A Look At MAGA Brainwashing

"Dr. Steven Hassan is a licensed mental health professional and recognized expert on cults. His book, The Cult of Trump, examines how Trump has built a base with fanatical devotion. Dr. Hassan correctly predicted that there would be violence after the 2020 election if Trump did not win."

Click on the link below for an in-depth look at the frailty of the human brain and how cult leaders easily take advantage of it:

Top CULT EXPERT Diagnoses Trump & MAGA Brainwashing

Voting Rights Continue To Be Under Attack

"The Department of Justice, created in 1870, was initially formed in part to enforce Reconstruction-era laws aimed at ensuring voting rights for formerly enslaved people. Yet, nearly 150 years later, voting access is still under attack. Eric Holder made history as the first black U.S. Attorney General, serving in the Obama administration. Holder now serves as the chairman of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, which focuses on fighting back against gerrymandering to achieve fair maps. He joins WITHpod to discuss the fight for voting rights, growing redistricting concerns nationwide and how concerned he is about the possibility of former president Donald Trump being reelected."

Click on the link below for the podcast:

Protecting Voting Rights

Cults: A Hard Nut To Crack

"A few years ago, I did a video about cults and predicted that we live in conditions that make cults thrive. Today, a few years later, that seems to be the case, with cult activity skyrocketing not just in the US but worldwide. Today we look at what’s causing this problem, and what you can do if a friend or loved one goes a little too far down the rabbit hole."

Click on the links below for some advice against this major problem that notoriously is difficult to attack:

How To Deprogram A Cult Member

Welcome To The Golden Age Of Cults

A History Of US Christian Nationalism

"In the United States, theocracy and authoritarianism go hand in hand."

"The framers of the Constitution quite deliberately excluded religion from the U.S. Constitution. - - - "

"In order to make sure men had the right of conscience, the framers added the First Amendment to the Constitution. It read: 'Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof….' "

"In the early years of the nation, Americans zealously guarded the wall between the two. They strictly limited the power of the federal government to reflect religion, refusing even to permit the government to stop delivery of the U.S. mails on Sunday out of concern that Jews and Christians did not share the same Sabbath, and the government could not choose one over the other. The Constitution, a congressional report noted, gave Congress no authority 'to inquire and determine what part of time, or whether any has been set apart by the Almighty for religious exercises.'"

"But the Civil War marked a change. As early as the 1830s, southern white enslavers relied on religious justification for their hierarchical system that rested on white supremacy. God, they argued, had made Black Americans for enslavement and women for marriage, and society must recognize those facts."

"The Confederacy rejected the idea of popular government, maintaining instead that a few Americans should make the rules for the majority. - - - "

"Confederates not only invoked 'the favor and guidance of Almighty God' in their Constitution, they established as their motto 'Deo vindice,' or 'God will vindicate.'"

Click on the link below for more:

Heather Cox Richardson: Letters from an American - February 22, 2024

Civility: A Character Trait Lost In The MAGA Swamp

"Alexandra Hudson is a writer, public speaker, and the author of The Soul of Civility: Timeless Principles to Heal Society and Ourselves. She joins Preet to discuss her book, the difference between politeness and civility, and the many figures that have inspired her—from Martin Luther King, Jr. to Larry David."

Click on the link below for an enlightened point of view regarding the times in which we are living:

On being Civil

America's Frontline Doctors: The Vanguard Of Anti-Vaccine Quackery

"Simone Melissa Gold, M.D., J.D., who founded America’s Frontline Doctors (AFLDS), is one of the world’s most arrogant promoters of COVID-19 misinformation. Gold graduated from the City College of New York at age 19 and received her medical degree from the Chicago Medical School in 1989. After obtaining a medical license in California, she attended Stanford Law School, graduating in 1993. She was admitted to the New York bar in 1997 and shortly afterward completed a residency in emergency medicine at the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University [1]. She became board-certified in emergency medicine, but her Linkedin page states that she chose not to renew her certification “due to the medical cancel culture that is threatening physicians and the doctor patient relationship.” [2]

"AFLDS is said to be a project of the Free Speech Foundation, which was registered in Arizona as a nonprofit corporation in 2020. Documents filed with the Arizona Secretary of State list Gold as the foundation’s board chairman and chief executive officer. Mother Jones magazine has vividly described Gold’s right-wing radicalization and ascent to MAGA stardom [3]."

