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Jon Stewart DISMANTLES Right Wing Grifter On His Show | Hasanabi reacts
OK, So There Is Bad News Within,
but the reason I’m posting it is so we can be aware, and be better able to help our own neighbors locally. It may not be ours to start writing letters and calling on ACLU or any of those things, but maybe simply keeping our eyes open for the regular people we know or interact with. So here is this, which came to me from Death Penalty Action. It’s the first 10 EO’s issued today, plus some policy info.
All of the Day 1 executive actions Trump has announced so far
Updated January 20, 20251:50 PM ET By Lexie Schapitl Franco Ordoñez
For updates, context and analysis of Donald Trump’s 2025 inauguration, check out NPR’s live blog throughout the day Monday.
President Trump is expected to sign a flurry of executive orders, memorandums and proclamations after his inauguration on Monday, reversing many of his predecessors’ policies and reinstating actions from his first term in office.
The actions are expected to address a range of issues, including campaign priorities like border security and culture war issues like DEI policies.
Here’s what we know so far:
Immigration
Trump is expected to declare a national emergency at the U.S. southern border, designate criminal cartels as terror groups and end birthright citizenship for children born to immigrant parents without legal status, according to incoming White House officials who spoke to reporters on a call on condition of background.
Trump will also reinstate the “Remain in Mexico” policy, which would require some asylum seekers at the southern border to wait in Mexico for their hearings in U.S. immigration court, the officials said.
The moves are some of 10 sweeping executive actions on border security that incoming officials say Trump plans to sign on Monday:
- Declare a national emergency at the border: The officials on the call said this action will allow U.S. armed forces to finish the border wall and allow the secretary of defense to deploy members of the armed forces and National Guard to the border.
- “Clarify” the military’s role in border security: This action “directs the military to prioritize our borders” and protect territorial integrity “by repelling forms of invasion, including unlawful mass migration, narcotics trafficking, human smuggling and trafficking and other criminal activities,” the officials said.
- End “catch and release,” continue building the wall, and end “Remain in Mexico”
- Designate criminal cartels as terrorists: This will allow the U.S. to more easily remove members of groups like Tren de Aragua, a transnational criminal organization from Venezuela, and MS-13.
- Suspend refugee resettlement: The official said the U.S. would suspend refugee resettlement for at least four months.
- End asylum and close the border to those without legal status via proclamation: Officials said they are planning to end asylum entirely and close the border to those without legal status via proclamation, “which creates an immediate removal process without possibility of asylum.”
- End birthright citizenship: The officials said the White House plans to end birthright citizenship, which is enshrined in the 14th Amendment. They argued the amendment does not recognize automatic birthright citizenship for children born in the United States to parents without legal status. This action is likely to see immediate legal challenges.
- Enhance vetting and screening: The officials said they are going to “enhance vetting and screening of illegal aliens.”
- “Protect American citizens against invasion”: Officials said this “equips agents and officers of ICE and CBP with the authorities” they need to deport people from the U.S.
- Restore the death penalty: “This action in particular, directs the Attorney General to seek capital punishment for the murder of law enforcement officers and capital crimes committed by illegal aliens. It encourages state agencies and district attorneys to bring capital state charges for these crimes,” the officials said.
Read more from NPR’s Ximena Bustillo.
Defining ‘sex’ and ending DEI programs
Trump will sign an executive action on Monday that says it’s the policy of the United States to recognize two biologically distinct sexes — male and female — an incoming White House official speaking on background told reporters Monday.
“These are sexes that are not changeable, and they are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality,” the official said.
The change will require government agencies to use the definitions on documents like passports, visas and employee records the official said. Taxpayer funds will not be allowed to be used for “transition services,” the official said.
A second action will end diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the federal government, the official said, giving as examples environmental justice programs in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, as well as diversity training.
National energy emergency and “electric vehicle mandate”
Trump intends to declare a national energy emergency on Monday, aiming to cut red tape and regulations for the energy industry, and a second one specific to Alaskan resources, an incoming White House official told reporters on a background conference call.
“That national energy emergency will unlock a variety of different authorities that will enable our nation to quickly build again, to produce coal and natural resources, to create jobs, to create prosperity and to strengthen our nation’s national security,” the official said. The official said energy prices are too high, but declined on the call to name a lower target price.
