#the trump era

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

The New York Times just dropped a full-page editorial with one message—"Vote to End the Trump Era."

They're not holding back, laying out exactly how Trump’s attacks on democracy, obsession with power, and disregard for the truth make him unfit to lead. If he's re-elected, they warn, it’s game over for rights, justice, and the environment. America deserves better. Time to make it count.

[link]

[tomorrowusa]

Everywhere I look these days, I see young conservatives believing they should behave like jerks or like the body parts they cover with those red ties. Because they have no frame of reference, no meaningful political experience or memory of politics prior to this shabby era, they think being shabby is normal and smart.

– Veteran conservative columnist Jonah Goldberg commenting on twentysomething conservatives who act and even sometimes dress like Donald Trump. Quoted at The Dispatch. (archived)

The effect Donald Trump has had on conservatives who are too young to remember politically the pre-escalator era is appalling even to a lot of more mature conservatives.

There is now a sizeable and still growing number of MAGA babies who totally equate being an immature asshole with being conservative. And these people will be on the political scene for the next half century.

About the only bright spot is that there's a chance their kids will rebel against them. In 20 to 25 years perhaps we'll hear those offspring retort: "Okay zoomer."

[baby-girl-aaron-dessner]

Swifties react to Taylor Swift’s decision to stay friends with Trump supporters.

[madigankrauss]

I’m so scared for Tuesday.

For those who live in other countries and do not know the date of the US election, it’s November 5 aka this Tuesday.

I’m so scared. I was raised watching the news 24/7, it was always on; which now means, I am into politics and have very strong opinions

When it was the 2016 election, I was scared. Just before the election I did a project on her and when she lost I cried. I was six.

In the 2020 election, I was scared. I remember being at home sitting on the floor watching the news and my cousin, she was five, I was explaining the situation, the candidates, and the issues. She told me she really hoped Biden won. When he did I screamed and told her. I cried of relief. I was ten.

Now it’s the 2024 election, I am more scared now than ever. That same cousin is now nine, and she convince my undecided Uncle, on her own, to vote for Kamala. I’m so scared and I can’t understand the severity of the situation now more than ever. I hope that at the end of this week I still can say I feel safe. I will cry no matter which way the election goes either out of relief or out of fear for me, my friends and my family. I am fourteen.

I’m praying at the end of this week my friends, my family, and myself are still safe and have access to healthcare and online resources.

I am so scared for Tuesday.

Vote for me and our generation because we can’t.

Vote Blue.

💙💙💙

Please share this and remind people to register and go out and vote

^Click here to check your ballot, if your registered, where to vote, count down to voting and more

EDIT 10/7/24:

Theres so questionable things that happened during the election here some links to check it out. Please read though them

[evermoredeluxe]

taylor works overtime!

[spookyteeth]

based off of that one picture that i can't find rn

i'm weirdly proud of this

FUCK BOTH OF THESE GUYS BTW. this was just a drawing for me and my friends gc pfp

[justafandomgirly]

[d0gwithabr0kenleg]

me (lying to myself): his skin and hair r totally not too dark or orange, and will look fine when i finish! It's not overdefined!

WHY did i not fix it before i inked 😭😭😭 in my defense? This is literally my 6th acrylic ever

[rejectingrepublicans]

[remembertheplunge]

You have agency

November 6, 2024 Wednesday 4:40pm

Trump Wins. Ushering in a dark  uncertain time.

After the shock and awe die down, remember, you have agency.

The greatest growth comes through the darkest times. Keep observant and vigilant. Opportunities will come along to be a part of the way out.

In 2017, I had many encounters with the homeless. I would fill reusable Trader Joe bags with food, toiletries and socks and pass them out to homeless people. I thought “just this one person”. I can’t solve all homelessness, but I can have an encounter with this one person. That’s how I used my agency. 

Regarding this new potentially authoritarian Trump era that we are entering, maybe try my method. Just this one thing. Just this one person. Whatever it is that is aimed at the oppression. That’s enough. (Passing out a bag was also a gesture "at" societal oppression that sustains homelessness)

End of my thought above.

[pearlynia]

"James isn't gay! you can't ship James and Regulus-"

Watch me <33

[marlbles]

trump and biden have that jegulus type dynamic ykwim

[saydesole]

Kamala Harris 2024 💙💙💙

[simply-ivanka]

If Taylor Swift Had Endorsed Donald Trump

Democrats would scorn her business savvy, cap her ticket prices, and fret over her huge carbon footprint.

