Branch Trumpvidians 7: They Still Think He Loves Them And Will Fight For Them

[Ozlsn]

14 minutes ago, noseybutt said:

Yet this is the demographic that doesn’t believe climate change is real…

They seem to be conflicted about this - it's not human caused to them but it's at a point where they recognise that it's different from when they grew up. So it's change but totally natural, but still will cause them to be overun by... someone.

Actually the thing that kind of blackly amuses me about this group is that the crossover between "one world government paranoid conspiracy" and "Trump as world dictator would be awesome!" groups is so big. Seriously Trump and this cult are the closest thing I've seen to the La Haye/Jenkins Left Behind anti-Christ - and they're all for it, and don't see the parallels at all. 

[GreyhoundFan]

How disgusting 

[Ozlsn]

I know we've looked at that one before but I have Thoughts.

1. Did he employ one of North Korea's finest for this?

2. This is idealised to the Max and he's still orange. Like... is orange his ideal? By his citrus you shall know him? What?

3. The crucifix in his waistband - in case of vampires? A dagger with a really uncomfortable hilt? 

4. That person at the back right with the super-long arms would totally be outcast in The Chrysalids.

5. Why are the crowd mostly half-naked? Exactly what kind of gathering is this?

6. Christ on the crucifix looks like he really wants put of this and to be honest I can't blame him. Not least as it looks suspiciously like he'll be used as a literal as well as figurative blunt instrument.

7. We really need to stop referring to the people who follow this as something other than Christian, because... no. Not sure who or what they are following but certainly not Jesus of Nazareth.

 

[Alisamer]

3 hours ago, Ozlsn said:

I haven't heard that one - what's the proposed mechanism? Water, as in Flint?

I’ve mostly seen it as young people and Millennials proclaiming lead poisoning must be why Boomers largely support politicians who work against their best interests. 
 

it is, as I understand it, a sort of cumulative and progressive thing, and it was the late 60s or early 70s when it was being removed from stuff like paint, so Boomers would have had more incidental exposure than the generations following. I don’t really know that it’s really that big a thing, but it is a possibility. Along with aging, pollution exposure, whatever was in all those cans of hair spray in the 80s…

I think it’s a possibility people latch onto when seeing their older loved ones suddenly become awful MAGA worshippers when some of them would have been the absolute opposite just a decade or so earlier.  But statistically Boomers and maybe older Gen X are the last kids who were likely to literally eat lead paint chips as little kids so that’s probably where it comes from. 

[WatchingTheTireFireBurn]

If only it was so easy and simple as being lead. It's convenient to blame an external  source rather than considering the societal structures that led us to this and how to address it. 

[noseybutt]

9 hours ago, WatchingTheTireFireBurn said:

If only it was so easy and simple as being lead. It's convenient to blame an external  source rather than considering the societal structures that led us to this and how to address it. 

Also, lead knocks off IQ points. It doesn’t make people fearful and mean.

[Alisamer]

4 hours ago, noseybutt said:

Also, lead knocks off IQ points. It doesn’t make people fearful and mean.

Yeah, I mean, I'm sure there are a handful of MAGA boomers who maybe are suffering from lead exposure, but I don't think it's really an answer to the whole phenomenon. 

It could, for some people, explain how they're able to be so easily duped by Trump. But I think the MAGA faithful are a big collection of a variety of people with different situations and motivations. 

So, if Trump did become dictator, and executed his enemies and installed only his cronies in government, and outlawed democrats and democracy and suddenly the MAGA had everything they wished for, they'd quickly devolve into infighting. The evangelicals don't love Trump, but they want the theocracy he tells them they'll get. There are a buch of Trumpers who are fans because they are really rich and he'll cut their taxes. There are a bunch of Trumpers who are fans because Trump hates the same people they do. And ALL of them somehow believe he has their best interests in mind, when it's plain to see Trump only cares about Donald Trump. And maybe Ivanka, though he'd like her better if she wasn't his daughter so he could boink her. 

