#10 days in Turkey

[rabbitcruiser]

National Farm Animals Day

Farm animals take quite the hit in terms of living conditions, diets, hormonal injections, etc., and this is why it is important to lend our voices to the cause this National Farm Animals Day on April 10. First celebrated in 2005, the day is meant to bring awareness to the overall rough conditions that farm animals are forced to live under. Capitalism has led to a gross increase in demand for livestock by commercial brands. To sell the most amount of meat and dairy products, animals are subjected to growth and antibody injections.

History of National Farm Animals Day

National Farm Animals Day was first commemorated in 2005 by Colleen Paige. Paige is a  well-known celebrity pet lifestyle expert, an author, and an animal rescuer amongst her many other accolades and titles. While the day is not registered as an official day, it is still widely celebrated in the U.S. as the message it aims to convey resounds with many across the nation. 

One of the main reasons the day was inaugurated was to shed light on the poor living conditions of farm animals. Firstly, because of commercialization and capitalism, livestock is produced and maintained in large populations. Often, this means cramped and extremely tight living spaces for the animals. All of this leads to poorer health conditions for them as diseases and infections can spread easily amongst the animals. Moreover, to market products to the masses, farm animals are also endlessly injected with antibodies. 

World Day for Farmed Animals is also celebrated on October 2. The main purpose of both days remains the same — to protect farm animals in the long run by providing better living conditions for them. Going by simple logic, the farm animals’ products we consume will only be beneficial for us if the farm animals themselves are kept in great conditions. We can start to raise awareness about the day by spreading the word about it and donating to the right organizations. 

National Farm Animals Day timeline

8000 B.C.

Cattle Being Farmed

Some of the earliest records state that cattle were being farmed for the first time during 8000 B.C. in the Middle East.

1983

World Day for Farmed Animals

The first World Day for Farmed Animals is celebrated by putting the spotlight on the plights of farm animals.

2005

Paige’s National Farm Animals Day

Colleen Paige, a famous celebrity pet lifestyle expert, announces April 10 as the day to be dedicated to farm animals and raising awareness of their poor living conditions.

2005

Paige’s National Wildlife Day

Being a philanthropist, Colleen Paige also commemorates National Wildlife Day (February 22 and September 4) to bring attention to endangered species.

National Farm Animals Day FAQs

Are there any solid laws in place for farm animals’ protection? 

There are very few laws that benefit farm animals, especially on-site protection for animals in the U.S. This means that abuse often gets overlooked or ignored unless there are extremely shocking cases. 

Does it cost more to keep farm animals in healthier and better conditions? 

It depends, but the answer to the question is mostly, yes. However, consumer polls reveal that many people care about the welfare of farm animals and they are willing to pay more if it means that the animals are treated fairly. 

What guidelines should I follow to ensure that I am buying only from trustworthy factories? 

There are a few guidelines you can keep in mind while purchasing. You can do your research on brands by looking at their product labels and websites, and trying to see what farm-animal welfare practices they follow. For example, do brands ensure policies against caging/crowding and are they 100% transparent about animals’ lives under factory conditions, etc.?

National Farm Animals Day Activities

Read up on farm animals history: One of the best ways to go about this day is learning about the history of farm animals. By getting to know more about their past, you will be able to sketch a rough idea of their present and future. Animals, like any other living being, deserve respect, dignity, and the right to be heard.

Spread awareness: Talk to your friends, family, acquaintances, strangers, etc., and spread the word about the day and what it stands for. One of the best ways to do this is by using social media tools like hashtags, videos, posts, etc.

Donate to organizations: Search for farm animal organizations active and working in your locality. If none exist in your area, either start your own organization or use other ways to help by volunteering at farms or donating.

5 Facts About Animal Rights That Will Blow Your Mind

Farm animals facing the most abuse: Apart from domesticated animals like cats and dogs, farm animals face the most amount of abuse and neglect from their caretakers.

Fur from fur farms through cruelty: Most fur for fur coats and other clothing items comes from fur farms where animals are killed as young as six months old.

Women over 60 hoard animals: It has been found that women over 60 are more likely to hoard animals in small spaces.

Intentional animal cruelty leading to other crimes: It is estimated that people who intentionally inflict cruelty on animals are more likely going to be involved in other violent crimes, too.

Animal abuse common in farm factories: Undercover investigations led by state authorities have revealed that one of the highest cases of animal abuse occurs in farm factories.

Why We Love National Farm Animals Day

It’s a celebration of animal rights: Animals, be it farm ones or otherwise, deserve the right to live in good conditions like any other living being on this planet. Just because humans have been blessed with the ability to think and command, it does not mean that we should abuse other living beings for our selfish gain.

