Today is Wednesday, January 31, 2024.    The MAGA movement is in hysterics over what pop star Taylor Swift is up to these days and the magnitude of her power over millions of her diehard fans is making the right-wing world blow a gasket.   She must be laughing all the way to the bank, as the saying goes.   Here’s an online article analyzing why the MAGA retards are obsessed with her these days and the title of the piece is “Here’s the real reason why right-wing media figures are targeting Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce.”   The analysis is provided by Oliver Darcy.  

Darcy begins his analysis by stating “The movement that once championed small, business-friendly government is now led by far-right media forces hoping to cash in on attention from raging culture wars, sealing off its adherents from the rest of society.”  As a result of the far-right retards’ intrusion into American life, a subset of America actually purports to boycott Disney because of one fascistic governor’s war with the family-friendly company out in Florida, the company Bud Light for its use of a transgender spokesperson for its product, the pharmaceutical company Pfizer for its production of life-saving COVID-19 vaccines, Major League Baseball for its inclusionary policies, and now Taylor Swift, a generational icon and one of the most successful artists of all time. 

Staff writer for The Atlantic Charlie Warzel, who covers the intersection of politics, technology, and culture, has said, “There’s something striking about watching the far-right tying itself in knots and attacking Swift and [her boyfriend Travis] Kelce that demonstrates how badly the far-right media has alienated itself from most of society.”    Commenting on how stupid the far-right’s campaign against Swift really is, Warzel mentions, “they’ve built out this alternate universe and reality of grievance and it feels like instead of using it to wage an effective culture war, they’re fully lost in it and can’t see that they’ve chosen as their primary enemy the person with the literal highest approval rating in American life right now.” 

“This isn’t the first time it’s happened,” Warzel added.  ”The far right is systematically alienating itself from many of the institutions and people that normal Americans frequent, like, and associate themselves with.  And I don’t think they can see how exhausting and off-putting that is to people who don’t spend their days mainlining Fox News or on X.”  

The only reason why far-right media personalities declare war on popular institutions like Disney and celebrities like Swift is that it makes business sense and it translates into extra media attention and monetary rewards.   

Talking candidly about how the Republican Party is a shadow of its former self, Evan Siegfried, a GOP strategist who has written extensively about how Republicans can try to attract new voters to their causes (all they need to do is give Donald J. Trump the boot, for starters) said, “Right now, the GOP does not seem to have a real interest in growing, but rather prefers to stick with grievance politics.” 

The problem here with the noise over Taylor Swift and these other ridiculous nonissues is that lies and conspiracy theories can cause enormous harm to the body politic.   These figures who now traffic in mis- and disinformation have amassed too much power in the Republican Party, thanks to the ultimate liar leading it, Donald Chump.   A fact is that right-wing media stars have far more power over the GOP’s direction than most of its actual leaders, like “Bitch” McConnell.  

The problem for the diminishing few in the GOP who hunger for responsible conservative governance is that these MAGA media celebrities are leading this bereft party down a terrible path of isolation, which could ultimately result in its irrelevance with the rest of society.   These conspiracy talk show hosts have little-to-no-incentive to behave in a way that results in Republicans getting elected to higher office.  In fact, arguably it’s just the opposite.   The right-wing media kingdom thrives when Democrats are in office and there are political opponents whom they can demonize.    They couldn’t do this if Republicans were in office. 

Concluding with the sentiments of Alyssa Farah Griffin, the former Trump White House communications director turned vocal critic of the former president, Darcy quotes her as saying, “I cannot think of a dumber political fight to pick than one with the Swifts.”   Griffin provided this view on The View in yesterday’s program. 

As I see it, let these misguided racist, homophobic, transphobic, xenophobic repugnicans continue their losing strategy of targeting well-liked institutions like Disney, Bud Light, and now, Taylor Swift all the way to the polls in 2024 and see how badly they will be defeated at the ballot box.   

As for a likely matchup between Drumpf and Biden, a new poll thankfully portrays Biden as leading his opponent, the insurrectionist known as Herr Drumpf, in an online article for the Washington Examiner entitled “Biden boosted by women as he builds lead over Trump in new poll” by Rachel Schilke.   This is very promising news, in my opinion.

Thus President Joe Biden leads former faux president Donald Drumpf among registered voters, new polling shows, thanks to the growing gender gap of support between the incumbent and his predecessor.

