Posted in Politics

Google’s Gemini & Grok Agree: GOP Gerrymandering Will Make Democrats Irrelevant Again

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Image of Gerrymandered America 🇺🇸 according to Grok (analysis below)

Unless one has been living outside the United States 🇺🇸 for an extended time (or distracted by the world of entertainment & sports), Americans are probably aware of the legal victory the Republicans achieved at the highest court of the land.

The Supreme Court has cleared the way for Texas to use a new congressional map that could help Republicans win five more U.S. House seats in the 2026 midterm election.

The decision released Thursday boosts the GOP’s chances of preserving its slim majority in the House of Representatives amid an unprecedented gerrymandering fight launched by President Trump, who has been pushing Texas and other GOP-led states to redraw their congressional districts to benefit Republicans.

National Public Radio

In response to Texas previously altering its maps, California decided to fight fire with fire & with the support of millions of voters, heavily gerrymandered its maps.

First a Democratic gerrymander pushed California House Republicans to the brink of extinction. Now they’re fighting each other for scraps.

In a state where Republicans had long counted on congressional races to exert some influence in Washington, just four of California’s 52 House seats are now safe for the GOP. And a decades-long slide for the party has reached a new nadir as Republicans surveying the landscape use words like “demoralized,” “massacred” and “obliteration.”

Politico

With the nation’s future on the line, it is expected that both Democrats & Republicans will redraw districts to secure victory in the 2026 midterm elections.

While this political race to the bottom will undoubtedly result in the votes of tens of millions of citizens becoming statistically irrelevant in virtually every state, it does beg the question, “Which party will benefit nationally from excessive gerrymandering‽”

Asking the assessment of artificial intelligence (which can, in seconds, analyze years of data), it appears gerrymandering does, in the long term, favor a party—news which will delight conservatives & horrify progressives across the shared United States of America 🇺🇸.

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AI image of how Google would reimagine a Gerrymandered America 🇺🇸. (Yes, the word Gerrymandered is misspelled. Google’s Gemi refused to correct the spelling in the image unfortunately).

Google’s Gemini: GOP For The Slight Win

According to Alphabet’s (formerly known as Google) artificial intelligence, Gemini, Republicans would have a slight edge over their progressive counterparts in both chambers of Congress.

While both the Republican and Democratic parties engage in partisan gerrymandering where they have the power to do so, the Republican Party has historically seen a greater net national benefit from the practice, primarily due to geographic distribution of voters. (National Library of Medicine) […]

The main reason Republicans have benefited more is related to where their voters live compared to Democratic voters, a phenomenon known as “geographic efficiency.”

  • Democratic Voters are “Packed”: Democratic voters are more heavily concentrated in dense urban areas. In a non-gerrymandered system, a Democratic-leaning district might win with 80% of the vote. When gerrymandering occurs, this concentration is often used to “pack” them into a few districts, leading to massive, wasted margins of victory in those districts. While Democrats win those seats, their surplus votes don’t help them win seats elsewhere.
  • Republican Voters are More “Cracked”: Republican voters are more widely and efficiently distributed across suburban, exurban, and rural areas. This distribution allows map-drawers to “crack” the votes of the opposition and create many districts where a Republican candidate can win by a narrow, but secure, margin (e.g., 52-55% of the vote). This translates more evenly into seats.

This geographic reality makes it easier for Republicans to achieve a majority of legislative seats with a smaller share of the statewide popular vote. […]

The key takeaway is that although Democrats and Republicans both use gerrymandering where they have control, the Republican Party gains a structural advantage nationally because of the pre-existing geographic clustering of Democratic voters. (The Harvard Gazette)

— Via Gemini by Google

Google’s AI analysis concludes that gerrymandering favors the GOP due to geography & the ability to reduce the influence of progressive voters.

Although Google’s assessment would displease Democrats everywhere, Grok’s evaluation will probably enrage progressives across the country.

Grok’s video analysis of how Gerrymandered America 🇺🇸 will look

Grok To GOP: The Gerrymandered World Is Your Oyster 🦪

According to Elon Musk’s favorite AI companion (Grok, not the other flirtatious AI), the Republican Party may end up losing a few battles, but ultimately win the political war.

