Trump Redux: The Death of Democracy, or Overblown Hyperbole?

[tristan_geoff]

End of an era (the anthropocene specifically)

[Psy-Fi]

Sen. John Fetterman calls Rep. Matt Gaetz AG nomination 'God-tier' level of trolling to 'own libs'

[Trollheart]

Could someone cleverer than me (i.e., 99.9% of you) explain how it is that Trump is so supportive of Israel and yet also manages to successfully court the right, most of whom are white supremacist neo-Nazis who hate the Jews? Isn't that an almost fundamental difference, almost a massive conflict of interest? How do you resolve that? I'm remembering specifically the "Vaxx the Jews" signs (and we all know what they meant) - if Trump in power doesn't speak out against/clamp down on such sentiments, surely NetanGoogle is going to accuse him of being anti-Semetic? Yet he can't really, as he's empowered and released these cunts into the wild.

[DJChameleon]

It's because the Neo Nazis are really a smaller portion of MAGA populist movement than people think. They also have low educational threshold and they can explain away anything Trump does. Similar to blind cultists.

[Trollheart]

Name: Tulsi Gabbard
Age: 43
Position: Director of National Intelligence
Previous Experience: Member of the House; Lieutenant Colonel in the Army
Historic Interest: The only (?) appointee to have been previously a Democrat
Trump says: [He praised her for fighting] "for our Country and the freedoms of all Americans. As a former Candidate for the Democrat Presidential Nomination, she has broad support in both Parties – she is now a proud Republican! I know Tulsi will bring the fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our Intelligence Community, championing our Constitutional Rights, and securing Peace through Strength. Tulsi will make us all proud!"

She says: "If there's a way I can help achieve the goal of preventing world war three and nuclear war? Of course. But again, President Trump will make his decision."

[The Biden administration] "has us facing multiple wars on multiple fronts in regions around the world and closer to the brink of nuclear war than we ever have been before. This is one of the main reasons why I'm committed to doing all that I can to send President Trump back to the White House, where he can once again serve us as our commander-in-chief, because I am confident that his first task will be to do the work to walk us back from the brink of war."

"The war [by Russian on Ukraine] could have been prevented if had the US and its Western allies had recognised Russia's "legitimate security concerns" about Ukraine's bid to join Nato" (2022)

[It was an] "undeniable fact" [that there were US-funded biolabs in Ukraine that could] "release and spread deadly pathogens." (2022)

[She was] "sceptical" his [Assad]regime was behind a chemical weapons attack which killed dozens of people. (2017)

[The Democratic Party was] "under the complete control of an elitist cabal of warmongers driven by cowardly wokeness." (2022)

"Let the Syrian people themselves determine their future, not the United States, not some foreign country." (2017)

 "Is our country's national security better off because of Donald Trump's actions and decision [on Iran]? And the answer to that is no." (2020)

[Pro-Palestinian protesters are] "puppets" [of a] "radical Islamist organisation."

[Hamas is a] "threat that needs to be defeated militarily and ideologically". (2024)

"We have to be realists about the threat that continues to exist for the people of Israel. So as long as Hamas is in power, the people of Israel will not be secure and cannot live in peace."

Others say:  "We are all reeling." (former, unnamed intelligence officer)

[Gabbard was] "parroting fake Russian propaganda." (Senator Mitt Romney)

"As a former CIA case officer, I saw the men and women of the U.S. intelligence community put their lives on the line every day for this country — and I am appalled at the nomination of Tulsi Gabbard to lead DNI. Not only is [Gabbard] ill-prepared and unqualified, but she traffics in conspiracy theories and cozies up to dictators like Bashar-al Assad and Vladimir Putin. As a Member of the House Intelligence Committee, I am deeply concerned about what this nomination portends for our national security. My Republican colleagues with a backbone should speak out." (Former CIA officer Abigail Spanberger)

[She will be] "will be criticised for lack of qualifications. But those are adequate, though not strong. She was on the House Armed Services Committee and served in the military." (Marine Colonel Mark Cancian)

"I brought Colonel Gabbard to meet President Elect Trump in November 2016 for a role in the Administration. It did not work out then, but now we have one of the strongest America First proponents nominated to take charge of an out of control and destructive intelligence community." (Steve Bannon)


How do you characterise someone who switches sides at will? Gabbard was originally a presidential candidate for the Democrats in 2020, then became an independent in 2022 and this year switched allegiances again to the Republican Party. Anyone giving someone like that such a critical top-level role would have to be of at least questionable mentality, right? Enter Trump. Nuff said, as Stan Lee once wrote. I must say, I've never heard before of someone "becoming interested in" a religious idea and then claiming to be of that religion, by which I mean Gabbard was and is not a Hindu but I read that her mother became interested in it and gave her children Hindu names, now she identifies as a Hindu?

