https://christopherrufo.com/p/trump-should-crush-the-la-riotswith
I see Christopher Rufo is a huge fan of the Stasi:
«the agencies should dispatch unmarked vans to follow key agitators and snatch them from the streets while the media are not looking.»
Supposedly 85° F, 50% humidity, breezy. Quiet jam, Gin Daisy (out of frame).
Some day, this will all be ashes and tears*, but for the moment….
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*Is this the wrong framing? Am I carpe-ing too much diem?
Today, I got into a conversation with a delivery guy. (I never get into these conversations, so I have little skill at them.) He said, “so what’s with all the protest signs out front?” (We have one BLM flag and maybe a forgotten pink “Madam President (and Tim!)” sign leaning against the house.) So we talked. He’s pretty much been soaking in the right-wing media. He was a nice enough guy but you could tell.
But one of the things he asked, which made me think later, was, “What are you protesting for, other than just against Trump?” And I tried to answer it with “We’re protesting for regular democracy, and for the Department of Education, and just sanity, in general.”
But later, I realized something: there is nothing wrong with being against something. It’s what the word “protest” actually means. We elect politicians to do what we want, and if they don’t, we vote them out of office. In other words, if enough people protest what they do (i.e., object to what they do), they’re out. The entire process is essentially negative and time-honored, back to the beginning.
The “but what are you for?” question is a trap of framing. The implication is that if you can’t articulate a positive vision (and we certainly can), then your protest is invalid.
(inb4 cynical comments about unfree elections or no elections: stahp.)
«The program — previously referred to as “Money Accounts for Growth and Advancement” or “MAGA Accounts” — would seed index fund accounts with $1,000 in government funds for U.S. citizens born between Jan. 1, 2025, and Dec. 31, 2028.»
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/09/trump-accounts-uber-dell-ceo.html
A new entitlement program, basically. Will that money just sit around, quietly growing, for 18 years? I doubt it. It’ll be like Social Security. It’s “there” in theory, but, really, it’s being used to buy more bombs or pay interest on our current debt. Or it’s being used by investment firms, investing in… what?
What to do in 18 years when the promisory note is due is literally a problem for another day.
«We will not make it through this unless we exploit every single break that Republicans make with Trump. We will not make it through this unless we convince a significant number of Trump voters to push back or better yet disavow their vote.
Only if we do make it through this do we have time for recriminations against the people who allowed themselves to believe a lie.»
https://www.emptywheel.net/2025/06/09/no-trump-voters-did-not-vote-for-this/
This sort of captures my feelings, which are muddled. On the one hand, people voted for evil because evil convinced them it was ok to do so. They allowed themselves to be corrupted, and they should have known better.
On the other hand, convincing tens of millions of voters to repent (which, as I understand it, literally means “change the direction in which you are facing”) is a big ask, and not something that will yield quick results, and in the meantime, we need to be more pragmatic.
(Long-term, the stereotype needs to be “lazy selfishness is bad”, directed at the middle third, but how do we make that happen?)
No, Google, I did not.
«“The coordinated ICE raids across Los Angeles today were violent and intentionally cruel. These were not acts of justice. They were calculated displays of power meant to terrify working families and rip communities apart. Families who came here to build a better life were targeted and terrorized simply for existing.
“Among those harmed was our union brother David Huerta, President of SEIU California who was injured and arrested while exercising his constitutional right to assemble and speak out. His detention was an attack on every worker who has ever stood up for what is right. ICE agents were not acting to protect the public. They were sent to intimidate, to punish, and to silence voices calling for dignity.
“Teamsters Joint Council 7 and 42 stand with every working family under attack. We fight for justice for all workers as we know that it is our work that keeps our country moving. The values of our labor movement demand that we speak out in moments like this. The California labor movement will not be intimidated, will not be divided, and will never stop fighting for the right of every worker to live safely, and with dignity.”»
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19ddKABEy6/
«Teamsters Joint Councils are set up in areas with three or more local unions. Joint Councils help coordinate Teamsters activities in those areas. They also help solve problems and decide some jurisdictional and judicial matters.»
«Teamsters Joint Council 42 represents 23 Teamsters Union Locals located in Southern California, Southern Nevada, Guam, Saipan and Hawaii. Nearly 250,000 working Teamsters and retirees are affiliated with the JC 42 family.»
https://www.teamstersjc42.com/
«Teamsters Joint Council 7 represents nearly 100,000 members in 23 Local Unions in 48 counties of Northern California, the Central Valley, and 14 Northern Nevada counties. (This territory would be the 10th largest state in the country.) With 40,000 members between Bakersfield and Sacramento, Teamsters Joint Council 7 is the largest union in the Central Valley»
The kakistocracy will continue until morale improves.
«Newsom’s suggestion came after CNN reported the president was considering a “full termination” of federal grant funding for California’s universities.»
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/06/06/newsom-floats-withholding-federal-taxes-00393386
https://www.axios.com/2025/06/06/mary-miller-sikh-house-prayer-deletes-post
Well… I guess, out of 435 Representatives, a certain fraction of them are going to be total idiots.
Here, Read This 