Even if Renee Good had been a liberal activist, that’s not a crime (so far) and not close to a death sentence. And number two; the officer wouldn’t have known that detail. The character assassination must be setting the stage; some people deserve to die? Certainly most liberals . . .
Meanwhile Liz Oyer, fired pardon attorney for DOJ, looked up the J6 pardoned insurrectionists and found A LOT of them are back in prison - mostly for sex crimes, several against children. “Nothing to see here . . . move along folks.
I remember back when Philando Castille got shot in his car by a police officer, people online were saying "but the cop smelled MARIJUANA!" As if possession of marijuana was a capital crime and one so serious that a judge and jury are not needed and summary execution is permitted.
This isn't about rationality. It certainly isn't about what's right and wrong. It's about who's on their team and who isn't.
This was the right’s go-to move during the BLM era - find something in the victim’s past that justifies police brutality. That doesn’t work for Renee Good, so they fall back to dismissing her as a “lesbian activist.”
Tribalism is borne in our bones. Humanity would not exist without communal cooperation and common endeavor. Without those capabilities, we would have vanished from the earth long ago. It is a primitive attribute which has survival value, up to a point. And then it becomes lethal. In order to accomplish truly large projects like putting a man on the moon or accomplishing international trade, small scale primitive tribalism must be abandoned. The current administration thinks bigly in the realms of power and greed, but to accomplish its goals has taken control of society through the manipulation of small scale primitive tribalism. Primitive tribalism is used by the current administration in its goal to intimidate and subjugate all of American society. A double shot to the head at point blank range.
Bill - and a certain tattoo can "prove" gang membership even absent ANY corroborated gang-related activity, let alone any specific alleged crime. Tar with brush so broad as to stretch incredulity... except to all those who accept propaganda of their chosen tribe/cult
She seemed pretty nice to him when she said she wasn't mad at him. How do you shoot someone who smiles at you, says something nice, and proceeds to drive away from the crowd? Was he mad that she wasn't a Mexican gang member with tattoos on her face? Cause he really seemed like he wanted to shoot someone.
She was trying to de-escalate the situation with the smile and her words and trying to drive away, but he was locked and loaded, with his phone recording content and his gun at the ready. He was so not in danger he never even dropped that phone.
Linda - also important to note he took those specific actions BEFORE any movement of his victim's vehicle. These steps were NOT in split-second reflexive response to movement of the vehicle (i.e., NOT in response to what might reasonably be a perceived threat under some claim of self-defense)
Suddenly all sorts of white people find themselves needing to have "the talk" with their kids just like parents who wanted their offspring to remain alive when stopped for driving while Black.
And some will say; that was confrontational. I say, so what! That is something snarky that I would have said. But I would have said right in his grill.
Dave - in failure analysis we look back at all event in the sequence. Confrontation appears to begin with large number of vehicles (NOT identified as emergency of law enf) and numerous militarily kitted out & masked persons swarming into the neighborhood (again, not well identified as law enf). Situation inflamed from the git, and not by the local populace. That's NOT policing
There is a report in the NYT just now that the second in command at the US Attorney’s Office in Minneapolis has just resigned over his objections to the Justice Department pressing for a criminal investigation into Renee’s widow. Proof if it were needed that it was Renee’s wife who triggered Ross, not Renee.
In a podcast last night, Tim referred to Ross as having one of those signs: Don't tread on me. Never having to experience a person like that, anybody who expresses that attitude above everything (I call it the Dirty Harry attitude) has no tolerance of others, never belongs in any kind of law enforcement. That attitude fits DJT to a tee.
as of now I can’t even confirm he has been put on leave. After the last incident where he was injured did he receive any help ? Was he assessed before going back to work? To these people evenhave a process?
rlritt - among the committed converted, that niceness only proves their suspicions: "civilian surrounded by militarized, masked 'agents' amid shouting & sirens - who in their right mind would respond calmly & pleasantly to that? Clearly, that's very suspicious and therefore threatening to the 'officer'" - so sayeth the cult
I just encountered a NYT headline that Trump indicated Renee Good deserved to die because she was “disrespectful”. A lie; she wasn’t. If “disrespect” was a capital crime, Trump would be dead several thousand times over. How about miming fellatio on a microphone at a public rally? Discussing the genitalia of a dead golfer? Any rally would have resulted in several dozen legitimate death sentences for Trump.
To say nothing about Sleepy Joe and the autopen, Obama's birth certificate and labeling journalists as the enemy of the people. Seems a bit more disrespectful to me than Good's partner suggesting the big boy go have lunch.
How did the extreme double standard become an unbreakable baseline? It predates Trump. I was recently recalling the puerile renaming of French fries to “Freedom Fries” in the Congessional cafeteria by the GOP after France did some unpardonable sin regarding the global war on terror. Imagine a Democrat doing something as stupid as that. I guarantee it wouldn’t be forgotten in the press or be allowed to fade into oblivion like Freedom Fries.
ICE is also racking up their share of sex crimes prosecutions, including abusing children, child porn, rape of a detainee, strangulation and domestic violence.
The foundation of Trumpism is moral relativism and hypocrisy and ethical double standards. The stink starts from the top - and it infects every one of Trump's apologists, who have shown that they really don't care much about various values they claimed to hold dear.
Are those crimes from before or after they were hired guns for ICE? I think any woman thrown into a car by a group of masked, armed, hyped-up men, probably expects sexual assault to be part of the package.
They also need to kill her name in the court of public opinion. Strategically I think it's weird to do that rather than try to paint the shooter as an upstanding/outstanding member of LEO (which he isn't to me). No matter how you slice it, this should not go well for him, but he does have some powerful friends.
Yes, an interesting thought experiment; why aren’t they elevating the ICE agent? As to eliminating her name, it’s almost providential. “Good”. His last name should be “Evil”.
I think you nailed it. This is the first I’ve heard of that. But they create a different set of “rules” for themselves. 2/3 of Trump’s wives were immigrants, and Melania’s case details seem dodgy. “Ho hum. Nothing to see here. Boys will be boys, etc”
I also don't think they want to draw attention to his actual law enforcement background. which includes being a member of ICE's SWAT team and an advanced weapons trainer. Not explaining his background is one of my real pet peeves about the coverage of this assassination...which I thought it was from day one.
It adds a layer of deliberate strategy to their immediate attack on the victim. Which all came so quickly it had the feel of having been rehearsed. One-size-fits-all. Control the narrative. The media should be wise to this and ready to do the responsible counter-narrative, instead of reflexively countering and defending the victim, which needs to be done at the same time, but not as the sum total of following a designed distraction.
Powerful friends ,like a guy with pardon power? How many active shooters, I mean, active duty, ICErs were pardoned for their totally lawful J6 (some even pled to) federal convictions by the Felon in one of his first sharpie Executive Orders?
Dave - no matter the situation, Trump & his cronies practice the approach that the best defense is to be offensive. Attack first, always. There's never effort to bring people together, to unite, to calm a situation. Any spark or ember is met with gasoline.
I think Sarah nailed this in last week’s Secret Podcast. The character assassination is about othering Renee Good and making her less relatable. The more people that see themselves in her, the harder this is to overcome. Plus it’s just kind of their brand.
But those guys dragging a 17 year old gainfully employed at Target to the ground then dumping him at a Walmart parking lot when his citizenship is proven have halos galore.
And yet here we are, talking smart. Risky behavior.
I’m just glad I donated my reproductive parts to science long ago, in a brave act of medical prevention, not realizing it would also become a political bonus. I never expected The Handmaids Tale to be a cliche.
"Othering" - which is essentially creating a class of US citizens and other people in our country who are slightly less than deserving of being here, citizen or otherwise. Follow where that goes. Eventually the "other" class are rationalized to be not really even the same type of human as the "in" class. Essentially a "subhuman" or "not human". Where have we seen this before?
