The fearful are leaving Trumpland

The New Neo Posted on by

This article caught my eye. It describes what you might call the Rosie O’Donnell phenomenon of people leaving the country because of their hatred of Trump and fear of what he has in store for them. Ordinarily the latter bears zero relation to reality. But that seems to be the echo chamber in which they live, and they’re willing to act on it.

For example, the article describes the motives of a gay couple moving to Ireland [emphasis mine]:

“This is not just four years of a president that we don’t happen to like,” Hennigan said. “This is a different regime, and it’s time to leave. For years, I saw progress with race equality, women’s equality, and gay equality. Now, I think maybe we’ve already lived through the pinnacle of equality, at least in this country.”

Atlas, a retired school teacher, and Hennigan, a travel adviser who can work remotely, are concerned about their rights as a gay married couple. Despite recently completing a 20-month renovation of their Boston home, they have decided to uproot.

I can’t even figure out what rhetoric of Trump they might be relying on to think that those rights would be threatened by Trump during his term. He did nothing about it during his first term, either. And a policy of blocking medical transition for youths actually supports gay people, because a great number of de-transitioners finally settle into accepting that they are gay rather than trans.

But logic has little to nothing to do with fear of Trump.

“Some of these people are mixed-race couples or same-sex couples that perceive a threat to their future in the US,” [an immigration law attorney] said.

In Ireland, by the way, gay marriage is indeed legal, but there are about half the number of such marriages per capita compared to in the US. Support for gay marriage is very high in Ireland, although the churches in Ireland oppose it.

However, the idea of Ireland as some sort of benign country is laughable to me, although my priorities are apparently quite different from those of the recent Irish arrivals from the US. I can’t imagine that they care one whit that Ireland has the distinction of being the most anti-Israel country in Western Europe, and that’s saying a lot. As Ireland’s few Jews consider fleeing, the Rosie O’Donnells and the Hennigans enter:

Ireland has been among the most outspoken critics of Israel’s response to the October 7, 2023 attacks on southern Israel by Hamas militants that sparked the war in Gaza.

Polls since the start of the war have shown overwhelming pro-Palestinian sympathy in Ireland.

A survey in June by the news site The Journal found that 76 percent of Irish people believed the EU should impose economic trade sanctions on Israel over the conflict.

Protesters at rallies in Dublin told AFP they feel empathy with Palestinians due to Ireland’s centuries-long history resisting British rule.

The ignorance is almost overwhelming.

Ireland is also not without its share of violence, anti-immigrant (mostly anti-Moslem, not anti-affluent Bostonian) demonstrations, and populist sentiment. It would be ironic if these people moved to Ireland only to have Trumpism follow them there. But I doubt it, because populism isn’t especially strong in Ireland and leftism is.

At New York’s Natural History Museum

The New Neo Posted on by

I’m on my way home today, but yesterday I went to the Natural History Museum, an experience I recall from childhood with affection. It’s so huge that it would take many days to really cover it, and I was only there for about four hours, but I did see some old favorites.

First, though, I had to wait in line outside in the pouring rain. I’m not sure why there were so many people there, but there certainly were. But the wait was worth it.

Of course the dinosaurs were a beloved favorite. But I decided that it was the dioramas that still enchanted me. I usually don’t like stuffed animals, but these are so well done – with vegetation in the foreground and beautifully painted backgrounds, and the animals posed so realistically – that I still was transfixed by them.

Here was my favorite – or certainly one of my favorites. My photo doesn’t even begin to do it justice: the impressive size of it, the 3-D nature of it, and the delicate little flowers in front. But here it is anyway:

Roundup

The New Neo Posted on by

(1) They say sunlight is the best disinfectant. And perhaps we’ll soon see how it works on NGOs:

Ahead of a key Senate hearing on Tuesday to examine the Biden administration’s work with outside entities to censor Americans, Chairman Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., blasted the former president’s “sprawling network of federal agencies and NGOs” reportedly used to limit speech and posts that were “disfavored.”

“The Biden Administration created a vast censorship enterprise, comprised of a sprawling network of federal agencies and NGOs that have been working overtime to censor Americans’ speech. From special reporting portals to the White House press secretary admitting at the podium that they were flagging posts to be taken down, the level of coordination to subvert the First Amendment and remove disfavored speech was beyond what most imagined,” the Missouri senator told Fox News Digital in an exclusive statement previewing the hearing.

Chairman Schmitt will lead his first hearing in the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution to review “the role non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have played in the censorship of Americans, all while receiving billions in federal tax dollars and subsidies,” per an advisory.

We all saw the censorship and how far-reaching it was. But exactly how it was coordinated was somewhat opaque.

This should prove interesting.

(2) RIP Mia Love, who has died at 49. Here is her wish for America.