If both parties were suddenly allowed and incentivized to aggressively gerrymander every single district in the United States with no legal or political restraints — meaning every state legislature (or independent commission) draws lines purely to maximize their own party’s seats — the Republicans would almost certainly end up with a structural, long-term majority in the House of Representatives, and an even larger structural advantage in the Senate. […]

If every state gerrymandered as aggressively as possible for whichever party controls the process, Republicans would gain a net of roughly 15–30 House seats compared with proportional or neutral maps.

In a national popular vote tie, Republicans would likely hold ≈255–270 seats (a solid to overwhelming majority); Democrats would need to win the national House popular vote by 5–8+ points to get a bare majority.

Long-term House control: Republicans (structural advantage of ~5–8 points) […]

The Senate is not district-based in the same way, but state boundaries are fixed, and each state gets two senators regardless of population. Gerrymandering districts doesn’t directly affect it. However, if we interpret the spirit of the question as “both parties try to maximize their power with no rules,” the relevant factor is state-level control (governorship + legislature) that can affect future statehood or other structural changes — but under current rules: […]

As of the 2020s, in a 50–50 national popular vote, Republicans typically control ≈52–54 Senate seats purely from the small-state bias.

There is literally nothing Democrats can do with redistricting to change this (short of adding new states, which is a separate conversation).

Senate control: Republicans (structural advantage of ~4–6 seats even in a tied national environment) […]

Bottom line: If America threw out all anti-gerrymandering rules and both parties went full nuclear on district lines, the House would become semi-permanently Republican (Democrats would need consistent national landslides to overcome it), and the Senate would remain semi-permanently Republican for geographic reasons that redistricting can’t touch.

Republicans win both chambers in the long run — and the House control wouldn’t even be particularly close most cycles.

— Via Grok by X

So both artificial intelligence apps agree that in future gerrymandered America 🇺🇸, progressives in the United States 🇺🇸 would have to resign themselves to being a minority party for the foreseeable future.

This would enable the Republicans to turn the USA 🇺🇸 into a supersized version of Hungary 🇭🇺 or Poland 🇵🇱, where progressives are all but pushed out of the political process & have to play constant defense against a determined conservative government.

So what can regular folks do to avoid a partisan future where team red always dominates team blue, & political parties use mob rule to rule over each other literally‽

Neutral Maps Or a Neutered Electorate

The most obvious answer is to end gerrymandering nationwide for both political parties. Democrats & Republicans both engage in gerrymandering, although the latter, as of late, has no shame about embracing this tactic.

Democrats may feel empowered to engage in a silly tit-for-tat political war with the GOP. Still, if the result means progressives lose over the next few decades, then their plan of mimicking Republicans’ tactics will backfire.

Instead, progressives—along with independents (or non-affiliated voters) & level-headed conservatives need to demand an end to gerrymandering for both parties.

The current path will only lead to America 🇺🇸 becoming a one-party-in-all-but-name nation, which will lead to corruption in the highest offices of the land & a lack of accountability by the electorate.

However, time is running out, & if voters do not find a way to make gerrymandering irrelevant, they risk their votes becoming irrelevant because of their current location.

Posted in Politics

Has Donald Trump Domesticated The Democrats‽

After eight senators voted with the GOP majority to reopen the government, it appears as if President Donald Trump has outlasted his political rivals & domesticated his opposition—forcing them to agree to his terms without surrendering anything in return.

AI video of donkeys (representing Democrats) pulling President Donald Trump in a golden carriage.

For those of you who are not in the loop, this video by Jon Stewart sums up what happened and why Democrats are despairing right now.

Jon Stewart in shock as the shut down ends without anything for progressives

But Why Did The Democrats Surrender‽

While numerous articles have been typed up explaining why the Democrats failed to present a unified front, ultimately it comes down to the general makeup of each party.

Democrats are overall pragmatic, while Republicans are principled. In essence, one party is willing to alter their approach to achieve a desired outcome, while the other party is willing to endure hardship to achieve their determined outcome.

The government shutdown was causing real-world havoc for Americans, ranging from halting or reducing food assistance to needy families to numerous flight cancellations to federal workers unable to pay their bills.

Both Democrats & Republicans were facing pressure from their local voters to “hold the line” (basically not surrender) & end the shutdown. Ultimately, the GOP chose not to surrender, while the Democrats surrendered by accepting a deal in which Republicans will theoretically honor—or not.

Senate Democrats are projecting optimism they’ll be able to strike a bipartisan deal to extend Obamacare subsidies in the coming weeks. But Senate Republicans have their own plans.

