{"id":26223,"date":"2025-11-12T17:00:52","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T01:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/?p=26223"},"modified":"2025-12-08T13:32:48","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T21:32:48","slug":"cruelty-nonsense-and-reality-checks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/2025\/11\/12\/cruelty-nonsense-and-reality-checks\/","title":{"rendered":"Cruelty, Nonsense, and Reality-Checks"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li>Paul Krugman says Trump knew full well how his Great Gatsby-themed party looked just as millions of Americans were about to lose federal food assistance &#8212; the cruelty is the point;<\/li>\n<li>Short items about church\/state separation; how &#8220;God&#8217;s authority&#8221; is not a legal defense; Mar-A-Lago Face requests; firing investigators targeting your friends; what &#8220;great red cities&#8221;?; Trump pranked; Obergefell; Trump doesn&#8217;t know what a magnet is; Trump thinks people quit their jobs to get SNAP; Trump thinks Mamdani is a communist, with a helpful chart to distinguish various &#8220;isms&#8221;; Tucker Carlson thinks chemtrails are real, with a helpful response detailing the logistics needed for that to be true; and how Trump thinks talent in the US is lacking.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div align=\"center\">&#8211; &#8211; &#8211;<\/div>\n<p>Catching up on items in the news from the past week.\u00a0This sets the tone.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/krugmansmirk12nov25.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/krugmansmirk12nov25-237x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"237\" height=\"300\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Paul Krugman, 4 Nov 2025<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/paulkrugman.substack.com\/p\/the-big-smirk\">The Big Smirk<\/a>, subtitled &#8220;The cruelty is the point, party edition&#8221;<br \/>\n<!--more--><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>There\u2019s been plenty of scathing commentary about the lavish, Great Gatsby-themed Halloween party Donald Trump threw at Mar a Lago \u2014 a party complete with sequined, feathered dancers and, yes, a scantily-clad woman in a giant martini glass. The party, held just hours before 42 million Americans were about to lose federal food assistance, as <a href=\"https:\/\/bipartisanpolicy.org\/explainer\/who-is-missing-paychecks-in-the-2025-shutdown-when-and-where\/\" rel=\"\">1.4 million federal workers<\/a> are going without pay, was grotesque. It was also, like <a href=\"https:\/\/paulkrugman.substack.com\/p\/trumps-gilded-ballroom-and-the-fall\" rel=\"\">everything Trump<\/a>, unspeakably vulgar.<\/p>\n<p>&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>During Trump\u2019s first term Adam Serwer wrote a justly celebrated article for The Atlantic titled \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/ideas\/archive\/2018\/10\/the-cruelty-is-the-point\/572104\/\" rel=\"\">The cruelty is the point<\/a>.\u201d He argued that cruelty, and the joy some people take from inflicting cruelty, are what bind Trump\u2019s most loyal supporters to him:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Trump\u2019s only true skill is the con; his only fundamental belief is that the United States is the birthright of straight, white, Christian men, and his only real, authentic pleasure is in cruelty. It is that cruelty, and the delight it brings them, that binds his most ardent supporters to him, in shared scorn for those they hate and fear: immigrants, black voters, feminists, and treasonous white men who empathize with any of those who would steal their birthright. The president\u2019s ability to execute that cruelty through word and deed makes them euphoric. It makes them feel good, it makes them feel proud, it makes them feel happy, it makes them feel united.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\\\\<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>JMG, 10 Nov 2025<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.joemygod.com\/2025\/11\/christian-nationalist-megachurch-offers-training-for-political-candidates-church-state-separation-is-fake\/\">Christian Nationalist Megachurch Offers Training For Political Candidates: Church\/State Separation Is Fake<\/a> &#8212; &#8212; This is why they&#8217;re so afraid of Mamdani. They think he will do what they would do.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Slate, Mark Joseph Stern, 10 Nov 2025<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/slate.com\/news-and-politics\/2025\/11\/kim-davis-supreme-court-fail-amy-coney-barrett.html\">The Real Reason Kim Davis Never Stood a Chance at the Supreme Court<\/a> &#8212; &#8212; Because anyone claiming &#8220;God&#8217;s authority&#8221; has no legal case.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.joemygod.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/KimberlyGuilfoyle-660x330-1.jpg\" width=\"300\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>JMG, 10 Nov 2025<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.joemygod.com\/2025\/11\/surgeons-see-flood-of-mar-a-lago-face-requests\/\">Surgeons See Flood Of \u201cMar-A-Lago Face\u201d Requests<\/a> &#8212; &#8212; Tribal masks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>JMG, 10 Nov 2025<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.joemygod.com\/2025\/11\/housing-chief-fired-those-investigating-his-buddy\/\">Housing Chief Fired Those Investigating His Buddy<\/a> &#8212; &#8212; That&#8217;s what they do.