US President 2024

[Scorn4]

Jetzt mal ganz abgesehen von der inhaltlichen Seite: Ich wüsste gerne mal, wer Merz politisch berät, dass er glaubt solchen Schwachsinn immer wieder verlautbaren zu müssen. Es gibt Null Anhaltspunkte dafür, dass es irgendeinen politischen Nutzen hat. Dafür macht man sich mit 100% Sicherheit unglaubwürdig und unpopulär. Geiler Tausch.

Lag seit 12 Monaten in Wohnung: Imageberater von Friedrich Merz tot aufgefunden

Berlin (dpo) - Trauer um einen engen Mitarbeiter des Bundeskanzlers: Jörg Benninghofen (51), langjähriger PR-Berater von Friedrich Merz, ist heute tot

www.der-postillon.com

 

[YesNoCancel]

US refunds $81bn in Trump tariffs after supreme court ruled them illegal

Government has been forced to pay back duties to companies that imported goods into the US that were hit by Trump’s tariffs

www.theguardian.com

haben nicht trump vertraute hier irgendwie die zoll-kosten der unternehmen aufgekauft und bekommen jetzt die refunds? war da nicht howard lutnick hier federführend?

edith sagt:

Meet the quiet winners of the Supreme Court tariff ruling: hedge funds creating a $100 billion market snapping up rights to importers’ tariff refunds | Fortune

The market gained attention following allegations Brandon Lutnick, the son of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, participated in the otherwise legal trade with conflicts of interest.

fortune.com

yap.

 

[Carnac]

edith sagt:

Meet the quiet winners of the Supreme Court tariff ruling: hedge funds creating a $100 billion market snapping up rights to importers’ tariff refunds | Fortune

The market gained attention following allegations Brandon Lutnick, the son of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, participated in the otherwise legal trade with conflicts of interest.

fortune.com

yap.

Alter, deren Bereicherungsphantasien kennen echt keine Grenzen

Schlimm genug, dass die Verbraucher über die Preise zunächst die Zölle gezahlt haben und dann durch das Gerichtsurteil die verkaufenden/importierenden Firmen die Refunds abgreifen, was für sich gesehen ja bereits eine Verteilung von unten nach oben ist.
Jetzt wurde das auch noch gehedgt, z.T. von Regierungsinsidern.

Draining the swamp = Liquidität abfließen lassen?

 

[waah11]

Das hat niemand kommen sehen!

 

[Carnac]

 

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Trump says FBI is ‘wasting their time’ investigating Lindsey Graham’s death

Nearly 20 FBI and other federal agents were at Graham’s home near the Capitol on Monday. FBI Director Kash Patel has said his agency is “assisting local authorities.”

www.nbcnews.com

bisher nur am rande verfolgt, aber jetzt bin ich interessiert.

 

[Utilitygott]

Trumps Teleprompter-Mitarbeiter wettete auf Reden des US-Präsidenten

Der Mann, der seit Jahren den Teleprompter des US-Präsidenten bedient, soll sein Insiderwissen für lukrative Wetten genutzt haben. Jetzt zog das Weiße Haus Konsequenzen.

www.spiegel.de

Leavitt sagte, im Weißen Haus gebe es »strikte Ethik-Richtlinien«, aufgrund derer solche Geschäfte (also Insiderhandel, Anm. d. Red.) verboten seien.

 

[YesNoCancel]

besonders in dem kontext:

 

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[YesNoCancel]

Peinlicher Auftritt bei Presse-Gala: Trump kokettiert mit „Trump 2028“

US-Präsident Trump spottet bei der Gala der Hauptstadtpresse über Medien, kokettiert mit einer dritten Amtszeit. Er erntet mit seinem Auftritt phasenweise eisige Stille.

taz.de

"peinlich" - eher, setting the bar. oft genug gesagt, hier und da erwähnt, und keinen juckts mehr.

 

[YesNoCancel]

U.S. general warns Pentagon he lacks sufficient forces to protect Israel​

A shortage of Navy destroyers, used to defend against Iranian ballistic missile attacks, will force the head of U.S. European Command to prioritize the U.S. homeland instead, officials said.

https://archive.ph/3AKKX

agent krasnov weiterhin erfolgreich auf kurs.

 

[Gustavo]

Ich komme mir ja ein bisschen seltsam vor in der Rolle "US-Politik-Optimist", aber um auch mal zumindest etwas Positives einzubringen:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/08/04/us/elections/results-missouri-amendment-4-modify-amendment-approval-requirements-and-prohibit-foreign-spending-on-measures.html

tl;dr: Missouri ist ein konservativer Staat, in dem es seit langer Zeit nur zwei Regierungskonstellationen gibt. Entweder (1) die Republikaner haben die Mehrheit in der staatlichen Legislative und der Gouverneur ist Republikaner, dann können sie machen was sie wollen, oder (2) die Republikaner haben die Mehrheit in der staatlichen Legislative und der Gouverneur ist Demokrat, dann kann zumindest der größte Mist mit einem Veto verhindert werden, zumindest solange bis wieder (1) zutrifft.

