Oh, what a lovely graveyard

The Republicans are great at counterfactual naming. They recently gave us the “Big Beautiful Bill,” which was anything but — it was the gutting of social services all across the country, and the transfer of money to the already wealthy. The newest lie is the GREAT Trust, short for “Gaza Reconstitution, Economic Acceleration and Transformation,” which Trump has been pushing for a while. He knows real estate, you know — he’d like to flatten Gaze and rebuild it in his tacky way, and Israel loves the idea.

The Gaza Reconstitution, Economic Acceleration and Transformation Trust, otherwise known as the Great Trust, proposes that the 2 million people currently living in Gaza could be paid to be relocated to other countries or secure zones as part of a deal that would also see them receive subsidies to cover four years of rent and a year’s worth of food, The Washington Post reports.

With the current population gone, the U.S.-administered trust then proposes to clear away the rubble and erect six to eight “dynamic, modern and AI-powered smart planned cities,” boasting multi-storey glass apartment complexes, public parks, golf courses, “world-class resorts” along its Mediterranean beachfront plus electric vehicle plants and data centres.

This makes sense, in a perverse right-wing sort of way:

See? Israel is doing the preliminary demolition for the oligarchs, and every Palestinian killed is less money that needs to be spent on relocation, all so they can build this:

That would be the most beautiful cemetery ever made. Here in the US, we have a horror movie trope about haunted houses built on top of Indian graveyards, and Gaza would be prime real estate for stories of hauntings and curses.

I have to ask who profits from this development. Not the Palestinians at all; they get a pittance for their land, and get forcibly marched out of their homes…or shot. Not the neighboring countries, which will suddenly have two million refugees foisted upon them, which they don’t want. It is not a popular idea.

Almost nobody supports this plan.

Almost everyone outside Israel, including Egypt, Jordan, the UN and Palestinian leaders, has rejected the idea.

In addition to those directly involved, a number of other states have also been critical of Trump’s plan to relocate Gaza’s population, including Germany, whose leader, Olaf Scholtz, dismissed the suggestion as “unacceptable”.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot also dismissed the idea, telling France’s parliament on Tuesday that the US president’s suggestion was “absolutely unacceptable”.

Spain, one of the two states within the EU to recognise the state of Palestine, also condemned the notion, with Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares telling the media outlet EuroNews that “Gaza belongs to the Palestinians and the people living in Gaza”.

The Arab League also forcefully opposed the plan, issuing a statement on Monday, stating, “The forced displacement and

Who does like it?

Many right-wing Israelis.

The idea of removing Palestinians from Gaza and replacing them with Israelis has been popular among a significant portion of Israelis ever since the initial illegal Israeli settlements were removed from Gaza in 2005.

It took on new relevance in the eyes of many following the Hamas-led attack from Gaza on southern Israel on October 7 2023, which killed 1,139 people.

A conference, held in Jerusalem in January 2024 and titled Settlement Brings Security, drew 12 cabinet ministers, including the ultra-Zionist minister of finance, Bezalel Smotrich, and the far-right former minister of national security, Itamar Ben-Gvir. Both took part in discussions centred around Palestinians’ “voluntary” migration from Gaza and its subsequent resettlement by Israelis.

Along with other right-wing ministers, both Ben-Gvir and Smotrich welcomed Trump’s suggestion of moving Palestinians to neighbouring states this week. Smotrich told reporters on Monday that he was already drawing up an “operational plan” to turn Trump’s idea into an actionable Israeli policy.

It’s also against international law, but that won’t stop Israel or Trump.

They’re talking about me!

The Onion is becoming the only reliable source for news

I can relate to this story: Why more and more people are tuning the news out: ‘Now I don’t have that anxiety’. I feel the same way!

“Now that I don’t watch the news, I just don’t have that anxiety. I don’t have dread,” said Mardette Burr, an Arizona retiree who says she stopped watching the news about eight years ago. “There were times that I’d be up at two or three o’clock in the morning upset about something that was going on in the world that I just didn’t have a lot of control over.”

