Have you ever heard the Connie Francis song "God Save America"? It's about a second American Civil War, and the lyrics feel very timely.
It was recorded in 1970, but the recording was lost and never released. Decades later, a copy of the original tape recording was found. Music and sound effects were recorded for it, and it was finally released in 2019. It crackles in places because of damage to the surviving tape, but is a fascinating song.
Here's the song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5fePnVdm6s
Here's the story behind it:
https://www.facebook.com/100044438949402/posts/2117573428329195/
I'm looking for some easy to understand, ideally fairly short (ie under 30 minutes) videos or articles that are normie-friendly and explain ESG and Blackrock and Vanguard's role in it. Does anyone have good recommendations?
Has anyone else here been following the Nelson Peltz/Disney situation? It's been going on for a while, but has now been heating up with the possible involvement of Elon Musk.
Peltz's fund management company Trian holds about $3 billion of Disney stock, and he is appealing to other Disney shareholders who are displeased with how the company is being run to vote for himself and former Disney CFO Jay Rasulo to replace Disney directors Michael Froman and Maria Elena Lagomasino in an upcoming Disney shareholder meeting. He is allied with former Marvel Studios CEO Ike Perlmutter (allegedly the mastermind behind the plan), who also owns a large amount of Disney stock.
Perlmutter is a fascinating individual, whose story I've been following for about 5 years. In a nutshell, he's a shrewd businessman who loathes Disney's tendency to put politics over profit, and (being a friend, neighbor, and major financial supporter of Donald Trump) also dislikes the company's leftist policies. He was ousted from his position of control over the MCU in 2015 by Kevin Feige and Bob Iger, as he was an obstacle to their plans to insert their preferred politics into the MCU. Not coincidentally, the MCU freefalled in terms of quality almost imediately afterward, then in profits a few years after that. Perlmutter has nursed a grudge against Bob Iger for nearly a decade now.
The plan is to get Peltz and Rasulo on Disney's board, and from there, leverage their positions to steer the entire ship in a different direction. They essentially want to do to Disney what Elon Musk did to Twitter, or as close to it as they can manage to achieve. Bob Iger (whose job is likely toast if the Peltz plan works) is doing everything within his power to combat Peltz, including launching a new website featuring a cartoon of Professor Ludwig Von Drake urging stockholders to vote for Disney's preferred slate of board nominees.
A few days ago, Elon Musk and Nelson Peltz were seen publicly together, and upon being asked what he was up to, Musk replied, "I'm just here with friends, thinking about companies to acquire." This has led to much speculation that he is joining in on the Peltz/Perlmutter Disney takeover plan in some way, possibly even as part of a plan to make him Disney's new owner. Musk also tweeted "Current Disney management is destroying the company. Time for change." about a week ago, and has recently been urging Gina Carano to file a lawsuit agaisnt Disney, She has now done so, and her lawsuit (which is funded by Musk) includes some details that are quite embarassing to Disney. The timing of this, as far as Musk is concerned, seems likely intended as a PR move to hurt Disney's optics with stockholders in advance of the upcoming vote.
Musk has been tweeting up a Disney-related storm today, including a tweet reading, "If you were discriminated against by Disney or its subsidiaries (ABC, ESPN, Marvel, etc), just reply to this post to receive legal support", posting a thinking face emoji in response to a tweet suggesting that he buy Disney, and more.
I was looking at this graph of the Republican primary polls from the beginning of this year until now when a realization struck me:
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-primary-r/2024/national/
Trump's numbers go up at almost precisely the same points in time that DeSantis' numbers go down, and by almost the same percentages. Has DeSantis' self-immolating campaign actually made Trump's popularity increase?
In President Trump's "Meet the Press" interview with Kristen Welker, he seemed to be in favor of some sort of abortion compromise that he thinks would please both sides. He seemed to think that an ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy would be a solution that would bring everyone together.
The media has especially been running with his quote "I think what he did is a terrible thing and a terrible mistake." (which was a reference to DeSantis' 6-week abortion ban). This media emphasis likely an attempt to make conservative members of his supporter base see him as pro-abortion and abandon support of him.
I've already seen a friend of mine start to see him as pro-abortion now, causing him to have second thoughts about supporting him.
What are your thoughts on what he said? Do you think there's a good counterargument to win back conservatives and pro-life people alienated by the quote?