Click on the link below for more:

A Skeptical Look at Simone Gold and America’s Frontline Doctors

Ukraine And Russia: A History Lession

"Although few Americans paid much attention at the time, the events of February 18, 2014, in Ukraine would turn out to be a linchpin in how the United States ended up where it is a decade later."

Click on the link below to better understand the connection between the Republican Party/MAGA and Putin/Russia:

10 years of US/Ukraine/Russia History

US Immigration And Crime: Beware Of Republican Gaslighting

"Across a variety of studies that use different years of data that focus on different areas of the United States – with some exceptions, there’s some nuance there. I don’t want to deny the nuance – in general, on average, we do not find a connection between immigration and crime, as is so often claimed. The most common finding across all these different kinds of studies is that immigration to an area is either not associated with crime in that area, or is negatively associated with crime in that area. This means more immigration equals less crime. It’s rare to find studies that show crime following increases in immigration or with larger percentage of the population that are immigrants."

Click on the link below for more:

What EXPERTS Say About Immigration And Crime

Why We Need More REGULATED Capitalism

"The need to hold industries to high safety standards seems like an obvious priority. Yet in reality, questionable business practices are widespread -- from deep-fakes to mass data collection. Vanderbilt University Professor Ganesh Sitaraman says it is time for Congress to clamp down on rampant use of artificial intelligence and tighten regulations on the aviation industry. He joins Hari Sreenivasan to discuss his latest book 'Why Flying Is Miserable and How To Fix It.'"

Click on the link below for the details of corporate monopoly abuse highlighting the airline industry as an example:

"Why Flying Is Miserable" Author Offers Solutions for Airlines and AI

The "Deep State" Conspiracy Theory: The Truth And Its Harm

"UCLA School of Law professor Jon D. Michaels argued that compared with developing governments such as Egypt, Pakistan, and Turkey, governmental power structures in the United States are "almost entirely transparent".[43][44][45] Michaels argues that the American 'deep state', which includes federal agencies responsible for regulation, welfare, crime prevention, and defense, and the employees who operate them, fundamentally differs from Trump's use of the term in five important respects:[43]

• Not Elitist – In the US, bureaucrats come from a diverse range of socio-economic backgrounds, especially when compared to those in the Middle East, and even Western Europe.
• Not Shadowy – American agencies are generally "transparent and accessible", in comparison to those of the Middle East, Asia, and Europe.
• Not Monolithic – the American deep state is "internally diverse and fragmented."
• A Bulwark, Not a Battering Ram – actions of civil servants in the US are inherently defensive, not proactive.
• Not an Extraconstitutional Force – the bureaucracy should be seen as part of the constitutional system of checks and balances in the US, which often serves as a final check on presidential or agency overreach."

(Wikipedia) 

Click on the link below for more:

The American Deep State

Transgender Treatment Satisfaction

While the Republican Party and conservatives, in general, are supporting bills in many states attacking transgender treatment (link), the largest satisfaction survey of individuals who have received transgender treatment was just released. The bottom line is that they are overwhelmingly satisfied with the results of their treatment. Click on this link for a 3-minute video presenting the details. Just another example of anti-expert/anti-science from the Republican Party.

Republicans Reject Experts

Click on the links below for examples of the decades-long anti-expert attitude of the Republican Party:

https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/10/what-caused-the-u-s-anti-science-trend/

https://www.cnn.com/2016/08/08/politics/republican-national-security-letter-donald-trump-election-2016/index.html

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-reason-some-republicans-mistrust-science-their-leaders-tell-them-to/

https://newrepublic.com/article/158436/republican-murderous-anti-intellectualism

https://www.amazon.com/Republican-Brain-Science-Science-Reality/dp/1118094514

A Horror Tale That WILL Be Reality If Trump Wins In 2024

"What happens if Trump takes the presidency? Thom Hartmann writes Trump's campaign promises as a dystopian tale. 

