meeting recruitment quotas for a long, long time).

When the administration got rid of recruitment efforts in Black and Brown communities because of "woke," I was sort of surprised because...well, these are communities that have kept recruitment levels at any sort of stable level, as has been the case for years. My immediate thought after my head-scratching at the racists shooting themselves in the foot in this way? They're going to start conscription again.

We can debate the efficacy and logistics of luxury aircraft and emergency medical care but I think we’d all be talking out of our asses tbh

Xp table — inspired by the IDF?

xpost They can always take a field medic with them when they leave their walled compounds to hunt poor people

i mean, how could a libertarian possibly be a hypocrite and a disingenuous weasel? it's shocking

― budo jeru, Wednesday, July 2, 2025 4:49 PM (six minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

Sure. (Also, there's little difference in those two categories for me. But maybe that's your point.)

But a libertarian transfoming into an ICE goon is not plausible to me.

i'm so mad at klandy ogles. fuck that guy.

Self described libertarians (like Peter Theil) have openly stated that they believe “economic liberty” is the only true liberty. All else is disposable. An authoritarian government that allows laissez-faire capitalism (except for huge subsidies for AI and surveillance technology) is their wet dream.

yes precisely, and he is one of the articulate ones, if you can believe that

An authoritarian government that allows laissez-faire capitalism (except for huge subsidies for AI and surveillance technology) is their wet dream.

aka China

Hakeem Jeffries gave a speech claiming that House Democrats would be unanimous in voting against this bill. I wouldn't put it past Marie Gluesenkamp Perez to break ranks just for the sake of being a self-aggrandizing piece of shit, but otherwise it's looking good.

xp China has pretty strict controls of certain sectors of the economy, and just looks the other way for others (drugs, fake prada bags, etc.)

ogles might be the biggest clown in congress, which is a high bar

At least China is investing g in high speed trains and solar power. Our current regime is ideologically committed to accelerating climate change.

yeah but they're also imprisoning thousands for their ethnic background, so not sure they've got the high ground here

Maybe, waterface, you'd be pacified if we left Bundy kooks out of it and just talked about Rando Redhat Cletus-in-a-diner Joe-the-Plumber types.

They can reconcile their distaste for government bureaucracy with their wish to be alphas. To him, "government" takes the form of women and people of color having jobs, regulation of whatever his beloved form of recreation and/or industry is, and is also somehow involved in reducing the acceptable topics for jokes.

He hates taxes, welfare, and food stamps but loves it when the government (in the form of the military and law enforcement) does patriotic violence in foreign lands and/or makes life difficult for people Not Like Him domestically. So he won't mind signing up to be a cop.

Trump probably won't be able to recruit enough ICE agents, so he'll contract out to Blackwater or whatever it's called now.

I think waterface has a stronger point if you disregard ideological consistency and focus more on the fact that not every dude hungry for fascism wants the work of enforcing it himself.

xpost

A lot of these guys already have a job as crypto scammers

I think waterface has a stronger point if you disregard ideological consistency and focus more on the fact that not every dude hungry for fascism wants the work of enforcing it himself.

Yeah, this

just out of curiosity have any Dems been making any noise about prosecuting people who follow blatantly illegal or unconstitutional orders once they get back in power? and yes, I know "no more elections" is the goal here but I'm not sure how much the rank and file carrying out kidnappings on the street are gonna be counting on that

I mostly think that water, YMP, and daniel are getting closer to something that could be true but also I heard (on a podcast, where else) that ICE job postings were only offering like 40k? Which arguably might be a living in some parts of the country, might be good money for folks without other prospects, but isn't like "f you" money, as someone I used to know would say. I think a lot of men would be willing to get paid to rough up groups they resent until there were actual personal consequences (social, legal) for doing so, hence the masks and concealment. Those guys gotta go home to somewhere.

they can also deputize National Guard troops and get a bunch of unwilling ICE agents that way

Don't think they won't try

Self described libertarians (like Peter Theil) have openly stated that they believe “economic liberty” is the only true liberty. All else is disposable. An authoritarian government that allows laissez-faire capitalism (except for huge subsidies for AI and surveillance technology) is their wet dream.

Watching the Adam Curtis documentary on Russia: 1985-99 TraumaZone, it feels like these libertarianism want to recreate early 90's Russia with some shock therapy

Er, Libertarians.

not every dude hungry for fascism wants the work of enforcing it himself

it's going to be true of every belief system that some of the people who ostensibly adhere don't want to roll up their sleeves

the point is that we're having our own Kristallnacht RIGHT NOW and some people, for some perverse reason, feel the need to go on a message board and scold ppl for overreacting, or for not sufficiently understanding the ideological differences between anarcho-capitalists and the Bundy militia

they are all chuds and they are all the enemy, that's all anybody needs to know right now. i'm going to prepare myself for the impending massive expansion of ICE and all that it entails. as the kids say, "believe somebody when they tell you who they are." go ahead and call me hysterical, could give a flying fuck.

with you there budo

thanks for those posts budo, appreciate them both.

and not to harp on about the "free elections" thing, I'm not arguing that elections just won't happen. the most realistic scenario is that this admin throws lawsuits at every result they don't like until it gets up to their paid off SCOTUS who obligingly makes sure they get the admin's preferred result. just to say, there's a wide range of problematic options between "we don't get to vote" and "completely honest elections", that gray area between is the fear.

I'm betting on Antifa, MS-13, the Caravan and the New Black Panthers to protect us from the ICE takeover.

throwing more money at ICE doesn't necessarily equate to more efficacy in their awful agenda.. it may just line the pockets of some contractors and 'tech solution providers' but the federal gov't is notoriously good at wasting vast sums of money for no good reason, the dark side of Keynesian economics

Yeah the best case scenario is the money goes to graft and technological boondoggles that don’t work

Obviously also the $150 billion that isn't going to actually help people.

IIRC a big-ish slice of new ICE funds just goes to wallbuilding and detention, which is a whole logistics thing requiring personnel specialties other than grabbing dissidents off the street and whisking them to Swampyland.

I imagine if they have trouble staffing a whole new prison infrastructure, the next obvious step is to privatize it and lo, For-Profit Alcatraz.

one solution for filling out the ranks of ICE would be to offer violent offenders early release/pardons in exchange for x years of service

xposts

Wall-building will be the biggest boondoggle of all, and then we'll see 14 year old kids easily scaling the walls with backpacks full of contraband

one solution for filling out the ranks of ICE would be to offer violent offenders early release/pardons in exchange for x years of service

Yeah this is not far-fetched to empty prisons (whites only, of course) like Putin is doing for cannon fodder in Ukraine.

exactly the example i was thinking of

he has already pardoned his political opponents

right because violent offenders just want to be more violent and imprison more people

makes a lot of sense

no, because you can motivate someone by offering them a release from prison

You have Jan 6 rioters getting jobs in DOJ. You have a multi count felon being released from prison to testify against Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Seems like the admin is very open to rehabilitating people who carry out their agenda.

could be any imprisoned person i suppose doesn't need to be for a violent offense

so you think violent felons, who are surrounded by armed guards, are going to want to be released from prison, so they in turn can be armed guards and imprison others

like i said--makes a lot of sense (it doesn't make any sense)

Lads.

Might have to tap into America's Strategic Goon Reserve

Idk would neo-nazis in jail be down for this? Kinda thinking yeah…

Being a drug trafficker and then hired as a border guard sounds like dope ass multitasking

Lads. That's it exactly. Now that red states have relaxed (or wiped out) child labor laws it's not a stretch to see an army of machine gun totin' teens cracking skulls for paper route money. Real City Of God stuff.

so you think violent felons, who are surrounded by armed guards, are going to want to be released from prison, so they in turn can be armed guards and imprison others

are you saying that the experience of being imprisoned would necessarily cause a prisoner to never want to inflict the same thing on someone else?

what the hell are we even debating here?

Maybe this Clockwork Orange talk belongs on the dystopia thread

I think we found something that we can hilariously hypothesize about even more than billionaires with medical emergencies in rural America

It's all kind of wild speculation, when the reality is that no one can predict the future. But there are lots of ominous signs and bad things happening right now, so this insistence that in no way can a bad thing ever happen seems weirdly myopic.

so take it to the doom thread

i think we can be uncomfortable in the knowledge that there will be plenty of horrible people to execute many horrendous acts with the 150 billion dollars ICE has access to now.

it doesn't seem farfetched! maybe the money will be wasted, who knows? That would be a better scenario, but why bank on it?

maybe ICE will tattoo UPC codes on everyone's wrists. Anything can happen.

Anything can happen, we can't reasonably predict the specifics of what might happen. The fact that we cannot accurately predict the future, is not proof that NOTHING will happen. ICE is on the brink of receiving a truly massive amount of money to expand and to build many prisons. They have already been doing a lot of things that I would call grossly illegal and unconstitutional. The combination of lawlessness plus massive funding looks bad. It may amount to nothing more, but expecting that to be the case seems incredibly foolish.

The most likely result has to be they waste 90% of it on dumb moves bad contracts and cronyism, sure

I’m hoping for that

I think it is reasonable to hope for that, but I would just point out that is a very, very large amount of money to squander.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Gb8ZN92mSk

The most likely result has to be they waste 90% of it on dumb moves bad contracts and cronyism, sure

I suggest we form ILX Correctional Solutions, LLC and put in some bids. We could all become millionaires.

"This invoice says you spent $300 on a screening of the Shawshenk Redemption?"

"Well, yeah."

Millionaires? Feh. That's not even going to cover my rural health emergencies

Wait a sec … only $300? I don’t think you even have to itemize expenses that low

Itemize expenses? Fuck that. This is gonna be a strictly black budget operation. "Sorry, you're not cleared for that information."

I think we can go with basic functional expense categories like “personnel” “supplies” and “facilities” …

"reference materials"

Tiny bit of good news today-

Wisconsin Supreme Court Strikes Down 1849 Abortion Ban
After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, Republican prosecutors in Wisconsin said they intended to enforce the old law.

It's all kind of wild speculation, when the reality is that no one can predict the future. But there are lots of ominous signs and bad things happening right now, so this insistence that in no way can a bad thing ever happen seems weirdly myopic.

― whimsical skeedaddler (Moodles), Wednesday, July 2, 2025 2:15 PM (twenty-nine minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

yes I agree that things are looking as bad as they ever have in my lifetime but the one thing that gives me a little bit of solace is that this government is staffed top to bottom with incompetent grifters and crypto dorks who don't actually know how to *do* anything, every operation they run is amateur hour, everything they do is only pissing off the public more and more, and the higher up you go in the command chain the dumber they get

yes, their evil is exceeded only by their incompetence and stupidity, which is a big plus

It does feel like however much money ICE has, if they tried to subdue the general population (as was speculated about upthread) they would face massive resistance. These guys are scared of showing their faces already.

Do their mothers even know what they are up to? they would be ashamed if they did.

yea I definitely get the sense that they don't really want to be doing this - I think Trump scores "well" on immigration because there's a massive propaganda campaign telling people that Democrats straight up opened the borders because they wanted to flood the USA with criminals, and most media networks seemed happy enough to go along with it. they don't know that meeting Trump's quota means a grotesquely overfunded secret police raiding Home Depot and Applebees; poll after poll shows *that* aspect being extremely unpopular.

Yeah because there are white people at Home Depot and Applebee's.