She’s not alone. Globally, news avoidance is at a record high, according to an annual survey by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism published in June. This year, 40% of respondents, surveyed across nearly 50 countries, said they sometimes or often avoid the news, up from 29% in 2017 and the joint highest figure recorded.

The number was even higher in the US, at 42%, and in the UK, at 46%. Across markets, the top reason people gave for actively trying to avoid the news was that it negatively impacted their mood. Respondents also said they were worn out by the amount of news, that there is too much coverage of war and conflict, and that there’s nothing they can do with the information.

I gave up on the NY Times years ago — it was clearly a tool of the oligarchy, and I was constantly irritated with the bothsiderism. I stopped watching CNN during the Iraq war, when it was wallowing in the ‘glory’ of gunning down thousands of people. I thought maybe the Washington Post was a little better, but unsubscribed when Bezos exerted his control over its editorial position. Now I will go for days without looking at the news. I get most of my information from a few trusted online sources, and I worry that that will reinforce my biases, but no worry — I expect the government will squash them all soon, as they would like to do with PBS. ProPublica is still hanging in there!

Where do you get your news? Or do you even bother any more?

Prepare for chaos

Donald Trump is clearly not healthy — the rapid cognitive decline, his terrible appearance, I can believe he’s going to be dead in the next few years, or so incapable of doing his job that he’ll have to be declared incompetent and replaced. I wouldn’t be as certain as Rick Wilson (who I don’t trust anyway), but we may see an abrupt change of leadership before his term in office is over.

“Trump is dying” and “Vance knows,” according to conservative strategist Rick Wilson.

Conservative anti-Trump activist Rick Wilson, who co-founded the Lincoln Project and hosts the group’s podcast, has written extensively about Donald Trump. On Friday, the strategist declared that the president is indeed dying.

“Slow or fast, he’s headed down,” Wilson wrote, adding that there are “rumors” about what comes next. “Rumors from the Trumpverse are that the circle who knows what’s up is very, very small and very, very paranoid.”

It’s a possibility and a scary one.

Who has seen The Death of Stalin? If you haven’t, check it out: it portrays the mad scramble for power among a gang of selfish, incompetent boobs when the Great Leader suddenly died. That may be the United States in the near future.

JD Vance has made an announcement.

Vice President JD Vance has now made an unexpected statement regarding President Donald Trump’s health, stating he is ready to take over at any time.

On August 27, 2025, Vice President JD Vance declared himself prepared to step into the role of president should President Donald Trump’s health falter, a statement that has reignited speculation about Trump’s physical condition and the future of his administration.

Vance, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, confidently stated, “I’m ready to step up if, God forbid, anything happens to the president,” addressing concerns raised by Trump’s recent diagnosis of chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) and ongoing controversies surrounding his leadership.

I wonder how Trump is reacting to his lackeys’ publicly salivating at the prospect of his demise.

ICE is digging in like a tick, I see

I thought all we were getting for sacrificing science was a paint job for the border wall, but no! We’re getting more prisons! Overall, crime is down significantly, but we’re expanding the prison system.

There is a small town about 45 minutes south of me named Appleton, that used to be home to a medium security prison that was shut down about 15 years ago. Now the plan is to reopen the facility under ICE control. It’s got 1600 beds, but I’m sure they can easily double that.

I see no advantage to this construction project, except that it means there will be a nearby locus for protests. Also, who knows, as a liberal university professor I could end up staying there sometime! I sure hope they make it clean, comfortable, and luxurious.

There’s a reason Lindsay Ellis is a master of the video essay

She has a new fundraiser-essay, “The Unforgivable Sin of Ms Rachel”. I’ve only seen a half hour of it so far, but it’s magnificent — she is discussing the importance of empathy in raising children and normal human interactions, and is exposing the horrible anti-empathy arguments of conservatives. It’s 2½ hours long, unfortunately, but man, it’s good and thorough. Everyone ought to watch it. Learn more about the anti-Christian sin of empathy, and how the Sermon on the Mount is a crime against Jesus.

