In an apparent attempt to troll their political opponents, MAGA allies gleefully announced the extreme conservative blueprint is ‘on the Trump agenda’
...In an apparent attempt to troll their political opponents...
I'm depressed of this shit
Oh for sure - and the nutters will be saying it's 'divine mandate' since he survived those assassination attempts. We ain't seen shit yet.
I saw that very claim elsewhere today. Something something "god didn't make him turn his head at just the right moment for him to lose the election."
Trump survives assassination: "God wants him to live!"
Trump dies in assassination: "Satan sent his demons to kill his foe!"
Isn't it great how their believes always tell them they are right and good and others are wrong and evil?
That sneaky bastard!
IRS employees better start job hunting.
A lot of people are going to die because of this conspiracy theorist.
I think of someone very close to me who takes mediation for depression, medication that RFK thinks is bullshit, and medication that is regulated by the FDA.
She got a bad batch of something from a generic supplier and became dangerously suicidal. We were able to report this to the FDA and send them the medication so people wouldn’t die.
I can’t see how less staffing is going to make things better. We need more people on the ground so inspections are more regular and so deadly manufacturing problems are caught early.
You just need to reference their last playbook: less data means it's not happening, like covid.
I can’t see how less staffing is going to make things better.
Oh it makes things better alright. Better for the drug companies who now don't have to deal with pesky things like "safety" and "consequences for killing people".
Or "overhead", to use a technical term.
Not only are a lot of people going to die, the EU is going to be on some "bad" list very soon, because free travel and any kind of "free" shipping won't be possible anymore - and I'd say even some Asian, African and maybe even Australia are going to follow that, heck, maybe even Canada. Although I'm not sure if Canada is able to actually do that...
Huh? What context is this list set up in? I don't really see how it relates to the medication issue.
Vaccines and medications help in stopping the spread of diseases. If the rest of the world can't make sure the US plays after international rules, they can't let anyone or anything from the US in
Oooh yeah good point. I didn't make that connection
They’ll blame democrats and win even more votes.
Saying you are going to gut the CDC after a pandemic is peak shooting yourself in the face to spite the neighbors.
He gutted the Federal Pandemic Response Team in 2018.
Dismantling the CDC and HHS is absolutely to be expected.
I would have figured losing 1-2 million Republicans would have helped in voting, but my Mexican neighbors decided they like Trump. Guess I'll report them to ICE. The leopards must feed.
It’s handy when the trash takes itself out, isn’t it.
It would've been, but I don't know why you're saying that now because it clearly didn't. We decided to fucking wallow in it instead.
It doesn’t work like that.
If they voted, then they’re citizens. Reporting citizens to ICE won’t do anything.
On top of them just sounding like a total psycho. It’s interesting watching liberals become what they hate so quickly lol
The Haitians were here legally and he campaigned on kicking them out. And if you think the supreme court is about to defend any monitory's rights you haven't been paying attention. He's gone on record saying it's okay if they screw up a few times deporting people
Sure, but that doesn’t change the fact that ICE can’t deport citizens.
Our newly Republican controlled Congress, however, can legislate denaturalization.
Laws only matter where there's a will and power to enforce them. This supreme court has made it clear the president can break laws if its an "official" order. I don't think it's likely but it's absolutely possible. Europe didn't see WW2 coming and plenty of Jews were German citizens. None of this is even unprecedented
If they voted then they aren’t illegally here?
Won't mater to Trump
Guess I'll report them to ICE.
How is that going to help anything? That just makes you an asshole.
They literally asked for it though?
Voted for it in droves.
Just giving them what they wanted.
Don't start none won't be none
Sadly that didn't affect trump voters when Trump kneecapped the pandemic response teams (including the CDC) before covid.
And do you think there will be a single Republican willing to do anything about it?
Mark my words, they will vote 100% in lockstep every single time. And if what Trump is doing is illegal (like that matters anyway), they'll just write legislation to make it legal. Not a single one of them is going to even think about criticizing him, out of fear of either violence, political suicide, or both.
The government will be crammed with unqualified hacks from top to bottom. The corruption will be open and blatant.
And every single Republican senator will vote to confirm. Every single time.
RFK in charge of healthcare. Musk in charge of spending. Aileen cannon is either getting the AG job or a Supreme Court seat. Whichever one she doesn't get, Alina Hobba gets. Steve Bannon gets pardoned and gets communications director. Alex Jones is probably going to crawl out from whatever rock he crawled under too.
They'll all get jobs. The Senate will confirm them all. And far-right conspiracy theories will become official US policy.
Jones hasn't crawled under any rocks, he's been going strong even with a billion dollar judgement against him and filing for bankruptcy. Infowars is being auctioned off in a week so it might be bought by someone who will just keep him exactly where he is, but he's been openly setting up a backup business and directing people to it, which he's said ON AIR he'll just fold into the existing business if all goes well. His dad has a completely independent supplement company and he's got completely unaffiliated mates selling his merch.
The only reason he's less prominent now is because the politicians and the mainstream media in the US are so fucking unhinged that he's struggling to stay relevant in his niche.
Alex Jones is probably going to crawl out from whatever rock he crawled under too.
White House Press Secretary Alex Jones is an Onion article that writes itself, 3 times a week
I hate how you right you are.
There may be one or two, but as soon as they imprison or execute one (my bet is that it will be Kinzinger), they'll all fall in line. Or mysteriously vanish.
There is a ray of hope. Historically when the GOP gets power, infighting flares up.
Trump himself has been shown to be quite malleable in the face of hollow flattery, without much in the way of things he actually cares about doing specifically, apart from whatever inflates his ego. Those different camps have had a long time to meditate on how people have manipulated Trump and are likely to be better at manipulating him Putin style.
So while they all may have decided they must be in line with Trump, they may work toward changing what policies that means. So even as they must be behind Trump, that may narrow the fixed outcome to just proclaiming Trump the most awesome president ever, with policy related stuff a bit more malleable.
I would have preferred not to risk this scenario, but for now I'm choosing to hope that there's a more mundane path forward that avoids permanent damage to the political structure, despite this very risky situation.
Hell, why should he care if any of it is legal or not? Him being inaugurated after inciting an insurrection is a direct violation of the constitution. His entire second presidency will be illegal.
If you stayed home because of Gaza, this is your fault.
60% of white men. 53% of white women.
Remember, the universe for those stats are only voters which account for less than half of the total US population.
Mostly Millennials, GenX, and Boomers as well.
Young people protesting Gaza had almost no influence on this election
No, all the Gen Z incel boys voted for hatred and misogyny.
If you voted for a guy who can't even say his opponents name properly , you are also an idiot voting for another idiot.
Being able to learn to say your opponents name is a life skill which is useful for presidency... And Kamala's name isn't hard
It's absolutely fucked that a lot of them stood their laughing as he displayed that he never left high school
While they didn't help, I suspect their numbers were small enough to not matter in the scheme of what happened.
The answer is likely mundane. My guess is overall turnout was lower because things didn't feel as 'crisis' like as 2020. The needle for people barely aware of politics even as they vote stayed at the same place as it was in 2020: Things aren't great, kick whoever is in office out in hopes the alternative does better. Last time they came out for Biden because Trump was at the wheel. Now they show up for Trump because the president was a democrat.
This segment of the electorate is not particularly politically aware, let alone active, and likely has little to no opinion about the broader world. The relative likelihood of them turning up at all depends on how badly things are going (less likely to show up this time compared to the unprecedented mess of 2020), and to the extent they show up they just vote against whoever is in charge that day.
However, those people are generally quiet, and so we turn our focus instead to the loudest folks proclaiming a refusal to vote for Harris.
