🇺🇸 Vermin Vernacular

Plus, flying horse on the loose!

November 16, 2023

The Flag

Good morning, and happy Thursday. An adorable creature once thought to have been long extinct peaked its long beak into the light.

Plus, a plane was forced to return to an airport shortly after taking off when a horse got loose on board.

Also, get ahead of the curve and be ready for stock trading in 2024.

TRENDING

Right: Bidenomics 2023: Inflation Down, Prices Up Byron York, Washington Examiner

QUICK CLICKS

Joe and Xi Meet, UK Rejects Deportation, Israel Raids Hospitals

US: Joe Biden, Xi Jinping meet amid disputes over military, economic issues (Reuters)

US: Paul Pelosi attacker offers apology in emotional testimony: ‘He was never my target’ (The Hill)

US: Conservatives tank procedural vote on appropriations measure, signaling trouble (The Hill)

US: Donald Trump files for a mistrial in the NY civil fraud case, saying judge is biased (CNN)

World: Iceland experiences another 800 earthquakes overnight as researchers find signs volcanic eruption is near (CBS News)

World: U.K.'s top court rejects plan to deport asylum-seekers to Rwanda as unlawful (NBC News)

World: Israel searches for Hamas in raid of key Gaza hospital packed with patients and stranded families (AP)

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POLITICS

Vermin Vernacular

On Saturday, during a Veterans Day rally in New Hampshire, former President Donald Trump vowed to "root out" his political opponents, who he said "live like vermin" as he warned supporters that America's greatest threats come "from within." Experts and critics say Trump’s choice of words has been said to echo the words of fascist dictators like Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini.

Reporting from the Right: Trump praises 'incredible' service members in Veterans Day video (FOX News)

Reporting from the Left: Biden assails Trump’s ‘vermin’ remark and compares it to Nazi rhetoric (CNN)

From The Flag: A Trump campaign spokesman defended the former president, calling critics "snowflakes" whose "entire existence will be crushed" if Trump wins in 2024. Sources on the left have vociferously criticized Trump for elevating fascist rhetoric. Sources on the right have offered minimal coverage and commentary on the nature of his rhetoric, many avoiding Trump’s comments altogether. Here’s more on what they’re saying and how it’s being covered.

RIGHT-LEANING SENTIMENT

Mixed: “This Is Concerning” vs. “No Comment”

  • Trump’s rhetoric is concerning. Hopefully, his defenders are right about it just being “words,” as the stability of our democracy lies in the balance.

  • Liz Cheney is attempting to hold the Republican Party accountable for Trump’s remarks by calling out RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel.

  • Democrats, including President Biden, Governor Newsom, and DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison have not held back in their criticism of Trump.

A Question re Trump Jay Nordlinger, National Review: “During his years as president, Donald Trump regularly called his critics or opponents ‘enemies of the people.’ Consider Thanksgiving Day 2020. The president said of Brad Raffensperger, ‘He’s an enemy of the people.’ Raffensperger is the secretary of state of Georgia. He had refused to cooperate with Trump in the falsifying of the presidential election, just held. Raffensperger and his wife received a barrage of death and rape threats. Many people were killed as ‘enemies of the people’ under Stalin, under the Khmer Rouge, etc. Was Trump aware of this history? Aware of the pedigree — the awful, bloody pedigree — of ‘enemy of the people’? … When Trump spoke of ‘enemies of the people’ and the rest, I always assumed he was ignorant of the past — ignorant of the pedigrees of these words and phrases. … For years, people have told me, ‘…Trump is a good American democrat, faithful to the Constitution…’ Well, that had better be true, because the Republican Party seems determined to nominate him for president, for a third time. And he may well be president again. And his defenders and ’splainers — well, let’s hope they’re right. A lot rides on it.”