Here's a link to a page with both a full video and full transcript of the "Meet the Press" interview:
And here's the section of the transcript regarding abortion (which starts at about 24 minutes in the video):
KRISTEN WELKER:
We are going to get to the war in Ukraine, but first, I do want to talk about the issue of abortion which is —
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
Okay.
KRISTEN WELKER:
– important to a lot of voters all across the country. Just this week, women in Idaho and Tennessee, I don’t know if you saw this, filed suit against their states saying their lives were put at risk after they were denied abortion services, because of their states’ restrictive laws put in place after Roe was overturned. So my question for you, Mr. President, is: How is it acceptable in America that women’s lives are at risk, doctors are being forced to turn away patients in need, or risk breaking the law?
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
Ready? Little bit of a long answer. I hope you have time.
KRISTEN WELKER:
I hope you have time. I’m here for as long as you have.
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
So you have Roe v. Wade, for 52 years, people including Democrats wanted it to go back to states so the states could make the right. Roe v. Wade — I did something that nobody thought was possible, and Roe v. Wade was terminated, was put back to the states. Now, people, pro-lifers, have the right to negotiate for the first time. They had no rights at all, because the radical people on this are really the Democrats that say, after five months, six months, seven months, eight months, nine months, and even after birth you’re allowed to terminate the baby —
KRISTEN WELKER:
Mr. President, Democrats aren’t saying that. I just have to, Democrats are not saying that.
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
Of course they do —
KRISTEN WELKER:
That’s not true.
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
You have a Virginia governor, previous governor, who said, “After the baby is born, you will make a determination, and if you want, you will kill that baby.” The baby is now born.
KRISTEN WELKER:
But Mr. President, Democrats writ large are not talking about that. Only 1% of late-term abortions happen, and always in the state of —
FMR PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
Okay. They are the —
KRISTEN WELKER:
– crisis.
FMR PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
– radical people —
KRISTEN WELKER:
Okay.
FMR PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
– because nobody wants to see —
KRISTEN WELKER:
But does —
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
– abortion after five months and six months and seven months. And, now it’s going to — it gave people the belief — and pro-life, look, just so you understand, it’s pretty much 50/50. It’s a 50/50 issue, amazing. If you look at the charts, it’s been 49/51. It’s been like that for many years, goes both ways — 51 — both ways. Ready? I was able to do something which gave at least pro-life people a voice. Now it’s going to work out. Now, the number of months will be determined.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Can you answer this question?
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
And you’re going to have something where everybody comes together.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Does it bother you though that women say their lives are being put at risk? Do you feel you bear any responsibility, because as you say, you are responsible for having Roe v. Wade overturned.
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
What’s going to happen, this is an issue that’s been going on for a long time. And it’s a very polarizing issue. Because of what’s been done, and because of the fact we brought it back to the states, we’re going to have people come together on this issue. They’re going to determine the time, because nobody wants to see five, six, seven, eight, nine months. Nobody wants to see abortions when you have a baby in the womb. I said, with Hillary Clinton when we had the debate, I made a statement, “Rip the baby out of the womb in the ninth month, you’re allowed to do that, and you shouldn’t be allowed to do that.”
KRISTEN WELKER:
Again, no one is arguing for that —
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
Again, listen, look —
KRISTEN WELKER:
That’s not a part of anyone’s argument, Mr. President.
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
Look, the Democrats are able to kill the baby after birth.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Let me talk to you —
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
Nobody wants that.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Democrats don’t want that either.
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
So we’re going to come together —
KRISTEN WELKER:
But let’s — I want to — I want to know what you want. I want to know what you’re going to do if you’re —
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
We are going to come together —
KRISTEN WELKER:
Would you sign federal legislation that would ban abortion at 15 weeks?
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
No, no. Let me just tell you what I’d do. I’m going to come together with all groups, and we’re going to have something that’s acceptable. Right now, to my way of thinking, the Democrats are the radicals, because after four and five and six months. But you have to say this, after birth. You have New York State and other places that passed legislation where you’re allowed to kill the baby after birth.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Mr. President, I want to give voters who are going to be weighing in on this election —
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
Yeah.
KRISTEN WELKER:
– a very clear sense of where you stand on —
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
I think they’ll — I think they’re all going to like me. I think both sides are going to like me.