It’s a celebration of Mother Nature: Mother Nature has gifted us countless things that we benefit from every day. From beneficial plants and herbs to nutritious vitamins and minerals. It is our duty to give back and the least we can do is respect our food sources by providing them with the best living conditions possible.

It’s a celebration for a better tomorrow: The only way we can move forward and hope to have a bright future is if we take the reins today by evaluating our choices. If we do not treat our food sources the correct way, we are also harming ourselves and our future generations in the long run.

Source

[bloodmoon24]

what would the electroswing friends do on thanksgiving?

Doing one of those classic Thanksgiving shenanigans. Either of them invited the others and their friends and family to their place, had to make a big ass dinner for all of them, thinking it would be impossible, but with some help they managed, but at soon as everything was prepared and the food was cooked, something happened and destroyed all the food just as the others and their loved ones arrived, thinking they could hide it, but in the end, everything working out perfectly in the end

You know, the traditional Thanksgiving situations on tv

[helianskies]

chapter xxx: the summoning

“Do you want to rest for a bit?”

“Don’t you? You did before.”

“I will for a bit, maybe,” Antonio supposed. He continued to stroke through Arthur’s locks. He continued to feel nothing but love and affection for the sweet, sleepy creature before him. “But only for a bit. I should keep up appearances and join the family for food soon.”

“What, more food? Again?”

“It may surprise you to know, but it is nearly dinnertime.”

“How?”

“You know what they say: time flies, and all that,” Antonio trailed off.

[ read full update on ao3! ]

[lanarchive]

confession: i havent watched a single game so far ❤️

[lesbiansanemi]

In a turn of shocking events absolutely stunning no one more than myself, I might actually enjoy cooking and not only that, be good at it

[consulaaris]

made a very nice (& massive) batch of chili 😌 i should cook more

[yahoo201027]

Day in Fandom History: November 24…

It’s a Thanksgiving mystery as someone inside the house puts an uncooked turkey in the toilet overnight and Bob won’t stop until he finds out who did it as Gene, Linda, and Gayle devise a song for the holiday. The second Thanksgiving-themed episode of Bob’s Burgers, “Turkey in a Can”, premiered on this day, 10 Years Ago.

[crippled-peeper]

psychiatrists: You can’t stop this medication cold turkey. You need to stay on your meds no matter what. If you don’t stay on your meds I won’t treat you as my patient anymore

psychiatrists when you need your meds refilled: yeah I can do that in about 10 business days. oh you need it right now? or you’re going to end up hospitalized? meh I don’t care. good luck idiot

[sonchiildren]

For anyone waiting, I'll get to the starter calls probably later tonight or tomorrow...and to anyone else, check them out if you want one too ^3^

[rabbitcruiser]

National Farm Animals Day

Farm animals take quite the hit in terms of living conditions, diets, hormonal injections, etc., and this is why it is important to lend our voices to the cause this National Farm Animals Day on April 10. First celebrated in 2005, the day is meant to bring awareness to the overall rough conditions that farm animals are forced to live under. Capitalism has led to a gross increase in demand for livestock by commercial brands. To sell the most amount of meat and dairy products, animals are subjected to growth and antibody injections.

History of National Farm Animals Day

National Farm Animals Day was first commemorated in 2005 by Colleen Paige. Paige is a  well-known celebrity pet lifestyle expert, an author, and an animal rescuer amongst her many other accolades and titles. While the day is not registered as an official day, it is still widely celebrated in the U.S. as the message it aims to convey resounds with many across the nation. 

One of the main reasons the day was inaugurated was to shed light on the poor living conditions of farm animals. Firstly, because of commercialization and capitalism, livestock is produced and maintained in large populations. Often, this means cramped and extremely tight living spaces for the animals. All of this leads to poorer health conditions for them as diseases and infections can spread easily amongst the animals. Moreover, to market products to the masses, farm animals are also endlessly injected with antibodies. 

World Day for Farmed Animals is also celebrated on October 2. The main purpose of both days remains the same — to protect farm animals in the long run by providing better living conditions for them. Going by simple logic, the farm animals’ products we consume will only be beneficial for us if the farm animals themselves are kept in great conditions. We can start to raise awareness about the day by spreading the word about it and donating to the right organizations. 

National Farm Animals Day timeline

8000 B.C.

Cattle Being Farmed

Some of the earliest records state that cattle were being farmed for the first time during 8000 B.C. in the Middle East.

1983

World Day for Farmed Animals

The first World Day for Farmed Animals is celebrated by putting the spotlight on the plights of farm animals.

2005

Paige’s National Farm Animals Day

Colleen Paige, a famous celebrity pet lifestyle expert, announces April 10 as the day to be dedicated to farm animals and raising awareness of their poor living conditions.

