United States Politics: Deportations for some, miniature American flags for others!

[Potato]

US inflation rising again and we haven't even seen the effects of the tariffs yet.

The winning is about to get even more winninger

[Nintex]

How is Pam 60? 

Between DOGE and ending the Ukraine war, inflation will go down but it'll take time

[Gameboy Nostalgia]

Is the war done yet? 

[Nintex]

Todays episode
Trump and the Pajeets

[killamajig]

According to Fox News, Zeldin, who was sworn in as the EPA administrator at the end of January 2025, was on “The Story with Martha MacCallum” on Thursday, where he spoke about cancelling the grant.

“Just earlier today, I cancelled a $50 million grant to an organisation called the Climate Justice Alliance.

“They say that climate justice runs through a free Palestine. I think that the American taxpayer wouldn’t want $50 million going to this left-wing advocacy group. It’s cancelled,” he said.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/it-s-canceled-trump-s-team-exposes-biden-administration-s-50-million-gift-to-group/ar-AA1z1Ysf?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=8401174c654f48348642874a0971a9d9&ei=26



Biden giving 50 million to these guys....
https://climatejusticealliance.org/

The path to climate justice travels through a free Palestine

Together with Movement Generation and Survival Media Agency, Climate Justice Alliance created a short video that uses an anti-colonial framework to show how Climate Justice and the liberation of Palestine are connected.

interview with Elizabeth Yeampierre, Board Co-Chair

ELIZABETH YEAMPIERRE: Climate change is the result of a legacy of extraction, of colonialism, of slavery. A lot of times when people talk about environmental justice they go back to the 1970s or ‘60s. But I think about the slave quarters. I think about people who got the worst food, the worst health care, the worst treatment, and then when freed, were given lands that were eventually surrounded by things like petrochemical industries. The idea of killing black people or indigenous people, all of that has a long, long history that is centered on capitalism and the extraction of our land and our labor in this country.

“Climate change is the result of a legacy of extraction, of colonialism, of slavery.”
For us, as part of the climate justice movement, to separate those things is impossible. The truth is that the climate justice movement, people of color, indigenous people, have always worked multi-dimensionally because we have to be able to fight on so many different planes.

When I first came into this work, I was fighting police brutality at the Puerto Rican Legal Defense Fund. We were fighting for racial justice. We were in our 20s and this is how we started. It was only a few years after that I realized that if we couldn’t breathe, we couldn’t fight for justice and that’s how I got into the environmental justice movement. For us, there is no distinction between one and the other.

In our communities, people are suffering from asthma and upper respiratory disease, and we’ve been fighting for the right to breathe for generations. It’s ironic that those are the signs you’re seeing in these protests — “I can’t breathe.” When the police are using chokeholds, literally people who suffer from a history of asthma and respiratory disease, their breath is taken away. When Eric Garner died [in 2014 from a New York City police officer’s chokehold], and we heard he had asthma, the first thing we said in my house was, “This is an environmental justice issue.”

The communities that are most impacted by Covid, or by pollution, it’s not surprising that they’re the ones that are going to be most impacted by extreme weather events. And it’s not surprising that they’re the ones that are targeted for racial violence. It’s all the same communities, all over the United States. And you can’t treat one part of the problem without the other, because it’s so systemic.

The Dems can kiss my ass in the county square. All their bullshit has to stop if they want my vote again.

$50,000,000 could do a lot of good work in my neck of the woods.

[Potato]

Couldn't get through the first paragraph of that interview without shaking my head and rolling my eyes. 

Fuck these cunts.

[DavidCroquet]

Not to mention if you put your actual nerd glasses on, actual anti-racist views of pre-domestic cultures take great pains to highlight that these groups aren't some ecologically-attuned and virtuous stewards of land and beast. It's ethnocentric (aka fancy racist) to push that narrative. 

But hey, I'd also be happy to take 50mil to teach Gazan refugees to paint with all the colors of the wind, so I hesitate to judge.

[Ethan]

The best thing about this is that in their press release, they're blaming Biden and not Trump

Climate Justice Alliance Sunsets UNITE-EJ, Its Thriving Communities Grantmaking Program, After Still Not Receiving Obligated EPA Funds

Feb 12, 2025 | Press Release

After Tireless Advocacy to Fight for Obligated Funding, Environmental Justice Communities Lose Access to 50+ Million in Federal Funding

Contact: Kayla@unbendablemedia.com

The Climate Justice Alliance — a named recipient of the EPA’s national Thriving Communities grantmaking program— is sunsetting its UNITE-EJ grantmaking program after the EPA still has not disbursed $50+ million in obligated funds. This announcement comes at the same time as the EPA announces pausing “all funding actions related to” Biden-era climate and infrastructure laws.