If it was close, I would agree. It wasn't even close by such a huge margin the more mundane factors I think are the only ones big enough to explain things.
My guess is overall turnout was lower because things didn't feel as 'crisis' like as 2020.
What an insane take...
For the politically disengaged? It is an accurate take.
In 2020, you had massive unemployment. People personally were stuck at home with nowhere they could go. Many of them saw a loved one suffer death at the hands of a pandemic, or personally get very sick. That is a direct and visceral experience of "things are bad". They didn't need to follow any news, study any charts, read any policy, they knew that their direct subjective experience was bad.
In 2024, things for people are largely normal, but a lot of bills are high. Grading on a curve, this is much further from a personal crisis for most folks. In fact, the grocery bills eased a bit so some people might be seeing a natural 'light at the end of the tunnel'.
The biggest discused crisis factors in forums like this are only being considered by the politically engaged, and that's just not most people. Whether it should be or not...
Its definitely a media outreach problem.
Unfortunately, I think the media has blared the things people should be caring like crazy. Problems remain:
People only internalize their personal experience, and they only care so much about what they see on the screen.
To the extent they may care, they also see a counter campaign of folks claiming otherwise, and they don't really have a good way to casually know which viewpoint to take seriously.
I think that points to the democrats need for sneaker based messaging networks. Instead of buying huge expensive ads that nonvoters won't watch and giving that money out to tv networks why not use the high volunteer base to buy t shirts and restaurant meal coupons then hand them out to people. stuff like that. I think there needs to be more lateral thinking here. Less emails, more tshirts.
Yez, but not in the way you're thinking. People have been radicalized by misogynists on youtube and tiktok that Russia has paid for. It's been proven for some of them, and if you think they're the only ones, you're living in a fantasy land.
Except gen z men voted at like a 2% more for trump in a low turnout election its like well within every margin of error that it could be decreasing support since 2020.
The significant portion of the almost 20 million Biden voters that just checked out of politics and decided since everything seemed ok, no need to vote. Thats the media outreach problem. It guarantees that republicans will regain power everytime the economy gets patched up with duct tape.
This is largely how non voters have responded when asked as far as I've seen: "feels like things aren't broken, I can sit this out"
Its not a take its just the reality we live in.
Every person that says that is now a Nazi sympathizer.
I agree with you in spirit but not in rhetoric. I'd call them dipshits.
It doesn't matter. A vote that was not cast or cast for anyone other than Harris we warned them and warned them, and they didn't listen.
If I ever hear someone say "Gen Z will save us" again, I'm going to have some strong words for them. Gen Z is a bunch of knuckle-dragging Neanderthals and they'll be the death of us.
Keep punching left and down. That will really help build the coalition to resist fascism.
The people who stayed home are not the people on the left. The people on the left voted against fascism. The people who stayed home for the election are also going to be useless in an anti-fascism coalition, seeing as they couldn't be bothered to do the bare minimum.
The coalition to resist fascism should have existed 2 days ago
I'm not punching left, and I refuse to accept your categorisation of anything short of completely trashing the DNC is not left enough.
The reason I voted for Harris is because I care about the lives of Palestinians. You can try to claim that this isn't true, but you're just wrong. And none of your bullshit purity tests will change that.
If you call yourself a progressive, and you stayed home on Tuesday, I want nothing to do with you. There's my purity test. Fuck right off.
The only thing I said was don't punch left. I literally said none of the other things you are ranting about, so go bark at someone else.
I didn't vote for Harris, because... I'm not a US citizen. I would have if I were, if you need to know. I'm sitting here on my side of the border, seeing fascism take over on your side and I'm shocked to see you guys bicker about pointing fingers instead of facing reality and thinking wtf you have to do to survive the next 4 years. It's as if you don't really understand what's about to hit you.
You're in deep crisis mode. Being mad at Muslims and Stein voters and non-voters is going to be a barrier to building a coalition of resistance. That's just the plain reality of what strategic organizing will require. Don't burn bridges with the people you will need in the next 4 years. You hit the iceberg, now is not the time to point fingers about whose fault that it is, it's time to get to the boats and every one who can help with that is valuable.
The only thing I said was don't punch left. I literally said none of the other things you are ranting about,
Ok then, what the fuck does "punching left" mean?
Third paragraph of my previous comment:
Being mad at Muslims and Stein voters and non-voters is going to be a barrier to building a coalition of resistance. That's just the plain reality of what strategic organizing will require. Don't burn bridges with the people you will need in the next 4 years.
Those people are fundamentally too stupid and too useless to work with.
Good luck, buddy.
I feel like you have a misconception about how democracy works. When there's position that enjoys broad popular support (such as universal health care, or a cessation of the genocide in Gaza), it isn't on the democrats to take that position so the electorate will vote for them, it's on the electorate to either change their mind on the issue, or vote for the democrats regardless.
It's important to internalize this lesson. Next cycle you'll likely get to practice it with trans rights, if the talking heads on MSNBC who are blaming wokeness for the democrats losing the election are any indication. The idea that politicians and their policies are responsible for losing/winning elections is silly. You're here for them, not the other way around.
Remember to thank all the dipshits that supported diaper donnie and his insanity. Remind them that: "YOU did this."
They won't hear about the bad things, or they'll be told it was the Democrats that did it, and they'll be believe it. Convincing MAGA of reality is pointless while they're still feeding from the trough of conservative shit. We're better off protesting and being disruptive in combination with getting our shit together for next round, where hopefully we'll have real primaries and get our first competent general election candidate since Obama.
We’re better off protesting and being disruptive
I guess that depends. The fascists are practically itching to call out the military to put down anything perceived as violent.
True, but that's not new. George Floyd, Occupy Wall Street, Seattle WTO, and the entirety of the civil rights movement all were met with state violence. The more they crack down, the more necessary it is to protest it.
I'm saying this time may be far, far different.
And the ones who didn't vote.
Biden got 81M votes, Harris 67. Where are the missing 15M people? Where were they?
Probably complaining about Gaza or some shit lmao. What are you trying to say here?
Democrats sounded the alarms and 15 million people, idk, pressed the snooze button.
The whole presidency is alarming... Please find a bit that it is not?
Nah, let's all take a good honest look at what's happening and start preparing for it.
In not alarming news...Maybe the annual tradition of pardoning a turkey will remain largely unchanged
Assuming Trump is the turkey in this instance.
Given his age, there is a non-zero chance that he may die while in the presidency?
JD Vance isn’t exactly a charismatic individual (some might even go so far as call him ‘weird’); so this entire neo-fascist movement may very well fragment and flounder in the not too distant future.
I'm actually way more afraid of Vance in the presidency than Trump.
Why is that? He lacks the cult of personality to be able to carry on after Trump IMO, and was largely picked as a ‘Yes Man’.
Probably because he's smarter.
No doubt he’s smart, he hitched his wagon to the Trump train after all - but I don’t think that’s particularly important.
He doesn’t have Trump’s charisma, so he’d struggle to maintain control over his fan base and would likely face challenges from key faces in the cohort (eg. Ron DeSantis, MTG etc.)
This is basically my reasoning as well, he will most likely be eaten alive by the true believers and power brokers will break him over knee. All of Vance's influence is derived from Trump. And especially if Trunp dies before inauguration he may very well become irrelevant depending on certain factors.
If he dies before they are able to really get the structural changes in P2025 off the ground, Trump's death will likely instigate the death of the movement. If it dies after that the P2025 restructuring has happened, won't matter.
The Supreme Court will surely block….ummm
Snake oil is back on the menu, boys.
I wonder if they will fudge some studies and numbers so that it will be evidence based snake oil?
