Highlights 11: Morons of the Master Race

Kreuzberg, Berlin on November 9, 2021

THE VISON OF THE BROLIGARCHS 

'For the tech bros — or as some say, the broligarchs — this is about much more than just maintaining and growing their riches. It’s about ideology. An ideology inspired by science fiction and fantasy. An ideology that says they are supermen, and supermen should not be subject to rules, because they’re doing something incredibly important: remaking the world in their image.

'It’s this ideology that makes MAGA a godsend for the broligarchs, who include Musk, Zuck, and Bezos as well as the venture capitalists Peter Thiel and Marc Andreessen. That’s because MAGA is all about granting unchecked power to the powerful.

'“It’s a sense of complete impunity — including impunity to the laws of nature,” Brooke Harrington, a professor of economic sociology at Dartmouth College who studies the behavior of the ultra-rich, told me. “They reject constraint in all of its forms.”

'As Harrington has noted, Trump is the perfect avatar for that worldview. He’s a man who incited an attempted coup, who got convicted on 34 felony counts and still won reelection, who notoriously said in reference to sexual assault, “When you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.”

'So, what is the “anything” that the broligarchs want to do? To understand their vision, we need to realize that their philosophy goes well beyond simple libertarianism. It’s not just that they want a government that won’t tread on them. They want absolutely zero limits on their power. Not those dictated by democratic governments, by financial systems, or by facts. Not even those dictated by death.'

...

'[H]ere’s something the broligarchs have in common: a passionate love for science fiction and fantasy that has shaped their vision for the future of humanity — and their own roles as its would-be saviors.'

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'Musk, who wants to colonize Mars to “save” humanity from a dying planet, is inspired by one of the masters of American sci-fi, Isaac Asimov. In his Foundation series, Asimov wrote about a hero who must prevent humanity from being thrown into a long dark age after a massive galactic empire collapses. “The lesson I drew from that is you should try to take the set of actions that are likely to prolong civilization, minimize the probability of a dark age and reduce the length of a dark age if there is one,” Musk said.

'And Andreessen, an early web browser developer who now pushes for aggressive progress in AI with very little regulation, is inspired by superhero stories, writing in his 2023 “Techno-Optimist Manifesto” that we should become “technological supermen” whose “Hero’s Journey” involves “conquering dragons, and bringing home the spoils for our community.”

'All of these men see themselves as the heroes or protagonists in their own sci-fi saga. And a key part of being a “technological superman” — or ubermensch, as the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche would say — is that you’re above the law. Common-sense morality doesn’t apply to you because you’re a superior being on a superior mission. Thiel, it should be noted, is a big Nietzsche fan, though his is an extremely selective reading of the philosopher’s work.

'The ubermensch ideology helps explain the broligarchs’ disturbing gender politics. “The ‘bro’ part of broligarch is not incidental to this — it’s built on this idea that not only are these guys superior, they are superior because they’re guys,” Harrington said.

'For one thing, they valorize aggression, which is coded as male. Zuckerberg, who credits mixed martial arts and hunting wild boars with helping him rediscover his masculinity (and is sporting the makeover to prove it), recently told Joe Rogan that the corporate world is too “culturally neutered” — it should become a culture that has more “masculine energy” and that “celebrates the aggression.”

'Likewise, Andreessen wrote in his manifesto, “We believe in ambition, aggression, persistence, relentlessness — strength.” Musk, meanwhile, has jumped on the testosterone bandwagon, amplifying the idea that only “high T alpha males” are capable of thinking for themselves; he shared a post on X that said, “This is why a Republic of high status males is best for decision making. Democratic, but a democracy only for those who are free to think.”'

SOURCE: Sigal Samuel, Vox

THE CONFEDERATE RESTORATION

'Like a clogged sewer erupting into the streets, Donald Trump returned to office on Monday, and, as promised, unleashed his filth upon the country. In a flurry of lawless, unconstitutional, racist, bigoted, violent, and, in some cases, plainly stupid executive orders and pardons, Trump set his reign of terror in motion. The future we feared has officially arrived.

'Trump’s activity is, as always, designed to keep people distracted, defensive, and demoralized. He did so much stuff in the opening hours of his junta that the media can’t process it all, and Americans can’t keep up. It will take the courts literal years to process the lawsuits against his administration based on just its first half day, and we already know that the media is a Dr. Moreau monstrosity that has the attention span of mosquitoes, the memory of goldfish, and the courage of chickens.'

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'“Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship”—better known as the birthright citizenship executive order—attempts to cancel the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution. Getting rid of constitutional amendments via executive order is new, and, for me at least, “the worst.”'

...

'Let’s start with the title:

'“Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship”

'Make no mistake: This title is a nod to the “Great Replacement” theory. The implication here is that the “meaning” of what it is to be “American” is devalued if that meaning is commingled with certain kinds of immigrant blood. To “protect” the value of being an American (for white people), non-white people who were merely born here must be excluded.'

...