More troubling is her having been brought up in a cult called the Science of Identity Foundation, about which I could not be bothered to read (but you're free to, and correct me if I'm wrong) but it is described as "abusive". Gabbard is a rabid anti-Islamist, and an apologist for Putin and his ally Assad, the former of whom she has had meetings with, expressing doubt that he had used chemical weapons against his own people. She served in Iraq and Kuwait and was decorated twice. She lobbied successfully to outlaw same-sex civil partnerships in her native Hawaii, and fought against the legalisation of same-sex marriages there, but she did author a bill to protect children from abuse on military bases. I really don't want to know why such a bill was needed with such specifics.

In 2018 she co-sponsored the No More Presidential Wars Act, which sought to remove the ability of presidents to make war without the approval of Congress, and two years later campaigned for the dropping of charges against whistleblowers Edward Snowden and Julian Assange. That year she announced her intention to run for President, but her attempt failed when she did not receive the backing of the DNC. After leaving the Democratic Party (in what seems, to me, to have been a huff about their not supporting her presidential bid) she was a regular guest on Fox News and often filled in for Tucker Carlson.



Having turned Republican, she was considered to be in the running for Trump's nomination as vice president, but was not chosen. She did support him on his campaigns though, and was nominated as co-chair of his transition team, along with RFKJ. She does, or did (never know how often this woman is going to change her stance when it suits her) support the legalisation of drugs like marijuana, and lobbied for the end of cash bail and private prisons. Her position on immigration is less clear, as this extract from Wiki points out:  between 2013 and 2021, Gabbard had also expressed support for an easier path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, increasing skilled immigration, and granting work visas to immigrants. By 2022, she had said she would be open to a proposal for a border wall if experts say it is warranted.

Unlike many of her new colleagues, she supports* the cause of Native Americans, a Green New Deal and renewable energy. Her stance on military intervention is also fluid and subject to change, almost a "have your cake and eat it" idea, as this quote illustrates: She describes herself as a hawk "[w]hen it comes to the war against terrorists", but "when it comes to counterproductive wars of regime change, I'm a dove." You could say in some ways she talks more like a Democrat than a Republican, though how long that will remain the case is anyone's guess. Her relationship with the truth is just as fluid, as she had no problem advancing wild theories about bioweapons labs existing in Ukraine, without of course any proof. Yet another example of her flip-flopping is her sudden change of heart about Assad, from having tacitly supported, or at least excused him in 2017 to her contention two years later that he was "a brutal dictator just like Saddam." Tulsi, Tulsi! And I thought we were friends..."

Right, again there's more I could write but that's enough about her. Time to move on to a real asshole...

* Did at one time, but her record has shown she is as prone to change in her opinion and who and what she supports as the Irish weather.

[Trollheart]

Name: Matt Gaetz
Age: 42
Position: Attorney General
Previous Experience: Member of the House
Historic Interest: Could this be the first nominee to be picked just as he was about to face sexual abuse charges? And now put in the highest position in the US justice system so that he can expunge any of those charges against him? Talk about weaponising the Department of Justice!
Trump says: "Matt will root out the systemic corruption at the DOJ, and return the department to its true mission of fighting crime and upholding our democracy and constitution,"
He says: "Stuff your sexual assault allegations up your collective arses! I'm in charge now!" (Probably)

[I will] "kill Muslim terrorists and build the wall" (During his congressional campaign in 2016)

"Over at the Department of Justice, he's got Stockholm syndrome, he's (AG Jeff Sessions) become sympathetic with his captors over there in the Deep State." (2018)

On January 7, 2021, after Trump supporters violently broke into the U.S. Capitol, Gaetz falsely blamed antifa for the attack, suggesting that rioters were "masquerading as Trump supporters"

"Now that we clearly see antifa as terrorists, can we hunt them down like we do those in the Middle East?"

"The mob wants to destroy America. We need PATRIOTS who will defend her" (2020, in support of Kyle Rittenhouse)

[Open-carry weapons was a right] "granted not by government but by God." (2015)

"We have a Second Amendment in this country, and I think we have an obligation to use it!" He then said this meant allowing Americans "the ability to maintain an armed rebellion against the government if that becomes necessary." (2021)

He said that overweight or unattractive women were unlikely to become pregnant and mocked them for supporting abortion rights, saying, "They're like 5'2", 350 pounds, and they're like, 'Give me my abortions or I'll get up and march and protest.' (2022)

Others say: "Matt Gaetz does not have the character, integrity, judgement or independence to head up this large law enforcement agency that oversees the FBI, anti-trust, the civil division, criminal division - this is a huge agency," (Congresswoman Barbara Comstock)