The poor ones will suddenly start to realize "Hey, wait, I just wanted you to take healthcare and assistance away from those OTHER undeserving people, not my mom!" The evangelicals will, over time, realize that Trump couldn't name two of Jesus' disciples and is happy to break every commandment, and was just using them for their votes. If he does manage to keep up the "I'm so Christian" charade and starts legislating mandatory Christianity (for everyone but himself - and Ivanka) then the inter-denominational fights will begin. Which version of the Bible? Sunday church or Saturday? Dunk or sprinkle?

The nazis will be mad he's not doing enough to punish people of color and Jewish people, since he is racist but not to the point of extermination... if he can get money or fame out of you he doesn't care what color you are. The fiscal conservatives will, once he starts building his fancy new gilded presidential palace, realize he's spending hand over fist on himself and doing nothing they thought he'd do... the second dictator Trump runs low on government funds to steal he'll raise taxes. Conservative women will at some point realize that trampling on peoples rights includes them. And nobody, except Trump himself, will be happy. 

 

[Ozlsn]

And the rich will get rid of him (if he hasn't died already), install a new puppet and claim it's in everyone's best interests while continuing to extract and hoard as much wealth and power as they can - and all in the name of their true God, Ayn Rand.

[Xan]

1 hour ago, Ozlsn said:

And the rich will get rid of him (if he hasn't died already), install a new puppet and claim it's in everyone's best interests while continuing to extract and hoard as much wealth and power as they can - and all in the name of their true God, Ayn Rand.

This.  So much, this.

He's just being used himself.  He's being used by the top tier of the rich and powerful.  He's being used by Putin.  He's probably being used by Xi and MBS.  Donald is only useful as long as he keeps the followers happy so that they're not really paying attention to anything else that's going on.  The minute the followers fall away, someone else will be installed as dictator and on we'll go.

As for why he has followers -- who knows?  We only know a little about Germany in the 1930's and why they were willing to follow Hitler.  In their case, the economy was in tatters and Germany's reputation was in the dirt.  They were looking for a savior.  And it's much easier to love a potential savior is he hates the same people you do and he promises to fix everything.  I just see Trump on the same path.

Edited December 20, 2023 by Xan

[fraurosena]

10 hours ago, Xan said:

As for why he has followers -- who knows?  We only know a little about Germany in the 1930's and why they were willing to follow Hitler.  In their case, the economy was in tatters and Germany's reputation was in the dirt.  They were looking for a savior.  And it's much easier to love a potential savior is he hates the same people you do and he promises to fix everything.  I just see Trump on the same path.

It’s about making poor people believe that he can bring back times when everything seemed better. Back when the country was rich, affluent and influential. And making the poor believe they won’t be poor anymore.

It is exactly, almost to the letter, what Hitler did almost a century ago. He too pointed back to times when the German states were strong and respected, and promised wealth and greatness. And people fell for it, just as they do now in the US. Because no one enjoys being poor and looked down upon. And when someone promises they (alone) can fix that for them, they latch on to it like a suckerfish to a shark.

So yes, Trump is following Hitler’s playbook. It should scare the bejesus out of everyone. He’s already talking about rounding up people and putting them into camps. He hasn’t said what will happen to them once they get there, but you don’t need much imagination to guess what he’s planning…

[Alisamer]

7 hours ago, fraurosena said:

So yes, Trump is following Hitler’s playbook. It should scare the bejesus out of everyone. He’s already talking about rounding up people and putting them into camps. He hasn’t said what will happen to them once they get there, but you don’t need much imagination to guess what he’s planning…

Best case scenario I can think of is he puts them to work making his cheap MAGA merch. For no pay. He'll spin it as "bringing production back to America" and brag about how much it'll boost the economy, and count every person there as a new job he's created. 

[WatchingTheTireFireBurn]

I think the hidden rich people and movers and shakers we probably don't know anything about were glad to have him before. I think they thought he would be a good figure head and listen to his advisors and do as he was told to support their policies which also benefit him anyway.

I kinda wonder what those people think now. Now there's a bunch of crazy every day folk who've been let loose. I can't think that the behind the scenes string pullers are happy about that nor any of the attention that this whole thing has drawn. But I think they're too greedy to really put a stop to this. 

I feel fairly confident that people with money could do a pr job on him and sway a lot of the more normal republicans. That hasn't happened, so I must conclude that they think that even with all this chaos they will come out better with insane president trump possible dictator.

