MAGA bits: MAGA ideologically cleanses AI; MAGA censors the whole internet; MAGA thought police

The AP reports that djt signed an EO that aims to whitewash AI (artificial intelligence) to make reality a better fit with MAGA's fake reality: 

Trump signs executive order on developing 

artificial intelligence ‘free from ideological bias’

djt signed an executive order on artificial intelligence Thursday that will revoke past government policies his order says “act as barriers to American AI innovation.”

To maintain global leadership in AI technology, “we must develop AI systems that are free from ideological bias or engineered social agendas,” the EO says.

The new order doesn’t name which existing policies are hindering AI development but sets out to track down and review “all policies, directives, regulations, orders, and other actions taken” as a result of former President Joe Biden’s sweeping AI executive order of 2023, which Trump rescinded Monday. Any of those Biden-era actions must be suspended if they don’t fit Trump’s new directive that AI should “promote human flourishing, economic competitiveness, and national security.”

Well, there we have it fact and history fans! djt and MAGA elites are gonna do their damnedest to whitewash all inconvenient human knowledge and thinking. 

Does anyone still reject the idea that djt and MAGA elites are trying to establish a corrupt as hell dictatorship built on bad things like demagoguery, lies, slanders, crackpottery and vicious bigotry? Yes, some still disbelieve? 

OK, fair enough. I'll keep positing the evidence as it gushes out, as long as it gushes out, so long as I can still comment thereon.

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Hey Germaine, you boob, why did you say so long as I can still comment thereon? 

Here's why (and I'm not a boob): Techdirt writes: 

Trump Promises To Abuse Take It Down Act For Censorship, 

Just As We Warned

During his address to Congress this week, Donald Trump endorsed the Take It Down Act while openly declaring his plans to abuse it: “And I’m going to use that bill for myself too, if you don’t mind, because nobody gets treated worse than I do online, nobody.”

(You might think a former president openly declaring his intent to abuse a content moderation law would be big news. The media, apparently swamped with other Trump outbursts, didn’t even seem to notice. [good point!])

This is, of course, exactly what we (and many others) warned about in December when discussing the Take It Down Act. The bill aims to address a legitimate problem — non-consensual intimate imagery (revenge porn) — but does so with a censorship mechanism so obviously prone to abuse that the president couldn’t even wait until it passed to announce his plans to misuse it.

And Congress laughed. Literally.

Congress (specifically Senators Ted Cruz and Amy Klobuchar) looked at all this work and said “nah, let’s just make websites legally liable if they don’t take down anything someone claims is NCII [Non-Consensual Intimate Image] within 48 hours.” It’s the “nerd harder or we fine you” approach to tech regulations.

You can’t just write a law that says “take down the bad stuff.” I mean, you can, but it will be a disaster. You have to think about how people might abuse it. The DMCA’s notice-and-takedown system for copyright at least tried to include some safeguards — there’s a counternotice process, there are (theoretical) penalties for false notices. But TAKE IT DOWN? Nothing. Zero. Nada.

We already see thousands of bogus DMCA notices attempting to remove content with no basis in the law, even with those safeguards in place. What do you think will happen with a law that has no safeguards at all? (Spoiler alert: The president just told us exactly what will happen.) 

Congress could have fixed those problems [abuse of the law]. But chose not to.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation summarized the law like this:

The Take It Down Act is an overbroad, poorly drafted bill that would create a powerful system to pressure removal of internet posts, with essentially no safeguards. While the bill is meant to address a serious problem—the distribution of non-consensual intimate imagery (NCII)—the notice-and-takedown system it creates is an open invitation for powerful people to pressure websites into removing content they dislike. There are no penalties for applying very broad, or even farcical definitions of what constitutes NCII, and then demanding that it be removed.

Does anyone still reject the idea that djt and MAGA elites are trying to establish a corrupt as hell dictatorship built on bad things like demagoguery, lies, slanders, crackpottery and vicious bigotry? Yes, some still disbelieve? OK, fair enough.

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Gizmodo reports about MAGA's latest attacks on free speech and freedom of holding inconvenient beliefs:

State Department Will Use AI to Search for ‘Pro-Hamas’ Students to Deport

The new move is part of a broader attack by the Trump administration on free speech and free expression

The U.S. State Department is set to launch a program called “Catch and Revoke” that will use AI systems to scan news reports and the social media accounts of students in America on a visa. The goal is to find people with pro-Palestenian and Hamas sympathies and kick them out of the country.

