The GOP theory of mind on this has been quite something to behold, they seem to assume (tbh like a lot of American elites) that Dems are in power and control the government even when it's them that has the trifecta

This is interesting because it speaks to something I've been noticing for a while, that the broader centre left is increasingly becoming the genuinely 'conservative' faction of society, in the sense of wanting to preserve and protect the gains made by the struggles of previous generations

Montaigne, Spinoza, and the Buddha are probably my top three thinkers in terms of my general ethical and moral outlook. Closely followed by Sir Terry Pratchett

Who could have seen this coming?!

A lot of the blooming here is because the results yesterday confirmed that material politics and outcomes actually still *do* matter, and algo-slop and AI haven't cooked the info environment beyond repair for progressive politics in the US, as many feared after 'Nov 2024.

"Today, I feel...orange"

A large part of the MAGA voter base are dudes who watched The Sopranos and thought Tony was le based alpha male and ignored everything else

The slanders circulating about Mamdani Sr online are really something, he has been accused of being a radical Islamist (for no reason other than his name) but also of being an apologist for Idi Amin (!!!!!)

Weirdly my stances on Pakistan and Israel are almost the same; both states should never have been created in the first place and it was a disaster for their regions as a whole that they were, but now there is no way to undo either's existence without even worse suffering and bloodshed

40 years ago the people saying this would be unapologetically stanning for the worst kinds of jihadist as defenders of God and Country against the godless Red Hordes

This is just a common Hindutva talking point of tarring liberal/progressive Hindus of being Pakistani/Muslim sympathisers

Tbh historically anarchist/syndicalist strains of thought were always much stronger in the US Left than in much of Northern Europe, or in other Anglo societies as opposed to orthodox Marxism and trade unionism. The US is more like Southern Europe in this regard!

Interesting takeaway is that there was a timeline where the GOP could have stitched up a coalition of social conservatives of all races and locked Dems out of power for a long time, but opted to sacrifice this at the altar of white nationalism

After the revolution, there will be committees and spreadsheets

There's a general faith around the world in the omnipotence of perception management/PR/propaganda, but studying it shows there are hard limits on what it can achieve. Propaganda narratives need at least some tether to on the ground reality to actually work

The basic fact is the average person who doesn't know any trans people really doesn't devote much time to thinking about it and thinks you're weird for constantly bringing it up

How the turns table...

To riff on @lastpositivist.bsky.social's post, it's because a large portion of online leftists aesthetically prefer sexy murder poets and despise pleasant bureaucrats, and much of their politics takes are ways to justify this preference

This is the Dien Bien Phu of Trumpism. It's not the end, but it's the turning point.

Lmao according to ISIS Twelver Shias are worse than Jews or Christians

I'm 90% sure Trump was in attendance at least one of his parties

Every Cold War spying case is like: UK: He was recruited to MI6 from Oxford, where he was founder and president of the Friends of Stalin chapter. He was assigned to the Moscow desk for 20 years. US: His 4th Bugatti that he paid for in cash on a civil servant's salary stated to arouse suspicion.

"Neocons love to quote Churchill and warn against the dangers of appeasement. Well, I have a Churchill quote for them: “You were given the choice between war and dishonor. You chose dishonor, and you will have war"

Man this passage is brutal

Fundamental to understanding reactionary thought is that it does not care about the welfare of human beings here and now, only that humans conform to the metaphysical True Order. The mistake liberals and progressives make is assuming they are starting from the same premises as we are.

Interesting dynamic we're seeing play out is that legacy media elites seem to be doubling down in running cover for the Trump Administration as popular opinion runs the other way. Surprisingly this creates an opportunity. 'MSM' is universally hated, attacking it was big winning strat for Trump I.

It's really stupid but imo the big vibe shift this year against the Trump Admin came after the Charlie Kirk shooting and their overreach against Jimmy Kimmel.

Admittedly Quinnipiac aside, most polls at this time in Biden's presidency showed him hovering in the mid-40s for approval. There's a lot further to fall for DT.

Such a cool concept, Troika really cranked out these flawed masterpieces

Another way to put it is they hate the actually existing country and its people, but they love the version of it they picked up from Twitter posts on 1950s commercials

One consequence of this might be rapid cutbacks of internship programmes which can make it even harder for young graduates etc to get a start

All downstream of the fact that their way of staying in touch public opinion is likes and retweets from BasedGroyper88 and HyperboreanAscendant on X, the Everything App

There's a divide in right-wing politics between those who hate the poor (of all races) and those who just hate ethnic minorities

also incorrect. oppenheimer is the most universal story in all of discourse, the relatable feeling of being leftist enough that you get persecuted about it by the government, but not leftist enough to get laid without having to apologize for being a lib

on one hand, the next year of legislation (if they kill the filibuster) is going to be batshit insane on the other, it's likely going to cause a much larger thermostatic backlash given the changes they want to make

It is funny how this has meant that Hindutva Twitter which saw Vance as a friend (due largely to his wife) is now demanding that unsayable things be done to him

People say the Democrats were/are too beholden to the couple dozen angriest activists on Twitter in the pre-Elon days, the GOP has fallen into a similar trap with a bunch of angry Nazis on the Muskified app

Yep and this is partly why the UAE is backing them, MBZ's loathing of Islamists is a huge factor driving their foreign policy

Imo the issue, beyond just WOTR and can be seen in other media publications is that the editors think 2024 shows that MAGA crankery is legitimate public opinion and must be heard out. It's not the same as 'they've gone MAGA' but you are likely to see arguments that don't deserve charity getting it.

I reckon an underappreciated reason for why online has become such a wretched place is the fact there are a lot of specific spaces for kids and teens have disappeared, which has made being online worse for both themselves and adults.

Timeline where Germany has a Marxist revolution and still ends up going to war with the Soviet Union for leftist sectarian reasons

This can only end in the complete annihilation of the Republican Party and the Christian nationalist project. The questions are 1)How long will it take? 2) Will they burn down the whole United States with them as they go?

It's kinda funny to me how so many people don't get something as simple as 'geographic proximity usually means greater cultural similarities in terms of food, music etc'

The pomo rejection of universalism opened the door for outright reactionary thought to come back, and it has no way of fighting it besides saying 'we are good and this is bad'.

Imo the whole point of Fight Club would have come across better if Tyler Durden was played by Steve Buscemi instead of Brad Pitt

One reason social media propaganda is more insidious than TV/print/radio etc is that people are not just passive consumers of it, but actively participate in creating it. This makes people more reluctant to let go of narratives even with evidence, because of the nature of the investment .

I kinda feel a lot of commentators continue to miss how completely the propaganda narratives have consumed the GOP at this point. This isn't 2013 when its just red meat for the rubes, they all *believe* this shit.

KIM KITSURAGI - “You need to get your shit together.” YOU - “But I don't wanna get my shit together!” KIM KITSURAGI - “Then the world will turn away from you, and leave you behind.”

All governments need popular legitimacy with at least enough of their populations. A government which only uses sticks and no carrots for anyone has never existed

Trump winds down trade war: My index fund investments go up. Trump keeps the trade war going: People get mad and turn on him. Either way, I get a win.