Es gibt allerdings noch die Möglichkeit, durch ein Referendum die Verfassung des Staates zu ändern und das mit einfacher Mehrheit der Wähler. Wichtig dabei: Das Referendum kann sowohl von der Legislative als auch von den Wählern selbst (durch Sammeln von Unterschriften) initiiert werden. In den letzten 10 Jahren wird das vermehrt genutzt, um Themen auf die Agenda zu bringen, die Republikanern ein Dorn im Auge sind, die aber in der Bevölkerung Rückhalt haben. Da geht es um so Dinge wie Mindestlohn, Marijuana-Legalisierung, Wahlkreis-Zuschnitt ("Gerrymandering" verhindern), Abtreibungsrechte etc.

Weil die konservative Seite die meisten dieser Abstimmungen verliert (meistens mit irgendwas zwischen 51-49 und 65-35) hatte sich die Legislative Folgendes überlegt: Man setzt einfach ein Referendum an, bei dem die Hürde für ein "Ja" angehoben wird. Statt dass eine einfache Mehrheit der Stimmen reicht sollte es jetzt so sein, dass* nicht nur eine einfache im Bundesstaat erzielt werden muss, sondern eine Mehrheit in jedem der acht Wahlbezirke fürs (föderale) House of Representatives. Unter der Regel wäre kein einziges Referendum angenommen worden, denn in den erzrepublikanischen Wahlbezirken gibt es auch für (gesamtstaatlich) 65-35 Referenden keine Mehrheit. Somit hätten die Republikaner das Beste aus beiden Welten: Populäre Referenden der Demokraten würden de facto immer scheitern, sie könnten aber weiterhin selbst Referenden ansetzen die dann mit einfacher Mehrheit durch die Wähler angenommen werden können. Dazu hatte man es noch statt am Wahltag der Zwischenwahlen im November am Wahltag für die Vorwahlen (diesen Dienstag), weil man erwartet hat dass da die Chancen besser sind. Ergebnis: 80-20 Ablehnung durch die Wähler, die mit Sicherheit nicht weiterhin mehrheitlich konservativ denken und wählen, wenn es darum geht welche Politiker sie wählen. Aber einfach alles mitmachen ist auch bei den republikansichen Wählern mehrheitlich nicht drin.




*übrigens NUR, wenn das Referendum durch die Wähler selbst beantragt wurde, für Referenden der Legislative hätten immer noch die alten Regeln gegolten

 

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US Sold Euros to Save the Yen, Europe Found Out After

The US used euros, not dollars, to prop up the yen, catching the European Central Bank off guard with no clear communication.

finance.yahoo.com

 

[xfreeder]

https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1192/vote_119_2_00230.htm

Trumps persönlicher Fixer Todd Blanche in einem Senatsvote um 4:17 morgens zum Generalstaatsanwalt gewählt.

Zünglein an der Waage Bill Cassidy fängt fast an zu weinen als er den entscheidenen Vote abgibt

 

[Gustavo]

Zünglein an der Waage Bill Cassidy fängt fast an zu weinen als er den entscheidenen Vote abgibt

Wie hoffnungslos diese Partei mittlerweile ist, sieht man schon daran, dass Cassidy einer von DREI Republikanern ist, die dieses Jahr wiedergewählt werden wollten und alle die parteiinterne Vorwahl verloren haben, weil Trump ihren Gegenkandidaten unterstützt hat. Alle drei ältere weiße Herren im Rentenalter, die politisch absolut gar nichts mehr zu verlieren haben, wenn sie gegen Blanche stimmen. Ändert exakt: Nix.

 

[Carnac]

Pete Hegseth dreams of holy war. Meet his spiritual adviser.

Doug Wilson preaches iron discipline and male dominance. One of his disciples runs the Pentagon.

www.motherjones.com

Why Is Pete Hegseth Purging Women From Command? Doug Wilson Is Why.​

He preaches holy war, iron discipline, and male dominance. And one of his disciples runs the Pentagon.​

[...]