2005

Paige’s National Wildlife Day

Being a philanthropist, Colleen Paige also commemorates National Wildlife Day (February 22 and September 4) to bring attention to endangered species.

National Farm Animals Day FAQs

Are there any solid laws in place for farm animals’ protection? 

There are very few laws that benefit farm animals, especially on-site protection for animals in the U.S. This means that abuse often gets overlooked or ignored unless there are extremely shocking cases. 

Does it cost more to keep farm animals in healthier and better conditions? 

It depends, but the answer to the question is mostly, yes. However, consumer polls reveal that many people care about the welfare of farm animals and they are willing to pay more if it means that the animals are treated fairly. 

What guidelines should I follow to ensure that I am buying only from trustworthy factories? 

There are a few guidelines you can keep in mind while purchasing. You can do your research on brands by looking at their product labels and websites, and trying to see what farm-animal welfare practices they follow. For example, do brands ensure policies against caging/crowding and are they 100% transparent about animals’ lives under factory conditions, etc.?

National Farm Animals Day Activities

Read up on farm animals history: One of the best ways to go about this day is learning about the history of farm animals. By getting to know more about their past, you will be able to sketch a rough idea of their present and future. Animals, like any other living being, deserve respect, dignity, and the right to be heard.

Spread awareness: Talk to your friends, family, acquaintances, strangers, etc., and spread the word about the day and what it stands for. One of the best ways to do this is by using social media tools like hashtags, videos, posts, etc.

Donate to organizations: Search for farm animal organizations active and working in your locality. If none exist in your area, either start your own organization or use other ways to help by volunteering at farms or donating.

5 Facts About Animal Rights That Will Blow Your Mind

Farm animals facing the most abuse: Apart from domesticated animals like cats and dogs, farm animals face the most amount of abuse and neglect from their caretakers.

Fur from fur farms through cruelty: Most fur for fur coats and other clothing items comes from fur farms where animals are killed as young as six months old.

Women over 60 hoard animals: It has been found that women over 60 are more likely to hoard animals in small spaces.

Intentional animal cruelty leading to other crimes: It is estimated that people who intentionally inflict cruelty on animals are more likely going to be involved in other violent crimes, too.

Animal abuse common in farm factories: Undercover investigations led by state authorities have revealed that one of the highest cases of animal abuse occurs in farm factories.

Why We Love National Farm Animals Day

It’s a celebration of animal rights: Animals, be it farm ones or otherwise, deserve the right to live in good conditions like any other living being on this planet. Just because humans have been blessed with the ability to think and command, it does not mean that we should abuse other living beings for our selfish gain.

It’s a celebration of Mother Nature: Mother Nature has gifted us countless things that we benefit from every day. From beneficial plants and herbs to nutritious vitamins and minerals. It is our duty to give back and the least we can do is respect our food sources by providing them with the best living conditions possible.

It’s a celebration for a better tomorrow: The only way we can move forward and hope to have a bright future is if we take the reins today by evaluating our choices. If we do not treat our food sources the correct way, we are also harming ourselves and our future generations in the long run.

Source

[lovejenkins]

🙃🙃🙃

[angiemaniac]

The Durge Companion AU - The Blade of Frontiers

He knew people.

Also! Hope everyone had a lovely Turkey Day!

Join the Discord and Patreon

First: Start Here!

Next: Chapter 12

Previous: Chapter 10

[pfhwrittes]

you don’t celebrate christmas with simon.

this year it’s just another slow wednesday watching dvds (no streaming services showing the top 10 suggested christmas films in the uk looming ominously on the telly), no tree, no cards or tinsel decorating the mantle of the fireplace, no big turkey dinner — just two frozen pizzas for the pair of you.

he gets quiet on the 25th of december like he does every year and you leave him be. he spends most of his day as a ghost.

but later in the evening when you’re both drowsy and you’ve finished watching the spaced box set he’ll light a candle and talk about his mum, tommy and beth and little joseph.

and you’ll cradle his face into your chest until the words run out.

and to you it’s perfect.

[batbabydamian]

A Quick Guide to Damian’s Furry/Feathered/Scaled Companions

LEFT: R:SOB #1 Cover RIGHT: R:SOB #6

GOLIATH THE BAT DRAGON

Introduced in: ROBIN: SON OF BATMAN (2015) #1

DAMIAN'S BABY AND BEASTY BESTIE!! On a mission during the Year of Blood, Damian kills the family of bat dragons guarding his objective. Goliath, despite being the youngest and last of his kind, forgives Damian. Goliath goes on to become one of Damian's most loyal companions, even featuring beside him in Batman Beyond (2016) #10, #11, #43-#47!

