Showing posts with label Conservatism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Conservatism. Show all posts

Monday, April 28, 2025

DOGE Attacks Federal Workers: The Truth About Them



"Sen. Joni Ernst, Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy, and other politicians have continued to make incorrect statements about the federal workforce. Their statements have eroded their own credibility and are just an attempt at tarnishing the reputations of civil servants to make it easier to fire them and contract out their jobs to for-profit corporations.

"We believe that facts matter, and AFGE will continue to debunk these misconceptions as they come in."

Click on the link below for a debunking of the false claims about Federal Workers:

AFGE Continues to Debunk Misconceptions About Federal Workers



Thursday, April 17, 2025

The Manosphere: A Major Problem For The USA

"The 'manosphere' is made up of macho podcasters and influencers, a space where UFC fighters are among those who reign supreme, like Jake Shields. CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan sits down with Shields and also speaks with independent journalist Vera Papisova as part of "MisinfoNation: Extreme America," airing Sunday, April 13 at 8pm ET/PT on 'The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper.'"


Click here for a 7-minute video exposing a dangerous segment of US society that is at the center of the White Supremacy movement, and thus, the Republican Party.

Wednesday, April 16, 2025

Immigration Myths Debunked

Click here for an extensive debunking of essentially all of the negative myths and stereotypes involving immigration to the USA:

  • 1. Immigrants commit more crimes than native citizens.
  • 2. Immigrants raise the crime rates where they settle.
  • 3. Undocumented immigrants freeload all kinds of social services.
  • 4. Undocumented immigrants pay no taxes.
  • 5. Immigrant laborers drive wages down, harming native citizens.
  • 6. There is an unprecedented invasion at the southern border, constituting a national emergency.
  • 7. Immigrants bring fentanyl into the US from Mexico.
  • 8. Immigrants take good jobs from native citizens.
  • 9. It's easy to get citizenship legally, there's no reason they can't do that.
  • 10. The US has long had an open border policy which has been economically disastrous.


Saturday, April 12, 2025

The Person Who Knows It All Knows Nothing

The saying "the person who knows it all knows nothing" highlights a paradox: someone who believes they know everything is likely unaware of their limitations and the vastness of unknown knowledge. It suggests that true wisdom lies in acknowledging the limits of one's knowledge and remaining open to learning. This idea is often associated with Socrates' famous statement, "I know that I know nothing".
-AI Overview

Click on the link below for the best expose (in his own words!) about the present POTUS you will ever see:

Wall Street Just WENT OFF ON TRUMP With Alarming Warnings!

Monday, April 7, 2025

A Troubling Trend In The USA

"Young men are turning to conservatism—in politics and in Christianity

"They didn’t see this coming. Liberals in America are scratching their heads trying to explain what happened in November’s election and the closer they look, the stranger it seems. There was a decided shift to the right among young men in America, crossing ethnic lines and shocking the political class. They shouldn’t have been shocked.

"The evidence was there all along and the pattern has been growing year by year. Looking for young men? Go visit a MAGA rally or drop in at your local conservative church. And these young men are young—some of them still teenagers. They showed up in droves at Trump rallies. The events drew thousands of college fraternity brothers dressed in blazers and, more visibly, an army of young men wearing red, white, and blue and sporting MAGA baseball caps. The young male vote is an increasingly conservative vote, perplexing many liberal parents.

"The New York Times has noticed the trend. A recent headline in the nation’s newspaper of record made that clear: “When Your Son Goes MAGA.” The paper then explained that a good number of liberal parents struggle to understand their own young sons. “As more young men support President Trump, some parents are feeling flummoxed.” They seem to be shocked that their young male offspring are increasingly committed to conservative ideas and gathering in conservative spaces.

"As reporter Callie Holtermann rightly notes, children often follow their parents when it comes to political loyalties. In recent times, however, many conservative sons are breaking with the politics of their liberal parents. One liberal mom had to undergo “tearful therapy sessions” to deal with her own sense of parental failure. “I’ve had to do a lot of soul-searching and reading about it to not feel like I’ve failed as a mom,” she said.