The action will end what incoming Trump officials call the “electric vehicle mandate” and will end “efforts to curtail consumer choice on the things that consumers use every single day, whether it be showerheads, whether it be gas stoves, whether it be dishwashers and the like,” the official said.
Trump has long railed against energy efficiency standards on the campaign trail, and specifically taken aim at “electric vehicle mandates,” a term he uses to encompass all policies designed to encourage a transition to battery-powered cars. Rules actually requiring 100% of vehicles to be electric do not exist on the federal level.
Inflation
Trump will sign a presidential memorandum on inflation Monday, an official from the incoming administration said. The official did not provide additional details.
NPR correspondents Tamara Keith, Ximena Bustillo and Camila Domonoske contributed to this report.
Useful Info for We Who Care
DEI in the Age of Trump: A Roadmap on How to Build More Just Communities in the Next Four Years
PUBLISHED 1/18/2025 by Nilanjana Dasgupta
With Trump’s second presidential administration looming before us, Americans who care deeply about equality and social justice are asking ourselves: What now? How do we move forward in this dramatically changed political and legislative climate? What actions will have a fighting chance of getting traction? What is the most effective sphere of influence for individuals?
A high priority of Trump’s agenda for his second presidential term is to eliminate diversity equity and inclusion (DEI) programs in federal agencies and to also take away federal funding from agencies, contractors and organizations that have DEI programs. This, together with the repeal of affirmative action in college admissions by the U.S Supreme Court, makes many initiatives related to diversity and civil rights a target for the second Trump administration.
The truth is some diversity, equity and inclusion programs, like training, haven’t worked. Research shows that while DEI trainings increase attendees’ awareness and knowledge about bias, there’s little evidence of changes in attendees’ behavior, nor increased diversity in the types of people hired, promoted, retained or more inclusive climate in the organizations where such training is implemented. Sometimes DEI training backfires, creating resentment and resistance when people feel coerced.
In my new book, Change the Wallpaper: Transforming Cultural Patterns to Build More Just Communities, I explain why.
DEI training tries to change individuals’ beliefs, hoping it will change their future behavior. But individuals’ beliefs often don’t shift behavior because human behavior is buffeted by multiple situational forces. These include the social roles individuals occupy and their accompanying behavioral etiquette, what others around them are saying or doing, and norms and rules that constrain their actions, all of which guide people’s behavior no matter what their personal beliefs.
Another situational force is the physical design of places where people live and work, which influences whether casual interactions with others of diverse backgrounds are easy or not. Such interactions, when pleasant and repeated, morph into familiarity and friendliness that are an essential building block for trust.
Like wallpaper, these situational forces are in the background, barely noticed. Yet they subtly nudge people’s thoughts and actions in small ways, accumulating over time in one of two directions. They either pull us apart based on initial differences, increasing unfamiliarity, mistrust and polarization, or they push us together, increasing familiarity, trust and inclusion.
We need to notice the wallpaper that silently pulls and pushes our own behavior. To do that, we must step out of our bubble and mix with people different from ourselves.
Even if individuals’ behavior were to be changed by DEI training, they would be quickly overwhelmed by the wallpaper when they returned to their workplace, stepped into their old roles, surrounded by unchanged norms, rules and colleagues, and in buildings with limited physical arrangements for cross-group mixing and relationship building.
Here is an alternative roadmap to social justice backed by scientific research simplified in the form of five steps.
First, we need to notice the wallpaper that silently pulls and pushes our own behavior. To do that, we must step out of our bubble and mix with people different from ourselves. Have real conversations, be curious and learn about the material conditions of others’ lives that may not be visible from the outside. Repeated interactions start a virtuous cycle of growing familiarity, understanding, trust, cross-group relationships and a sense of belonging in a shared community. These interactions reveal stories about people’s material conditions, highlighting inequality or vulnerability in a personal way, and grow solidarity and momentum for change.
Know that inequalities often hide in the “3 Rs” where we live and work: rules, resources and recognition. Do the rules in the place where you live or organization where you work exclude some people’s voices from decision-making, especially people with less power? Are there transparent and reasonable processes to change these rules? Are resources distributed to individuals based on need, merit, effort, seniority, or a combination? Are the criteria and processes for resource distribution open and transparent? Are people recognized for their contribution fairly?
If you see inequalities in the 3 Rs where you live or work, don’t be silent. Talk to others, see what they think, and explore ways to act collectively for change.
