Author: Joey deVilla
From The Economist’s editorial, A second Trump term comes with unacceptable risks:
The risks for domestic and foreign policy are amplified by the last big difference between Mr Trump’s first term and a possible second one: he would be less constrained. The president who mused about firing missiles at drug labs in Mexico was held back by the people and institutions around him. Since then the Republican Party has organised itself around fealty to Mr Trump. Friendly think-tanks have vetted lists of loyal people to serve in the next administration. The Supreme Court has weakened the checks on presidents by ruling that they cannot be prosecuted for official acts.
If external constraints are looser, much more will depend on Mr Trump’s character. Given his unrepentant contempt for the constitution after losing the election in 2020, it is hard to be optimistic. Half his former cabinet members have refused to endorse him. The most senior Republican senator describes him as a “despicable human being”. Both his former chief-of-staff and former head of the joint chiefs call him a fascist. If you were interviewing a job applicant, you would not brush off such character references.
Good presidents unite the country. Mr Trump’s political genius is for turning people against each other. After the death of George Floyd, he suggested the army shoot protesters in the leg. America’s prosperity depends on the idea that people are treated fairly, regardless of their politics; Mr Trump has threatened to turn the Justice Department on his political enemies.
This is in response to the Trump campaign rally last night where comedian* Tony Hinchcliffe warmed up the crowd with racist jokes:
In response, Maria Salazar posted the tweet above that Jef Poskanzer is referencing. She’s a Republican and a U.S. representative for Florida’s 27th congressional district (Miami and area). Some people forget (and worse people wish otherwise) that Puerto Rico, while not a state, is a U.S. territory, and if you’re born in Puerto Rico, you are a U.S. citizen.
I’m sure she’s getting a lot of colleagues telling her, “Hey, when we say ‘those dirty people,’ we don’t mean you — you’re one of the good ones!” I know — I get this from time to time from conservatives who only have the best of intentions.
(In case you want to see it, here’s Jef Poskanzer’s tweet.)
In case you were wondering, the term “leopards ate my face” comes from a tweet made by Adrian Bott back in 2015, and is generally used as a joke to refer to people complaining about suffering from easily-foreseen consequences:
Here are screenshots from the closing bit of Seth Meyer’s recent A Closer Look segment on his late night show:
And because it’s worth watching, here’s the whole thing:
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Headline of the day
It would be even more funny and frightening is the transformation was going the other way.
(By the way, here’s the article.)
Since 1981, the American conservative think tank known as the Heritage Foundation — imagine decade-old mayonnaise in human form — have released a publication under their series of books called Mandate for Leadership, a right-wing “wish list” of things they’d like the U.S. federal government to do.
The latest edition, commonly known as Project 2025, is over 900 pages long, which is large enough to obfuscate its intent and dissuade the casual reader from diving in.
To counter this, a group of comics artists have pooled their talent to create the Stop Project 2025 Comic, which clearly and succinctly explains some key (and terrible) ideas in Project 2025:
- Abortion
- Anti-trans discrimination
- Authoritarianism
- Children
- Christian nationalism
- Climate
- Cronyism
- Education
- EPA (Environment Protection Agency)
- Executive Orders
- Extreme Weather
- Healthcare
- Immigration
- Internet freedom
- Libraries
- Militarism
- Police Abuse
- School lunches
- Taxation
- Teachers
- Voting Matters
- War on the Working Class
It’s a great way to learn about the details about Project 2025, and contains citations so that you can look it up in that odious manual, too. Check it out!