"And it’s not just politics. For the first time in living memory, young men are more likely than young women to attend church. A few months ago, another New York Times report by Ruth Graham set the trend clearly: “For the first time in modern American history, young men are now more religious than their female peers. They attend services more often and are more likely to identify as religious.” Today’s young women tend to be more liberal and more secular than young men.

"What’s going on here? Ruth Graham noted something really significant: “Childless young men are likelier than childless young women to say they want to become parents someday, by a margin of 12 percentage points, according to a survey last year by Pew.” They want to be husbands, they want to be fathers, they want to work, they want to go to church, they want to commit themselves to a bold theology, they want to fulfill a courageous male role and they want to reinforce each other as brothers. They also want father figures they can trust, admire, and emulate. They want respect and they will give respect. The larger society, driven by woke ideologies and pervaded by politicized emotionalism, offers them no encouragement. Liberal churches and female preachers draw virtually none of these young men, who, even if many are not yet well grounded in Scripture and natural law, know that the world around them is often upside-down. They see the culture around them as weirdly confused. These young men are not confused.

"They can tell the difference between a boy and a girl and are thoroughly certain about the matter. They don’t hang on every word President Trump says, but they are drawn to his energy and straight talk. They also feel that Trump’s enemies are often their enemies as well. They like the male affirmation that comes in conservative spaces (and increasingly only in conservative spaces) and they are earnestly seeking young women who are as unconfused as they are. They enjoy being male and hunger to be taken seriously.

"Looking for young men today? Don’t go to a liberal church or seminary—they aren’t there. They are far more likely to be in a conservative school, a college, or seminary devoted to the faith once for all delivered to the saints, and in a conservative church. A photo published by the Times alongside the Ruth Graham article showed a worship service with rows of young men up front. It’s not an accident. They are drawn to bold faith and biblical teaching. They hunger for truth, and someone better deliver it to them. A researcher cited in the Times article said that Christianity is seen as “the one institution that isn’t initially and formally skeptical of them as a class.” That rings true, for sure.

"At my advanced age, I am well past being confused as a young man, but I get to be surrounded by thousands of them every day. They make me incredibly happy. As president of a conservative seminary and college, I get to teach them, work with them, send them out into the world, and go to church with them. I get to see so many of them growing up as young husbands and new fathers. They amaze me. I thank God for them. They may be a perplexity to the world (and even to some of their own parents) but to me they are a sign of God’s favor. It’s our task to teach and encourage them for a life of faithfulness as men of God." (link)

- - - - - - - - -

Dr. R. Albert Mohler Jr. serves as president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary – the flagship school of the Southern Baptist Convention and one of the largest seminaries in the world.



Wednesday, March 26, 2025

Trump, MAGA, and J Edgar Hoover

"J. Edgar Hoover is one of the most polarizing figures in U.S. history. And the seeds he planted as the decades long founding director of the FBI continue to shape much of today’s conservative political landscape. Kash Patel, who now leads the FBI, has openly vowed to find ways to punish Trump’s political enemies. While that’s appalling, it’s not the first time an FBI director has used abused institutional power. There’s a lot of historical precedent that we can compare and contrast with the current moment. Beverly Gage is a historian at Yale University and the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century.” She joins WITHpod to discuss Hoover’s influence, the politicization of the FBI, the abuse of its power, the FBI in Trump 2.0 and more."

Click on the link below for a podcast relating J Edgar Hoover to today's US politics from the Far Right:


Friday, March 21, 2025

The Underlying Problem With MAGA: Childish/Magical Thinking

One major trait of Trumpers/MAGA is childish/magical thinking. Everything is black and white. There is no room for understanding that reality can be much more than good or bad/right or wrong in many serious topics/circumstances. Unsupported certainty can be the enemy of nuance, humility, and understanding

There is a reason why fear works so well on them: they are easily blocked from considering that they may be incorrect in their opinions. The majority probably were raised within a religion and that religion poisoned their brains from challenging the dogma to which they were exposed.