Second, actions make more of a difference if they attempt to change the material conditions of people’s lives—access to high quality education, healthcare, housing and employment—than if they are mostly symbolic—mission statements, lawn signs or imagery of diverse people on websites and marketing materials.
Third, acting collectively with other people will get more traction rather than acting alone because individuals quickly get swept away by situational forces. In acting together, the goal is not to limit ourselves to gather with people who are all the same. Rather, when we are not afraid to mix with people different from ourselves, we are able to discover and develop new allies across the spectrum instead of being caught in old identity traps that haven’t served us well.
Because the wallpaper is old and sticky, collective action is needed over and over again in different ways. It’s not one and done. That’s the fourth step.
Finally, actions get more traction if they are local. That’s the Goldilocks space. That’s our call for action in the next four years and the hope for change.
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Ms. Classroom wants to hear from educators and students being impacted by legislation attacking public education, higher education, gender, race and sexuality studies, activism and social justice in education, and diversity, equity and inclusion programs for our series, ‘Banned! Voices from the Classroom.’ Submit pitches and/or op-eds and reflections (between 500-800 words) to Ms. contributing editor Aviva Dove-Viebahn at adove-viebahn@msmagazine.com. Posts will be accepted on a rolling basis.
And Two More From Ten Bears’s Place
Look Who Moved In!
It’s Ollie! (I’m sorry, Pete, if you’re reading this; he came with the name. I hope he’s a good namesake, and so far, he is.)
Ollie is around 5. He was rescued from a kill shelter by another family, who’s since had a baby, and Ollie and babies don’t get along. I’m sorry they had to give up their doggy, but I’m happy to have a new buddy to play and run with. He’d been here about 3.5 hours, and considering he’s likely confused and worried about what’s happened to him, he’s a very good boy, and we’re getting along really well.
Ollie is half dachsie, half Corgi. He’s about 25 pounds, and very healthy. In the outdoor pic, he was surveying the boundaries of his domain, and receiving a welcome from the neighbor across the street. In the photo above, he was playing with his favorite ball, with me. He’s pretty cute, kinda funny, and again, a good good boy. He’s here for good, too, which is nice, that I don’t have to worry about him going to a rescue for some medical condition. He’ll likely become part of my conversation now and then, and photos will be shared as he allows. I set this up before bed, so I’ll know more tomorrow.
Crap … saying the children are in charge when the republicans are the majority is an insult to children.
Is God Punishing Los Angeles?
Some People Here Game,
and maybe you’ll get a good laugh out of this news I read on Showercap’s blog. Apparently Musk cheats and isn’t really a very good player. Earlier Sat. evening, I saw Musk on an old Big Bang Theory, acting at working in a soup kitchen on Thanksgiving. This was fun news to read after seeing that!
Now I’m not at all a gamer, though once upon a time I did all right at PacMan & Asteroids. I couldn’t care less about this sort of thing, but I find it funny to learn it about Musk. Two story snippets below:
Elon Musk Vs. Asmongold—The Gaming Feud, Explained
Elon Musk is currently in the midst of a feud with Twitch streamer Asmongold, after he was accused of boosting his ‘Path of Exile 2’ account, leading to Musk leaking Asmon’s private DMs.
Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, is in the midst of a heated feud with gaming streamer Zack Hoyt, better known as “Asmongold,” who is accusing Musk of cheating at Path of Exile 2.
Asmongold is not the only gamer accusing Musk of cheating, as the larger gaming community, particularly Path of Exile players, believe that Musk is paying people to play games for him, leveling up his characters and arming them with powerful equipment—a practice known as “boosting.”
After Musk played Path of Exile 2 on a livestream, gamers quickly noticed that his actions did not match that of a proficient player, and compiled a list of evidence on Reddit that strongly implies that Musk is boosting his characters.
Commentators responded in bemused disbelief—one wrote that Musk “doesn’t seem to understand why he can’t pick up items when his inventory is full.”
It should be noted that Path of Exile 2 is a very difficult game that requires a serious time commitment to reach the level that Musk’s character achieved (level 97 on hardcore mode).
The prevailing sentiment is that a man who is running multiple businesses simply does not have time to do this.
What Happened With Elon Musk And Asmongold?
Like many gaming streamers, Asmongold watched Musk’s livestream of Path of Exile 2 and came to the conclusion that Musk did not know how to play the game properly.