(3) How on earth did Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg get included in a Signal chat?:

The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, claimed President Donald Trump’s national security team added him in a Signal message thread regarding their plans for military strikes in Yemen.

(4) The sadists of Hamas release another propaganda video featuring two emaciated hostages. The families of both men had previously received signs of life.

(5) Democrat voters are unhappy with Democrats in Congress:

Congressional Democrats have typically enjoyed higher popularity with their voting base than their Republican counterparts. But the trauma of the 2024 presidential election defeat appears to have ruptured that relationship. A review of Quinnipiac University’s annual first-quarter congressional polling reveals that, for the first time in the poll’s history, congressional Democrats are now underwater with their own voters in approval ratings. …

Despite the restive energy in the party’s progressive wing, the Democratic discontent does not seem to be centered around a desire to pull the party to the left or the right. Democrats cannot seem to agree on which direction the party should move in — recent Gallup polling found that 45 percent wanted the party to become more moderate, while 29 percent felt it should become more liberal, and 22 percent wanted it to stay the same.

That sounds to me like a lot more Democrats want the party to become more moderate than more leftist. But if you add up the more leftist and stay the same versus more moderate, you get a roughly equal split.

A huge case of COVID fraud in Minnesota

The New Neo Posted on by

The COVID lockdowns were a disaster in so many ways that it’s hard to keep track of all of them. But one problem was that the situation represented an absolutely golden opportunity for corrupt grifters.

Here’s a huge case in Minnesota, Tim Walz’s state:

The founder of a Minnesota-based charity was convicted Wednesday of hatching a brazen ruse that pilfered close to $250 million in pandemic relief funds from a federal program meant to feed hungry children in need – in what prosecutors said was the nation’s largest COVID-19 fraud scheme.

Aimee Bock, the 44-year-old founder of Feeding our Future, was found guilty on federal charges of wire fraud, bribery and conspiracy for recruiting a network of people and organizations to operate as many as 250 fraudulent meal assistance sites throughout the state, according to the US Attorney’s Office in Minnesota.

Prosecutors said her non-profit took advantage of a COVID rule change that allowed for student meal-assistance programs to operate off school grounds, as well as for the involvement of for-profit restaurants – blowing federal funding meant to feed underserved children during the pandemic on her “lavish” lifestyle.

Her co-defendant, Salim Ahmed Said, who oversaw one of the phony kitchens in Minneapolis, was also convicted after the six-week trial on a mountain of charges for his role in the scheme.

Approximately 250 million dollars isn’t chump change, and 250 fake sites is an impressive number as well. These people thought big.

And it takes quite a degree of “lavishness” in one’s “lifestyle” to go through that money so quickly. But where there’s a will there’s a way:

Prosecutors said the fraudsters blew more than $240 million meant for kids on fancy cars, international travel and luxury real estate in Minnesota, Ohio, Kentucky, Kenya and Turkey.

Living way beyond one’s obvious means sometimes catches the attention of the authorities. And yet you can’t say the perps didn’t do at least some work for all that money:

Prosecutors said Bock and her 36-year-old accomplice, who owned the now-defunct Safari Restaurant, created fake meal counts, fraudulent invoices, and attendance sheets with bogus names of thousands of children supposedly served daily to secure additional funding from the US Department of Agriculture.

That’s got to take some time and effort, right?

There are about 70 people who have been charged as part of this fraud, “and more than 40 others have either pleaded guilty or been convicted.”

What’s not discussed in the article is that fact that Said is of Somalian ethnicity, as are most (or all) of the many other defendants except Aimee Bock. For example, here’s part of an article about some other defendants who took part in the scheme [my emphasis]:

Abdulkadir also agreed to pay $44,061,053 in restitution in conjunction with his co-defendants and must forfeit cash in several bank accounts as well as real estate that he purchased with stolen money in Minnesota and Ohio.

In a separate hearing Tuesday afternoon, Abdi Salah, 37, also pleaded guilty to a count of wire fraud in exchange for the dismissal of other charges. As a “minor participant” in the crime, he faces a recommended sentence of 21 to 27 months.

The men also face possible deportation. Like most of the defendants in the broader case, the Salah brothers are from Somalia. But unlike many of the others, they’re not U.S. citizens.

Abdi is a legal permanent resident, but Abdulkadir is in the U.S. illegally.

In December of 2021 — around the time he sent that email with the phony food invoices — Abdulkadir was fighting deportation. Prosecutors wrote in court filings that Abdulkadir failed to disclose millions in stolen money as income on his immigration paperwork. The defense countered that immigration evidence should be excluded because it could prejudice the jury.

Please read the whole thing. It’s quite something.

And let me add that I very much doubt that this Minnesota case is the sole instance of COVID fraud. There probably was a ton of it.

The political gender divide

The New Neo Posted on by

It’s profound, it’s growing, and it’s not just in the US:

This sort of gap was not traditionally the case, but it certainly is now and especially among younger voters. According to that chart, South Korea is a particularly extreme example.