It’s also a fundraiser for the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund. I was motivated to donate.

We traded cancer research for a fancy new paint job

The US gutted research institution this year — so far, it has cost us $3.8 billion. What a savings! What shall we do with all that money instead?

How about repainting the border wall? (Which, according to the Cato Institute of all places, doesn’t work.)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Tuesday that the entire border wall along the southern border with Mexico is going to be painted black to make it hotter and deter illegal immigration — and she credited President Trump with the idea.

Noem spoke during a visit to a portion of the wall in New Mexico, where she also picked up a roller brush to help out with the painting.

She touted the height of the wall as well as the depth as ways to deter people seeking to go over or under the walls. And then Noem said Homeland Security was going to be trying black paint to make the metal hotter.

“That is specifically at the request of the president, who understands that in the hot temperatures down here when something is painted black it gets even warmer and it will make it even harder for people to climb. So we are going to be painting the entire southern border wall black to make sure that we encourage individuals to not come into our country illegally,” Noem said.

The cost for this brilliant redesign is “between $500 million and $3 billion”, or somewhat more than Kristi Noem’s plastic surgery bill. Try not to think about how many research grants that sum could have funded.

Complacency will not defeat stupidity

Dietrich Bonhoeffer saw the problem clearly in the 1940s. It’s the stupidity, stupid, and stupidity is more subtle and complex than you might think. Keep the MAGA movement in mind while reading this.

Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice. One may protest against evil; it can be exposed and, if need be, prevented by use of force. Evil always carries within itself the germ of its own subversion in that it leaves behind in human beings at least a sense of unease. Against stupidity we are defenseless. Neither protests nor the use of force accomplish anything here; reasons fall on deaf ears; facts that contradict one’s prejudgment simply need not be believed- in such moments the stupid person even becomes critical – and when facts are irrefutable they are just pushed aside as inconsequential, as incidental. In all this the stupid person, in contrast to the malicious one, is utterly self-satisfied and, being easily irritated, becomes dangerous by going on the attack. For that reason, greater caution is called for than with a malicious one. Never again will we try to persuade the stupid person with reasons, for it is senseless and dangerous.

If we want to know how to get the better of stupidity, we must seek to understand its nature. This much is certain, that it is in essence not an intellectual defect but a human one. There are human beings who are of remarkably agile intellect yet stupid, and others who are intellectually quite dull yet anything but stupid. We discover this to our surprise in particular situations. The impression one gains is not so much that stupidity is a congenital defect, but that, under certain circumstances, people are made stupid or that they allow this to happen to them. We note further that people who have isolated themselves from others or who live in solitude manifest this defect less frequently than individuals or groups of people inclined or condemned to sociability. And so it would seem that stupidity is perhaps less a psychological than a sociological problem. It is a particular form of the impact of historical circumstances on human beings, a psychological concomitant of certain external conditions. Upon closer observation, it becomes apparent that every strong upsurge of power in the public sphere, be it of a political or of a religious nature, infects a large part of humankind with stupidity. It would even seem that this is virtually a sociological-psychological law. The power of the one needs the stupidity of the other. The process at work here is not that particular human capacities, for instance, the intellect, suddenly atrophy or fail. Instead, it seems that under the overwhelming impact of rising power, humans are deprived of their inner independence, and, more or less consciously, give up establishing an autonomous position toward the emerging circumstances. The fact that the stupid person is often stubborn must not blind us to the fact that he is not independent. In conversation with him, one virtually feels that one is dealing not at all with a person, but with slogans, catchwords and the like that have taken possession of him. He is under a spell, blinded, misused, and abused in his very being. Having thus become a mindless tool, the stupid person will also be capable of any evil and at the same time incapable of seeing that it is evil. This is where the danger of diabolical misuse lurks, for it is this that can once and for all destroy human beings.