It kind of mirrors how johnson has gotten into speakership. Came out of seemingly nowhere (to us) and shouldn't have general support but clearly somebody put some pressure on. and here we are. Some powerful/rich people in the background seem to think this is a good idea and are supporting it.  Where I'm unclear on why rich/powerful people think a theocracy will benefit them. Seems like a very big risk to destabilize the whole country. Things might not shake out how you intended.

 

[GreyhoundFan]

[GreyhoundFan]

What I find amazing is not that this woman believes the shit she’s spewing , but that millions of others believe it. 

 

[47of74]

Washed up actor and all around fuck face lover John Schneider is being investigated by the Secret Service for threatening the President.

Quote

EXCLUSIVE: (Updated with Secret Service statement) John Schneider may now be insisting he never threatened the life of President Joe Biden, but the Secret Service beg to differ.

The federal agency charged with protecting POTUS, the Vice President and their immediate families, as well as major political candidates and high level government officials, have opened a probe into statements the former Dukes of Hazzard star made online against the President and his son Hunter Biden earlier today, Deadline has learned.

Officially, the White House and the Secret Service, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Department of Homeland Security, are saying nothing on any investigation of Schneider. “The Secret Service is aware of the comments made by Mr. Schneider, and as a matter of practice, we do not comment on matters involving protective intelligence,” a Secret Service spokesperson says of the matter. “We can say, however, that the Secret Service investigates all threats related to our protectees,” the agency added.

Sources close to events confirm the probe is in the preliminary stage.

Schneider used to play on Dukes of Hazzard.  Of course that fuck denies threatening President Biden. 

[GreyhoundFan]

These BTs are disgusting:

[apple1]

2 hours ago, GreyhoundFan said:

These BTs are disgusting:

Yes, disgusting. 

[Alisamer]

21 hours ago, apple1 said:

Yes, disgusting. 

Not just disgusting, not just lies, but unrealistic, as well.

Like, in what universe would Trump show up in a small town to give gifts to a poor Jewish baby? He might try to swindle Joseph into investing some of that gold into a Trump property, then hire him to do some carpentry work and stiff him on the payment.

[Ozlsn]

On 12/27/2023 at 6:03 AM, GreyhoundFan said:

These BTs are disgusting:

That has to be a parody account, right? The picture of him honestly looks like he hates to be there, so about right.

Actually he mostly looks pissed that the attention is not on him, so... accurate?

Edited December 27, 2023 by Ozlsn

[Xan]

1 hour ago, Ozlsn said:

That has to be a parody account, right? The picture of him honestly looks like he hates to be there, so about right.

Yeah.  It seems to be.  They've got Trump starring in "Titanic", being the inspiration for "The Revenant", and as a star in a Harry Potter movie.  Here's their Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/trump_history45/

[GreyhoundFan]

This is the type of guy that makes me fear for the future. Placed under spoiler as the author is a minor.

Spoiler

 

[GreyhoundFan]

Sounds good to me!

[AnywhereButHere]

Oh, please? Will she? For Real? Because there have been so many good promises made in that vein by the lot of them that were never followed through on. Come on lunatics. My hopes can only take so much!

[Audrey2]

7 hours ago, GreyhoundFan said:

Sounds good to me!

That math ain't mathin' but sounds good to me. I hope you especially have strong influence in the purple states.

[GreyhoundFan]

I saw this article about a family of Christian homeschoolers. I'm sure they are BTs. They decided to move to a Caribbean island to avoid Covid restrictions and because of a "stong constitution" and "love of God". Oops, they didn't research very well because the adults were arrested for illegal possession of guns. Gee, didn't get to take your U.S. civil liberties with you. I also love how they probably are all anti-immigrant here in the U.S., but now that they are the immigrants, they don't want to follow the law of the land.

"After COVID-19 drove them to leave the U.S, Indiana family encounters legal trouble"

Quote

When Jason and Jennifer Grogg and their four kids moved from Logansport to the Caribbean island of Dominica in 2021, they expected to make a new life spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ while living free of the frustrations they felt about COVID-19 mandates.

What they found instead was trouble.

