#u.s. politics

[notyournightsky]

Kids are dying at school due to guns. Meanwhile, the U.S. government decided it was more important to ban a social media app over national security concerns that they have no proof of. Money speaks, and it will never be in the people’s favor

[bicokun]

True, but it is also as if the Mr. Incredible took the remote from Syndrome before he could turn on the weapon and decided had a great point because there were a lot of pro-Palestinian people in that city, and the rest of the family agreed with him except for Dash so they went ahead and turned it on themselves so that Buddy could swoop in and “save the day.”

usamericans, do you remember in the incredibles when syndrome made the robot go haywire just so he could swoop in and 'save the day'

[todaysbird]

Not to drag your blog off topic but what are you referencing with the legal name change? I try to search it up but I'm only getting old stuff.

today Trump signed an executive order declaring there are only two sexes, and they are determined at birth, leaving a lot of folks wondering where that will leave them

[batmanluigi]

No corporate funding for politicians! This is one of the biggest problems here. The people do not have a voice when corporations are considered people ("corporate personhood", look it up) and can buy congress.

[apersonnamedel]

Guys TikTok being back up does not mean anything right now. There is a very high chance of it being sold or has already been sold to a US company or META.

PLEASE remember that Trump is doing nothing in our favor and it was his idea to propose the bill in first place.

Please remember that if TikTok is bought by a US company that makes the online world a US monopoly.

Stay safe and stay aware.

[thestarlightforge]

Good Day to Learn About the Stages of Genocide

now that trump has tiktok, twitter, facebook and insta in his pocket, get ready for a massive wave of internet censorship. one of trump's greatest weapons has always been misinformation; it's going to become harder and harder to spread facts and criticism going forward. posts that aren't made invisible will be magically ignored by the algorithm. dissidents will have their accounts deleted and voices erased.

this is a suppression tactic. this is another stage of fascism.

[bi-astolfo]

All this shit about to happen could have been avoided if you idiots had just voted for Harris.

[kenyatta]

Here we go. 🎢

[babybluecurtains]

International F1 fans…what’s the best country to live in?

[bicokun]

Okay, so it’s true that Trump is flip-flopping and that this is a clear publicity stunt by either TikTok or the Trump admin or—most likely—both, but please stop whitewashing Democrat complicity.

2/3rds of the House Democrats voted for the standalone TikTok ban.

The Senate Bill was grouped with other bills the House had passed which can make it a bit more difficult to parse, but only 2 Democrats voted to oppose it compared with 15 Republicans, and a majority of the Yea votes were also Democratic Senators.

And Biden signed it! They didn’t say a damn thing about not enforcing the ban until right before it was to take effect the day before the inauguration. Democratic leadership were decrying the app as full of antisemitism and pro-Hamas sentiment.

Please understand that a large portion of the Democratic Party are perfectly fine with handing Republicans wins. They decided that it was a good thing to give Republicans what they asked for (after they’d stopped vocally pushing for it, let’s recall) and whenever they say “you know what, the Republicans are right,” they are giving up on us.

Like, the corporations and private wealth are so entrenched in politics at this point that I really don’t know that we can do anything within the system to change it, but at the very least we can stop providing cover to the politicians that most blatantly throw their constituents under the bus. Do your damnedest to demand standards for these people. Don’t be complacent just because they have a D next to their names, and don’t blindly “vote blue no matter who” because the “who” you get might just be a Republican ally.

Republicans wrote laws in the House, Republicans in the Senate approved.

Trump is not in office.

There is no executive order.

Yet everything changed and changed back.

This is a performance.

[todaysbird]

so what happens now for people who have already legally changed their name & gender? is there any way the government can enforce revoking your changes, or is this just a wait and see?

[the-girl-from-another-time]

It’s crazy how it takes 20 years to make a Wicked movie and once they do, it comes out just after Trump’s reelection. The stripping of minority rights, rollback of progress, and intentional demonization of activists are such central themes in that story, and here we are, watching queer people/immigrants/women/people of color/etc being slowly stripped of their rights under conservative regimes. Personally, watching Dr. Dillamond’s firing seemed analogous to deportation of immigrants or firing/silencing of queer teachers. And then the fact that another core theme is the way the government constructs propaganda to make a mediocre con man look like a god!! And all this is shown to be horrifyingly and objectively wrong!! Absolutely insane timing.

[archaeologysucks]

I saw this on Twitter, and do not know the source, but I think it belongs here.

[thebrainofmae]

I don’t have info on all of these but I just want to clarify the 14th amendment thing! He did not entirely get rid of the 14th amendment (which covers a broad range of things including birthright citizenship), because that would require a constitutional amendment which cannot be done by executive order. The executive order reinterprets (incorrectly) the language of the first sentence to claim that it doesn’t codify birthright citizenship. This is obviously also really bad. There have already been several lawsuits filed to contest this executive order, so our best hope is that this gets bogged down in the courts until Trump leaves office.