Raiding a soybean field is invisible to the voting classes, but Dadface McSuburb generally doesn't want to see abductions while running out for a bag of mulch. Even if he voted for it.

It's the old "we didn't vote for this. That's Cathy" thing.

Augh

Ack

this one is just horrific

Iranian woman, who has lived in US for 47 years, taken by Ice while gardening

A 64-year-old Iranian woman, who has lived in the US for 47 years, was detained by immigration agents on Sunday morning while gardening outside her home in New Orleans.

According to a witness, plainclothes officers in unmarked vehicles handcuffed Madonna “Donna” Kashanian and transported her to a Mississippi jail before transferring her to the South Louisiana Ice processing center in Basile, reports Nola.

in the meantime, billions more being sent to Israel today so they can kill more Palestinians

while Ukraine is being cut off, to weaken their resistance against the invader

on the "didn't think the leopards would eat MY face" beat apparently there's a provision in this bill which would really fuck over professional gamblers by only allowing them to deduct 90% of their losses instead of all of them. this is a pretty big deal for poker pros - if you average $100k a year most likely it's something like $6m in winnings and $5.9m in losses, but now you can only deduct $5.31m of those losses, so now you have to pay taxes on $169,000 instead of $100,000

a lot of the big name poker players whining about this were pretty vocal Trump supporters so I wanna point and laugh but uhh this kinda affects me too

seems like a fairly easy tax to avoid

xp

This was also the provision that Nate Silver zeroed in on. Makes you think...

i know this isn’t the doom thread, but the fact that so many people will be cut off from necessary medical and food support, causing needless pain and death, just so some rich people can get richer and the US can fund fascist shit at home and abroad… i mean, sometimes it hits me and i get angry, but today i am just fucking sad. so much needless suffering.

In case there are any doubts, here's what happens to people who get taken by ICE. It shouldn't happen to anyone, and the vast majority of these people did not commit any serious crimes whatsoever.

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/02/kilmar-abrego-garcia-salvadoran-prison-account-00438153

Not sure I'm feeling a lot of sadness over the plight of people with a six-figure income from playing poker tbh

I'm not much of a CNN viewer and I don't really know who this guy is, but this is some Edward R Murrow-level commentary... worth watching

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0q-UoMwc3A

errr, MSNBC rather

Not sure I'm feeling a lot of sadness over the plight of people with a six-figure income from playing poker tbh

― psychopompatus (Ye Mad Puffin), Wednesday, July 2, 2025 7:39 PM (two hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

trust me it ain't as glamorous as it sounds

anyway bill may or may not pass tonight, sounds like they currently don't have the votes but Trump will probably bully the holdouts into submission

good luck USA

Right-wing loons like Loomer are now throwing around numbers from 65 to 100 million as the target number of deportations. There are an estimated 65 million Latino-American total residents in the U.S., mostly citizens of course.

Sad to see you go, Ted Cruz

Looks like they have the votes to pass a bill that will profoundly reshape the country for the worse.

Montana's state supreme court struck down the Parental Consent for Abortion Act, which would have required doctors to get parental consent before giving minors abortions. The state took it to the Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court refused to hear the case. The law stays struck down.

A good summary: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/07/01/politics/congress-senate-bill-tax-spending-trump-gop-explainer?iid=cnn_buildContentRecirc_end_recirc

So did this fucking thing pass or not

I think Jefferies is still talking. it will pass when he stops though.

Yeah I noticed the gambling losses thing too (I read almost all the tax provisions)… it’s a bit weird in the context of the overarching ideology of the bill. It makes me think that they did that to meet some net number …. It’s possible it will result in more people claiming they are “professional gamblers” and file schedule C… there is a lot of case law on that one so at least people could have a clue if they choose to go there.

But overall… it’s anger and sadness… table otm. It’s this demoralizing feeling that there are people in power who just don’t gaf about human dignity and suffering.

Our decade-long national nightmare may end sooner than we think. This Salon piece claims that Trump hasn't shown up to the Oval Office on a Monday in weeks, and now golfs in Virginia rather than Florida or NJ so they can grab him up in a hurry if need be. He's also dressing in a more slovenly manner, and walks even more like a bear on its hind legs than ever.

Slavery 2.0 is coming along nicely.

"We’re going to take care of our farmers and hotel workers, but we're working on it right now. And Ron [DeSantis is] going to be involved," Trump said during a tour of a new immigration detention camp in Florida’s Everglades that is surrounded by alligators, "Alligator Alcatraz."

"We have a lot of cases where ICE would go into the farm, and these are guys that are working there for 10 to 15 years, no problem.

"The farmers know them. It’s called ‘farmer responsibility’ or ‘owner responsibility,’ but they're going to be largely responsible for these people, and they know these people. They've worked on the farms for 15 years. … We have a great feeling for the farmer and for others in the same position.

"They can be here legally. They can pay taxes and everything. They're not getting citizenship, but they get other things. And the farmers need them to do the work," Trump said. "Without those people, you're not going to be able to run your farm."

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-working-on-deportation-exemptions-for-illegal-farm-and-hospitality-workers

(Fox News link just because it's worth knowing that this is being reported, and favorably, in MAGA world.)

this guy is due for another trump pardon, he's been treated so poorly

A US military veteran, previously pardoned by Donald Trump for his role in the 6 January 2021 attack on the US Capitol, was sentenced to life in prison this week for plotting to attack an FBI office and assassinate other law enforcement officers.

Edward Kelley, 36, was found guilty last November of trying to attack officers who investigated him over his actions at the US Capitol in Washington DC when pro-Trump supporters tried stormed the building in hopes, ultimately in vain, of stopping the certification of Joe Biden’s presidential victory over Trump in the 2020 election.

Our decade-long national nightmare may end sooner than we think.

He's fixed things so he can run the government entirely by watching FOX in the morning, issuing orders to his lackeys in the Congress of the Cabinet based on whatever stories they ran, and then getting in his 18 holes later in the day. It's not the end of his authoritarian hegemony, but the streamlined version.

Don’t worry Vance is tirelessly working on the fascism

Rogan going all woke

Podcaster Joe Rogan continued to knock the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) workplace raids that have become a hallmark of the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration crackdown, calling the effort “insane” on Tuesday’s episode of his show.

“It’s insane,” Rogan, who endorsed President Trump in his reelection bid last fall, said on “The Joe Rogan Experience.” “Not cartel members, not gang members, not drug dealers — just construction workers.”

“Showing up on construction sites, raiding them,” he continued, shaking his head. “Gardeners. Like, really?”

Rogan previously blasted the ICE raids last month, calling them “f—ing nuts.”

god...shut the fuck up Joe

I know.. but I'm thinking of the knobs who listen to his shit. He's the king of knobs and he's coming out against ICE, that has to have some influence

he'll allllways
be
king of knobs

the people they gleefully voted for just stripped healthcare to build concentration camps what does it matter now

we are going to need people like joe rogan (unfortunately) to fight and move forward, especially since this hideous bill has passed

big tent

Yeah I mean fuck Joe Rogan but the reality is he exists and he has a huge audience, so I'd rather him be saying that than mindlessly cheerleading ICE.

Big cargo shorts

big tents smell a lot like humanity, musty and sour with fecal notes, but when everything runs according to who gets the most votes, you have to go for quantity, not quality.

big tent

― a (waterface),

Made of cargo shorts

...that were made in China.

https://i.imgur.com/S8hR2op.jpg

can we start a thread about these guys

it's like Barry Goldwater being super pro-choice... you find your allies wherever you can

sandals & socks? they have to be German

we are going to need people like joe rogan (unfortunately) to fight and move forward, especially since this hideous bill has passed

― a (waterface), Thursday, July 3, 2025 2:37 PM (sixteen minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

big tent

― a (waterface), Thursday, July 3, 2025 2:38 PM (sixteen minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

lmao, sure, sure - private Joe Rogan reporting for duty

Having an HIV positive gay grandson did wonders for Goldwater's politics in his last years -- he even supported adoption rights for gays.

enjoy your dooming PBKR

what about the other 260 ppl who were sent to CECOT? they're just going to be tortured for the rest of their lives?

was thinking the same thing this morning... no criminal convictions, no appeal, no lawyers, sent to the worst prison on earth with no release date in a country they're not from... so fucking brutal

Joe Rogan is on it.

next week I'm sure he'll have Laura Loomer on to provide some fresh perspective

"if you're a Latino can you really be American at the same time? just asking questions"

Cargo shorts are fine. Seriously … least of the problems ffs

Joe Rogan would probably fit in a fairly small tent

In "I didn't think the leopards would eat <my> face" news, the Trump Burger in Kemah, Tx has been subject to something of a hostile takeover by their landlord because Trumpy paperwork and payment issues.

https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/court/2025/07/03/525597/kemah-trump-burger-owner-sues-landlord-over-alleged-restaurant-takeover/

What's not mentioned in the article, but an interesting detail within the official filing has been uncovered by a reddit sleuth, is that Trump Burger founder & chain owner Roland Beainy--a Lebanese restaurateur who immigrated to the states during the first Trump administration and who opened his first Trump Burger in 2019--is currently being detained by ICE and has had his Greencard revoked.

Trump Burger, more like a Shit Sandwich, amirite

now with 87% less FDA regulation!

The statement also said the establishment is under new management and now going by the name “MAGA Burger USA.”

Mayo, armadillo, gout, anus

Well.

or just MAGAt Burger (now with extra maggots).

Given the incompetence and greed common to all things Trump, there is gonna be so much grifting going on. So many "contractors" getting massive, multi-million-dollar ICE contracts for equipment that never shows up or doesn't do what it's supposed to do, etc., etc. I can't wait to see the bidding process open up.

We really need to flood the zone with applications for fake teams and grab as much cash as we can ("Yeah, we're a private contractor based out of Chicago, but we're registered in Florida for tax purposes...no, we're not on the web, to keep our identity SECRET! We have important work to do, we're a group of veteran vigilantes, you NEED us!"). Not like they are going to have any accountability measures or anything!

Lmk if you’re serious.

if you look at the rampant fraud that happened during Covid payouts, when there was still a functioning fully-staffed gov't, this'll be like shooting fish in a bucket

Lmk if you’re serious.

I would love to have a serious conversation about this. The email address connected to my ILX account works.

Feel free to use my newest headshot in your sales pitch

https://apholt.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/patrick2afghanistan.jpg

Glum shit

Hey they put back billions for rural hospitals so ….

https://sam.gov/entity-registration

As someone who has previously applied for an NEA, that link is triggering

Adding to the intrigue of the Trump Burger saga, it's being reported in r/houston that the O.G. location in Bellville was recently rebranded as "Presidential Burger".

Did anyone else get the propaganda email from the Social Security Administration filled with untruths?

Yep

my wife did, yes

Yeah I got one last night, it was so gross.

Got mine. Reminded me of Trump sending out a letter to every household in the USA taking personal credit for the covid relief payments. Only worse.

Also got one. It's a brave new world.

I got an email from the IRS that didn’t refer to it at all …

I am sure the scammers and “wealth advisors” are busy drafting newsletters about “exciting opportunities” as I post to ilx

I got one.

Is it age? I haven't gotten one

appears to be only those currently getting Social Security payments

For the curious who didn't get one:

The Social Security Administration (SSA) is celebrating the passage of the One Big, Beautiful Bill, a landmark piece of legislation that delivers long-awaited tax relief to millions of older Americans.