Below is an emblematic of this problem: 

  • "I am afraid of the 'other' that I was taught to hate. Those immigrants will harm me and take my job. I must support deporting them as fast as we can, to Hell with due process/the Rule of Law."

Friday, January 17, 2025

Biden Reminded Us What We Have Lost

"In his final address to the nation last night, President Joe Biden issued a warning that 'an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power, and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms, and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead.'

"It is not exactly news that there is dramatic economic inequality in the United States. Economists call the period from 1933 to 1981 the 'Great Compression,' for it marked a time when business regulation, progressive taxation, strong unions, and a basic social safety net compressed both wealth and income levels in the United States. Every income group in the U.S. improved its economic standing.

"That period ended in 1981, when the U.S. entered a period economists have dubbed the 'Great Divergence.' Between 1981 and 2021, deregulation, tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations, the offshoring of manufacturing, and the weakening of unions moved $50 trillion from the bottom 90% of Americans to the top 1%.

"Biden tried to address this growing inequality by bringing back manufacturing, fostering competition, increasing oversight of business, and shoring up the safety net by getting Congress to pass a law—the Inflation Reduction Act—that enabled Medicare to negotiate drug prices for seniors with the pharmaceutical industry, capping insulin at $35 for seniors, for example. His policies worked, primarily by creating full employment which enabled those at the bottom of the economy to move to higher-paying jobs. During Biden’s term, the gap between the 90th income percentile and the 10th income percentile fell by 25%.

"But Donald Trump convinced voters hurt by the inflation that stalked the country after the coronavirus pandemic shutdown that he would bring prices down and protect ordinary Americans from the Democratic 'elite' that he said didn’t care about them. Then, as soon as he was elected, he turned for advice and support to one of the richest men in the world, Elon Musk, who had invested more than $250 million in Trump’s campaign."

Click on the link below for :


Can We Defeat Terrorism?

"Can we truly defeat terrorism or does the ideology always endure? Philip Mudd, a former CIA and FBI official, has spent his career working on counterterrorism efforts. He talks about the public perception of terrorism and the oversimplification of motives by the media, the distinction between eliminating a terror group’s leadership and combating its ideology, and extremism in the US military. Plus, how experts like him analyze attacks in real-time."

Click on the link below for a podcast presenting the details:


Monday, January 6, 2025

Crypto Is Not Currency

"Cryptocurrencies are nothing of that sort because almost none are ever used to facilitate trade – for which they are wholly unsuited because of their uncertain values. They might just be highly volatile assets. But they might best be seen as mechanisms to undermine the state."

Click on the link below for a video clarifying cryptos:


Sunday, December 15, 2024

The "Deep State" Is A Myth

Following are selected links to information debunking the lie from conservatives that the "Deep State" within the US government is the major problem to eradicate:

Wikipedia on the "Deep State"

NPR on the "Deep State

Just Security on the "Deep State"

Sunday, November 17, 2024

Even In The Best Of Times, The Poor Have Always Been Neglected

"A Golden Age is a period of 'peace, prosperity, and happiness.' Early Greek and Roman poets used the phrase to describe how people lived in an almost idealized time and place. It is a point in history where art, science, and philosophy thrive, and where economic growth is unparalleled. But not everyone gets to enjoy that prosperity..."

Throughout known history, humanity has always ignored the needs of the poor. Memo to MAGA: the USA has never been great. Click on the link below for a history lesson on this fact:

What It Was Like To Be Poor Throughout History

Friday, November 15, 2024

The Truth About Gender-Affirming Care

"A recent article published in the Associated Press debunks a map circulating online claiming to show where it’s possible for toddlers to receive gender-affirming surgeries. It was clearly found to be completely false. Surgery under the age of 18 is very rare and is decided on a case by case basis. No toddler is receiving surgeries, nor any form of gender-affirming medical care for that matter.

