MAGA bits: We're fat and disgusting!; Medicare & Medicaid cuts; Biblical MAGA politics; Etc.

As always, djt is gracious, caring and and articulate. A USA Today opinion: Trump calls America 'fat and disgusting.' What leadership! -- 'This country has gotten bloated and fat and disgusting.' Inspiring rhetoric that will surely uplift the masses off their bloated, fat and disgusting keisters. I guess.

Un-fracking-believable. Inspiring rhetoric indeed! This insult is brought to you with charm, grace and finesse by our fat, bloated, and far worse than disgusting djt.

Well, actually they aim for 

capitalist, authoritarian kleptocracy

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The NYT reports (not paywalled): House Passes G.O.P. Budget Teeing Up Enormous Tax and Spending Cuts -- The plan instructs the Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees Medicaid and Medicare, to come up with at least $880 billion in cuts. While some Republicans denied that they would slash programs for the poor, the amount of revenue they are calling to raise would all but certainly necessitate some cuts to at least one of those programs.

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The Hill: GOP committee chair demands staff call West Bank by biblical name -- The Republican House Foreign Affairs Committee chair instructed GOP staff to refer to the West Bank by its biblical name, Judea and Samaria. Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.), chair of the committee, wrote in a staff memo that all “formal correspondence, communication, and documentation” would refer to the territory of the West Bank as Judea and Samaria. .... Mast said he was making the change to recognize the “inherent right of the Jewish people to their ancient homeland” and demonstrate the U.S.’s “unbreakable bond with Israel.” 

Welp, ladies ’n germs, there we have it. The end game of the endless, bloody Israel-Palestine war is coming to an end. As expected, Palestine is obliterated and Israel wins it all. Israel is annexing the West Bank, er, Judea and Samaria. Of course Israel does not explicitly declare annexation. However its actions including military operations, settlement expansions, and legislative changes, amount to a de facto annexation of the West Bank. Gaza is slated to become a high-end development project for resorts, gold courses and brothels.

On Aug. 14, 2019 I posted these inspiring thoughts:

When Prime Minister Rabin was murdered by a political extremist with a gun in 1995, it seemed apparent then that the peace process was dead and would never lead to a solution. That turned out to be true from the end of 1995 until today, 23 years later.

Given the fact that there will never be a free and independent Palestinian state, America really should rethink the US-Israel alliance. At present, it looks like the Palestinian people are forever doomed to live in poverty, misery, blinding rage and actual imprisonment. Is that what America stands for? Apparently it is.

Once upon a time, the US stood up to Israel and tried to be a neutral broker. But those days are long gone. It’s ancient history. Palestine is toast. The Palestinians are destined for misery, poverty and tons of righteous oppression, i.e., also toast. 

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From the depths of the MAGA mortuary, we have these inspiring nuggets of MAGA foresight, grace and charm: Republican Cites Bible To Defend Hitting Disabled Students - A Republican lawmaker in Oklahoma cited a Bible verse as he argued against a bill seeking to ban corporal punishment being used on disabled students in schools. Oklahoma State Senator Shane Jett quoted several verses from the Book of Proverbs on Tuesday as he argued that the bill is in "violation of Scripture."

See, the bible commands corporal punishment of disabled students. I was not aware of that bit of Christian nationalist theology.

Also, there's new poll data:

Source

One GOP pollster commented: “I think what we’re starting to see is the very beginning of buyer’s remorse setting in. And the voters that I was talking to both before the election and after … They voted for Donald Trump for one very specific reason—they thought things were too expensive, and they still think things are too expensive. .... People are experiencing negative personal consequences as a result [of the damage Musk has inflicted]. You can see it in the poll numbers. I can hear it in the focus groups, like it’s already starting to turn. .... [many djt voters were] just mad about the economy.”

Too expensive?? Everyone knew that djt tariff promises would increase costs of lots. Guess those were low information voters. Heck, they’re probably high disinformation voters. After all, they listened to and believed both djt and Faux News. What could possibly go wrong?

MAGA bits: Suing dishonest book authors; Environment updates 1 and 2; MAGA Misogyny?

The Hill reports: Trump threatens lawsuits, ‘NICE NEW LAW’ over anonymous sources in books -- Here, djt threatens lawsuits against authors who use anonymous sources in books about him or his thug MAGA elites. djt calls reporting of inconvenient facts and truths to be defamatory and dishonest. He suggests a new law could be created to ban anonymous sourcing in books. “As a President who is being given credit for having the Best Opening Month of any President in history, quite naturally, here come the Fake books and stories with the so-called ‘anonymous,’ or ‘off the record,’ quotes.” At some point I am going to sue some of these dishonest authors and book publishers, or even media in general, to find out whether or not these ‘anonymous sources’ even exist, which they largely do not. .... They are made up, defamatory fiction, and a big price should be paid for this blatant dishonesty. I’ll do it as a service to our Country.” 