The bill ensures that nearly 90% of Social Security beneficiaries will no longer pay federal income taxes on their benefits, providing meaningful and immediate relief to seniors who have spent a lifetime contributing to our nation's economy.

“This is a historic step forward for America’s seniors,” said Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano. “For nearly 90 years, Social Security has been a cornerstone of economic security for older Americans. By significantly reducing the tax burden on benefits, this legislation reaffirms President Trump’s promise to protect Social Security and helps ensure that seniors can better enjoy the retirement they’ve earned."

The new law includes a provision that eliminates federal income taxes on Social Security benefits for most beneficiaries, providing relief to individuals and couples. Additionally, it provides an enhanced deduction for taxpayers aged 65 and older, ensuring that retirees can keep more of what they have earned.

Social Security remains committed to providing timely, accurate information to the public and will continue working closely with federal partners to ensure beneficiaries understand how this legislation may affect them.

Oh huh I got it too. Buried in my inbox, wouldn't have seen it if this hadn't sent we looking. I hate this government.

it's sent from a strange sub-ssa address:

subscript✧✧✧.serv✧✧✧@subscripti✧✧✧.s✧✧.g✧✧

I would unsubscribe but I don't to miss important information. The email is not only infuriating propaganda but is purposely extremely vague. My understanding (I may be wrong) from reading elsewhere is that there is some tax benefit to those whose pre-tax SS payments are less than $2000 a month, but that's it.

I think it's anyone who has an active account on the social security gov website (I do; I'm not collecting SS but I do have an account on there)

Same here. Folk against Project 2025 and/or losing your SS advised logging on to print your statements.

I set up an account ages ago just because I liked the idea of keeping vague track of it. (That’s actually how I discovered a tax error — in looking at the summaries of recent years, I realized that one year I hadn’t paid Social Security taxes. Don’t ask me how. I don’t do my own taxes anymore lol.)

Yeah, it seems to be if you’ve signed up for digital access. I had to order a new card a few years ago since my original one was literally disintegrating from age and it made me register account in order to do so. Def not receiving any benefits.

https://i.imgur.com/OEWVWX9.png

That's the joyous excitement of achieving the stunning accomplishment of depriving 12,000,000 of our poorer citizens of adequate medical care, funding ICE to the tune of $43,000,000,000 so they can build concentration camps for the people they kidnap off the streets, while dumping an extra $1,000,000,000,000 into the pockets of the ultra wealthy. Of course they're giddy!

https://bsky.app/profile/mmasnick.bsky.social/post/3lt4dhdcejk27

would be nice if the President of the United States saying he hates half the country was considered newsworthy in this country

It doesn't support the narrative major news outlets are working to create.

My understanding (I may be wrong) from reading elsewhere is that there is some tax benefit to those whose pre-tax SS payments are less than $2000 a month, but that's it.

The only thing they did that is applicable is retain the lower tax rates from 2017 that were set to expire and increase the standard deduction for people who are 65+.

If they actually wanted to equitably reduce taxes on Social Security they could have raised the income threshold where they become partially taxable. This amount hasn’t been raised in over 20 years. The marriage “penalty” has not been removed either, unlike most other deductions/thresholds. Basically the way they helped seniors on social security helps the wealthier more than the poor. If they had raised the cap from $32k to $50k, that would make their claims more realistic. Also it would mean that many lower income retirees wouldn’t even have to file taxes, which would save them money.

Of course they aren’t going to mention all the ways the shit bill is going to fuck over old people who aren’t wealthy and healthy.

xp tbf to trump (and we HAVE to be fair to trump!), he said he hates the democrats, so not half of the country, maybe a quarter or so, whoever votes for democrats.

he should say he hates people who didn’t vote, the plurality, and ruffle some feathers!

Good afternoon!

Where’s the portal to an alternate reality?

it’s afternoon somewhere! *vigorously sips coffee*

So a UFC fight at the White House for the 250th birthday celebration. Not only does it get more bleak everyday, it gets infinitely more stupid as well.

Interesting: Conservatives for whom Texas (Texas!) is too woke can now emigrate under a special visa program, to a land where they can live according to their conservative values: Russia.

https://wapo.st/45XiEkU gift link

NGL it's a sly Putin move, exploit the west via its internal divisions. But I just find it funny that right-wing Americans would flee to a place that their cultural forebears viewed as the antithesis of righteousness.

Imagine if they could communicate with their grandfathers in the beyond. "Yes, grandpa, I am living a godly life, according to American family values just as you taught me. No sexual deviants or filthy minorities around, no sirree."

"That's swell, my boy. Tell me, have we finally defeated the Russkies? God I hated those godless commie pinkos."

"Um, well, about that..."

Can the MAGA base withstand the shock?

President Trump's Justice Department and FBI have concluded they have no evidence that convicted sex offender and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein blackmailed powerful figures, kept a "client list" or was murdered, according to a memo detailing the findings obtained by Axios.

...What's next: The DOJ and FBI say in the memo that no "further disclosure" of Epstein-related material "would be appropriate or warranted."

https://www.axios.com/2025/07/07/jeffrey-epstein-suicide-client-list-trump-administration

I’m sure we can count on Democrats to run committee hearings about Epstein non-stop if they retake Congress.

Flooding in Texas is tragic. And I guess now every natural disaster is going to be accompanied by ever more batshittery from the right. Competing conspiracies at the moment are that the weather is being manipulated (not clear by whom) to create disasters in red states; and/or that rogue Biden-era forecasters at NWS deliberately underestimated the projected rainfall.

pretty clear by whom. Democrats (Jews).

Have they considered the theory that God is a murderer?

don't act so innocent
i've seen you pound your fists
into the earth
and i've read your books
seems that you could use another fool
but i'm cruel
and i look right through....

Flooding in Texas is tragic. And I guess now every natural disaster is going to be accompanied by ever more batshittery from the right. Competing conspiracies at the moment are that the weather is being manipulated (not clear by whom) to create disasters in red states; and/or that rogue Biden-era forecasters at NWS deliberately underestimated the projected rainfall.

― paper plans (tipsy mothra), Monday, July 7, 2025 6:08 AM (fifty-five minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

seriously tho, these absolute morons will vote for an administration that dismantles FEMA, disaster relief, and weather forecasting operations throughout the US, and then blame it on an "other" instead of realizing that it was they that did it to themselves. just more blood on conservative hands.

so where do the MAGA people stand on the Epstein stuff now, do they just not care anymore?

They're aware that if Trump doesn't want anything more released, it's for Reasons.

The prevailing view seems to be that everybody in politics is corrupt, on both sides, so powerful people just don't want anything more seen.

They are also adamant that there is an acceptable amount of Epstein connection (being in photos, borrowing a plane, meeting for non-sex reasons, etc.) And that Trump has already acknowledged being in that window. He didn't "go to the island" or whatever so there's nothing kore to say.

*more

Excited about Musk's 'America' party! What a clever name

I hope he spends a shit ton of money to get his candidates on the ballot, whomever they are

Rogan/Big Balls '28

there's so much a white South African can teach us about good governance

so where do the MAGA people stand on the Epstein stuff now, do they just not care anymore?

― frogbs, Tuesday, July 8, 2025 12:32 AM

Well Ive already seen screencaps of Catturd and Gunther Eagleman going "wtf is this shit" about it, so.

that is a great poem, table

people who identify as republicans always vote for republicans, and they think they are voting for smaller more efficient government, I've seen this among my family members and it's real, and they won't believe you if you try to convince them otherwise

but in reality the republicans just destroy all government and then say... but see? government doesn't work, and everyone believes them, all the while not realizing they are stealing from them and bloating the national debt with their tax cuts for the rich

Yeah pretty brilliant grift they got going there

The tipping point for me was, I remember thinking that the school shootings would result in so much outrage and shame that we would definitely get sensible gun control- but seeing the way their messaging worked and they were able to shift the narrative so far away from actual reality, and get everyone parroting the party line… that’s when I knew, they have the messaging (and the media muscle) to get their believers to believe absolutely anything, no matter how impossibly illogical or patently false. Absolutely anything can be sold to Republicans, with so little effort at this point. Not even being tangibly responsible for the lost lives of countless children can make a dent in their wall of bullshit and their ability to shift any narrative to their benefit.

Democrats could learn a thing or two about politics from the Republicans:

Democrats on Monday pressed the Trump administration for details about the cuts. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer demanded that the administration conduct an inquiry into whether staffing shortages contributed to “the catastrophic loss of life” in Texas.

Dems shouldn't call for useless inquiries which will never happen anyway. They should straight up accuse Trump of cutting staff that caused people in Texas to drown and that should be their messaging 24/7. It doesn't matter if it is true.

It doesn't matter if it is true.

That is exactly it and a perfect summation of why Democrats have lost the last decade so utterly. We think the truth matters. We mince words and acquiesce to bullying. Inventing a false narrative and doubling down no matter what is what wins today. What should make it easy is that it doesn’t even have to be false- the other side is doing the unthinkable every day, and just handing us very real ammunition, and we just look at it and shrug.

how did the right react after the Columbine shooting? obviously they were pretty gung ho about blaming Beavis & Butthead but I don't remember any of the "guns don't kill people" shit back then. I feel like the entire country was pretty serious about making sure that never happened again. maybe its just because I was a kid but I thought politicians seemed a lot more sincere about shit like this back then.

whats crazy about gun laws in particular is that the things that are being proposed are all broadly popular among even their own voters, either they don't listen to them or don't care what they have to say. I think a lot about those surveys where they made members of Congress take a poll trying to guess the average views of their constituents, the Dems thought the public was more conservative than they actually were while the GOP thought the public was way way way more conservative

Inventing a false narrative and doubling down no matter what is what wins today.

problem is that shit doesn't work on Democratic voters, like people are up putting flags in their yard with Trump photoshopped on Rambo's body, if someone had done that with Joe Biden I'd think they were either one of the funniest people in America or actually insane

Everyone blamed video games and goths. xpost

That was their early messaging and it worked, it shifted the narrative. Their later messaging worked even better.

that is a great poem, table

ILM’s #1 in the Low tracks poll!

Success in glossing over the largely preventable deaths of children is what gave those conservative think tanks the confidence that they could do literally anything, warp reality, get people to do a 180 on their core beliefs, anything; that was where they learned for sure that they were on the right track and that everything they had been planning and working toward was actually achievable. Turning the common people against each other instead of against the forces that are actively hurting and killing them- dividing and conquering. imo anyway.

i still can't believe any of this shit is real

problem is that shit doesn't work on Democratic voters

The other side is not simply lying. Lying would not work on a majority of anyone. Liars will give up the game when called out on it. They are living and breathing their false reality. Their faith only gets stronger when challenged. We only try and fail to play the same game, because we haven’t realized that they are not just playing a game. They are fully committed to a consistent, long term strategy in a way that we just can’t approach, because we’ve been thinking we would come out ahead in the end no matter what- because of changing demographics, shifting public opinion, whatever. We never felt the need to play hardball or fight dirty. We just had to coast and maintain the status who and the future would fall into place. Now look where we are. We have to learn to fight from behind. Problem is we are heavily outgunned in a very literal sense now.