Yet at this very point it becomes quite clear that only an act of liberation, not instruction, can overcome stupidity. Here we must come to terms with the fact that in most cases a genuine internal liberation becomes possible only when external liberation has preceded it. Until then we must abandon all attempts to convince the stupid person. This state of affairs explains why in such circumstances our attempts to know what ‘the people’ really think are in vain and why, under these circumstances, this question is so irrelevant for the person who is thinking and acting responsibly. The word of the Bible that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom declares that the internal liberation of human beings to live the responsible life before God is the only genuine way to overcome stupidity.

But these thoughts about stupidity also offer consolation in that they utterly forbid us to consider the majority of people to be stupid in every circumstance. It really will depend on whether those in power expect more from people’s stupidity than from their inner independence and wisdom.

That describes our current situation perfectly. We have a mob of people who have been incentivized to be stupid — unquestioning, dogmatic, full of certainty, and motivated to rationalize every stupid decision by those in power. Reason and evidence will not dissuade them; those are the tools we always considered the best of our civilized minds, and they’ve completely negated them. Stupidity is the secret weapon underlying fascism.

It’s an effective weapon. Here’s a depressing analysis that says, historically, “Once fascists win power democratically, they have never been removed democratically. Not once. Ever.”

The pattern is so consistent it’s almost funny if it weren’t so terrifying. Every single time it goes like this: Conservatives panic about socialism or progressives or whatever. They ally with fascists as the “lesser evil.” Fascists take power. Fascists immediately purge the conservatives who helped them. Then it’s 30-50 years of dictatorship. This happened in Germany, Italy, Spain, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Greece, Portugal, Croatia, Romania, and Hungary.

Want to know how many times conservatives successfully “controlled” the fascists they allied with? Zero. Want to know how many times fascists purged the conservatives after taking power? All of them. Every single time.

Now consider this: the United States has been taken over by fascist. It is a fascist state, and we don’t even have an effective resistance — the Democratic party is a floundering joke, led by people who are more interested in maintaining their petty powers than in defeating an existential threat. Sure, do write a “strongly worded letter” and give the fascists a good chuckle.

And here’s the part that breaks your heart. Violence works. For them. Fascists use violence while claiming to be victims. They create chaos that “requires” their authoritarian solution. Then they purge anyone who opposes them. Meanwhile, democrats keep insisting on following rules that fascists completely ignore. They file lawsuits. They write editorials. They vote on resolutions. And fascists just laugh and keep consolidating power.

The statistics are brutal. Fascist takeovers prevented after winning power democratically: zero. Average length of fascist rule once established: 31 years. Fascist regimes removed by voting: zero. Fascist regimes removed by asking nicely: zero. Most were removed by war or military coups, and tens of millions died in the process.

Wow. So pessimistic. Also, so realistic. No matter what, it’s going to take a struggle (maybe a futile one, but better that than to accept the coming tyranny) to defeat fascism. Our current leadership lacks the will to fight — as one example look at the packed, corrupt Supreme Court which could have been weakened during the Biden administration…and nothing was done. The Republicans have been building and strengthening oppressive institutions, but imagine, if the Democrats won the next election, would they, for instance, disband ICE? You know they wouldn’t: they’d compromise, at a time when we need decisive ruthlessness.

The only hints of optimism I’m seeing are from Refuse Fascism — they seem to believe that we can actually fight back and take back the country. I agree with Bonhoeffer that argument and debate are not winning tactics against stupidity. What we need is a strong shock to awaken the citizenry and jar them out of their cultivated dogma, and a mass uprising is the only thing we can do at this point to do that. There is a planned march on occupied Washington DC to protest on 5 November, we should all go.

You might want to tune in to the Refuse Fascism podcast to hear from voices that are simultaneously fully aware of how dire our situation is while also believing that mass action might actually help us overcome the current fascist regime. Check it out. If nothing else, Sunsara Taylor gives an invigorating speech in the first five minutes.

We have to get out of the mindset that we can patch it up in the next election.

