Turning On The Giant Faucet Of Bullshit - US Politics February 2025

i mean it wasn't nice it was lame but whatever he tried.

RFK is in
I just wanted this one nice thing to hold on to, that this piece of shit not be in charge of health in the US. but no

also, i've tried to type this over the last few weeks but can never figure out how to not sound like a giant dumbass, BUT:

more than ever before, and more plainly, the establishment democrats -- by that i mean the schumers, the durbins, the 1990s political media ecosystem that has survived into the current time, the obamas, the clintons, anyone who ever said covfefe, people in a financial position to be able to observe the current destruction with some safety) -- have shown they have no new ideas and aren't going to be the leaders on the left when we come out of it. i'm sure they will try again. the democratic establishment probably still blames trump on bernie sanders, palestinians, acab, defund the police, any number of things which polling showed weren't popular with upper-middle class democrats, apocalyptic white evangelicals, and tacit supporters of white supremacy. but they're showing, right now, that they don't have any new ideas, and that their remaining ideas of how to govern come from 1992-2016, not from the era we actually live in.

i think the valid criticism of that^ is "ok so what are your new ideas smartass", and the answer to that is "payment for posts" (jk), my wishful answer is "stop working. everyone, stop working.", but the real answer is yeah, i know it's a hard one, it's tough when the other political party drops pretenses of caring about people or following the law and are daring everyone else to stop them. they are literally a horrible bad kid acting out repeatedly because they want to be shown the red line. no one is showing them a red line so they keep crossing it. that's hard for anyone to deal with, let alone the political party that should represent everyone to the left of the brutally unempathetic far right. but just saying, more than i've ever witnessed in my life, the establishment democrats have nothing CLOSE to winning ideas right now, they aren't inspiring anyone, there's no plan, there's no motivation, there's just nothing except hoping for the courts to save us all. i don't know what happens after this, i don't know how long autocratic rule is going to settle in, i don't know if the u.s. will ever make it "back" to anything resembling a liberal democracy.

eh, as usual that's going nowhere. hopefully someone feels some of that

more than ever before, and more plainly, the establishment democrats -- by that i mean the schumers, the durbins, the 1990s political media ecosystem that has survived into the current time, the obamas, the clintons, anyone who ever said covfefe, people in a financial position to be able to observe the current destruction with some safety) -- have shown they have no new ideas and aren't going to be the leaders on the left when we come out of it. i'm sure they will try again. the democratic establishment probably still blames trump on bernie sanders, palestinians, acab, defund the police, any number of things which polling showed weren't popular with upper-middle class democrats, apocalyptic white evangelicals, and tacit supporters of white supremacy. but they're showing, right now, that they don't have any new ideas, and that their remaining ideas of how to govern come from 1992-2016, not from the era we actually live in.

I second these points. Then you have reps like Maxwell Frost, who might have ideas, still treated as some sort of kook.

also, one more thing that points in the wrong direction - the establishment democrats are embarrassed about the good things they did. the title of the biggest and most impactful climate bill in global history, for example, is The Inflation Reduction Act. maybe americans get amnesia again in 2028 and reelect democrats because they want different entertainment on their screens for a while. but i _think_ that really powerful political movements involve motivating people and inspiring them about what kind of world we could live in, and showing how we get there. what is the vision for democrats? what do they want, for people, these days? what's the dream like in the u.s. in 2050? are we all typing on our computers, still, and watching computers figure things out and fly products around in the air in perfect production chains? or are we supposed to be...happier, more fulfilled as human beings, at some point?

The FBI had used Glomar arguments to retain the privacy of the Mar-a-Lago case files, falling back on its typical refusal to “confirm or deny” a criminal investigation in order to safeguard ongoing investigations. But the decimation of any future case against Trump on the details of the case has completely undermined that argument, according to the judge.

“In these circumstances, defendants’ Glomar arguments crumble with no more weight than dust and just as little persuasiveness,” Howell wrote. “As plaintiff pointedly highlights, as to President Trump, ‘there is a reasonable argument that he is immune from prosecution for flushing his own records down the toilet while in office.’”

In a footnote, Howell torched the high court’s decision to grant Trump such sweeping protections, likening their actions to enablers of the fascist regime of Nazi Germany.

“Of course, while the Supreme Court has provided a protective and presumptive immunity cloak for a president’s conduct, that cloak is not so large to extend to those who aid, abet and execute criminal acts on behalf of a criminally immune president,” Howell wrote. “The excuse offered after World War II by enablers of the fascist Nazi regime of ‘just following orders’ has long been rejected in this country’s jurisprudence.”

https://newrepublic.com/post/191370/donald-trump-supreme-court-immunity-lawsuit

sorry if posted.