"The sequence and timing of Mr Gaetz's resignation from the House raises serious questions about the contents of the House Ethics Committee report. Make no mistake: this information could be relevant to the question of Mr Gaetz's confirmation as the next Attorney General of the United States." (Senator Dick Durbin, Senate Judiciary Committee)

"[Gaetz is] one of the brightest individuals I know. Matt Gaetz is going to restore justice to the department of injustice. If we're going to look at someone's body of work, Matt Gaetz has done an incredible job." (Congressman Matt Rosendale)

"I think he has a 0% shot of getting through the Senate" (Rep. Max Miller)

"There will be a lot of questions" [about Gaetz's suitability for the role]. (Senator Susan Collins)

"This was not on my bingo card" [as she says she is] "looking forward to the opportunity to consider somebody that is serious." (Senator Lisa Murkowski)

"Wholly unqualified for the job" - a sentiment that has been repeated by others since the news came in. McCabe says that Gaetz would probably be unable to get hired for a job at the FBI and that by his own statement, has no interest or respect for the work bureau or the Department of Justice (DOJ) does. Describing Gaetz as a "disruptor", McCabe goes on to say he believes Gaetz's nomination is a "clear indication" of Trump's intentions to dismantle both the FBI and the DOJ. Speaking in detail about the complex responsibilities of the attorney general, McCabe says it is "unthinkable" that Gaetz will be able to rise to that role, saying the idea of it "shakes me to my core." (Former FBI Director Robert McCabe)

"If Trump wanted to defibrillate the Justice Department, the Matt Gaetz nomination is the 100,000-volt option." He adds that the nomination may make other nominees "appear less controversial by comparison," but that it will "also serve as a rallying point for a party left in disarray". (Professor Jonathan Turley, George Washington University)

"[He is] one of the most enthusiastic defenders of president Trump on cable news" and a "proud Trump protégé." (Politico)

Aaron Blake of The Washington Post called him one of Congress' "most controversial members", and one who has "unabashedly aligned himself with Trump on basically all things.

[He is] "one of the most pro-gun members to have ever served in the Florida Legislature." (NRA President Marion Hammer)



I don't like judging a book by its cover (though I usually do) but my god if there is a most evil face in the appointees Trump has made, Gaetz wins the prize. He just looks like he would savage your throat out and then continue on as if nothing had happened, doesn't he? And if there's one qualification you need to secure the highest position in law enforcement in the land, that is of course to be under investigation for trafficking a 17-year old girl for sex. Well come on now, who hasn't done that in their time? Narrowly escaping, almost at the eleventh hour, the charges against him (which he will of course instruct his flunkies to drop once he's in power) Gaetz comes to the role of AG, like many of his fellow Trump picks, with almost zero experience. He has a law degree, but that's as far as it goes. He has never been a practicing attorney, has never held any kind of high level government job, and is another being rewarded for being a Trump loyalist first.

So let's read about his chequered record, shall we? While a Representative for Florida (oh yes, good already: fucking Florida, where the most right-wing rabid Republicans seem all to be drawn to if Texas is not available) he favoured speeding up the process of executing prisoners on Death Row, voted (unsuccessfully) against a bill making revenge porn a criminal offence, and made sure the state "stand-your-ground-law", which allows homeowners to shoot and kill anyone entering their property, um, stood.

Practicing politics in Florida as a Republican, you can't help but fall under the long, bigoted shadow of De Santis, and Gaetz, possibly seeing in the governor a kindred spirit, helped his campaign in 2018. That same year he had as his guest at the State of the Union speech a known neo-Nazi and holocaust-denier, and associated with the Proud Boys as well as voting against honouring the police officers who defended the Capitol on January 6. He, too, seems to support the legalisation of cannabis, though given the fact that he was also facing drugs-related charges prior to his nomination, that's perhaps a little self-serving and not too surprising. He doesn't have a problem associating with murderers, bringing one to a swearing-in ceremony and hiring another as his military legislative aide. He's also a climate change-denier and wants to abolish the EPA (Lee Zeldin will probably help him with that).

He's another fiercely pro-Israel hawk, voted against the aid package for Ukraine and refused to condemn the military coup in Myanmar, but, not surprisingly, given the later charges against him, voted twice against measures to curb human sex trafficking. Which seems to me to be a good time then to go there. In 2020 Gaetz was investigated for trafficking at least one 17-year old girl across state lines for sex, and possibly recruiting others, for using campaign funds to buy sex, and sexual misconduct and illicit drug use; sharing inappropriate images or videos on the House floor; misusing state identification records; converting campaign funds to personal use; and accepting impermissible gifts under House rules. All of these charges were outstanding when he was targeted for the AG job by Trump, and all will surely now vanish.

[Trollheart]

It's because the Neo Nazis are really a smaller portion of MAGA populist movement than people think. They also have low educational threshold and they can explain away anything Trump does. Similar to blind cultists.