A core tenet of Wilson’s beliefs is that a patriarchal society, what he calls “biblical masculinity,” is both a religious mandate and “cultural gluten,” as he wrote in his 2023 book, Mere Christendom. “Without it, the cookie just crumbles to pieces in your hand, and is tasteless on top of that.” In a previous book, Fidelity: How to Be a One-Woman Man, he wrote: “The sexual act cannot be made into an egalitarian pleasuring party. A man penetrates, conquers, colonizes, plants. A woman receives, surrenders, accepts.” For that reason, he went on, the dynamic of a dominant man and a submissive woman is “an erotic necessity.” As Wilson put it in an interview with CNN last year: “Women are the kind of people that people come out of.”

[...]

As Hegseth was bragging about his “kinetic strikes” on narco-terrorist vessels and then launching the attack on Iran, I began to realize that the secretary’s determination to eradicate “woke” from the US military tracks consistently with Wilson’s teaching of a warrior-like Christian faith.

[...]

For Wilson’s followers, manliness isn’t optional. Kristin Kobes Du Mez, a professor of history at Calvin University in Michigan, has spent much of the last decade studying Wilson and his domain. In his view, “God has called men to be aggressive leaders,” she told me. “If they fail to follow through, then they are disobeying God.”

[...]

So confident are the Kirkers in their interpretation of the Bible that they believe people who don’t share their specific beliefs are not only going to Hell, but are doomed to earthly suffering. For them, Christian nationalism is redemptive, a lifeboat launched in a sea of drowning souls. One Kirker woman, who requested that I refer to her by her middle name, Linda, said she found upsetting the mere idea of an interfaith event that was happening in town that evening. It’s like saying, “We’re going to pat you on the head, you Baha’i, you Jew; we’re going to be like, ‘It’s okay,’” she said.

Not only would this be “lying,” Linda continued, growing increasingly adamant, “it’s kind of gross, actually, because if you believe that this is right, you wouldn’t want to tell someone, ‘What you believe is also right.’ That really hurts my heart.”

[...]

If Moscow is a tale of two cities, it is also a tale of two Doug Wilsons. Brunch Doug was affable and warm, bearing little resemblance to the pugnacious Online Doug. A teddy bear of a guy dressed in a grandfatherly button-down, he eagerly showed me around his enormous study with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. Nancy, too, was a muted version of her online persona. Her viral moments are not as numerous as Doug’s, but there are some bangers: One is a video in which she recalls spanking her preschool-age daughter for not being excited enough to see her at the end of a playdate; another is a passage from her 1997 book, The Fruit of Her Hands, arguing that there is no such thing as marital rape: “Of course, a husband is never trespassing in his own garden, though he can be made to feel as though he is an intruder.” Brunch Nancy, by contrast, gushed about her grandchildren and kept my coffee mug filled.

[...]

In his parenting videos on YouTube, Wilson and his team advise parents to mete out physical punishment liberally (but not publicly), especially in the first five years of a child’s life. At first, a mother may use her fingers to flick a baby on the cheek or hand—say, if the baby bites while nursing. By toddlerhood, a parent should use a dedicated implement, like a wooden spoon or a rod. At one point, Wilson, chuckling, told me about putting his 2-year-old son to bed with the wooden spanking spoon in the crib with him to remind him to stay put.


After a spanking, Kirker children must ask God to forgive them and are not permitted to sulk; they are expected to rejoin the family with a spirit of good cheer. In one 2021 parenting video, Ben Zornes, the pastor of a Wilson-affiliated church in Moscow, explained: “If you fuss and scream, it’s going to be more spanking. If you’re gonna mope and you’re going to be sad afterwards, it’s going to be more spankings.”

Home isn’t the only place Kirker kids get swats. At church, children can be taken out of the service and disciplined in a dedicated “training room.” Logos administrators also employ corporal puIr nishment. In Idaho, like most states, the practice is still legal in private schools—only five states explicitly forbid it.


Infractions that might merit a spanking include hitting, biting, talking back, or fighting with a sibling. But simply not meeting the family’s expectations is another one. In that same parenting video, Toby Sumpter, a pastor at Christ Church, recalls watching a friend carry his 3-year-old out for a spanking; afterward, the child returned to the room, walked over to the vacuum cleaner, and kicked it. The father later explained that his son was afraid of the vacuum cleaner, so they’d required him to kick it every time he passed by. He was spanked because he had forgotten to do so.


Boys in particular require such tough love, Wilson says. “Boys need to get knocked down, and knocked down a lot, and your sons need to get knocked down by people who don’t love them nearly as much as you do,” he says in one 2021 parenting video. “Why? Because the world is a cold place, and he needs to be tough.”

[...]

Discipline for effeminacy isn’t often necessary because the kids learned to enforce masculinity standards themselves. At one point, my conversation with the Mortimore kids turned to the casual use of slurs, like “retarded” and “gay.” I said I probably wouldn’t use those terms even to tease, because I would be afraid of hurting people’s feelings. Eliot said he didn’t have that worry. “For ‘gay,’ yeah, we would use it in our circles,” he explained, “because we don’t have gay people in our community, so we’re not worried about offending.”