Asmon took it a step further, and challenged Musk to prove that he had reached level 97 by himself.
If Musk could prove this, Asmon promised that he would stream on X (Twitter) for a full year. Once the news of Asmon’s challenge made its way to X, Musk didn’t take the criticism very well. (snip-More)
Elon Musk riles up a new corner of the internet: Gamers
Musk’s livestreams in which he plays a popular role-playing game have sparked some in the gaming community to speculate that he’s not the gamer he claims to be.
Elon Musk is battling critics on the internet, again. This time, it’s the video game community.
The tech titan has in recent days taken time away from his roles as SpaceX CEO and adviser to President-elect Donald Trump to call out some of the gaming world’s niche content creators, firing back at accusations that he is not quite the gamer he purports to be.
The allegations amount to a sort of stolen valor for video games and center on some recent livestreams in which Musk played Path of Exile 2, a popular online role-playing game in which players select from a number of characters to end corruption spreading through the fictional world of Wraeclast. When playing on hardcore mode, as Musk does, when a character dies, its death is permanent. As gamers play, their characters level up, increasing in power and capability.
But many gamers have pointed out what they say is a crucial discrepancy. Two of Musk’s characters were particularly powerful — among the top 100 most powerful in the world — when they were “alive” (two characters tied to Musk have since “died” and are now ranked in the 30s and 200s, respectively). The levels of Musk’s now-deceased characters would require dozens if not hundreds of hours of gameplay, depending on the gamer, to achieve. His skills, however, appear to be lacking, according to some gamers.
“I’m a huge fan of Elon Musk — but this is embarrassing and very silly,” Zack Hoyt, who is known as Asmongold to his 3.29 million subscribers on YouTube, said in a video posted Sunday. “It makes him look bad and it’s for absolutely no reason. It’s of no consequence and it achieves no goal.”
Criticism toward the X CEO — who has for years described himself as an avid gamer — began gaining traction online after he livestreamed himself playing Path of Exile 2 on Jan. 7. Days later, in the Reddit community for the game, some accused Musk of having someone “boost” his account, or play for him. Others suggested he’s playing using a more skilled player’s account. (snip-More)
MAGA Policies and Christian Nationalist Rhetoric: America First Policy Institute Fills Trump’s Cabinet
I keep saying these people won’t stop ever until they get their way. They believe they are on a mission from their god to turn the entire country Christian. But not just Christian, the kind of Christian they themselves are. They want to force everyone to live according to their church doctrines. Why? I don’t understand it, but they think taking away the public’s freewill will make their god so happy he will return to give them their reward of a paradise on earth. But I thought god’s kingdom was in heaven, not on earth? But this idea that they and they alone know what god wants, that they and they alone have the right to tell others how to live, how to think, how to have sex, who to have sex with, what they can watch or listen to, even what god they can believe in, and how they are to pray to that god. As they demand. I do not get or understand what makes these people think they can rule other people, rule others lives, do all to others I have written above. Why can they not give others the same rights they demand for themselves, the right to live their lives and worship as they please? But please notice the wealthy person bankrolling so much of the effort to turn Texas in to a theocracy. Think about his actions when others try to stop him to protect democracy? He smears them to try to destroy them. This is the type of Christian warrior he is and they are. Do as I say not as I do, or the big one, it is OK to do bad things in the name of Jesus. Hugs.
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Donald Trump at a November 2024 gala for America First Policy Institute and its political arm America First WorksThe America First Policy Institute, a MAGA movement think tank founded by former Trump aides, has raised millions in tax-exempt funds to promote policies that would undermine public education, restrict access to abortion, limit voter registration and voting, roll back environmental protections, gut government’s ability to regulate corporate behavior, pursue campaigns against transgender people, and more.