The massive missing puzzle piece for them was getting a president like Trump who would literally sign anything if he could claim credit for a win- or if he could enrich himself by so doing. No conscience, no sense of decency at long last, no qualms about killing millions, nothing. Just a blank check to accomplish absolutely any unthinkable evil end. Getting him as president is what must have really felt like a miracle. That unattainable, impossible thing that would make everything else fall into place after decades of plotting.

the best people dems have that connecting with disillusioned america (sanders, aoc, etc.) they don't want front and center. the more mamdanis that keep triumphing over the dems rotten core, the better. one side decided long ago to stop playing "by the rules" - quit pretending there's going to be some return to god knows what past era of bipartisanship.

it's why so many people like the hulk smash simplicity of trump, regardless of that it will harm them in the end. the man's fighting the system!

And when he is the system, what then?

doesn't seem to really matter I mean this is the dude a bunch of people voted for because they thought he was gonna reveal the Epstein list and now he's like "there is no Epstein list" and all it will do is maybe piss off a handful of people who will forget all about it by Thursday

It was painfully clear from the start that he was on the list, he probably had him killed.

do his voters know that?

No, because it is definitely not on the list of “truths that are pre-approved to know and believe” as recited nonstop by the propaganda machinery

The only way the chips will always fall in favor of someone is if they are constantly applying money, leverage, or threats to make them fall that way. What I see since his rise is an improbable number of coincidences that have somehow benefited him every time.

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/netanyahu-nominates-trump-nobel-peace-prize-2025-07-07/

O I checked on my right-wing hate-read cessput and yes: the reason the DOJ has nothing on Epstein is that Dem administrations got rid of it.

wow! the weak incompetent democrats led by sleepy Joe pulled that off?

I saw them saying that there's a bunch of arrests coming based on the Epstein list, so they have to act like it doesn't exist so the perps don't get tipped off.

So there are clearly people at DOJ who were elon-ed out of a job right? Surely some of those people were working on this right? I’d say it’s time for those folks to start leakin’ except those people are like florida cubans expecting to get their plantations back once the Castros die

Florida Cubans don't expect their plantations back; that's a myth. They expect to make Democrats and commies suffer.

phew i feared they wanted trump to give them new plantations in florida

Well.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfonso_Fanjul_Jr.

welp ty i am now better informed. the wiki is funny at like "best can be said is that not super partisan,they buy any influence avail"

If you topple one sugar company, the rest fall in quick succession. We call this the Domino theory.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ti5AkLup1mI

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/7/8/netanyahu-trump-discuss-forced-transfer-of-palestinians-out-of-gaza

The Supreme Court on Tuesday cleared the way for the Trump administration to launch plans for mass layoffs and reorganizations at 19 federal agencies and departments while litigation continues.
The justices lifted a lower court order that temporarily blocked plans to fire thousands of federal workers, including at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Social Security Administration, because the administration did not first consult with Congress.

Only Justice Jackson wrote a dissent to this shadow court decision that was issued without a hearing and without a detailed majority opinion

I recently went to DC and stayed with a friend whose husband works at the USDA. Great people with hearts of gold. They’ve had all kinds of fucked up family drama outside of their control raging with the threat of these firings hanging over everything.

A nicely layered shit cake.

Take it to the food and class thread, sailor.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/7/8/netanyahu-trump-discuss-forced-transfer-of-palestinians-out-of-gaza🕸

War criminal and ignorant fascist plan for ethnic cleansing and the West applauds.

Both of them and all who enabled them and supported them will rot in hell.

History just going round in a tight little circle.

a hint of remorse?

President Donald Trump on Tuesday suggested he might have taken a different approach to slashing government than his one-time adviser Elon Musk.

“We could have done it differently,” the president said during a Cabinet meeting. “I would have done it differently, a little bit, maybe.”

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/netanyahu-nominates-trump-nobel-peace-prize-2025-07-07/

― StanM, Monday, July 7, 2025 10:39 PM

That is hilarious and tells us that all of the people who thought Harris would be as bad as Trump were wrong.

The old Norwegian intellectuals who comprise the Nobel committee are NOT EVER going to give Trump a Nobel Peace Prize

I dunno, they gave Obama one.

Both Mussolini and Stalin were nominated, so Trump's in good company.

That is hilarious and tells us that all of the people who thought Harris would be as bad as Trump were wrong.

i fail to see anything funny about this— it’s beneath loathsome.

The only way the chips will always fall in favor of someone is if they are constantly applying money, leverage, or threats to make them fall that way. What I see since his rise is an improbable number of coincidences that have somehow benefited him every time.

― epistantophus, Monday, July 7, 2025 11:33 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

tbh I don't know if it's a coincidence as much as it is a symptom of a completely broken system. I've heard it speculated that Trump is the ultimate failure of democracy, after all how good a system could it be if a person as dumb as Trump could undermine the entire thing? but really I think it's the system as a whole - capitalist forces which dictate that the rich can never fail, political forces which attribute zero penalty to lying through your teeth, media forces which prioritize clickbait over truth, and of course all the other very rich people who bought and maintained a system that assured people like them could face no consequences whatsoever

you may wonder "well why Trump and not someone who's actually savvy?", I guess maybe it's like how sometimes really bad parents create conditions where the worst behaved kid is the one who thrives

No one thought Trump would be better. They thought Biden/Harris was already bad (correct) and actively thumbing their nose at voters (also correct).

Harris wouldn’t have bombed Iran but she wouldn’t have stopped Israel from attacking, nor would anything be different about the situation in Gaza.

Looking at an ongoing bipartisan genocide and trying to pretend your team is righteous is vile.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bO8M71WHH5E

Donald the dove:

“With Putin, I said, ‘If you go into Ukraine, I’m gonna bomb the shit out of Moscow,’” Trump said at a fundraiser in the leaked audio. “‘I’m telling you, I have no choice, the public.’ So he goes like, ‘I don’t believe you.’ He said, ‘No way.’ And I said, ‘Way.’”

Trump claimed that Putin only “believed him 10%” but that “10% is all you need. In fact, 5% would have been OK, too. And we never had a problem.”

Trump described a similar reported exchange with Xi: “I said, you know, ‘If you go into Taiwan, I’m gonna bomb the shit out of Beijing.’ He thought I was crazy. He said, ‘Beijing? You’re gonna bomb...’ I said, ‘I have no choice. I got to bomb you.’”

He said, ‘No way.’ And I said, ‘Way.’”

Can't wait for the eventual historical drama recreation of this exchange.

schwing

A baking powder?

asphinctersayswhat

if you’re gonna spew, spew into this

Don and Vlad's Bogus Journey

I say hurl. If you blow chunks and she comes back, she’s yours. But if you spew and she bolts, then it was never meant to be.

no way/way babygirl:

https://www.reddit.com/r/otaku/s/cIRSPZcKk5

what is it? def not clicking a link at work that even reddit warns me about

Dutch tik tok girl reenacting some Trump quotes (including the way/no way one) in a cutesy style

Jazz pianist Jason Moran just announced on Instagram on Tuesday that he quit as director of Jazz for the Kennedy Center on Juneteenth. While the Kennedy Center has announced fall schedules of theatre and some other genres like opera, there is no fall jazz schedule, and no new jazz director. Also no fall hiphop schedule announced either (and yes they had one in recent previous years).

Was basically waiting for that

I'll see you out in the fields

The US agriculture secretary has suggested that increased automation and forcing Medicaid recipients to work could replace the migrant farm workers being swept up in Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign, despite years of evidence and policy failures that those kinds of measures are not substitutes for the immigrant labor force underpinning American agriculture.

“There’s been a lot of noise in the last few days and a lot of questions about where the president stands and his vision for farm labor,” Rollins said. “There are plenty of workers in America”.

https://www.nplusonemag.com/online-only/online-only/two-days-talking-to-people-looking-for-jobs-at-ice/

this is p interesting.

Damn

Yanis Varoufuckice is a pseudonym.

Comey tracked by Secret Service after that nothing-burger seashells post.

Over/under 6 months before there starts to be an actuarial table defying spate of sudden falls from high windows?

seems rather insane to expect people on medicaid, who very well may be disabled, to go do field work.

We hate the poor, and it's your fault if you're born weak enough to require federal aid.

If I was being forced to pick strawberries just to keep my health insurance, I guarantee that I would move slower than a glacier

helps if you envision all those people as healthy men in their 30s, living in their parents' basement, playing video games, and receiving "medicaid checks"

also helps if you imagine people working in fields picking produce receive full ride health insurance

it's also very convenient that all these people happen to live near farms.

I wonder how many of these "Just Get A Job!" fuckos are also directly responsible for keeping the nationwide minimum wage down?

jfc this Brazil letter

Thugs of a feather thug together

Maybe he thinks he's gonna need a country to run to, somewhere down the road.

the bro's from brazil

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3vd1vn9n06o

Mom is being held by ICE, would still vote for Trump, blames Biden

i love it here guys

Mom is a total brainwashed moron

left out the best part, which is that she’s a convicted felon, but still she’s one of the good ones and “we all make mistakes.” obviously she will extend that same grace to every other immigrant who’s had a brush with the law. right?

Reminiscent of e.g. my former MIL, a staunch conservative who depended on Medicaid for years, the whole time decrying how many people were on it who didn't deserve it. People are very good at seeing themselves as exceptions.

"I'm not deportable to any country," Arpineh told the BBC from the detention facility.”

I admire her certainty in this, considering we’re now deporting people to South Sudan.

basket of deportables

If we ever have another D president, they should use these newly created executive powers to send certain SC justices there and see how they like that.

well, the next Dem prez will be able to fire half the civil service, so

Next King more like

The most insane thing about lifting those injunctions is that they don’t think deporting people to third countries or firing people from their jobs is “irreparable harm”.

Yes, I know, they ideologically agree with those things. I guess it’s that they can say the above with a straight face.

On the TX redistricting efforts ahead of the midterms.. at least he's being honest

The map’s staunchest critics called the map “racial gerrymandering”, while the county judge, Tim O’Hare, claimed it was just about politics.

“It’s purely partisan,” he told a local TV station in the days before the vote. “At the end of the day, I’m doing it to put another Republican on the commissioners court, period, the end.”

At the 3 June meeting, dozens of speakers rose to voice their concerns, and several were kicked out of the meeting by O’Hare.

Sure well SCOTUS has said partisan gerrymandering is fine. The fact that our parties break down to a large degree along racial lines is not the court’s concern. So basically if minority voters don’t want racial gerrymandering they should starting voting for Republicans.

Ken Paxton's wife of 38 years is dumping his ass

https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/10/angela-paxton-divorce-texas-attorney-general-ken/

“I believe marriage is a sacred covenant and I have earnestly pursued reconciliation,” Angela Paxton, R-McKinney, said in a post on X. “But in light of recent discoveries, I do not believe that it honors God or is loving to myself, my children, or Ken to remain in the marriage.”

In his own statement, Attorney General Paxton cited the “pressures of countless political attacks and public scrutiny” as the reason the couple had “decided to start a new chapter.”

Attorney General Paxton is currently running against U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in next year’s Republican primary, after close to a decade as attorney general. Senator Paxton was elected in 2019 to represent the North Texas Senate district that her husband represented before his elevation to statewide office. She was reelected to another four-year term in November.

But in light of recent discoveries

elegantly put, Angie

https://i.imgur.com/BMIfooY.jpeg

“Oh what a tangled web we weave when we— wait wtf is this, are u fucking mad?”

“when we practice _to start a new chapter_, that oughter do it.”

This is where I remind people that Jake Tapper dated Monica Lewinsky

did he Tapper?