Wall Street Journal

By Allysia Finley

Forbes estimates Taylor Swift’s net worth at $1.3 billion. Despite her liberal leanings, the singer-songwriter has amassed her wealth the old-fashioned way: through hard work, talent and business savvy. Her endorsement of Kamala Harris last week is rich considering she owes her success to the capitalist system the vice president wants to tear down.

“The way I see it, fans view music the way they view their relationships,” Ms. Swift wrote in a 2014 piece for the Journal. “Some music is just for fun, a passing fling. . . . Some songs and albums represent seasons of our lives, like relationships that we hold dear in our memories but had their time and place in the past. However, some artists will be like finding ‘the one.’ ” She has become “the one” for hundreds of millions of fans worldwide with lyrics that chronicle relationship woes women commonly experience.

Ms. Swift took advantage of her ardent fan base in 2014 by removing her catalog from Spotify in a bid for higher royalties. “Valuable things should be paid for. It’s my opinion that music should not be free,” she explained. “My hope for the future, not just in the music industry, but in every young girl I meet, . . . is that they all realize their worth and ask for it.”

She also criticized Apple Music for not paying artists during the streaming service’s free trial, prompting the company to change its policy. As she jeers in a hit song, “Who’s afraid of little old me?” Apparently, Big Tech companies.

Last year she reportedly raked in $200 million from streaming royalties on top of the estimated $15.8 million she grossed per performance during her recent “Eras” tour. Some fans have shelled out thousands of dollars on the resale market to see Ms. Swift perform. Americans have even traveled to Europe when they couldn’t get tickets in the U.S.

Her fan base may be more loyal and enthusiastic than Donald Trump’s. JD Vance scoffed at the idea that the star’s endorsement of Ms. Harris could influence the outcome of the election. The “billionaire celebrity,” he said, is “fundamentally disconnected from the interests and the problems of most Americans.” Maybe, but she certainly taps into the problems of young women.

Democrats hope to use Ms. Swift’s endorsement to drive them to the polls. But it isn’t difficult to imagine what the left would be saying about her had she endorsed the Republican antihero. It might go something like this:

The billionaire has gotten rich by ripping off fans, avoiding taxes and harming competitors. Time for the government to break her up. Unlike rival artists, Ms. Swift writes, performs and owns her compositions. This vertical integration allows her to charge exorbitant royalties and ticket prices.

Tickets for her “Eras” tour on average cost about $240. That’s merely the price for admission—not including food, drink or Swiftie swag. VIP passes that include memorabilia go for $899. How dare she make young women choose between paying for groceries or rent and going to a concert.

The Federal Trade Commission must cap Ms. Swift’s ticket prices at a reasonable price—say, $20—and ban her junk fees. Concertgoers shouldn’t have to pay $65 for an “I Love You It’s Ruining My Life” sweatshirt.

Her romance with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce also unfairly boosts their star power, letting them charge more for endorsements. As Ms. Swift writes in one song, “two is better than one.” Mr. Kelce reportedly signed a $100 million podcast deal with Amazon’s Wonderly. By breaking up the couple, the government could reduce their royalties and ticket prices.

Ms. Swift, the self-described “mastermind,” also dodges taxes on her “full income,” which includes some $125 million in real estate and a music catalog worth an estimated $600 million. “They said I was a cheat, I guess it must be true,” Ms. Swift acknowledges in her song “Florida!!!”

Under the Biden-Harris administration’s proposed billionaire’s tax, she would have to pay a 25% levy on the $1 billion increase in her fortune since 2017. But that isn’t enough. Ms. Swift should also have to pay taxes on the appreciating value of her “name, image and likeness,” which the Internal Revenue Service considers an asset.

How much is her brand worth? Easily billions. She might say, as she does in a song, that her “reputation has never been worse.” True, Miss Americana’s image took a hit after reports that her private-jet travel in 2022 emitted 576 times as much CO2 as the average American in a year. When Ms. Swift sings, “It’s me, hi, I’m the problem, it’s me,” she’s correct. She and her fat-cat friends are what’s wrong with America.

Appeared in the September 16, 2024, print edition as 'If Taylor Swift Had Endorsed Donald Trump'.