The difference between some historical examples of this and the HUMANS in the US opposed to this administration is that the opposition in the US has weapons, or could fairly easily get weapons. But I really shudder to go down that road as well. This is a really scary situation we are in.
Yes. The “othering” strategy needs to be part of the pieces defending Renee Good.
As to the guns, definitely scary, the imbalance. I’ve seen more than a few content creators on YouTube advising to build a personal arsenal on the left. I personally would prefer to see the economy collapse, as a natural tool of persuasion. Which is why I think national consumer strikes and work strikes are a tool we should be discussing and planning for. But that wouldn’t rule out the need for defense - in fact probably the opposite. We are in trouble.
Liz Oyer is a national treasure. She has, if you’ll pardon my being a little crass, more balls than the entire (remaining) DOJ. Watching her daily posts is always enlightening w/regards to the pieces of shit that the current administration pardoned on day one and has looked in the opposite direction on the subject of their subsequent derelictions ever since, as well as others with the financial means to bribe their way into receiving their own pardons for crimes against the people of this country.
It’s fascinating watching the mild mannered Powell be the one to launch this mini rebellion. Just the math nerd who was happy to be in his little policy world. The guy who almost got to the perfect soft landing. We had two incredible Fed Chairs back to back in Yellen and Powell but here comes the bumbling oaf to ruin it all. I’m not going to give Tillis too much credit until I see how the hearings for Powell’s replacement go. And finally, I would love for this investigation to be the reason Powell stays on the Board after his term as Chair is over. Be petty, Jerome!
There is the appearance of some coordinated efforts of the push back which I find encouraging. But the fact that Powell is only 4 months away from being replaced begs the question why this big effort against Powell. It appears to me this is mostly a message to the other voting Fed members. If Trumps efforts to “fire” disobedient Fed members is squashed by SCOTUS, then Trump will sic his DOJ and FBI on anyone that doesn’t vote for lower interest rates.
But, but, the Felon says he had nothing to do with the investigation that Pirro opened all on her lonesome, like all the other sycophants do. Of course, the fact that his lips were moving is a dead give away that he was lying.
I worry about what this relentless stress has done to Powell’s health. Physically, he seems to be evaporating before our very eyes. But maybe that’s an illusion when he’s standing next to the corpulent Trump.
No "like" from me, JF, for your choice of adjective; obscenely obese has a better, nicely alliterative, ring, even if it may not be medically accurate.
Alliteration has a lot of power, this is true. It makes a short, pithy description bites more memorable. And the modern GOP is much better at that general strategy.
Let’s find a bunch of “O” words to go with “obscenely”. Here goes; obscenely octagonal. Kind of fits . . .
"obtuse" is very close to "obese", whereas "obnoxious", while true, does not get to the "weighty" issue at hand. And "onomatopoetic" is way beyond his capacity of speech, let alone understanding. And what sound would that be, anyway?
I was in North Carolina for his 30 minute protest not to close his constituents' hospitals. He'll probably stick his neck out for donors, but he sure folded like a cheap suit for his voters.
I'm pretty sure Jerome was content to ride off into the sunset if Trump just left him alone. I suspect Powell is the type of guy who was content to do his policy wonk work toiling in the background, but you've taken his red swingline stapler... and now he's going to burn down the office.
Notice how Tom Tillis has suddenly sprouted a spine, mainly because he's not running for Senate again. He feels OK speaking out, knowing he can't be primaried, etc. All the more reason to have term limits!
Cathy Young's contribution to this newsletter was pointless and indicative of just how poorly the pundit class — yes, even The Bulwark — understands how to fight Trump.
Simply stated, STOP NATIONALIZING LOCAL POLITICS.
What the mayor of New York and his commissioners do only matters in other parts of the USA because pundits like Young keep insisting Democrats everywhere have to respond to any Democrat anywhere.
What happens in NYC is irrelevant to what happens in Kansas, Colorado, Texas, or California's Central Valley.
The fact that you insist on claiming that Mamdani's every word or action somehow has to be adopted or repudiated by every Democrat in the USA tells me that you still haven't gotten over the "clickbait" approach to journalism that helped get us into this mess in the first place.
It’s worth noting that the nationalization of local politics is at the root of the current federal action in places like Minneapolis.
Even IF Somalis WERE systematically scamming daycare centers in the Twin Cities, that’s a local issue, not an “invasion” or an “insurrection.” Minnesotans have their own local government to address these problems. The residents of Minneapolis and St. Paul have their own even-more-local government to address these problems. And, honestly, EVEN IF Minneapolitans on the whole WERE TOTALLY COOL with squandering public money on scams run by illegal immigrants, that doesn’t affect me where I live, more than 1,000 miles away.
But millions of folks who live in entirely different time zones are apparently willing to cheer on the death of a 37-year-old mother as if it somehow improves their own lives.
Cathy’s go to playbook is to pick the most noxious person and characterize an admin’s entire agenda based on that one person’s stance on the world. She’s been doing this for years. Idk, maybe she could talk about how NYC will now be offering free childcare for 2 year olds instead of whatever the fuck this nonsense is.
Don’t you realize the right-wing media machine exists on creating controversies out of thin air, like a random local official in some city somewhere who made some out-of touch comment? It’s NOT a national matter, but these things gain traction like a snowball rolling downhill when seen and reposted on the Musk machine and the Murdoch machine and on and o
In the whirl of clickbait, Mamdani is a star. I appreciated Young's writing (style note: "The terms Democrat and Democratic Party are capitalized. Don’t use the term Democrat Party unless quoting someone. #APStyleChat"), alerting me to Cea Weaver. In these serious times we need far, far more than the resistance pop balms in the neighborhood of MS NOW. As has been perfectly clear for almost a year, the Democrats must win both the House and the Senate this November.
Whenever I hear the use of Democrat party by a Republican, it strikes me as kind of a putdown on the order of deliberately mispronouncing one's name. Like the childish, juvenile practice of DJT.
One hundred percent. I can’t suppose anyone born after 1985 will remember how Republicans hounded Democrats into being afraid to use the word ‘liberal.’
Rush Limbaugh actively promoted the phrase "Democrat Party." By the time Limbaugh was essentially the de facto leader of the Republican Party, they all parroted him.
Cathy Young is not responsible for the nationalization of state and local politics. That ship sailed long before her column.
We are no better than the MAGA crowd when we don't call out things that are wrong on our side. That she said these things at 37 is remarkable. They sound like the kind of dumb things people say when they are in their early 20s. I appreciate Cathy writing about this subject.
The Bulwark has consistently used anything coming out of NYC remotely negative, like looking into someone’s past online posts who has nothing to do with the majors economic agenda, to point out that yes Mamdanj is a “socialist” and will for sure run the city into the ground.
I love this publication but does this story really deserve an entire section of the newsletter?
No. It's not Cathy Young's fault. The Republicans are experts at "nationalizing" issues. They will continue to do so as long as it appeals to its base - regardless of how more centrist journalists frame issues. It appears that your understanding of how to "fight Trump" is to continue to try to convince 40% of the country that what is relevant to them is actually irrelevant. The strategy of fighting the opposition by telling them they are mistaken, or stupid has been tried and has failed. The comment that what a communist mayor does in the largest city in the country "only matters" because pundits insist that Dems respond ignores the fact that nearly 90% of Americans view communism unfavorably. It's also interesting that the % of Americans who view communism favorably is approximately the same % of Americans who self-identify as progressive. Just a big enough percentage to lose elections.
Another Egger gem: "All this is coming at a pivotal moment, when some congressional Republicans—one year into Trump 2.0—are starting to reconsider the question of whether their bodies contain spines."
