The NYT reports Trump plans to vastly expand his personal power as American dictator — oh, sorry, “unitary president” according to some of his think-tank toadies — by firing anyone in the government who doesn’t follow orders and exerting personal control over most of the executive branch agencies. His toadies and loyalists insist this will create a more constitutional executive branch, but they’re lying. What it will create is a Justice Department that targets Trump’s enemies, an FCC that doesn’t let the media push back against Republican lies but censors anyone who questions them.
I take the subtext as their confidence that if Trump gets that kind of power, he’ll be president as long as he wants, then other Republicans will step in. Because they’d scream like hell at the thought of any liberal having that kind of power.
And let’s not forget Trump loves that China’s current dictator “runs 1.4 billion people with an iron fist.”
For another example we have Tennessee, where Republicans hold a nigh-unbreakable grip on power and they’re still pissed off that liberals exist. It’s not enough that liberals have no power at state level — Republicans don’t even want them speaking up. No surprise: as Vaclav Havel once said, people who think they have the One True Path can’t stand dissent.
For another example, Texas A&M just fired a prominent professor for criticizing Lt. Governor Dan Patrick. The student who filed the complaint is the daughter of one of Patrick’s allies. I look forward to all those conservatives rising up to condemn this example of cancel culture … oh, who am I kidding?
Mississippi’s attorney general is outraged the Biden White House wants to restrict his access to private medical information: his duties of office require him to know about state residents who get out-of-state abortions or gender-affirming care, dammit! But it’s totally not like he’s going to persecute anyone!
Florida Republicans want to ban the covid vaccine. Florida federal Rep Matt Gaetz wants to introduce legislation guaranteeing students’ right to pray — which they already have, legally. Oklahoma’s education chief wants a Bible in every school.
North Carolina Republicans are very keen on the heckler’s veto in schools, making sure pissed-off parents find it easier to retaliate if they don’t like what schools teach their kids and make it easier to fire school superintendents who cross the “parental rights” line.
“Gerard Kleinsmith says he hates the idea of censorship” but he’s lying: he’d sooner shut down the city library than have it include books about trans people. Bonus points that the city officials so concerned about protecting kids are all conservative Catholics, part of an organization responsible for covering up a massive grooming scandal. Related: a piece about Book bans and anti-bans. Speaking of which, Mississippi’s book-banning law will cut off kids and teens’ access to ebooks. In Arkansas a legislator wants to cut off funding to any library affiliated with the American Library Association.
“There are more trans bans than trans athletes.”
Some Republicans think the solution to mass shootings is for the media to stop covering them.
I don’t think there are more drag bans than drag queens but banning public drag performance is still wrong. Just the old tactic of screaming that whatever you don’t like=obscenity.
Florida Atlantic University is asking candidates for its new president if they’re queer.
Right-wing pundit/organizer Charlie Kirk complains the left hates manly men. Much like Matt Walsh insisting women crave alpha male heroes, it’s hard not to notice that Kirk does not live up to his own masculine standard.
Tommy Tuberville has grumbled about wokeness but he’s fine with white nationalism.
In Nevada, Republicans are suing against a law that protects election workers from harassment.
I’ve mentioned before that right-to-lifers lie a lot. Including the claim they don’t want women punished for getting abortions.
One writer suggests Republicans would love to reinstitute slavery. I wish I could say “that’s ridiculous!”
And as Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy demonstrates, no matter how bad they get, they’ll explain it’s liberals fault for provoking them “Everyone in this country has to take a long, hard look in the mirror and ask ourselves what role each of us played in getting to [Jan. 6]” Murc’s law forced their hand!