Slimy underbelly #1: Clay Travis

I’m stewing in my own juices here — crippled, homebound, going stir crazy — and one of the things driving me nuts is the state of American media, since I’m stuck watching so much of it. I have noticed that one of the drivers of bad media is these wankers that promote the worst of the underbelly of the country with panel shows, debates, interviews, and far more attention than they deserve, and I could criticize, for example, Piers Morgan, or Joe Rogan, who are constantly dredging up horrible people and propping them up on camera entirely because they have opinions that align with their own ghastly take on the world. I don’t want to waste time on all these horrible people raking in big money by finding equally horrible people to confirm their views.

What I find most appalling are these “experts” who are nothing of the kind, who get paraded about on television for being “authentic,” when they are clearly people prominent for being ignoramuses. I want to take a look at the slimy underbelly, the jumped-up pundits who get prominent airtime for being voices of True America, the dumbasses who are encouraged to express their worthless opinions, and are rewarded with excessive attention in the press.

First up, that extremely punchable face to the right belongs to Clay Travis, a goober I would never have gotten to know if he weren’t being repeatedly consulted as a smart guy on politics. He’s not. He’s a Trump fanatic, through and through.

He’s been frequently quoted for his grading of Trump’s performance.

What is my verdict on the first 100 days of Trump? This is what I voted for. I think if you were arguing, if you voted Trump, and I imagine a lot of you did, some of you did not, that’s fine, if you voted Trump, I can’t imagine you giving him anything other than an A or B. Right? I don’t see C, I don’t see D, I don’t see F.

He never gives specifics — he just gives him an A overall. As someone who professionally grades students on their performance, I am offended. You have to have rubrics and criteria that allow you to judge work, and to give productive guidance on improving it. Travis is a child who thinks a grade is just an arbitrary trophy you hand on someone because you like them.

His “grade” is also indefensible: how can you think a felon who repeatedly tramples on the constitution, who is shredding the social safety net, who is demolishing vital scientific institutions, who wants to destroy public and higher education, is doing good work? A wanna-be autocrat who is arresting and deporting people without due process does not deserve a good grade.

His reasons for supporting Trump are transparently stupid.

“Since we’re talking honestly about politics here, I have a question for you,” McLaughlin said. “My question is, and I want you to be really honest with me here, did you regret voting for Trump after his presidency ended in the January 6th riot?”

“No. I wish I could have voted for Trump ten times in 2020,” Travis replied.

“Really?” McLaughlin reacted.

“I think Joe Biden’s a disaster. And, I think one of the things that’s fascinating, you know, Ronald Reagan said he didn’t leave the Democrat Party. The Democrat Party left him,” Travis said.

Travis went on to explain that the crux of his current political ideology focuses on him being “anti-cancel culture.”

He’s a free speech warrior who supports a man who sues people who criticize him, who uses the power of his office to force conformity, and he doesn’t recognize that he’s a hypocrite. He’s obsessed with Colin Kaepernick, who dared to kneel during the playing of the national anthem at the start of football games, yet now Travis has the gall to claim that he is “anti-cancel culture.”

And now, as a reward, he gets invited to babble on Piers Morgan. He is invited to do an in-person interview with Donald Trump on Airforce One. You might wonder, what are his qualifications to opine on politics or economics or civil rights?

He’s a podcaster.

Nothing wrong with podcasting, but it is not sufficient to make you an authority on pretty much anything. Anyone can get a microphone and start pontificating on the internet.

He’s also sports podcaster, possibly the most useless kind of them all. He has a site called Outkick where he basically makes predictions for sports bettors, leavened with his reactionary takes on politics. Maybe he’s really good at calling the outcomes of football games, I don’t know, but nothing about his profession makes him qualified to talk about much of anything outside sports.

But now, his stupid punchable face and unsupported opinions pop up all the time on the internet.

He’s the kind of negligible, uninteresting slime who happily acts as a useful idiot for conservatives to bounce their bad ideas off of — he’ll just affirm any foolishness, because that’s how he gets paid in money and reputation. The A he gives to Trump is worthless, but audiences will lap it up and ask for more.

That’s our current problem. It’s not just that media will promote bullshit, but that there’s no shortage of people they can find to parrot it, and that the general public lacks the capacity to question anything.

I’m afraid I’ll never run out of these know-nothings to highlight.