The dark side

The fantasy, aside from massive heart attack and instant death, is that the oompa loompa will lose the midterms, and be impeached in a blue wave.

Things start to turn when Republicans are not challenged in their primaries, and there's no consequence for turning on the pedophile (Archive/Daily Beast).

The press seems to keep pounding on how Pete Hegseth needs to go.

Phil Klay: I suspect the question the administration cares about is not “is this legal,” “is this a war crime,” “is this murder” or even “is this good for America,” but rather, “isn’t this violence delightful?”

Jesse Watters and Megyn Kelly are monster on Fox, they delight in it. 

"An Associated Press investigation suggests that the men Ms. Kelly would like to watch slowly die are often poor laborers: a fisherman, a motorcycle taxi driver, a bus driver, living in cinder-block homes with spotty water and power service, making at least $500 per trip ferrying cocaine, a crime Americans normally judge worthy of a prison sentence rather than a torturous death." (op cit)

Thought of the day

The long term impact of planting fear in immigrants mind will last longer than Trump's reign of terror, his war on Americans. 

Heartbreaking stories of deportation (Bluesky). There's a certain kind of American that gets really angry at immigration. 

I am horrified by the videos every day I see of violent ICE arrests. They are illegal kidnappings. I'm not sure why they get to decide to suspend due process. The idea that non-citizens don't deserve due process is a false idea. I don't believe in a human being illegal. A flock of lawyers should descend on every case. 

The long term effects of inhumanity are felt by us all. It's a monster that says this doesn't affect me. I can see that there's a kind of mean spirited person that exists in the country, denies interconnectivity. 

Thought of the day

The hubris of thinking you know better, and hiding information that is negative, is among the traits of this second regime of the oompa loompa. I need to mock him, he's so obviously an emperor with no clothes, it screams at me. Standing there naked, nudity isn't sincerity or honesty, it's the absence of insight in his case. He doesn't seem to know what we know, and he doesn't care. Kirk saying empathy was wrong is another defining characteristic. It's not like he's making the best decisions, he's all about the break and grift model of government. Un-American if you ask me.

In the gish gallop of terrible news meant to beat down those with hearts, the not quiet piggy has the following headline: "Trump Cancels Release of Crucial Economic Report to Hide His Failures" (source). The information has snuck out anyway. You can't be such a mendacious leader in the information age.

I'll forever never forgive America for voting for this claptrap, this obvious destruction. Whoever comes after will never be as destructive as this jerk. Worst thing in my lifetime. The people who died of Covid because of his inactivity. The people who died worldwide because he stopped US. The horror of videos of violent ICE arrests, so many illegal. The loss of prestige on the world stage. Exceptionalism maybe wasn't even a good idea, but it's dead now. 

The goal is for me to lose faith in America, but I'm watching Ken Burn's documentaries, and even with all the mistakes and horror, I believe in a woke liberal America. 

Collecting knocks against future democrat candidates

I don't know how useful these projects of mine are, but I thought to begin to collect the wisdom of the internet, get the tone of the internet regarding people potentially running as democrat for president in 2028. I really don't want JD Vance or Marco Rubio. 

Mark Kelly: Military, astronaut, typical hero for our grandparents generation. Wife was shot, he's made sacrifices. He's been fighting Trump actively with a social media presence. He's a white man, Dems need to try that on for size to make sure this next election isn't fumbled. Hopefully the voters don't want to continue to blow the fucking world up. I'm sure he'd be better than any republican.

Knock: He's too pro-police (skeet) to get 90% of the black vote? After electing a white man because America didn't like the brown woman, not sure that's a tipping point problem.

Gavin Newsom: He's governor of California, a strong state, and has fought Trump in the social media quite well. People who hate him don't always articulate why, which proves much of our choices are unconscious. I'm sure he'd be better than any republican. 

Knock: Too centrist. He's got the hackles up for some, he makes people feel betrayed who have unrealistic expectations. "He is the epitome of what's wrong with CA. Slick talker full of bad ideas who thinks he's right." (skeet).

Kamala Harris: Just keep running till you win, that's every politicians strategy. That's what Biden did. Some think she's too establishment, some think she's too revolutionary. Must be a middle of the road person. Seems cool to me, likes jazz and lived in Madison for a year, where I grew up, but America doesn't get her. Did well despite the limitations of 107 day campaign. I'm sure she's be better than any republican. 

Knock: Most withdrawn of all the candidates, least charismatic. Their racism and misogyny is complicated. (skeet)

AOC is good and dynamic, but America doesn't want a woman or an ethnic woman at that. She's got solid fundraising ability with Bernie Sanders. She's a good talking head. I'm sure she'd be way better than any republican. 

Knock: Too left wing. There are lots of centrists who dislike ideology. 

