One more quick comment on the coup taking place in DC. One thing that strikes me is the consistent cruelty of the actions. Thousands of civil servants, in the US and abroad, told that their job is over immediately, with no time to plan for what is always a difficult, disruptive event. No time to change the kids’ school, no time to do anything but frantically look for another income-producing job. Donnie and Musk say “Yeah, that’s tough, but so what? F you.” Cruel.

Then there’s Convict Donnie himself ordering the immediate eviction of the Coast Guard’s previous leader with three hours’ notice! That’s petty, vindictive, and cruel.

Shutting down USAID completely, rather than focusing on culture war funding but preserving true aid to those who are hungry, diseased, and homeless, is cruel. Donnie and Musk take the usual conservative position – it’s not our job to help those “other people”.

Sending immigrants, illegal or otherwise, to Guantanamo Bay is just cruelty theater. I’m all for cleaning up the immigrant mess, but we don’t have to be assholes about it.

The mass release of the J6 prisoners, done by a lazy and thoughtless Commander in Chief, was cruel. All the officers who defended the Capital were disrespected, and some folks are now in danger.

There are other examples. But cruelty is a virtue signal among the far right, and Donnie understands that. By stepping on someone else’s neck, he signals that he’s powerful and should be feared.

Update: Saw this quote in a website comment today, and I loved it. It’s not exactly on the theme of cruelty, but it’s sooooo true:

“There’s nothing a conservative hates more than conservation.”