Wow, she's been through more hardship than I thought.

wonder if Stephen Miller is screaming into his pillow over this birthright ruling

they're all for states' rights, except where animal welfare is concerned

The Trump administration has filed a lawsuit against California, alleging that three state laws are the reason behind rising egg prices in the Golden State.

Prop 2, a statewide ballot measure voters passed in 2008, created welfare mandates for farm animals such as egg-laying hens, and AB 1437 regulates egg quality for human consumption. The administration argues that the laws work in tandem to depress egg production and drive up prices.

The suit also calls out Prop. 12, passed by voters in 2018, which requires specific minimum-space requirements for chickens and other farm animals.

Funny because eggs in general are more expensive in red states than blue states — Florida's more expensive than California.

https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/egg-prices-by-state

je ne sequoia (Ye Mad Puffin) at 3:53 10 Jul 25

This is where I remind people that Jake Tapper dated Monica Lewinsky

I think about this way too often. IIRC he went on one or two dates with her a few months before the scandal broke and then used it as fodder for a splashy "I Dated Monica!" tell-all in the Washington City Paper, in which he called her "zaftig."

https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/279465/i-dated-monica-lewinsky/

I was at the time a production artist at that newspaper, and while I did not design the cover, I did lay out the back half of that issue.

I think about this way too often

lol

I’m not reading that but I assume the dates were chaste because he’d never shut up about being Bill’s Eskimo brother otherwise.

it’s crazy that he was 49 and she was 22. in my head they were both in their mid 30s, lol

To google “eskimo brother” or not to google “eskimo brother.”

That, is the question.

Meanwhile Greg Abbott says not to point fingers while doing precisely that

https://i.imgur.com/4jvFXln.jpeg

xxpost lol I never heard Lewinsky mentioned without the words “22 year old intern” attached.

This dumb fucking country:

Early this week, security video footage shows an individual damaging News 9’s NextGen Live Weather Radar, temporarily knocking it offline.

The Oklahoma City televison station reports Veterans on Patrol, which the Southern Poverty Law Center defines as an anti-government militia, is claiming responsibility and targeting other Oklahoma radars. Michael Lewis Arthur Meyer, the founder of Veterans On Patrol, told the station he posted a sign warning of other radars being targeted near weather radar. He said he believes the government is modifying the weather, according to the article.

Budo jeru

t’s crazy that he was 49 and she was 22. in my head they were both in their mid 30s, lol

?

Jake Tapper was born in 1969; he was 29 in 1998.

I think they meant Clinton.

Every person in this administration and every person who voted for this can rot in hell

https://apnews.com/article/trump-head-start-immigrants-rfk-d10a3b8fa77d37e6e54106ef1db45888

yeah, total fucking comic book villains... 'how can we hurt the children?' is front & center

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the changes were part of a larger effort to protect American citizens’ interests

Robert F. Kennedy's son, ffs

He said he believes the government is modifying the weather, according to the article.

Donald Trump is in charge of the government you fucking wastrel

yeah but not the evil Deep State, run by Obama in his Hawaiian kiteboarding lair

I think they meant Clinton.

― Lithium Just Madison (C. Grisso/McCain), Thursday, July 10, 2025 7:10 PM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

correct. i was a hair too young to be reading/watching the news at this time, absorbed the broad outlines of the controversy mostly through pop culture aftermath

Ok, sorry to misunderstand, carry on

Not going to link it, but fascist creep Homan on Fox News this morning saying ICE doesn't need probable cause to detain someone based on "physical appearance". Saying the quiet part out loud again.

I didn't engage this friend very much, as I know we basically agree on most things, but I didn't express myself truly— mostly because we have tended to have negative interactions when speaking with each other on the internet.

Anyway, she very rightly posted something excoriating those on the "left" who were dismissing the deaths of the kids (and others) in the Texas floods, mostly due to partisan bias— "they and their parents voted for Trump, so fuck 'em" was the tenor of the few posts that I saw. Truly gross, of course!

But then my friend drew a longer screed, basically saying that we need to win people over, not alienate them, and that it is our job as leftists to try to show people that their fears are being exploited while the rich and powerful keep reaping the rewards. I responded to her and said, "sure, but how do you engage with people who want to kill you?"

And her answer was, "well, it's not like I'm saying go head to head with some fascist homophobe and try to convince him he's been brainwashed. I'm say we need to build a movement that can convince people that they need to unite behind basic democratic socialist policies."

I didn't say much more, because I didn't feel like she really answered my question, but it got me thinking, and honestly, I truly do think that there is a sizable portion of people in the US whose views are abominable, and who are beyond convincing, and whom I don't care about! While thinking about this has made me feel bad, I can't help but see her argument as one that invites people into the tent that I don't want anywhere near me. In addition, the argument seems to excuse vile opinions as being a product of a vile environment, and that people cannot necessarily be blamed for the vileness of these views...but that seems like bullshit!

Anyway, I'm struggling with these thoughts at the moment, never felt more disgusted with this country.

I truly do think that there is a sizable portion of people in the US whose views are abominable, and who are beyond convincing

Clearly true. And fortunately, as far as we can tell anyway, not a majority. I think of it as 35 percent, or about one-third, just for simplicity's sake. I don't really know what the actual number is. But it's real and it's large. I don't think focusing on them in particular is worth much time or energy. All we can do is try to box them out of power. (In both the boxing ring and basketball senses of box.)

But I think worrying too much about trying to reach specific people or kinds of people isn't the way to go anyway. I think the way to go is a strong, coherent narrative with broad appeal. One built around helping people identify and understand the forces working against them, and offering ways to fight back against them.

I think the way to go is a strong, coherent narrative with broad appeal. One built around helping people identify and understand the forces working against them, and offering ways to fight back against them.

The power of "they're trying to screw you" as a narrative is clearly demonstrated by the current occupant of the White House. Democrats' failure to use this very simple, very effective message can only be seen as deliberate.

Democratic leadership sees the path to equality in corporations making their employees read "White Fragility" or paying for flights to states where abortion is legal.

The power of "they're trying to screw you" as a narrative is clearly demonstrated by the current occupant of the White House. Democrats' failure to use this very simple, very effective message can only be seen as deliberate.

Yep. As their panic over Mamdani illustrates. There are a couple of generations of Democratic party leaders and consultants who are just deeply deeply wedded to Clinton/Obama triangulating, in the interest of their big donors. They're allergic to populist appeals. Which obviously is why that's not the direction that actual leadership is going to come from. And also why those forces will fight against that new leadership if/when it arises. (As they are with Mamdani.)

Oops didn't mean to cite Mamdani twice there. But what the hell, he deserves it.

I feel like Bernie hammers home this message morning, noon and night

Honestly I feel like Dem leadership suffers from learned helplessness in an absurd way, absurd because they do have a lot of power. Most of them make Jamie Dimon look like a comrade in comparison

I feel like Bernie hammers home this message morning, noon and night

Yes, but where Bernie goes wrong (and Mamdani and AOC go right) is mixing populism and joy. Mamdani's having fun talking to people in the street. AOC smiles, tells jokes, goofs around on IG live.

There are a couple of generations of Democratic party leaders and consultants who are just deeply deeply wedded to Clinton/Obama triangulating, in the interest of their big donors.

A long but insightful article about this was published yesterday:
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2025/07/donald-trump-news-democrats-elections-strategist-brain.html

Yes, but where Bernie goes wrong (and Mamdani and AOC go right) is mixing populism and joy. Mamdani's having fun talking to people in the street. AOC smiles, tells jokes, goofs around on IG live.

― Instead of create and send out, it pull back and consume (unperson), Friday, July 11, 2025 2:36 PM (twenty-five minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

That kind of sucks though. I prefer the grumpy crank energy.

Well, this IS ILX.

the idea that Bernie is a joyless scold is lib brainworms

otm

yeah he's quite funny as a scold

https://media.audubon.org/sfw_ap_561590295339.jpg

his face is gonna crack if he keeps doing that

talking to people in the street? he'd never

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaD1DcWfaGA

I'm surprised he's lasted this long actually...

Dan Bongino, deputy director of the FBI, has told people he's thinking of resigning after clashing with Attorney General Pam Bondi over her handling of Jeffrey Epstein case files, sources told CNN.

The report comes after Bongino reportedly didn't show up to work Friday following a blowout fight with Bondi, Axios reported earlier.

The fight reportedly took place during a meeting Wednesday when Bongino and FBI Director Kash Patel were confronted over whether they'd been involved in a media leak saying the FBI was upset by the limited information the Justice Department had released on the Epstein files.

“The whole thing has been a complete mess and no one is happy,” a source told CNN.

pot calls kettle black

“I mean, so, he’s not even a Democrat, honestly,” Fetterman said in an interview with Fox News, regarding the progressive policies of Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist.

honestly

“The whole thing has been a complete mess and no one is happy,” a source told CNN.

^^August thread title?

*adds to list*

Fetterman tweeted yesterday that calling for the abolition of ICE was "despicable." He sucks so much, he's a cartoon villain.

Democrats needed a contrarian replacement for Manchin and Sinema, just in case they ever found themselves in the undesirable position of having to vote on any progressive policies.

Gotta say I did not imagine Trump outdoing the "heckuva job Brownie" thing, but this is something else:

REPORTER: Families are upset because warnings didn't go out in time. What do you say to those families?

TRUMP: Well I think everyone did an incredible job under the circumstances. Only a bad person would ask a question like that. Only an evil person would ask a question like that.

can we just push him into traffic please

i’m tired of reacting to him but FUCK ALL THE WAY OFF YOU FUCKING SOCIOPATH

otm

Also should be noted in one thread or another for posterity that ICE murdered a farm worker in a kidnapping raid yesterday.

WASHINGTON, July 11 (Reuters) - A California farmworker died on Friday from injuries sustained a day earlier when U.S. immigration agents raided a cannabis operation and arrested hundreds of workers, according to a farmworker advocacy group.

Democrats needed a contrarian replacement for Manchin and Sinema

every picture I see of Fetterman, he looks like he's about three days from retiring and starting a podcast that questions all our assumptions

The State Department began firing more than 1,300 employees via email on Friday …The move has come under criticism from current and former diplomats who say the cuts will degrade America’s standing in the world and curb U.S. soft power.
The diplomats hit hardest hailed from the offices that Secretary of State Marco Rubio eliminated in his sweeping reorganization of the department, the most far-reaching in decades, including the Office of Global Women’s Issues and the department’s diversity and inclusion programs. But cuts also impacted employees working on highly volatile issues, including Syria, a brittle Middle Eastern country emerging from decades of authoritarian rule, and senior officials in charge of chemical weapons issues and multilateral nuclear diplomacy. from Washington Post

"Only an evil person would ask a question like that" is my new default response to any question I don't feel like answering

We're not sleeping at the wheel
The wheel is turning the machine
That kills for us

Now it’s being reported that the ICE thugs that killed the guy allegedly held a bunch of witnesses hostage at gunpoint until they deleted photos and videos of the raid.

Fetterman is just a weirdo silver spoon that got popular on social media just a Democrat and no real ability or intention to really do anything with the job. Dude is just a mess.

Not that it would be 'better' if they had f'n Dr. Oz... What a clown show.

Kristi Noem let FEMA call center contracts expire the day after the Texas flood.

On July 5, as floodwaters were starting to recede, FEMA received 3,027 calls from disaster survivors and answered 3,018, or roughly 99.7 percent, the documents show. Contractors with four call center companies answered the vast majority of the calls.