LEFT: B&R #13 RIGHT: B&R #4

TITUS THE DOG

Introduced in: BATMAN AND ROBIN (2011) #2

A Great Dane gifted to Damian from Bruce as an effort in fatherhood. Funny enough, Damian finds him a nuisance at first and briefly refers to him as "Dog". Titus is a good boy that follows Damian's every step, even joining Bruce on his mission to resurrect Damian!

LEFT: Batman Inc #1 RIGHT: Batman Inc #7

BAT-COW THE COW

Introduced in: BATMAN INCORPORATED (2012) #1

Bat-Cow, branded with a star signifying which cattle were contaminated, was saved from a slaughterhouse to run some tests (which they do find of a mind control variety). Damian declares himself a vegetarian, and calls her Bat-Cow! She also sorta has a running gag of literally standing in the face of danger to save the day.

LEFT: Batman Inc #6 RIGHT: Batman Inc #7

ALFRED THE CAT

Introduced in: BATMAN INCORPORATED (2012) #6

Considered a "hopeless case" by the animal shelter, Alfred gifts him to Damian. The cat is a bold lil guy, which Damian takes an immediate liking to, and names him Alfred (likely because tuxedo cat = butler lol). After hours of chicken, playtime, and scratches, Damian and Alfred become friends! He makes his first appearance alongside Damian’s first appearance as Batman in BATMAN (1940) #666

LEFT: Batman: Li'l Gotham #2/#1 RIGHT: Batman: Li'l Gotham #23/#12

*JERRY THE TURKEY

Introduced in: BATMAN LI'L GOTHAM (2012) #2 (Digital) #1 (Printed)

The Penguin unleashes an army of turkeys at the Gotham Thanksgiving parade which Damian turns into his own li'l turkey march by playing the trumpet. He ends up bringing one of them back for Thanksgiving dinner (as a friend), and Jerry becomes a fairly regular appearance in the world of Li'l Gotham!

*WIGGLES THE DRAGON

Introduced in: NIGHTWING (2016) #42

A sort of filler issue where Damian has been kidnapped for his blood by the "Crimson Kabuki" in Tokyo, and Dick goes through a series of boss battles to save him. The dragon's blood has been the group's main source of power, so it ends up teaming with the duo, and returns home with them.

Wiggles was originally named by a fan, "Shanootnoot" on Twitter!

*Goliath, Titus, Bat-Cow, and Alfred the cat have been Damian's main canon cast of furry companions, but SUPER-PETS SPECIAL: BITEDENTITY CRISIS (2024) may have just added Jerry and Wiggles!!

[siambre]

hello all. as you might have heard, right now Turkey is on the brink of slipping into autocracy. as a Turk, i feel it’s my obligation to raise awareness of what we are and have been going through for the past 23 years. i’m not asking for any donations — i only want our voices to be heard.

the details are below the cut.

last Wednesday, the President of Turkey detained his most powerful rival and the Mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem İmamoğlu, along with more than 100 others including mayors of prominent Istanbul districts (who are all members of opposition parties). İmamoğlu was detained on the basis of corruption and aiding terrorist organizations; however, his interrogation questions reveal that the charges are entirely based on hearsay. nevertheless, he was arrested yesterday based on the corruption charges, and sent to the same prison where another opposition leader and many opposing journalists are also being held. to add insult to injury, just the day before his detainment, İmamoğlu’s university diploma was unlawfully revoked. a university degree is required to become president here, so this was clearly done to bar him from running for president. ironically, our current president famously didn’t go to university (although he claims that he did).

İmamoğlu and the other mayors’ arrests are the culmination of 23 years of our president’s regime. he rules with fear and violence. if you speak against him in any way, you lose your job and, in many cases, go to prison. that’s how he has silenced our nation for more than 2 decades. he has built himself an empire off the back of our people and continues to milk us for everything we have. he owns all branches of the government, all the ministries, the military, the police. EVERYTHING. his policies have destroyed our education system, there’s no justice anymore (unless it’s against the opposition), at least one woman gets murdered every single day, people aren’t safe even inside their homes, you can’t find a job unless you know the right people, there are almost no governmental checks on important industries due to corruption (ie. food regulation, construction, etc.), and last but certainly not least, the sky-high inflation has lead to millions of people living below the starvation threshold. i mean, just look at how much our currency has been devalued over the years.

people are suffering. they’re committing suicide because they can’t afford to live or provide for their families. and it’s only going to get worse. İmamoğlu’s arrest alone has devalued our currency by 10% in a single day.

as if all these weren’t enough, two consecutive earthquakes in 2023 caused the death of an estimated 100-200 THOUSAND people and injured thousands more. we have been paying the government a special tax specifically for disaster situations like this since 2002 — and yet, when the time came, the government STILL failed to rescue, help, or protect the survivors. they literally sold blood and tents to the survivors... AND instead of delivering the goods that millions of citizens gathered to send to the survivors, some municipalities of the ruling party stored them for themselves and gave them out as “gifts” to potential voters when the elections came around.

