Tales from the MAGA crypt
The sheer bizarreness of MAGA spreading it wings and extending its talons is an amazing, horrible thing to watch. Elon Musk is insane and enraged about work visas for foreign tech workers. One staunchly pro-Musk MAGA loyalist criticized the H-1B visa program on X as “something that should not exist” and Musk lashed out at that: “The reason I’m in America along with so many critical people who built SpaceX, Tesla and hundreds of other companies that made America strong is because of H1B. Take a big step back and F--- YOURSELF in the face. I will go to war on this issue the likes of which you cannot possibly comprehend.” After that cannon blast, the H-1B critic maintained his love of and loyalty to Musk. Mackey, the original target of Musk’s ire, responded, “I personally am fine with reforming H-1B, and as I’ve stated multiple times today, I am incredibly grateful you and many others are in the country because of H-1B.” Talk about a freaking cult, this has got to be one of ’em.
Then our good friend, “Flood the Zone With Shit”, Steve Bannon jumped in with his deep wisdom: “Someone please notify ‘Child Protective Services’—need to do a ‘wellness check’ on this toddler.”
Interestingly, DJT himself got off the dime and came down on Musk’s side. That is really gonna tick off a lot of MAGA’s white supremacist cadre. As one source put it, “Trump Knifes MAGA Loyalists to Back Sidekick Musk on H-1B Visas.” Musk got real blunt about his view of the white supremacist cadre of MAGA: Musk says ‘hateful unrepentant racists’ must be removed from Republican Party as visa feud deepens. ‘They will absolutely be the downfall of the Republican Party if they are not removed,’
Hateful unrepentant racists? Whoa Nelly!! Wait a minnit!! The Dems were viciously attacked by some MAGA elites as something far worse than horrible socialist pedophiles after they raised the possibility of racism in the MAGA ranks. Vivek Ramaswamy refused to denounce white supremacy, calling it a “farce” and an “infinitesimally small fringe” issue. The Dems themselves were in a state of at least modest confusion over the issue. A Perplexity response suggests the racism issue runs deep and broad in the MAGA movement, prompting various dark free speech tactics to defuse it. Now Musk is at least implying that racism is more than a small fringe thing.
It is possible that DJT wants to foment discord in the MAGA movement to help him stay at the center of power. He intentionally fomented internal discord in his business operations. This kerfuffle over work visas just might flush out a serious weakness in the MAGA monstrosity. Time will tell.
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The MAGA wealth and power movement in Texas is leading the way in crushing civil liberties. One source writes:
‘Baby in a dumpster.’ A spate of abandoned newborns unsettles Texas.
“It didn’t specify alive or dead,” Patrick Pequet remembers.
He and fellow firefighters arrived within minutes, pulling into the rear parking lot of an apartment complex in the southwest quadrant of this sprawling city. Police were already there, as were the several residents who had frantically summoned them, standing near a blue dumpster crowded by discarded boxes, scattered trash and garbage bags.
In one of those bags, a baby had been crying. Now, only silence.
“We were probably the first people to hold the baby with any kind of good intentions,” Pequet said later.
The infant, whom officials named Gabriel after the archangel protector, would live.Statewide, according to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, at least 18 babies have been abandoned this year. The latest occurred just before Christmas at a Whataburger in San Antonio. A decade ago, the number was seven.
Whether there’s a pattern or common link in these tragedies is not clear. But they’re happening in a state with one of the nation’s most restrictive abortion bans — with no exceptions for rape or incest — and one of the highest birth rates.
So maybe this abandoned baby phenomenon has nothing to do with forced birth laws in Texas. But maybe it does. But why give MAGA the benefit of a doubt?
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A NYT opinion asserts that judges are the last line of defense for the rule of law. Of course, that may not apply to some or most Trump judges. But, who else is left to defend the rule of law? Not the US supreme court, that’s for sure.
President-elect Trump recently threatened to lock up political foes, like Liz Cheney, as well as members of Congress who investigated his role in the Jan. 6 attack. “For what they did,” he said, “honestly, they should go to jail.”
On the campaign trail, Mr. Trump said repeatedly that he would encourage the Justice Department and the F.B.I. to go after his enemies. His picks for attorney general (Pam Bondi) and F.B.I. director (Kash Patel) have echoed these remarks. Mr. Patel even compiled an enemies list, which includes Christopher Wray and retired Gen. Mark Milley.
This impulse could reach beyond leadership and may well trickle down in significant part to the 94 federal district courts around the nation. Each United States attorney will have been appointed by Mr. Trump and will be subject to his whim — meaning their potential firing if he does not approve of their performance.
If these confirmed public servants can’t stand up to the pressure from above to serve not an individual person but justice as a principle, who will? It will have to be the judges.
Judges simply can’t be blind to what Mr. Trump, Ms. Bondi and Mr. Patel have said. They can’t ignore their words if the Justice Department under Mr. Trump or the F.B.I. goes after those on an enemies list who have committed no crime beyond opposing the president-elect.
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