Republicans appear to be quickly pivoting from the debate around Affordable Care Act tax credits to developing their own health policy agenda, with many conservatives now feeling like they have the blessing of President Donald Trump to pursue alternative solutions to spiking insurance premiums. Among the ideas they’re considering is the creation of new health savings accounts. […]

But the fractured conversations among Republicans are promising to bog down negotiations as Obamacare beneficiaries begin to lock in their rates for the year ahead. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are starting to privately admit it’s likely too late to avert a major premium hike for millions of Americans in 2026.

— via Politico

In essence, the Democrats will once again walk away with nothing but soundbites, memes, & jokes. In contrast, the Republicans will walk away with the ability to shape policy that will affect (for better or worse) hundreds of millions of Americans 🇺🇸.

Posted in Politics

Trump To Terrorize Foes Via The Tax Man‽

The President of the United States 🇺🇸 intends to unleash the Internal Revenue Service (also known by the terrifying acronym as the IRS) upon donors to the Democratic Party & other political progressive allies.

AI video of Uncle Sam riding upon elephant while restraining donkeys.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that President Donald Trump’s administration was planning to install “allies” at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to target left-leaning groups.

Citing unnamed sources “familiar with the matter,” the Wall Street Journal reported that the Trump administration has been preparing “sweeping changes” to the IRS which “would allow the agency to pursue criminal inquiries of left-leaning groups more easily.”

“A senior IRS official involved in the effort has drawn up a list of potential targets that includes major Democratic donors,” the Journal said, with sources claiming that the administration intended to “install allies” of the president in the agency’s criminal investigation division.

— Via Mediate

Using the IRS to target political enemies is a maneuver used by authoritarian regimes, not democratic republics.

If Trump is openly weaponizing the tax authority against donors of a rival political party, what would stop him from using the same powers against people who criticize him‽

Such a move would stifle the First Amendment and threaten the free speech of every individual in the United States 🇺🇸.

Hopefully, Congress will present a united front against this obvious abuse of power. Americans should not be intimidated by the tax authority for the audacity of speaking out against corrupt politicians.

As V for Vendetta best summed it up:

V for Vendetta quote: “People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people.”

Discovered Via: @keithboykin on Threads

Posted in Politics

Fact Or Fiction‽ Potential US Law Could Revoke American Passports Over Political Speech

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Cartoon of Secretary of State Marco Rubio grabbing a passport. Image created with AI

I came across this alarming news courtesy of Spencer Hakimian on 𝕏, in which a Congressional bill would grant the State Department extraordinary powers to punish those deemed aiding foreign enemies of the state.

[Florida Republican Representative Brian] Mast’s new bill claims to target a narrow set of people. One section grants the secretary of state the power to revoke or refuse to issue passports for people who have been convicted — or merely charged — of material support for terrorism. […]

The other section sidesteps the legal process entirely. Rather, the secretary of state would be able to deny passports to people whom they determine “has knowingly aided, assisted, abetted, or otherwise provided material support to an organization the Secretary has designated as a foreign terrorist organization.”

The Intercept

Given the way the current administration wields power in America 🇺🇸, many folks fear they will be punished for their political views regarding foreign policy (especially regarding events happening in & around Israel 🇮🇱).

As long as they are not posting support for terrorist organizations (which no one should do!), they will be okay.

For example, criticizing the state of Israel 🇮🇱 will probably not result in a US citizen having their passport revoked (as the courts would frown on that government behavior).

However, expressing support for designated terrorist organizations like Islamic Jihad, Hamas, Hizbollah, et al, would easily make an individual a target for government inquiry under current laws (resulting in punishments worse than passports being suspended).

Posted in Politics

Democrats Cowered Before Donald Trump & Gave Him Extra Military Powers‽

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Democrats bowing before Donald Trump (AI Image)

In his opening segment, Jon Stewart accused the Democrats of not only being a rudderless party (as in they have no clear vision for America 🇺🇸) but also of cowering before Donald Trump as the Democrats as the latter surrendered to every demand issued by the Republicans.

Jon Stewart Knocks Dems’ Lack of Vision In Countering The Trump Agenda

However, the most frightening part of the show was afterward, when Jon Stewart interviewed Senator Chris Murphy from Connecticut.

Senator Chris Murphy – Democrats Need to Take More Risks & Make Government Work Again

Senator Chris Murphy: So that CR transferred a bunch of money out of programs that help regular people, right? There was money cut from housing programs & job training programs. That’s bad for this country. It gave the president new authorities that he didn’t have before the CR was passed.

