Harris and the Huckster
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(Election results as of Nov. 13, 2024) Harris: 72,925,374 votes Huckster: 75,936,362 votes |
"It's a reality that needs to be examined with eyes wide open. The path on which Trump, strengthened for his second term by his party's success in the Senate, will take his country diverges fundamentally from the one charted by the United States since the end of the Second World War. It marks the end of an American era, that of an open superpower committed to the world, eager to set itself up as a democratic model. It's the famous "shining city on a hill," extolled by President Ronald Reagan. The model had been challenged over the past two decades. Now, Trump's return is putting a nail in its coffin."
- Via Le Monde's post-election editorial: The end of an American world. Also see: 'The nightmare': Germany's media react to Trump's victory.
"'Trump promised voters that 'I alone can fix it' Ben-Ghiat recalled.
'This is reassuring to some people,' she continued, calling it 'very sad' because, throughout history, people have all eventually discovered 'that this brought disaster upon the country.'
'The illusion of competency is very important,” she added. 'That’s why they’re going to put their trust in him to solve their problems because they think he’s competent. And that’s one of the biggest scams of all.'"
- Via the Huffington Post article: Authoritarianism Expert Shatters A Trump ‘Illusion’: ‘One Of The Biggest Scams Of All’
"Based solely on precedent, the near future appears to be grim. The 2016 Trump presidency was disastrous for arts funding, diversity, and education. He issued a travel ban on seven majority-Muslim countries that blocked entry for artists and arts professionals, to the outrage of the museum and university sector. Trump repeatedly attempted to defund federal arts funding; his 2018 and 2021 proposed budgets included the outright elimination of the National Endowment for the Arts (its budget in 2021 was $167.5 million, markedly low for a federal agency). The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which partially funds PBS and NPR, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services were also targets. The cultural sector, already battling for crumbs with the Trump agency, took a blow during the Covid-19 pandemic and has yet to fully recover."
- Via the Art News article: The Art World Reacts to a Second Trump Presidency
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The "October Surprise"... Elon Musk
High Tech Futurist or James Bond Villain of the Future?
"Swisher, who has famously never been wrong about Musk in the past, reportedly isn’t worried that Trump and Musk will last long as a team. “They’re both narcissists, and there can be only one narcissist as head of the country, and that’s Donald Trump. Trump goes through people like tissues, essentially. And even if it’s Musk, they’re going to clash at some point.”
- Via ‘Guest Who Wouldn’t Leave’ Elon Musk Is Reportedly Already Too Annoying For Trump Team
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Anti-Trump Protests Erupt Across US From New York City To Seattle