moreover, last month 79 people burned to death in a luxury ski resort, and all the government did was blame the firefighters and detain the mayor of the city (a popular opposition party member).

not a single government official resigned after either of these disasters.

there are so many other examples of the president and his cronies’ depravity, but if i were to list them all, we’d be here all year. i hope you can understand why we, the people, are frustrated with them. we have been crushed under his thumb for decades.

we are fed up. we are angry.

so it was no surprise that the public reacted against İmamoğlu’s detainment. what no one expected, however, was how MASSIVE the backlash would be. the last mass protest we had was 12 years ago, and the protesters involved with it are STILL being prosecuted. now, it’s said that over a million people are out on the streets every day, and the numbers keep rising. yesterday, all while İmamoğlu was being arrested, the main opposition party held a vote to officially pick him as their presidential candidate, and they invited the public to vote symbolically to show support. over 15 million people showed up to cast their votes for him (around 61 million people in total can vote in a real election, and remember, many people didn’t/couldn’t vote due to fear of repercussions). this arrest has brought every opposition party and organization together and had them rally against the government. and i do mean EVERY opposition party. right, left, religious, secular… ALL of them. university students who were murdering each other 40 years ago due to their right-left clashes are now running to each other’s rescue and holding hands. that should give you an idea of how huge of a deal this is.

this is the president’s worst nightmare — us coming together and no longer fearing him. because he knows that if we remember our strength as the people and keep up the fight, he doesn’t stand a chance against us.

here are a few photos from the protests:

peaceful protests are our constitutional right, but before we even heard of İmamoğlu’s detainment or had the chance to protest, the president released his army of riot police on us with their batons, tear gas, rubber bullets, and armored cars. he declared that all large gatherings were prohibited for 4 days (which he later extended to 8), slowed down the internet so we couldn’t use Twitter or Instagram or Whatsapp to communicate, censored news channels and threatened to end any channel that broadcasted live footage of the police brutality against the protesters, called the protesters “street terrorists” and “vandals”, detained more than 1100 protesters (some of whom i personally know), and continues to detain protesters from their homes using facial recognition. the detained protesters are kept from speaking to their lawyers for as long as possible (thus extending their detention), and many more are being injured out on the streets (some permanently). it’s only a matter of time until someone gets killed.

the average citizen doesn’t own guns here. the only people that do are the armed forces and gang members. and yet, we’re still fighting back against the police who fire rubber bullets, tear gas, and freezing pressurized water at us, and beat us up. we’ve already caused some minor changes with these protests, but they’re not nearly enough. tonight, the opposition leader has called for a nationwide boycott targeting every company close to the government (he even gave specific brand names, another first in Turkish political history).

as a nation, we’ll have to endure a lot of physical, mental, and economic hardship to get rid of our dictator. but it’ll be worth it in the end. it has to. we’re at the end of the road here. one more step forward, and we’ll turn into Russia. we can’t let that happen. this is a fight for life or death now, and we have almost nothing left to lose.

if you’re looking for ways to help us, the most effective thing you can do is to stop buying anything imported from Turkey and, if you can, cancel any upcoming trips here until the president steps down. domestic and international economic pressure is our greatest weapon against the government.

this fight will seriously hurt the country as a whole, but us Turks are used to adversity. we will fight until the last man if we must. democracy will prevail.

HAK! HUKUK! ADALET!

[mostlysignssomeportents]

The true, tactical significance of Project 2025

TODAY (July 14), I'm giving the closing keynote for the fifteenth HACKERS ON PLANET EARTH, in QUEENS, NY. Happy Bastille Day! NEXT SATURDAY (July 20), I'm appearing in CHICAGO at Exile in Bookville.

Like you, I have heard a lot about Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation's roadmap for the actions that Trump should take if he wins the presidency. Given the Heritage Foundation's centrality to the American authoritarian project, it's about as awful and frightening as you might expect:

https://www.project2025.org/

But (nearly) all the reporting and commentary on Project 2025 badly misses the point. I've only read a single writer who immediately grasped the true significance of Project 2025: The American Prospect's Rick Perlstein, which is unsurprising, given Perlstein's stature as one of the left's most important historians of right wing movements:

https://prospect.org/politics/2024-07-10-project-2025-republican-presidencies-tradition/

As Perlstein points out, Project 2025 isn't new. The Heritage Foundation and its allies have prepared documents like this, with many identical policy prescriptions, in the run-up to many presidential elections. Perlstein argues that Warren G Harding's 1921 inaugural address captures much of its spirit, as did the Nixon campaign's 1973 vow to "move the country so far to the right 'you won’t even recognize it.'"