The question is why? I may revisit this question in greater depth in the future, but the things that immediately come to mind to explain the US gap are the following:

(1) Leftism appeals more to emotions of trying to be “fair” and “nice.”
(2) Leftism champions women at the expense of men and traditional male virtues.
(3) Young men tend to be somewhat more rebellious than young women, and this generation has been force-fed leftism in their schooling. Therefore one would expect women to conform more to what they’ve been taught, and for men to defy it.

According to this article, the political gender gap started appearing in the 1980s, which means it predated the widespread use of the internet.

Also:

Glocalities found young women are most concerned about issues like “sexual harassment, domestic violence, child abuse and neglect, and mental health problems.” Men were generally more focused on “competition, bravery, and honor.” The study found young men have become more patriarchal in their orientations overall when compared with women and even older men.

Well, duh! The article also cites polls that say that nearly half of young men in the US say there is discrimination against men. I’m surprised it’s not more than half, actually, because I believe such discrimination is obvious and has been for years.

Will Rahm Emanuel run in 2028?

The New Neo Posted on by

Yes, Rahm Emanuel – remember him? I do, and when I first heard that he might be thinking of running for president in 2028 it occurred to me that he might be the Democrats’ best hope, for the simple reason that compared to the other Democrat possibilities he’s not so far to the left. That was, after all, the stance that led Bill Clinton to victory in 1992 after the Reagan-Bush the First years, although of course because the party itself has moved a great deal to the left since then, positioning oneself as being more moderate would ordinarily place a candidate to the left of the Bill Clinton of 1992.

However, Emanuel has one enormous drawback that may make it impossible for him to win the Democratic primary – he’s Jewish, and also tied to Israel. Anti-Jewish and anti-Israel sentiment is rife in the Democratic Party. That’s probably why Kamala Harris chose Tim Walz as her running mate rather than Shapiro of Pennsylvania, who almost certainly would otherwise have been a great deal more helpful to her chances of victory.

On Emanuel:

Emanuel was born to Israeli parents who had moved to Chicago. His father fought in the Irgun, an Israeli paramilitary organization in pre-state Israel that helped fight the British to gain independence. …

Israel has not been a focal point of Emanuel’s early messaging, but his diplomatic tenure in Japan – where he broadened his role to encompass all of Asia – underscores his global perspective, a trait that could appeal to Democrats seeking a seasoned leader, notes Politico Magazine. High-level Democrats who know Emanuel view his candidacy as almost inevitable. “20 years ago it would have been an article in The Onion,” said Doug Sosnik, a former Clinton White House colleague, who now sees Emanuel as uniquely qualified. David Axelrod, a longtime friend, agreed, asking, “Who has more relevant experience?” and highlighting Emanuel’s blunt style and winning instincts.

I bet Israel “has not been a focal point” for Emanuel. He’s no dummy, and he knows that sympathy for Israel is a drawback in his own party.

And there’s one more drawback. It’s a superficial one, but I think it also matters: Emanuel is 5’7″, and that seems to be a drawback in presidential elections.

However, I confess that I have a soft spot in my heart for Emanuel, because he studied ballet in his youth. And not just a little bit, but a lot, and apparently was quite good at it:

Emanuel studied dance in Evanston, later majored in dance at Sarah Lawrence College, turned down a scholarship to the Joffrey Ballet, and there he was, talking of his days in tights.

NOTE: I’m not ready to start an “Election 2028” category yet, so I won’t.

Will Egypt take some Gazans? (plus some news on Turkey)

The New Neo Posted on by

I hope it’s true, but I don’t have much confidence in the possibility

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has informed other Arab leaders that he is willing to temporarily relocate half a million residents from Gaza to northern Sinai in a designated city as part of the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, according to a Friday report.

According to the report in the Lebanese Al-Akhbar newspaper, Sissi made his willingness known during meetings held by Arab leaders in recent weeks in Saudi Arabia and Qatar. There was no confirmation of the report from any other source.

The Egyptian State Information Service denied the report, saying, “Egypt’s position is firm in its absolute and final rejection of any attempt to displace Palestinians, and the Cairo Arab Summit’s emergency plan for reconstruction is based on it.”

Of course, you can hardly blame Egypt if it sticks to its “no.” Gazans are trouble wherever they go. Egypt and Arab nations only pretend to champion them, but in reality they want nothing to do with them and only use them as foils to Israel.

The next bit of news isn’t about Egypt or Arab nations or even about Israel, but I’m putting it here because it’s about an Islamic regime that’s seeing some disruption right now – Turkey:

The arrest of the mayor of Turkey’s largest city in a dawn raid last week was a watershed moment in the country’s prolonged shift away from democracy. Opponents of president Recep Tayyip Erdo?an fear it is a move to ­sideline the sole challenger capable of defeating him in upcoming elections, expected before 2028.