The next day, July 6, FEMA received 2,363 calls and answered 846, or roughly 35.8 percent, according to the documents. And on Monday, July 7, the agency fielded 16,419 calls and answered 2,613, or around 15.9 percent, the documents show.

Some FEMA officials grew frustrated by the lapse in contracts and that it was taking days for Ms. Noem to act, according to the person briefed on the matter and the documents. “We still do not have a decision, waiver or signature from the DHS Secretary,” a FEMA official wrote in a July 8 email to colleagues.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/11/climate/fema-missed-calls-texas-floods.html?unlocked_article_code=1.V08.EQY1.DNZ1wIW7emHJ&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

Fetterman won a lot of fans & goodwill for appearing on CNN all the time around the 2020 election and every time taking a solid hardline against Trump's fuckwithery.

U.S. immigration agents raided a cannabis operation

First they came for the strawberries and I said nothing, for I don’t care for strawberries…

Making energy costs more expensive to own the libs

The changes would cut up to 90 percent of the funding from the two fastest growing renewable energy technologies, according to the document, which details planned budget appropriations. Cuts include reducing money for wind power projects to about $30 million from $137 million, and solar power to about $42 million from $318 million.

In addition, the plan cuts nearly all of the money from state and local government community energy programs, which help reduce heating and cooling costs and assist with services like home energy audits and increasing insulation in homes.

The shift away from the clean energy and energy efficiency initiatives could lead to a dramatic increase in costs for all consumers….

Solar and onshore wind power are among the least expensive sources of electricity. And energy efficient appliances have helped keep residential electric bills a bit in check

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/11/business/energy-environment/energy-department-renewable-funding-cuts.html?unlocked_article_code=1.V08.iZ9K.qifo303Myf2l&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

Solar energy ain't going anywhere though, despite the administration's efforts.

So already today we have 30% tariffs on the EU and Mexico, plus also we’re going to take away Rosie O’Donnell’s citizenship. He’s a multitasker!

Rosie O'Donnell, clearly the important issue of the day.

Where are we on controlling the threats posed by Adam Sandler

plus ca change:

"Rosie Slams Trump, The Donald Fires Back" is a headline from 2006
https://people.com/celebrity/rosie-slams-trump-the-donald-fires-back/

Just another Saturday morning on Truth Social

But the serious bad thing is that he and the administration believe they have the authority to strip US citizenship from anyone

They're welcome to that delusion, but unlike the rescinding of protected status for non-citizens or even going after naturalized citizens, there is no legal method by which he can strip a natural born citizen of their citizenship. It's disgusting and another unsurprising sign of his pathology and there's nothing Trump or his people can do to make his wish hapen.

Well what if he does it anyway? Cmon man the system or “the law” is not stopping him. He believes he has no limits and millions of people who will enable him. It’s not dooming to say that precedent or law or tradition or good sense has stopped him before.

He can't.

As it happens, I just found a pretty good thread from a couple hours ago on this same topic:

https://bsky.app/profile/reichlinmelnick.bsky.social

https://bsky.app/profile/reichlinmelnick.bsky.social/post/3ltrkib74as2y

If I were Rosie O'Donnell, I'd worry about my safety thanks to Trump's blathering more than ICE showing up to arrest under no criminal grounds.

there is no legal method by which he can strip a natural born citizen of their citizenship

Trump operates on the theory that, as President, it's entirely possible he can do whatever he likes and no one will stop him. He might even be right about that, because he commits crimes at such a furious pace and has so many compliant sycophants and enablers to do his bidding that he can overwhelm the system. If his threats turn out to be empty he doesn't mind that either. Like 'The Great and Powerful Oz' all his threats contribute to his front of being supremely powerful, even when they quickly drift away into the forgotten past.

I mean the proper reaction to Trump’s statement is a quick jerk-off motion and return to what you were thinking about before.

yup.

It's more legally plausible (in the sense that there's a legal footprint these fools can squint at) to rescind the citizenship of naturalized Americans for committing crimes. I don't see it for American-born citizens. It's like when I read online -- not so much on ILX -- that there won't be midterm elections in '26 or an election in '28.

If key elections are undermined enough to shift the result, does that still count as having elections?

That's a given. Our side has to worry about turnout. We had it in 2020.

my lord you have created the “unthinkable line,” we all proceed in great peril.

Sunday doomscrolling: Federal immigration officers may deport immigrants with as little as six hours’ notice to countries other than their own even if officials have not provided any assurances that the new arrivals will be safe from persecution or torture, a top official said in a memo this week.

Todd M. Lyons, the acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, wrote in a memo to the ICE workforce Wednesday that a Supreme Court ruling (https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/06/23/supreme-court-trump-deportations-third-country-south-sudan/) last month had cleared the way for officers to “immediately” start sending immigrants to “alternative” countries.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2025/07/12/immigrants-deportations-trump-ice-memo/

This certainly was a collection of words and phrases: https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3ltu6td4dbc2d

Until coffee prices go up , or there’s a legal challenge, or there are other discernible changes from Trump’s petty 50 % tariffs on Brazil because they put Bolsonaro on trial, maga will ignore this or justify this badly like that

Kristi Noem on Sunday talks shows spinning to defend FEMA and ICE .

maga will ignore this or justify this badly like that

"People who would absolutely clean their assholes with their tongues like dogs if they could reach won't pay any attention to this, so why should we?"

My favorite Cranberries album title

i'm just saying, it's cheaper than a bidet

Coffee futures had a massive spike in February to a historic high. They've moderated considerably since then but are still elevated.

xps

"People who would absolutely clean their assholes with their tongues like dogs if they could reach won't pay any attention to this, so why should we?"

― Instead of create and send out, it pull back and consume (unperson), Sunday, July 13, 2025 10:28 AM (twenty-four minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

don't knock it until you try it

How do we get them to pay attention to something that reflects badly on their perspective, or at least puts them on the defensive?

We should pay some attention I think to stupid stuff our opponents say to defend their stupid policies.

We should pay some attention I think to stupid stuff our opponents say to defend their stupid policies.

Keep detailed records, on the off-chance that facts start to matter one day. But don't expect a cookie for your trouble.

This certainly was a collection of words and phrases: https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3ltu6td4dbc2d🕸

I actually kinda used to know that guy a little through a random non-professional connection in the pre-Trump days. Had no idea what field he was/is in. What a putz.

Good morning!

Where’s the client list?

Not that this is hard to do I guess, but the invaluable Parker Molloy lays waste to Rahm Emmanuel and the NYT consensus that "Democrats went too far" in pushing for trans rights:

The story of trans issues in the 2024 election isn't one of Democratic excess. It's one of Democratic absence.

Republicans spent more than $200 million on anti-trans attack ads. They ran them in every competitive state, in every competitive race. The Trump campaign's most effective ad featured the tagline "Kamala is for they/them. President Trump is for you." It ran constantly in the final weeks of the campaign.

Democrats' response? Silence.

When Republicans claimed Democrats wanted "boys in girls' sports," Democrats didn't explain their actual position. When Republicans suggested Democrats supported surgery for young children (something that doesn't happen), Democrats didn't correct the lie. When Republicans painted basic respect for trans people as radical ideology, Democrats didn't push back.

This silence had consequences. Without any Democratic counter-narrative, voters only heard one side of the story. As the Times reported, Republicans were able to "define voters' perceptions of Democratic policy positions." Post-election polling found that swing voters who broke for Trump believed Democrats were "too focused on identity politics," even though Democrats barely mentioned these issues at all. Even worse, letting Republicans’ messaging air non-stop unopposed helped turn public opinion against trans people.

The numbers tell the real story. Republicans introduced over 500 anti-trans bills across state legislatures in 2023 and 2024. They made attacking trans people a central organizing principle of their politics. Meanwhile, Harris mentioned trans people exactly zero times in her convention speech. Zero times in her debates. Zero times in her major policy addresses.

Yet somehow, according to Emanuel, this amounts to Democrats being "consumed" with debates over pronouns. How can you be consumed by a debate you're not even having?

The truth is simpler and more damning. Democrats let Republicans turn trans people into a boogeyman because they were too scared to defend basic human dignity. They calculated that staying quiet would make the issue go away. Instead, their silence let Republicans define them as extremists anyway.

https://www.readtpa.com/p/the-smallest-room-in-the-house

Yeah, I thought that was very good. It drives me crazy that people say that *Democrats* are the ones who are obsessed with trans issues. The entire narrative has a right-wing frame.

That's the central fallacy of the endless NYT analysis and handwringing, it's all "Democrats listened to activists and got ahead of voters," rather than "Republicans spent years deliberately building a scapegoating hate campaign against trans people."

Murc's Law in action

in this case though Dems are to blame for not responding to the attacks

If they didn’t want to actively defend trans people the least they could have done was hammer on privacy issues and “weird Republicans to inspect your genitalia”.

yeah, Tim Walz's 'weird' thing was effective and they should've stuck with it

idk how 'effective' that ad was exactly, iirc a bunch of polls and analysis pegged that commercial as the one people hated the most regardless of party, if anything the takeaway might be that political ads don't really move the needle much

still irritates me to no end that the GOP kept hammering over and over the idea of 'protecting' women by not allowing trans people in the bathroom while also trying to get Matt Gaetz in as attorney general, if only Dems had the balls to call that shit out instead of folding like they always do

I keep waiting for somebody to do an ad with an attractive young trans man and an attractive young trans woman in a friendly way showing what the bathroom laws mean – the bearded trans man has to walk into a woman’s bathroom and vice versa. I honestly think some people have no idea what trans people even look like.

I realize that that kind of presentation could play into the idea that trans people can or should “pass” as cis people, and sure, not everybody does or wants to. But it would still be a simple way to push back. Sadly of course nobody is funding trans rights ads these days.

what trans people even look like.

This is a very weird thing to write, tipsy. I know you mean the best, but it's truly weird.

I honestly think some people have no idea what trans people even look like.

I know exactly what you mean. Your average idiot has been conditioned by right-wing media and their brainwormed friends to think "trans person" = "someone standing in the middle of 7-11 dressed like they're on an episode of Drag Race and leering at everyone". Years ago there was an ad campaign for the Native American College Fund or whatever it was called with the tagline "Have You Ever Seen A Real Indian?" and a photo of a Native woman in a lab coat doing something scientifical, etc. That's what trans people need - a campaign aimed at making them seem normal to idiots. Either that or T-shirts that say WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE MY GENITALS? TOO BAD, FUCK OFF.

i mean passing or not the fact is that i have been sexually assaulted in a men's room and i have never been sexually assaulted in a women's room

Yeah I mean it in a literal way. There are monsters that have been conjured in the imagination, and 2/3 of Americans say they don't know any trans people. There needs to be more visibility of all kinds — trans faces and voices, young and old, all races and ethnicities, men and women. There's power just in being seen and heard.

And yes, obviously the bathroom bills put trans people at massive physical risk, both trans women and men.

I know exactly what you mean.

I don't. This is literally like saying "some people have no idea what people look like."

Trans people shouldn't have to prove their humanity to people, nor should they have to disclose their transness to people, nor is there some kind of monolithic "trans" look.

Of course they shouldn't have to. But when you're being relentlessly dehumanized, humanization is a necessary response. And of course there's no monolithic look, that's entirely my point — showing that trans people are ... people.