The Bulwark should never let the sun set on a day in which the Epstein files go unmentioned.
Might I suggest that every Morning Shots spare at least one sentence for the Epstein files, even if that sentence is "No new Epstein documents have been released since month/day/year."
The Trump administration has figured out that if it doesn't release any new documents, the media will just stop talking about it. After all, the news is about what's new, and if there's nothing new, well...
I thank Ms. Young for sharing the overview of Cea Weaver's words and philosophies. And clearly there are holes in her doughnut when it comes to workable policies, especially economically. (Google "German hyperinflation 1920s" if you are unaware of what happens when a government resorts to printing more money as a means of covering costs and paying bills.) But an intellectually honest discussion of the issues requires us to move past the low-hanging fruit of name-calling and labeling ("Communist!") and undertake a deeper dive into why some of her words gain traction now, especially with younger generations that feel like we older folks have screwed them and their future with our "gotta get mine" and "greed is good" approach over the past several decades. As we've taken beyond our fair share and created our culture of comfort, what have we left for them?
Many of those now coming into adulthood are moving toward different outlooks on economics, politics, and fundamental life orientation (increasingly unwilling to bring children into a world that seems hopeless to them). The issue is why. What have we done to make their lives and prospective futures better, such that things like communism and white male resentment would or should not gain traction when so many doors to advancement are slamming in their faces?
If my talks with young people are any indicator, they do not accept the world view of previous generations because it no longer works for them -- not ideologically so much as how we've gamed the system for our own benefit and left them to clean up the mess someday. I can't blame them for their anger and resentment about it. If we want for them to have a better, more positive outlook, we have to give them the same tools and opportunities to succeed that we largely took for granted for decades. Otherwise the better question than why they think the way that they do becomes what we did to cause that in the first place. It is an uncomfortable, but necessary, discussion to have if we are interested in truth more than placing labels upon their pessimism and discontent.
We really have truly and thoroughly screwed future generations. Massive college debt, disappearing entry-level white collar jobs, and a poisoned planet, and a failed political process that has allowed it all to happen because of selfish and myopic voters who convinced themselves that short term thinking would work out just fine for their kids. I would be pissed if I were them.
Exactly. I hear so much of this as I talk with my students informally, or more often hear what they are saying amongst each other. Sometimes I am amazed that they are not more angry than they already are, as they increasingly figure out just how hard we have made it for them to simply survive for the next fifty years or more with even a decent prospect of a good quality of life.
This is true. Young people, currently, have a completely different view of how their jobs/professions fit into their lives. They largely refuse to allow their employers access to their personal time, space, etc. I assumed it was the realization of the need for a healthier approach to work/life balance. A positive. After reading these comments, it may be their way of expressing their recognition of and anger towards a system that has made their futures less hopeful (Hopeless?). Interesting. Maybe they are not "soft".
I remember my parents voting against school taxes when I was a kid. Most voters didn't think it would work out fine for their kids. Or, to be more accurate, most voters thought if they were selfish, they could pass money onto their kids by withholding it from society.
All good points, though I would argue the German period of hyperinflation was more than merely printing money: it represented a serious deficit between available real resources and demand for said resources combined with poor monetary policy.
You are right. I chose to simplify the issue for time and space reasons. A deeper dive and analysis (e.g. the role of the Treaty of Versailles) is fascinating, and instructive about how profoundly such decisions can impact the future, and for so many people.
While Trump apologists have thrown away so many values they once claimed to hold dear, there are two they cling tightly to: "We know the difference between a man and a woman," and "We accept natural inequalities and admire those at the top, while Democrats are resentful and they try to erase all inequalities."
Much can be said about how attempts to engineer perfect equality have led to mass immiseration and cruel oppression. But many people on the right are much too comfortable with a system where people who already have advantages - sometimes by inheritance - are able to buy the influence to solidify and increase their advantage. That's quite obvious in and around the Trump administration, starting with the Trump family. And it is not "natural" inequality, as in "some people are more talented and work harder, so of course they rise higher, and resenting them for it is sinful." It's more "law of the jungle," where the ruthless and amoral climb the highest.
Even apart from self-serving use of power, there's no strict correlation between talent and hard work, on the one hand, and financial reward. Other factors are involved, such as the labor-intensity of what one is talented at, the market demand for what one produces (which may be unpredictable), etc. We might say that people who care for the elderly and infirm are doing valuable work for society, but does their pay reflect a high value? Of course, many people value the moral rewards of what they do or get some other personal satisfaction from it.
Awhile back, I learned about David Esterly, who became reputed as the best woodcarver in the world since Grinling Gibbons (active c. 1700) - but he could not make a living by his woodcarving. A middling pro athlete can earn a lot more. The easy answer is: "He should find some other way to support himself," which he did. But the story illustrates the fallacy of the notion that there's a deeply moral force determining who rises high in our society and who does not.
Another thing: from time to time, I've learned that a truly great classical composer ended up in poverty after making singular and lasting contributions to our culture.
I would add that I suspect there is a growing cohort of older people who thought they had planned for retirement and are now finding out it isn’t going to be as comfortable as they believed. This is plutocracy.
I needed help understanding what American 'Activist Groups' were and this is what I found: Domestic activist groups advocate for various social issues, ranging from ending violence (like NNEDV, NCADV, Peace Over Violence) to workers' rights (like the National Domestic Workers Alliance) and civil liberties (like the ACLU). Key players include national networks like the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV), advocacy coalitions like the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV), and specialized organizations such as the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence (NRCDV) and Alliance for HOPE International, all working through policy, education, direct services, and community organizing. " Is this supposed to be a bad thing? But this administration is ok with the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, Neo Nazis, Klan types?
Pretty sure they mean Antifa. They offered a citizen who was detained money or freedom for undocumented family members in exchange for info on organizers.
Aww the little twinkies in silicon valley who so lovingly kissed Trump's patootie are saying they think, maybe, possibly, anti immigration policy might be a little harsh. So bold.
Wow, Ceva Weaver sounds like a nut, all right. HOWEVER - I can rattle off a dozen equally nutty (or more so!) House Republicans (and they're in Congress! with a lot more power). To me, the party of crazies is still, hands down, the GOP. Not even a close call at all.
ICE shooter's words after shooting here "Fu**ing Bitch"
As a Christian, this is as black and white as it gets. Who's side are you on? The person who is following Christ's example of loving one's neighbor, no matter their transgressions, or the person who is full of unrepentent hate and anger?
Stephen Miller: "We live in a world, in the real world… that is governed by strength, that is governed by force, that is governed by power. These are the iron laws of the world."
Jesus: "The rulers of the gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. It will not be so among you but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant."
The equity markets rose yesterday in the US. I had a lengthy post on this yesterday. The markets are not going to save us from Trump. We need to do it.
Edit: I looked back at the post from yesterday, and I realize it probably comes across as "this guy is an obnoxious, braggart, attorney and investor". Probably true, but I'm going to link it in case you want to read in detail why the markets are not going to save us from Trump. Note the part that talks about the surprisingly positive performance of the equity markets in Germany during NAZI rule. Draw your own conclusions, as always.
Lewis - hopeful thought! Could also be as simple as JVL said Sunday night: a lot of the market knows how to benefit from low interest rates & sees this as pressure for that. Sure, there’s longer term terrible potential, but that’s not this quarter!
Take your point on the long term/short term dynamic. But the hamfistedness of this Trump/Pirro move is understood by everybody and there seems to be nobody defending it as an on-the-level action. I think the score is already 35-0, Powell. (Not sure how much time is left on the clock though.)
Well, since SCOTUS declared the president has immunity for all presidential acts, and all these fellas in fatigues and masks carrying guns and throwing people on the pavement are doing so at the president's direction, JD and his ilk think that qualifies. While anyone else telling one of them to go get lunch clearly is not.