i watched the livestream of trump signing executive orders and answering questions from the press. here are some of the big ones + other things mentioned today:

trump declared a national emergency at the southern border + is getting the US military more involved in stopping "invasions including mass migration"

no one can declare asylum in the US

all existing appointments for people wanting to legally become US citizens are canceled

birthright citizenship (aka the 14th amendment) is now gone

ICE sweeps beginning "soon," not specifying when (though there are rumors it's starting tomorrow in sanctuary cities such as chicago)

mexican cartels are now designated "foreign terrorist organizations" and trump is not opposed to US troops entering mexico to eliminate them

he restored the death penalty for "crimes committed by illegal aliens"

biden had signed an executive order attempting to stop cops from using chokeholds or doing no-knock warrants. trump just revoked that order

25% tariffs on canada and mexico begin on feb 1 2025 — expect a lot of produce imported from mexico to get more expensive soon

tariffs on china will begin soon, not specified when

trump said he intends to take back the panama canal, did not specify when or how

january 6 insurrectionists are to be immediately released/pardoned

he pardoned the leader of the proud boys

tiktok has a 90 day extension, during which the US gov will try to buy 50% of tiktok. trump said he no longer cares that china is "spying on our young people," but he wants to buy half of tiktok so the US government "can police it a little bit, or a lot." if tiktok will not sell, it will be banned in the US again.

he claims the people of greenland want to become part of the US

he says the gulf of mexico is now to be called the "gulf of america" + denali is now to be called "mount mckinley"

alaska is to be mined and become the US' main source for fossil fuels

the green new deal and "electric vehicle" (green energy) mandates are over

the US has withdrawn from the paris climate agreement

the US has withdrawn from the world health organization

reproductiverights.gov is already gone

the US now "only recognizes two genders, male and female"

trans women prisoners are to be housed in male prisons; gender affirming care for prisoners is gone

self-identification for gender on passports, government IDs, and social security cards is gone

all federal employees are required to work in the office five days a week, no more working from home

trump said the US is going to "pursue our manifest destiny into the stars" and plant a US flag on mars

sources on what executive orders were signed: one two three

and lastly, some things that happened during the inauguration:

the pastor who blessed the inauguration during the swearing in ceremony has already announced a new meme coin/cryptocurrency

trump did not put his hand on the bible + there are rumors the pope is going to say trump is the antichrist

the wealthiest people on the planet — the CEOs of twitter/tesla, amazon, google, meta, and even the CEO of tiktok — who own almost all communication platforms used by westerners — stood directly behind trump as he was sworn in

elon musk, the wealthiest person alive, who has been given his own vaguely-defined US government agency, did a nazi salute on stage at the presidential podium. neo-nazis are already celebrating

[phantomrose96]

Hello. I mean this really imploringly, and really genuinely. If you're a U.S. citizen still on the fence about what to do for the election, please vote Harris. There's this idea circulating that the person you vote for should be someone you like, love, idolize and that is so very not true. You're voting for the opponent you'll face for the next four years when you have issues to protest and matters to vocalize. You're voting for the person most likely to give an inch when you protest the things that matter. You're voting for the person most likely to not strip away your existing rights and scatter your focus across the things we already won, and which can be taken away. We lost Roe v Wade under the Trump-appointed judges. The current trans-panic is so disgustingly on fire, and it's absolutely the Republicans eager to rip away what little protection there is. Both candidates are also, disgustingly, pro-Israel. But Trump will never ever give a fuck to any protest on that matter.

You don't want to be complicit in genocide. I get it. But if you're a U.S. citizen, you're already benefiting from the U.S.'s foreign policy, and that's already complacency. Refusing to vote or voting third party isn't absolving you of that. It's just letting Trump walk in the door. And letting Trump in is complacency. And your ability to organize, and to make change, will go so less far against a Trump cabinet than a Harris one. The material harm under Trump is real.

Does voting for Harris make you feel guilty? I'm sorry, but you have to bear it. Your guilt isn't what's important. A white person's guilt isn't important. A citizen of a global terror's guilt isn't important. Actions that pacify your guilt aren't important. Focusing on absolving your guilt is in fact harmful, as opposed to actions that can actually materially reduce harm.

Please protest. Please donate to good causes. Please support Palestine. Please be vocal. Please fight for BIPOC and LGBTQA+ rights. Please view Harris as the opponent whose ears these things fall on. Your ability to organize safely, largely, loudly, and effectively will go so much further under a Harris presidency. Please.

[vshamru]

Reminder to folks in the wake of the election to be extremely scam aware.

If you get an unsolicited email or call or text or any other contact from a federal or local agency saying you need to do something NOW RIGHT NOW to make sure your ballot is counted, stop. Do not do the thing they are telling you you must do.

Take a moment to figure out what agency they claim to be contacting you from, and then hang up, close the email, whatever. Go to a search engine, and find the OFFICIAL WEBSITE of whatever department. Call the number you find there. When you get through to a person, say “[Name] contacted me claiming to be from [department] about [issue], and I wanted to verify that this is not a scam.” The person on the other end of the line will either say “that’s a scam” or “no that could be a real issue, let me transfer you to someone who can help.”

You will never get a phone call about a warrant for basically anything. You will get a letter.

You do NOT need to pay to cure your ballot, or to overturn a warrant, or any other reason someone claiming to be a government agent might give you. If you have to pay a fine, you will receive a letter, and be told where to pay it. You will never need to pay using gift cards or cryptocurrency.

PLEASE be scam aware right now, as emotions and urgency are really high.