Fuentes and power

The New Neo Posted on by

People you may not have heard much about until a few days ago, like Nick Fuentes (and perhaps Candace Owens, although I’ve certainly written about her before) are now the focus of tremendous attention. It doesn’t really do them justice to call them bigots, conspiracy theorists, anti-Semites, or crazy people. They’re all that and more, and suddenly an especially bright spotlight is shining on Fuentes, mostly because of his interview with Tucker Carlson and then the own goal committed by Kevin Roberts of the Heritage Foundation.

The problem is that there are a lot of young people who follow Fuentes and subscribe to his viewpoints, which makes him and them a sort of mirror image of the Jew-hating, America-hating, race-is-everything left.

It’s hard to convey how awful Fuentes is, like a caricature of a neo-Nazi crossed with a vicious provocateur who will say anything for attention. How many of his followers are real people? I don’t know, and although I bet that a goodly portion are either bots, paid operatives, or even leftists wanting to swell the ranks of his followers in order to make the right look bad, I also believe that a great many are real.

If you want a compendium of some of Fuentes’ “greatest hits” just to get a flavor of what’s meant when he’s described as a vile bigot, you’d do well to watch the portion of this Ben Shapiro video that I’ve cued up. It’s about nine minutes long, and it’s very very disturbing. If you look at Fuente’s affect, you might think he’s joking, because his demeanor is often so light. But his followers take him very seriously, and there seem to be lots of them in the comments to that video:

Fuentes – and Tucker Carlson’s softball interview with him – are the greatest gifts the left could possible receive. They validate every stereotype the left has about the racist, evil, Nazi-esque right. Plenty of people on the right have condemned him most vociferously, but he nevertheless taints the right at this point.

What’s his motive? The best explanation I’ve seen so far is in this comment at Legal Insurrection:

There is something seriously “off” about Fuentes. Before watching the interview I assumed he was a neo-Nazi, as so many people do. But neo-Nazis walk a far steadier path than this guy.

My best guess is this: Fuentes wants complete control over MAGA, the Trump movement, post-2015 conservativism, whatever you want to call it. *Total control.*

That means he wants to control Donald Trump, too. …

If Fuentes can’t get total control, he’ll settle for total destruction, of everybody and everything that he wants to control and can’t. He’ll try to destroy Trump, too.

We’re looking at a man who will say anything and adopt any disguise in his quest for power. He never raised his voice or uttered a real threat during the interview, And he scared the hell out of me.

I have no idea whether Nick Fuentes hates Jews as such. What he hates is people who stand in his way. Some of them are Jews (to hear him tell it, his first pissing contest was with Ben Shapiro). To push other people out of his way, he will cloak himself as anti-these or anti-those.

You can’t expect a man like this to be consistent in his hates. *Everyone* ought to be very afraid of Nick Fuentes.

Fuentes was at war with Turning Point and Charlie Kirk, too. You may recall that, before Tyler Robinson was identified as Kirk’s probable killer, the left was saying that the killer was a groyper – a term for a follower of Fuentes – who hated Kirk. At the time that seemed an absurd notion to me, but after watching a lot of Fuentes I can see why it would be very plausible, although it turns out to have been untrue.

Dick Cheney dies at 84

The New Neo Posted on by

His was one of those lives that really does merit the description “controversial.” Cheney was a former House member when Bush II chose him as VP. Cheney served during 9/11 and during the Afghan and Iraq war years, during which time he was hated by the left. In his last few years he ended up a NeverTrumper who defended his daughter and endorsed Kamala Harris – an act I doubt helped her.

He had such serious heart problems even as a youngish man (starting at age 37) that I never thought he’d make it through Bush’s presidency. Yet he made it to 84, courtesy of a 2012 heart transplant along the way.

RIP.

It’s Election Day here and there

The New Neo Posted on by

[UPDATE: I put up this post for the results.]

New York City, New Jersey, and Virginia are the highlights – or perhaps lowlights.

Predictions? Reflections? I’ve already written a great deal about the NYC race, so I won’t belabor that prospective train wreck any more. In New Jersey, it seems like the Republican might have a chance, although it’s been a blue state for quite some time. And in Virginia, the polls aren’t looking good for the Republican Earle-Sears in the governor’s race, whereas Republican AG Jason Miyares has a chance against the abominable Jay Jones.

I always pay attention to polls, but for quite a few years now I’ve wondered why. Perhaps it’s because, deeply flawed though they may be, they’re the only predictive instruments we’ve got.

A great big THANK YOU!