I am not sophisticated on what the Titans of Wall Street want, but I suspect that part of what they want is predictability. They know Powell; perhaps they understand him. And unlike a real estate developer whose whole business can be dependent on low interest rates, both to develop property and to sell it, a lot of big business is not so dependent on and addicted to virtually zero rates.
Agreed, but I think TACO played a bigger role! The markers were seesawing in the first few months, now they’ve become accustomed to his threats and hyperbolic invective.
Not that it matters, the equity markets are lagging indicators, and the reason they’ve accurately predicted the last eight of last nine recessions. /s….:)
I think JVL has it right - the market is run by algorithms programmed to prefer ZIRP over everything else because tech stocks are overvalued in the market, and they need cash infusions from venture capitol.
Thank you for this 'shot in the arm' of courage. I have reason to believe that ICE will be coming soon to my small, upstate town, and lately I have felt enveloped in a fog of fear that any action my group takes will end in death for at least some of us. I feel I need all the courage I can get at this point.....
Do you think this will help a Democrat candidate in Texas in November? I'm asking seriously. Isn't Texas like Florida, where only Republicans win statewide?
I do think it would be easier to beat AG Ken Paxton in a general election, b/c he's blatantly corrupt and was impeached by the GOP house (but acquitted by the GOP senate) for it. Paxton is also just a slime ball, whose wife (a state senator) recently divorced him for "Biblical reasons."
I've also adopted Sarah Longwell's philosophy that it's better for Republicans to elect MAGA die-hards than normie Republicans, because they vote the same anyway, and normalizing MAGA is detrimental to the health of our Democracy.
Well, you know, Sarah is right! A vote to approve a bad thing in the Senate counts the same whether it comes from a quiet wallflower or a raging nutjob
"Senior executives at major tech companies including Meta, Google, Amazon, OpenAI, TikTok, Spotify, and Salesforce have been circulating a letter this week calling on their companies to break ties with the White House’s immigration enforcement."
How are all of these companies implicated in this administration's Brown Shirts? And if a humble citizen such as myself wanted to send all of them a message by refusing to use their products, how could I possibly boycott them all, short of shacking up in a cave or a monastic cell? I don't even think the Amish are so retro that they use none of these companies' products. What a disgrace that so many of the wealthiest, most ubiquitous, and most powerful companies have aligned themselves with evil.
Yeah, we try to do what we can. With these companies, though, it's not just the name you see, Amazon. They're so diffuse throughout the economy that it's also Whole Foods, the Washington Post, your e-reader. With a company like Google, you practically can't even use the internet without running through Google. And how the hell is Spotify aligning with these goons? What are you doing Spotify?
I buy local. I only use Amazon if I can't find what I need (even at a higher price) locally. Even then, I will only purchase from Amazon if I absolutely need that item.
I've worked with and know a lot of seasoned FBI special agents and analysts. I have to believe that they know full well that investigating Renee Good's "radical connections" is total bunk and causes further damage to whatever shreds remain of the Bureau's reputation under Patel.
Cathy Young's article today, "Left-Wing Baggage in New York," which attacks the far left, particularly Cea Weaver, SO misses the mark of this country's political situation and tinderbox moment. Tone deaf! In a time when the Vice President of America JUST attacked a murder victim for being a "left-wing lunatic" immediately after she was shot in the face point blank by an ICE agent after saying to him, "I'm not mad at you, dude"? When the regime mouths off that she's a "terrorist" before the facts are even in?
To write an article nitpicking the Mamdani administration, sprinkling it with all of these pearl-clutching "normie" doubts before it's even off the ground? And vilifying his appointee, who in her youthful idealism posted some less-than-ideal ideas? When we've got young Republicans in group chats fawning over Nazis? When Donald Trump smears Rob Reiner after he and his wife are stabbed to death by his son, by saying he was "very bad for our country" and a "deranged person"?
Please, think about the moment we are in before banging the anti-far-left drum!
If the Democratic Tent is going to be policed like this, we are lost. This regime's authoritarian foothold will be cemented for decades. We have GOT to come together and unite around the tenets of democracy. We can debate old posts in a safer time. Or maybe not at all!
(BTW, as far as I can see, our "lefty" politicians are mostly the ones standing up to Donald and his sycophants. They are the ones fighting. While the centrists play dead. And also, "collectivism" is not a bad word.)
You are mixing issues. No reasonable person would look at what happened in MN as a defensible act. Tell me how the math works if we all drift toward the policies and philosophy of a splinter of the electorate? How would you police the Democratic Tent?
Even if Renee Good had been a liberal activist, that’s not a crime (so far) and not close to a death sentence. And number two; the officer wouldn’t have known that detail. The character assassination must be setting the stage; some people deserve to die? Certainly most liberals . . .
Meanwhile Liz Oyer, fired pardon attorney for DOJ, looked up the J6 pardoned insurrectionists and found A LOT of them are back in prison - mostly for sex crimes, several against children. “Nothing to see here . . . move along folks.
I remember back when Philando Castille got shot in his car by a police officer, people online were saying "but the cop smelled MARIJUANA!" As if possession of marijuana was a capital crime and one so serious that a judge and jury are not needed and summary execution is permitted.
This isn't about rationality. It certainly isn't about what's right and wrong. It's about who's on their team and who isn't.
This was the right’s go-to move during the BLM era - find something in the victim’s past that justifies police brutality. That doesn’t work for Renee Good, so they fall back to dismissing her as a “lesbian activist.”
May have enraged Jon "don't tread on me" Ross.
Tribalism is borne in our bones. Humanity would not exist without communal cooperation and common endeavor. Without those capabilities, we would have vanished from the earth long ago. It is a primitive attribute which has survival value, up to a point. And then it becomes lethal. In order to accomplish truly large projects like putting a man on the moon or accomplishing international trade, small scale primitive tribalism must be abandoned. The current administration thinks bigly in the realms of power and greed, but to accomplish its goals has taken control of society through the manipulation of small scale primitive tribalism. Primitive tribalism is used by the current administration in its goal to intimidate and subjugate all of American society. A double shot to the head at point blank range.
It has always been about the color of your team jersey.
Bill - and a certain tattoo can "prove" gang membership even absent ANY corroborated gang-related activity, let alone any specific alleged crime. Tar with brush so broad as to stretch incredulity... except to all those who accept propaganda of their chosen tribe/cult
She seemed pretty nice to him when she said she wasn't mad at him. How do you shoot someone who smiles at you, says something nice, and proceeds to drive away from the crowd? Was he mad that she wasn't a Mexican gang member with tattoos on her face? Cause he really seemed like he wanted to shoot someone.
She was trying to de-escalate the situation with the smile and her words and trying to drive away, but he was locked and loaded, with his phone recording content and his gun at the ready. He was so not in danger he never even dropped that phone.
Deescalating with ICE is like deescalating with DJT. It won't happen.
Good catch, Linda!🥂
Linda - also important to note he took those specific actions BEFORE any movement of his victim's vehicle. These steps were NOT in split-second reflexive response to movement of the vehicle (i.e., NOT in response to what might reasonably be a perceived threat under some claim of self-defense)
I’m betting it wasn’t Renee who triggered him, but her wife, who got mouthy with him and told him to go get lunch.
"Go get lunch big guy".
Yeah that. Who among us wouldn’t start pumping bullets at that?
Suddenly all sorts of white people find themselves needing to have "the talk" with their kids just like parents who wanted their offspring to remain alive when stopped for driving while Black.
And some will say; that was confrontational. I say, so what! That is something snarky that I would have said. But I would have said right in his grill.