Ideally of course the mainstream media would have long since done this, by going out and talking to trans people about their lives. But actual trans voices remain pretty muted in most of the conversation — talked about much more than talked to. So yeah, I think more deliberate media campaigns would be useful.

yeah i’m with table here

But when you're being relentlessly dehumanized, humanization is a necessary response.

And letting bigots and their unwitting allies, aka liberals, set the boundaries of what counts as "human" is certainly a winning strategy. Please.

xp -Trans people shouldn't have to prove their humanity to people

You're correct about what should be. Unfortunately, in the presence of so much fearmongering, misinformation and ignorance, something as simple as making it clear to everyone that trans people are just humans like anyone else, not monsters of depravity, seems like it could be helpful.

Straight people started accepting gay marriage when they noticed their partnered neighbors took out the trash and said hi like everyone else. I think that's what tipsy means.

Would do them good to see one of the good ones

If TV viewing habits hadn't become so segmented, maybe that Laverne Cox/George Wallace sitcom would've been a hit on NBC's Must See TV lineup, like Will and Grace, rather than canceled after one season on Prime.

as a trans person i have mixed, complex feelings about integration and representation. conversations like these among cis people make think "what do i look like to these people? a woman? a person? a trans person?" the reality is all a lot more muddled; the fact is that all we're trying to do is appear as we know we are. anytime a narrative is laid over that by cis people, it feels like our self-definition is taken away from us a little. that we are a "good" but regardless we are a "them." and i'm just not interested in this kind of thing happening for trans people. i more or less work constantly on managing how i'm perceived by cis people???? maybe some cis people could give it a shot themselves

i know this is unrealistic. but i just find that this would feel more damaging for trans people than helpful for an imaginary cis person who has no idea what a trans person is

And letting bigots and their unwitting allies, aka liberals, set the boundaries of what counts as "human" is certainly a winning strategy. Please.

Nobody's setting any boundaries. I mean that the United States is full of trans people going about their lives in mundane ways, and that reality is almost entirely absent from the political dialogue. There are ways to make it more present. (The Democrats have made some halting gestures at this, but just barely —— they had Sarah McBride speak at the DNC in 2016 and not in 2024.)

what they're seeing now are the purely imaginary 'bad ones' conjured up by the right wing media, so countering that imagery by showing some the reality of being trans doesn't strike me as objectionable or caving in to the conservative narrative. it's a counter-narrative.

I don't think it's possible to be queer, period, without ambivalence about integration and representation. Look at the collapse of corporatist/neolib support for integration and representation the last year.

the fact is that all we're trying to do is appear as we know we are.

Great line, and while we cis gays struggle in a similar way with anticipating how we think we look to straights -- especially where we land on the macho/femme continuum -- it's quite different when GOP and Dem thugs target trans people because of the way they look; it's even more basic than who you sleep with. And I think cis people, gays included, need to understand why it's doubly hard to urge visibility. It's gonna take more than one McBride.

Yeah, one of the challenges in even reporting on the issues now is that a lot of people — and especially families with trans kids — are (very reasonably) more reluctant to talk publicly than they were even a few years ago. I have friends who are afraid of some kind of retroactive prosecution, and their fears are totally justified.

Anyway, I think a well-funded, well-produced media campaign with spokespeople — people who are already out and public, people with social media followings, etc — could help. Not in some sea-change way, but at least in incremental ways. But I don't imagine there's much money for that kind of approach from liberal funders.

i'm also just like. how would this campaign make people think differently about trans women participating in women's sports. how would it make them think about trans kids delaying puberty or undergoing hrt. this is where almost all of the scaremongering is going on, and it's hard to counter just with "trans people are normal"

how is trump-supporting Caitlin Jenner seen by the right now?

xpost

Yeah. I mean, that's because the right so successfully defined the terms of the debate around issues that they knew would be easiest to fearmonger. I'm not saying don't engage and defend on those issues, but leting those issues define the entirety of the discussion of the presence of trans people in society obviously plays into the conservative narrative. For a long time, a lot of anti-gay rhetoric was obsessively focused on the mechanics of gay sex — what goes where, who does what to whom — because that was the easiest way to trigger disgust reflexes. A lot of the "normalization" of gays and lesbians came through getting straight people's minds out of the bedroom and seeing people more holistically.

(Also, not to claim direct ownership of these issues, but fwiw my oldest IDs as nonbinary and has recently been painting his nails and wearing skirts and lace gloves when he goes out. I'm happy for him — he uses he/they pronouns interchangeably — and he looks good in a skirt. But my grasp of the fears around gender-related violence and acceptance are not entirely theoretical. A non-gender-conforming person here in our town was brutally attacked and had their nose broken at a local swimming pool last week.)

i'm curious how many people itt have watched the viral clip of TS madison on nene leakes' podcast calmly explaining for several minutes why it is wrong and offensive for nene to say that men who have sex w/ trans women are actually gay and that she wouldn't want to be involved with a straight man who had ever had sex with a trans woman? it is heroic, essentially, to watch TS maintain patience and humanity for nene in the face of being dehumanized so thoroughly, of being told straight to her face "i don't want a man who would want you" as if it was just a perfectly acceptable thing to say

the relevant part of the podcast is archived here

https://www.reddit.com/r/RPDRDRAMA/comments/1l7h4fi/ts_madison_has_an_exhausting_interview_with_nene/

i bring it up because the reaction to that conversation was, aside from disgust at nene, largley people asking TS how and why she was able to sit there and, with kindness, break down to nene why she was making wildly offensive points as opposed to cursing her out and storming off, as many people imagined they would have done, or someone should have done, in such a scenario. TS' response to those claims -- in tweets i can't find/don't have time to dig up -- was essentially to reaffirm nene's humanity, argue that she isn't rotten at her core and is just misguided/uneducated on the topic, and that TS relishes the ability to have such conversations in public, even when they are humiliating, because it's the best/only way to change the minds of transphobes. and i do believe that the conversation and subsequent controversy likely educated and changed the minds of some number of people listening to nene leakes' podcast who agreed w/ what nene was saying

i bring this up because you could view it from one perspective and say, here is proof of concept that putting a recognizable and friendly trans face in front of a microphone to talk about her life and experiences helped, in a brick by brick way, turn the tide against transphobia. but i think that it more so validates the point made by table and ivy, which is that asking trans people to go thru this experience is borderline barbaric and also just not unrealistic. this was a superheroic effort on the part of TS, and it was just one single podcast appearance. it's like saying we need to find more greta thurnburgs. you're asking for a certain kind of capacity that goes beyond what 99.9% of humans are willing to offer

i would also wager that next to nobody in here has seen this clip and followed this controversy, and i bring that up not as admonishment but to illustrate the other fly in the ointment w/ the visibility thru media argument, which is that because of the fragmentation of monoculture even the most influential voices these days are talking to small, often culturally siloed, groups of people. if you don't pay attention to niche gay or black media, you may not even know who these people are, let alone have seen the conversation.

love to be yelled at by cis straight people who think they know what’s best for trans people.

I don't think it's possible to be queer, period, without ambivalence about integration and representation. Look at the collapse of corporatist/neolib support for integration and representation the last year.

exactly why playing into the “visibility” option is so fraught— why allow cis straight people set the terms of engagement?

no one's yelling, table

xpost to jordan, yes, so much of this reads as “please be a perfect trans person for us so we can fight for your rights.” if that doesn’t seem “off” to people then that’s on them.

why allow cis straight people set the terms of engagement?

Because you're outnumbered and always will be. There's no "should" in politics. There is only power.

you're asking for a certain kind of capacity that goes beyond what 99.9% of humans are willing to offer

I mean, specifically I was talking about a planned media campaign. There are outspoken trans advocates, there are people with thousands of followers on social media, there are people out there talking about and posting about their lives. There are ways to fund and leverage those voices. But that's not where liberal funding is going right now. (If it's going anywhere at all.)

no one's asking for perfection, table. I recall my speaking of reality.

what could go wrong?

The Defense Department will begin using Grok, the artificial intelligence chatbot built by Elon Musk’s start-up xAI, the company said in a post Monday.

The xAI announcement came as Grok unveiled what it called “Grok for Government,” a suite that allows agencies and federal offices to adopt its chatbots for their specific uses. President Donald Trump has encouraged more rapid adoption of artificial intelligence tools since taking office in January.

Because you're outnumbered and always will be. There's no "should" in politics. There is only power.

you realize that this is more an argument for the execution of cis straight people than it is for the inclusion of trans people, right

what?

That escalated quickly.

it was hyperbole, calm down.

i have to go to work, but i encourage all the cis straight people here talking about what trans people “need to do”to sit back for a second and think about how that sounds.

I mean, specifically I was talking about a planned media campaign. There are outspoken trans advocates, there are people with thousands of followers on social media, there are people out there talking about and posting about their lives. There are ways to fund and leverage those voices. But that's not where liberal funding is going right now. (If it's going anywhere at all.)

― paper plans (tipsy mothra), Monday, July 14, 2025 2:48 PM (three minutes ago)

i hear what you're saying but i want to point out that this sounds good in theory but is still not reckoning with the real life implications of being at the center of a pro-trans mass media campaign. i would point to the career arc of dylan mulvaney -- this is someone who was thrust into a major national controversy over trans issues, and in the process became one of the most visible young trans people in america, if not the world. 9.1. million followers on tiktok. if you were going to pick someone to be the face of what you're describing, you basically couldn't do better. but dylan mulvaney does not want to spend the rest of her life going to war w/ the conservative establishment on behalf of trans humanity. if you go to her instagram you can see her on the cover of paper magazine -- here is the pull quote that goes w/ the story

“I would love to be seen for my advocacy in transness through comedy,” she tells her friend @lilydrew from an off-the-grid nudist colony. “Not being painted as this political figure but being seen as someone who is an active member of the industry.”

dylan mulvaney does see her work as political, she is not running from being a face for transness, but she wants to be an artist, not a political activist. perhaps her art will accomplish some of the same goals as political activism, but it is a secondary concern to being funny. what she chooses to post to her 9m tiktok followers confirms this. and i think if i went thru what she went thru i would feel the same way

Of course. Not everybody is or wants to be an activist. And also, activism on behalf of minority rights is legitimately dangerous. It always has been. But there are people out there, already visible, already taking those risks. I know some of them. They deserve support. The reason we don't have a well-funded national awareness-raising campaign on behalf of trans rights is not because of a lack of trans activists.

So:

1. Activism = good and necessary
2. Putting the burden on trans people = not a healthy idea

It would probably be helpful overall if there were just more visible trans people in the media, even if they're not speaking about politics. Of course that's a question for the gate-keepers.

Well, for example: My local SPJ chapter organized a public panel on coverage of trans issues a few years ago, and we invited a young trans man — who grew up here, went to local schools, could speak directly to the experience — as one of the panelists. He was happy to do it, tho of course I wouldn't have blamed him if he didn't want to. His participation greatly enriched the discussion, and I heard very positive things from people afterward. They had never heard anyone discuss those experiences.

If there isn't media trying to highlight real people's voices and experiences, we're not going to reach people who have no other way of hearing them.

I don't know how to have these discussions online without offending someone; we tend to assume posters have base motives at worst or are uncomprehending at best. At the student newspaper I advise I encourage queer writers to post columns about their experiences; but "encouragement" can look like pressure, of which I'm conscious. At their age I sure as fuck didn't want to speak for gay Hispanics: I used to imagine having my books appear in the Gay-Latino section of Borders was a living death.

