It’s the Cruelty, Stupid

“Real power is — I don’t even want to use the word — fear.”

Donald Trump made that remark to the journalists Bob Woodward and Robert Costa in March 2016. Fear is, of course, a favorite tool of the president-elect. He has used it for decades to intimidate opponents, critics and allies to give up, give in or give way. He built his real estate empire through lawsuits and threats against rivals and partners.

He cowed and demolished political opponents through humiliation and invective. He consolidated control of the Republican Party and silenced G.O.P. detractors with pressure tactics and threats to end careers. And as president, he used the power of the office and the power of social media to make life miserable for anyone he chose.

His goal in these efforts has been to push people to check themselves rather than check his power.

[NYT Editorial Board 1/17/25]

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Author: patd

“But I don’t want to go among mad people," Alice remarked. "Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad." "How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice. "You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn’t have come here.” ― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

69 thoughts on “It’s the Cruelty, Stupid”

  1. “We don’t take an oath to a king, or queen, or a tyrant or a dictator. And we don’t take an oath to a wannabe dictator …we take an oath to the Constitution … and we’re willing to die to protect it”.

    – Mark Milley (2023)

  2. more from Opinion | Standing Up to Donald Trump’s Fear Tactics – The New York Times

    …Mr. Trump is using fear not only with Congress but also with other essential independent institutions such as courts, business, higher education and the news media. The goal is broadly the same: to deter elected officials, judges, executives and others from exercising their duties in ways that challenge him or hold him accountable. He wants to make dissent so painful as to be intolerable.

    America’s leaders and institutions must remain undeterred. They will need to show courage and resilience in the face of Mr. Trump’s efforts as they continue to play their unique roles in our democracy. Vigilance is everything: If institutions surrender to the fear and coercion — by bending the knee or by rationalizing that the next right actions aren’t worth the fight, stress or risk — they not only embolden future abuses; they are also complicit in undermining their own power and influence.

    […]

    Some may reflect genuine acceptance that the country has elected a flawed leader to disrupt the status quo. But those sentiments cannot be fully disentangled from the threat posed by Mr. Trump: his determination to get his way by all means necessary, including abusing powers at his disposal to take revenge on those he thinks have crossed him or even just failed to support him in critical moments.

    That threat is real: Mr. Trump has selected people for top legal and law enforcement positions who have threatened in the past to retaliate against some of those who challenged him. And that is to say nothing of his informal ability to direct troll armies to harass critics. In the absence of leaders across civic life continuing to play their roles — including standing up against illegal and immoral actions when necessary — the acquiescence to fear will free Mr. Trump further from the checks and balances that have served our nation so well.

    If legislators, for instance, don’t cut back on climate-related spending, he has threatened to initiate a constitutional showdown by rescinding the money. His running mate, JD Vance, once suggested that if courts overrule such actions, they may be ignored altogether. “The chief justice has made his ruling,” Mr. Vance said in 2021, imagining a confrontation with the Supreme Court and quoting a line that Andrew Jackson might or might not have said. “Now let him enforce it.”

    [continues]


  3. President Trump is pursuing an autocratic agenda by taking revenge on prosecutors who investigated him and blocking the CDC from coordinating with the World Health Organization, egg prices are soaring as bird flu continues to spread, and PETA would like to do away with the main character in America’s Groundhog Day ceremonies.

  5. his bias toward cruelty is reflected in an example of his choice of appointees, one of whom was described as follows:

    “His basement, his garage, his dorm room were the centers of the action where drugs were available, and he enjoyed showing off how he put baby chickens and mice in the blender to feed his hawks. It was often a perverse scene of despair and violence.”

  7. Anybody watch or listen to Senator Schumer’s floor speech in response to what the orange idiot is doing? i did not either. Thom Hartman tried, but was bored silly. Just reiterating what many of us have been saying, The Dems need to put in public our younger people in front of the mic and cameras. Holy Jesus Alou the Dems are boring and not winning the media battles. Far from it. The snippets of the Senate Dems, Schumer, are horrible. We need some podium pounders. Some people who will get attention. Even some people who will expand the truth.

  8. Next the Trump Regime will yank her security protection (the judge who just paused his government shutdown).

    • The FBI sees animal cruelty as a predictor of violence against people and considers past animal abuse when profiling serial killers.