Dave - in failure analysis we look back at all event in the sequence. Confrontation appears to begin with large number of vehicles (NOT identified as emergency of law enf) and numerous militarily kitted out & masked persons swarming into the neighborhood (again, not well identified as law enf). Situation inflamed from the git, and not by the local populace. That's NOT policing
There is a report in the NYT just now that the second in command at the US Attorney’s Office in Minneapolis has just resigned over his objections to the Justice Department pressing for a criminal investigation into Renee’s widow. Proof if it were needed that it was Renee’s wife who triggered Ross, not Renee.
He was acting like a crabby toddler.
With a deadly weapon.
"It's good that you sent that person to the cornfield." That's all they want to hear.
Like DJT.
I've resisted riffing on this very observation...
She taunted him with lunch. He knew lunch wasn't coming anytime soon. The murderer Jonathan Ross was hangry...
In a podcast last night, Tim referred to Ross as having one of those signs: Don't tread on me. Never having to experience a person like that, anybody who expresses that attitude above everything (I call it the Dirty Harry attitude) has no tolerance of others, never belongs in any kind of law enforcement. That attitude fits DJT to a tee.
This 👆
She bruised his already fragile ego.
as of now I can’t even confirm he has been put on leave. After the last incident where he was injured did he receive any help ? Was he assessed before going back to work? To these people evenhave a process?
rlritt - among the committed converted, that niceness only proves their suspicions: "civilian surrounded by militarized, masked 'agents' amid shouting & sirens - who in their right mind would respond calmly & pleasantly to that? Clearly, that's very suspicious and therefore threatening to the 'officer'" - so sayeth the cult
I just encountered a NYT headline that Trump indicated Renee Good deserved to die because she was “disrespectful”. A lie; she wasn’t. If “disrespect” was a capital crime, Trump would be dead several thousand times over. How about miming fellatio on a microphone at a public rally? Discussing the genitalia of a dead golfer? Any rally would have resulted in several dozen legitimate death sentences for Trump.
Or mocking a disabled man, in camera.
To say nothing about Sleepy Joe and the autopen, Obama's birth certificate and labeling journalists as the enemy of the people. Seems a bit more disrespectful to me than Good's partner suggesting the big boy go have lunch.
How did the extreme double standard become an unbreakable baseline? It predates Trump. I was recently recalling the puerile renaming of French fries to “Freedom Fries” in the Congessional cafeteria by the GOP after France did some unpardonable sin regarding the global war on terror. Imagine a Democrat doing something as stupid as that. I guarantee it wouldn’t be forgotten in the press or be allowed to fade into oblivion like Freedom Fries.
ICE is also racking up their share of sex crimes prosecutions, including abusing children, child porn, rape of a detainee, strangulation and domestic violence.
The foundation of Trumpism is moral relativism and hypocrisy and ethical double standards. The stink starts from the top - and it infects every one of Trump's apologists, who have shown that they really don't care much about various values they claimed to hold dear.
The foundation of Trumpism is rape, in other words.
This!
Are those crimes from before or after they were hired guns for ICE? I think any woman thrown into a car by a group of masked, armed, hyped-up men, probably expects sexual assault to be part of the package.
During deployment with ICE.
Well, that’s 200% predictable. (I’m doing Trump math)
That would be 600% then.
Typical me; aimed too low for this new world of hyperbole!
"When you’re ICE, they’ll let you do it. You can do anything. Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything."
They also need to kill her name in the court of public opinion. Strategically I think it's weird to do that rather than try to paint the shooter as an upstanding/outstanding member of LEO (which he isn't to me). No matter how you slice it, this should not go well for him, but he does have some powerful friends.
Yes, an interesting thought experiment; why aren’t they elevating the ICE agent? As to eliminating her name, it’s almost providential. “Good”. His last name should be “Evil”.
Maybe because he's married to an immigrant from the Philippines.
I think you nailed it. This is the first I’ve heard of that. But they create a different set of “rules” for themselves. 2/3 of Trump’s wives were immigrants, and Melania’s case details seem dodgy. “Ho hum. Nothing to see here. Boys will be boys, etc”
I also don't think they want to draw attention to his actual law enforcement background. which includes being a member of ICE's SWAT team and an advanced weapons trainer. Not explaining his background is one of my real pet peeves about the coverage of this assassination...which I thought it was from day one.
It adds a layer of deliberate strategy to their immediate attack on the victim. Which all came so quickly it had the feel of having been rehearsed. One-size-fits-all. Control the narrative. The media should be wise to this and ready to do the responsible counter-narrative, instead of reflexively countering and defending the victim, which needs to be done at the same time, but not as the sum total of following a designed distraction.
I’m curious where you learned this info.
Maybe it is his middle name.
We can claim it is! The new rules have eliminated facts.
Powerful friends ,like a guy with pardon power? How many active shooters, I mean, active duty, ICErs were pardoned for their totally lawful J6 (some even pled to) federal convictions by the Felon in one of his first sharpie Executive Orders?
Dave - no matter the situation, Trump & his cronies practice the approach that the best defense is to be offensive. Attack first, always. There's never effort to bring people together, to unite, to calm a situation. Any spark or ember is met with gasoline.
I think Sarah nailed this in last week’s Secret Podcast. The character assassination is about othering Renee Good and making her less relatable. The more people that see themselves in her, the harder this is to overcome. Plus it’s just kind of their brand.
Character assassination has always been part of the DJT playbook and always will.
She was no angel. That has been the excuse for law enforcement killing people over the years...usually men though.
But those guys dragging a 17 year old gainfully employed at Target to the ground then dumping him at a Walmart parking lot when his citizenship is proven have halos galore.
Educated women deserve to die. Don't worry, we got the message loud and clear.
And yet here we are, talking smart. Risky behavior.
I’m just glad I donated my reproductive parts to science long ago, in a brave act of medical prevention, not realizing it would also become a political bonus. I never expected The Handmaids Tale to be a cliche.
It is risky. But it's more risky for people like Cathy Young and Sarah Longwell - that's the real courage.
"Othering" - which is essentially creating a class of US citizens and other people in our country who are slightly less than deserving of being here, citizen or otherwise. Follow where that goes. Eventually the "other" class are rationalized to be not really even the same type of human as the "in" class. Essentially a "subhuman" or "not human". Where have we seen this before?
The difference between some historical examples of this and the HUMANS in the US opposed to this administration is that the opposition in the US has weapons, or could fairly easily get weapons. But I really shudder to go down that road as well. This is a really scary situation we are in.
Yes. The “othering” strategy needs to be part of the pieces defending Renee Good.
As to the guns, definitely scary, the imbalance. I’ve seen more than a few content creators on YouTube advising to build a personal arsenal on the left. I personally would prefer to see the economy collapse, as a natural tool of persuasion. Which is why I think national consumer strikes and work strikes are a tool we should be discussing and planning for. But that wouldn’t rule out the need for defense - in fact probably the opposite. We are in trouble.
some very fine people
Has anyone kept a tally of the number of crimes (and killings) committed by J6 insurrectionist since they were pardoned?
That’s what Liz Oyer did.
Just go to the google!
Liz Oyer is a national treasure. She has, if you’ll pardon my being a little crass, more balls than the entire (remaining) DOJ. Watching her daily posts is always enlightening w/regards to the pieces of shit that the current administration pardoned on day one and has looked in the opposite direction on the subject of their subsequent derelictions ever since, as well as others with the financial means to bribe their way into receiving their own pardons for crimes against the people of this country.
It’s fascinating watching the mild mannered Powell be the one to launch this mini rebellion. Just the math nerd who was happy to be in his little policy world. The guy who almost got to the perfect soft landing. We had two incredible Fed Chairs back to back in Yellen and Powell but here comes the bumbling oaf to ruin it all. I’m not going to give Tillis too much credit until I see how the hearings for Powell’s replacement go. And finally, I would love for this investigation to be the reason Powell stays on the Board after his term as Chair is over. Be petty, Jerome!