It's kind of wild that Mitch McConnell was the lone Republican to vote against Gabbard and RFK Jr. and that he was one of three to vote against Hegseth.

A quibble, zach: Durbin, Schumer, Obama, etc., all those solons, none of them are remotely left and never were. What they hope for is our taking back Congress in 2026. What did Pelosi run on in 2018? Health care? I can't even remember.

McConnell:

“Individuals, parents, and families have a right to push for a healthier nation and demand the best possible scientific guidance on preventing and treating illness,” it read in part. “But a record of trafficking in dangerous conspiracy theories and eroding trust in public health institutions does not entitle Mr. Kennedy to lead these important efforts.”

The senator said he could not “condone the re-litigation of proven cures.”

McConnell surely isn't going to have another election, and Trump already hates him, so he doesn't have much to lose.

In the 60 Minutes interview last week McConnell hinted that he hadn't spoken to Trump since 1/6/21.

Plus he's only doing this because his vote won't change the outcome.

Then you have reps like Maxwell Frost, who might have ideas, still treated as some sort of kook.

Frost, Crocket, AOC, Tliab, Pressley, Omar.... I wonder what the trend could be

Cocaine Mitch would trade his left nut and at least two inches of peen to wind the clock back to 2004, nice orderly business-friendly conservatism where you keep the culture war and racism as mostly subtext

As usual welcome to the #resistance Mitch

Just want to pause to thank z_tbd for posting that. Very relatable sentiment for, I think, lots of folks even while we don't have a magic prescription that will make bullies go poof.

I had to do it. In line at the local market this morning I said to Maria: "No eggs. Can you believe it? Thanks, Trump!" And then I said: "There were always eggs when Obama was president!" And the cashier said: "It's a conspiracy." And I said: "It's an egg conspiracy?" And she said: It's a conspiracy to raise prices..." And I said: "But there aren't any eggs!" And she said knowingly: "There are eggs." I looked around as if they were hiding somewhere or maybe she was selling them under the table, bootleg-style. I did actually get one of the last cartons of local eggs. All they had left was local eggs. Because local eggs are nice and won't kill you. Then another cashier said: "Walmart has eggs." And I said: "Walmart eggs! I don't want those. They probably come from China!" And the first cashier said: "They have all the regular kinds of eggs that we carry." And I said: "They have the local eggs there?" And she said: "No, they don't have those." And I muttered under my breath: "A conspiracy..."

Yeah, but can you still eat any of those Obama eggs?

In many spaces right now some of the "why aren't you fighting back more?" talk sometimes feels like victim-blaming.

Courage is good! Defiance is good! And praising courage is good! But it's tricky messaging because turn it a notch further and it becomes, like, why aren't you punching the bully in the face, you coward.

Junior high school is forever I guess

like, genuinely, what am I supposed to do here? there were people protesting at the busy intersections in town the last few days, but is that really gonna make one lick of difference? do I call my reps who will ignore me? do I donate more money to the party who lost to a sundowning fascist?

but i _think_ that really powerful political movements involve motivating people and inspiring them about what kind of world we could live in, and showing how we get there. what is the vision for democrats? what do they want, for people, these days? what's the dream like in the u.s. in 2050? are we all typing on our computers, still, and watching computers figure things out and fly products around in the air in perfect production chains? or are we supposed to be...happier, more fulfilled as human beings, at some point?

This is a great point. I feel like Democrats have been leaning on the same rhetoric for decades: variations on giving everyone a fair shot, providing opportunities to achieve the American Dream, building out the middle class, etc. These are all cliches at this point, but they're also very individual-oriented. (The middle class in their imagination isn't a space for solidarity, it's a measure of individual status.) They have sort of an abstract vision of a society that is more egalitarian, but it seems like that's about it.

i think it has to get a lot worse before it can get better and i think Donald Trump has to fully sunset below the horizon and blink out forever before the spell can be broken. if i was a republican i wouldn't be optimistic that as many people would be on board if the big star is suddenly offstage forever. but that also means the democrats have to stop trotting out legacy acts.

To omar, the shit will only stop when it hits enough red-hat folks.

To Frogbs, let's try purple hats this time. That'll surely work.

For clarity, I have protested/am protesting/will protest again. I have been out there on the Mall with a sign as many times as anyone here, since the fucking 80s. My reps know my views (and share them). Etc.