Once again, djt makes allegations that are not supported by one shred of empirical evidence. In other words, he still is the same old pathological liar and slanderer he has been for years. And, it's hypocrisy as usual too.

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Update 1: The WaPo reports that the MAGA thug who runs the EPA is gunning to get rid of most or all major air pollution regulations: EPA tells White House to strike down landmark climate finding -- Here MAGA thug Lee Zeldin is telling djt to repeal the EPA's 2009 “endangerment finding.” That finding said that greenhouse gases pose a threat to public health and welfare. The 2009 finding cleared the way for regulating greenhouse gases. Both Obama and Biden used the finding to set limits on emissions from cars and power plants. 

Climate science denier Lee Zeldin

spewing poison in congress last month

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Update 2: The NYT reports about the effects that MAGA hostility to the concepts of global warming and environmental protection is exerting: BP to Focus More on Oil and Gas in Strategy ‘Reset’ -- BP says it will cut investments in clean energy and redirect that spending toward fossil fuels. The NYT article says that BP's move is just a response to investor pressure for higher returns after a period of lower profits and a realization that transition to clean energy is not moving very fast. 

Of course that begs the question of why clean energy transition is not moving very fast. MAGA is why. Investor pressure is part of it, but MAGA policies that lower political and operational costs of fossil fuels creates a feedback loop that entrenches hydrocarbon dependence. In significant part, BP is virtue signaling to djt and MAGA elites that the company is on the side of pollution for profit, just as djt and MAGA are. 

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In a wonderfully snarky article, Salon writes about a fascinating but nasty power struggle that's now ongoing in MAGAlandia:

"A woman is like a child": MAGA quickly turns its sights on 

stripping Republican women of power

(well, at least they're not stripping off their clothes)

For decades, the anti-abortion movement has aggressively promoted women into visible leadership roles. It's for cynical reasons, namely, to bat off entirely accurate accusations that the movement is misogynist. Never mind that there have always been women who are eager to police the bodies and behavior of other women. Enough people are credulous or at least disingenuous enough to think that "I'm a woman, which means I can't hate other women" is an actual argument. For ambitious women who wanted to climb the ranks of Republican politics, anti-feminism has long been the steadiest of ladders. The propaganda value of their gender outweighed their party's larger hostility to women in leadership.

But now that Roe v. Wade has been overturned and Donald Trump is back in the White House, many on the right feel they no longer need to hide the naked sexism fueling their movement or put up with the annoyance of women in even token leadership positions. As Kiera Butler at Mother Jones reports, the anti-abortion movement is embroiled in an escalating civil war right now over these issues. Male leaders of the Christian right have been swarming Kristan Hawkins, the 39-year-old head of a "student" anti-abortion group, demanding her ejection from the movement. It started after she objected to Republican legislators introducing bills to charge women who get abortions with murder, an extreme move she fears will backfire on the movement. But mostly it was about growing male anger on the Christian right that women are allowed leadership positions at all.

"Removed [sic] this woman from public service," declared influential Christian nationalist pastor Joel Webbon, part of the "TheoBros" movement that includes the leadership of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's church. Soon other TheoBros jumped in, declaring "We need Christian men leading the fight against abortion," arguing that women's suffrage was a mistake, and accusing Hawkins of emasculating her husband by being "busy jet-setting."

Forty-five percent of female voters backed Trump in 2024, despite his overt misogyny. Most, no doubt, believed that complicity would protect them and that the attacks would be centered on other women. But while the GOP certainly wants to strip liberal and feminist women of their rights, male MAGA leaders are showing increasing interest in bringing Republican women to heel, both culturally and through the force of law. After all, they are more likely to live and work with Republican women. If they want to feel the full flowering of male domination, it's Republican women they need to see submitting.

Woof! That is feisty prose, to say the least. Those poor MAGA males, they don't like being emasculated by uppity jet-setting women. Darned women's suffrage, 'twas a huge mistake. And, WTF is the TheoBros? Mother Jones writes: To Understand JD Vance, You Need to Meet the “TheoBros” -- These fine Christian-adjacents are aggressive, angry, young White Christian men. They want to get rid of the 19th Amendment, restore public flogging, and make America white again.

The 19th Amendment: "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex".

Mother Jones quotes Joel Webbon, a Texas MAGA pastor and podcaster, who wrote on X: “America is a particular place with a particular people.” He means White Christian men.

Another Christian MAGA freak, former Trump administration official William Wolfe said: “This is one of the most important political questions facing America right now. Answer it wrong, we will go the way of Europe, where the native-born populations are being utterly displaced by third world migrants and Muslims. Answer it right, and we can renew America once more.” One of the most cherished MAGA beliefs is this: America belongs to Christians, specifically White Christian men. 

Geez, not only is MAGA misogynist, it's racist too!! American women, start submitting right now or there will be hell to pay!! 