Thanks DJ. I guess that makes some sort of twisted, warped sense when you consider you're dealing with people who dispute any truth that they don't agree with, people who, if Trump said the sky was orange, would take up arms to defend that "truth".

Coming up next: A failed 2016 presidential candidate, a disgrace to a beloved American dynasty... and Doug Burgum.

[SGR]

Could someone cleverer than me (i.e., 99.9% of you) explain how it is that Trump is so supportive of Israel and yet also manages to successfully court the right, most of whom are white supremacist neo-Nazis who hate the Jews?

If you believe that is an accurate characterization of the right in America, I think that belies an understanding of where the majority of the American right is at and how Trump actually did court them from 2015 to now. For one, the right-wing conservatives of America have been extremely pro-Israel for a long time, far preceding Trump - that was one thing he didn't really change in terms of the shift from neoconservatism to "MAGA". It's the right who are much more likely to sympathize solely with Israel, whereas the left is more likely to sympathize with both Israel and Palestine. More broadly though, I think Trump can get away with a lot when it comes to foreign policy and his views/strategies on how things should be done (Israel not withstanding, as I don't think even he has a lot of wiggle room in the party on them), for the simple fact that most Americans simply can't be bothered with foreign policy as one of their important priorities, as the majority of them are much more concerned with what's happening domestically. Americans lack of interest in a general sense with foreign policy is one of the reasons the progressive left is so important. Of course, back in the '70s, Americans were much more in tune with foreign policy as we were actively drafting young men to go fight a war, but that only makes the activism and message of the progressive left regarding the situation of Israel and Palestine that much more important now.

Secondly, if you wanted a more accurate broad-brush stroke characterization of much of the right in America today compared to the left, I think it would be more fitting to characterize it as 'anti-establishment/anti-institutions' vs 'pro-establishment/pro-institutions' (just look at some of his cabinet picks in this thread for example). Since 2015, Trump has successfully sold a message of distrust, disdain, and general resentment against institutions that were once generally well respected and well regarded by most of the mainstream politicians in both parties - whether that be our intelligence agencies, our pharmaceutical industries, our military, our educational institutions, our immigration system, our media, our technology companies, our election systems, and of course, our politicians. This isn't to say that the left is always pro-institution and pro-establishment, certainly the progressive left is not - but the corporate democrats that haunt most of the halls of power generally are - Pelosi, Biden, Schumer, etc. - why wouldn't they be, they got elected and got rich with the system as it is!

Of course, this would raise the question of how a guy born into wealth, who benefited greatly from the establishment and donated to many establishment politicians was able to successfully convince enough voters that he is sincere in his anti-establishment rhetoric and goals to become president. Doing it once could be written off as a fluke, especially with how it happened in 2016 - doing it twice, with a popular vote to boot makes it much more difficult to write off.

Thanks DJ. I guess that makes some sort of twisted, warped sense when you consider you're dealing with people who dispute any truth that they don't agree with, people who, if Trump said the sky was orange, would take up arms to defend that "truth".

There's certainly an aspect of truth to this - that there are Trump supporters who will buy whatever he's selling them, e.g. slapping universal tariffs and heavily leaning into trade wars will help your bottom line - but I think there's another aspect of the truth that many Democrats often overlook - that being that Trump is really, really good at taking the temperature of the room and telling people what they want to hear, regardless of if it's true or not. And he also knows when to shift his messaging if it's not working - which it doesn't always. I'm reminded of when he, in typical Trumpian fashion, wanted to take credit for Operation Warp Speed (which he probably does deserve some credit for), and encouraged his supporters to get the vaccine - only to be met with boos and repudiation from his crowd. I'm sure you can guess, after he met this response from his crowds a few times, how often he boasted about the vaccines and encouraged people to get them after that.

It's often implied that Trump supporters are simply cultists - it's a comforting thought for those who despise him, because generally speaking, when a cult leader goes and dies, the cult dissipates. The more uncomfortable thought for those who despise Trump is that his supporters aren't simply a reflection of him, but rather, he's a reflection of his supporters and America more broadly - the good: a fighter's spirit, confidence, tenacity, courage; and of course also the bad: the immorality, the corruption, the greed, and the anger.

[Trollheart]

See? Like I said: people cleverer than me.
Thanks for setting me straight, SGR, though to be honest I'll never really understand the nuances of American politics. We're just not the same here: vote for this party, that party, the general underlying view is "they're all the fuckin' same". And pretty much they are. What do they stand for? Whatever is expedient at the time and whatever gets them re-elected. You can bet that if a MASSIVE percentage of voters were anti-immigrant or homophobes - a small percentage are, at least admit to it vocally and loudly - the main parties would all be courting that voting base.
: America is mad.