'At the founding, there was no such thing as a “US” citizen; instead, citizenship flowed up from the states. You were a citizen of New York or Virginia or wherever, based on the citizenship laws of that state. That meant that the circumstances of your birth could confer citizenship to you in one state, but not another.

'Obviously, that meant the legal status of enslaved Africans varied by state. In some states, “free” Black people were citizens, while enslaved Black people were not. In some states, enslaved Black people became citizens when they moved to free states. In some states, citizen Black people became slaves when they crossed borders. In Dred Scott, the Supreme Court resolved the issue by declaring Black people everywhere, in every state, “not citizens.” That decision was so bad we fought a war over it.

'After that war, the victors wrote the 14th Amendment, which not only granted citizenship to the formerly enslaved Africans but also created this new concept, a citizen of the United States. That person enjoyed rights and privileges regardless of state lines.

'Now, as Trump and his Republicans try to undo birthright citizenship, you can understand what they’re really trying to do: they’re trying to go back to the pre–Dred Scott days, and make citizenship subject to the prevailing political predilections of the era. And remember that tying citizenships to politics can lead to open war.

'“But the Fourteenth Amendment has never been interpreted to extend citizenship universally to everyone born within the United States.”

'This is a lie. It has, literally, repeatedly been interpreted to confer citizenship universally to people born within the United States.'

...

'“Among the categories of individuals born in the United States and not subject to the jurisdiction thereof, the privilege of United States citizenship does not automatically extend to persons born in the United States: (1) when that person’s mother was unlawfully present in the United States and the father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth.”

'This is where Trump tries to straight-up change the Constitution without passing a constitutional amendment.'

...

OR '"(2) when that person’s mother’s presence in the United States at the time of said person’s birth was lawful but temporary (such as, but not limited to, visiting the United States under the auspices of the Visa Waiver Program or visiting on a student, work, or tourist visa) and the father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth."

'This is the Kamala Harris provision. You see, Trump shouldn’t have been allowed to run for president because he violated Section 3 of the 14th Amendment when he rose up in rebellion against the government he had previously sworn an oath to defend. But the Supreme Court decided to ignore the 14th Amendment for the purposes of seeing a white man get what he wanted. Here, Trump is saying that Harris shouldn’t have been able to run for president, because the very specific situation this section describes is the situation of Harris’s birth: She was born in the US to two parents who were here legally, but with temporary status.'

'The pettiness toward his former political rival is probably what got Trump on board, but for the broader collection of white Republicans and capitalists who support him, this provision is critical. That’s because even Republicans understand that we need immigrants in this country, not only to perform low-skilled work at exploitative wages, but also to perform highly skilled work should America still want to be a thought and innovation leader. We need immigrants for their labor and their intellectual capacity.'

'But once these people have contributed to America’s wealth, the white people running the joint would still like the option to throw them away. By preventing immigrants on temporary work or student visas from having American-citizen children, the Trump administration is essentially relegating them to permanent second-class status. It’s the “you can come here and enrich us, but you can’t be us” version of white supremacy. Unless, that is, they eventually choose to give the “gift” of citizenship to immigrants.'

'On its face, this order violates the 14th Amendment, the statutes that mirror the 14th Amendment, and the Administrative Procedures Act (which prohibits “arbitrary and capricious” laws and orders such as “don’t give birth while on a student visa or else”). I’d also argue that it could violate the Equal Protection Clause, because it focuses more on the status of the mother than on the father. And it could violate the Full Faith and Credit clause of the Constitution if we’re in a situation where citizenship granted in a blue state is not recognized by red states.

'But I wonder when the courts will get to a discussion of these issues on the merits. Because the government and Trump judges will likely begin by arguing that nobody even has standing to sue the administration over this constitutional violation. They’ll say that an immigrant who is not pregnant has no right to sue, nor does the out-of-status person who is expecting. They’ll say that states don’t have a right to sue, because they’re not “harmed” by the order. They’ll wait until an actual baby is born, and denied documentation, and then force that literal baby to sue.

'In the meantime, the courts could allow a patently unconstitutional order to go into effect and watch as the white-wing media desperately tries to normalize it. They could watch as Trump’s goons attempt to “enforce” the order as he puts families and their American-citizen children on trains and sends them to camps, waiting for just the “right” plaintiff to emerge.

'Even if the courts do get around to “stopping” the order, Trump controls the military. He controls the State Department and the Justice Department. He controls the Social Security Administration. I don’t have a lot of belief that he will follow a court order on this, even if the courts order him to stop.'

...

'This order violates one of the fundamental principles of the United States, and people should react to it like it does.

'Unfortunately, the order upholds another, perhaps even more fundamental principle that has always animated the American experiment: the idea that this country is for white people, and nobody else. The people who believe that, and have always believed that, are the people who hope this order succeeds.

'As I keep saying, we’ve tried to do citizenship Trump’s way before. It led to war. It could again, if Trump is allowed to get away with it.'