“How do you know?” I asked.


He stopped, as though he’d never considered the possibility before. “That’s a great question,” he said.


The Kirkers’ beliefs about masculinity go beyond just discouraging effeminacy in boys. Rather, it’s central to their philosophy for building a more durable Christianity. As Kristin Kobes Du Mez, the historian, put it to me, they believe “American culture, the American church, and American evangelicalism have all become wussified, led by effeminate men who are not even leading…and as a result, the church and society are in a shambles,” she said. “So you need to work from the ground up. You need to work with young boys and teach them how to fight, how to be aggressive.”

[...]

Hegseth also bemoans a defense force infected, he writes, with the “fucking scary” disease of progressivism, which “will not stop until trans-lesbian Black females run everything!” He warns, “Sometime soon, a real conflict will break out, and red-blooded American men will have to save their elite candy asses.” In July, Hegseth announced an initiative to screen troops for low testosterone and offer hormone replacement therapy to those found deficient.


It wasn’t until after Wilson entered his life that Hegseth became obsessed with decrying the woke US military. He and his wife found their way to Wilson’s denomination in 2018, and by 2022, he had moved his family to Nashville so his children could attend the Jonathan Edwards Classical Academy, a school in Wilson’s network. In 2023, when Hegseth was still a Fox News host, Nashville Christian Family magazine ran a profile of him in which he mentioned being a member of a “Bible and book study” that focused on Wilson’s book My Life for Yours: A Walk Through the Christian Home.


Hegseth, a Princeton grad, has since said he’d never send any of his seven children to Harvard, but rather to New Saint Andrews. On an episode of the podcast CrossPolitic that aired shortly before Hegseth became secretary of “war,” he railed against Godless America, lamenting that liberals “used patriotism to untether us from timeless truth, from the Bible.” He also praised classical Christian schools for providing “a comprehensive worldview that prepares them for the battle to come, because we’re in a spiritual battle, and otherwise we’d be sending our kids in as fodder.”

[...]

The Kirker culture of extreme masculinity, nonetheless, can be a positive force. “Especially for little boys, you are told that you are strong and that you will be a leader, that you are a leader,” Kobes Du Mez said. But not conforming or questioning “these teachings to any extent, that’s not going to go well for you as a man.”


A male former Kirker I talked with, who didn’t want me to use his name for fear of retaliation, told me, “A lot of the harm is propagated through boys and men. But it starts out harming boys.”


I also spoke with Cy Whitling, a 32-year-old former Kirker now living in Bellingham, Washington. Whitling’s father was the principal at Logos School when he was growing up and is now its superintendent. The oldest of seven, Whitling described “a very pugilistic childhood.” Boys were encouraged to identify with the war heroes they learned about in history; boxing class was not optional. From the time he was 10, guns hung above his bed. Young Cy “would go to sleep dreaming of somebody breaking into the house so I could shoot them.”


Effeminacy in any form was stamped out. “If I [sat] with my legs crossed like a girl, I got a bunch of spankings, because it was ‘gay,’” he recalled. Boys who spent too much time on their appearance were bullied; high school gym class included coach-sanctioned games of “Smear the Queer.”

[...]

In a 2021 article for Vice, journalist Sarah Stankorb chronicled the stories of 12 women who said Christ Church leaders, including Wilson, looked the other way when they reported physical abuse and sexual assault at the hands of their husbands. Since then, several more women have come forward to tell their stories. Logos students have reported being groomed and, in some cases, molested by members of the faculty. A Moscow man who helps Kirker women escape from abusive situations told me that he regularly hears about marital rape. “A lot of our cases are like, ‘My husband wants to have sex five times a day, and I’m not allowed to say no,’” he told me.


Some Kirker women have spoken out on Sons of Patriarchy, a podcast about Wilson’s spiritual empire produced by Bader and theologian Peter Bell. Women tell of being warned by Logos teachers that their developing bodies are dangerous and that friendliness could be misconstrued as flirtation. One former Logos student, Emilie Dye, described being groomed by a teacher in his 50s, Jim Nance. Another alumna reported being groomed by her English teacher. Both women alleged that the church failed to protect them. In 2005, church member Steven Sitler was convicted of child sex abuse after he was convicted of lewd conduct with a minor. In 2022, another church member, Alex Lloyd, was convicted of possessing child pornography. In Sitler’s case, Wilson wrote to the judges asking for “measured and limited” sentencing because Sitler had repented for his sins.

 

[Scorn4]

gaygaygaygaygay