First, the family couldn’t find permanent housing. Then came a run-in with Dominican authorities who last spring searched their rental home and a shipping container the family used to move their belonging to the island. Those searches led to a gun, ammunition and accessories they could not legally possess on the island.

The fallout, which comes on the heels of a missionary group severing ties with the family, could land Jason Grogg, the family's patriarch, in a foreign prison or deported to the United States. For now, Jason says his family is stuck.

The Dominica government — not to be confused with the Dominican Republic — has seized Jason Grogg’s passport, and his wife and children, who have their passports, can't afford to leave as cost related to the legal cases diminish the family's savings. Meanwhile, Jason can't legally work because he doesn’t have a work permit.

Still, Jason remains committed to the move and determined to fight the accusations against him. "We left the United States for a very particular reason when it came to the COVID nonsense," he said. "But we also saw very clearly this is the path that God was wanting us to take for purposes unknown."

A frustrating ordeal

The family's latest challenge came in mid-April when the Anti-Crime Task Force of the Commonwealth of Dominica Police Force and customs investigators searched the Groggs’ rental home and a 40-foot shipping container the family had stored at local church they were helping.

Law enforcement seized the firearm and various ammunition, initially charging the family with possessing a handgun without a license, arms trafficking and evasion of custom duties. 

The family was taken into custody. The couple and their two oldest children, Hannah and Gracia, 18 and 16 at that time, respectively, were arrested and jailed. Their younger children, Eliyah and Nathan, 14 and 12 at the time, respectively, were taken into custody by the Commonwealth and sent to a home for abused and neglected children.

All of the items were accidentally brought into the country via the shipping container, Jason said, adding they were packed in moving totes and shipped to the island. “None of it was supposed to have come down,” he said. 

The months-long legal drama has upended the Groggs’ new life in Dominica and turned what should have been a fresh start into a frustrating ordeal. 

Dominca's government has brought two court cases against Jason since his family has been on the island. The first case — for possession — was settled when Jason pleaded guilty to possessing the firearm and paid a fine of $25,000 East Caribbean dollars, or about $9,250 in U.S. currency.

The commonwealth dropped all charges against Jason's wife and eldest children after his guilty plea. The younger children have since been reunited with the family. The second case involving customs is active and open.

"My wife and my children, they all have their passports to leave the country if they needed to like in an emergency," he said. "Because the government has been taking so long and absorbing so much of my funds, we have no way of at this point, unless we had family pay for tickets, there's no way for us to leave right now."

Leaving it all behind

Before moving to Dominica, the Groggs owned their own house, grew their own vegetables, and always had home renovation projects in the works. Jennifer Grogg homeschooled the kids. Jason was a member of the National Rifle Association and an firearms instructor.

As self-proclaimed devout Christians, they saw the expansion of LGBTQ rights as a sign that the United States had turned away from God, according a series of newsletters about their lives the couple produced for friends and family. So, when a once-in-a-life time pandemic turned the world upside down, and local governments issued restrictions to curtail spread of the disease, the couple began toying with the idea of leaving the U.S.

"We were feeling like God was leading us out of the country to go somewhere else," Jason Grogg said in a telephone interview with IndyStar. "He led us to the Commonwealth of Dominica."

An associate in Florida suggested to Jason Grogg the commonwealth as a potential option for the Groggs to relocate.  

Known as The Nature Island, Dominica is home to about 70,000 people. The island, covering roughly 290 square miles, is situated between Martinique and Guadeloupe in the eastern Caribbean Sea’s Lesser Antilles archipelago. The tropical island is home to rugged mountains, hot springs, volcanos, lush vegetation and waterfalls.

"It's a beautiful place," Grogg said, noting that the family also liked the commonwealth's strong constitution. "The people are absolutely wonderful."

The Groggs began researching the island after receiving the suggesting and that research led them to a faith-based nonprofit called Feed My Sheep, which supports youth in crisis. They connected with the nonprofit's Christian leadership while they were still in Logansport and collected Bibles they could hand out once in Dominica.

The family spent several months preparing for the move. They readied their house to sell and packed up items they were taking with them in Sterlite totes. They sold things they would no longer need or couldn't bring with them ― including Jason Grogg's collection of firearms. They arranged for a shipping container to be delivered near their Logansport home and filled it with their belongings to be shipped to Dominica.