The unspecified AI will crawl through footage and news reports of protests as well as the social media accounts of 100,000 people who are in America’s Student Exchange Visitor System. It’ll start its crawl on October 7, 2023.

The goal is to find out if any of these student protestors or people with alleged Hamas leanings faced what the Trump administration feels is appropriate punishment.

Of course, us citizens are protected, right? We are free to criticize Israel and want the genocide of the Palestinian people to stop. Well, so far we're protected, but there's also this in the article:

Many of Trump’s executive orders and proposed actions on combating domestic terror threats and fighting antisemitism are overbroad. One of his early executive orders said it was the policy of the U.S. government to protect citizens from people who “espouse hateful ideology” without narrowly defining what that ideology is.

Q: Would MAGA say that criticism of Israel and/or any assertion of Palestinian genocide constitutes espousing hateful ideology, e.g., in the form of anti-Semitism?

(Hint: yes, of course!)

Deep research: What is the likelihood that djt is working for Putin?

Bottom line: This analysis puts the likelihood that djt is a Russian asset at 75%-85%.

Q: What is the approximate likelihood that Trump is working for Russia or Putin based on all available relevant information including Trump's mendacity, sympathy for dictators, amenability to be corrupted and his behaviors especially since 2016?

A: The question of whether Donald Trump is acting as an agent of Russian interests, whether through coercion, financial compromise, or ideological alignment, has persisted since his 2016 presidential campaign. This analysis synthesizes evidence from Trump’s financial history, political behavior, policy decisions, and testimonies from intelligence professionals to estimate the likelihood of such a relationship.

 

Historical Context: Early Ties to Russian Networks
Soviet-Era Cultivation Efforts
Multiple accounts from former Soviet intelligence officers allege that Trump was cultivated as a potential asset during his 1987 visit to Moscow. Yuri Shvets, a former KGB major, and Alnur Mussayev, ex-head of Kazakhstan’s intelligence service, claim Trump was targeted for recruitment due to his business ambitions and political naivety1 6 14. While no smoking gun confirms formal recruitment, Trump’s subsequent financial reliance on post-Soviet oligarchs—evidenced by $109 million in all-cash purchases of Trump properties between 2003 and 2017—aligns with patterns of money laundering and kompromat accumulation 6 8.

Financial Dependence on Russian Capital
After U.S. banks distanced themselves from Trump following his 1990s bankruptcies, Russian-linked entities became critical financiers. Trump’s sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, openly acknowledged reliance on Russian capital, with Eric stating in 2014: “We have all the funding we need out of Russia” 6 14. This dependency created vulnerabilities, as debt to opaque Russian entities could be leveraged for political concessions.

Post-2016 Behavior: Policy Alignment with Kremlin Objectives
Undermining NATO and Defending Russian Aggression
Trump’s repeated disparagement of NATO—calling it “obsolete” and threatening withdrawal—mirrored long-standing Kremlin goals to fracture Western alliances 10 13. His refusal to publicly condemn Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea or its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, coupled with blaming NATO expansion for provoking conflict, further aligned with Putin’s narratives 3 13.

Sanctions Relief and Cyber Truce
In early 2025, Trump reportedly directed the Treasury and State Departments to identify sanctions on Russia for potential easing and suspended U.S. offensive cyber operations against Moscow 2 15. These unilateral moves, made without consulting European allies, directly advanced Putin’s objectives of economic recovery and reduced cyber vulnerability 2 7.

 

Compromising Evidence and Counterintelligence Concerns
Obstruction of Investigations
The Mueller Report (2019) documented 272 contacts between Trump associates and Russia-linked operatives, none disclosed to authorities 1. While the investigation found insufficient evidence of criminal conspiracy, it highlighted systemic deception, including Paul Manafort’s sharing of campaign data with Russian intelligence 1 6. The Senate Intelligence Committee’s 2020 report labeled multiple Trump associates as “counterintelligence threats,” citing their susceptibility to foreign influence 6 12.

Amplification of Russian Disinformation
Trump consistently echoed Kremlin propaganda, including false claims that Ukraine—not Russia—initiated the 2022 war 3 13. His endorsement of Rudy Giuliani’s efforts to spread debunked allegations about Hunter Biden’s dealings in Ukraine paralleled Russian active measures to discredit U.S. institutions 6 12.