KRISTEN WELKER:
But, let me, let me — but Mr. President —
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
What’s going to have to happen is you’re going to have to —
KRISTEN WELKER:
Mr. President, let me just ask this question, please--
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
Kristen, you’re asking me a question. What’s going to happen is you’re going to come up with a number of weeks or months. You’re going to come up with a number that’s going to make people happy. Because 92% of the Democrats don’t want to see abortion after a certain period of time.
KRISTEN WELKER:
If a federal ban landed on your desk if you were reelected, would you sign it at 15 weeks —
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
Are you talking about a complete ban?
KRISTEN WELKER:
A ban at 15 weeks.
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
Well, people, people are starting to think of 15 weeks. That seems to be a number that people are talking about right now.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Would you sign that?
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
I would sit down with both sides and I’d negotiate something, and we’ll end up with peace on that issue for the first time in 52 years. I’m not going to say I would or I wouldn’t. I mean, DeSanctus is willing to sign a five-week and six-week ban.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Would you support that? You think that goes too far?
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
I think what he did is a terrible thing and a terrible mistake. But we’ll come up with a number, but at the same time, Democrats won’t be able to go out at six months, seven months, eight months and allow an abortion. And Kristen, you have to look at this, because you said “no.” You have some states that are allowed to kill the child after birth, and you can’t allow that.
KRISTEN WELKER:
But Mr. President, again, no one is calling for a child to be killed after birth. No one is calling for that to be allowed —
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
But you have legislation —
KRISTEN WELKER:
But let me just ask you —
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
Kristen, you have legislation in certain states where it’s allowed.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Mr. President —
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
The governor of Virginia, previous governor, who was a whack job —
KRISTEN WELKER:
Previous governor.
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
I call him the Michael Jackson governor.
KRISTEN WELKER:
No one’s talking about that as part of their platform —
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
That governor —
KRISTEN WELKER:
I want to know what you want —
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
Excuse me, that governor said you can kill the baby after birth.
KRISTEN WELKER:
But Mr. President, this is about what you would do if you were reelected. As you know, you upset some anti —
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
We will agree to a number of weeks, which will be where both sides will be happy. We have to bring the country together on this issue.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Mr. President, when you talk about negotiating, I think a lot of people think to themselves, this is an issue that they care about deeply in their hearts —
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
I care about it too. Oh, I care about it too.
KRISTEN WELKER:
And they know where they stand, and they want to know where you stand. As you know, some anti-abortion groups are really looking for some clarity from you. So let me just ask you to put a fine point on this. Should the federal government impose any abortion restrictions, or should it be completely left up to the states?
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
No, I don’t think you should have — I don’t think you should be allowed to have abortions well into a pregnancy.
KRISTEN WELKER:
But what about the question I just asked you —
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
We’re going to agree — no — we’re going to agree to a number of weeks or months or however you want to define it. And both sides are going to come together and both sides — both sides, and this is a big statement, both sides will come together. And for the first time in 52 years, you’ll have an issue that we can put behind us.
KRISTEN WELKER:
At the federal level?
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
It could be state or it could be federal. I don’t frankly care.
KRISTEN WELKER:
So you’re not committed to a ban at the federal level.
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
I will say this. Everybody, including the great legal scholars, love the idea of Roe v. Wade terminated so it can be brought back to the states.
KRISTEN WELKER:
It sounds like that’s what you think too, that it should remain a state issue —
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
Well, I, I would, I would say this: From a pure standpoint, from a legal standpoint, I think it’s probably better, but I can live with it either way. It’s much more important, the number of weeks is much more important. But something will happen with the number of weeks, the amount of time, after which you can’t do it. And you know what? The most — the most powerful people that are anti-abortion are okay with that now. And you know what? They weren’t okay with that even a year ago.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Your former vice president, Mike Pence, believes that a fetus should have constitutional rights. Do you believe that, Mr. president?
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
Well, Mike Pence said something about 15 weeks too, which was a big change for Mike Pence, because Mike Pence had no exceptions. I have exceptions, by the way. I think people should have exceptions. I think if it’s rape or incest or the life of the mother, I think you have to have exceptions. It’s very important.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Does a fetus have constitutional rights, Mr. president?
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
And a lot of people, when they don’t have exceptions — now, I will tell you that I think most people, most Republicans are willing. You go: life of the mother, rape, incest. I think most of them are there.
KRISTEN WELKER:
But should a fetus —
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
That’s a big statement.