There is the appearance of some coordinated efforts of the push back which I find encouraging. But the fact that Powell is only 4 months away from being replaced begs the question why this big effort against Powell. It appears to me this is mostly a message to the other voting Fed members. If Trumps efforts to “fire” disobedient Fed members is squashed by SCOTUS, then Trump will sic his DOJ and FBI on anyone that doesn’t vote for lower interest rates.
But, but, the Felon says he had nothing to do with the investigation that Pirro opened all on her lonesome, like all the other sycophants do. Of course, the fact that his lips were moving is a dead give away that he was lying.
Yeah and pigs also fly.
OK, so he has to use AF1 to make that happen....😏
🤣
I worry about what this relentless stress has done to Powell’s health. Physically, he seems to be evaporating before our very eyes. But maybe that’s an illusion when he’s standing next to the corpulent Trump.
No "like" from me, JF, for your choice of adjective; obscenely obese has a better, nicely alliterative, ring, even if it may not be medically accurate.
“Obscenely” goes nicely with any adjective of Trump!
But with the alliterative sound, it just rings in your ears as so-o-o appropriate.
Alliteration has a lot of power, this is true. It makes a short, pithy description bites more memorable. And the modern GOP is much better at that general strategy.
Let’s find a bunch of “O” words to go with “obscenely”. Here goes; obscenely octagonal. Kind of fits . . .
"obtuse" is very close to "obese", whereas "obnoxious", while true, does not get to the "weighty" issue at hand. And "onomatopoetic" is way beyond his capacity of speech, let alone understanding. And what sound would that be, anyway?
DJT has a way of doing that.
So true. I fight an uphill battle every day. Whiskey in the coffee is back.
But Trump himself is looking like death warmed over.
I have the exact reaction on Tillis. He allegedly promised Hegseth’s sister in law ( or ex-sister in law) he wouldn’t be confirmed.
He’s no longer worried about pleasing trump—Thom is not running for reelection.
I was in North Carolina for his 30 minute protest not to close his constituents' hospitals. He'll probably stick his neck out for donors, but he sure folded like a cheap suit for his voters.
I fear he will fold again, judging from past performances.
He has concerns. :(
I'm pretty sure Jerome was content to ride off into the sunset if Trump just left him alone. I suspect Powell is the type of guy who was content to do his policy wonk work toiling in the background, but you've taken his red swingline stapler... and now he's going to burn down the office.
One of my most favorite movies. :)
Notice how Tom Tillis has suddenly sprouted a spine, mainly because he's not running for Senate again. He feels OK speaking out, knowing he can't be primaried, etc. All the more reason to have term limits!
The regime is probably looking into his mortgage history right now, or whether he ever inadvertently took a pencil or paperclip home from the office.
He has "concerns" like Susan Collins.
Cathy Young's contribution to this newsletter was pointless and indicative of just how poorly the pundit class — yes, even The Bulwark — understands how to fight Trump.
Simply stated, STOP NATIONALIZING LOCAL POLITICS.
What the mayor of New York and his commissioners do only matters in other parts of the USA because pundits like Young keep insisting Democrats everywhere have to respond to any Democrat anywhere.
What happens in NYC is irrelevant to what happens in Kansas, Colorado, Texas, or California's Central Valley.
The fact that you insist on claiming that Mamdani's every word or action somehow has to be adopted or repudiated by every Democrat in the USA tells me that you still haven't gotten over the "clickbait" approach to journalism that helped get us into this mess in the first place.
It’s worth noting that the nationalization of local politics is at the root of the current federal action in places like Minneapolis.
Even IF Somalis WERE systematically scamming daycare centers in the Twin Cities, that’s a local issue, not an “invasion” or an “insurrection.” Minnesotans have their own local government to address these problems. The residents of Minneapolis and St. Paul have their own even-more-local government to address these problems. And, honestly, EVEN IF Minneapolitans on the whole WERE TOTALLY COOL with squandering public money on scams run by illegal immigrants, that doesn’t affect me where I live, more than 1,000 miles away.
But millions of folks who live in entirely different time zones are apparently willing to cheer on the death of a 37-year-old mother as if it somehow improves their own lives.
Alex I would be willing to bet that the same level of fraud goes on unnoticed in many other places even in red states.
Cathy’s go to playbook is to pick the most noxious person and characterize an admin’s entire agenda based on that one person’s stance on the world. She’s been doing this for years. Idk, maybe she could talk about how NYC will now be offering free childcare for 2 year olds instead of whatever the fuck this nonsense is.
yes true, but I want to here Cathy’s view because I think it is shared by many people and I don’t sense malevolence on her part.
Well put. Especially that last.
100% agreement with any Bulwark writer's (or commenter's) opinion 100% of the time isn't a requirement of membership here the last time I checked.
Extreme agreement. YOU ARE ONLY HELPING RIGHT WING RAGE MACHINE WHEN YOU DO THIS!
No, when we don't call out wrongdoing on our side, we are ONLY HELPING THE RIGHT WING MACHINE...
Don’t you realize the right-wing media machine exists on creating controversies out of thin air, like a random local official in some city somewhere who made some out-of touch comment? It’s NOT a national matter, but these things gain traction like a snowball rolling downhill when seen and reposted on the Musk machine and the Murdoch machine and on and o
Well said.
In the whirl of clickbait, Mamdani is a star. I appreciated Young's writing (style note: "The terms Democrat and Democratic Party are capitalized. Don’t use the term Democrat Party unless quoting someone. #APStyleChat"), alerting me to Cea Weaver. In these serious times we need far, far more than the resistance pop balms in the neighborhood of MS NOW. As has been perfectly clear for almost a year, the Democrats must win both the House and the Senate this November.
Whenever I hear the use of Democrat party by a Republican, it strikes me as kind of a putdown on the order of deliberately mispronouncing one's name. Like the childish, juvenile practice of DJT.
One hundred percent. I can’t suppose anyone born after 1985 will remember how Republicans hounded Democrats into being afraid to use the word ‘liberal.’
It seems to me, the use of Democrat ( as derogatory) was started around 1990. (the era of Newt Gingrich not coincidently)
Rush Limbaugh actively promoted the phrase "Democrat Party." By the time Limbaugh was essentially the de facto leader of the Republican Party, they all parroted him.
Yes.
I wouldn’t be surprised if they called it the Democratan Party. They really don’t know anything about the Democratic Party.
Yesterday Eric Adams stole a few million dollars. If we want to talk about NYC politics. But somehow nobody wants to talk about THAT.
https://fortune.com/2026/01/13/eric-adams-nyc-token-rugpull-libra-milei-cryptocurrency-liquidity-pool-memecoin/
Cathy Young is not responsible for the nationalization of state and local politics. That ship sailed long before her column.
We are no better than the MAGA crowd when we don't call out things that are wrong on our side. That she said these things at 37 is remarkable. They sound like the kind of dumb things people say when they are in their early 20s. I appreciate Cathy writing about this subject.
Again, well said Paul.
The Bulwark has consistently used anything coming out of NYC remotely negative, like looking into someone’s past online posts who has nothing to do with the majors economic agenda, to point out that yes Mamdanj is a “socialist” and will for sure run the city into the ground.
I love this publication but does this story really deserve an entire section of the newsletter?
Strongly agree. Presumably the mayor has final say, along with the council.
No. It's not Cathy Young's fault. The Republicans are experts at "nationalizing" issues. They will continue to do so as long as it appeals to its base - regardless of how more centrist journalists frame issues. It appears that your understanding of how to "fight Trump" is to continue to try to convince 40% of the country that what is relevant to them is actually irrelevant. The strategy of fighting the opposition by telling them they are mistaken, or stupid has been tried and has failed. The comment that what a communist mayor does in the largest city in the country "only matters" because pundits insist that Dems respond ignores the fact that nearly 90% of Americans view communism unfavorably. It's also interesting that the % of Americans who view communism favorably is approximately the same % of Americans who self-identify as progressive. Just a big enough percentage to lose elections.
