Day: July 15, 2025

What The Hell Does MAGA Really Mean?

Still searching for why.

WE all know what the acronym stands for, Make America Great Again, that is just a bunch of letters thrown together to sell a con on the voter….but what do those idiots really see when they see the MAGA?

MAGA is also closely related among Republicans with an “America First” policy. This is partly about having a strong military – a common theme among Republican respondents – and “making America the superpower” again, one respondent wrote.

Republicans also wrote that putting America first means emphasizing strict enforcement of immigration laws against “illegals” and cutting off foreign aid. For example, one Republican respondent said that MAGA meant “stopping illegals at the border, ending freebies for illegals, adding more police and building a strong military.”

Finally, Republicans see the slogan as calling for a return to “traditional” values. They expressed a strong desire to reverse cultural shifts that Republican respondents perceive as a threat.

As one Republican put it, MAGA “means going back to where men would join the military, women were home raising healthy minded children and it was easy to be successful, the crime rate was extremely low and it used to be safe for kids to hang out on the streets with other kids and even walk themselves places.”

In other words step back into the 1950s….

What about Democrats?

Democrats have a very different understanding of the MAGA slogan. Many Democrats view MAGA as a white supremacist movement designed to protect the status of white people and undermine the civil rights of marginalized groups.

One Democrat argued that “‘Make America Great Again’ is a standard borne by people who’ve seen a decrease in the potency of their privilege (see: cisgendered white men) and wish to see their privilege restored or strengthened. In essence, it’s a chant for all racist, fascist and otherwise bigoted actors to unite under.”

Another Democrat wrote that MAGA was a call to “take us backwards as a society in regards to women’s, minority’s, and LGBTQ people’s rights … It would take us to a time when only White men ruled.”

Democrats also view MAGA as a form of nostalgia for a heavily mythologized past. Many Democratic respondents described the past longed for by Republicans as a “myth” or “fairytale.” Others argued that this mythologized past, though appealing on the surface, was repressive for many Americans.

https://theconversation.com/what-maga-means-to-americans-259241

Read the article and see if you agree.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Obama Speaks To Dems

With the midterms closing in on the country ex-president Obama speaks to the Dems on how they should approach the coming election….

It’s not just Republicans who have been intimidated into silence as President Trump carries out policies they oppose, Barack Obama told members of his party over the weekend. If Democrats are going to come back, the former president said, they’ll have to take a stand, the New York Times reports. “It’s going to require a little bit less navel-gazing and a little less whining and being in fetal positions,” Obama said. “And it’s going to require Democrats to just toughen up.” He made the comments in a speech—which had multiple command sentences—to donors at a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee at the home of New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on Friday night. The points Obama made include:

  • No savior: “Stop looking for the quick fix. Stop looking for the messiah,” Obama said, per CNN. “You have great candidates running races right now. Support those candidates.” He mentioned the Democratic nominee for governor of New Jersey, Rep. Mikie Sherrill.
  • No party splits: Referring to differences of opinion among Democrats, Obama said that—whatever their ideology—they still need to produce results for voters if they expect to regain power. “You want to deliver for people and make their lives better? You got to figure out how to do it,” he said, per the Times. “I don’t care how much you love working people. They can’t afford a house because all the rules in your state make it prohibitive to build.”
  • Special mention: Obama called for institutions, including universities, to resist Trump policies. He singled out law firms that he said had agreed to “set aside the law” under presidential pressure—”not because, by the way, that they’re going to be thrown in jail, but because they might lose a few clients and might not be able to finish that kitchen rehab at their Hampton house.” He added, “I’m not impressed.”
  • Speak up: “Don’t say that you care deeply about free speech and then you’re quiet. No, you stand up for free speech when it’s hard,” Obama said, adding, “What’s needed now is courage.”
  • The moment: “For most of our lives, it was easy to stand for equality and justice, et cetera,” the former president said. “You didn’t really have to make a lot of sacrifices. That hasn’t been true for most of human history or American history. It’s still not true in most of the world. So these are moments where your values are tested and you have to stand up for them.”

I know that he is respected in some quarters but I have a problem with these words of wisdom….

He tells Dems to be strong but is doing the same things to continue the status quo being strong or just getting by?

I agree with him the the Dems need to figure out how to deliver for the people and make life better but is holding on to the ‘good ol’ boys’ network the best way to do that?

Like all the status quo Dems they are worried about holding power within the party and trying desperately to avoid any splits and deliver for the voter….I agree but is clinging to the re4lics from the Clinton days the best way to ‘stand and deliver’?

It will be interesting to see how the DNC shakes out for the upcoming midterms….

Will they deliver?

Or will the vote be a protest to Trump and we keep the do-nothings we have now?

Any amazing thoughts here?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Is The War On Terror Over?

This meme has been lacking in the news reports for a couple of years now…..after 9/11 GW vowed to make terrorists pay with his War on Terror and from that day on the US went around the globe to take on every piss ant group that he deemed “terrorists’.

The question remains….is the War on Terror over?

First my thought….one cannot go to war on an idea for terror is just that not some entity…..but I guess it made the whole adventure more palatable to the weak minded…..

But what about the question?

n Sept. 16, 2001, five days after the attacks on New York and Washington, DC, President George W. Bush declared, “This crusade – this war on terrorism – is going to take a while. And the American people must be patient. I’m going to be patient. But I can assure the American people I am determined.”

Four days after that, President Bush declared the “war on terror” to be primarily against al-Qaeda. “Our war on terror begins with al Qaeda,” he said in an address to Congress and the nation, “but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated.”

He described the enemy thus:

This group and its leader — a person named Osama bin Laden — are linked to many other organizations in different countries, including the Egyptian Islamic Jihad and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.  There are thousands of these terrorists in more than 60 countries.

Bush was correct in his assessment of the group.

One of those countries into which al-Qaeda jihadists implanted themselves was Syria, where from 2011 – with the support of the Obama Administration – they attempted to overthrow the secular leader, Bashar al-Assad, using terrorist tactics they had been well-trained in.

They soon changed their name – but not their stripes – and became the Al-Nusra Front, headed up by an experienced jihadist who fought against US troops in Iraq by the name of Abu Mohammad al-Jolani. His group was known for chopping off heads. Perhaps even American heads.

Last December Jolani’s jihadists – with support from the US, Turkey, and Israel – finally brought down the Assad government and quicker than you can say “Washington PR makeover” he clipped his beard, switched out his tactical military watch for a $90,000 Patek Philippe World Time Chronograph, and declared himself president.

The “civilized world” cheered the re-emergence of democracy in Syria!

At their first meeting earlier this year in Saudi Arabia, President Trump praised jihadist Jolani as “a young, attractive fellow” and “a tough guy, a fighter, with a very strong background. He has a lot of potential, he’s a real leader.”

https://original.antiwar.com/daniel-mcadams/2025/07/13/the-global-war-on-terror-is-over-terror-won/

So the US has supported some of the same people that supported the attacks on 9/11….where is the logic?

Outta sight outta mind I guess…..

The idea remains so one cannot infer that the “war” has been won.

How long before it strikes again?

I know there were some strong opinions after 9/11 but are those same opinions still valid?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”