The Rise and Fall of the Never Trump Machine.

By: Hayden Ludwig

December 26, 2024

Kamala Harris and the Democrat establishment may have blown over a billion dollars to lose the 2024 election, but it’s their Never Trump allies most likely facing oblivion after President Donald Trump’s historic victory.

If so, good riddance.

But don’t be too quick to count out the likes of Bill Kristol, Charlie Sykes, Liz Cheney, or the operatives behind groups such as the Lincoln Project who helped organize the Left’s 2020 campaign to oust Trump from the White House. They may still play a role in the second Trump “resistance” beginning in January — if Democrats will let them.

At the heart of that effort is a set of insider groups — niche publications like The Bulwark and think tanks for exiled ex-conservatives like the Niskanen Center — that led the old GOP’s exiles into the wilderness, forged a powerful political force for undermining Trump’s Republican base, then pledged itself fully to the Harris campaign and the regime that supported it. At each step of the way, these “principled conservatives” grew tangibly more liberal, more hawkish on America’s forever wars, and more fanatical in their hatred of the America First movement.

By November 2024, however, Never Trump Inc. ended up friendless and defeated.

Moar: https://tomklingenstein.com/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-never-trump-machine/

DARPA's "Theory of Mind" Program Aims to Predict and Influence Behavior, Raising Privacy Concerns.

This ambitious to say the least, and "upcoming" program, the existence of which has now - for some reason - been made public as a "special notice," is framed as targeting adversaries and better equipping those making decisions within the US security apparatus, to either deter, or "incentivize" said adversaries.

The announcement could be there to act as a deterrent in and of itself, and there's no doubt the US, and many other countries around the world are invested in finding ways to predict and control people.

Moar: https://reclaimthenet.org/darpa-theory-of-mind-algorithmic-behavior-prediction-eric-davis

NewsGuard determines what is "disinformation". Been digging on this company…

Check out its website at newsguard.com. The staff and BOD are quite the bunch.

In November, a member of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Brendan Carr - who President-elect Donald Trump has nominated to head the agency - sent a letter to major tech companies, asking for information about their work with NewsGuard.

The company, set up in 2018, is now accusing Carr of potentially violating the First Amendment by posing these questions, and claims that its work "does not involve censorship."

NewsGuard responded to Carr's letter with its own in early December, stating the company was "surprised" to learn about the commissioner's inquiries from the media.

It might appear unclear why this would be surprising, but NewsGuard's co-CEOs quickly explain the "surprise" was caused by Newsmax reporting about Carr's letter exclusively, and Carr citing reporting by this conservative outlet as a source.

The "reliability and credibility rater" then pivots to position itself as "apolitical and transparent" compared to Meta and Alphabet, which the NewsGuard noted have their own rating systems.

The tech giants are using "non-transparent criteria, understandably making conservatives and other publishers skeptical," the NewsGuard letter states: In trying to explain why looking into its activities might violate the First Amendment, NewsGuard's work is defined by some advocates as "offering opinions" regarding which site is credible and to what degree - and that this represents speech.

Moar: https://reclaimthenet.org/

Term limits will hopefully prevent politicians from turning the House of Representatives into a nursing home.

Notice she says some "stay forever" instead of mentioning they're elected by the people (or are they?).

Rep. Annie Kuster, a 68-year-old Democrat who's represented a New Hampshire district for 12 years, told the Boston Globe that she's trying to make room for younger people in Congress.

"I'm trying to set a better example," Kuster said. "I think there are colleagues, some of whom are still very successful and very productive but others who just stay forever."

Kuster added that she's "not the best gladiator" to serve as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to reassume office and Democrats gird for at least two years of full GOP control of Congress and the White House.

She's set to be replaced by Maggie Goodlander, a 38-year-old Democrat who most recently worked in the Department of Justice under President Joe Biden.

According to the 2024 MassMutual Retirement Happiness Study, the average American retires at age 62, which is when early Social Security benefits become available. Many Americans work past that age, either due to financial pressures or a sense of fulfillment from work.

Moar: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/68-year-old-congresswoman-says-she-s-retiring-to-set-a-better-example-amid-concern-over-aging-politicians/ar-AA1wwTgk