On Saturday, protests in support of ?mamo?lu erupted in Istanbul – where flares and stones where thrown at police, who responded with pepper spray – while in Ankara, the capital, police used water cannon and tear gas on demonstrators.

The interior minister, Ali Yerlikaya, said 323 people had been detained in connection with an investigation into the Istanbul municipality on Saturday night, following protests. …

Within days, what began as protests in response to ?mamo?lu’s detention has grown into something more. “This is bigger than ?mamo?lu. It’s about a fight for democracy, law and equal rights,” said Azra as demonstrators massed around her. …

Supporters of the mayor said 300,000 people joined the demonstration in Istanbul on Friday night, while video showed protesters taking to the streets and clashing with the police in major towns and cities across the country.

Much of the rest of the article, which is in The Guardian, blames Erdogan’s actions on Trump. I kid you not.

By the way, Erdogan is the guy who famously said, back when he was mayor of Istanbul:

Democracy is like a tram. You ride it until you arrive at your destination, then you step off.

Street demonstrations are all very well and good, but they lead to nothing expect arrests and violence against the demonstrators unless and until the police or the army decide not to fight them but to join them in toppling the government.

Report from a NYC budget hotel

The New Neo Posted on by

A budget hotel in New York is one that has a pricetag that someone other than Saudi royalty can afford. I’m staying in one of them right now, and you know what? It’s not bad.

It has some drawbacks, of course. One is the lack of a lobby; maybe four chairs and that’s it. No food except one vending machine – and another similar hotel I stayed in recently didn’t even have that. But it does have a little fridge, which helps – although no microwave, which doesn’t help. No ice bucket. No ice machine. No drawers, although two tiny square open cubbies.

No closet, but a foot-wide opening with a bar across the top and a few hangers. Woe to you if two people occupy the space and have enough clothes for a week and a couple of parties. No place to put more than one suitcase. No carpet, which must make it easier to clean and more allergy-free, but isn’t very comfy. A very small bathroom with almost no counter space.

But good beds. A good shower and lots of hot water. A decent although not overwhelming number of outlets. Speedy-enough wifi. Fairly quiet although not soundproofed.

But what’s up with this – a new pet peeve of mine, and not limited to New York hotels at all – nothing to hold onto in the shower. Now, fortunately, I don’t really need something of that sort. But it’s a nice thing to have, even for young people. And I would assume that it would protect the hotels from lawsuits as well.

Also, I’ve noticed there’s a sort of euro-styling in these places. Things look very spiffy but are small and tight, as though in a boat. But since “regular” hotels in New York and Boston are now going for between six hundred and eight hundred dollars a night for a regular room, the budget hotel is very much in my future.

The epitome of government waste

The New Neo Posted on by

[Hat tip Ace.]

This is extraordinary, and I don’t mean that in a good way:

One of the seven small federal agencies that President Donald Trump ordered downsized or eliminated on Friday was rife with corruption, with its employees hiring friends and relatives, commissioning paintings of themselves, and using government credit cards to indulge in constant luxuries.

The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) occupied a nine-story office tower on D.C.’s K Street for only 60 employees, many of whom actually worked from home, prior to the pandemic. Its managers had luxury suites with full bathrooms; one manager would often be “in the shower” when she was needed, while another used her bathroom as a cigarette lounge. FMCS recorded its director as being on a years-long business trip to D.C. so he could have all of his meals and living expenses covered by taxpayers, simply for showing up to the office.

FMCS is a 230-employee agency that exists to serve as a voluntary mediator between unions and businesses. As an “independent agency,” its director nominally reports to the president, but the agency is so small that in effect, there is no oversight at all — and it showed, becoming a real-life caricature of all the excesses that the Department of Government Efficiency has alleged take place in government.

This reporter spent a year investigating the agency a decade ago, and I found egregious and self-serving violations of hiring, pay, contracting, and purchase card rules. One thing I could not discover is why the agency actually existed, other than to provide luxurious lifestyles for its employees. Endless junkets to resort destinations, which employees openly used to facilitate personal vacations, were justified as building awareness of the agency in the hopes that someone would actually want to use its voluntary services.

Please read the whole thing, if you can stomach it. As bad as you may have thought the grift and corruption in government has been, this is probably worse. Note that this agency has been that way a long time – the reporter says he investigated it a decade ago, but … crickets:

What surprised me most about my FMCS investigation was what happened afterward: nothing. An inspector general made a referral to the FBI, but there were no prosecutions. Instead, President Barack Obama nominated a chief subject of the investigation to the top job.

It took DOGE and Trump to shut it down. It was a good ride – a great ride – while it lasted, and we paid for it.

But the Democrats would love for this sort of agency to continue.