  10. Of course it’s the cruelty. He loves the cruelty. It’s what he does. No wait, it’s what he is.

  11. BlueBronc, agreed. As nominal party leader, Kamala should come out swinging. Not that i think she should run again, but at least she’s got some punch.

  12. a better communicator, Coach Tim, speaks out
    Trump federal funding freeze impacts on MN: Live updates | FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul

    During a news conference of his own, Gov. Tim Walz lambasted the federal funding freeze, saying it is cutting off funding for law enforcement, farmers, schools, child care, veterans, and health care. He also said the pause would affect funding for programs like the YMCA, where he appeared in front of the media. 

    “While [Trump] was out golfing, he threw the country into crisis,” Walz said. “Minnesota is a state that pays far more into the federal government than we get back. Those are our dollars he is stealing unconstitutionally. Congress, as I served, as Attorney General Ellison served, appropriates the dollars. This is so far beyond the pale to pull these dollars back.”

    Walz accused the president of not understanding the full impact of the move and his administration of failing to provide proper guidance ahead of the pause.

    “We’ll see you in court,” Walz said to the Trump administration.


  14. In an exclusive interview, Rachel Maddow interviews Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, former Democratic nominee for vice president, in his first interview since the election, about how the Donald Trump administration’s ill-advised freeze of federal funds exposes the role of Project 2025 in the Trump administration’s plans, and Trump’s ultimate goal of destroying the U.S. government. 

  15. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/tim-kaine-trump-federal-workers-buyout_n_6799a2bfe4b09dcf5694ef54

    “Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) is warning federal employees not to cave to President Donald Trump’s offer of a buyout that would give workers about eight months’ salary if they leave their jobs next week.”

    “He’ll stiff you,” Kaine said on the Senate floor.
    Contractors who’ve worked for Trump and Trump’s companies have frequently reported struggles getting paid. In 2016, USA Today reported on some 3,500 legal actions against Trump over pay disputes with contractors and others.”

    Tim Kaine takes the floor to tell federal employees to NOT take the buyout, saying tRUMPsky will stiff you like he does everyone else; he doesn’t even have the authority to appropriate money for the buyout; that would be Congress. Stay until you’re dragged out.

    I will add that we need moles in the government, so some need to agree to MAGAtry and stay in order to report what’s going on and to muck up the works.

    Where are the teenage hackers who hate Elon (the gamer cheat) and tRUMPsky (the old creeper) and fascism (someone always telling ‘em what to do) and climate change (they’ll need air to breathe & water to drink longer than I will)?

    For kicks and giggles, they could release the Epstein files, info flowing to and from Moscow, financial deals, why Mike Johnson has no bank account and what’s out their besides his porn shield app, etc.

    Like, it would also be interesting if Cuckerberg got locked out of his smart-bunker in Hawaii, stuff like that. Give the chaos monsters chaos that was not of their making. Wishful thinking.

  17. Just checked Google Maps; it’s still showing the Gulf of Mexico. Deleting the app if the name changes.

    Also heard an idea to delete the Amazon app if you gave it, to get Bezos’ attention if it’s done en masse, and to wean folks off of ordering out of convenience and habit.

    Wear red lipstick (Hitler hated it).

    Know your rights and video anything weird or sad like traffic stops by ICE. (Also, there are now sexual predators pretending to be ICE, who are assaulting Hispanic women.)

    Plant as much food as you can.

    Resist.

  18. https://abc11.com/post/raleigh-man-accused-rape-threatening-deport-victim-police-say/15844386/

    “In the most recent case, Raleigh Police said officers were called to the Motel 6 off Capital Boulevard on Sunday. When officers spoke to a woman there, she told them a man had brutally kidnapped and raped her, all while threatening her and pretending to be a law enforcement officer.”

    https://www.thedailybeast.com/ice-barbie-kristi-noem-gets-dolled-up-for-deportation-raid-photo-op/

    “Noem donned a bullet-proof vest and a cap with a police crest—while still looking like she’d stopped off at hair and make-up—to pose alongside ICE and DEA agents, some of them carrying assault rifles.”

    ICE scams & cosplaying (her hair extensions are a hoot and a half – like a crappy Barbie bought on Temu)

    https://abc11.com/post/trump-immigration-officers-say-worst-go-first-now-theres-no-free-pass/15843206/

    “Under Trump, officers can now arrest people without legal status if they run across them while looking for migrants targeted for removal. Under Joe Biden, such “collateral arrests” were banned.”