The threats to democracy and its institutions aren't new. The right has been bent on their destruction for more than a century. As Perlstein says, the point of taking note of this isn't to minimize the danger, rather, it's to contextualize it. The American right has, since the founding of the Republic, been bent on creating a system of hereditary aristocrats, who govern without "interference" from democratic institutions, so that their power to extract wealth from First Nations, working people, and the land itself is checked only by rivalries with other aristocrats. The project of the right is grounded in a belief in Providence: that God's favor shines on His best creations and elevates them to wealth and power. Elite status is proof of merit, and merit is "that which leads to elite status."

When a wealthy person founds an intergenerational dynasty of wealth and power, this is merely a hereditary meritocracy: a bloodline infused with God's favor. Sometimes, this belief is dressed up in caliper-wielding pseudoscience, with the "good bloodline" reflecting superior genetics and not the favor of the Almighty. Of course, a true American aristocrat gussies up his "race realism" with mystical nonsense: "God favored me with superior genes." The corollary, of course, is that you are poor because God doesn't favor you, or because your genes are bad, or because God punished you with bad genes.

So we should be alarmed by the right's agenda. We should be alarmed at how much ground it has gained, and how the right has stolen elections and Supreme Court seats to enshrine antimajoritarianism as a seemingly permanent fact of life, giving extremist minorities the power to impose their will on the rest of us, dooming us to a roasting planet, forced births, racist immiseration, and most expensive, worst-performing health industry in the world.

But for all that the right has bombed so many of the roads to a prosperous, humane future, it's a huge mistake to think of the right as a stable, unified force, marching to victory after inevitable victory. The American right is a brittle coalition led by a handful of plutocrats who have convinced a large number of turkeys to vote for Christmas.

The right wing coalition needs to pander to forced-birth extremists, racist extremist, Christian Dominionist extremists (of several types), frothing anti-Communist cranks, vicious homophobes and transphobes, etc, etc. Pandering to all these groups isn't easy: for one thing, they often want opposite things – the post-Roe forced birth policies that followed the Dobbs decision are wildly unpopular among conservatives, with the exception of a clutch of totally unhinged maniacs that the party relies on as part of a much larger coalition. Even more unpopular are policies banning birth control, like the ones laid out in Project 2025. Less popular still: the proposed ban on no-fault divorce. Each of these policies have different constituencies to whom they are very popular, but when you put them together, you get Dan Savage's "Husbands you can't leave, pregnancies you can't prevent or terminate, politicians you can't vote out of office":

https://twitter.com/fakedansavage/status/1805680183065854083

The constituency for "husbands you can't leave, pregnancies you can't prevent or terminate, politicians you can't vote out of office" is very small. Almost no one in the GOP coalition is voting for all of this, they're voting for one or two of these things and holding their noses when it comes to the rest.

Take the "libertarian" wing of the GOP: its members do favor personal liberty…it's just that they favor low taxes for them more than personal liberty for you. The kind of lunatic who'd vote for a dead gopher if it would knock a quarter off his tax bill will happily allow his coalition partners to rape pregnant women with unnecessary transvaginal ultrasounds and force them to carry unwanted fetuses to term if that's the price he has to pay to save a nickel in taxes:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/09/29/jubilance/#tolerable-racism

And, of course, the religious maniacs who profess a total commitment to Biblical virtue but worship Trump, Gaetz, Limbaugh, Gingrich, Reagan, and the whole panoply of cheating, lying, kid-fiddling, dope-addled refugees from a Jack Chick tract know that these men never gave a shit about Jesus, the Apostles or the Ten Commandments – but they'll vote for 'em because it will get them school prayer, total abortion bans, and unregulated "home schooling" so they can brainwash a generation of Biblical literalists who think the Earth is 5,000 years old and that Jesus was white and super into rich people.

Time and again, the leaders of the conservative movement prove themselves capable of acts of breathtaking cruelty, and undoubtedly many of them are depraved sadists who genuinely enjoy the suffering of their enemies (think of Trump lickspittle Steven Miller's undisguised glee at the thought of parents who would never be reunited with children after being separated at the border). But it's a mistake to think that "the cruelty is the point." The point of the cruelty is to assemble and maintain the coalition. Cruelty is the tactic. Power is the point:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/03/09/turkeys-voting-for-christmas/#culture-wars

The right has assembled a lot of power. They did so by maintaining unity among people who have irreconcilable ethics and goals. Think of the pro-genocide coalition that includes far-right Jewish ethno-nationalists, antisemitic apocalyptic Christians who believe they are hastening the end-times, and Islamophobes of every description, from War On Terror relics to Hindu nationalists.