I'm at at age when I can handle the slippage between I'm-just-being-me and Alfred S0t0, local activist; both work at different times. Having 9 million TikTok followers or whatever would give me pause at any age, though, and I'm already sensing in me a kind of...burrowing inwards because working at a Florida public institution in 2025 is really goddamn fraught.

i'd also say this --

i'm not sure it's true that people, at large, actually respond to stories, to the recitation of lived experience. a truism emerged in/around the me too era that if you don't have video evidence of an assault happening, it's probably not going to register on the level that it should. how strictly true that is could possibly be debated but diddy and cassie would be a recent instructive example in favor of the truism -- cassie talked in detail about her experience but nothing really changed until video was leaked of diddy punching and kicking her

you can look at our politics right now and find two similar examples with gaza and ICE. there is strong evidence that opinions are shifting on both of these issues, but only after extremely well documented examples of palestinians and immigrants in america experiencing the worst kinds of dehumanization that people can suffer. you can make the point that the media failed to adequately center palestinian voices in the many years leading up to recent events, and that would certainly be true, but i don't think that it would have actually changed anything. the only thing that has meaningfully changed public opinion on the topic is genocide. the same is obviously true for immigration in america -- the issue finally became "humanized" for people only after they literally saw their favorite waitress at the local diner disappear

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/04/us/politics/carol-missouri-migrant.html

the implications for trans people when viewed thru this lens are obviously dire, but i find it hard to look at the long term developments on these issues and then conclude that trans people could go down a path -- changing hears and minds thru the media -- that was not an option for i.e palestinians and latino people

Counterpoint is that the right fabricated a massive trans panic out of nothing at all by talking about it on right-wing media nonstop for years. People's opinions on trans athletes and bathroom use didn't just magically appear. Of course voices in the media matter. No one voice and no one media makes the difference — especially these days, in the landscape we have. But opinions and attitudes have very much been shaped by what they're exposed to in the media. If they don't have direct personal experiences to relate to, people they know, some form of mediated information is going to be the only place they get information.

I made an impression on my mom just by showing her a TikTok video by a trans woman who was being discharged from the military. She had heard about "trans people in the military," but she'd never actually heard from one. It matters.

This recent conversation on trans issues is really good, thank you. As a cis-het ally who honestly “knows” more trans people on this board than irl, I want the best outcomes, just don’t know how to get there.

Counterpoint is that the right fabricated a massive trans panic out of nothing at all by talking about it on right-wing media nonstop for years. People's opinions on trans athletes and bathroom use didn't just magically appear.

i think you can absolutely confirm people's priors w/o "evidence" ... this is true for both sides. but to actually radically change someone's opinion on a subject? how are we getting humanizing portrayals of trans people onto fox news, joe rogan etc?

I made an impression on my mom just by showing her a TikTok video by a trans woman who was being discharged from the military. She had heard about "trans people in the military," but she'd never actually heard from one. It matters.

what i would say about this is that the important figure in this equation, as far as your mom is concerned, was not the trans woman, it was you. i don't mean that as a diss or anything, but what mattered here is that the information, the video, was coming from someone she trusts (you). if she had viewed the same video via a mass media organization, would it have hit her the same? your mom might find mass media trustworthy, in which case maybe it would have, but many people, including the ones whose minds we want to change on trans issues, don't trust mass media, and so i think ultimately the ability of mass media to be effective on this issue is quite limited

Of course, all that is true. But the point is that you can't fight something with nothing. If that video wasn't there for me to show my mom, then that couldn't have happened. (And that wasn't mass media, it was an individual's TikTok post — I mean, TikTok is a form of mass media, but it wasn't a New York Times story or something.) Real change takes a long time! We know that, our history shows it over and over. A lot of what we spend our time talking about on these politics threads are things that haven't changed and need to, or haven't changed sufficiently, or have partially changed but are in danger of being pushed back. But you can't change things at all if you're not engaged with the effort. Which, as Parker Molloy detailed so well, there's been almost no real effort to communicate on trans rights by the Democratic Party or its assorted affiliates. (And I'm not even suggesting that the Democratic Party is the best or most effective vehicle for that kind of communication, although it would be great if they were at least trying.)

So yeah, I'd love it if, like, George Soros dropped $200 million on a trans rights media and lobbying campaign. I don't expect it to happen, and I don't fantasize that it would magically change hearts and minds overnight. But I think all of these things are important. Especially when there's such well-funded disinformation and bigotry in the other direction.

say goodbye to the Department of Education

USAID, State department and others last week; education today.

The same Supreme Court that thought Biden cancelling student debt was a step too far; thinks Trump killing agencies on his own without Congressional involvement is a ok

Playing around with the tools on the Gallup presidential approval site — you can look at different presidents and their approval ratings at different points in their terms, broken down by various demographics. The most recent data they have for Trump is from mid-June of this year, and while the demographic breakdowns aren't surprising it's still something to see them.

They put Trump at overall a 40 percent approval among all adults as of June 19. And then he is below 50 percent among all the various demographics except for "Males" (50 percent), people ages 50-64 (54 percent), people in the South (50 percent), and weekly churchgoers (54 percent). And of course Republicans (89 percent). Just confirming that Gen X Republican Christian men in the South are the worst people in America. Which will not be news to anyone who knows any of them.

https://news.gallup.com/interactives/507569/presidential-job-approval-center.aspx

Or is related to them

From today's NYT story on the frustrations of fed employees getting fired and rehired:

The week after Martin Basch was fired in February from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, he started applying for unemployment benefits in Ohio, where he lives.

The government did not offer much information when it fired him, but it did say his separation would be official on March 14. So he was surprised to see paychecks deposited into his bank account beyond that date. He reached out to his former supervisor, who directed him to someone who worked in human resources. After about five emails, he got an answer: A court case had led to his reinstatement, and he had been placed on paid leave.

“They never told me any of this,” Mr. Basch, 54, said. He had to stop his application for unemployment benefits and cancel his interim health coverage.

When he was fired again in May, he applied for unemployment benefits again. But because he had started the process earlier and then stopped it when he learned he was not unemployed after all, he was stuck in the state’s maze of forms, facing new delays.

Pretty grim firsthand account of an Irish ICE detainee:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/15/irish-tourist-ice-detention

The point seems to be: cart people off to private/for-profit detention facility and hold them to make bank. Anyone digging into the owners?

I just heard a radio account of a Florida state rep who visited 'Alligator Alcatraz' and described it as very inhumane... very hot tents with inadequate ventilation, tons of mosquitoes, men kept in cages and even wearing leg irons, even though immigration violations are civil offenses, not criminal

And no due process.. many of the men had upcoming court dates but were not being allowed to attend them

Many of the private owners are listed here and various sites have done articles on some of the owners

https://tracreports.org/reports/753/

https://www.npr.org/2025/06/04/nx-s1-5417980/private-prisons-and-local-jails-are-ramping-up-as-ice-detention-exceeds-capacity

HE is the champion, my friends

Trump kept FIFA Club World Cup trophy for himself - leaving champions Chelsea to lift a replica

President Donald Trump revealed that FIFA officials gave him the Club World Cup trophy ahead of Chelsea’s win in inaugural competition’s final.

“They said, ‘Could you hold this trophy for a little while?’ We put it in the Oval Office,” Trump said. “And then I said, ‘When are you going to pick up the trophy?’ He says, ‘We're never going to pick it up. You can have it forever in the Oval Office. We're making a new one.’”

“And they actually made a new one. So that was quite exciting…It’s in the Oval right now,” he added.

(I don't blame them at all... like a crow, he's mesmerized by shiny baubles & trinkets)

You can have it forever in the Oval Office.

FIFA's in on the coup.

I think they also gave him a medal for being a big good boy

The Justice Department is accelerating its efforts to undo decades of civil service protections intended to insulate the work of law enforcement officials from political interference, according to current and former officials, ramping up a wave of firings in recent days.

A new batch of more than 20 career employees at the department and its component agencies were fired on Friday, including the attorney general’s own ethics adviser, Joseph W. Tirrell. Others who were dismissed included a handful of senior officials at the U.S. Marshals Service, as well as prosecutors and support staff who once worked for Jack Smith when he was a special counsel prosecuting Donald J. Trump.

On the surface, the various groups have little in common. Justice Department veterans, however, see an overarching pattern: a quickening effort by the Trump administration to ignore and eventually demolish longstanding civil service legal precedents meant to keep politics out of law enforcement work, and to give more leeway to the president’s loyalists.

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/07/15/us/trump-news?unlocked_article_code=1.Wk8.6-_q.galsgV78oFFE&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

Not that I think England will win the next World Cup but must admit it would be pretty funny if Cole Palmer found himself videobombed on the pitch by Trump again then (not as funny as Trump dying long before that).

"Anything to do with rust and belt" for August thread title

https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3ltzp6oq5xk2h

James Austin Johnson's SNL impression is basically a documentary now.

a good time for grifter personal injury attorneys to get a foot in the door

The US justice department unit charged with defending against legal challenges to signature Trump administration policies – such as restricting birthright citizenship and slashing funding to Harvard University – has lost nearly two-thirds of its staff, according to a list seen by Reuters.

Sixty-nine of the roughly 110 lawyers in the federal programs branch have voluntarily left the unit since Donald Trump’s election in November or have announced plans to leave, according to the list compiled by former justice department lawyers and reviewed by Reuters.

Sixty-nine

Nice

a quickening effort by the Trump administration to ignore…

trump’s projects are really coming to life

Senator Josh Hawley introduced legislation on Tuesday that aims to roll back some of the major changes to Medicaid made in Republicans’ sweeping policy bill, legislation that the Missouri Republican voted to pass just two weeks ago.

Weasel .

See? He cares about the poor.

My local Public Broadcasting station laid off 50 people this morning in anticipation of the Trump's "emergency" rescission of federal funding that's clawing back funds already ear-marked by bipartisan congress.

I don't even know if this kind of "he's losing his mind" shit matters to anyone, but Trump said he was "surprised" that Joe Biden named Jerome Powell as Fed chair and then extended his term. Biden DID extend his term. But Powell was appointed as Fed chair ... in 2017 ... by ...

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/trump-surprised-someone-made-powell-fed-chair-it-was-him.html

don't see why Laura Loomer isn't qualified, it's just a ceremonial job anyway

Some good news:

Fetterman is at 24% approval amongst PA Democratic voters.

Unsurprisingly, Trump not doing so hot either

President Trump’s disapproval rating is at its highest level since the start of his second term, according to the latest Economist/YouGov poll.

The survey, conducted over the weekend, shows 55 percent disapprove of the way Trump is handling his job, compared to 41 percent who approve.

holy shit

Bondi is going to visit Alcatraz Island tomorrow... they're really gonna try to reopen it! All because Trump watched Escape from Alcatraz a few weeks ago

This is almost comical except for the fact that they might actually do damage to the historic stuff - hopefully just another Greenland stunt and/or Epstein distraction

I hate this fucking country gonna look into living in Spain

Be careful in Barcelona, they're getting sick of 'ex pats'

I'm not too worried about Alcatraz - there's a reason it's been closed for sixty years - but there's just so much 'Look! Condor in a wetsuit!' shit going on that it makes your head spin

Lots of amazing parts of Spain. Galicia really impressed me.

Besides I can speak a little Catalan and Galician I know the history there!