The New Neo Posted on by

I’ve unpinned the post asking for donations. Once again, I offer a huge “thank you!” to every single person who has contributed so far, and to all those who contribute at other times of year. I am so very grateful to you all, and to all the readers and commenters here. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be doing this.

Just a reminder for the rest of the year: if anyone wants to contribute to thenewneo, click on the “Donate” button either to the right or at the bottom of the page, depending on what sort of device you use when reading the blog. If the Donate button isn’t showing, disable your adblocker and that should make it visible. You can make a single payment or regular monthly payments, as you wish. You can use a Paypal account or a credit card.

And of course there’s also the Amazon portal below it, which can be used for Amazon purchases. The season is upon us.

The march of time – and my neo photo

The New Neo Posted on by

It’s hard to believe, but it’s been seven-plus years since I put up my present neo-apple photo. That makes it outdated, although I like to think I haven’t changed that much (although the apple has; but that can be replaced).

And so I’ve recently taken a bunch of apple selfies in order to come up with an acceptable one for the blog. You’d be surprised how hard it is, and strangely enough, selfies are the only way it can be done. That’s because I have to be able to see what I’m taking as I’m taking it. It’s surprisingly difficult to get all the elements in place. The apple has to be held just so: non-blemished side forward, not crooked, the right distance from the face and covering more or less the same features as previous photos, and the hand at least somewhat relaxed rather than a tense claw. There are many outtakes, but there would be even more of them if I had someone else take them. And who would have the patience?

Oh, and there’s the lighting, too, which has to be decent. It doesn’t really work well outdoors – I’ve tried – and indoors I don’t have the right kind of lighting. But I make do. And one can adjust the lighting with editing, although I don’t do much other editing except getting rid of the background if necessary and substituting something simple instead. For the photo that’s been on the blog since 2018, I did adjust the lighting (darkened it), but I think the new one will be more natural in lighting. The camera on my phone is better.

You might be amused by some unpublished outtakes from previous efforts. This one is from 2022:

And here’s one from 2017:

John Brennan gets physical

The New Neo Posted on by

I’ve previously written several posts about John Brennan and his history; this one is about his Communist vote, this is about some of his offenses, and more background on Brennan can be found here.

I saw the following video yesterday. It’s quite an extraordinary moment, and Brennan’s actions speak louder than words to tell us what an arrogant thug he is. This is a man who doesn’t think he should ever have to answer for anything. And isn’t what he’s doing to this guy a battery? The situation was as follows:

After the conference on Thursday I confronted former CIA Director Brennan directly regarding his signing the 51 Intelligence Officers Memo knowing that the Hunter Biden laptop was real and not Russian disinformation. Watch his response.

Brennan’s also a weasel. He knew exactly what the effect of “has all the earmarks of a Russian information operation” would be, and the phrase was carefully crafted to maintain deniability.

One more video of Brennan at that same venue, being asked a question:

His demeanor is that of someone accustomed to being able to shut down anyone who might question him. Class act.

I did some more research last night on what really happened with that letter from the 51 former intelligence officers, and I discovered an astounding amount of very disturbing information. It’s not that I hadn’t covered the story before, when it was happening. But I hadn’t followed up in depth, and when I did I found it’s one of the best examples of what the government did to Trump – and how it protected Biden. And it’s one of the best-documented, although relatively few people have probably read the full story.

And so I plan to write one or two more posts on that subject. Not today, though!

The SNAP shutdown

The New Neo Posted on by

The SNAP program is what used to be known as food stamps. Now it’s done with EBT cards, which work like this:

Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) is an electronic system that allows a Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participant to pay for food using SNAP benefits. When a participant shops at a SNAP authorized retail store, their SNAP EBT account is debited to reimburse the store for food that was purchased. EBT is in use in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Guam. EBT has been the sole method of SNAP issuance in all states since June of 2004.

It’s been clear for years that there’s a lot of fraud in the system. From the same site:

EBT fraud, including the use of card skimming to steal benefits, is on the rise. Modernizing EBT, including the introduction of chip cards for SNAP EBT, is an important step to ensure that SNAP benefits are protected.

That’s certainly not the only form of fraud to which the system is subject.

And what of non-citizens? See this:

Only U.S. citizens and certain lawfully present noncitizens may receive SNAP benefits. Some lawfully present noncitizens must wait 5 years before getting SNAP benefits. You can find more information about whether you can get SNAP as a noncitizen at www.fns.usda.gov/snap/recipient/eligibility/non-citizen.

