- Why there seem to be no good Republican politicians;
- How happy Republicans are to cut benefits to the poor;
- How Texas is pushing Christianity on public schools;
- Scientists denounce the administration’s climate report, full of errors and cherry-picked data, that was written to prove what the administration wants to believe;
- How Elon Musk has tweeked Grok to give MAGA the answers they want;
- And how most people won’t notice when democracy is gone, as long as their daily lives are not affected.
Were there any Good Germans? Are there now any Good Republicans?
We’ve been thinking for a while that there were, maybe a few, but as time passes and the Congress keeps rubber-stamping Trump’s authoritarian, anti-democratic demands/orders, maybe not. This is how politics works. It’s as much about keeping your job, as about supporting governing principles.
LGBTQNation, commentary by John Gallagher, 2 Sep 2025: It’s long past time to acknowledge there are no good Republican politicians
Subtitle: “Trump has set the stakes so high that politicians who stay in the party are complicit in his attack on democracy.”
The past seven months have been disastrous for American democracy and good government. Donald Trump has weaponized the Justice Department against his enemies, sent occupying forces into Democratic cities, and given the rich a tax break at the expense of everyone else. His lackeys have stripped the government of experts, destroying America’s leadership in science and health and replacing it with crackpot theories bound to cost lives.
None of this would have been possible without the consent – indeed, complicity – of Republican politicians, particularly in Congress. At this point, the GOP and Trumpism are synonymous. And that means that there are no good Republican politicians.
Identifying truly terrible Republican politicians has never been hard. They gleefully spout homophobic, anti-trans, sexist, xenophobic, and racist comments while tripping all over themselves to out-Trump Trump.
It’s the so-called “serious” Republicans who have proven that the party is beyond the bounds of saving. Time and again, given the chance to stand up to Trump and exercise some principles, they have chosen instead to cave, enabling his worst appointees to take office and his worst impulses to have free rein.
The piece goes on with recent news about the CDC, and mentions this:
Every time something blows up, there are the usual hand-wringings by the “serious” crowd. Sen. Susan Collins’ (R-ME) expressions of “concern” have become a running joke.
A running joke to those of us outside the MAGA bubble, of course.
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Look how happy these people are to be cutting benefits for the poor.
JMG, 2 Sep 2025: “Historic” Cuts In Food Stamps Benefits Go Into Effect
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They just don’t get it. Another example of conservatives rejecting the principles of the Constitution.
JMG, 2 Sep 2025: Ken Paxton Pushes Texas Public Schools To Hold Daily Scripture Readings And Recitations Of “Lord’s Prayer”
Attorney General Ken Paxton encourages all Texas schools to implement dedicated time for prayer and the reading of scripture, following the enactment of Senate Bill 11 on September 1, 2025.
“In Texas classrooms, we want the Word of God opened, the Ten Commandments displayed, and prayers lifted up,” said Attorney General Paxton.
“Twisted, radical liberals want to erase Truth, dismantle the solid foundation that America’s success and strength were built upon, and erode the moral fabric of our society. Our nation was founded on the rock of Biblical Truth, and I will not stand by while the far-left attempts to push our country into the sinking sand.”
Nonsense. I won’t count the ways, except to say his worldview is extremely limited. He and his kind are either dimwits, or arrogant.
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Once again, the Trump administration has hired people to “prove” the conclusions it wants.
NY Times, 2 Sep 2025: Scientists Denounce Trump Administration’s Climate Report, subtitled “Scores of researchers reviewed the Energy Department’s argument about greenhouse gases and found serious deficiencies.”
More than 85 American and international scientists have condemned a Trump administration report that calls the threat of climate change overblown, saying the analysis is riddled with errors, misrepresentations and cherry-picked data to fit the president’s political agenda.
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Alas, the wealthy are aligned with Trump, though this should be no surprise, since Trump’s policies favor the wealthy… because they contribute money to Republicans.
JMG, 2 Sep 2025: NYT: How Musk Tweaked Grok To Give MAGA Answers
A user on X complained that Grok’s answers were too progressive after it said violence from right-wing Americans tended to be deadlier than violence from left-wing Americans — a conclusion matching findings from various studies and data from the Global Terrorism Database.
Mr. Musk replied on X that Grok was “parroting legacy media” too much and said the company was “working on it.” Grok’s answers shifted further to the right in response. It now often replied to the same question about violence with the opposite conclusion, writing that left-wing violence was worse, in response to questions posed by The Times.
Actual data doesn’t matter.
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Stepping out, looking at the bigger picture. I think it’s true that most of the social changes and even social revolutions, as described in history books, aren’t noticed by the average person at the time.
Salon, Mike Lofgren, 1 Sep 2025: Will we even notice when democracy is gone?, subtitled “Normal life continues for most of us, most of the time — but everything we took for granted is slipping away”
I think this is a critical point, and it’s how societies descend into authoritarianism without most of the population noticing, as long as their daily lives are not affected.