Psychological and Ideological Factors

Admiration for Authoritarian Leadership
Trump’s public admiration for Putin’s “strongman” leadership style, including praise for the 2022 invasion as “savvy,” reflects ideological alignment with autocratic governance 10 13. His threats to withdraw from NATO, impose tariffs on allies, and undermine democratic norms (e.g., suggesting “lifetime” presidential terms) mirror Putin’s consolidation of power 10 11.

Rejection of Democratic Accountability
Trump’s attacks on inspectors general, whistleblowers, and independent media—culminating in the 2025 purge of ethics officials—demonstrate a preference for opacity conducive to foreign manipulation 5 10. His dismissal of U.S. intelligence assessments on Russian election interference further eroded safeguards against foreign influence 1 6.

 

Probabilistic Assessment
Cumulative Evidence of Compromise
Elon Musk’s AI, Grok, analyzed public data from 1980–2025 and estimated a 75–85% likelihood that Trump is a “Putin-compromised asset,” citing financial ties, policy alignment, and refusal to criticize Russia despite attacking allies 6. This aligns with intelligence assessments noting Trump’s susceptibility to kompromat and repeated acts benefiting Moscow 14 16.

Counterarguments and Uncertainty
Skeptics argue Trump’s behavior stems from transactional self-interest rather than direct coercion. His real estate ventures in Russia, though largely unrealized, may reflect a pragmatic pursuit of profit rather than subservience 7 16. Additionally, the absence of classified intercepts or financial records leaves room for alternative explanations, such as naive admiration for Putin 15.

 

Conclusion
Based on documented financial dependencies, policy decisions favoring Russian interests, and corroborated intelligence allegations, the likelihood of Trump acting as a Russian asset falls between 75% and 85%. While definitive proof remains elusive, the preponderance of circumstantial evidence—spanning four decades—suggests a relationship exceeding mere coincidence or ideological affinity. This assessment underscores the need for continued scrutiny of Trump’s financial networks and foreign engagements to mitigate risks to U.S. democratic institutions. (emphasis added)

Whadda ya think? Isn't Perplexity a total hoot? Oh yeah, and the analysis of djt working for Russia too!

What led to this little Q&A was commentary about a 277 page court filing last year by an FBI agent wanting a search warrant regarding Russians screwing with American elections. The Russians were conducting a covert effort called Doppelganger. Doppelganger is the German word for a double of a living person. Basically, the Russians were posting fake, anti-American content using the trademarks of major US news outlets to hide the fact that it was all a gigantic Russian hoax. 

Part of page 1 of 277 pages

Poisoned minds: MAGA's cruel immaturity

In more evidence of the poisonous power of decades of divisive, reason-terminating MAGA demagoguery, The Hill reports about fired federal employees facing relatives who celebrate their firing: 

Thrust into unemployment, axed federal workers face 

relatives who celebrate their firing

Scrambling to replace their health insurance and to find new work, some laid-off federal workers are running into another unexpected unpleasantry: Relatives cheering their firing.

The country’s bitterly tribal politics are spilling into text chains, social media posts and heated conversations as Americans absorb the reality of the government’s cost-cutting measures. Expecting sympathy, some axed workers are finding family and friends who instead are steadfast in their support of what they see as a bloated government’s waste.

“They can’t separate their ideology and their politics from supporting their own family and their own loved ones,” says [24-year-old Luke Tobin, fired last month from his job as a technician with the U.S. Forest Service in Idaho’s Nez Perce National Forest]. 

Jenn

As she [Kristin Jenn, National Park Service ranger, Denali National Park and Preserve] has expressed her disappointment over potentially losing her dream job, some members of her mostly conservative family have unfriended her on social media. Others are giving her the silent treatment. Nearly all favor such cuts even if she’s a victim of them. “[My mom, a former federal employee] has somehow been convinced that public servants are a parasite and unproductive even though she was a public servant.” (emphasis added)

Somehow been convinced. What could have possibly poisoned the mind of Jenn's mom into the false belief that her own daughter is an unproductive parasite? Facts about Jenn's work? Nope. Good faith reasoning? Nope. Solid evidence of actual waste, fraud and abuse? Absolutely not. Decades of poisonous, authoritarian MAGA demagoguery, lies and slanders? Yup.

Q: At what point do minds that try to stay in emotional control, lose control in the face of MAGA's unrelenting, insulting lies, cruelty, slanders, deep corruption, authoritarianism, morally rotted bad faith and hate-driven malice? Or, are the opponents of MAGA and its poison to just stay silent and accept their fate at the hands of (i) evil, malice-driven elite MAGA liars and crooks, and (ii) non-elite MAGA minds tricked by MAGA demagoguery into deceit-driven, immature cruelty?

