Coffee Break Debates

Take a break

[wokefrogvirus]

elon musk did a nazi salute twice at the inauguration, and republicans are defending him.

trump revoked executive order 11246, which prohibited discrimination.

trump put all dei employees on leave to be fired.

trump blamed the dc plane crash on dei.

trump banned all lgbtq+ flags from being hung in government buildings.

trump ordered the pentagon to cancel celebration of mlk jr. day, black history month, women's history month, holocaust remembrance day, asian american pacific islander heritage month, lgbtq+ pride month, juneteenth, women's equality day, national hispanic heritage month, national disability employment awarenessmonth, and national american indian heritage month.

trump rolled back biden’s executive order to lower prescription drug costs for people using medicare and medicaid.

trump rescinded the $35 cap on insulin, and prices are expected to rise to $1500 a month.

trump ordered the national institutes of health to cancel their review panels on cancer research.

trump ended the guidelines to prevent ai misuse. the guidelines prevent many things, but notably it prevents production of ai child pornography.

when sean hannity asked trump about the economy, he said “i don’t care”, after campaigning with the economy as his main talking point.

trump has withdrawn the us from the world health organization.

trump is ordering health agencies to stop reporting on bird flu and halt publications of scientific reports.

trump has pardoned over 1500 people who stormed the capitol on january 6th.

trump changed mount denali back to mount mckinley.

trump signed an executive order to rename the gulf of mexico to gulf of america.

trump shut down cbp one, an app which granted legal entry to 1 million+ immigrants.

trump is allowing ice raids at churches and elementary schools.

trump announced plans to declare a national emergency at the us-mexico border.

trump signed an executive order to expand the use of the death penalty.

trump disbanded the school safety board that works to prevent school shootings. it was comprised of survivors, educators, and gun violence prevention advocates and formed after the school shooting in parkland.

trump withdrew from the paris climate act.

trump revoked all protections for transgender troops in the us military.

trump rescinded executive orders made by biden that benefited and protected women, lgbtq+ people, black americans, hispanic americans, asian americans, native hawaiians, and pacific islanders.

trump is attempting to make it legal to refuse to hire or fire pregnant women.

multiple state legislators are drafting bills to allow the punishment for abortion to be the death penalty.

trump pardoned 23 individuals convicted under the freedom of access to clinic entrances (FACE) act for their anti-abortion activism, including oftentimes violent protests at abortion clinics.

trump signed an executive order allowing deportation of foreign students who they believe express support for hamas or hezbollah.

trump announced that the us government will from here on out only recognize male and female as sexes. intersex is not legally recognized anymore.

trump refused to swear on the bible during his inauguration. (i’ve gotten some comments about this specific point. i didn’t include it because i’m christian, because i’m not. i’m agnostic. i included it because he’s the first president in history to refuse to swear on ANYTHING, bible or not. in the bible it teaches that the only person who cannot touch the bible is the antichrist, yet that on TOP of everything else will never convince his followers that he’s unfit.)

the trump administration paused health communications to prevent the fda from announcing food recalls.

andy ogles drafted a constitutional amendment to allow trump to be president for a third term.

georgia republican congressman mike collins called for the deportation of new jersey born mariann budde, the bishop who urged trump to “have mercy” on the lgbtq+ community and immigrants during a service at the national cathedral.

six states (arizona, idaho, iowa, kansas, mississippi, and north dakota) are planning on challenging obergefell v. hodges, which would end same-sex marriage nationwide. about a dozen more states have representatives are also considering filing similar resolutions.

amazon revoked protections for lgbtq+ and black employees.

the cdc has removed their hiv prevention page.

the united states state department has officially changed its “travelers with special conditions” page which previously said “lgbtqi+ travelers” to “lgb travelers”, completely getting rid of the tqi+.

every single republican told us we were overreacting. trump swore he had nothing to do with project 2025 yet continues implementing details outlined in it. not a single person has the right to tell us we’re being dramatic anymore.

hope “cheaper eggs and gas” was worth it.

[johnsolero]

Quick thoughts:

Modern conservatives in the US seem to think Fascism is existentially tied to Judaism in some way.

But the modern conservative has spent decades reducing the average American’s educational level so the lack of critical thinking skills is expected.

Fascism is a method of governance used to control a majority population. It’s not an economic system, or even a specific arrangement of institutions. It’s not a form of government: it’s a system of power. A fascist government is one that uses any means necessary to make loyalty to the country paramount and sacrifices the individual to the collective majority. It does this, often, by creating fear and arguing that the country is under threat by some “other” force that is NOT related to the majority on which you focus your control for power.

In Germany, the fascist government took the form of the Nazi party. Patriotism to the classical idea of a Germanic fatherland was the utmost importance and the Jewish minority was the “other” used to rally the masses against a single enemy. In Spain it wasn’t the Jewish minority, it was the secular communist. Either way, both countries were fascist.

[decemberwinter]

what do you mean elon musk did a nazi salute on live tv at the united states presidential inauguration twice and is now erasing the evidence off the internet by replacing the footage with the crowd cheering instead?

would be a shame if people reblogged this, wouldn’t it?

[untitled-unimportant]

Oh yes, horrible shame. Whoops, my finger slipped.

