Great piece- second Dana’s thanks. Sad and hard but straightforward and necessary. Vance is almost pitiful in his emptiness and striving but the cruelty and power makes any kind of sympathy impossible for me.
I should write about why and how my views have changed. I almost did in this piece but there was already a lot going on. But the long and short of it is that I think with Democrats politics is still possible, whereas with the GOP under Trump, it’s purely a cult of personality. The political folds into Trump’s ego. So we go to war with Iran, but we don’t call it a war. And why not? Because Trump says so. That’s not to say Democrats are great or even good. But it’s better than that, I think.
This is very well written and presented. Thank you, Pedro, for allowing this one to be free. I'm on hard times right now, but as soon as I can afford to, I will upgrade to paid!
Pedro, I see your point and it is sad that politics has no integrity or spiritual boundary. But let’s be honest it comes from both parties and I’m not going to vote Democrat to let them destroy this country. Amy Acton closed Ohio down during Covid. My mother died because of her supporting & implementing Fauci’s policies in Ohio. I’m sorry her horrible past was used in an ad against her but maybe if she debated Vivek Ohioans could actually know her stance on policies that affect us. I do not think Acton is qualified to govern Ohio so I’m going with facts over feelings and voting Republican down the ticket.
Excellent article, Pedro! I never trusted Trump from the moment he infiltrated the Tea Party years ago. He was notorious for using eminent domain against private citizens and skipping out on his casino contractors, yet so many people fell for the "we need a businessman" BS. After his first term, with its soft-on-crime policies, pardons of criminals, Op Warp Speed, etc., I couldn't believe people still fell for his schtick. He's one of the most corrupt, despicable humans to ever hold office. He's done nothing but grant favors to his corporate buddies at the expense of middle America, yet I have family members who still believe in him. Personally, I believe he was the Trojan Horse to neutralize the right because if Obama had presided over these things, conservatives would have fought back hard. I'd like to think Republicans will learn from their coming defeat, but I doubt it. I'm going to the polls in Florida to vote for property tax relief, and I may vote for Jolly. I appreciated Ron DeSantis for his strong stance against CV tyranny, but his second term was mostly disappointing. In the end, they're all bought and paid for.
If you haven't heard about the situation I am about to relate, there is a link a couple paragraphs down, to a Caitlin Johnstone article that gives the setup.
Ramaswamy and his wife donated 38K to the gofundme that has gone viral for having been set up, by a homeless vet, for the Red Baron worker who himself went viral this past August, for losing his composure while on the overtime clock, at a little streaming prankster who hassled the worker and pretended to steal money from him while he was head deep in a grocery store pizza freezer.
38k of course is how much a billionaire made in a minute, for 6 years, while racing to beat Elon Musk's top ranking. The Ramaswamys' donation is the "top donation" and of course will stay there, advertising their names, unless someone comes along and outbids them.
Meanwhile, the homeless vet, who set up the gofundme for the worker because he was worried about whether the worker would be able to keep his job dealing with pizzas in store freezers (be sure to watch the video of the incident in the linked article), ended up with someone realizing *the homeless man's* dire situation and creating *him* a gofundme, out of concern for *his* wellbeing, but his gofundme hasn't gone viral yet, so it's at <30K and the Ramaswamys haven't noticed it.
All the links to the gofundmes are in the article. I will leave that as the entry point, since it's how I learned of all of this, and I think it deserves to be read complete.
I don't care to read Ramaswamy's mind, but the "optics" on this are just as callous as anything else he's done in his political "career".
I asked myself, why 38K? Why not 40 or a round 50? I then remembered, the figure was famous for a moment, for being a billionaire's minute and quite possibly an everyman worker's annual income.
Tone deaf doesn't quite cover it.
And, in addition (this stands outside and beyond the inadequacy of "tone deaf" wrt the amount and obviousness of their donation), they haven't managed to find the homeless man's gofundme. 38K would more than double what he has received thus far.
The Democrats are no better. Wrecking your own state to send a message to the Republicans to change direction away from Trumpism is only harming yourself. Better to make your shift in 2028. I'm as disillusioned and angry with 2.0 and the cult members as anyone, but unwilling to gamble on making things worse.
"Vance flollops through life believing in nothing, being nothing. A patchwork scarecrow clothed in discordant bits and pieces, pockets stuffed with other people’s talking points and personalities, always offering himself up to tend the fields of different masters."
Vance is simply a craven opportunist. This is what smart people do.
Pity he wasn't smart enough to ditch Trump over The War On Iran and dare Trump to try and fire him (he can't under a fair reading of the constitution, but the SC these days is so cowering....)
Great piece- second Dana’s thanks. Sad and hard but straightforward and necessary. Vance is almost pitiful in his emptiness and striving but the cruelty and power makes any kind of sympathy impossible for me.
Agreed. I don’t feel sorry for him. He truly seems to derive profound pleasure from being a villain.
Voting straight Democrat. You seem too intelligent to do that.