Medicinal mercury is back baby! Just as long as there's no vaccines!
Headline from the future:
"Displacing heart disease, the primary cause of death in the USA is now 'easily preventable disease'"
Polio on the rise outside the Bible Belt.
More like "mysteriously falling from windows."
All hail the brainworms, all hail the brainworms
Why is anyone surprised. They said what they were gonna do. They’re now making concrete plans to do the things they said they were gonna do.
I’m gonna fuckin leave.
lol welcome to the middle ages
If you can avoid the dark ages, you should probably consider that a win right now...
I hate his voice and I’m sick of him already.
Nothing against people with his condition but if you're gonna sound like you're talking underwater make it worth my fucking time.
The Crypt Keeper’s voice would be more pleasant.
State agencies will still be in place, will they not? I wouldn't eat the food or drink the water were I in a red state...
Most, if not all in some cases, funding for state-level regulatory agencies comes directly from their federal counterparts. This will essentially kill state agencies as well.
Or at the very least, they will be severely reduced in terms of staff and purview.
And that's just the states that don't decide to follow the administration's lead and do the same thing to their state level agencies.
Aww come on, maybe your kid will have super powers then, like an extra arm or glowing in the dark. Where's your sense of adventure?
Somebody is counting his chickens before they've hatched.
The brainworms have definitely hatched though
It's going to be morbidly hilarious watching the USA the next four years.
I mean laugh at your neighbors house on fire if you want but the embers are blowing everywhere.
Eh, as an Italian I had to endure years of bunga-bunga jokes and such... turns out Berlusconi was a class act compared to what you guys managed to elect.
Berlusconi let others do the job of governing...people that lined their pockets as well, but at least we're somewhat decent at actual governing compared to what Trump's second cabinet's probably going to be.
I lived through the 2008 economic crisis, they were terrible, but at least they tried to keep up appearances because they espoused the democratic process, ergo they needed to be reelected
Berlusconi isn't even mousilini to Trump's Hitler. Not even close.
The kakistocracy that is coming is like nothing we've seen in the modern era.
Time for the EU to get some safety distance from the USA
Lol.
Four years? Try four decades. The ramifications of Trump's first term is still being felt now.
The haters will downvote us for it but damn is it a good time to have a dark sense of humor. It's out of our control but its still bad to see the humor in the absurdity I guess.
I'm still holding out for 'President running the country from prison' which would almost make it worth it.
I mean nothing new, Mr. Brainworm has been ranting about this for a while now and Trump has specified that gutting agencies was always his project 2025 plan so why would anyone be surprised here?
Good luck everyone and enjoy 2025!
There's going to be an outbreak of polio because of this idiot.
His brain worms plan on ensuring antihelmintic drugs do not get advanced.
While RFK Jr is the same worm man, let's please remember all the cries about drugs being expensive and regulators stifling competition there, and that (from what I've read, I've never been to US) what can be put into food is already not very well regulated in your country.
Those agencies are problematic. Just like actions aimed at something good may have negative side effects, often outweighing the effect in the intended direction, similarly it is here.
And after typing the previous I've read the article and that's what he's saying, mentioning Canada as the good example. Unfortunately by analogy this would mean that for drug regulation he'd go the same way, only with his antivaxxer views. Also talking about kids being healthier is cringe.
The agencies are problematic because they generally aren't allowed or don't have the budget to properly regulate things. Eliminating departments isn't going to help anything, and I really don't think the guy that picks up roadkill for a snack will improve the overall quality of food in the country.
Not sure this is the case with FDA.
We'll see. Roadkill for snack is fine when meat's cooked correctly, unless it's a roadkill near Chernobyl.
But it's understandable not to trust the guy who had part of his brain eaten by a parasite to cook meat correctly.
It's important to know that both the FDA and the USDA are in charge of inspecting food, and which food is covered by which agency can be complicated.
FSIS [under the USDA] conducts continuous daily inspections of foods in its domain, whereas FDA inspections have no regular schedule. The FDA is more likely to inspect only after a tip about a possible food safety violation, so random inspections can occur up to 10 years apart or, in rare cases, not at all.
“It’s not that they don’t want to inspect more, they just don’t have the funding,” Raymond says.
This inspection imbalance means that pepperoni pizza, because it contains meat, has ingredients that will be inspected three times before the product hits the grocery store freezer: at the slaughterhouse, the packing plant and the pizza factory. A vegetarian pizza produced at the same facility, however, will probably not undergo any inspection.
[The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994] placed the burden of proof concerning dietary supplement safety on FDA, requiring the agency to show that a dietary supplement ingredient is adulterated rather than requiring the manufacturer to prove a supplement is safe prior to marketing. This is in contrast to new food additives, which require submission of safety information in a food additive petition prior to marketing, or drugs, which generally require submission of safety data as part of a new drug application prior to marketing.
At least with dietary supplements, they can't make a new product guarantee it's safe, the FDA needs to already know something is dangerous before it can force a recall.
If you'd prefer to learn more through a comedian, John Oliver covered this topic a while back https://youtu.be/Za45bT41sXg
There’s a serious problem where the majority of grocery market supplements do not contain the substances they claim to contain. There is no monitoring.
OK, will watch
This will be very interesting to watch. From outside USA ofc. Otherwise I would use a different word.
As a American, it's morbidly interesting to me.
Oh no! Guess they weren't kidding about project 2025.
Whewww them political spoils be spoiling
I hope at least they sack the ones who were approving drugs they knew didn’t work because of big pharma pressure. Would be a silver lining.
those are for sure the ones sticking around
Edit: Literally they're going to put an "ivermectin covid" guy in charge despite the fact quality studies show it at best does nothing and at worst may be slightly harmful
A sugar pill plus prayers.
Sorry, "thoughts and players" ofc.
Well after they gut the FDA im sure those people will be gone
Now all drugs from companies who donate to the RNC will automatically be approved instead
With immunity for any other health issues they cause. We're now living in an Oligarchy.
I always imagined him as the guy at the end of Road House where Patrick Swayze ripped his throat out and round-housed him into the pond. But he survived, left the redneckville and turns out half of his vocal cords was left intact.
I'd love to see america punished by their idiotic choices even once.
Burn it all down.
He didn't create the nearly 2 trillion dollar deficit. The government is broke, cuts must be made.
Yeah - it's the FDA and CDC that are the true money pits in the US government... Let's eliminate the IRS and EPA while we're at it - really smash those guardrails and let the altruistic market fix it - that always works..
Ohhh look - we're cutting taxes for those that need it least again - but that's responsible spending - it's all been accumulating for over half a century, so it's got to start trickling down any day now, guys.
I expect deep cuts will need to be made across the board
As an example, the IRS returns $6 for every dollar spent on it, and absolutely all available evidence shows that if you remove all the guardrails, things get far worse almost immediately.
Can you point to an example of fascism working? Every example I've seen ended with massive decline in quality of life, rampant waste, and both economic and government collapse - usually with a dead leader through suicide or execution, generally with their corpse being dragged through the streets by an understandably furious populace. It'll all work out this time, though... right?
Fascism? No. Argentina seems to rapidly be improving with thier ultra-extreme cuts.
Your defence of your fascist alignment is to concede it's always ended terribly, then point to an anarcho-capitalist example where the goal is to collapse the government because Milei hasn't finished the job after checks watch less than a year?
I get that he's done a fairly commendable job with the economic tailspin so-far, but I'm not sure I see the relevance.
You're the one who brought up fascism. I said I can't think of an example of fascism working. Cutting government scope is the opposite of fascism. Fascism is characterized by a strong centralized authority, which cutting is the opposite of.
Oh - my mistake - you think you're not supporting fascism... It'd be quaint if it weren't for the consequences.