This is quite an improbable coalition, and while I deplore its goals, I can't help but be impressed by its cohesion. Can you imagine the kind of behind-the-scenes work it takes to get antisemites who think Jews secretly control the world to lobby with Zionists? Or to get Zionists to work alongside of Holocaust-denying pencilneck Hitler wannabes whose biggest regret is not bringing their armbands to Charlottesville?

Which brings me back to Project 2025 and its true significance. As Perlstein writes, Project 2025 is a mess. Clocking in an 900 pages, large sections of Project 2025 flatly contradict each other, while other sections contain subtle contradictions that you wouldn't notice unless you were schooled in the specialized argot of the far right's jargon and history.

For example, Project 2025 calls for defunding government agencies and repurposing the same agencies to carry out various spectacular atrocities. Both actions are deplorable, but they're also mutually exclusive. Project 2025 demands four different, completely irreconcilable versions of US trade policy. But at least that's better than Project 2025's chapter on monetary policy, which simply lays out every right wing theory of money and then throws up its hands and recommends none of them.

Perlstein says that these conflicts, blank spots and contradictions are the most important parts of Project 2025. They are the fracture lines in the coalition: the conflicting ideas that have enough support that neither side can triumph over the other. These are the conflicts that are so central to the priorities of blocs that are so important to the coalition that they must be included, even though that inclusion constitutes a blinking "LOOK AT ME" sign telling us where the right is ready to split apart.

The right is really good at this. Perlstein points to Nixon's expansion of affirmative action, undertaken to sow division between Black and white workers. We need to get better at it.

So far, we've lavished attention on the clearest and most emphatic proposals in Project 2025 – for understandable reasons. These are the things they say they want to do. It would be reckless to ignore them. But they've been saying things like this for a century. These demands constitute a compelling argument for fighting them as a matter of urgency, with the intention of winning. And to win, we need to split apart their coalition.

Perlstein calls on us to dissect Project 2025, to cleave it at its joints. To do so, he says we need to understand its antecedents, like Nixon's "Malek Manual," a roadmap for destroying the lives of civil servants who failed to show sufficient loyalty to Nixon. For example, the Malek Manual lays out a "Traveling Salesman Technique" whereby a government employee would be given duties "criss-crossing him across the country to towns (hopefully with the worst accommodations possible) of a population of 20,000 or under. Until his wife threatens him with divorce unless he quits, you have him out of town and out of the way":

https://www.google.com/books/edition/Final_Report_on_Violations_and_Abuses_of/0dRLO9vzQF0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22organization+of+a+political+personnel+office+and+program%22&pg=PA161&printsec=frontcover

It's no coincidence that leftist historians of the right are getting a lot of attention. Trumpism didn't come out of nowhere – Trump is way too stupid and undisciplined to be a cause – he's an effect. In his excellent, bestselling new history of the right in the early 1990s, When the Clock Broke, Josh Ganz shows us the swamp that bred Trump, with such main characters as the fascist eugenicist Sam Francis:

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374605445/whentheclockbroke

Ganz joins the likes of the Know Your Enemy podcast, an indispensable history of reactionary movements that does excellent work in tracing the fracture lines in the right coalition:

https://www.patreon.com/posts/when-clock-broke-106803105

Progressives are also an uneasy coalition that is easily splintered. As Naomi Klein argues in her essential Doppelganger, the liberal-left coalition is inherently unstable and contains the seeds of its own destruction:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/05/not-that-naomi/#if-the-naomi-be-klein-youre-doing-just-fine

Liberals have been the senior partner in that coalition, and their commitment to preserving institutions for their own sake (rather than because of what they can do to advance human thriving) has produced generations of weak and ineffectual responses to the crises of terminal-stage capitalism, like the idea that student-debt cancellation should be means-tested:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/05/03/utopia-of-rules/#in-triplicate

The last bid for an American aristocracy was repelled by rejecting institutions, not preserving them. When the Supreme Court thwarted the New Deal, FDR announced his intention to pack the court, and then began the process of doing so (which included no-holds-barred attacks on foot-draggers in his own party). Not for nothing, this is more-or-less what Lincoln did when SCOTUS blocked Reconstruction:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/09/20/judicial-equilibria/#pack-the-court

But the liberals who lead the progressive movement dismiss packing the court as unserious and impractical – notwithstanding the fact that they have no plan for rescuing America from the bribe-taking extremists, the credibly accused rapist, and the three who stole their robes. Ultimately, liberals defend SCOTUS because it is the Supreme Court. I defended SCOTUS, too – while it was still a vestigial organ of the rights revolution, which improved the lives of millions of Americans. Human rights are worth defending, SCOTUS isn't. If SCOTUS gets in the way of human rights, then screw SCOTUS. Sideline it. Pack it. Make it a joke.