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Comic Sands, 10 Nov 2025, via George Takei on Facebook<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.comicsands.com\/tomi-lahren-great-red-citiies\">Tomi Lahren Just Warned Democrats Not To Flee To &#8216;Great Red Cities&#8217;\u2014And Everyone Had The Same Question<\/a> &#8212; &#8212; Namely, *what* great red cities?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/boingboing.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/trump-wow.jpeg?fit=1&amp;quality=60&amp;ssl=1&amp;resize=620%2C4000\" width=\"400\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Boing Boing, 10 Nov 2025<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/boingboing.net\/2025\/11\/10\/nations-leader-gets-pranked-by-website-designed-to-mock-gullible-people.html\">Nation&#8217;s leader gets pranked by website designed to mock gullible people<\/a> &#8212; &#8212; It says right at the top: &#8220;Everything on this website is fiction. It is not a lie and it is not fake news because it is not real. If you believe that it is real, you should have your head examined.&#8221; But Trump posted about it as if it were real.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>JMG, 11 Nov 2025<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.joemygod.com\/2025\/11\/haters-vow-to-continue-push-to-overturn-obergefell\/\">Haters Vow To Continue Push To Overturn Obergefell<\/a> &#8212; &#8212; Conservatives are all about imposing their scruples on everyone else.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>JMG, 11 Nov 2025<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.joemygod.com\/2025\/11\/trump-nobody-knows-what-a-magnet-is-video\/\">Trump: \u201cNobody Knows What A Magnet Is\u201d [VIDEO]<\/a> &#8212; &#8212; No, *Trump* doesn&#8217;t know what a magnet is.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>JMG, 11 Nov 2025<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.joemygod.com\/2025\/11\/trump-people-quit-their-jobs-so-they-can-get-snap\/\">Trump: People Quit Their Jobs So They Can Get SNAP<\/a> &#8212; &#8212; No, they don&#8217;t. Standard conservative paranoia and cynicism.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>JMG, 11 Nov 2025<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.joemygod.com\/2025\/11\/trump-send-money-if-you-despise-commie-mamdani\/\">Trump: Send Money If You \u201cDespise Commie Mamdani\u201d<\/a> &#8212; &#8212; Standard conservative ignorance and black and white thinking.<\/li>\n<li>This graphic came up on Facebook in response:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p align=\"center\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IsmsChart.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IsmsChart.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>JMG, 12 Nov 2025<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.joemygod.com\/2025\/11\/carlson-the-government-admits-chemtrails-are-real\/\">Carlson: The Government Admits Chemtrails Are Real<\/a>, from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/media\/news\/fcking-moron-tucker-carlson-ruthlessly-mocked-over-parodic-chemtrail-conspiracy-theory\/\">Mediaite<\/a> &#8212; &#8212; No, it hasn&#8217;t; Carlson is a gullible moron.<\/li>\n<li>And a response from someone in the reality-based community:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p align=\"center\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/FBChemtrails.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/FBChemtrails.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>JMG, 12 Nov 2025<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.joemygod.com\/2025\/11\/trump-us-doesnt-have-the-talent-for-skilled-jobs\/\">Trump: US \u201cDoesn\u2019t Have The Talent\u201d For Skilled Jobs<\/a> &#8212; He&#8217;s projecting again.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>How do I know these fact-checks on Facebook are more reliable that things said by Trump and Carlson? An exercise for the reader.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Paul Krugman says Trump knew full well how his Great Gatsby-themed party looked just as millions of Americans were about to lose federal food assistance &#8212; the cruelty is the point; Short items about church\/state separation; how &#8220;God&#8217;s authority&#8221; is &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/2025\/11\/12\/cruelty-nonsense-and-reality-checks\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48,54,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-conservative-resistance","category-politics","category-psychology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26223","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26223"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26223\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26464,"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26223\/revisions\/26464"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26223"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}