A communist mayor! Meanwhile Trump is seizing the means of production.
Another Egger gem: "All this is coming at a pivotal moment, when some congressional Republicans—one year into Trump 2.0—are starting to reconsider the question of whether their bodies contain spines."
I’m hoping “spines” are contagious. Let’s ask Darwin.
Though the question is for how long and how hard will they consider the proposition.
"Serpentine, serpentine"!
Great phrase.
The Bulwark should never let the sun set on a day in which the Epstein files go unmentioned.
Might I suggest that every Morning Shots spare at least one sentence for the Epstein files, even if that sentence is "No new Epstein documents have been released since month/day/year."
The Trump administration has figured out that if it doesn't release any new documents, the media will just stop talking about it. After all, the news is about what's new, and if there's nothing new, well...
Better yet, count the days no new files have been released just like Walter Cronkite would say __ days of the Iranian hostage crises.
I think they've calculated that releasing Epstein files at the same rate the resistance is growing works in their favor.
It's proof that Trump will never listen to the courts, Supreme included. And that's important.
I thank Ms. Young for sharing the overview of Cea Weaver's words and philosophies. And clearly there are holes in her doughnut when it comes to workable policies, especially economically. (Google "German hyperinflation 1920s" if you are unaware of what happens when a government resorts to printing more money as a means of covering costs and paying bills.) But an intellectually honest discussion of the issues requires us to move past the low-hanging fruit of name-calling and labeling ("Communist!") and undertake a deeper dive into why some of her words gain traction now, especially with younger generations that feel like we older folks have screwed them and their future with our "gotta get mine" and "greed is good" approach over the past several decades. As we've taken beyond our fair share and created our culture of comfort, what have we left for them?
Many of those now coming into adulthood are moving toward different outlooks on economics, politics, and fundamental life orientation (increasingly unwilling to bring children into a world that seems hopeless to them). The issue is why. What have we done to make their lives and prospective futures better, such that things like communism and white male resentment would or should not gain traction when so many doors to advancement are slamming in their faces?
If my talks with young people are any indicator, they do not accept the world view of previous generations because it no longer works for them -- not ideologically so much as how we've gamed the system for our own benefit and left them to clean up the mess someday. I can't blame them for their anger and resentment about it. If we want for them to have a better, more positive outlook, we have to give them the same tools and opportunities to succeed that we largely took for granted for decades. Otherwise the better question than why they think the way that they do becomes what we did to cause that in the first place. It is an uncomfortable, but necessary, discussion to have if we are interested in truth more than placing labels upon their pessimism and discontent.
We really have truly and thoroughly screwed future generations. Massive college debt, disappearing entry-level white collar jobs, and a poisoned planet, and a failed political process that has allowed it all to happen because of selfish and myopic voters who convinced themselves that short term thinking would work out just fine for their kids. I would be pissed if I were them.
Exactly. I hear so much of this as I talk with my students informally, or more often hear what they are saying amongst each other. Sometimes I am amazed that they are not more angry than they already are, as they increasingly figure out just how hard we have made it for them to simply survive for the next fifty years or more with even a decent prospect of a good quality of life.
Yep. They've bypassed rage and gone straight into resignation.
This is true. Young people, currently, have a completely different view of how their jobs/professions fit into their lives. They largely refuse to allow their employers access to their personal time, space, etc. I assumed it was the realization of the need for a healthier approach to work/life balance. A positive. After reading these comments, it may be their way of expressing their recognition of and anger towards a system that has made their futures less hopeful (Hopeless?). Interesting. Maybe they are not "soft".
I remember my parents voting against school taxes when I was a kid. Most voters didn't think it would work out fine for their kids. Or, to be more accurate, most voters thought if they were selfish, they could pass money onto their kids by withholding it from society.
All good points, though I would argue the German period of hyperinflation was more than merely printing money: it represented a serious deficit between available real resources and demand for said resources combined with poor monetary policy.
You are right. I chose to simplify the issue for time and space reasons. A deeper dive and analysis (e.g. the role of the Treaty of Versailles) is fascinating, and instructive about how profoundly such decisions can impact the future, and for so many people.
While Trump apologists have thrown away so many values they once claimed to hold dear, there are two they cling tightly to: "We know the difference between a man and a woman," and "We accept natural inequalities and admire those at the top, while Democrats are resentful and they try to erase all inequalities."
Much can be said about how attempts to engineer perfect equality have led to mass immiseration and cruel oppression. But many people on the right are much too comfortable with a system where people who already have advantages - sometimes by inheritance - are able to buy the influence to solidify and increase their advantage. That's quite obvious in and around the Trump administration, starting with the Trump family. And it is not "natural" inequality, as in "some people are more talented and work harder, so of course they rise higher, and resenting them for it is sinful." It's more "law of the jungle," where the ruthless and amoral climb the highest.
Even apart from self-serving use of power, there's no strict correlation between talent and hard work, on the one hand, and financial reward. Other factors are involved, such as the labor-intensity of what one is talented at, the market demand for what one produces (which may be unpredictable), etc. We might say that people who care for the elderly and infirm are doing valuable work for society, but does their pay reflect a high value? Of course, many people value the moral rewards of what they do or get some other personal satisfaction from it.
Awhile back, I learned about David Esterly, who became reputed as the best woodcarver in the world since Grinling Gibbons (active c. 1700) - but he could not make a living by his woodcarving. A middling pro athlete can earn a lot more. The easy answer is: "He should find some other way to support himself," which he did. But the story illustrates the fallacy of the notion that there's a deeply moral force determining who rises high in our society and who does not.
Well stated -- thanks for the additional perspective.
Another thing: from time to time, I've learned that a truly great classical composer ended up in poverty after making singular and lasting contributions to our culture.
I would add that I suspect there is a growing cohort of older people who thought they had planned for retirement and are now finding out it isn’t going to be as comfortable as they believed. This is plutocracy.
I needed help understanding what American 'Activist Groups' were and this is what I found: Domestic activist groups advocate for various social issues, ranging from ending violence (like NNEDV, NCADV, Peace Over Violence) to workers' rights (like the National Domestic Workers Alliance) and civil liberties (like the ACLU). Key players include national networks like the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV), advocacy coalitions like the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV), and specialized organizations such as the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence (NRCDV) and Alliance for HOPE International, all working through policy, education, direct services, and community organizing. " Is this supposed to be a bad thing? But this administration is ok with the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, Neo Nazis, Klan types?
If your church has a clothing or food collection for immigrant neighbors, it’s probably on the list
Don't forget 'Indivisible' and 'MoveOn'. Those are probably what this Admin has in mind.
Well remember that Sarah Palin sneered the Obama was a community organizer. The GOP hates when the downtrodden fight back.
I just sent a donation to my local Indivisible yesterday. An act of bravery even without holding a sign on a march.
Pretty sure they mean Antifa. They offered a citizen who was detained money or freedom for undocumented family members in exchange for info on organizers.
Aww the little twinkies in silicon valley who so lovingly kissed Trump's patootie are saying they think, maybe, possibly, anti immigration policy might be a little harsh. So bold.
Those guys can fuck all the way off.
They are such a bunch of weenies. However I am taking this as maybe a change in wind for Trump support
True. I'll take., but they're still weenies.
Wow, Ceva Weaver sounds like a nut, all right. HOWEVER - I can rattle off a dozen equally nutty (or more so!) House Republicans (and they're in Congress! with a lot more power). To me, the party of crazies is still, hands down, the GOP. Not even a close call at all.