Fuck it.

This isn't to argue for left seccession from the progressive coalition. As we just saw in France, splitting at this moment is an invitation to literal fascist takeover:

https://jacobin.com/2024/07/melenchon-macron-france-left-winner

But if there's one thing that the rise of Trumpism has proven, it's that parties are not immune to being wrestled away from their establishment leaderships by radical groups:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/06/16/that-boy-aint-right/#dinos-rinos-and-dunnos

What's more, there's a much stronger natural coalition that the left can mobilize: workers. Being a worker – that is, paying your bills from wages, instead of profits – isn't an ideology you can change, it's a fact. A Christian nationalist can change their beliefs and then they will no longer be a Christian nationalist. But no matter what a worker believes, they are still a worker – they still have a irreconcilable conflict with people whose money comes from profits, speculation, or rents. There is no objectively fair way to divide the profits a worker's labor generates – your boss will always pay you as little of that surplus as he can. The more wages you take home, the less profit there is for your boss, the fewer dividends there are for his shareholders, and the less there is to pay to rentiers:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/19/make-them-afraid/#fear-is-their-mind-killer

Reviving the role of workers in their unions, and of unions in the Democratic party, is the key to building the in-party power we need to drag the party to real solutions – strong antimonopoly action, urgent climate action, protections for gender, racial and sexual minorities, and decent housing, education and health care.

The alternative to a worker-led Democratic Party is a Democratic Party run by its elites, whose dictates and policies are inescapably illegitimate. As Hamilton Nolan writes, the completely reasonable (and extremely urgent) discussion about Biden's capacity to defeat Trump has been derailed by the Democrats' undemocratic structure. Ultimately, the decision to have an open convention or to double down on a candidate whose campaign has been marred by significant deficits is down to a clutch of party officials who operate without any formal limits or authority:

https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/the-hole-at-the-heart-of-the-democratic

Jettisoning Biden because George Clooney (or Nancy Pelosi) told us to is never going to feel legitimate to his supporters in the party. But if the movement for an open convention came from grassroots-dominated unions who themselves dominated the party – as was the case, until the Reagan revolution – then there'd be a sense that the party had constituents, and it was acting on its behalf.

Reviving the labor movement after 40 years of Reaganomic war on workers may sound like a tall order, but we are living through a labor renaissance, and the long-banked embers of labor radicalism are reigniting. What's more, repelling fascism is what workers' movements do. The business community will always sell you out to the Nazis in exchange for low taxes, cheap labor and loose regulation.

But workers, organized around their class interests, stand strong. Last week, we lost one of labor's brightest flames. Jane McAlevey, a virtuoso labor organizer and trainer of labor organizers, died of cancer at 57:

https://jacobin.com/2024/07/jane-mcalevey-strategy-organizing-obituary

McAlevey fought to win. She was skeptical of platitudes like "speaking truth to power," always demanding an explanation for how the speech would become action. In her classic book A Collective Bargain, she describes how she built worker power:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/23/a-collective-bargain/

McAlevey helped organize a string of successful strikes, including the 2019 LA teachers' strike. Her method was straightforward: all you have to do to win a strike or a union drive is figure out how to convince every single worker in the shop to back the union. That's all.

Of course, it's harder than it sounds. All the problems that plague every coalition – especially the progressive liberal/left coalition – are present on the shop floor. Some workers don't like each other. Some don't see their interests aligned with others. Some are ornery. Some are convinced that victory is impossible.

McAlevey laid out a program for organizing that involved figuring out how to reach every single worker, to converse with them, listen to them, understand them, and win them over. I've never read or heard anyone speak more clearly, practically and inspirationally about coalition building.

Biden was never my candidate. I supported three other candidates ahead of him in 2020. When he got into office and started doing a small number of things I really liked, it didn't make me like him. I knew who he was: the Senator from MBNA, whose long political career was full of bills, votes and speeches that proved that while we might have some common goals, we didn't want the same America or the same world.

My interest in Biden over the past four years has had two areas of focus: how can I get him to do more of the things that will make us all better off, and do less of the things that make the world worse. When I think about the next four years, I'm thinking about the same things. A Trump presidency will contain far more bad things and far fewer good ones.

Many people I like and trust have pointed out that they don't like Biden and think he will be a bad president, but they think Trump will be much worse. To limit Biden's harms, leftists have to take over the Democratic Party and the progressive movement, so that he's hemmed in by his power base. To limit Trump's harms, leftists have to identify the fracture lines in the right coalition and drive deep wedges into them, shattering his power base.

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If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/07/14/fracture-lines/#disassembly-manual