A new Quinnipiac University national poll released today found Biden with a 6-point lead over Drumpf in a hypothetical general election matchup, 50 percent to 44 percent.  This is a significant shift from the last poll in December 2023, when the survey found a head-to-head contest between Biden and Trump was “too close to call” at 47 percent to 46 percent, respectively.

The new poll noted an increase in Biden’s support from female voters.  Up from 53 percent in December, 58 percent of women said they support the president.

The shift in female support for the incumbent comes days after Trump was ordered to pay former Elle columnist E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million in punitive and compensatory damages for his denial of her claims that he raped her in New York in the 1990s.  He was found liable for defamation and sexual assault of Carroll in a similar trial in May 2023.

Biden’s support among independents has grown since December 2023, as well.  The poll found 52 percent of independents would vote for Biden in a matchup this November, a 6-point increase from the end of last year.

The only issue in the poll is Republican candidate Nikki Haley showing a lead over Biden, 47 percent to 42 percent, in a two-person contest between the former ambassador to the United Nations and the president.   Haley’s campaign has suggested that Democrats are afraid of a matchup between Biden and Haley, but this appears very unlikely, given that Drumpf unfortunately will be the nominee once more. 

Haley national spokeswoman Olivia Perez-Cubas said in a statement, “The Democrats are salivating at the idea of running against Trump again and they’re terrified of running against Nikki Haley.”   She added, “Trump lost in 2018, 2020, and 2022, and Democrats know he’ll be a drag on the entire Republican Party in 2024.  With Nikki on the ticket, Republicans will win up and down the ballot from the White House to the Senate to statehouses across the country.”   I doubt that Haley will persevere in a two-way contest between her and Biden.  This is also an unfit candidate, in my opinion, and she will demonstrate this as the campaign heats up for her.

It’s been three weeks already, but I forgot to give credit to France for appointing its first out gay prime minister, Gabriel Attal, by President Emmanuel Macron.  On Tuesday, the 34-year-old prime minister gave his first major speech to Parliament, pledging to support farmers and workers.    His speech was covered in an online Advocate article by Trudy Ring entitled “Gay French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal says his appointment shows the country’s evolution.”

In his first major address, Attal said, the nation was “tearing itself apart just 10 years ago over same-sex marriage,” but “being French in 2024 means . . . being able to be prime minister and openly gay.”  Telling the National Assembly, the lower house of France’s Parliament, this is “proof our country is moving and mindsets are evolving.” 

According to Agence France-Presse, Attal’s orientation has caused barely a ripple in France, which notes that any criticism of the new young prime minister has centered on being a “carbon copy” of President Emmanuel Macron. 

Attal was education minister before being appointed by Macron three weeks ago, after Elisabeth Borne resigned.   At that time, he was the most popular politician in France, and before that, he was minister of public works and public accounts.  At 34, he is the youngest minister in modern French history.

His former civil union partner, Stephane Sejourne, was recently named foreign minister as Macron reconfigured his cabinet. 

In the speech to the National Assembly, Attal pledged to support farmers, who have been protesting over their declining incomes.  He promised financial aid and limits on food imports, the Associated Press reports.   He also said the government would urge employers to increase workers’ pay and would tie unemployment benefits to requirements for job training and internships.   Work should pay more than “inactivity,” he said.

In addition, he said he would seek to recruit more doctors to France, take steps to address bullying in schools, reduce government bureaucracy, and try out a four-day work week for his administration’s employees. 

In conclusion, Attal said, “To be French in 2024 is to live in a country” that is seeking “stability, justice, and peace.”    All I can say is “viva la France” for its evolutionary step here in appointing an openly gay prime minister. 

The highlight of today was having dinner with our neighbor/friend, “Diane,” at Lucky Boy on Rockaway Turnpike at around 5:30.    We told Diane at the outset that dinner was on us as it was our thank-you for actually selecting Atticus at the animal shelter three weeks ago.   

When we got home, the 32″ cat sisal scratching post was waiting for us downstairs on the lobby table so I brought it upstairs and allowed Diane who was invited back to see Atticus to assemble the item with the tools enclosed.   We would have attempted to put it together tomorrow, but Diane insisted on doing it tonight, so we helped her with the task.   Now Atticus is enjoying it enormously.

Stay safe and be well. 

“Please take me to the gym with you,” it seems as if Atticus is pleading here.