Her approach to economics made her sound like Trump. Who is a nut.
Whatever it is we can just print money.
Her name is Cea (just in case you want to fix that)...
Pointed out by another Bulwarker yesterday:
Renee Good's last words "I'm not mad at you"
ICE shooter's words after shooting here "Fu**ing Bitch"
As a Christian, this is as black and white as it gets. Who's side are you on? The person who is following Christ's example of loving one's neighbor, no matter their transgressions, or the person who is full of unrepentent hate and anger?
NB: Ross the Boss said "fu**ing bitch." This should categorically not be conflated with inexperienced and ill-trained, as is true of new recruits.
Stephen Miller: "We live in a world, in the real world… that is governed by strength, that is governed by force, that is governed by power. These are the iron laws of the world."
Jesus: "The rulers of the gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. It will not be so among you but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant."
I would interpret the reaction of the markets yesterday to the Powell story as an overwhelming bet on Powell winning this fight. Green shoots , , , ,
The equity markets rose yesterday in the US. I had a lengthy post on this yesterday. The markets are not going to save us from Trump. We need to do it.
Edit: I looked back at the post from yesterday, and I realize it probably comes across as "this guy is an obnoxious, braggart, attorney and investor". Probably true, but I'm going to link it in case you want to read in detail why the markets are not going to save us from Trump. Note the part that talks about the surprisingly positive performance of the equity markets in Germany during NAZI rule. Draw your own conclusions, as always.
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/the-law-is-fake-and-gay/comment/198860399
Lewis - hopeful thought! Could also be as simple as JVL said Sunday night: a lot of the market knows how to benefit from low interest rates & sees this as pressure for that. Sure, there’s longer term terrible potential, but that’s not this quarter!
Take your point on the long term/short term dynamic. But the hamfistedness of this Trump/Pirro move is understood by everybody and there seems to be nobody defending it as an on-the-level action. I think the score is already 35-0, Powell. (Not sure how much time is left on the clock though.)
Team Powell had been playing flag football till this weekend... switching to rugby seems wise 😉
The markets seem immune to all this chaos. It’s almost as if there’s an inverse relationship between the numbers and human suffering.
I find this "immunity" strangely weird. I can't figure out why it is behaving like this other than they consider this the new norm ??
Well, since SCOTUS declared the president has immunity for all presidential acts, and all these fellas in fatigues and masks carrying guns and throwing people on the pavement are doing so at the president's direction, JD and his ilk think that qualifies. While anyone else telling one of them to go get lunch clearly is not.
I am less confident on that assessment of the markets, but believe they are betting they won’t loose money either way at least in the short term.
I am not sophisticated on what the Titans of Wall Street want, but I suspect that part of what they want is predictability. They know Powell; perhaps they understand him. And unlike a real estate developer whose whole business can be dependent on low interest rates, both to develop property and to sell it, a lot of big business is not so dependent on and addicted to virtually zero rates.
Agreed, but I think TACO played a bigger role! The markers were seesawing in the first few months, now they’ve become accustomed to his threats and hyperbolic invective.
Not that it matters, the equity markets are lagging indicators, and the reason they’ve accurately predicted the last eight of last nine recessions. /s….:)
I think JVL has it right - the market is run by algorithms programmed to prefer ZIRP over everything else because tech stocks are overvalued in the market, and they need cash infusions from venture capitol.
Thank you for this 'shot in the arm' of courage. I have reason to believe that ICE will be coming soon to my small, upstate town, and lately I have felt enveloped in a fog of fear that any action my group takes will end in death for at least some of us. I feel I need all the courage I can get at this point.....
Vote these vulnerable Republicans out of office on Nov. 3, 2026:
NC: OPEN, IA:OPEN, OH: John Husted, AL: Dan Sullivan, TX: John Cornyn, ME: Susan Collins.
Cornyn may very well lose his primary. Texas primaries are in 49 days and Trump has still not endorsed him. Watch this space.
Do you think this will help a Democrat candidate in Texas in November? I'm asking seriously. Isn't Texas like Florida, where only Republicans win statewide?
I do think it would be easier to beat AG Ken Paxton in a general election, b/c he's blatantly corrupt and was impeached by the GOP house (but acquitted by the GOP senate) for it. Paxton is also just a slime ball, whose wife (a state senator) recently divorced him for "Biblical reasons."
I've also adopted Sarah Longwell's philosophy that it's better for Republicans to elect MAGA die-hards than normie Republicans, because they vote the same anyway, and normalizing MAGA is detrimental to the health of our Democracy.
Well, you know, Sarah is right! A vote to approve a bad thing in the Senate counts the same whether it comes from a quiet wallflower or a raging nutjob
"Senior executives at major tech companies including Meta, Google, Amazon, OpenAI, TikTok, Spotify, and Salesforce have been circulating a letter this week calling on their companies to break ties with the White House’s immigration enforcement."
How are all of these companies implicated in this administration's Brown Shirts? And if a humble citizen such as myself wanted to send all of them a message by refusing to use their products, how could I possibly boycott them all, short of shacking up in a cave or a monastic cell? I don't even think the Amish are so retro that they use none of these companies' products. What a disgrace that so many of the wealthiest, most ubiquitous, and most powerful companies have aligned themselves with evil.
We can’t stop using everything,
But we can absolutely limit what we use. First up - stop using Amazon for purchases! I used to spend 5 figures a year at Amazon - no more.
Yeah, we try to do what we can. With these companies, though, it's not just the name you see, Amazon. They're so diffuse throughout the economy that it's also Whole Foods, the Washington Post, your e-reader. With a company like Google, you practically can't even use the internet without running through Google. And how the hell is Spotify aligning with these goons? What are you doing Spotify?
At least Spotify has ceased running ICE recruitment ads. It’s a start.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jan/09/spotify-no-longer-running-ice-recruitment-ads-after-us-government-campaign-ends
I read Spotify only stopped because the contract ended.
I buy local. I only use Amazon if I can't find what I need (even at a higher price) locally. Even then, I will only purchase from Amazon if I absolutely need that item.
I've worked with and know a lot of seasoned FBI special agents and analysts. I have to believe that they know full well that investigating Renee Good's "radical connections" is total bunk and causes further damage to whatever shreds remain of the Bureau's reputation under Patel.
Cathy Young's article today, "Left-Wing Baggage in New York," which attacks the far left, particularly Cea Weaver, SO misses the mark of this country's political situation and tinderbox moment. Tone deaf! In a time when the Vice President of America JUST attacked a murder victim for being a "left-wing lunatic" immediately after she was shot in the face point blank by an ICE agent after saying to him, "I'm not mad at you, dude"? When the regime mouths off that she's a "terrorist" before the facts are even in?
To write an article nitpicking the Mamdani administration, sprinkling it with all of these pearl-clutching "normie" doubts before it's even off the ground? And vilifying his appointee, who in her youthful idealism posted some less-than-ideal ideas? When we've got young Republicans in group chats fawning over Nazis? When Donald Trump smears Rob Reiner after he and his wife are stabbed to death by his son, by saying he was "very bad for our country" and a "deranged person"?
Please, think about the moment we are in before banging the anti-far-left drum!
If the Democratic Tent is going to be policed like this, we are lost. This regime's authoritarian foothold will be cemented for decades. We have GOT to come together and unite around the tenets of democracy. We can debate old posts in a safer time. Or maybe not at all!
(BTW, as far as I can see, our "lefty" politicians are mostly the ones standing up to Donald and his sycophants. They are the ones fighting. While the centrists play dead. And also, "collectivism" is not a bad word.)
You are mixing issues. No reasonable person would look at what happened in MN as a defensible act. Tell me how the math works if we all drift toward the policies and philosophy of a splinter of the electorate? How would you police the Democratic Tent?