[Trollheart]

Name: Marco Rubio
Age: 53
Position: Secretary of State
Previous Experience: Member of the House
Historic Interest: Failed presidential candidate; former enemy of Trump; first Latino to hold the office
Trump says: "He will be a strong Advocate for our Nation, a true friend to our Allies, and a fearless Warrior who will never back down to our adversaries."
He says: "That is like asking a boxer why they punched somebody in the face in the third round," Rubio told CNN when asked about his previous comments. "It's because they were boxing."

"We are going to have to do something, unfortunately, we're going to have to do something dramatic," Rubio said in a May interview with NBC. (Referring to Trump's plans to deport all illegal immigrants)

 "Thousands of small businesses, not just the wealthy, will now be forced to decide how they'll pay this new tax, [the 2012 "fiscal cliff" tax] and, chances are, they'll do it by firing employees, cutting back their hours and benefits, or postponing the new hires they were looking to make. And to make matters worse, it does nothing to bring our dangerous debt under control."

In 2016, Rubio said the U.S. should "find out everything they know" from captured terrorists and should not telegraph "the enemy what interrogation techniques we will or won't use."

"By acting decisively against the very facility from which Assad launched his murderous chemical weapons attack, President Trump has made it clear to Assad and those who empower him that the days of committing war crimes with impunity are over." (2017)

Of the rioters, Rubio said some of them were adherents "to a conspiracy theory and others got caught up in the moment. The result was a national embarrassment." (2021)

[we must not hand]"the nuclear codes of the United States to an erratic individual" (2016)

"Donald's comments [on Access Hollywood] were vulgar, egregious & impossible to justify. No one should ever talk about any woman in those terms, even in private." (2016)

"I don't think we should be moving forward with a nominee in the last year of this president's term. I would say that even if it was a Republican president." (2016. Um)

When asked specifically about avoiding civilian casualties in Gaza, Rubio said Israel cannot coexist "with these savages.... They have to be eradicated."

Others say: "I'm trying to keep an open mind here," [Aaron David] Miller [Senior fellow of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace] said, noting that Rubio, because of his experience in Congress, has a better grasp of foreign policy than any of Trump's other appointees.

"I have worked with Marco Rubio for more than a decade on the intelligence committee, particularly closely in the last couple of years in his role as vice-chairman, and while we don't always agree, he is smart, talented, and will be a strong voice for American interests around the globe," (Senator Mark Warner, Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee)

"He didn't have an objection to working with the other side simply because they were the other side. To put it bluntly, he wasn't a jerk. (Dan Gelber, House Democratic leader - I think only of Florida? Not sure - 2017)

Overall, this seems perhaps to be the least surprising, not to say least alarming, of Trump's picks. Although a staunch opponent, and indeed personal enemy of Trump's (the former and - God help us! - future president had a lot of nasty things to say about him and his wife), Rubio saw where the wind was blowing and reined in his anger at Trump. He has now been rewarded for abandoning both his principles and his loyalty to his wife, with one of the very top jobs. At least he has some experience, unlike almost all the other nominees, having served on the Senate Intelligence Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. But what kind of a man, and what kind of a politician is he? Let's find out.

Initially, he seems to have been more a centrist, a label I believe used disparagingly by his fellow Republicans, and later coined as RINOs (Republicans In Name Only) by Trump. Although born in America, his family are of immigrant stock, having fled Cuba just prior to Castro's revolution, and Rubio, it seems, has or had some sympathy for them, co-sponsoring a bill which would allow the children of illegal immigrants to receive tuition paid by the state, he was on the side of farmers versus the state, and voiced concerns about widening the scope of police powers in the wake of 9/11.

So far, perhaps, so good. He blocked attempts by the governor of Florida to circumvent rules about expanding gambling casinos, attempted to fund schools by reducing state property taxes, but did all he could to steer Florida politics to the right from a mostly centrist position. Then again, he seemed to have no problem with a motion to have the state apologise for historic slavery, and set up programmes to help black children. It's hardly surprising to read that he supported the US embargo against Cuba, and in 2013 he was one of the "Gang of Eight" who put together proposals to reform the USA's immigration policies, but was against expansion of background checks for gun ownership and also against the release of a report on CIA torture. It is somewhat surprising though that he supported Trump's rescinding of DACA, given his own family origins, but this was 2017, just after he had failed to win the presidential nomination and was perhaps considering his options, as they say. However he seems to have performed the classic dance on the head of a pin as he mulled over whether to throw his support behind the defeated former president's claims of election fraud in 2020. Still, he was man enough to denounce the January 6 attempt at insurrection, so I guess that's something. But then a month later he voted to absolve Trump of any responsibility for the attack, and then against the setting up of the Jan 6 Commission.