"It was a hell of a year, 2025: the first year of the First Reich (as those formerly called Democrats referred to it) or The New America as the GOP now refers to our nation. One people, one nation, one leader: America, President-for-life Trump tells us, is now 'truly great.' 

"It started with the election of November 2024, when the No Labels candidacy of Larry Hogan and Joe Manchin pulled enough electoral votes away from Biden — who was more than 10 million popular votes ahead of Trump — that none of the three tickets hit the necessary 270 Electoral College votes to win the White House. - - - 

Click on the link below for the rest of the story:

Rise & Fall of the Second Trump Reich - A Cautionary Tale

The Monroe Doctrine, Immigration, And Republican Evil

"It is evident that the immigration debate is more about acquiring raw power than about immigration as demands from the Republican Party change along with whatever strategies they feel are most likely to get Republicans elected and in the age of Trump, that means the most draconian, harmful and, ultimately, pointless demands to date."

Click on the link below for how the Monroe Doctrine set the stage for the immigration problems the USA has today:

The Border Crisis is Manufactured (by Republicans)

Yes, Cold Snaps In Winter Can Be Caused By Global Warming

"After a summer of record-breaking heat, vast swaths of the United States are now grappling with extreme cold as a brutal Arctic blast brings snow squalls, deadly ice and life-threatening wind chills.

"As unprecedented heat makes way for cold, it can provide fuel for climate-change deniers who point to freezing temperatures as evidence that global warming is overstated.

"But scientists are clear: cold extremes will still occur even as winters warm overall.

"Global heat records outpace cold records — 2023 was the hottest year on record by a huge margin. And even as the US struggles to cope with intense bursts of heavy snow now, over the long term, the human-caused climate crisis has led to an alarming trend of disappearing snow in the Northern Hemisphere.

"Some scientists say that climate change may even be playing a role in these icy blasts, as warming in the Arctic increases the likelihood that frigid, polar air can sweep southwards."

Click on the link below for more against the conservative, anti-science propaganda:

Why we still have brutal cold snaps even as the planet warms to record levels

The USA Should Be Ashamed

The USA is being upstaged by BRAZIL. Click on the link below for an example of a peaceful change of power:

Brazil Shows The USA How To Handle Right-Wing Extremists

Fairness In Wages Is More Than The Minimum Wage

"And how does that differ from the minimum wage? Or, for that matter, the federal poverty line? California has mandated a $20 minimum wage for fast-food workers starting April 1st. As far as I'm concerned, those folks are saints and deserve the world. But Glenn Beck and other conservatives strongly disagree and had a meltdown over it. But who is right? Will this new $20 wage cause California as we know it to cease to exist and drift off into the sea? Or is Glenn Beck an idiot?"

Click on the link below for the details:

What Is A Living Wage?

A Major Reason Why Conservatives Are So Powerful

Ever wonder why Talk Radio is essentially void of progressive push-back against the lies of conservatives? Or, why Faux News is so powerful? Click on the link below for why the truth of the progressive point of view is largely absent to the typical middle/lower-class voter who generally lacks critical thinking skills:

America’s Political System is Being Manipulated - but by who?

Will 2024 Be A Disaster? Many Think So

"Surprising survey results show that a majority of Americans believe the next five years will be worse than the previous ones. In fact, nearly 20% predict that next year will be the worst on record. Find out why people are feeling this way and what it means for the future."

Click on the link below for a 20-minute video presenting the negative outlook of so many of us. Oh, imagine how different things would be without the harm from conservatives that essentially began about 40 years ago with Ronald Reagan:

Will 2024 Be The Worst Year EVER?

Beware Of The Growing Monopoly Monster

"Monopolies and oligopolies (where a market is controlled by a few producers) give companies the power to push through price increases because customers have fewer options. More than a few observers believe the inflation of the past few years was accelerated by food and agricultural giants — aka “greedflation.” As Time magazine pointed out last year, four corporations are responsible for 60% of the market share for such dietary staples as pork, cookies, pasta, and coffee."

Click on the link below for an example of the growing effort of large corporations to deceive the public by owning a high percentage of familiar brands:

Why Americans should worry about Subway’s new ownership