Fascism is characterised by the merging of state and commercial interests, not a strong centralised authority in a beuracratic sense. Let's run the list, shall we?
"The cult of tradition", characterized by cultural syncretism, even at the risk of internal contradiction. When all truth has already been revealed by tradition, no new learning can occur, only further interpretation and refinement.
Check.
"The rejection of modernism", which views the rationalistic development of Western culture since the Enlightenment as a descent into depravity. Eco distinguishes this from a rejection of superficial technological advancement, as many fascist regimes cite their industrial potency as proof of the vitality of their system.
Check.
"The cult of action for action's sake", which dictates that action is of value in itself and should be taken without intellectual reflection. This, says Eco, is connected with anti-intellectualism and irrationalism, and often manifests in attacks on modern culture and science.
Check.
"Disagreement is treason" – fascism devalues intellectual discourse and critical reasoning as barriers to action, as well as out of fear that such analysis will expose the contradictions embodied in a syncretistic faith.
Big check.
"Fear of difference", which fascism seeks to exploit and exacerbate, often in the form of racism or an appeal against foreigners and immigrants.
That couldn't be Trum- CHECK.
"Appeal to a frustrated middle class", fearing economic pressure from the demands and aspirations of lower social groups.
Check.
"Obsession with a plot" and the hyping-up of an enemy threat. This often combines an appeal to xenophobia with a fear of disloyalty and sabotage from marginalized groups living within the society. Eco also cites Pat Robertson's book The New World Order as a prominent example of a plot obsession.
Check.
Fascist societies rhetorically cast their enemies as "at the same time too strong and too weak". On the one hand, fascists play up the power of certain disfavored elites to encourage in their followers a sense of grievance and humiliation. On the other hand, fascist leaders point to the decadence of those elites as proof of their ultimate feebleness in the face of an overwhelming popular will.
Check.
"Pacifism is trafficking with the enemy" because "life is permanent warfare" – there must always be an enemy to fight. Both fascist Germany under Hitler and Italy under Mussolini worked first to organize and clean up their respective countries and then build the war machines that they later intended to and did use, despite Germany being under restrictions of the Versailles treaty to not build a military force. This principle leads to a fundamental contradiction within fascism: the incompatibility of ultimate triumph with perpetual war.
Ukraine/Palestine - soft check.
"Contempt for the weak", which is uncomfortably married to a chauvinistic popular elitism, in which every member of society is superior to outsiders by virtue of belonging to the in-group. Eco sees in these attitudes the root of a deep tension in the fundamentally hierarchical structure of fascist polities, as they encourage leaders to despise their underlings, up to the ultimate leader, who holds the whole country in contempt for having allowed him to overtake it by force.
Check.
"Everybody is educated to become a hero", which leads to the embrace of a cult of death. As Eco observes, "[t]he Ur-Fascist hero is impatient to die. In his impatience, he more frequently sends other people to death."
Soft check, but that's clearly firming up.
"Machismo", which sublimates the difficult work of permanent war and heroism into the sexual sphere. Fascists thus hold "both disdain for women and intolerance and condemnation of nonstandard sexual habits, from chastity to homosexuality".
Check.
"Selective populism" – the people, conceived monolithically, have a common will, distinct from and superior to the viewpoint of any individual. As no mass of people can ever be truly unanimous, the leader holds himself out as the interpreter of the popular will (though truly he alone dictates it). Fascists use this concept to delegitimize democratic institutions they accuse of "no longer represent[ing] the voice of the people".
Check.
"Newspeak" – fascism employs and promotes an impoverished vocabulary in order to limit critical reasoning.
Check.
I've got bad news for you...
Thanks for the long and thoughtful response, but I think there is some misunderstandings about how Eco's framework applies here. Ur-Fascism identifies things that may tend to lead to fascist thinking, rather than giving a definitive checklist of all actions that are fascist. Traits alone are not fascism; fascism arises when the state pushes to unify under a regime that enforces conformity, suppresses opposition, and uses centralized power to control people's lives.
Remember, we're discussing cutting government programs here, which is an economic decision, not inherently an authoritarian one. Fascism means expanding government power into private lives, enforcing a singular national identity, and controlling all discourse and industries. Cutting state programs, even if you personally disagree with the decision, limits government reach, which contradicts the key central tendency of fascism.
I think Eco's framework is important for recognizing creeping authoritarianism, but when you carelessly apply it too broadly, you risk watering down the concept of fascism. Mislabeling every policy decision you disagree with as "fascist" can make it harder to identify actual authoritarian threats when they arise, and is inherently divisive, attempting to shut down meaningful discussion rather than welcome it. Instead of carelessly jumping straight to labels, I think it's important to have more nuanced discussions about the reasons and implications of government policy.
Cutting agencies isn't a fascist policy. It's a move toward decentralization. Rather than expanding the government and corporate power, cuts to state agencies seek to limit their control over individual lives. It's a move toward necessary fiscal responsibility. The US federal government's current level of spending is not sustainable, and will inevitably lead to the shutdown of all of these agencies and more, crippling taxes (of course always on the middle and lower class), hyperinflation, or an unpleasant mixture of all three.
In fact, I will argue that excessive debt is a powerful driver of authoritarian policies, as the state is forced to prioritize revenue collection, even it it means infringing on the well-being of the people. Fiscal restraint, in contrast, reduces the risk state power will expand through financial necessity, making it anti-authoritarian. I think that's a good thing.
When very charitably, at least 12 of Eco's 14 signs of Ur fascism has been checked off along with the dictionary definition, this is a pretty weak argument - Where do you get your meaning of words if it's not based on the dictionary or on something's traits?
Deregulation and the outsourcing of state power to complicit, newly empowered commercial interests is standard within fascism, and pushing that power from notionally democratic direct government control to undemocratic businesses that have an interest in preserving the government that removed their guardrails and handed them all that power is undeniably authoritarian. Would you make the argument that company towns aren't authoritarian or centralised because it's not government power?
Excessive debt is indeed a driver of authoritatian policy for better or worse, but fascism isn't the only flavour of authoritarianism. Similarly, company towns tend to thrive in small government environments, and are historically incredibly authoritarian. That's not a good thing.
I don't agree that company towns were authoritarian. Can you find a real example that wasn't just a newspaper political cartoon or a song? What did it mean to live in those towns? Think about it rationally. Let's argue that a company was able to completely set up a new town with no previously existing infrastructure. Perhaps a mining company in remote Alaska. How do they get workers? They offer low rent or free housing, good schools, and reasonably priced shops, in addition to attractive salaries. This creates a real-life "company town" we've all heard of. What would happen if the company ever slacked off or attempted to exploit its "monopoly"? Of course, workers would begin to leave and look for work elsewhere! Who could possibly stop them from doing so, other than the state?
That's the major difference between a state authority and a private "authority". Private organizations are subject to market forces and competition. They can't just simply be elected and do as they will for 2,4, 10 years, or life, without concern. The worse job private institutions do, the more unfair their pricing, the more attractive it becomes for competitive forces to come in and take their place. All the examples you can find of how terrible privatization is (e.g. healthcare) is actually because they are completely backed by the full might of the state, creating true monopolies and anti-competitive environment. These often come about as corruption and authoritarianism, private companies give money to key stakeholders in the state, who then use their power to craft regulation to protect their friends at the private companies, in return for more money. This will always happen, regardless of how many rules or safeguards you craft. If you don't like that happening, the only solution is to stop giving the state the power to do that.
What confident ignorance that would be overcome with any research whatsoever. This is clear enough that I don't need to bother with an explanation - Here's 3 search terms for you:
Company town
Pullman
Monopoly
"Why do we have Fruit Loops in this country that have 18 or 19 ingredients and you go to Canada and it’s got two or three?"