Liz Cheney attacks Trump and under-fire RNC boss Ronna McDaniel as 2024 rumors swirl Eden Villalovas, Washington Examiner: “Former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney condemned Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel for failing to denounce former President Donald Trump’s remarks over Veterans Day weekend, when he compared political enemies on the left to vermin. ‘When @GOPChairwoman refuses to condemn the GOP’s leading candidate for using the same Nazi propaganda that mobilized 1930s-40s Germany to evil, it’s fair to assume she’s collaborating. History will judge Ronna McDaniel and every Republican who is appeasing this dangerous man,’ Cheney, a Republican, posted on X… When asked about Trump’s comments on Sunday, McDaniel told host Kristen Welker on NBC’s Meet the Press that she is ‘not going to comment on candidates and their campaign messaging.’ … The Trump campaign criticized those trying to connect the former president's speech to the likes of dictators…”

One more opinion piece from the Right: Biden says Trump rhetoric echoes Nazi Germany: 'He shouldn’t be president’ Naomi Lim, Washington Examiner

LEFT-LEANING SENTIMENT

If It Walks and Talks Like a Fascist, It’s a Fascist

  • “He’s talking like a fascist. He’s planning fascist policies. He’s staffing up with fascists.”

  • “Rhetoric that classifies certain people not as humans but as insects or vermin has preceded nearly every genocide in history.”

  • “He’s telling us what he will do to his political enemies if he’s president again. Is anyone listening?”

When Trump tells you he’s an authoritarian, believe him Zack Beauchamp, Vox: “Donald Trump is currently testing the limits of that unwritten rule by all but openly campaigning on a platform of tearing democracy down. … Calling one’s opponents subhuman and vowing aggressive action against them is a hallmark of classical fascist rhetoric… Anyone familiar with Nazi propaganda can tell you that it commonly dehumanized Jews by describing us as rats or diseases. Trump has used such language more than once: Just last month, he claimed immigrants were ‘poisoning the blood of our country.’ … Given Trump’s track record, we should take these threats seriously. Let’s not forget that many thought it was unthinkable that Trump would attempt a kind of coup after the 2020 election. We now know that’s exactly what happened, up to and including inciting an actual riot on January 6. … The fascist ideological positioning is a signal of intent: Trump is coming for American democracy. No one can say they weren’t warned.”

Trump’s newest rhetoric highlight his sinister shift since 2016 Paul Waldman, MSNBC: ”Today, Trump’s impulses are even darker, his rhetoric uglier, and his corruption more profound. Just as important, his plans for the presidency are far clearer. Those he has gathered around him are openly planning what is nothing less than an authoritarian takeover of the United States government. We have no choice but to take Trump both literally and seriously. … Rhetoric that classifies certain people not as humans but as insects or vermin has preceded nearly every genocide in history. In Germany, the Nazis characterized Jews as ‘rats’ infecting the pure Aryan society with their pestilence. In Cambodia, the Khmer Rouge described their enemies as ‘worms’ and ‘leeches.’ In Rwanda, Hutu leaders called Tutsi ‘cockroaches’ before massacring them. … Sadly, much of the public seems only too excited at the prospect of authoritarianism. But the danger of another Trump presidency is absolutely serious, and if we don’t treat it as such, we’re all going to find out just how literal it is.”

One more opinion piece from the Left: It’s Official: With “Vermin,” Trump Is Now Using Straight-up Nazi Talk Michael Tomasky, The New Republic

FLAG THIS

Large Number of Americans Embracing Anti-Democratic Leaders

A study published by Cambridge University found that anti-democratic statements are embraced by members of both U.S. parties, but more commonly by Republicans. For example, around 90% of Republicans would support tough leaders who crack down on groups that “undermine American values.” More than half of Democrats take the same position.

Perhaps even more notably, nearly half of citizens who strongly support the Republican Party and over a third of those who strongly support the Democratic Party endorse the view that it is acceptable to “bend the rules” for people like themselves to achieve political goals (PBS).

Is it acceptable for Trump to use words that some believe echo historically fascist rhetoric?

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WATERCOOLER

The Boy Who Lived, Powering Through, Shrinking Sun

On This Day in 2001: British author J.K. Rowling’s star creation, bespectacled boy wizard Harry Potter, made his big-screen debut in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.

Today I Learned the sun loses over 4 million tons of mass every second as energy. Nevertheless, it still accounts for 99.8% of the mass in our solar system.

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