Notices by Amanda Marcotte (amandamarcotte@mastodon.sdf.org)

Not happy about it, but I called it: the Wisconsin guy whose wife got scooped by ICE on their honeymoon still doesn't regret voting for Trump.

MAGA is a cult and what we know is the worse it gets, the more cult members double down.

https://www.salon.com/2025/03/21/i-dont-regret-the-vote-why-most-stand-by-him-even-as-he-ruins-their-lives/

Musk doesn't seem worried that he and Trump threaten social and economic collapse. On the contrary, it appears that's his goal.

Musk swims in a tech-fascist ideology that believes democracy should be replaced by billionaire dictators — like himself.
https://www.salon.com/2025/03/17/the-dystopian-freedom-cities-dream-fueling-elon-musks-destruction/

MAGA leaders are trying to sell Trump's trade war — and any subsequent inflation and job loss — to the base with talk of "sacrifice."

Their lies sound exactly like the crap prosperity preachers peddle.

This is not a coincidence.

https://www.salon.com/2025/03/14/you-must-sacrifice-maga-excuses-for-trade-echo-prosperity-preachers/

Some Cabinet secretaries resist Musk, but RFK is letting DOGE run rampant.

The reason isn't mysterious: Kennedy sees DOGE as his best opportunity to destroy American health care swiftly.

His plan to make America "healthy": Let disease run rampant.

https://www.salon.com/2025/03/11/rfk-jr-gives-elon-musks-doge-free-rein-to-raid-the-health-agency/

Hegseth's "DEI" purge at Defense is so broad that photos of the Enola Gay got flagged.

That tidbit is funny. The larger story is grotesque, including Hegseth ending the policy barring racial segregation in the workplace.

https://www.salon.com/2025/03/10/enola-gay-will-henceforth-be-known-as-enola-straight-pete-hegseths-dei-paranoia-knows-no-limits/

Trump pretended he was "moderate" on abortion and supports "exceptions" for "rape, incest, and the life of the mother."

This week, he backed states that ban abortion for women who show up at E.R. in crisis, needing an abortion to survive.

https://www.salon.com/2025/03/07/quietly-props-up-the-strictest-abortion-ban-in-the-country/

Why read past headlines: You, extremely online, saw the "not fit to have a job" claim about veterans.

I offer larger context, including why Trump would want to hurt the people who voted for him. Narcissists often lash out most at people who love them.

https://www.salon.com/2025/03/06/not-fit-to-have-a-job-victim-veterans-workers-for-his-on-the-economy/

It's looking very much like Trump is deliberately tanking the economy to punish Americans for not worshipping him as much as he desires.

Like the two-bit abuser he is, Trump's excuse is to blame the victims — a group that includes most Americans.

https://www.salon.com/2025/03/06/not-fit-to-have-a-job-victim-veterans-workers-for-his-on-the-economy/

Republican women voted for Trump, believing complicity would save them.

But now MAGA men are pushing conservative women out of leadership, de facto legalizing abuse, and signaling that the era of "chivalry" will be replaced with the era of eating shit.

https://www.salon.com/2025/02/26/a-woman-is-like-a-child-maga-quickly-turns-its-sights-on-stripping-women-of-power/

You're plugged in and have heard comparisons of DOGE and Gamergate in passing.

I took a deeper dive — but still a short, breezy read — explaining how it goes much deeper than a comparison.

Gamergate was whiner boot camp. DOGE is the Loser Invasion.

https://www.salon.com/2025/02/24/what-elon-musks-on-workers-owes-to-gamergate/

Republicans seem surprised that Trump victim-blames Ukraine for the war.

Feminists aren't surprised. This is how Trump has always talked about sexual violence.

Rape and fascism are related phenomena. Both are how weak, pathetic men feel powerful.

https://www.salon.com/2025/02/21/shouldnt-be-surprised-ukraine--his-views-predicted-this/

RFK's not-so-veiled threat to take mental health drugs away is even worse than it looks at first blush.

He wants to replace these medications with labor camps.

This fits with the larger, eugenics-informed Trump/Musk agenda.

https://www.salon.com/2025/02/19/rfk-s-plan-to-make-america-healthy-again-round-up-people-with-mental-health-conditions-in-camps/

I spoke with Katherine Stewart about her new book, which she wrote after spending much of the past couple of years embedded with the movement to end democracy.

It's called "Money, Lies and God" and is a ground's eye view of American fascism.

https://www.salon.com/2025/02/18/his-mission-is-to-eradicate-woke-jesus-how-money-lies-and-religion-are-abused-to-gut-democracy/

With Musk usurping their real authority — appropriation — what role does Congress even play?

Republicans tacitly unveiled their answer this week: They see their main purpose as disseminating even more disinfo to make Americans even dumber.

https://www.salon.com/2025/02/13/musk-took-all-their-power-so-remake-congress-into-a-ministry-of-disinformation/

Musk is trying to destroy the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which would regulate any "e-wallet" he starts.

How does he trick his fans into hating an agency that protects them from scams?

He tells them it has girl cooties. And they fall for it!

https://www.salon.com/2025/02/12/let-the-scams-roll-elon-musk-exploits-culture-to-turn-maga-against-consumer-protections/

Why read past headlines: Details, receipts. The "anti-trans" order led to canceling sexual assault prevention in the military. Title IX rules to prevent sexual assault are gone.

It also put "women" on the list of banned words for medical research.

https://www.salon.com/2025/02/10/women-is-a-banned-word-uses-trans-panic-to-strip-rights-from-all-women/

Elon Musk's salute is a standard-issue far-right trolling tactic. I call it fascist peekaboo, and explain how it works here.

But it's not working so well this time. I explain how progressives and the press are getting smarter on how to respond.

https://www.salon.com/2025/01/22/elon-musks-salute-falls-flat-why-far-right-trolling-isnt-working-this-time/

Mike Johnson's fake "Jefferson prayer" didn't read like an honest mistake, but a deliberate provocation. He even mocked historians in his intro.

I put his stunt into context. Fake history is a linchpin weapon of Christian nationalists.
https://www.salon.com/2025/01/07/why-mike-johnsons-fake-jefferson-prayer-matters/

New Standing Room Only! Today's excerpt: Fascism is the revenge of mediocrities like Elon Musk.

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With Trump coming into office, MAGA is likely to get more violent. The desire to go full brownshirt has always been part of the movement.

They'll also feel safe from consequences, with Kash Patel in charge.

https://www.salon.com/2024/12/30/this-is-trumps-america-now-maga-diehards-jumpstart-a-new-year-of-political-violence/