Culture Warriors category archive
Republican Thought Police 0
In the midst of a longer article about the Trump maladministration’s attempt to white-wash America’s history, Diane Carman succintly sums up what’s going on:
But apparently only the white ones.
American Stasi 0
MIT professor and Nobel Laureate Daron Acemoglu is not sanguine. A snippet:
If this violence goes unchecked, it could indeed be a turning point, because it will create a template for other security forces more closely aligned with Trump to use force against any manifestation of opposition. In that case, the slide toward an authoritarian regime could become difficult to reverse, as civil society becomes prostrate in the face of mounting repression and the norms against such crackdowns become steadily eroded.
Already, the two branches of government that are supposed to check the presidency (Congress and the Supreme Court) have proven to be highly solicitous of Trump’s agenda.
Afterthought:
I question his use of the term “Trump’s agenda.” Me-me-me-me may be motivation, but I don’t think it rises to the level of “agenda.”
“Agenda” implies a coherent strategy, not an incoherent one.
“She Was Just Following Orders” 0
David hears Kristi Noem say something that rhymes with the Nuremberg trials.
American Stasi 0
The Brock Press (a student publication at Brock University in Canada) offers a case study in devolution:
No Change Agents 0
At the The American Scholar, Robert Zaretsky writes of the theories of Austrian philosopher Karl Popper, who lived through and studied the rise of fascism in early and mid-twentieth century Europe. In the midst of a lengthy exploration of Popper’s work, Zaretsky makes what I find a trenchant observation, one which I characterizes dis coarse discourse:
I find his piece a timely and relevant read.
Republican Thought Police 0
Texas Governor Abbott is upset that Texas school students have the utter unmitigated gall and effrontery to form their own opinions about the American Stasi.
American Stasi 0
Farron discusses a federal judge’s asking the Trump maladministration why the heck are you doing this to justify why ICE has invaded Minnesota.
A Notion of Immigrants 0
At NJ.com, Daysi Calavia-Robertson stands tells a tale of Republican mean for the sake of mean as she recounts the story of a legal immigrant who was snatched up by ICE and then moved from place to place, while his family and his attorney were kept in the dark as to his whereabouts.
Buried deep in the article is a plausible explanation for the mean for the sake of mean.
Harol agrees. He tells me he knows the transfers are meant to “break us down.” “To hurt us, one way or the other, to make us miss our court dates, to make us tired, or depressed, to make us want to self-deport,” he says.
The gratuitous cruelty would make the Marquis de Sade tumescent, as I’m sure it does its perpetrato–oh, never mind.
Follow the link for the details.
American Stasi 0
Rick Strom argues that ICE should be abolished.
I’m not sure that I sure that I would go that far, but certainly those changes that have turned it into the official KKK of the USA need to be undone.
Still Rising Again after All These Years 0
Field looks at the actions of the Trump maladministration and decodes de code. Here’s a tiny bit from his article:
Most of us know what the agenda is: To make America white again.
American Stasi 0
Grung_e_Gene, who has law enforcement training, shares his thoughts on ICE’s icing an ICU nurse in Ninneapolis.
Warning: He minces no words.
All the News that Fits 0
Steve M. points out that the inhabitants of Trump world can’t understand why all the fuss about Trump’s ICEcapades because their world is so bubblelicious.
A Tune for the Times 0
Warning: Mild language.
From the Youtube page:
“Make America Great Again, My Ass” is a sharp, unapologetic parody music video that takes aim at the hollow nostalgia behind MAGA politics. While politicians chant about a “better past,” this video highlights the very real ways America is failing people right now — from economic inequality and crumbling infrastructure to culture wars, book bans, and the erosion of basic rights.
Set to biting lyrics and uncomfortable imagery, this parody pulls back the curtain on performative patriotism and exposes the disconnect between political slogans and lived reality. If you’re tired of being told things are “great” while wages stagnate, healthcare collapses, and democracy feels fragile, this one’s for you.
Precedented 0
In a disturbing and unsettling article at AL.com, Kyle Whitimire addresses
(h)ow a Yale prof’s cruel experiment explains the ICE-y obedience breaking America.
No excerpt or summary can do his piece justice. Just go read it.