The demographic time bomb pressuring democracy

In my opinion, Earth is seriously overpopulated with humans. I recon there are about 4-5 billion too many of us to sustain a good quality of life, the environment and democracy. Unfortunately, there is a major problem with decreasing population. It put serious pressure on democracy. A NYT analysis article (not paywalled) discusses the damage from a declining population that most or all advanced countries are facing: 

How a Demographic ‘Doom Loop’ Helped Germany’s Far Right

The Alternative for Germany party came in second in federal elections doubling its vote share from four years ago, on Sunday, doubling its vote share from four years ago, in the strongest showing for a German far-right party since World War II. Some segments of the party, known as the AfD, have been classified as extremist by German intelligence.

How could that happen in Germany, a country whose history has taught a bitter lesson about the dangers of right-wing extremism?

Many experts have pointed to the role of immigration, particularly the surge of Muslim refugees from Syria and other Middle Eastern countries in the mid-2010s, which has persuaded many people to abandon the long-dominant parties of the center-left and center-right.

But new research suggests an additional factor. The AfD posted its biggest wins in the former East Germany, where young people have been moving away from former industrial regions and rural areas to seek opportunities in cities. For years there has been a very strong correlation between the level of out-migration and the level of AfD support ....

The article points out that East Germans expected a post-unification peace dividend, but that never happened. On top of that, austerity measures and cuts to local services triggered support for far-right populist parties. Other Eastern European countries had a few years to adjust their economies before joining the European Union in 2004, but eastern Germany got had no time for economic adjustments. People with human capital would leave, leaving behind a lot of other people. Those left behind were disproportionately from the demographics most likely to support the AfD and extremism. People in the left-behind regions are radicalizing into far right extremist, authoritarian politics. 

So what? That's Germany, this is the US!

The left-behind phenomenon in the US and Germany have strong parallels. Rural US communities are facing demographic shifts, federal policy disconnects, and a perceived moral decline. That makes disaffected people open to political radicalization, just as is the case in Germany. In the US and Germany, economic prosperity gravitates toward the cities, leaving rural areas unequal. The loss of manufacturing jobs and agricultural consolidation hollowed out rural economies in both the U.S. Midwest and Germany's eastern states. U.S. rural areas face systemic underinvestment. In the US, 60% of "persistent poverty counties" are rural. Those disparities amplify narratives of federal neglect. That is a theme weaponized by groups like the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys. They frame themselves as defenders of "forgotten" communities. In American Appalachia, 43% of counties lack community mental health centers. That enables crackpot conspiracy theories to fill knowledge voids.

Population declines in Japan and Europe mirror Roman Empire fertility patterns. Aging populations strain healthcare and pension systems. Some research indicates (and this) that modern states face added risks from climate change and energy scarcity, which could trigger synchronous collapses. For example, the COVID-19 pandemic’s negative effect on labor markets and supply chains demonstrated how demographic disruption can be a potent threat.

Population loss is a separate but overlapping phenomenon from economic shifts from rural to urban areas. It has historically been part of the story of the collapse of great civilizations. In the past, high populations depleted environmental resources, which in turn put pressure on governments and societies. In one study, 10 of 12 empire collapses was found to be accompanied by an interplay between environmental degradation and population decline. Although historical collapses were regional, globalization created new kinds of interdependencies between nations. That creates new possibilities for global civilization disruptions, maybe even collapses. 

Translated into MAGA politics and policy

At present, it seems very unlikely that MAGA's authoritarianism and deep corruption are going to significantly improve the rural poverty situation or the decline in rural economies. Without major immigration, US population would decrease. Now that MAGA is blocking large-scale immigration, one can expect the US population to level off and then slowly decline. 

In the past empires have had a very difficult time dealing with environmental damage and ensuing population decline. Given that US politics is mostly reactive and not proactive, and often incompetent or corrupt, the same can reasonably be expected here. 

Counterintuitive as it is, the most likely upshot is that under MAGA, unhappiness in most American rural areas will continue to simmer unabated. MAGA simply does not care about regular people. Rural Americans will probably continue to further radicalize into extremism and authoritarianism. If nothing else, MAGA knows how to effectively deflect blame from itself onto anything or anyone else that it chooses to blame. That's pretty much like what is going on in Germany now.

A little fun at Trump's expense

 This thread is not about kleptocracy or Trump being a kleptomaniac.

Instead it is a thread being concerned about where his loyalties lie and his health.

First, his loyalties, seem to be Elon Musk.

Of course, the White House is saying that the video is fake and was a hack, but come on, we ALL know that Trump indeed does kiss Musk's feet (even if they are both left feet).

As for Trump's health:

A large bruise that appeared on Donald Trump's hand is down to him shaking a lot of hands, the White House has said.

You buying that? Looks mighty suspicious to me.