SOURCE: Elie Mystal, The Nation

IGNORANCE UNBOUND

'No one should be surprised that Trump is pulling out of the Paris climate accord, kicking career civil servants to the curb, threatening to impose 25 percent tariffs against Canada and Mexico (but only 10 percent against China), halting civil-rights litigation, dismantling privacy safeguards, attacking anything that has to do with transgender people or racial diversity, muzzling public health agencies, ripping up environmental protections (“I’d like to see federal lands opened up for data centers”), and generally proceeding through the Project 2025 playbook. He signaled this clearly during the campaign.

'But the brazen lawlessness is another matter: declaring the 14th Amendment to the Constitution null and void by executive fiat; disparaging the Reagan-appointed judge who blocked Trump’s “blatantly unconstitutional” order; proclaiming that another executive order gives him “the right” to ignore the TikTok ban, duly enacted and upheld by the Supreme Court; asserting that his unilateral declaration of a national energy emergency “means you can do whatever you have to do”; authorizing immigration raids in churches and other houses of worship; revealing the nation’s secrets to people who haven’t been vetted; and, of course, the blanket pardoning and commutations of sentences for people who attacked police officers on Jan. 6, 2021, and orchestrated the sacking of the Capitol.'

...

'Returned, as well, is the dark talk (“vicious, violent … radical and corrupt … stumbling … catastrophic … horrible betrayals”) and the gratuitous insults, some now delivered from behind the Resolute Desk. Liz Cheney is a “crying lunatic.” Adam Schiff is “scum.” Jack Smith is “deranged.” Nancy Pelosi is “guilty as hell” for Jan. 6. After the Episcopal bishop of Washington, the Right Rev. Mariann Budde, had the temerity at the National Prayer Service to urge Trump to “have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now,” Trump lashed out at the “so-called Bishop” who is “a Radical Left hard line Trump hater,” not to mention “nasty” and “boring.”

'Trump’s tired claims, about the “rigged” 2020 election and the FBI’s purported culpability for Jan. 6, have come with him back to Washington, as have his self-enrichment schemes. Asked about the several billion dollars he has amassed in recent days for the cryptocurrency “meme coins” he released, Trump, flanked by moguls Larry Ellison, Sam Altman and Masayoshi Son, responded: “Several billion? That’s peanuts for these guys.”

'And all of this is being normalized, far faster than during Trump’s first term. Stunned Democrats have yet to find their collective voice. And Republicans are bowing and scraping before Trump. '

..

'The most unwelcome feature of Trump’s return this week, more than any individual action, is his abiding ignorance, even after all these years. This is what allows unscrupulous figures such as Stephen Miller to run amok. It’s also the source of the constant chaos that is Trump’s trademark.

'This week alone, Trump botched — either out of ignorance or mendacity — claims about World Health Organization funding, the trade deficit, opioid deaths, inflation, birthright citizenship, Biden’s pardons, illegal immigration, the Jan. 6 committee and more. In a typical pronouncement, Trump alleged that no president imposed tariffs on China “until I came along.” George Washington would beg to differ.

'With such faulty inputs, it’s no wonder the outputs are defective. “With my actions today,” Trump said on Monday, “we will end the Green New Deal and we will revoke the electric vehicle mandate” — neither of which actually exists. The same order promises to “safeguard” Americans’ access to inefficient appliances and plumbing fixtures. He justified his threats to retake the Panama Canal, possibly by force, by saying 38,000 Americans died building it and that “China is operating the Panama Canal.” Fewer than 6,000 Americans were believed to have died, and China does not operate the canal. The White House, justifying its order requiring full-time, in-person work by federal employees, claimed that “only 6 percent of employees currently work in person.” But the Office of Management and Budget found that half of federal workers don’t even qualify to work remotely, and the rest average three days a week in the office.

'And then there was the executive order titled “Restoring Names that Honor American Greatness.”

'Restoring names? The order proposes to rename the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America” — even though it has been called the Gulf of Mexico since Spanish explorers mapped it — in 1519.

'Their hostile act was a grave insult to the future United States. And that is why, 506 years later, Trump is finally taking Spain for the mortal enemy it is.'

SOURCE: Dana Milibank, The Washington Post 

HELPING OUT WITH THE LOS ANGELES FIRES

'On Thursday, the L.A.-based Jimmy Kimmel joked that Trump would make the trip “to blame us for the fires in person.”

KIMMEL: “It’s the first time in history that a natural disaster will be visited by an even bigger natural disaster.”  

“I guess to survey the damage, and meet with the governor — mostly to get away from Elon for a couple of days.”  

“He is so, so ridiculous, and we have to sit around with the place on fire, hoping he gives us our own money back. Trump and his minions are planning to leverage any federal aid they might give to force us to help him round up and deport our neighbors as if we’re Eric and he’s cutting off our allowance to teach us some kind of a lesson.”  

“Which, on one hand, you might think, ‘Oh, wow, what a truly — only a despicable human being would use disaster relief money as a bargaining chip,’ but on the other hand — there is no other hand. It’s just that hand.”  

SOURCE: Trish Bendix, New York Times