    How long before the n@zis start checking for blue eyes?

  21. Poobah, is there some contraption that allows setting the default preference for comments to “Newest” instead of “Oldest” since the comment block is now at the top of the comment string? I’m just that lazy.

  23. Do the folks in Congress (both sides) not realize how old they are? If they would just retire, they would have the freedom now, to do what’s right…which is to not appoint RFKJ nor Tulsi, AND, impeach Orange Adolf. Honestly, now that a lot of MAGAts who voted for them are hurting, their constituents are charging them to do it. Wouldn’t it be nice to retire a la Jimmy Carter, and do something worthwhile; they could also just golf, or something. If they insist on running, wouldn’t it be nice to not need to raise huge sums of money and just do some town halls? We could definitely turn this around now if there were enough strong spines in Congress. Better to be remembered for trying to save democracy than to be a n@zi or a n@zi sympathizer.

  25. Pogo, your comment order is by individual choice. On the right side of bar at top just above first comment, below comment box, there’s a ‘Newest/Oldest” button

  26. https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/01/28/congress/doj-prosecutors-trump-fired-00200933

    “The lawmakers are asking for names of all reassigned or terminated DOJ employees since the start of Trump’s term last week, as well as details of communications with the White House related to their termination. Raskin and Connolly are also demanding information about efforts to review career employees’ social media accounts, and the role that these employees’ political opinions played in the decisions.”

    “The Democrats also questioned the decision to rescind job offers and internship offers through the Attorney General‘s Honors Program.”

    Shitler doesn’t want the best and the brightest.

  27. bId- it is power. The senators are (as in the Constitution) as powerful as the president, all one hundred of them. The representatives are almost as powerful. Where they go so do their aides. Go out to eat, nice place, not the back of the room of the discount second hand pizza store.

    And, as we saw with Senator Feintein,and other geriatrics, the aides like the power too.

  28. Poobah, right. It defaults to oldest and I wondered if there is a preference setting I can’t find to make it default to Newest. I’ll just click it (damn I’m lazy).

  29. The purge continues. WaPo.

    President Donald Trump has moved to fire Democratic members of two independent federal commissions, an extraordinary break from decades of legal precedent that promises to hand Republicans control over boards that oversee swaths of U.S. workers, employers and labor unions.

    On Monday night, he dismissed two of the three Democrats on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission — Jocelyn Samuels and Charlotte Burrows, formerly the chair, the White House confirmed Tuesday. He also fired the chair of the National Labor Relations Board, Gwynne Wilcox, a Democrat, an NLRB spokesperson confirmed Tuesday.

    All three said they are exploring their legal options against the administration — cases that legal scholars say could reach as far as the Supreme Court.

    Trump also removed the EEOC’s general counsel, Karla Gilbride, who oversaw civil actions against employers on a range of issues, including discrimination claims from LGBTQ+ and pregnant workers. And he terminated Jennifer Abruzzo, the NLRB’s general counsel. Their departures throw into question the status of numerous actions underway at both agencies, including against billionaire Elon Musk’s electric car company, Tesla.

    Fasten those chinstraps.

  30. My son received his “fork in the road” letter today which he says I will enjoy reading. He was actually planning to retire next year with all sorts of goodies as a triple dipper (Army, Civil Service, Social Security). Apparently, it says he would keep working until replaced by something or other (unclear) with the bonus … will report on more later. Depending on how many jump at it, this could be very, very expensive.

  31. Pogo, does your device show that button up top that says Oldest? If so, just punch it and on the drop down menu click Newest

  32. Jamie, Doesn’t seem like media should be buying their narrative that this is a buyback or severance. The only “offer” I see says you can work at home if you agree to quit by September.. https://www.opm.gov/fork

  33. Yeah, and that’s what I do. Really, no biggee.

    As to the discharge letter, offer, whatever, if there’s money other than salary already approved through the budget, FFFF doesn’t have the authority under Article II to spend the money to pay it. That’s an Article I function. I saw an excerpt from the letter over at WaPo and I’d have to see the entire letter to know what it offers.

  34. What a bunch of idiots. WaPo.

    The White House budget office on Wednesday rescinded an order freezing federal grants, according to a copy of a new memo obtained by The Washington Post, after the administration’s move to halt spending earlier this week provoked a backlash.