This mainly venting and I don wanna get into it with anyone here, but sheesh. I'm legitimately crying-in-a-blanket frightened for my children, both of whom are under direct threat, and also my job and my wife's job.

The "why are you not in the streets" stuff is wearing me out. It's not as bad as Musk shittery but it's salt in an open wound.

The politicians are supposed to the fighting for us

Here's Jay Michaelson (who I do not know and am not standing for):

Hello! I'm posting in response to the many sincerely anguished claims that not enough is being done to stop Trump. This is not reflected in the facts.

> - Represented by Public Citizen Litigation Group and State Democracy Defenders Fund, the Alliance for Retired Americans, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) filed suit on Monday against the Treasury Department “for sharing confidential data with the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), run by Elon Musk.” Go to Public Citizen's website to learn all about this lawsuit, which is very likely to prevail.

> - On USAID, appearing with other Democratic lawmakers outside USAID offices on Monday, Representative Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) shouted, “Elon Musk, you didn't create USAID. The United States Congress did for the American people … like Elon Musk did not create USAID, he doesn't have the power to destroy it. And who's going to stop him? We are... This a constitutional crisis that we are in today.” Lawsuits have also been filed in this matter, and are also likely to prevail.

> - Hakeem Jeffries has announced lawsuits have been filed regarding the firings of inspectors general.

> - On Jan 21, Democracy Forward, was filed at 12:01 p.m. ET on Monday and accused Elon Musk's DOGE of being a "shadow operation led by unelected billionaires" that flouts federal transparency rules. That should win.

> - National Security Counselors filed a suit arguing that DOGE meets the requirements to be a federal advisory committee and is therefore legally required to have "fairly balanced" representation, keep regular minutes of meetings and allow public access to meetings. Clearly accurate.

> - Eighteen state attorneys general and a slew of immigrants' rights groups brought swift legal action against Trump after he signed his executive order seeking to ban birthright citizenship for some children born in the U.S., arguing that it violates the Fourteenth Amendment. Obviously, clearly unconstitutional.

> - "Schedule F" has been challenged in court by the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents employees in 37 agencies and departments.

> - Several immigrant rights groups in the United States, as well as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), have filed a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s ban on asylum claims.

> - GLAD Law and the National Center For Lesbian Rights (NCLR) have sued to stop Trump's ban on trans people in the military.

> And there are many more - I'll link to a great list of them in the comments.

> Yes, there are Trump judges in the courts, and if Aileen Cannon types get these cases, Trump may prevail. But most judges are not like her. These actions are clearly illegal and/or unconstitutional, and they WILL be stopped.

> Just like the tariffs were not meant to prevail -- Trump won that round, "forcing" Canada and Mexico to take "action" on fentanyl -- these actions are not meant to prevail. They're meant to flood the zone with shit, confuse and immobilize us. They said they'd do "Shock and Awe" and that's what they've done. Nothing here should be surprising.

> Shock and Awe is up to YOU. I am not shocked, I am not in awe.

> Oh, and the "mainstream media" has reported on all of these. The info above has come from Newsweek, the NY Times, and other mainstream sources. Please stop attacking journalists when we are being threatened by the FBI. Who do you think you're helping by doing that?

> Stop it with the doomsaying and gloomsaying. Want to make a difference? Give thousands of dollars to Public Citizen, the ACLU, and similar groups. Show up at marches. Put your ass on the line and help protect people from ICE. If you're safe, do simple symbolic things (like changing your social media pictures) to support people who are not safe. Just like we should not obey in advance, we should not panic in advance either. This is not the end of democracy. That is just what the bad guys want you to think. Get over it and fight.

* stanning

the shit will only stop when it hits enough red-hat folks

already starting, with the end of USAID grain purchases from midwest farmers

yeah but then they just pass carve-outs that service the voters they're worried about losing

Right, there was an effort a few days ago by GOP reps to move the Food for Peace under Agriculture.

"A survey from The Economist/YouGov released Wednesday revealed the president's net favorability rating among those aged 18-29 is minus 18 points. This is a drop from the plus 19 favorable rating he scored among this demographic in the days following November's race."

Huh. If only there were signs that he might be a liar and swindler!

This is a great point. I feel like Democrats have been leaning on the same rhetoric for decades: variations on giving everyone a fair shot, providing opportunities to achieve the American Dream, building out the middle class, etc. These are all cliches at this point, but they're also very individual-oriented. (The middle class in their imagination isn't a space for solidarity, it's a measure of individual status.) They have sort of an abstract vision of a society that is more egalitarian, but it seems like that's about it.

otm

I'm hearing reports from friends that their kids who were accepted to grad programs related to Environmental Science and Sustainability are having their acceptances rescinded, and job positions in those fields are being revoked as well.

wait until Trump decides to kick out all the students from China attending US universities

As usual welcome to the #resistance Mitch

too fucking little and at least two decades too late

I wish I had something clever or funny or inspiring to say, but today it all just feels… flat.