I should write about why and how my views have changed. I almost did in this piece but there was already a lot going on. But the long and short of it is that I think with Democrats politics is still possible, whereas with the GOP under Trump, it’s purely a cult of personality. The political folds into Trump’s ego. So we go to war with Iran, but we don’t call it a war. And why not? Because Trump says so. That’s not to say Democrats are great or even good. But it’s better than that, I think.
Team D will gripe about process and decorum. Nothing substantive.
Their performance from 2006-2008 is a prelude.
This is very well written and presented. Thank you, Pedro, for allowing this one to be free. I'm on hard times right now, but as soon as I can afford to, I will upgrade to paid!
Believe me, I get it! I’m going to post one free article a week, at least.
Pedro, I see your point and it is sad that politics has no integrity or spiritual boundary. But let’s be honest it comes from both parties and I’m not going to vote Democrat to let them destroy this country. Amy Acton closed Ohio down during Covid. My mother died because of her supporting & implementing Fauci’s policies in Ohio. I’m sorry her horrible past was used in an ad against her but maybe if she debated Vivek Ohioans could actually know her stance on policies that affect us. I do not think Acton is qualified to govern Ohio so I’m going with facts over feelings and voting Republican down the ticket.
Ramaswamy was much more of a villain in the Covid vax debacle than Acton ever was.
Excellent article, Pedro! I never trusted Trump from the moment he infiltrated the Tea Party years ago. He was notorious for using eminent domain against private citizens and skipping out on his casino contractors, yet so many people fell for the "we need a businessman" BS. After his first term, with its soft-on-crime policies, pardons of criminals, Op Warp Speed, etc., I couldn't believe people still fell for his schtick. He's one of the most corrupt, despicable humans to ever hold office. He's done nothing but grant favors to his corporate buddies at the expense of middle America, yet I have family members who still believe in him. Personally, I believe he was the Trojan Horse to neutralize the right because if Obama had presided over these things, conservatives would have fought back hard. I'd like to think Republicans will learn from their coming defeat, but I doubt it. I'm going to the polls in Florida to vote for property tax relief, and I may vote for Jolly. I appreciated Ron DeSantis for his strong stance against CV tyranny, but his second term was mostly disappointing. In the end, they're all bought and paid for.
Best, and most compassionate, piece I have read on this topic. Thank you, Pedro.
Thank you for reading and commenting!
When you said im voting straight democrat i stopped reading. Anyone who supports the athiest/transinsanity/Muslim death cult has a screw loose.
Okay!
Great piece.
This news I'm about to relate seems relevant?
If you haven't heard about the situation I am about to relate, there is a link a couple paragraphs down, to a Caitlin Johnstone article that gives the setup.
Ramaswamy and his wife donated 38K to the gofundme that has gone viral for having been set up, by a homeless vet, for the Red Baron worker who himself went viral this past August, for losing his composure while on the overtime clock, at a little streaming prankster who hassled the worker and pretended to steal money from him while he was head deep in a grocery store pizza freezer.
38k of course is how much a billionaire made in a minute, for 6 years, while racing to beat Elon Musk's top ranking. The Ramaswamys' donation is the "top donation" and of course will stay there, advertising their names, unless someone comes along and outbids them.
Meanwhile, the homeless vet, who set up the gofundme for the worker because he was worried about whether the worker would be able to keep his job dealing with pizzas in store freezers (be sure to watch the video of the incident in the linked article), ended up with someone realizing *the homeless man's* dire situation and creating *him* a gofundme, out of concern for *his* wellbeing, but his gofundme hasn't gone viral yet, so it's at <30K and the Ramaswamys haven't noticed it.
Here's a link about the whole sordid, sad story https://caitlinjohnstone.substack.com/p/the-viral-red-baron-employees-fundraiser , except for the bit about the Ramaswamys' donation. I found that just now, on the gofundme for the Red Baron worker.
All the links to the gofundmes are in the article. I will leave that as the entry point, since it's how I learned of all of this, and I think it deserves to be read complete.
I don't care to read Ramaswamy's mind, but the "optics" on this are just as callous as anything else he's done in his political "career".
I asked myself, why 38K? Why not 40 or a round 50? I then remembered, the figure was famous for a moment, for being a billionaire's minute and quite possibly an everyman worker's annual income.
Tone deaf doesn't quite cover it.
And, in addition (this stands outside and beyond the inadequacy of "tone deaf" wrt the amount and obviousness of their donation), they haven't managed to find the homeless man's gofundme. 38K would more than double what he has received thus far.
The Democrats are no better. Wrecking your own state to send a message to the Republicans to change direction away from Trumpism is only harming yourself. Better to make your shift in 2028. I'm as disillusioned and angry with 2.0 and the cult members as anyone, but unwilling to gamble on making things worse.
I get it!
"Vance flollops through life believing in nothing, being nothing. A patchwork scarecrow clothed in discordant bits and pieces, pockets stuffed with other people’s talking points and personalities, always offering himself up to tend the fields of different masters."
Vance is simply a craven opportunist. This is what smart people do.
Pity he wasn't smart enough to ditch Trump over The War On Iran and dare Trump to try and fire him (he can't under a fair reading of the constitution, but the SC these days is so cowering....)
Fair point!