Since being selected on merit, as National Grantmaker West by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), CJA and our UNITE-EJ partners have been fully committed to advancing climate justice and equity, ensuring that regions and communities most impacted by environmental harm receive the support and technical assistance they need to thrive. In this role, over the last year, UNITE-EJ built the infrastructure necessary to support the entire program, including the creation of systems, trainings, and partnerships designed to support regional grantmakers and their respective communities.

All other grantmakers in the program received at least partial, if not full disbursements, of the funds in the program, designated by the Inflation Reduction Act.

Tireless efforts were made by dedicated community members for sensible climate policy. From Guam to Baltimore, from the Gulf South to Appalachia, from Maine to California, thousands of communities raised their voice to demand the EPA and the Biden Administration release all climate funds by the end of their administration. These calls, meant to remind the federal government of the importance of the IRA’s promised environmental justice investments supporting the communities they were intended for, were disregarded.

The Biden Administration and the EPA did not heed the call of communities and their legacy is now one of broken promises to frontline communities. By not releasing the already obligated funds to CJA as the National Grantmaker West to carry out the Thriving Communities program, they made certain that those hit first and worst by the climate crisis would not have a chance to access critical climate funds that could help mitigate against the climate chaos ahead.

Instead of safeguarding support for frontline communities in the hostile years to come, the Biden Administration and the EPA cowered to political pressure, chose to safeguard their own futures rather than their constituents, and failed to deliver on their promise to environmental justice and grassroots communities.

CJA remains committed to supporting our communities as they mitigate the harm being unleashed and continue to build out climate solutions that benefit us all.

CTRL-F Trump: 0 match

Typical leftists

[Nintex]

We found the first Trump voter that regrets their vote

[benji]

The Biden Administration and the EPA did not heed the call of communities and their legacy is now one of broken promises to frontline communities. By not releasing the already obligated funds to CJA as the National Grantmaker West to carry out the Thriving Communities program, they made certain that those hit first and worst by the climate crisis would not have a chance to access critical climate funds that could help mitigate against the climate chaos ahead.

It's true, progressive activist organizations will be hardest hit when none of their apocalyptic predictions come true. Remember we only have six more years left before the world ends.

[Ribosome]

How is Pam 60? 

Between DOGE and ending the Ukraine war, inflation will go down but it'll take time

lol

[Nintex]

This week was quite incredible. Vance must've thought Dutch and Deutschland were the same because the Germans did not appreciate his 'directness'. In Germany politics are the arena of doctors and professors and bureaucracy is their fetish. In fact Elon Musk will probably cost the Afd votes because most Germans regardless of political affiliation can't stand the guy and were now introduced to JD Vance.

I give this week 7 out of 10 dumpster fires. 



Cherry on top, MAGA civil war over Gaza and egg prices Elon Musk knocking up Ashley St. Clair

[Polident]

It’s official. We defeated Canada on their own terms. It’s become the 51st state. 

[Gameboy Nostalgia]

Maybe they shouldn't boo us next time 

[killamajig]

On Friday, Luigi Mangione spoke out for the first time since his arrest, releasing a statement on a new website launched by his legal defense team.

https://www.luigimangioneinfo.com/

"I am overwhelmed by – and grateful for – everyone who has written me to share their stories and express their support," writes Mangione. "Powerfully, this support has transcended political, racial, and even class divisions, as mail has flooded MDC from across the country, and around the globe. While it is impossible for me to reply to most letters, please know that I read every one that I receive. Thank you again to everyone who took the time to write. I look forward to hearing more in the future."

A spokesperson for Mangione's legal team exclusively confirmed to Rolling Stone that the website is real, but declined to comment any further.

In addition to Mangione's statement, a message from his attorneys is on the homepage.

"Due to the extraordinary volume of inquiries and outpouring of support, this site was created and is maintained by Luigi Mangione's New York legal defense team to provide answers to frequently asked questions, accurate information about his cases, and dispel misinformation," reads the message. "The intent is to share factual information regarding the unprecedented, multiple prosecutions against him."