Goddammit don't make me agree with RFKJr. With that said I have a feeling we'd disagree on how to rectify it.
contains 2% or less of vegetable oil (hydrogenated coconut, soybean and/or cottonseed)
oat fiber
maltodextrin
salt
soluble corn fiber
natural flavor
red 40
yellow 5
blue 1
yellow 6
Vitamins and Minerals:
Vitamin C (ascorbic acid)
reduced iron
niacinamide
vitamin B6 (pyridoxine hydrochloride)
vitamin B2 (riboflavin)
vitamin B1 (thiamin hydrochloride)
folic acid
vitamin D3
vitamin B12
Which is basically the same. Biggest difference seems to be the food coloring.
If this is an actual problem, the solution is to use the FDA to make food healthier or have less junk ingredients or whatever. Getting rid of oversight isn't going to do that. The FDA is what's keeping rat turds from being the main ingredient
Rat turds are expensive. Sawdust is much cheaper.
Only because sawdust is a plentiful byproduct of other industrial activity. Allow rat meat in your pies and the rat turds will flow!
I pay extra for the flavor
Maybe in many cases it's a difference in labeling requirements, and the content is identical?
Definitely not saying always, but the way this is conflated regularly to promote quackery is disheartening.
That said, US brand soda and corn syrup can eat a bag of dicks.
This is such a trump voter comment. lol
Even if it does, trading fewer additives for more outbreaks of easily preventable diseases is probably not going to be a net gain. I'm also curious how this kind of thing would be enforced if we also gut the departments.
Note also that it's not the FDA mandating those additives, the companies want them. Reducing oversight means more additives and/or worse additives so long as it aligns with the company's interest.
So, in other words, Trump is going to do exactly what he told us he would do.
While being able to say that a majority of voters wanted it this way because they voted for him.
Trump didn't lie. This was all out there for everyone to see.
Anything else is just denying the reality that a majority of Americans are sheep and don't know what is good for them.
I don't like that reality either, but here we are. It's time for these people to lie in the bed of their own making.
Hold Trump voters and non voters accountable for the consequences of their actions and inaction. It's the only way forward.
Same justification he will use for a nationwide abortion ban and locking up his political opponents.
Make no mistake, if Trump wants it, his supporters want it. I work with a bunch of morons. The country is in the hands of a cult.
My coworkers support political assassination, concentration camps for LGBT, forced Christianity. If Trump said it, they want it.
I am fully radicalized. Fuck this country.
Technically, he said he has no knowledge of Project 2025. Fortunately for Republicans, Trump’s team is all over it.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-project-2025-steve-bannon-election-b2642968.html
He said Project 2025 was great back in 2022 before the backlash, it isn't like he is consistent.
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/trump-video-project-2025-colossal-mandate/
I missed that. Thanks for the source!
...In an apparent attempt to troll their political opponents...
I'm depressed of this shit
Oh for sure - and the nutters will be saying it's 'divine mandate' since he survived those assassination attempts. We ain't seen shit yet.
I saw that very claim elsewhere today. Something something "god didn't make him turn his head at just the right moment for him to lose the election."
Trump survives assassination: "God wants him to live!"
Trump dies in assassination: "Satan sent his demons to kill his foe!"
Isn't it great how their believes always tell them they are right and good and others are wrong and evil?
That sneaky bastard!
IRS employees better start job hunting.
A lot of people are going to die because of this conspiracy theorist.
I think of someone very close to me who takes mediation for depression, medication that RFK thinks is bullshit, and medication that is regulated by the FDA.
She got a bad batch of something from a generic supplier and became dangerously suicidal. We were able to report this to the FDA and send them the medication so people wouldn’t die.
I can’t see how less staffing is going to make things better. We need more people on the ground so inspections are more regular and so deadly manufacturing problems are caught early.
You just need to reference their last playbook: less data means it's not happening, like covid.
Oh it makes things better alright. Better for the drug companies who now don't have to deal with pesky things like "safety" and "consequences for killing people".
Or "overhead", to use a technical term.
Not only are a lot of people going to die, the EU is going to be on some "bad" list very soon, because free travel and any kind of "free" shipping won't be possible anymore - and I'd say even some Asian, African and maybe even Australia are going to follow that, heck, maybe even Canada. Although I'm not sure if Canada is able to actually do that...
Huh? What context is this list set up in? I don't really see how it relates to the medication issue.
Vaccines and medications help in stopping the spread of diseases. If the rest of the world can't make sure the US plays after international rules, they can't let anyone or anything from the US in
Oooh yeah good point. I didn't make that connection
They’ll blame democrats and win even more votes.
Saying you are going to gut the CDC after a pandemic is peak shooting yourself in the face to spite the neighbors.
He gutted the Federal Pandemic Response Team in 2018.
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/trump-fire-pandemic-team/
He then took deliberate steps to inhibit pandemic response in 2020.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/trump-white-house-made-deliberate-efforts-undermine-covid-response-report-n1286211
Dismantling the CDC and HHS is absolutely to be expected.
I would have figured losing 1-2 million Republicans would have helped in voting, but my Mexican neighbors decided they like Trump. Guess I'll report them to ICE. The leopards must feed.
It’s handy when the trash takes itself out, isn’t it.
It would've been, but I don't know why you're saying that now because it clearly didn't. We decided to fucking wallow in it instead.
It doesn’t work like that.
If they voted, then they’re citizens. Reporting citizens to ICE won’t do anything.
On top of them just sounding like a total psycho. It’s interesting watching liberals become what they hate so quickly lol
The Haitians were here legally and he campaigned on kicking them out. And if you think the supreme court is about to defend any monitory's rights you haven't been paying attention. He's gone on record saying it's okay if they screw up a few times deporting people
Sure, but that doesn’t change the fact that ICE can’t deport citizens.
Our newly Republican controlled Congress, however, can legislate denaturalization.
https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artI-S8-C4-1-5-1/ALDE_00013170/
Laws only matter where there's a will and power to enforce them. This supreme court has made it clear the president can break laws if its an "official" order. I don't think it's likely but it's absolutely possible. Europe didn't see WW2 coming and plenty of Jews were German citizens. None of this is even unprecedented
If they voted then they aren’t illegally here?
Won't mater to Trump
How is that going to help anything? That just makes you an asshole.
They literally asked for it though?
Voted for it in droves.
Just giving them what they wanted.
Don't start none won't be none
Sadly that didn't affect trump voters when Trump kneecapped the pandemic response teams (including the CDC) before covid.
And do you think there will be a single Republican willing to do anything about it?
Mark my words, they will vote 100% in lockstep every single time. And if what Trump is doing is illegal (like that matters anyway), they'll just write legislation to make it legal. Not a single one of them is going to even think about criticizing him, out of fear of either violence, political suicide, or both.
The government will be crammed with unqualified hacks from top to bottom. The corruption will be open and blatant.
And every single Republican senator will vote to confirm. Every single time.
RFK in charge of healthcare. Musk in charge of spending. Aileen cannon is either getting the AG job or a Supreme Court seat. Whichever one she doesn't get, Alina Hobba gets. Steve Bannon gets pardoned and gets communications director. Alex Jones is probably going to crawl out from whatever rock he crawled under too.
They'll all get jobs. The Senate will confirm them all. And far-right conspiracy theories will become official US policy.
Jones hasn't crawled under any rocks, he's been going strong even with a billion dollar judgement against him and filing for bankruptcy. Infowars is being auctioned off in a week so it might be bought by someone who will just keep him exactly where he is, but he's been openly setting up a backup business and directing people to it, which he's said ON AIR he'll just fold into the existing business if all goes well. His dad has a completely independent supplement company and he's got completely unaffiliated mates selling his merch.