    In a memo dated Wednesday and distributed to federal agencies, Matthew J. Vaeth, acting director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, states that OMB memorandum M-25-13 “is rescinded.” That order, issued Monday, instructed federal agencies to “temporarily pause all activities related to obligations or disbursement of all federal financial assistance.”

    Amateur hour in DC, unless… some lawyer type told WHBO to rescind the order so the case pending in front of the “unelected Muslim judge” could be dismissed as moot, then reissue the letter with some changes to make it seem like it falls into the discretionary bubble of the WH.

  35. That was a great big OOPs. OMB has rescinded the freeze. I guess if you point out that an action is horrendously stupid,you can get it to end.

  37. Chris isn’t about to jump at anything until there is a legal judgement. As an 18 year old he refused an illegal order and when the lieutenant reported it up the line, the Captain forcefully backed up Chris. We take the Constitution seriously around here.

  39. It’s still Golfo de Mexico on GoogleMaps.
    Caroline’s words about the cousin will never be forgotten, the part about blended mice and baby chicks fed to falcons.
    It was 41F here at noon, nice.
    “Say Nothing” on FX/Hulu is the most serious piece of film making regarding The Troubles I have ever seen. Chilling, revealing, unforgettable, 9 parts series. Must see TV for the ages.

  40. NY Times is reporting that OpenAI says Chinese DeepSeek used a shortcut to build its database. By using that which others labored over saves needing a lot of extra processing power. So, that is what I thought might have happened. It makes sense, russia and China have a long history of building things from Western designs. So really the wonder box is not so wonderous, the market sell off was going to happen and an excuse was added to make it look reasonable.

    behind paywall

  41. Absolute proof of the incredible ignorance of these letters is that if everyone in his office took the offer, it would shut down the Stryker brigades globally under the General Dynamics contract. The US Army sort of needs those.

  42. The EO halting funding of everything (almost) is still in effect. The EO/Memo or whatever it was telling the agencies to stop funding was rescinded. So the court order putting a temporary stop needs to stay in place, just in case sfb gets a midnight burger hunger and decides to reissue the EO/memo or whatever again.

  43. Jamie, looks to me like they’re saying keep on doing what you’re doing related to grants, but we ain’t gonna send the money.

  44. fresh seeds at home centers now, start them end of Feb

    start watching gardener’s world if you’re serious, getting good yields isn’t easy

  45. Bernie Sanders grilling RFKJ about onsies was not on my bingo card.

    Bobby was sweating when Warren got through with him. If only everyone would vote the way they grill these folks.

    MAGAts in Congress are spineless jellyfish…or n@zis, or n@zi sympathizers.

  46. 24 days. I finally got to the store today. I hate frozen water, be it sleet or hail.

    Bought a nozzle for the garden hose and a bag of 15-bean soup so I can try to get different varieties to germinate for the garden before making soup.

  47. https://reasonstobecheerful.world/monica-guzman-building-bridges/

    “In her book I Never Thought of It That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times, Guzmán shows us why siloing — particularly in our digital worlds — can lead to dehumanizing the “other side.” In the book, she explains the importance of remaining curious and building bridges.”

    Hmm, not since before McCain unleashed the ex-half-governor of Alaska have I felt like there was common ground. Teabaggerz walked so MAGAts could run democracy into the ground.

  49. Housekeeping: just making sure everyone knows that little round green button floating on the left side is for getting to the comment box wherever you are on the page

  50. OK, here’s a link to the OPM Fork in the Road website re: the “voluntary” (forced) resignation “offer” sent out to most federal employees. Fucking nuts.

  51. The stories I’ve been hearing at work say that unmarked white vans have been seen at Walmart here in Holland and various other places near here. They are vans occupied by ICE agents. They have been rounding up people here.

  52. Didn’t read every word Pogo but I just don’t see anywhere in that document that talks about buybacks or severance pay, am I missing something?

  54. Bill criminalizing votes for immigrant sanctuary policies ‘constitutionally suspect’

    “As Gov. Bill Lee’s immigration enforcement plan moves swiftly through the Tennessee Legislature, one component of the bill — aimed at arresting local officials who support sanctuary policies for immigrants — drew scrutiny Tuesday.”