[johnsolero]

[johnsolero]

Quick Thought:

I Just realized that culturally inside of Russia, the main government narrative is that Putin’s government is a force for good fighting Nazi’s at home and abroad; in Ukraine, historically in Western Europe… and it all now makes absolutely perfect sense as to why Russian disinformation and propaganda efforts have been aimed at propping up these Alt Right extremism idiots. Russia is promoting Nazi’s in America to isolate the US and rebalance world order in Russia’s favor.

[johnsolero]

Quick thoughts:

Yeah, he’s awkward as hell and very much neurodivergent… but that was a Nazi salute all day every day. This fucker is so hard for apartheid. We’ve defunded education for so long in the US that even in the age of universal access to information, history is repeating itself and the vast majority are blind to it.

[johnsolero]

Quick observation:

When Trump won his first term I was terrified he would destroy the US’s fragile reputation and standing with our allies (he did), that he would erode any integrity or trust in mainstream news (he did), that he would damage the foundation of democratic institutions (he did), and likely get impeached and not see the end of his first full term (do I get partial credit?).

I underestimated the Democrats inability to be ruthless, and I overestimated the Republicans integrity and willingness to hold trump accountable for the sake of long held republican values…

We could go in circles for days talking about how the Republic can party is dead and has shifted all of its policy positions (at least any that had anything to do with actual governance).

In almost every other instance of an extremist coming to power, societies almost always over correct. I genuinely thought the rise of the far right would see in short order the widespread acceptance and electoral success of the far left progressive movement and a broader shift to the left in the US… I think the trend was really proving true during the mid terms. We saw Bernie grow in popularity, we saw AOC and other young progressive candidates gain widespread electoral support. What I never expected to see was the Democratic Party Leadership’s complete and utter inability to adapt and support the elements within its own party that were generating the much needed excitement and optimism. Their own top down moderating efforts prevented the societal shift towards the progressive left and allowed the Republican Party to continue to build the pendulums momentum towards further extremes.

And perhaps the most damaging consequence of the Democrats unwillingness to swing left, is that it too all legitimacy and political power away from the few remaining moderates within the Republican Party that may have sought to temper Trump’s policies.

I guess that wasn’t quite as quick an observation as I intended… but I’m a bit rusty. You’ll have to cut me some slack.

[johnsolero]

Finally got the RoofNest on! Of course, it’s the coldest day of the year so far. I have to admit, I regretted going so big when three of my tallest friends and I were deadlifting this thing off the ground in 12 degree weather… but then I opened it up and got inside!

Despite the freezing temps, it’s very cozy inside. I can’t wait to get out into the Smokey mountains and find some quiet in this crazy world.

[johnsolero]

I’m exhausted by the constant chaos of this current iteration of the internet and I’m craving an open sourced, decentralized online community platform. I know tumblr isn’t it, but I’m hoping it can be a better alternative to the propaganda tools of the oligarchy.

[crossconnectmag]

Street Interventions by Pejac

“Elusive Spanish artist Pejac travels the world creating street interventions, often integrating natural elements into man-made structures through a combination of stenciling and trompe l’oeil painting. His most recent projects have brought him to New York City for the first time, where he has created two arboreal artworks in Bushwick and Chinatown.”

Instagram: @crossconnectmag

[just-shower-thoughts]

Being asked “Why are you depressed? Life is beautiful!” is like saying “Why do you have asthma? There is so much air!”

[johnsolero]

People who walk around saying “life is so beautiful!” are most likely either a little dim and ignorant of the world or incredibly narcissistic and ignorant of the world.

Life is work, hard work. And you can learn to enjoy the work, but it’s only beautiful if you struggle daily to make it a little less ugly.

[femalebeautyinart]

The Ecstasy of Saint Theresa

Gian Lorenzo Bernini

1652

[greek--myths]

TWELVE OLYMPIANS MEME || [2/12] Poseidon (Greek: Ποσειδῶν):

God of the sea, earthquakes, storms, and horses.

[dappledwithshadow]

Gian Lorenzo Bernini

[deartotheheart]

Bernini, The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa in the Cornaro Chapel Santa Maria della Vittoria, Rome

[fer1972]

Today’s Classic: The Martyrdom of St. Sebastian Marble Sculpture by Giuseppe Giorgetti (1672)

[ultrawolvesunderthefullmoon]

Ricardo Beliver, “Fuente del Angel Caído”, Fountain of the Fallen Angel, Bronze, 1877-78, Buen Retiro Park, Madrid, Spain

The statue that crowns the monument in the center of the fountain is the masterpiece of Ricardo Beliver who realized it in plaster in 1877 while a 3rd year pensioner in Rome, inspired by verses from the first Canto of Paradise Lost by John Milton. He submitted it to the 1877 edition of the Exposiciones Nacionales de Bellas Artes where it received the first prize. 

The state acquired the work and presented it to the 1878 Expostion Universelle. Since only works in bronze and marble were accepted, the statue was cast in bronze at this occasion and the plaster original destroyed. The statue returned to Spain in what was then the Museo Nacional de Pintura y Escultura, also known as the Museo de la Trinidad, and now part of the Museo de Prado. The director of the museum, Benito Soriano Murillo, proposed its relocation in the open space of Buen Retiro Park so that the public could freely enjoy this peculiar and unusual creation.