The only reason he's less prominent now is because the politicians and the mainstream media in the US are so fucking unhinged that he's struggling to stay relevant in his niche.
White House Press Secretary Alex Jones is an Onion article that writes itself, 3 times a week
I hate how you right you are.
There may be one or two, but as soon as they imprison or execute one (my bet is that it will be Kinzinger), they'll all fall in line. Or mysteriously vanish.
There is a ray of hope. Historically when the GOP gets power, infighting flares up.
Trump himself has been shown to be quite malleable in the face of hollow flattery, without much in the way of things he actually cares about doing specifically, apart from whatever inflates his ego. Those different camps have had a long time to meditate on how people have manipulated Trump and are likely to be better at manipulating him Putin style.
So while they all may have decided they must be in line with Trump, they may work toward changing what policies that means. So even as they must be behind Trump, that may narrow the fixed outcome to just proclaiming Trump the most awesome president ever, with policy related stuff a bit more malleable.
I would have preferred not to risk this scenario, but for now I'm choosing to hope that there's a more mundane path forward that avoids permanent damage to the political structure, despite this very risky situation.
Hell, why should he care if any of it is legal or not? Him being inaugurated after inciting an insurrection is a direct violation of the constitution. His entire second presidency will be illegal.
If you stayed home because of Gaza, this is your fault.
60% of white men. 53% of white women.
Remember, the universe for those stats are only voters which account for less than half of the total US population.
Mostly Millennials, GenX, and Boomers as well.
Young people protesting Gaza had almost no influence on this election
No, all the Gen Z incel boys voted for hatred and misogyny.
If you voted for a guy who can't even say his opponents name properly , you are also an idiot voting for another idiot.
Being able to learn to say your opponents name is a life skill which is useful for presidency... And Kamala's name isn't hard
It's absolutely fucked that a lot of them stood their laughing as he displayed that he never left high school
While they didn't help, I suspect their numbers were small enough to not matter in the scheme of what happened.
The answer is likely mundane. My guess is overall turnout was lower because things didn't feel as 'crisis' like as 2020. The needle for people barely aware of politics even as they vote stayed at the same place as it was in 2020: Things aren't great, kick whoever is in office out in hopes the alternative does better. Last time they came out for Biden because Trump was at the wheel. Now they show up for Trump because the president was a democrat.
This segment of the electorate is not particularly politically aware, let alone active, and likely has little to no opinion about the broader world. The relative likelihood of them turning up at all depends on how badly things are going (less likely to show up this time compared to the unprecedented mess of 2020), and to the extent they show up they just vote against whoever is in charge that day.
However, those people are generally quiet, and so we turn our focus instead to the loudest folks proclaiming a refusal to vote for Harris.
If it was close, I would agree. It wasn't even close by such a huge margin the more mundane factors I think are the only ones big enough to explain things.
What an insane take...
For the politically disengaged? It is an accurate take.
In 2020, you had massive unemployment. People personally were stuck at home with nowhere they could go. Many of them saw a loved one suffer death at the hands of a pandemic, or personally get very sick. That is a direct and visceral experience of "things are bad". They didn't need to follow any news, study any charts, read any policy, they knew that their direct subjective experience was bad.
In 2024, things for people are largely normal, but a lot of bills are high. Grading on a curve, this is much further from a personal crisis for most folks. In fact, the grocery bills eased a bit so some people might be seeing a natural 'light at the end of the tunnel'.
The biggest discused crisis factors in forums like this are only being considered by the politically engaged, and that's just not most people. Whether it should be or not...
Its definitely a media outreach problem.
Unfortunately, I think the media has blared the things people should be caring like crazy. Problems remain:
I think that points to the democrats need for sneaker based messaging networks. Instead of buying huge expensive ads that nonvoters won't watch and giving that money out to tv networks why not use the high volunteer base to buy t shirts and restaurant meal coupons then hand them out to people. stuff like that. I think there needs to be more lateral thinking here. Less emails, more tshirts.
Yez, but not in the way you're thinking. People have been radicalized by misogynists on youtube and tiktok that Russia has paid for. It's been proven for some of them, and if you think they're the only ones, you're living in a fantasy land.
Except gen z men voted at like a 2% more for trump in a low turnout election its like well within every margin of error that it could be decreasing support since 2020.
The significant portion of the almost 20 million Biden voters that just checked out of politics and decided since everything seemed ok, no need to vote. Thats the media outreach problem. It guarantees that republicans will regain power everytime the economy gets patched up with duct tape.
This is largely how non voters have responded when asked as far as I've seen: "feels like things aren't broken, I can sit this out"
Its not a take its just the reality we live in.
Every person that says that is now a Nazi sympathizer.
I agree with you in spirit but not in rhetoric. I'd call them dipshits.
It doesn't matter. A vote that was not cast or cast for anyone other than Harris we warned them and warned them, and they didn't listen.
If I ever hear someone say "Gen Z will save us" again, I'm going to have some strong words for them. Gen Z is a bunch of knuckle-dragging Neanderthals and they'll be the death of us.
Keep punching left and down. That will really help build the coalition to resist fascism.
The people who stayed home are not the people on the left. The people on the left voted against fascism. The people who stayed home for the election are also going to be useless in an anti-fascism coalition, seeing as they couldn't be bothered to do the bare minimum.
The coalition to resist fascism should have existed 2 days ago
I'm not punching left, and I refuse to accept your categorisation of anything short of completely trashing the DNC is not left enough.
The reason I voted for Harris is because I care about the lives of Palestinians. You can try to claim that this isn't true, but you're just wrong. And none of your bullshit purity tests will change that.
If you call yourself a progressive, and you stayed home on Tuesday, I want nothing to do with you. There's my purity test. Fuck right off.
The only thing I said was don't punch left. I literally said none of the other things you are ranting about, so go bark at someone else.
I didn't vote for Harris, because... I'm not a US citizen. I would have if I were, if you need to know. I'm sitting here on my side of the border, seeing fascism take over on your side and I'm shocked to see you guys bicker about pointing fingers instead of facing reality and thinking wtf you have to do to survive the next 4 years. It's as if you don't really understand what's about to hit you.
You're in deep crisis mode. Being mad at Muslims and Stein voters and non-voters is going to be a barrier to building a coalition of resistance. That's just the plain reality of what strategic organizing will require. Don't burn bridges with the people you will need in the next 4 years. You hit the iceberg, now is not the time to point fingers about whose fault that it is, it's time to get to the boats and every one who can help with that is valuable.
Ok then, what the fuck does "punching left" mean?
Third paragraph of my previous comment:
Those people are fundamentally too stupid and too useless to work with.
Good luck, buddy.
I feel like you have a misconception about how democracy works. When there's position that enjoys broad popular support (such as universal health care, or a cessation of the genocide in Gaza), it isn't on the democrats to take that position so the electorate will vote for them, it's on the electorate to either change their mind on the issue, or vote for the democrats regardless.
It's important to internalize this lesson. Next cycle you'll likely get to practice it with trans rights, if the talking heads on MSNBC who are blaming wokeness for the democrats losing the election are any indication. The idea that politicians and their policies are responsible for losing/winning elections is silly. You're here for them, not the other way around.
Lol
Remember to thank all the dipshits that supported diaper donnie and his insanity. Remind them that: "YOU did this."
They won't hear about the bad things, or they'll be told it was the Democrats that did it, and they'll be believe it. Convincing MAGA of reality is pointless while they're still feeding from the trough of conservative shit. We're better off protesting and being disruptive in combination with getting our shit together for next round, where hopefully we'll have real primaries and get our first competent general election candidate since Obama.