Free Luigi

[Nintex]

POTUS is Napoleon maxxing before meeting the Muscovites and you're blackpilling?

[benji]

   

[benji]

[Potato]

This is behind a paywall, so I'll try to copy/paste some highlights. 

https://www.afr.com/world/north-america/america-is-engaged-in-a-rich-white-civil-war-20250214-p5lc63

NYT link https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/13/opinion/trump-populism-elites.html

The simplest answer is that Trump really seems not to give a crap about the working class. Trump is not a populist. He campaigns as a populist, but once he has power, he is the betrayer of populism.

What’s going on here is not a working-class revolt against the elites. All I see is one section of the educated elite going after another section of the educated elite. This is like a civil war in a fancy prep school in which the sleazy kids are going after the pretentious kids.

In 2018, the organisation More in Common released the Hidden Tribes survey. It found that two groups were driving American politics, which it called progressive activists and devoted conservatives. These groups are at opposite ends of the political spectrum, but they have a lot in common. They are the richest of all the groups in the More in Common typology. They are the whitest of all the groups. They are among the best educated of all the groups. When I wrote a column about the bitter feud between these two elite groups, I headlined it “The Rich White Civil War”. That headline still accurately describes what we’re seeing.

How did we get in this mess?

Well, starting about 60 years ago, a group variously labelled the bobos or the creative class began establishing hegemony over commanding institutions of American life – the universities, the media, the foundations, publishing and entertainment.

There are two things you should know about this class. First, like most groups, its members dislike intellectual diversity and tend to impose a stifling progressive orthodoxy in the places they dominate. Second, more than most groups, they see themselves as the moral uplifters of society, on everything from environmental attitudes to sexual ethics, and enjoy preaching in order to enlighten their morally backward countrymen.

Progressives exercise hegemony over these institutions but not total control. Every year, for example, elite colleges admit a few conservative students. They often have one or two token conservatives on the faculty, whom they can roll out for panel discussions. These rare conservatives tend to form dissident communities with one another. In the 1980s there was The Dartmouth Review, which gave us Laura Ingraham and Dinesh D’Souza. Later, The Princeton Tory gave us Pete Hegseth. Today there is the Claremont Review of Books, one of the intellectual mouthpieces of Trumpism.

There is something about being a rare conservative in a sea of progressive insularity that tends to drive people crazy. I get it. When I worked at National Review and on The Wall Street Journal editorial page, some of my New York neighbours would give me the Hitler salute when I got on the elevator. It used to make me want to join the John Birch Society just to spite them.

The right-wing elite college dissidents often feel besieged, embattled. They are often both merry pranksters and also cranky, bitter and oppositional. They catastrophise. They look out on those hellscapes of Hanover, New Hampshire; Princeton, New Jersey; and Claremont, California, and decide that Western civilisation is in ruins. Above all else, they seek social revenge on those who condescend to them.

And here’s the crucial fact about many of them. Many of them are not pro-conservative; they are anti-left. There’s a big difference. They do not focus on building and reforming the civic institutions that conservatives believe are crucial to any healthy society. They focus on tearing down whatever institutions the left occupies.

[Potato]

Same writer, different article

https://www.afr.com/policy/health-and-education/the-educated-elite-is-destroying-america-20240611-p5jkxj

NYT link: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/06/opinion/elites-progressives-universities.html

To be progressive is to be against privilege. But today, progressives dominate elite institutions such as the exclusive universities, the big foundations and the top cultural institutions. American adults who identify as very progressive skew white, well-educated and urban, and hail from relatively advantaged backgrounds.

The virtuous
This is the contradiction of the educated class. Virtue is defined by being anti-elite. But today’s educated class constitutes the elite, or at least a big part of it. Many of the curiosities of our culture flow as highly educated people try to resolve the contradiction between their identity as an enemy of privilege and the fact that, at least educationally and culturally – and often economically – they are privileged.

Imagine you’re a social justice-oriented student or a radical sociologist, but you attend or work at a university with an $80 billion endowment, immense social power and the ability to reject about 95 per cent of the people who apply. For years or decades, you worked your tail off to get into the most exclusive eyries in American life, but now you’ve got to prove, to yourself and others, that you’re on the side of the oppressed.