A few words about his policies then before we close. Unlike many Republicans he seems to support, at least broadly, the idea of immigration, is against net neutrality, denounced the Russian invasion of Ukraine and is a vehement opponent of abortion, even in cases of rape or incest. He is of course strongly pro-Israel (I doubt Trump would have anyone in his cabinet who wasn't, or didn't say they were) and supports military intervention and regime change. He doesn't pretend climate change isn't real, but denies that its causes are primarily caused by us thick humans.

[SGR]

Name: Marco Rubio

It's Rubio!!

I look forward to Trump and Little Marco having engaging and thought-provoking national discussions just like they did 8 years ago.

[Psy-Fi]

Could someone cleverer than me (i.e., 99.9% of you) explain how it is that Trump is so supportive of Israel and yet also manages to successfully court the right, most of whom are white supremacist neo-Nazis who hate the Jews? Isn't that an almost fundamental difference, almost a massive conflict of interest? How do you resolve that? I'm remembering specifically the "Vaxx the Jews" signs (and we all know what they meant) - if Trump in power doesn't speak out against/clamp down on such sentiments, surely NetanGoogle is going to accuse him of being anti-Semetic? Yet he can't really, as he's empowered and released these cunts into the wild.

I've always had the impression that the far-right neo-Nazi extremist types in America tend to dislike the U.S. government and the Democrat party and the Republican party and politicians from both parties as much as they dislike Israel and Jews. 

[Trollheart]

Name: Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Age: 70
Position: Health and Human Services Secretary
Previous Experience: Zero
Historic Interest: Do I really have to say it? A man with part of his brain eaten away, as well as being the only member of the Kennedy dynasty to serve under a Republican president?
Trump says: "For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and drug companies who have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation when it comes to Public Health," [Kennedy will] "end the Chronic Disease epidemic" and "Make America Great and Healthy Again! I'm going to let him go wild on health!"
He says: "There's no vaccine that is safe and effective." (2024)

"I see somebody on a hiking trail carrying a little baby and I say to him, 'Better not get them vaccinated"

"Polluters always choose the soft target of poverty." (2016)

[American politicians have] "been systematically hollowing out the American middle class and printing money to make billionaires richer." (2023)

"The very wealthy people should pay more taxes and corporations."

[The purpose of the war in Ukraine was to] "sacrifice the flower of Ukrainian youth in an abattoir of death and destruction for the geopolitical ambition of the neocons." (2023)

[Russians living in Donbas] "were being systematically killed by the Ukrainian government." (2023)

"[The] bloody history that modern interventionists like George W. Bush, Ted Cruz, and Marco Rubio miss when they recite their narcissistic trope that Mideast nationalists 'hate us for our freedoms.' For the most part they don't; instead they hate us for the way we betrayed those freedoms—our own ideals—within their borders." (Politico, 2016)

[The country must] "start unraveling the Empire" by closing U.S. bases in different locations worldwide. (2023)

[Kennedy said he is] "arguably the leading environmentalist in the country." (2023)

Kennedy said of politicians skeptical of global warming that he "wished there were a law you could punish them under." (2015)

"Right now, we have a market that is governed by rules that were written by the carbon incumbents to reward the dirtiest, filthiest, most poisonous, most toxic, most war-mongering fields from hell, rather than the cheap, clean, green, wholesome and patriotic fields from heaven." (2020)

"If we want to have democracy, we need a broad ownership of our land by a wide variety of yeoman farmers, each with a stake in our system." (2023)

[The Koch Brothers made] "themselves billionaires by impoverishing the rest of us." (2015)

"The Koch brothers have all the money. They're putting $300 million this year into their efforts to stop the climate bill. And the only thing we have in our power is people power, and that's why we need to put this demonstration on the street." (2014)

[Trump is] "simply the radical step of a process that's been happening in our country and in the Republican Party from the past—really, since 1980—which is a growing hostility towards the environment, a growing orientation to representing the concentrated corporate power and power, particularly of the oil industry and the chemical industry and some of the other large polluting industries." (2020)

"People who advocate for safer vaccines should not be marginalized or denounced as anti-vaccine. I am pro-vaccine. I had all six of my children vaccinated. I believe that vaccines have saved the lives of hundreds of millions of humans over the past century and that broad vaccine coverage is critical to public health. But I want our vaccines to be as safe as possible." (2015)

"COVID-19 is targeted to attack Caucasians and Black people. The people who are the most immune are Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese ... we don't know whether it's deliberately targeted or not." (2023)

"A worm that got into my brain and ate a portion of it and then died." (2012)

Others say:  "I don't want to go backwards and see children or adults suffer or lose their lives to remind us that vaccines work, and so I am concerned." (Dr. Mandy Cohen, Director of the CDC)

[Kennedy would be]"nothing short of a disaster for the health of millions of families." (Senator Patty Murray)

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said he was "excited" for Kennedy to lead HHS. Polis said he wants to see Kennedy take on "big pharma" and hopes he will "lean into personal choice" on vaccines.