KRISTEN WELKER:
– have constitutional rights, Mr. president?
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
Well, I don’t know, I don’t know what he’s saying, because before, he wanted, you know, you couldn’t have abortions at all —
KRISTEN WELKER:
But what are you saying? What do you think —
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
Now all of a sudden — excuse me — now all of a sudden he’s saying 15 weeks. I said, “Wow, where did that come from? That’s a radical change.” Look, something is going to happen that’s going to be good for everybody. And that’s what I’m — I’m almost like a mediator in this case. They wanted Roe v. Wade terminated because it was inappropriate. We got it done. Something is going to happen. It’s going to be a number of weeks. Something is going to happen where the both sides are going to be able to come together. And then we’ll be able to go onto other things, like, the economy, our military —
KRISTEN WELKER:
Are you saying a federal ban with exceptions, is that what you’re saying?
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
What I say is very simple, because you can’t put words in my mouth like that —
KRISTEN WELKER:
I just want to understand.
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
– because you’ve been hearing me talk about this--
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
– issue —
KRISTEN WELKER:
Yeah.
FMR. PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
– and I think talk about it very productively. It could be a state ban, it could be a federal ban, but Democrats want that too. Democrats don’t want to see abortion in the seventh month, okay. I speak to a lot of Democrats. They want a number. There is a number, and there’s a number that’s going to be agreed to, and Republicans should go out and say the following. They — cause, I think the Republicans speak very inarticulately about this subject. I watch some of them without the exceptions, et cetera, et cetera. I said, “Other than certain parts of the country, you can’t — you’re not going to win on this issue. But you will win on this issue when you come up with the right number of weeks.” Because Democrats don’t want to be radical on the issue, most of them, some do. They don’t want to be radical on the issue. They don’t want to kill a baby in the seventh month or the ninth month or after birth. And they’re allowed to do that, and you can’t do that.
I have a friend who has been a staunch Trump supporter since 2016, but now seems to be on the verge of abandoning support of him. I suspect that Ron DeSantis' recent attack campaign painting Trump as a pro-LGBT activist is probably what spurred this on.
Here's an ad of said campaign:
https://twitter.com/DeSantisWarRoom/status/1674899610379116546
And here's a Conservative Treehouse article about it:
In a nutshell, my friend is a devout Christian, staunch social conservative, and, more importantly, has obsessive-compulsive disorder. One of his symptoms is that he is obsessed with homosexuality. While he cares about other political issues to some degree or another, he sees homosexuality as the one most important issue that there is, and sees anything less than complete and strict opposition to homosexuality and homosexuals as being unconservative and un-Christian.
He even spends a lot of time and focus researching his favorite celebrities to find out if they have anti-gay views, and if they don't, he gets depressed about it. He more or less disowned Kevin Sorbo lately (and now thinks of Sorbo as not being a true Christian) because he found out that Sorbo said the following in an interview:
I mean, one time somebody said that I was homophobic, and I went, “What?” I’ve been in the business for 35 years, I’ve worked with a lot of gay people, and you won’t find one gay person saying I was a horrible, wretched guy to work with. You won’t, because I don’t have that in my body. I don’t care what someone’s sexual preference is. That doesn’t bother me in the least.
I’ve worked with a lot of gay people, and you won’t find one gay person saying I was a horrible, wretched guy to work with.
You said that you’re not homophobic, so does that mean that you believe in gay marriage and equal rights for the LGBT community?
Yeah sure, why not! As long as we’re all paying taxes, why not? Everyone can have the same benefits. And I think we’ve made leaps and bounds with that. You’re always going to have Christian groups speaking out against it, but you’ll also have Christian groups not speaking that way. So, let’s have an open dialogue and talk about it.
He recently sent me some emails in which he expressed concerns with President Trump that now make him uneasy about supporting him. Here are some relevant quotes to give you an idea of where he's coming from:
One of my concerns stems from Trump's lack of a consistent ideology. It appears that he lacks solid principles, which often leads him to change his stance and express different opinions whenever it suits him. This inconsistency raises questions about his sincerity in fighting for us and the values we hold dear.
For instance, following the tragic Parkland High School shooting in Florida, Trump claimed to be a firm supporter of the Second Amendment but then expressed a willingness to work with Democrats on comprehensive gun reform. This sudden shift in his position on an issue so important to conservatives raises doubts about his commitment to our values.