MAGA's TDS

My apologies in advance. I just could not resist this gem once I saw it and it sucked me in. 

🤪

TDS, Trump Derangement Syndrome, is real. Many elite and rank and file MAGA people suffer from it. A wonderful NYT opinion points out the obvious (not paywalled):

The Right’s Trump Derangement Syndrome

Shortly before the last election, Scott Bessent, now Donald Trump’s Treasury secretary, assured The Financial Times that Trump had no interest in reducing international trade and that his threats to impose sweeping, 20 percent tariffs on foreign goods were simply a “maximalist” negotiating position to be watered down during trade talks. “My general view is that at the end of the day, he’s a free trader,” said Bessent.

A few weeks later, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins asked Howard Lutnick, now Trump’s commerce secretary, whether Robert F. Kennedy Jr. could become secretary of health and human services. “Of course not,” said Lutnick, treating the question as if it were absurd.

During the transition, Senator Thom Tillis, Republican of North Carolina, acted indignant when Democrats asked Pam Bondi, now Trump’s attorney general, if she and the president-elect might consider blanket pardons for Jan. 6 insurrectionists. “I was the last member out of the Senate on Jan. 6,” said Tillis. “I walked past a lot of law enforcement officers who were injured. I find it hard to believe that the president of the United States, or you, would look at facts that were used to convict the violent people on Jan. 6 and say it was just an intemperate moment.”

Just last month, Representative Dan Crenshaw of Texas, who is both a Trump apologist and a supporter of Ukraine, insisted that when Trump trashes Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, it’s actually a sign of affection. “Trump tends to talk that way to his friends,” said Crenshaw. “He tends to talk nicer to his enemies. So if he’s talking to you that way, it still means you’re his friend.”

Some of these men may have been deliberately dishonest, but I suspect there’s also a degree of self-deception at work here. In the four years Trump was out of office, an eerie amnesia about his erratic rule settled over the country, allowing people to project onto him hopes that were utterly untethered from reality. You might call this phenomenon, to appropriate a phrase, Trump Derangement Syndrome.

The right invented the term Trump Derangement Syndrome to dismiss analysis of Trump’s autocratic tendencies, compulsive lying and generally detestable character as liberal hysteria. For conservatives who don’t want to engage with substantive criticism of their leader, it functions as a thought-terminating cliché, a term often used by people who study cults to describe ideological formulations that short-circuit critical thinking. Trump Derangement Syndrome implies that if someone tells you something about Trump that you don’t want to hear, that person must be crazy.

But the real derangement lies in either the refusal or the inability to see Trump clearly.

I’d argue that the doomsayers were also right about Trump’s first term, which was full of sadism, incompetence and corruption, and culminated in a coup attempt. But if it wasn’t as catastrophic as it could have been, it was because establishment figures often restrained him. The periods of relative stability provided by the adults in the room lulled people into complacency about how much damage an unfettered Trump could do.

Now the adults are gone, but Trump’s defenders are still pretending — perhaps to themselves as well as to the rest of us — that there’s order amid the chaos. After Trump berated and tried to humiliate Zelensky, the radio host Glenn Beck explained that he was really playing five-dimensional chess against Russia.  

Speaking at The New York Times’ DealBook summit in December, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos said Trump had grown over the past eight years. “What I’ve seen so far is he is calmer than he was the first time — more confident, more settled,” Bezos said. Sounds like Trump Derangement Syndrome to me.

Ya know, some opinion pieces are better than others. Right? But this one is better than most of the better ones. I love the turns of phrase here, (i) TDS functions as a thought-terminating cliché, (ii) an eerie amnesia about his erratic rule settled over the country, allowing people to project onto him hopes that were utterly untethered from reality, and (iii) he was really playing five-dimensional chess against Russia.

Bwahahahahaha!

I love it, utterly untethered from reality. A thought-terminating cliché. What a hoot! 5-D chess? By djt? Holy bejezus!! He can't even play tic-tac-toe and come to a draw! Wait, wait! He did ace the brainpower test.

The brainpower test

“Person, woman, man, camera, TV”

See, I'm bigly smart!

(the 3 animals: platypus, puppy, pig and rodent)

Q: Is Germaine, once again, off his brain meds for seeing this artistic opinion as exceptional in a good way? 

PS: Geez, this post was a lot more fun than most.