I guess that depends. The fascists are practically itching to call out the military to put down anything perceived as violent.
True, but that's not new. George Floyd, Occupy Wall Street, Seattle WTO, and the entirety of the civil rights movement all were met with state violence. The more they crack down, the more necessary it is to protest it.
I'm saying this time may be far, far different.
And the ones who didn't vote.
Biden got 81M votes, Harris 67. Where are the missing 15M people? Where were they?
Probably complaining about Gaza or some shit lmao. What are you trying to say here?
Democrats sounded the alarms and 15 million people, idk, pressed the snooze button.
The whole presidency is alarming... Please find a bit that it is not?
Nah, let's all take a good honest look at what's happening and start preparing for it.
In not alarming news...Maybe the annual tradition of pardoning a turkey will remain largely unchanged
Assuming Trump is the turkey in this instance.
Given his age, there is a non-zero chance that he may die while in the presidency?
JD Vance isn’t exactly a charismatic individual (some might even go so far as call him ‘weird’); so this entire neo-fascist movement may very well fragment and flounder in the not too distant future.
I'm actually way more afraid of Vance in the presidency than Trump.
Why is that? He lacks the cult of personality to be able to carry on after Trump IMO, and was largely picked as a ‘Yes Man’.
Probably because he's smarter.
No doubt he’s smart, he hitched his wagon to the Trump train after all - but I don’t think that’s particularly important.
He doesn’t have Trump’s charisma, so he’d struggle to maintain control over his fan base and would likely face challenges from key faces in the cohort (eg. Ron DeSantis, MTG etc.)
This is basically my reasoning as well, he will most likely be eaten alive by the true believers and power brokers will break him over knee. All of Vance's influence is derived from Trump. And especially if Trunp dies before inauguration he may very well become irrelevant depending on certain factors.
If he dies before they are able to really get the structural changes in P2025 off the ground, Trump's death will likely instigate the death of the movement. If it dies after that the P2025 restructuring has happened, won't matter.
The Supreme Court will surely block….ummm
Snake oil is back on the menu, boys.
I wonder if they will fudge some studies and numbers so that it will be evidence based snake oil?
Medicinal mercury is back baby! Just as long as there's no vaccines!
Headline from the future:
"Displacing heart disease, the primary cause of death in the USA is now 'easily preventable disease'"
Polio on the rise outside the Bible Belt.
More like "mysteriously falling from windows."
All hail the brainworms, all hail the brainworms
Why is anyone surprised. They said what they were gonna do. They’re now making concrete plans to do the things they said they were gonna do.
I’m gonna fuckin leave.
lol welcome to the middle ages
If you can avoid the dark ages, you should probably consider that a win right now...
I hate his voice and I’m sick of him already.
Nothing against people with his condition but if you're gonna sound like you're talking underwater make it worth my fucking time.
The Crypt Keeper’s voice would be more pleasant.
State agencies will still be in place, will they not? I wouldn't eat the food or drink the water were I in a red state...
Most, if not all in some cases, funding for state-level regulatory agencies comes directly from their federal counterparts. This will essentially kill state agencies as well.
Or at the very least, they will be severely reduced in terms of staff and purview.
And that's just the states that don't decide to follow the administration's lead and do the same thing to their state level agencies.
Aww come on, maybe your kid will have super powers then, like an extra arm or glowing in the dark. Where's your sense of adventure?
Somebody is counting his chickens before they've hatched.
The brainworms have definitely hatched though
It's going to be morbidly hilarious watching the USA the next four years.
I mean laugh at your neighbors house on fire if you want but the embers are blowing everywhere.
Eh, as an Italian I had to endure years of bunga-bunga jokes and such... turns out Berlusconi was a class act compared to what you guys managed to elect.
Berlusconi let others do the job of governing...people that lined their pockets as well, but at least we're somewhat decent at actual governing compared to what Trump's second cabinet's probably going to be.
I lived through the 2008 economic crisis, they were terrible, but at least they tried to keep up appearances because they espoused the democratic process, ergo they needed to be reelected
Berlusconi isn't even mousilini to Trump's Hitler. Not even close.
The kakistocracy that is coming is like nothing we've seen in the modern era.
Time for the EU to get some safety distance from the USA
Lol.
Four years? Try four decades. The ramifications of Trump's first term is still being felt now.
The haters will downvote us for it but damn is it a good time to have a dark sense of humor. It's out of our control but its still bad to see the humor in the absurdity I guess.
I'm still holding out for 'President running the country from prison' which would almost make it worth it.
I mean nothing new, Mr. Brainworm has been ranting about this for a while now and Trump has specified that gutting agencies was always his project 2025 plan so why would anyone be surprised here?
Good luck everyone and enjoy 2025!
There's going to be an outbreak of polio because of this idiot.
His brain worms plan on ensuring antihelmintic drugs do not get advanced.
While RFK Jr is the same worm man, let's please remember all the cries about drugs being expensive and regulators stifling competition there, and that (from what I've read, I've never been to US) what can be put into food is already not very well regulated in your country.
Those agencies are problematic. Just like actions aimed at something good may have negative side effects, often outweighing the effect in the intended direction, similarly it is here.
And after typing the previous I've read the article and that's what he's saying, mentioning Canada as the good example. Unfortunately by analogy this would mean that for drug regulation he'd go the same way, only with his antivaxxer views. Also talking about kids being healthier is cringe.
The agencies are problematic because they generally aren't allowed or don't have the budget to properly regulate things. Eliminating departments isn't going to help anything, and I really don't think the guy that picks up roadkill for a snack will improve the overall quality of food in the country.
Not sure this is the case with FDA.
We'll see. Roadkill for snack is fine when meat's cooked correctly, unless it's a roadkill near Chernobyl.
But it's understandable not to trust the guy who had part of his brain eaten by a parasite to cook meat correctly.
It's important to know that both the FDA and the USDA are in charge of inspecting food, and which food is covered by which agency can be complicated.
And in regard to the FDA being not allowed to regulate:
At least with dietary supplements, they can't make a new product guarantee it's safe, the FDA needs to already know something is dangerous before it can force a recall.
If you'd prefer to learn more through a comedian, John Oliver covered this topic a while back https://youtu.be/Za45bT41sXg
There’s a serious problem where the majority of grocery market supplements do not contain the substances they claim to contain. There is no monitoring.
OK, will watch
This will be very interesting to watch. From outside USA ofc. Otherwise I would use a different word.
As a American, it's morbidly interesting to me.
Oh no! Guess they weren't kidding about project 2025.
Whewww them political spoils be spoiling
I hope at least they sack the ones who were approving drugs they knew didn’t work because of big pharma pressure. Would be a silver lining.
those are for sure the ones sticking around
Edit: Literally they're going to put an "ivermectin covid" guy in charge despite the fact quality studies show it at best does nothing and at worst may be slightly harmful
A sugar pill plus prayers.
Sorry, "thoughts and players" ofc.
Well after they gut the FDA im sure those people will be gone
Now all drugs from companies who donate to the RNC will automatically be approved instead
With immunity for any other health issues they cause. We're now living in an Oligarchy.
I always imagined him as the guy at the end of Road House where Patrick Swayze ripped his throat out and round-housed him into the pond. But he survived, left the redneckville and turns out half of his vocal cords was left intact.
I'd love to see america punished by their idiotic choices even once.
Burn it all down.
He didn't create the nearly 2 trillion dollar deficit. The government is broke, cuts must be made.