Pete Buttigig is gay, and that's yet another reason not to vote for someone who's politics you hate, and we need to bring in the swing voters. I wish we were past homophobia, but it's obviously a persistent factor in the USA in 2025. My friend came out to me at 16, in a state where the average age of coming out was 22. I probably have a positive prejudice with the gays. America doesn't. He'd be better than any republican. 

Knock: Too centrist? He's a nuts and bolts policy wonk, I think he'd be a great president, but what Obama taught us was that if there's a huge resistance, in his case to his race, then it's just all uphill battles. He seems strong enough to weather the storms. We need a white hetrosexual man. Again, either you're too ideological or you're too centrist, there's no sweet spot. 

Pritzker is fighting Trump, for me the next president should have put in effort of resistance. He's a white hetrosexual man! But he's not attractive. We need a basic level of looks in superficial America. He'd be better than any republican. 

Knock: He's too rich to be a true revolutionary? He's not handsome enough? Same criticism bunch of not being enough left wing, or not centrist enough. The irrational fear is he will tax people more. 

Cory Booker. I'd love a vegan president. He'd be better than any republican. 

Knock: Not white enough. Too friendly with Wall Street. Too much into uniting. You need pundits to believe in your political lane. 

Jimmy Carter. Yea, I know he's dead, he's a placeholder for someone who seems to come out of nowhere. Like the guy from Maryland. The other candidates take all the shit flinging and then a new one steps forward without any shit on them. That's why I hoped Harris would win. Didn't work because she's not a white hetrosexual Christian male, which seems to be category needs for superficial America. 

MTG resigns

She was a hard right political hack who followed Trump's playbook, and then decided to pivot away from him, lost his endorsement, when she came upon her 5 year vesting of a pension. Like Liz Cheney, she was a quite horrible right wing shrew, and the left is so desperate for any crumbs, so when she turned on Trump, she became something she wasn't before, not quite as horrible enabling the monster, but hardly anyone worth cheering given her body of work. 

She's gotten a lot of threats, she says, and her timing with her pension vesting makes it seem like she has timed all of this. She's made a lot of money as a politician, so it's time to fade off into the sunset for her. 

Perhaps most famous for howling at Biden while he gave his state of the union address. 

There's a surprising amount of high profile republicans who hate Trump, but oddly enough it's not enough to oust him yet. 

NY Times: “Loyalty should be a two-way street, and we should be able to vote our conscience and represent our district’s interest,” Ms. Greene wrote in a long post. She said that if she had been cast aside by “MAGA Inc,” it was indicative that “many common Americans have been cast aside and replaced as well.”

“I refuse to be a ‘battered wife’ hoping it all goes away and gets better.”

She comes from a red district, and I hope Johnson gives the replacement the Adelita Grijalva treatment and takes his time swearing her in, and deny the will of the people again. 

Mamdani and Trump

What I saw was Mamdani approached Trump with respect, and they found common ground. I could never find common ground with Trump, so I respect Mamdani for being the bigger man, and thinking about the voters and the city, while the current reign is in the office. He made peace with a deeply distributed, troubled, and horrible man. To me it seems commendable. Work within the circumstances for the greatest good. I'm too idealistic to deal with Trump, but I hope in Mamdani's shoes, I would have been able to raise to the occasion like he did. Mamdani displayed another amazing side to himself. He got lucky, they didn't treat him like they did Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He neutralized some of Trump's insane rhetoric. I don't really like the optics, but it's realpolitik: Realpolitik (from German, meaning "realistic politics") is a pragmatic approach to politics and diplomacy that prioritizes national interests and practical considerations over ideological, moral, or ethical concerns. It is a system of politics based on concrete, goal-oriented ways of dealing with other nations.

(Reddit, NY Times) Independent thinks he’s afraid of his popularity.

“What Zohran did was not extraordinary statesmanship or youthful rebellion but simply the oldest trick in our collective cultural book, the desi art of letting the elder talk while quietly keeping the steering wheel of our own intent,” Indian diarist Kedar Gadgil (CNN)

Socialism

Diego Rivera's Man, Controller of the Universe

People think it's all a waste of time, and silly nonsense but I'm deeply offended by the Senate banning socialism. (Reddit)

Here's what Google AI says: "The history of "banning" socialism in America involves periods of significant political repression and legislation aimed at suppressing radical movements, particularly during and after the World Wars and the Cold War, rather than an outright, continuous, and comprehensive ban on all socialist thought or political parties."

To me socialism is the roads being free, we all own the roads. Parks. Having the trash taken away. Fire departments, post office, libraries. These are all great things.

And a dog whistle for the right, who have such a boner for unchecked capitalism and oligarchy. 

I take offense as a New Yorker who elected a socialist in Mandani and for Seattle's new mayor.