Won’t say what my workplace is but it brutally quiet.

i'm not an accelerationist by any means - i think that not only can it get much worse, but that getting worse doesn't necessarily lead to anything better. people eating raw onions during the dark ages would find no solace in the idea that their misery was accelerating our glorious present.

buuuut, i think there's a real power/idea/courage vacuum in the democratic party right now, noticeable even more than usual. i think an incredible movement could fill that space. the doesn't have a lack of ideas of how a meaningful future could exist, and it doesn't have a lack of courageous, passionate people. they're embedded in communities, they're the people keeping things going right now, in the absence of political leadership and vision. the most powerful ideas on the left are driven by equity, sharing, and community, and the right wing doesn't have an equivalent for that except in churches.

it's an old thought and nothing new, but yes, i do think god is dead, that we killed him, and that many people are now a bit spiritually lost. the traditional third places are gone, for many people, and replaced with objects, technology, dreams of being immortal (not even joking, unfortunately), and the thrill of watching digital monetary values change. fine. let the right wing provide a home for those who love the material 21st century capitalist life - there are a lot of them! but i think most people desire something else, and sadly, as time goes on they don't even know what they're longing for, any more. (i think they're longing for pre-internet, and people under the age of 35 or so don't have memories of that, ooof). a political party that i would be enthusiastic about has an answer for these problems, or at least acknowledges them.

for some reason this article just broke me

https://www.sfgate.com/california-parks/article/yosemite-national-park-in-chaos-20163260.php

I have to admit the cravenness is kinda funny. One of Drunken Pete Hegseth's first actions as Secretary of Defense was to re-rename Fort Liberty Fort Bragg. It had been changed because it was originally named for traitorous Confederate scum Gen. Braxton Bragg. But in fact, the fort is now named in honor of World War II-era private Ronald Bragg. They want to call it Fort Bragg and win points with racist scumbags, but since Congress has banned the naming of military installations after traitors, they have to do this and hope the coal-rolling hordes don't notice.

xp - I'm sorry Raymond, sending good thoughts your way. There's been a lot of worry and anxiety at my workplace as well. Feels awful to have that extra added layer of job security impacted by all this shit.

let the right wing provide a home for those who love the material 21st century capitalist life

but it seems that this current batch want something more - to reshape the country into a very weird, dark form of christianity that jettisons all the forgiveness stuff (actual jesus) and goes back to the old testament full of smiting and prepping for the end times. And they don't just want it for themselves, they want it codified into law... Not the Trump family, obviously, they're just the useful idiots that are helping us move in the direction that they want: a few rich white men at the top, with a bible in their hands - and the rest of us cowed and quiet

speaking as a Jew, callous cruelty and prepping for the apocalypse is as much a misread of the old testament as it is of the new.

there's no true spiritual basis in any of this depravity

for some reason this article just broke me

https://www.sfgate.com/california-parks/article/yosemite-national-park-in-chaos-20163260.php

I'm a bit suspicous of that Alt National Parks social media account but they have been a three alarm fire of bad news for weeks now.

holy shit

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/13/nyregion/danielle-sassoon-quit-eric-adams.html?unlocked_article_code=1.wk4.vldS.Q-_P2I2o4v-L

i read an article this morning stating what a bad ass right winger she was--Heritage Foundation and everything

ha ha this one!

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/12/nyregion/adams-prosecutor-danielle-sassoon-profile.html

good for her

I remember that Alt National Parks account from 2017-era Twitter. There were a few accounts like it that purported to have inside information about what was going on in the federal government, and some of them shaded too far into Resistance grifting. I don't recall what Alt National Parks was like, exactly, but I'm looking at its Facebook page now and I'm put off by the fact that it's posting news items -- not original reporting, but publicly available information -- without links. I wouldn't be able to trust any of it without confirming elsewhere.

the traditional third places are gone

I'm in a bar with my friends about weekly, and I stopped drinking.

Glad to see some coalescing around some big (hopefully) protests coming up soon - this Saturday protests at Tesla dealers, Monday protests at the White House and state capitols and February 28th trying to get an economic blackout for big corporations.

How much of a difference they'll make? Who knows. But these are good things to see and help out with.