Hate Sells category archive
How Can You Tell Someone Is in a Cult? 0
At the Portland Press-Herald, Peter Rowland offers some indicators.
In a Quandary? 0
Michael Hiltzik offers a way out:
1. Examine closely the position taken by Elon Musk, and;
2. Go the other way.
Follow the link for his reasoning.
This New Gilded Age 0
Farron discusses Donald Trump’s attempts to pretend that he didn’t know anything about the “Heritage” Foundation’s Project 2025.
The Cult of Poisonality 0
Michael in Norfolk has a few questions about the Trump and his cultists.
Follow the link for context.
The “Wallace Conundrum” 0
At AL.com, Kyle Whitmire tries to figure out the core beliefs of major figures in today’s Republican Party and concludes that there’s no there there. Methinks he may be onto something.
A snippet:
They’re the political Shape Shifters.
Such changes shouldn’t be confused with changing one’s mind. Healthy minds evolve to incorporate new information, evidence or experience. In contrast, Shape Shifters change to fit new attitudes or new audiences — for approval.
Follow the link to find out why he dubs this the “Wallace conundrum.”
The Disinformation Superhighway 0
Using the shooting at Donald Trump as a starting point, the Seattle Times’s Melissa Davis looks at the speed with which dis- and misinformation spreads over “social” media. A snippet:
And the rumors don’t slow down.
I commend the entire article to your attention. And, remember, “social” media isn’t.
Stray Thought 0
“Yes, but will it hold up in court?” is no longer a valid rhetorical question.
We have seen that, with the application of enough juice for a long enough time to the correct vulnerable points, anything, regardless of legality or morality, will hold up in court.
Freedom of Screech in This New Gilded Age 0
Self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist” Elon Musk threatens to take advertisers to court so as to force them to place their advertising speech on Twitter X, because he is absolutely in favor of freedom of speech, or something.
Yeah, I know, it sounds absolutely insane. Follow the link and decide for yourself.
“When People Show You Who They Are, Believe Them the First Time”* 0
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gene Collier takes a close look at the implications of the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025. He finds it–er–less than attractive.
Indeed, he characterizes it as a “MAGA Manifesto.”
Follow the first link for 900 pages of secessionist propaganda said project.
Follow the second to learn why Collier sees it as a “MAGA Manifesto.”
Aside:
I not exactly sure what heritage the “Heritage” Foundation is celebrating, but it sounds not unlike the legacy of one of my late relatives.
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*Maya Angelou.
A Notion of Immigrants 0
Robert Reich points out that immigrants have long been “America’s secret sauce for economic growth and prosperity,” while they long have also been targets for those who sow hate.
Or you can read the transcript.
Republican Thought Police, Reprise 0
At the Charlotte Observer, Kate Murphy, pastor at The Grove Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, pushes back at the current wave of they-call-themselves Christians and their push for establishmentarianism. A snippet:
If the governor of Florida can, by the power not vested in him, unilaterally declare that the church of Satan isn’t a religion, then he can also wake up one morning and decide that Islam isn’t a religion, or Hinduism, or Catholicism or any faith that allows women to preach or doesn’t handle snakes.
The point of the separation of church and state, as any fourth grader with a reasonably competent history teacher can tell you, isn’t to limit a citizen’s ability to practice their faith, but to protect it.
(Broken link fixed.)
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*Methinks in this context, “Christian” is New Speak for “Secesh.”
American Taliban 0
Rebecca Watson discusses the establishmentarians’ efforts to (en)force their creed on the polity.
Or you can read the transcript.
Establishmentarians 0
The Arizona Republic’s Laurie Roberts has a question:
In related news, Leonard Hitchcock, writing in the Idaho State Journal, notes that:
Follow the links for context.
“History Does Not Repeat Itself, but It Often Rhymes”* 0
Today, it is Lynne Roy, writing at the Portland Press-Herald, who hears a rhyme.
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*Mark Twain.
Our Trumpled Polity 0
Thom runs the numbers that show that, since Donald Trump entered the political scene in 2015, hate crimes have escalated dramatically.
Thom also notes that “hate is a cheap effective political weapon” and warns not to be taken in by it.
Republican Thought Police 0
Writing at the Kansas City Star, Joe Kohlburn offers an explanation for recent mobilization of the Republican Thought Police SWAT teams across the country:
Follow the link for his reasoning.
Transmogrification 0
At the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Keith Burris discusses the path from populism to nationalism to fascism. Though I’m not sure I agree with everything he says, I think it a timely read. Here’s a bit (emphasis added):
Reaction is the ignition and the fuel. Not conservatism, not preservation, but reaction.
And reaction often leads to wrecking balls.
That is when nationalist populism turns into something properly called fascism.
Methinks a lot of the antics of the right-wing evangelical they-call-themselves Christians fits right in with Burris’s thoughts on reaction.
Political Climate 0
Thom and a caller discuss why fascism seems to be on the rise in Europe and the U. S. and how the effects of climate change may be fueling fascist impulses.
It’s short piece and well worth a listen.