However, that link only leads to a page that says the information is being updated. But generally, illegal immigrants are not supposed to be covered:

Undocumented immigrants, including DACA holders, are ineligible to receive most federal public benefits, including means-tested benefits such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, sometimes referred to as food stamps), regular Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Undocumented immigrants are ineligible for health care subsidies under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and are prohibited from purchasing unsubsidized health coverage on ACA exchanges. Undocumented immigrants may be eligible for a handful of benefits that are deemed necessary to protect life or guarantee safety in dire situations, such as emergency Medicaid, access to treatment in hospital emergency rooms, or access to healthcare and nutrition programs under the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).

Of course, many initially illegal aliens end up getting legal status through the asylum process. However, although some are valid asylum-seekers, some are not.

The reason we’re talking about this today is that the shutdown would ordinarily mean that EBT cards are no longer funded as of November 1.

Some statistics here on illegal immigrants and welfare programs:

Of households headed by illegal immigrants, CIS estimated that 59 percent use one or more welfare programs — cash, food assistance, Medicaid, or housing.

Illegal immigrant households have especially high use of food programs, with 48 percent enrolled in one or more of these programs — SNAP, WIC, or school lunch/breakfast.

In particular, our analysis found that 17 percent of illegal immigrant households used SNAP.

In addition to food programs, 18 percent of illegal immigrant households were enrolled in one of the cash programs; 4 percent were using a housing program; and 39 percent used Medicaid.

Illegal immigrants often receive welfare on behalf of U.S.-born children, and illegal immigrant children can receive school lunch/breakfast and WIC directly. Some states provide Medicaid to illegal immigrants, and a few offer SNAP. Several million illegal immigrants also have been issued Social Security numbers allowing them to receive cash payments from the earned income tax credit if they work.

Many immigrants have modest levels of education and low incomes, so suspension of WIC and SNAP will impact a large share of this population. But this situation raises important policy questions, including whether it makes sense to have an immigration system that allows in so many people who turn to taxpayers to support their children.

I wouldn’t doubt I’ve missed some of the finer points; it’s a complex system and it’s hard to get quickly up to speed on it. But birthright citizenship and the fact that many illegal immigrants have citizen children (born here) are the reasons the numbers are so very high, I believe.

The Democrats could end the shutdown any time, but they’d rather sacrifice the SNAP program and blame that on the Republicans.

Today’s news on the benefits:

The Trump administration will provide partial food stamp benefits this month as the government shutdown approaches a record length, officials told a federal judge Monday.

The administration indicated it will not tap other funds to fill the gap, meaning the more than 40 million people enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are set to receive reduced benefits. Administration officials have warned those recalculations could spur significant delays before November payments reach households.

On Friday, two federal judges ruled the Trump administration must empty a multi-billion dollar emergency fund before cutting off SNAP. The administration says the fund has $4.65 billion available for households. …

Democratic-led states, cities and private groups sued the administration last week as it warned that SNAP benefits would expire in November as shutdown negotiations remained at a stalemate.

So two judges have said the administration must cover for the Democrat shutdown, and blue states and cities sued the feds for what the Democrats themselves are doing.

My Halloween costume this year

The New Neo Posted on by

I went to a small get-together last night where costumes were obligatory.

I wore this, made of two garments bought on sale at Walmart and T. J. Maxx. The ensemble was finished off by white socks and white sneakers. I bet you can guess what I was:

(No, I’m not wearing the costume in that photo.)

A few ruminations on the latest fight on the right – involving the Heritage Foundation

The New Neo Posted on by

I’ve been doing a lot of research for a post or series of posts on anti-Semitism on the right, and it’s got me down.

First of all, the usual disclaimer: there’s much more of it on the left, and in addition it seems to be mainstreamed on the left although often disguised as “Oh, we only hate the genocidal maniacal Israeli babykillers.” On the right, it’s still mostly outliers.

But not entirely. For example, Tucker Carlson’s viewpoints may not be popular with older conservatives, but he has influence with younger ones (as does the even-more-pernicious Candace Owens). And Carlson is still very tight with Turning Point, and is one of their major speakers.

Now Kevin Roberts of the Heritage Foundation has weighed in, and it’s not good. Roberts seems to be confused about what canceling means, and it’s not the same as criticizing. Here’s what Roberts said [my responses are added in brackets]:

“When it serves the interests of the United States to cooperate with Israel and other allies, we should do so, with partnerships on security, intelligence and technology. But when it doesn’t, conservatives should feel no obligation to reflexively support any foreign government [no one on the pro-Israel side is asking for that, so it’s a strawman argument], no matter how loud the pressure becomes from the globalist class [the actual “globalist class” detests Israel, so this is absurd] or from their mouthpieces [not sure whom he means – but I would guess Israeli lobbyists? As I said, globalists are very anti-Israel, so this seems to be some sort of code for something else he’s trying to say] in Washington.