That idea is concerning to former New York Public Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan, who said that if people opt out of getting vaccines, deadly viruses could run wild. He points to an uptick in measles outbreaks — 16 have occurred so far this year compared to four last year. "That's going to continue if we have someone at the top of our health system that is saying, 'I'm not so sure about the science here,' " Vasan said.

"People who are non-scientists are interpreting scientific data and making policy decisions based on emotion, not on objectivity," (Gerry Uswak, the director of the dental therapy program at the University of Saskatchewan)


[His argument with Krsytal Ball on Breaking Points was] "the single greatest defense of Israel on videos since the start of the" [Gaza war] - Rabbi Shmoely Boteach

Kennedy's "anti-vaccine disinformation" is effective "because it's portrayed to the public with graphs and figures and what appears to be scientific data. He has perfected the art of illusion of fact. This is about people's lives. And the consequences of promoting this kind of disinformation, as credible as it may seem, is simply dangerous." (Infectious disease expert Michael Osterholm, 2023)

[As soon as it was up] "we were besieged by scientists and advocates showing how Kennedy had misunderstood, incorrectly cited, and perhaps even falsified data.... It was the worst mistake of my career. I probably should have been fired." (Salon editor Joan Walsh, on the mistake publishing Kennedy's article "Deadly Immunity" in 2005)

[I don't] "know what's going on in [Kennedy's] head, but it's not good" - (Dr. Anthony Fauci, 2021)

(RFKJ) "has helped to spread dangerous misinformation over social media and is complicit in sowing distrust of the science behind vaccines." (Maeve Kennedy McKean, Kathleen and Joseph Kennedy, 2019)



If there's one person who typifies and epitomises the phrase "black sheep of the family" it's this guy. The only member of the Kennedy dynasty to switch allegiances from Democratto Republican, he is surely a disgrace to one of the greatest names in American presidential history, and his father and uncle must be rolling in their respective graves at how this man is about to trample upon their legacy. In real-world terms, RFKJ's deal with the devil must be tantamount to JFK signing up to work with Hitler, though of course the times are wrong, but you get the idea. There can be few more contradictory positions than for a Kennedy to be supporting Trump, but that's what we have now, and this man, who is possibly as dangerous as the man who will be sitting in the White House come January, is going to be deciding, without any medical expertise or experience or knowledge, America's health for at least the next four years.

Initially, it seems RFKJ was an environmental activist, though he struggled with cocaine and heroin addiction when younger, and also associated with known smugglers of endangered wildlife. You kind of have to wonder where it all went wrong? He appears to have been fighting on behalf of the little guy against big business, litigated for Native Americans and campaigned to have nuclear reactors shut down. All pretty commendable stuff, and work that his father and uncles would have been proud of. So what happened?

His Wiki page is a long one, and admittedly the scroll has barely moved, but so far everything I've read about him is stuff I'd give him credit for: helping the little guy, minorities, children, indigenous people, fighting for the environment and taking on the Federal government and the US military. If I didn't know how the story ended I would definitely be praising this guy, and in fairness, even if he is a nutjob now, you can't ignore or try to redact out of history his very worthy accomplishments up to that point. But was there an actual crisis point, something that swung him away from all the good work and onto the road of paranoia and conspiracy theories? I haven't come across it yet, but there's a long way to go, so maybe.

It seems he was one of the early proponents of election doubt, though this was initially directed at George W. Bush's questionable re-election in 2004, and it looks as if he only very recently switched sides, supporting Trump this year, but that prior to that he was considered for a post in the cabinets of many Democratic (and hopeful Democratic) presidents, including Obama, Gore and Kerry. Okay let's see if we can sort this out. Kennedy ran as a candidate for president, receiving big donations from the GOP, who thought they could use him as a "spoiler" candidate to block Harris and take votes from her. He began to talk to both parties when it became clear he wasn't getting the votes needed for his own campaign, and the only side that would deal with him was Trump's, and so he pledged his allegiance to the Big Fat Orange Cunt. I suppose I can see how that would kind of make sense: you support a party all your life, come from the most respected family in American politics in this or last century, and when it comes down to it, that party tells you to fuck off. Maybe it's not surprising you go to bat for the enemy.

On the other side of his personality though, as everyone knows, Kennedy is a conspiracy theorist and a vaccine sceptic (despite his quote above) and has repeatedly tried to link them to autism in children, claims which have been debunked by medical scientists and experts. Naturally he was in his element with Covid, claiming Dr. Fauci was profiting off it, and that Bill Gates was blackmailing people into getting the vaccine. He has also tried to link gender change/choice to vaccines or "something in the water". He suffers from adductor spasmodic dysphonia, a condition which makes his voice tremble, and makes it hard for him to speak, and quite frankly, just adds to the scary aspect of his being in charge of the nation's health.