Furthermore, Trump's ongoing criticism of Ron DeSantis, even after DeSantis proved himself by winning reelection as the governor of Florida, raises concerns about Trump's loyalty to fellow Republicans. Trump's attacks on DeSantis, whom conservative pundits had promised would be part of a strong Republican wave during the midterm elections, highlight his shifting allegiances and inconsistent support.
Additionally, Trump's praise of other Republican presidential challengers, including his compliments to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., raises questions about his political leanings and priorities. Such endorsements and acknowledgments can be puzzling when considering Trump's claim to be a champion for conservative causes.
Moreover, Trump's track record on social issues has left me uneasy. Despite his attempts to portray himself as socially conservative, his past associations with individuals such as George Takei and his efforts to court support from the Log Cabin Republicans demonstrate a more liberal stance on gay rights. His children, including Don Trump Jr., have also displayed socially liberal views, including support for transgender individuals. These actions and attitudes suggest that Trump may not align with our conservative values when it comes to social matters.
In light of these concerns, it is crucial for us to reflect on whether Donald Trump truly upholds the principles and values that we hold dear. As we move forward, it is important to carefully evaluate the impact of his actions and statements on our conservative ideals and the future of our nation.
(By the way, if any of that reads like it's written by ChatGPT, I'm pretty sure it is. I suspect that he recently started using it to reword his emails to me to be more eloquent, as he never used to write like that before. I think that he doesn't realize that I've noticed.)
He also sent me the following links, which he sees as evidence that Trump is pro-gay and therefore unconservative:
https://twitter.com/NvrBackDown24/status/1674830831301410827?s=20
As well as this one, that portrays Trump as "unhinged" for his criticisms of Ron DeSantis:
The impression that I get is that he seems to see Ron DeSantis as the "anti-gay hero we all need" and is starting to buy into DeSantis' characterization of Trump, as well as to dislike Trump for his attacks on DeSantis.
Does anyone have any advice on what I could write to him in order to convince him that Trump is still worth supporting?
Actress Evangeline Lilly, who spoke out against vaccine mandates and in defense of the Canadian trucker protesters a while back, recently wrote the following in an Instagram post:
Why are we only applauding masculinity in women and villainizing it in men? And why are we only applauding femininity in men and debasing it in women? Why can't we just allow for all of it? Why do we feel the need to vilify a man wearing shit-kicker boots, driving a pick-up truck who's not afraid to punch someone in the face, but if they were a woman, they would be the epitome of cool? Why is a man who loves make-up, cries easily and stays at home to tend to the domestic responsibilities valiant, but a woman who does the same is pathetic?
I think the truly revolutionary act is as old as time: "Do not judge." - Jesus, Buddha, Lao Tzu, etc. Let each be who they are and let us teach grace and charity above all things.
These overarching ideas are far simpler and more effective than trying to juggle the minutia of judgement. They are ideas that protect us all from the excesses of each persons vices while still allowing the expression of their self. Grace and charity are cornerstones of a thriving society and should not be abandoned. We need them like we need democracy, justice and peace. And, without them, we can't have democracy, justice or peace.
"In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity." -St. Augustine of Hippo
There has been much talk over the years of the "Black Eye Club". Various celebrities and politicians have been seen in public with a black or otherwise bruised eye. There have been various theories, including it being an initiation into the Illuminati (or one of its higher ranks) or being an injury caused by a vril lizard (a supposed alien or demonic parasite that burrows through the eye socket and attaches itself to a nerve or the brain, essentially taking over a person).
However, what if the real explanation is related to the traditional meaning of the phrase "black eye" when used in a metaphorical sense?
Oxford Languages:
Black eye: a mark or source of dishonor or shame. "the building's condition is a black eye for the entire state"
Dictionary.com:
Black Eye: A mark of shame, a humiliating setback, as in "That there are enough homeless folks to need another shelter is a black eye for the administration."
Collins Dictionary:
Give someone a black eye: to punish someone severely, but without causing them permanent harm, for something they have done
Idioms Online:
Give someone a black eye: To damage a person’s (or organization’s) reputation or to shame or humiliate them; can also refer to an organization or any other entity.
What if the "Black Eye Club" is made up of people who are being publicly shamed for doing something that the Illuminati/cabal considers shameful or disloyal? Maybe even making a deal with white hats, in some situations? Perhaps it could even be an excommunication of sorts.