The Heritage Foundation didn’t become the intellectual backbone of the conservative movement by cancelling our own people [criticizing is not cancelling] or policing the consciences of Christians [and yet that’s exactly and precisely what Carlson did when he accused “Christian Zionists” of heresy and said he despises them more than anyone else], and we won’t start doing that now. . . .

We will always defend truth [that’s all people are asking you to do by pointing out what Carlson is doing], we will always defend America and we will always defend our friends against the slander of bad actors who serve someone else’s agenda [hmm, who’s that “someone else” – could it be: Jews? Israel? Have the courage to come out with what you actually mean, at least, and stop talking in secret code]. That includes Tucker Carlson, who remains, and, as I have said before, always will be [no matter what he does or says, now and forever? That doesn’t sound very principled of you], a close friend of the Heritage Foundation.

The venomous coalition [“venomous” is quite a word – although actually, it’s more appropriate to Carlson and certainly Fuentes, to whom Carlson gave a fawning interview and huge platform] attacking him are sowing division [unlike Carlson, who attacked Christian supporters of Israel as heretics?]. Their attempt to cancel him will fail [They’re not trying to cancel him. They’re criticizing him and asking you to do the same]. Most importantly, the American people expect us to be focusing on our political adversaries on the left, not attacking our friends on the right. [The two are hardly mutually exclusive. If you fail to attack Jew-haters on the right, I don’t think you’ll win in the end.]

I disagree with, and even abhor, things that Nick Fuentes says, but canceling him is not the answer, either. [Again, you seem to be confusing criticizing with canceling. Nor is refusing to give someone a platform canceling; that person is free to speak anywhere else] When we disagree with a person’s thoughts and opinions, we challenge those ideas and debate. [But Tucker Carlson did very little debating of Fuentes; he added his own fuel to the Jew-hating and Israel-hating fire.]

As I said, I plan to write more about this because there’s much more to say, particularly about why I think Carlson is doing this and what might be motivating Roberts, about whom I know less. But at the moment I don’t have the stomach for it. Maybe some time next week.

Roundup

The New Neo Posted on by

(1) The other two liberal SCOTUS justices, Kagan and Sotomayor, are not all that happy with Ketanji Brown Jackson.

(2) There’s been some progress on a way to restore aging skin. As Glenn Reynolds might say, “faster, please.”

A lot faster.

(3) Don’t click on this if you don’t want to get depressed by the amount of depraved cruelty circulating online about Kirk’s assassination and his widow’s grief. That features mockery coming from the left, which is where you’d expect it to come from and from where I’m virtually certain the vast majority does originate. But a few on the right – or who used to be on the right, at least for a while – get into the “hate Erika Kirk” act in other ways (I’m talking about the Jew-hating Owens, accusing Kirk’s widow of covering up the fact that the culprit was – of course, because this is Owens – Israel).

(4) I have no idea whether this is true or not. But it’s certainly interesting, and it’s certainly a possibility:

Zohran Mamdani’s campaign is facing explosive allegations that it benefited from tens of millions of dollars in donations funneled from George Soros-linked charities as part of an elaborate scheme that may have violated federal tax laws.

The 34-year-old State Assemblyman’s team has always claimed that he rose from obscurity to become New York City’s mayoral front-runner thanks to an organic, grassroots movement involving many small donations and hundreds of young people with backpacks canvassing on his behalf.

But the Daily Mail can reveal that that narrative is now being called into question according to a report from a watchdog website.

(5) A recent NYC mayoral poll shows this:

According to Atlas Intel, Mamdani leads with 41 percent, Cuomo sits at 34 percent as an independent, and Sliwa trails with 24 percent. The poll carries a ±3 margin of error, a much tighter margin than other major surveys that have shown Mamdani leading by double digits.

That seems to be due mostly to Sliwa picking up support. If Sliwa-supporting people decide to switch to Cuomo when actually in the voting booth and faced with the reality of what their Sliwa vote facilitates (a Mamdani victory), that would give Cuomo the win.

In this poll, the “undecided” vote has shrunk to almost nothing. The poll is an outlier, however; others show Mamdani with a much bigger lead – but Atlas has been known for greater accuracy in the past.