AFPI has provided money, an institutional home, and political platforms to many of the people Trump has nominated to run the country; quite a few high-level Trump nominees have AFPI connections, including:
- Pam Bondi, Attorney General (Chair, AFPI Center for Litigation; co-chair Center for Law and Justice)
- Kash Patel, FBI (Senior Fellow, AFPI Center for American Security)
- Linda McMahon, Education (Board chair; chair, Center for the American Worker)
- Lee Zeldin, Environmental Protection Agency (Chair, China Policy Initiative & Pathway to 2025)
- John Ratcliffe, Central Intelligence Agency (C-chair Center for National Security)
- Doug Collins, Veterans Affairs (head of Georgia AFPI Chapter)
- Brooke Rollins, Agriculture (Co-founder, President and CEO)
- Kevin Hassett, National Economic Council (Chair, Board of Academic Advisors)
- Matthew Whitaker, NATO (Co-chair, Center for Law & Justice)
- Casey Mulligan, Small Business Administration, chief counsel (Board of Academic Advisors)
Trump’s first public speech after winning the 2024 election was at an AFPI gala at Mar-a-Lago, where he was joined by other MAGA luminaries, including HHS nominee Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and “Department of Government Efficiency” leaders Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.
AFPI founder Rollins has bragged about the group’s “revolutionary” plans to seize control of the “administrative state.” The group’s agenda for the incoming administration—its “transition project”—is in some ways even more radical than the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025. AFPI believes Trump should be allowed to fire and replace any federal employee at will – potentially converting the entire federal workforce into a massive and corrupt political patronage system. AFPI has reportedly prepared 300 executive orders for Trump.
As an officer at the America First Policy Institute, Bondi tried to undermine special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation of Trump by arguing that his appointment was unconstitutional. She oversaw what the Brennan Center has called “a number of troubling voting rights and election lawsuits,” leading the pro-democracy organization to conclude, “Her record on voting and elections raises questions about her ability to be the attorney general the American public deserves.”
In a case in which AFPI sought to empower local election officials to delay or block certification of elections, AFPI’s arguments were “meritless and radical,” according to the Brennan Center. In another case filed shortly before, even notorious pro-Trump Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk rejected AFPI’s “emergency” request to block a Biden executive order on voter registration that had been in place for several years. Kacsmaryk wrote that AFPI’s request provided “no direct evidence” to support its claims. The Brennan Center noted that the lawsuit “served to amplify baseless conspiracy theories about noncitizen voting.”
AFPI is funded in part by Tim Dunn, who the Texas Monthly has called “the billionaire bully who wants to turn Texas into a Christian theocracy.” Dunn is notorious for funding smear campaigns against Texas Republicans who don’t fall in line with his demands. Dunn poured millions of dollars into the effort to elect Trump to a second term, and supports other right-wing causes, like the Convention of States’ efforts to rewrite the U.S. Constitution. In a 2019 speech to Convention of States, Dunn argued that the Bible is “mainly about politics” and said that COS is triggering a Great Awakening.
Not so surprisingly, AFPI promotes Christian nationalist rhetoric; AFPI leaders have described their efforts as part of a “spiritual war.” AFPI’s political arm, which is chaired by Dunn, partnered with dominionist Lance Wallnau—who believes right-wing Christians are meant to control the government and every other sphere of influence in society–to help Trump return to power. Dunn himself reportedly told former Texas House Speaker Joe Straus, who is Jewish, that only Christians should be in leadership positions in the legislature.
Also in leadership at AFPI is Trump spiritual and political adviser Paula White, who has repeatedly called Trump’s opponents demonic and kicked off his pre-insurrection rally with a prayer for “holy boldness.” White chairs AFPI’s Center for American Values.
AFPI’s faith director Richard Rogers, who took part in Wallnau’s “Courage Tour,” appeared on The Jim Bakker show this week, where he said there will be a “faith director” in every government agency in the new administration. He predicted that the “prayer warriors” who “rose up” on Trump’s behalf in 2024 will “have more power than Elon Musk.” He described AFPI as a “data-driven machine” that worked “hand-in-hand” with the RNC to boost turnout among low-propensity voters.
AFPI claims “biblical foundations” for each of the ten “pillars” of its right-wing policy agenda, which it calls “10 Pillars for Restoring a Nation Under God.” It asserts, “The Ten Commandments and Christian teachings have been the foundation that created the American legal system.” AFPI’s website declares, “This fight is not just about the culture of America; it’s about the kingdom of God and the Church’s divine mission to be the salt and light of our day in an era of increasing darkness.”
NO ONE HAS ENACTED “ANTI-CHRISTIAN” POLICIES, EVER. That would be in direct violation of the Constitution.
These fucking loons think that if something is not 10000% pro-christianity, then by default it is 100000000% ANTI.
100% separation of church and state is just as important to the church as it is to the state, and possibly more so.
Scottie's Playtime 