bee hive

[Noah Sombrero]

Jamelle Bouie, NY Times.

"This week in The Texas Monthly, I read a troubling profile of Tim
Dunn, a 68-year-old billionaire Texas oilman and lavish financier for
right-wing extremists in the state.

“In the past two years,” Russell Gold writes, “Dunn has become the
largest individual source of campaign money in the state by far.” He
has spent, through his political action committee, millions of dollars
targeting Republicans who don’t meet his ideological litmus tests of
opposition to public schools, opposition to renewable energy and
support for tax cuts and draconian anti-abortion laws.

A pastor who once said that only Christians should hold leadership
positions in government, Dunn sees himself as someone who is on a
religious mission of sorts and has devoted his time and wealth to
imposing his ultraconservative politics and fundamentalist beliefs on
as many Texans as possible.

I highly recommend reading the entire profile, which is a
comprehensive look at a very powerful man. I was disturbed. There is
his wealth and influence, yes. But there is also his worldview,
captured in the opening scene of the piece. Dunn makes an unfavorable
comparison between human societies and bee hives:

“When everybody does what they do best for the hive, it prospers,” he
said. “If you’re a guard, then be a guard. If you’re a scout, be a
scout.” Dunn then contrasted the cooperation of the hive with the
inexorable tumult of modern politics. “Why do people hate politics?”
he asked. “Everybody’s making it all about themselves,” he said. “Does
it create harmony? Are people there trying to serve the body with
their gifts? That’s why you hate it. It’s an example of what not to
do.”

By itself, this passage reads as fairly innocuous. But when read with
Dunn in mind — a straightforward Christian nationalist whose allies in
Texas politics are leading the charge to ban books, suppress the
rights of L.G.B.T.Q. Texans and restrict reproductive health care — it
takes on a more ominous cast.

The passage, in that context, seems to capture the perspective of a
man who does not believe in democratic freedom — a freedom rooted in
political and social equality — as much as he believes in the freedom
of the master, which is to say the freedom to rule and subordinate
others. It’s a tyrannical freedom, one that rests on the idea that the
world is nothing but a set of overlapping hierarchies, and that if you
do not sit at the top of one, then you must be made to serve those who
do. You’ll find freedom within your role, and nowhere else.

This is not a new or foreign conception of freedom — it is very much a
part of the American political tradition, one of the more dissonant
notes in our collective heritage. The issue, today, is twofold. First,
we have a powerful political movement, led by Donald Trump, that
defines itself in terms of this freedom. And second, we’ve allowed
such a grotesque accumulation of wealth that figures like Dunn can
wield tremendous influence over the political system.

I’ve written before that the fight to save American democracy will
involve more than beating Trump at the ballot box. Finding ways to
radically limit the political reach of the super wealthy is part of
what I mean."

The entire profile:
https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/billionaire-tim-dunn-runs-texas/?campaign_id=129&emc=edit_jbo_20240217&instance_id=115444&nl=jamelle-bouie&regi_id=168737577&segment_id=158481&te=1&user_id=76ec685a6aafbeed5231ac9a25a2d59f
--
Noah Sombrero

[Wilson]

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/george-soros-prosecutors-reform_n_5af2100ae4b0a0d601e76f06

[Noah Sombrero]

It's funny isn't it.
--
Noah Sombrero

[Noah Sombrero]

On Sun, 18 Feb 2024 12:09:52 -0500, Noah Sombrero <fed...@fea.st>
wrote:

Do you suppose that george could spend enough money to change your
opinion about something or who to vote for?
--
Noah Sombrero

[Wilson]

Soros' activities here isn't about changing anyone's mind, as such.
It's about electing people who agree with his worldview. And that
literally is what the author accuses Trump of doing.

[Noah Sombrero]

Right, so he needs to convince people to vote his way to do that.
Could he convince you with a billion dollar ad campaign?

> And that
>literally is what the author accuses Trump of doing.

Of course he does, and so does that dunn guy from tx.

It is all about cheerleading, right? It is not that our side is so
good (taken for granted), it is the other side is so bad. Be
motivated.

Onetwothreefour
Who yagonnavotefor
Our side, that's us!!!

The tx guy profiler says dunn spends huge sums getting people elected
whose views don't agree with most texans. Now, how would that be
possible?

Cheerleading? Maybe.
--
Noah Sombrero

[Wilson]

The idea that politicians don't actually do what the people expect them
to do is as old as democracy. For example, Woodrow Wilson ran his 1916
campaign for 2nd term on the slogan on “He kept us out of the war”. And
then the US was at war very soon after the election.

The Soros effort was to get his preferred candidates elected in state
and local attorney general positions. Most people don't pay attention
to that job and it's often overlooked. But it has a lot of control in
deciding how charges are brought after an arrest. Or not brought.

As to Dunn, he probably isn't far out of step with a lot of Texans. The
writer is pushing a viewpoint. Calling Dunn a Christian Nationalist is
red meat for certain people, to get them riled up.

[Noah Sombrero]

Still, his effort had to be directed towards those who would vote.

>As to Dunn, he probably isn't far out of step with a lot of Texans. The
>writer is pushing a viewpoint. Calling Dunn a Christian Nationalist is
>red meat for certain people, to get them riled up.

Yes, red meat for the readers of texasmonthly. Same as dunn's effort
is red meat for christian agenda types.

So how many millions would soros need to spend to convince you to vote
for one of his guys? Or are he and dunn simply cheerleading?
--
Noah Sombrero