a REAL genocide is being perpetrated
and people are talking about radical student protests?
are we perhaps secretly reveling in this livestream of cruelty?
is this the actual hallmark of our so-called Western “higher culture”?
"One of the marks of fascism—real-deal, capital-F fascism—is the propensity to view the less fortunate not as fellow sufferers in the journey of life, but as Untermenschen. Vermin to be removed. Or, as Johnny McEntee might put it, cleansed.
This is what America is in the process of choosing. And we’re not being hoodwinked. None of this stuff is being hidden behind a façade of civility and normalcy. This cruelty is the selling point."
An opinion piece published yesterday in the #BillingsGazette explores #CodyRoberts ' #torture of a young female #wolf in Daniel, #Wyoming. By now, most of you have heard the news or seen the disturbing photos and videos. We remain disgusted by the #cruelty, as does our partner and op-ed author #JeffEwelt.
In his op-ed, Jeff Ewelt, the Executive Director of #ZooMontana and a partner of The #RelistWolves Campaign,
"Bereft of any vision of positive change, this is a man who is only capable of exploiting an aggrieved people’s worst instincts—who has figured out that he can get what he wants by stoking the fear, hatred and anger of others. He uses violence, not imagination. Conflict, not collaboration. Cruelty, never kindness. Retribution, not affirmation."
"The Christian Nationalists’ God is petty, insecure, cruel, authoritarian. Their God, like their favored presidential candidate, demands above all else obedience and loyalty. Their God sees only a few as 'elect': Mike Johnson and his ilk, straight men, blastocysts and frozen embryos. All the others He casts out. Their God is not inclusive; their Paradise, a fascist state."
There have been efforts to #criminalise people who live on the streets in the #UnitedStates.
Supreme Court judges are due to rule on whether a law that essentially makes being #homeless a crime, is #constitutional.
The ruling could affect the lives of more than half a million people.
Al Jazeera’s Rob Reynolds reports from #LosAngeles.
"The most pressing issue for Christians in the United States isn’t being persecuted for our faith. Rather, it is those who are using our faith as a tool to control and even persecute others in the name of Jesus. Until we Christians can collectively reckon with this reality, we have no hope of reclaiming any integrity."
"By a 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court ruled that the Biden administration could take down Gov. Greg Abbott’s floating razor-wire migrant death traps along the border."
Peter Wehner wants us to believe that "Donald Trump has made the Republican Party cruel, xenophobic, exclusionary, and bigoted."
The reality is, Republicans themselves have made their party all of those things, with Trump as its face — with Trump as their face.
Republicans have, with Trump as their face, pandered to cruelty, xenophobia, bigotry, for years now. We are all reaping the whirlwind from their sowing of the wind.
Impressive acrobatics, but I am deeply suspicious as to how they were achieved - launching places just are not there. No cat appears to ‘perform' more than once 🤔
People might remember a photograph of a cheetah hunting baboon and catching it in the open. Guess what - it was staged and the animals released from cages in a carefully prepared arena. The bar steward who ‘took the photo’ got away with it.
Oliver Willis on how many of us need to wake up and stop pretending that those who are sticking with Trump through thick or thin are being "duped" by him or taken for a ride by Fox News.
They are, Willis thinks, truly malicious people who are energized by the cruelty and hatred of minorities:
What's not going on in the minds of people who say "A great number of homeless people have mental illness issues" to suggest mental issues are the reasons why people are homeless (on average)
It's more plausible that, for example, someone lost their Job, couldn't pay the rent, got evicted, & was forced to live on the streets ("homeless"), and that harsh environment caused that person to develop #MentalHealth issues
"One of the overlooked portents of 2020 (many Democrats were too relieved to notice) was that the election was still extremely close. Trump received 74 million votes, nearly 47 percent of the electorate. That’s a huge amount of support, especially after such an ordeal of a presidency—the 'very fine people on both sides,' the 'perfect' phone call, the bleach, the daily OMG and WTF of it all."
"The four candidates — pharma entrepreneur Ramaswamy, former New Jersey Gov. Christie, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — spent two hours moving from denigrating one marginalized group to the next, targeting each for hate and xenophobia. Occasionally they’d make a disparaging remark about President Biden, but their real enthusiasm was saved for demagoguing marginalized people and spewing bigotry."
Jill Lawrence reflects on Hannah Knowles' report from Trump's rally at Fort Dodge, Iowa, last Saturday, and the challenge that the culture Trump has unleashed present parents trying to raise decent children who respect others. How do you raise children in this culture?:
"Trump has, for his followers, made it okay to say anything, whether it’s praising Nazis and dictators or attacking U.S. troops and military heroes."
I get asked this question from time to time. People forget Trump completely turned ICE loose during his presidency on communities all over the US. They would roll in to towns, set up roadblocks, then go from business to business arresting people. ICE also patrolled the streets doing the same. So, yeah, he's really that dangerous.
"I’m Jewish. I believe in Israel, and I’m aghast at what Hamas did to so many innocent people on October 7. I strongly support the use of force against the killers. But as thousands of innocent people die in Gaza—not as targets, but as victims of relentless bombardment in a war they didn’t choose—I can’t accept the bigotry, zealotry, and callousness these [Republican] candidates are espousing."
Jonathan Weller reminds us of why Gaetz and his fellow jackals do what they do. They want to depict themselves as noble freedom fighters, but they're fighting to put more money into the hands of their super-rich donors and to take vital support away from the needy at the bottom of society.
"One of the most stunning moments [of Trump's off-the-wall speech to the California GOP] came as Trump ranted about crime, and promised his federal law enforcement officers would be empowered to shoot shoplifters — which prompted wild cheers and chanting from the crowd that took a long time to subside:”
"Everyone’s focused on Trump’s insane blathering, but we should be equally disturbed by the crowd’s raucous laughter [when Trump makes an ugly 'joke' about Nancy Pelosi's husband].