[Trollheart]

Name: Doug Burgum
Age: 68
Position: Secretary of the Interior
Previous Experience: Governor of North Dakota
Historic Interest:
Trump says:"This Council (The National Energy Council) will oversee the path to U.S. ENERGY DOMINANCE by cutting red tape, enhancing private sector investments across all sectors of the Economy, and by focusing on INNOVATION over longstanding, but totally unnecessary, regulation. We will "DRILL BABY DRILL, expand ALL forms of Energy production to grow our Economy, and create good-paying jobs." (Pointless capitalisation is his, not mine)

He says: [Trump and I are concerned about] "the nexus between energy and inflation and the nexus between energy and national security. Energy is a component of everything — it's the clothes you wear, the food you eat. The AI battle affects everything from defense to healthcare to education to productivity as a country, and the AI that's coming in the next 18 months is going to be revolutionary. So there's just a sense of urgency and a sense of understanding in the Trump administration to address it."

[The US should put] "anti-warship missiles in Taiwan." (2024)

Others say: [Burgum's]  "deep understanding of American energy resources and public lands positions him to tackle critical issues such as enhancing energy affordability ... and strengthening the U.S. in the global energy marketplace, (Erik Milito, President of the National Ocean Industries Association - which promotes offshore drilling)

[Burgum is] "a longtime friend to fossil fuel interests. The first Trump administration treated (public lands) like they're meant to be dug up, drilled or sold off for profit. Gov. Burgum's long track record of pushing for unchecked fossil fuel development sends a loud signal about which path they will take this time around." (David Seabrook, President of the Wilderness Society)

Another of the super-super-rich, Burgum is estimated to be worth just under a billion, and though he has set a target for his state (North Dakota) to be carbon neutral by 2030, he's still investing heavily in the usage of fossil fuels. Something I don't know? Quite a lot, probably, but I thought the two were kind of mutually exclusive, no? Perhaps another example of this is his acceptance of the post of Secretary of the Interior, despite his claims that he would accept no post if he was not nominated for President. He is, of course, against abortion (having signed all but a total ban on it into law in ND), gun control, critical race theory, trans rights and immigration, all the usual things you expect from a Republican.

[Trollheart]

Name: Doug Collins
Age: 58
Position: Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Previous Experience: Member of the House; serves (served?) on the House Judiciary Committee
Historic Interest:
Trump says: ""Doug is a Veteran himself, who currently serves our Nation as a Chaplain in the United States Air Force Reserve Command, and fought for our Country in the Iraq War.We must take care of our brave men and women in uniform, and Doug will be a great advocate for our Active Duty Servicemembers, Veterans, and Military Families to ensure they have the support they need. Thank you, Doug, for your willingness to serve our Country in this very important role!"

He says: "Honored to accept @realDonaldTrump nomination as Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Our heroes deserve the best care and support. We'll fight tirelessly to streamline and cut regulations in the VA, root out corruption, and ensure every veteran receives the benefits they've earned. Together, we'll make the VA work for those who fought for us. Time to deliver for our veterans and give them the world class care they deserve."

[Democrats are] "in love with terrorists" (2020)

"The executive order allows re-entry to lawful permanent residents and does not represent a comprehensive ban on entry to people from certain countries. In this temporary measure, President Trump has given us the opportunity to get refugee policy right going forward." (2017)

"RIP to the more than 30 million innocent babies that have been murdered during the decades that Ruth Bader Ginsburg defended pro-abortion laws. With @realDonaldTrump nominating a replacement that values human life, generations of unborn children have a chance to live." (2020)

"We will need to... ensure that government intelligence and law enforcement powers are never again used and turned on a private citizen or a political candidate as a result of the political leanings... If we carry anything away today it must be that we increase our vigilance against foreign election interference while we ensure our government officials don't weaponize their power against the constitutional rights guaranteed to every US citizen." (2019)

"I strongly support a constitutional amendment defining marriage between one man and one woman." (2015)

Others say: Perhaps oddly, I can't find any reaction to his appointment.

Just what the VA needs - a fucking pastor and chaplain looking after their affairs! Another who likes dichotomies, Collins is all for the death penalty but against assisted suicide. So it's all right to murder people, but not to allow them to take, or be helped with taking, their own lives? Talk about playing God. Though what would you expect really from a clergyman? Oh, and of course he's against abortion, how surprising. Doesn't like immigrants either, or Obamacare, or climate change, and bought happily in to lies about the 2020 election being rigged.

He's one of Trump's biggest lick-arses, defending him in his impeachment trials and, oh, fuck it: you know by now. All the usual shit. Just another faceless yes-man who will rubberstamp all Trump's decisions and have no will of his own, bowing down in eternal subservience before the new fuhrer and licking his jackboots.