    “Included in the governor’s wide-ranging proposal to coordinate with the Trump Administration on mass immigrant detentions and deportations is a provision that creates a Class E felony for public officials who vote to adopt or enact sanctuary policies. Sanctuary policies can shield undocumented immigrants and limit cooperation with enforcement action.”

    “The felony charge, punishable by up to six years in prison and a $3,000 fine, would apply to any public official who votes in favor of a sanctuary law, policy or on non-binding resolutions.”

    WTF? Tennessee is so racist that they want to make it illegal to vote a certain way.

  55. https://apnews.com/article/trump-holiday-mlk-day-pride-black-hispanic-dei-047bbdbfc12ea6e9a9731f5861d84e70

    “Pentagon agency pauses celebrations for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Black History Month and more”
    “The Defense Department’s intelligence agency has paused observances of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Pride Month, Holocaust Days of Remembrance and other cultural or historical annual events in response to President Donald Trump’s ban on diversity, equity and inclusionprograms in the federal workplace. 
    The instructions were published Tuesday in a Defense Intelligence Agency memo obtained by The Associated Press and affect 11 annual events, including Black History Month, which begins Saturday, and National Hispanic Heritage Month.”

    “The memo’s authenticity was confirmed by a U.S. official who said the pause was initiated by the DIA and appears not to be policy across the Defense Department.”

    No Black History Month, Women’s Equality, Asian Pacific Islander, Disabled Awareness, Indigenous Peoples, Juneteenth, Priude, Hispanic History…but MLK Day was on the 20th. Tell me how this makes grocery prices go down. This is some n@zi BS.

    I’m guessing Oktoberfest is still a go.

  56. “Real power is — I don’t even want to use the word — fear.”

    This he knows because he’s been scared shitless his whole life.

  57. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/trump-immigration-raids-citizens-profiling-accusations-native-american-rcna189203

    “American citizens, including citizens of Native tribal nations, have been pulled into the vast immigration operations ordered by President Donald Trump in accordance with his campaign vow to conduct mass deportations since Day 1.”

    “The Navajo Nation Office was flooded with calls from tribal members living off-reservation, with many reporting being questioned about their identity by ICE officers, Native News Online reported.”

    How long before blue eyes are a requirement for citizenship?

  58. https://thehill.com/homenews/education/5113202-trump-schools-executive-order-crt-gender-ideology/

    ”President Trump signed an executive order to prohibit federal funds from going to K-12 public schools that teach critical race theory (CRT) or gender issues.”

    MAGAts were saying, “You will not erase us,” but they were telegraphing what they would do to everyone else.

    https://www.axios.com/2025/01/29/trump-funding-schools-transgender-children

    “President Trump on Wednesday issued an executive order that threatens to cut federal funding for K-12 schools that it claims “indoctrinate” students with teachings related to race and gender.”

    “The big picture: Trump’s repeated threat to defund schools accused of teaching critical race theory and that accommodate transgender students has become part of a rallying call for the right in a culture war over what children should be exposed to.”

    ”Trump also reinstated the 1776 Commission, which he created in his first term, “to promote patriotic education.”

    Schools that “accommodate” transgender students. Just despicable what they are doing to single out and other these kids.

    Hmmm, pretty sure it’ll look like the history books from the 1950s…or 1850s.

  62. https://www.latintimes.com/ice-says-sorry-after-detaining-us-citizens-speaking-spanish-report-57396

    “ICE Says ‘Sorry’ After Detaining US Citizens for Speaking Spanish”

    “A Puerto Rican family, including a toddler, was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Milwaukee after being overheard speaking Spanish…”

    “The family, all U.S. citizens, were transported to a detention center before officials acknowledged their mistake and issued an apology.
    The mother, grandmother, and young child had been shopping when authorities approached and detained them. They were not allowed to clarify their status until they were already in custody, according to Telemundo Puerto Rico.”

    Illegal AF! Can they sue?

  64. guess what the billionaire class will do when all of your assets depreciate

    buy it all

  65. gardener’s note: the animals will eat everything if you let them

    lilies attract deer and then they find your other stuff

  66. I bought a clove/garlic spray to help repel things. The moles stay away from the area with wild garlic. I’m planting lavender and dill, too.

    My hyacinths are blooming indoors and smell quite sweet.

  67. there is a fly that eats carrots, but it can only fly an inch off the ground so you only have to build a 2 inch fence around your carrots

    🫠

    ok have fun 👍

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