mommalu

U of M. Go Blue

[Zach W. Lambert @ZachWLambert]

If your version of Christianity wants to put Trump Bibles in schools but take free lunch out of them, you are worshipping something other than Jesus.

This is what it looks like to take the Lord’s name in vain.

[The Tennessee Holler @TheTNHoller]

“Serial philanderer… wrote having sex with an unconscious woman in college isn’t rape… member of a church led by a guy who thinks women shouldn’t vote… says no women in combat…”

This @JuddLegum list about Hegseth (who lives in TN) is something else. https://t.co/GQYVvZ7l33

[Anders Åslund @anders_aslund]

The big problem with the US political system is that billionaires are allowed to buy the elections. That is usually called corruption, but in the US infamous John Roberts's SCOTUS legalized such purchases in 2010 (Citizen United verdict).

[Janice Hough @leftcoastbabe]

The Supreme Court says a President has immunity for official acts while in office.

Okay then, while in office, Joe Biden should release House Ethics committee report on Matt Gaetz, and all Jack Smith's report on Donald Trump's handling of classified documents. For starters.

[Art Candee 🍿🥤 @ArtCandee]

Marc Elias’ take on Donald Trump:

“Donald Trump is not Hitler. He is not Stalin. His vision of America is neither pre-war Germany nor the post-war Soviet Union. The United States is not at risk of falling into totalitarianism.

The United States has its own history and culture. It has a unique way of manifesting its politics. That does not mean, however, that we cannot learn from other places and other times. As Mark Twain, the most American of American writers, wrote: “History doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes.”

So, let’s start with what we know. Trump is a deeply unserious man. In a different era, he would have been a carnival barker. If not born to privilege and wealth he would be running a low level scheme or selling supplements on a sketchy website. Instead, he is the president-elect who, in addition to hawking schlocky items on the internet, will soon command the highest, most powerful office on earth.

We know that he admires modern day dictators and strongmen. He seeks their favor and rejoices in their flattery.

He rejects liberalism — things like the rule of law, impartial government and fundamental rights. He has contempt for democratic norms and institutions. Elections are only fair when he wins and rigged when he loses.

For Trump, the presidency exists to exact the spoils of electoral victory rather than a public trust.

Like many of you, I have spent the last few days trying to make sense of things — asking how this happened and what comes next. As for the second question, I have been doing a lot of reading.
It is something that preoccupied the Founders, who were afraid of the reemergence of a king. Decades after the founding, John Adams was still concerned. In 1814 he wrote to a colleague that “democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.”

As part of my processing, I went back and reread several of Hannah Arendt’s works. She is best known for her account of the trial of Adolf Eichmann in which she coined the phrase “banality of evil.” In her telling, the Nazi SS leader was a mediocre joiner. In her words a “clown.”

But, in my opinion, her most important book was The Origins of Totalitarianism, in which she attempts to explain the mechanics of how totalitarian movements come to power. One observation of hers strikes me as most relevant today.

“Totalitarianism in power invariably replaces all first-rate talents, regardless of their sympathies, with those crackpots and fools whose lack of intelligence and creativity is still the best guarantee of their loyalty.” 

It is hard to make sense of Trump’s recent cabinet nominations without coming back to this central truth: He is nominating “crackpots and fools” because that is what Trumpism requires. It is required both by Trump himself but also by his followers.

As a narcissist, Trump surrounds himself with people who, like him, reject science, expertise and the idea of objective facts. As a leader, he must continue to promote ever more extremist conspiracy theories to explain why his last conspiracy theory failed to come true.”

🍿

[Woke-Like-Jesus @DougWahl1]

OUR HERO OF THE DAY IS...

Mackenzie Scott, the ex-wife to Jeff Bezos. This week Elon Musk said Scott was destroying western civilization by donating hundreds of millions to women charities and causes.

Her response, was to double her donations!

Your thoughts?

[Andrew—#IAmTheResistance @AmoneyResists]

This is what we call ACTUAL election interference by the worst excuse for a human in the history of mankind. That’s you @elonmusk

[Protect Kamala Harris ✊ @DisavowTrump20]

🚨NEW: Senators Jean Shaheen and Jack Reed have sent a letter to the Pentagon demanding they investigate Elon Musk’s business contracts with Russia due to his new role in the federal government.

RETWEET to thank these Senators for standing up for our democracy!

[Robert Reich @RBReich]

In the next two months, Senate Democrats can...

-Fill 47 judicial vacancies

-Ensure a Dem majority on the NLRB

-Appoint key regulators to the SEC and FDIC to protect the American people from financial fraud

-Reappoint FTC Chair Lina Khan

Democrats need to act. Now.

[Thought Provoking Berserker🇭🇺🇪🇺 ⚛️🦍🦅 @Provokethoughtz]

Guess it's time 🤷🏾‍♂️

[John Bresnahan @bresreports]

Trump’s AG nominee Matt Gaetz was investigated for child sex trafficking & was accused of having sex with a 17-year-old woman. The DOD nominee Pete Hegseth “paid a woman who accused him of sexual assault as part of a nondisclosure agreement,” per WaPo

[The Tennessee Holler @TheTNHoller]

Yikes — one of the billionaires Trump has tapped for the “efficiency” department hints they plan to target Veterans’ Health programs. 😳 (cc: @ClarksHoller)

Details: https://t.co/ScbZo6SrDs

[ABC News Politics @ABCPolitics]

EXCLUSIVE: The woman at the center of the DOJ's probe of Rep. Matt Gaetz testified to the House Ethics Committee that he had sex with her when she was 17 years old, sources say.

Read more: https://t.co/mrtILCSLvs

[Jim Stewartson, Decelerationist 🇨🇦🇺🇦🇺🇸 @jimstewartson]

If the @TheDemocrats want to go down swinging they MUST INSIST that every single county that got a Russian bomb threat be hand recounted. That is foreign election interference. Period. Full stop.

You don’t need to prove a hack or Starlink or any of that.
#Recount2024

[Julia Davis @JuliaDavisNews]

https://t.co/iI8rxNlHko

[James Surowiecki @JamesSurowiecki]

Joe Biden is president. The Democrats have a majority in the Senate. They should confirm all of these nominees - as the Republican Senate confirmed Trump's judicial nominees, including Aileen Cannon, after he lost in 2020.

[Tristan Snell @TristanSnell]

Dear Media:

STOP saying Trump "selected" or "appointed" a potential cabinet member like it's a done deal.

He NOMINATES them. And they must be CONFIRMED by the Senate, as required by the Constitution.

It's a presidency, not a monarchy.

xoxo
We the People

[Garry Kasparov @Kasparov63]

The point of modern propaganda isn't only to misinform or push an agenda. It is to exhaust your critical thinking, to annihilate truth.

[Dr. Dave @drdave1999]

If you’ve followed me for awhile, then you know that I’m no conspiracy theorist.

That said, there are SO many inconsistencies in the results of this election that it MUST be examined thoroughly. There are issues & contradictions that make no sense at all— and we deserve answers.

[Hey, Dave! @davegreenidge57]

Here’s a video produced by “Led by Donkeys” out of the U.K. that puts down the timeline of how Musk used X to get Donald Trump elected. I would save it because I don’t think it will be up for long.