Yeah - it's the FDA and CDC that are the true money pits in the US government... Let's eliminate the IRS and EPA while we're at it - really smash those guardrails and let the altruistic market fix it - that always works..
Ohhh look - we're cutting taxes for those that need it least again - but that's responsible spending - it's all been accumulating for over half a century, so it's got to start trickling down any day now, guys.
I expect deep cuts will need to be made across the board
As an example, the IRS returns $6 for every dollar spent on it, and absolutely all available evidence shows that if you remove all the guardrails, things get far worse almost immediately.
Can you point to an example of fascism working? Every example I've seen ended with massive decline in quality of life, rampant waste, and both economic and government collapse - usually with a dead leader through suicide or execution, generally with their corpse being dragged through the streets by an understandably furious populace. It'll all work out this time, though... right?
Fascism? No. Argentina seems to rapidly be improving with thier ultra-extreme cuts.
Your defence of your fascist alignment is to concede it's always ended terribly, then point to an anarcho-capitalist example where the goal is to collapse the government because Milei hasn't finished the job after checks watch less than a year?
I get that he's done a fairly commendable job with the economic tailspin so-far, but I'm not sure I see the relevance.
You're the one who brought up fascism. I said I can't think of an example of fascism working. Cutting government scope is the opposite of fascism. Fascism is characterized by a strong centralized authority, which cutting is the opposite of.
Oh - my mistake - you think you're not supporting fascism... It'd be quaint if it weren't for the consequences.
Fascism is characterised by the merging of state and commercial interests, not a strong centralised authority in a beuracratic sense. Let's run the list, shall we?
Check.
Check.
Check.
Big check.
That couldn't be Trum- CHECK.
Check.
Check.
Check.
Ukraine/Palestine - soft check.
Check.
Soft check, but that's clearly firming up.
Check.
Check.
Check.
I've got bad news for you...
Thanks for the long and thoughtful response, but I think there is some misunderstandings about how Eco's framework applies here. Ur-Fascism identifies things that may tend to lead to fascist thinking, rather than giving a definitive checklist of all actions that are fascist. Traits alone are not fascism; fascism arises when the state pushes to unify under a regime that enforces conformity, suppresses opposition, and uses centralized power to control people's lives.
Remember, we're discussing cutting government programs here, which is an economic decision, not inherently an authoritarian one. Fascism means expanding government power into private lives, enforcing a singular national identity, and controlling all discourse and industries. Cutting state programs, even if you personally disagree with the decision, limits government reach, which contradicts the key central tendency of fascism.
I think Eco's framework is important for recognizing creeping authoritarianism, but when you carelessly apply it too broadly, you risk watering down the concept of fascism. Mislabeling every policy decision you disagree with as "fascist" can make it harder to identify actual authoritarian threats when they arise, and is inherently divisive, attempting to shut down meaningful discussion rather than welcome it. Instead of carelessly jumping straight to labels, I think it's important to have more nuanced discussions about the reasons and implications of government policy.
Cutting agencies isn't a fascist policy. It's a move toward decentralization. Rather than expanding the government and corporate power, cuts to state agencies seek to limit their control over individual lives. It's a move toward necessary fiscal responsibility. The US federal government's current level of spending is not sustainable, and will inevitably lead to the shutdown of all of these agencies and more, crippling taxes (of course always on the middle and lower class), hyperinflation, or an unpleasant mixture of all three.
In fact, I will argue that excessive debt is a powerful driver of authoritarian policies, as the state is forced to prioritize revenue collection, even it it means infringing on the well-being of the people. Fiscal restraint, in contrast, reduces the risk state power will expand through financial necessity, making it anti-authoritarian. I think that's a good thing.
When very charitably, at least 12 of Eco's 14 signs of Ur fascism has been checked off along with the dictionary definition, this is a pretty weak argument - Where do you get your meaning of words if it's not based on the dictionary or on something's traits?
Deregulation and the outsourcing of state power to complicit, newly empowered commercial interests is standard within fascism, and pushing that power from notionally democratic direct government control to undemocratic businesses that have an interest in preserving the government that removed their guardrails and handed them all that power is undeniably authoritarian. Would you make the argument that company towns aren't authoritarian or centralised because it's not government power?
Excessive debt is indeed a driver of authoritatian policy for better or worse, but fascism isn't the only flavour of authoritarianism. Similarly, company towns tend to thrive in small government environments, and are historically incredibly authoritarian. That's not a good thing.
I don't agree that company towns were authoritarian. Can you find a real example that wasn't just a newspaper political cartoon or a song? What did it mean to live in those towns? Think about it rationally. Let's argue that a company was able to completely set up a new town with no previously existing infrastructure. Perhaps a mining company in remote Alaska. How do they get workers? They offer low rent or free housing, good schools, and reasonably priced shops, in addition to attractive salaries. This creates a real-life "company town" we've all heard of. What would happen if the company ever slacked off or attempted to exploit its "monopoly"? Of course, workers would begin to leave and look for work elsewhere! Who could possibly stop them from doing so, other than the state?
That's the major difference between a state authority and a private "authority". Private organizations are subject to market forces and competition. They can't just simply be elected and do as they will for 2,4, 10 years, or life, without concern. The worse job private institutions do, the more unfair their pricing, the more attractive it becomes for competitive forces to come in and take their place. All the examples you can find of how terrible privatization is (e.g. healthcare) is actually because they are completely backed by the full might of the state, creating true monopolies and anti-competitive environment. These often come about as corruption and authoritarianism, private companies give money to key stakeholders in the state, who then use their power to craft regulation to protect their friends at the private companies, in return for more money. This will always happen, regardless of how many rules or safeguards you craft. If you don't like that happening, the only solution is to stop giving the state the power to do that.
What confident ignorance that would be overcome with any research whatsoever. This is clear enough that I don't need to bother with an explanation - Here's 3 search terms for you:
Company town
Pullman
Monopoly
"Why do we have Fruit Loops in this country that have 18 or 19 ingredients and you go to Canada and it’s got two or three?"
Goddammit don't make me agree with RFKJr. With that said I have a feeling we'd disagree on how to rectify it.
Anything's possible with lies.
Here's Canada's label:
https://smartlabel.kelloggs.com/en_CA/Product/Index/00064100492455#ingredients
Also, who the hell thinks cereal, least of all, fucking Fruit Loops, is some kind of health food?
No they list the ingredients on the front of the box. Fruit and Loops.
No, man, that's in Canada where it's natural. In the States, we use Froot. They're Froot Loops.
That's why we need RFK, maaaaaaaaaan.
You really think any kellogs cereal has “two or three” ingredients, anywhere?
Canadian ingredients
Iron
And, for reference, the US ingredients list:
Which is basically the same. Biggest difference seems to be the food coloring.
If this is an actual problem, the solution is to use the FDA to make food healthier or have less junk ingredients or whatever. Getting rid of oversight isn't going to do that. The FDA is what's keeping rat turds from being the main ingredient
Rat turds are expensive. Sawdust is much cheaper.
Only because sawdust is a plentiful byproduct of other industrial activity. Allow rat meat in your pies and the rat turds will flow!
I pay extra for the flavor
Maybe in many cases it's a difference in labeling requirements, and the content is identical?
Definitely not saying always, but the way this is conflated regularly to promote quackery is disheartening.
That said, US brand soda and corn syrup can eat a bag of dicks.
This is such a trump voter comment. lol
Even if it does, trading fewer additives for more outbreaks of easily preventable diseases is probably not going to be a net gain. I'm also curious how this kind of thing would be enforced if we also gut the departments.
Note also that it's not the FDA mandating those additives, the companies want them. Reducing oversight means more additives and/or worse additives so long as it aligns with the company's interest.