"The map in question actually belongs to transgender rights advocate, Erin Reed, and depicts the states that have the 'worst active anti-trans laws' in red and the 'safest states' with protections for transgender people in blue. Right-wing extremists took the map to start a disinformation campaign about safer states for transgender young people.

"The fact check makes clear that gender-affirming surgeries are NOT performed on children, and that, 'In all cases, gender-affirming surgeries are only performed after multiple discussions with both mental health providers and physicians (including endocrinologists and/or surgeons), to determine if surgery is the appropriate course of action.'”

Click on the link below for the full article:

AP Debunks Extremist Claims About Gender-Affirming Care

Sunday, October 27, 2024

Fascism 101

"Beginning in 1943, the War Department published a series of pamphlets for U.S. Army personnel in the European theater of World War II. Titled Army Talks, the series was designed 'to help [the personnel] become better-informed men and women and therefore better soldiers.'

"On March 24, 1945, the topic for the week was 'FASCISM!'”

Click on this link, from my favorite historian specializing in the USA, to learn how the military educated the troops in Europe about what they were fighting during World War II. This is EXACTLY what is needed now to inform the entire electorate that the USA is in imminent danger of fascism again, this time WITHIN THE USA in the form of Donald Trump and the Republican Party!

Tuesday, October 22, 2024

Conservatives Hate Education

"Last week, West Virginia University (WVU) announced a plan to raze some of its core programs. The public land-grant university intends to eliminate 9 percent of its majors (32 programs total), all of its foreign language programs, and 16 percent of its full-time faculty members (169 in total). The departments targeted for these massive cuts count Truman, Marshall, Fulbright, and Rhodes scholars among their alumni. These cuts were recommended by the consulting firm rpk GROUP, and there’s every reason to believe they’re a trial balloon for doing this elsewhere. Anyone who cares about higher education should be alarmed about what this portends for public universities."
 
Click on the link below for more information reflecting on another target by the anti-education/anti-critical thinking conservative/Republicans/MAGAs:


Monday, October 21, 2024

Trump's Tax Plan Was Harmful, Don't Accept Any New One

"The verdict is in: Trump’s tax scam was trickle-down economics on steroids."

Click the link below for a video from Robert Reich exposing Trump's economics:

Trump’s Tax Scam: Why Nothing Trickled Down

Friday, October 18, 2024

Memo To The Media: Stop The False Equivalency!

"As Americans gear up for the election, Bill Adair warns of an 'epidemic of lying' in U.S. politics -- particularly within the Republican Party. Adair joins the show to discuss his new book "Beyond the Lie." As founder of the fact-checking website PolitiFact, Adair is well placed to account for where disinformation comes from, how it spreads, and the danger it poses to democracy."

Click on the link below for the effects of accepting the lies of the Republicans/MAGA/Trump:

PolitiFact Founder Explains the “Epidemic of Lying” in American Politics



Wednesday, October 9, 2024

The Republican Party: From Greatness To A Traitor Dictator

"Something seriously troubling has happened to the Republican Party. It’s become filled with wacko candidates for office who are being supported by large percentages of Republican voters.

"The trend started in the 1980s with Rush Limbaugh’s radio program, which attracted a wide audience with a toxic mixture of lies, conspiracy theories, fear-mongering, and thinly veiled racism.

"It accelerated in 1996 when Rupert Murdoch hired Roger Ailes to emulate Limbaugh with a new TV channel, Fox News. Additional media imitators followed.

"The growing supply of this poison offered the (predominantly) white working-class an easy explanation for why the wages and status of many blue-collar men had hit the skids: They could blame immigrants, Black people, Latinos, “coastal elites,” government bureaucrats, pedophiles, women, secularists, Muslims, liberals, Democrats, and Satan."

Click on the link below for a brief history of the failure of one of the two major US political parties:

How did the GOP become the party of cranks and crackpots?

Labels

Choose how you look at reality wisely. Yes, it is a binary choice.

Choose how you look at reality wisely. Yes, it is a binary choice.
Click on image

SCIENCE JUSTIFIES ITSELF

SCIENCE JUSTIFIES ITSELF
Click on image