Then, one day in the summer of 2021, they loaded up their kids and suitcases, headed to Indianapolis International Airport and took off on a flight to their new Caribbean home.

A different life

Once on the tropical island, life was different from what they experienced in Indiana. The Groggs arrived weeks ahead of their shipping container, which they temporarily stored at Feed My Sheep's campus. There were fewer COVID restrictions. They bounced from rental house to rental house. And in newsletters, they consistently asked friends and family to pray that they would find a reliable vehicle and that hurricanes would avoid the island.

“We had read that Dominica was very God-centered. They have a national prayer that talks about Jesus and their national anthem gives praise to God," Jennifer Grogg wrote in the family's December 2021 newsletter. "The schools start each day with prayer as does each session of the government. The vehicles have religious phrases and wording on them and the people all nod their heads in agreement when we start talking about 'God things.'"

Still, they also initially struggled to find a church that fulfilled their spiritual needs.

There were good moments, too.

They made friends. Jason found work doing short-term renovation and construction jobs. He started a carpentry class. The family explored their new tropical environment using vehicles loaned by kind neighbors and friends. And, their friends at Feed My Sheep, where they often volunteered, helped them find a new rental home in the island's Belfast community. The organization would later disassociate itself from Jason Grogg. Feed My Sheep did not respond to request for comment.

Life was OK — that is until earlier this year when the police showed up after a dispute with a landlord that Feed My Sheep had connected the family with.

Arrested and arrested again

Law enforcement told local media they found a Glock 9 mm pistol, 9 mm and 20 mm ammunition, four M16 magazines with 30 rounds of ammunition, and 17 20-gage shell. Jason Grogg disputes their descriptions of the items found.

“They had found some miscellaneous ammunition," he said in a telephone interview. According to Jason's account, the handgun was initially found in a tote in an unsecured room inside of the Feed My Sheep building. The nonprofit had permitted him to use the space to sort things out from his shipping container. Jason took the gun home to secure it and intended to navigate Feed My Sheep's connections to secure a permit to legally possess it.

Before he could do that, though, the family was arrested on ammunition and gun charges because Jason did not have a license to legally possess firearms and ammo in Dominica, according to the Groggs and local news reports. The family’s local attorney, Jilane-Milani Prevost, did not respond to interview requests before IndyStar's deadline.

“My wife and my two daughters were essentially in a cell that was 4 feet by less than 10 feet for seven days. It was just it was incredibly inhumane,” Jason Grogg said. He is accusing the government of trying to extort him as a foreign national. Dominica’s Public Prosecutions Office did not respond to request for comment.

“They said if you plead guilty to this ammunition and gun charges then then we will let your wife and your kids go so it was it was a matter of I had to do that— I had to plead guilty to those charges,” Grogg said. And, he did after spending seven days in jail. He also paid the fine.

Jason said he can appeal later. A judge at the East Caribbean Supreme Court ruled the government of Dominica illegally held the three underage younger children.

The U.S. State Department Bureau of Consular Affairs in Washington D.C. would not confirm whether it sent a representative to Domenica to look into the Grogg family arrest and the children's detention.

“We are aware of reports of the arrest of U.S. citizens in Dominica. Due to privacy considerations, we have no further comment at this time,” a spokesperson said via email. The federal agency assumes a limited role in these interactions, noting on its website that when a U.S. citizen is arrested abroad it does not always provide legal representation or get them out of jail.

Jason had been out of jail for several days when he was rearrested. Authorities detained him at the airport, where he says he was attempting to travel to the U.S. Consulate in Barbados. He was jailed for roughly another seven days on customs charges alleging the family evaded paying duties on items they brought to the country. The next court date is in February.

“They’re just kicking it months and months down the road and it makes it exponentially more expensive for me,” he said.

The legal troubles have turned the Groggs' life upside down. Jason Grogg said he feels he's being lumped in with murderers and other criminals for what he claims is an innocent mistake.

"The government of Dominica has my passport. And I have to go, I have to walk down to the nearest town, sign the bail book three times a week — Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday when there's people signing the books who are out on bail for murder," he said. "They're signing it like maybe once every other week. It's clearly disproportionate."