It's always interesting when someone whose politics you think you know supports something unexpected: the NRA member who opposes capital punishment, the socialist who favours free trade, the pro-life feminist. How often are beliefs only found in a set because of a historical coalition, not any deeper principle? Do you hold any beliefs at variance with your political in-group?
@mpjgregoire I think I lean conservative and in US often sided with republicans. But I am pro choice, and being an immigrant, don't consider immigration as the root of all evil. Trump arrival made supporting republicans impossible...
“[Ford said] ".. On its world, the people are people. The leaders are lizards. The people hate the lizards and the lizards rule the people."
"Odd," said Arthur. "I thought you said it was a democracy."
"I did," said Ford. "It is."
"So," said Arthur, hoping he wasn't sounding ridiculously obtuse, "why don't the people get rid of the lizards?"
Please understand that it's only a matter of time before what is happening today in Johannesburg—the collapse of their water system—happens where you live. When, not if.
If you're living in a democracy, every election is the opportunity to choose between the people who are trying to do the right thing but not doing enough, and the people who are trying to extract as much wealth as possible before everybody dies. The choice seems pretty obvious. 🤷 #politics https://apnews.com/article/south-africa-johannesburg-water-crisis-weather-fa8c921c6a063a31aec37e05864d61fb
So who are the corporations and billionaires funding the American far right?
A lot of the discourse around the US far right, on both the left and the right, has presented it as being essentially a working class movement.
White working class Southerners (perhaps with some manipulation from Russia) advocating for their prejudiced world view, the narrative goes.
But what if that's not the situation? What if the rise of the far right has been funded with millions of dollars from extremely wealthy individuals?
Where are the resources coming from?
You probably already know about Rupert Murdoch with Fox News and Elon at Twitter, but there's a few others...
"Two billionaire Texas brothers whose fortunes derive from oil and gas fracking have pumped millions of dollars into rightwing media outfits that have promoted climate-crisis denialism.
...
"Farris and Dan Wilks have each doled out millions of dollars through separate foundations over the last decade to a number of high-profile conservative and religious groups including the Heritage Foundation, Family Research Council and Focus on the Family.
"The Wilks brothers, for instance, have poured millions of dollars into PragerU and the Daily Wire
...
"In 2015, Farris Wilks gave $4.7m to help launch the Daily Wire and remains an owner of the media company, whose founding editor and co-owner Ben Shapiro has forged ties with Dennis Prager, the PragerU founder and talkshow host. Shapiro and Prager are slated to attend a PragerU “founders’ retreat” in September for donors who give at least $100,000 a year."
"[One America News] founder and chief executive Robert Herring Sr has testified that the inspiration to launch OAN in 2013 came from AT&T executives.
"AT&T has been a crucial source of funds flowing into OAN, providing tens of millions of dollars in revenue, court records show. Ninety percent of OAN’s revenue came from a contract with AT&T-owned television platforms ... according to 2020 sworn testimony by an OAN accountant."
"[Robert] Mercer is a Christian conservative, gun enthusiast, a climate change denier, religious, small-government proponent and a man who despises the political establishment as incompetent and corrupt. He has donated over $100 million (€84 million) to various right-wing candidates and think-tanks. Most of that money has gone through the Mercer Family Foundation, run by Robert Mercer's daughter Rebekah.
"The Mercers hold a major stake in a company called Cambridge Analytica, which uses digital data to tailor election propaganda to voters.
"The Mercers first met Andrew Breitbart, the founder of what is now Breitbart News Network in 2011 ... The Mercers also invested $10 million in Breitbart and gained a large stake in the nascent company."
#politics#trump#fascism#BlackMastodon#BlackTwitter@blackmastodon
Can you participate in a thought experiment with me? The posts warning about fascism are good, but I'm wondering what you think fascism actually looks like. Give a thought, and list what it looks like. Don't just say "the end of democracy." List what the concrete changes will be and make it local. "In my town/city/county/state the following will happen......" Think about it before replying. Not just for #BlackMastodon .
@fulanigirl
I come from a fascistic state. I can tell you exactly what it looks like. Everybody's terrified. All of the time. Some are terrified of the government, but most are terrified because of government propaganda. Every person who's strange in any way is a threat to be eliminated. Violence is everywhere bubbling just under the surface. Everywhere are calls for unity. You keep your divisive thoughts to yourself. You become a jumble of secrets >> @blackmastodon
@fulanigirl
You try not to talk to them at all. Who knows what side anyone is on. Every day is the same. Every person is the same. Except when the war (there's always a war) gets really bad, or comes too close, and then the fear, the hatred, the violence is even closer to the surface, and you hide yourself even deeper.
You think you should be brave and fight for your freedom, but you're alone, with no one to trust, and no one you can open up to.
Trump will soon be homeless, penniless, friendless, lawyer less, and STILL facing 4 criminal trials for 91 indictments, 2 of which he's going up against the super-prosecutor Jack Smith, and in Georgia everyone's already flipped on him, including his own lawyers.
Yet people keep thinking he's gonna be the republican nominee? Don't worry about trump, worry about who the nominee is actually going to be
So, the former president of the United States is calling on states to take up arms to support Texas in its standoff against the federal government. That’s about as close to calling for civil war as you’re going to get without actually saying the words.
This is a situation that could spiral out of control in a heartbeat. I would not assume it’s just bluster. #politics#texas#trump#immigration
The Venn diagram of people saying Trump should be allowed to do whatever he wants if he's president, and the people who wanted to impeach Obama for being Black in public is a perfect circle.
"We are, all of us, engaged every day in the construction of a moral order: by our accumulated individual examples, the words we use, the acts we condone, we can make it one that encourages decency and compassion towards others, or the reverse. This is particularly true of those in positions of leadership, political or other."
if you voted for Trump, you are forever cut off from the Blessings of Liberty.. you are not, and never will be fellow citizens of mine.. i will not defend any of you or your offspring from even the most basic harm.. you are enemies living among us for the rest of your lives..
all Trump voters expect a pass for being stupid.. you all expect a fucking Excuse Me card at the end of the day, for being fucking stupid enough to vote for that piece of shit.. and you only voted for him because he's a piece of shit just like you, so fuck all of you.. every last Goddamned one of you..