Imagine you graduated from a prestigious liberal arts college with a degree in history, and you get a job as a teacher at an elite Manhattan private school. You’re a sincere progressive down to your bones. Unfortunately, your job is to take the children of rich financiers and polish them up so they can get into Stanford University. In other words, your literal job is to reinforce privilege.

This sort of cognitive dissonance often has a radicalising effect. When your identity is based on siding with the marginalised, but you work at Horace Mann School or Princeton University, you have to work really hard to make yourself and others believe you are really progressive. You’re bound to drift further and further to the left to prove you are standing up to the man.

This, I think, explains the following phenomenon: Society pours hundreds of thousands of dollars into elite students, gives them the most prestigious launchpads fathomable, and they are often the ones talking most loudly about burning the system down.

This also explains, I think, the leftward drift of the haute bourgeoisie. As sociologist Musa al-Gharbi puts it in his forthcoming book, We Have Never Been Woke, “After 2011, there were dramatic changes in how highly educated white liberals answered questions related to race and ethnicity. These shifts were not matched among non-liberal or non-Democrat whites, nor among nonwhites of any political or ideological persuasion. By 2020, highly educated white liberals tended to provide more ‘woke’ responses to racial questions than the average black or Hispanic person.”

Joining the elite
Progressivism has practically become an entry ticket into the elite. A few years ago, a Yale University admissions officer wrote, “For those students who come to Yale, we expect them to be versed in issues of social justice.” Recently, Tufts University included an optional essay prompt that explicitly asked applicants what they were doing to advance social justice.

Over the years, the share of progressive students and professors has steadily risen, and the share of conservatives has approached zero. Progressives have created places where they never have to encounter beliefs other than their own. At Harvard, 82 per cent of progressives say that all or almost all of their close friends share their political beliefs.

Over the past few decades, elite universities have been churning out very smart graduates who are ready to use their minds and sensibilities to climb to the top of society and change the world. Unfortunately, the marketplace isn’t producing enough of the kinds of jobs these graduates think they deserve.

The elite college grads who go into finance, consulting and tech do smashingly well, but the grads who choose less commercial sectors often struggle. Social activists in Washington and other centres of influence have to cope with sky-high rents. Newspapers and other news websites are laying off journalists. Academics who had expected to hold a prestigious chair find themselves slaving away as adjunct professors.

In a series of essays culminating in his book End Times: Elites, Counter Elites and the Path of Political Disintegration, Peter Turchin argued that periods of elite overproduction lead to a rising tide of social decay, as alienated educated-class types wage ever more ferocious power struggles with other elites.

This phenomenon most likely contributed to surges in social protest during the late 1960s, the late 1980s and then around 2010. Research using Google Ngram shows that discourse mentioning “racism” spiked around each of these three periods.

Probably bordering more culture war here, but 

[benji]

[God Emperor Etiolate]

I was thinking about the weird phrase of "do something" uttered by left sided herd folks. There seems to be a psychological wall built by the act of Trump actually doing what he promised to do. These sorts of people have been voting continuously for soft ideas, not really expecting anything to come of it and living off the act of virtue signaling for otherwise disinterested politicians who end up lining their pockets with wealth. 

And then a rich guy gets his second term and starts enacting* what he ran on. 

Which creates this blob of midwits who are demanding suddenly very different things from their representatives and I imagine those reps are confused. Like, "I thought you were cool with the grift?" 

Spoiler:  (click to show)(click to hide)

*Fully aware that exec orders can easily be undone. The point is action. Action happens. They've been praying to false gods who live off of everything being done behind doors, and the USAID cutoff is a sign that they won't be able to do that. So there's a great disconnect between the midwits and their self-serving patrons.

[Cauliflower Of Love]

Look, the executive orders are useless unless the departments follow through. 

That said, his stupid fucking face sitting at that desk in the white house sends a signal to all the hoozawhats and the ignants. 

I'm hoping the "do something" people are getting back into congress and into the system. Like Bernie.

Lawlessness can only happen when people stand aside.

I will tell you I won't put up for shit.

[Besticus Maximus]

The fascism angle does disservice to what legal and mechanistic approach he's taking, which is in practice way more like an absolutist monarch exploring the extent of their powers.

[Cauliflower Of Love]

The fascism angle does disservice to what legal and mechanistic approach he's taking, which is in practice way more like an absolutist monarch exploring the extent of their powers.

That's the step thats happening. "let see how far we can go"