Jon Stewart: What are the new authorities?

Senator Chris Murphy: So, for instance, one of them is that the president under the CR can start new military programs in the country that have not been authorized independently by Congress. And of course—

Jon Stewart: So it is authorized.

Senator Chris Murphy: Well, we don’t normally give that kind of open-ended authorization to a president.

Jon Stewart: Right.

Senator Chris Murphy: Certainly not at a time when the president is regularly, hourly, abusing his statutory & constitutional authority. It seems like a pretty bad time to give him additional new authorities.

Note: Time stamps for this conversation snippet are between 2:57-3:47

If Donald Trump can start new military programs that have not been authorized independently by Congress, then what are the exact limits of those powers‽ Is the President only allowed to use these powers outside of the United States 🇺🇸, or could those military programs be used domestically‽

Why would the Democrats even agree to give the “most corrupt President” (according to their words) this power if they suspect Donald Trump would abuse such power‽

Perhaps this is a non-issue & I am just being paranoid. But if the Democrats agreed to this, then what is the point of supporting them in their attempts to reign in Trump‽

Posted in Politics

Fact Or Fiction: Did Elon Musk Really Give A Nazi Salute‽

So, there is some controversy regarding this gesture from @ElonMusk at today’s Trump victory rally.

Elon Musk makes awkward gesture resembling a controversial salute

So did Elon Musk make a Nazi salute to a crowd of conservative Trump supporters‽ Let’s compare & contrast footage recorded during Nazi Germany 🇩🇪 almost a century ago…

…as well as salutes from modern-day Nazis, from Anders Breivik (a serial killer)…

…to a Nazi in Australia 🇦🇺.

So Did Elon Musk Give The Nazi Salute‽

The short answer is technically no, as Neo-Nazis usually raise the arm with the palm down when giving a salute, & do not start from the chest.

Was this wise for Elon Musk to do at a Trump rally‽ Probably not, as Elon Musk is already facing controversy for backing the Alternative for Deutschland (Germany) party, or AfD for short (who are considered by some the successor to the Nazi party).

Posted in Politics

Dear Donald Trump Haters: Ignore The Lady With The Red Dress 💃🏾

So there seems to her an uproar on Threads & X over Lindy Li—a Democrat fundraiser—for criticizing the Democratic Party & offering praise to Republicans.

Lindy Li on Fox News

It is understandable why many progressives & democrats are upset with Lindy Li, as they felt like she was on their side—especially after all of the praise & support she did on behalf of the Democratic Party.

However, those who oppose Donald Trump need to focus on the bigger picture & ignore the lady in the red dress. 💃🏾

Neo distracted by the lady in the red dress

Right now, there is a crisis of epic proportions in the progressive world that is far more concerning than Lady Lindy Li’s lashing out against her former leaders.

Consider the following fiascos:

Institutions previously viewed as allies or at least neutral will become hostile towards progressives in 2025, & many liberals have yet to figure out how to prepare for a world that will be hostile towards their views.

Instead of wasting time venting against a former compatriot, progressives need to organize meetups and strategize how to provide notable counterweights against former institutions they previously relied upon.

So, instead of being distracted by Lindy Li, it would be wiser for progressives to use their energies toward replacing unreliable media outlets and the politicians in their party who (out of self-interest) have abandoned them.

Posted in Politics

Donald Trump Wants To Delete Daylight Savings Time‽ 💃🏾🪩🕺🏾🥳🎉

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Artificial Intelligence Image of Robot in front of Black Hole

The President-elect proposes that America 🇺🇸 abandon its asinine tradition of moving the clocks forward an hour and hopes Republicans in Congress can do the job.

The Republican Party will use its best efforts to eliminate Daylight Saving Time, which has a small but strong constituency, but shouldn’t! Daylight Saving Time is inconvenient, and very costly to our Nation. (Donald Trump on Truth Social)

Switching permanently to Standard Time (also known as Normal Time) would make many Americans’ lives easier, as they would wake up and sleep normally, just like most humans on planet Earth.

For those arguing to make Daylight Savings Time permanent, the United States 🇺🇸 already tried that experiment with disastrous results.

In the early 1970s, America was facing an energy crisis so the government tried an experiment. Congress passed a law to make daylight saving time permanent year round, but just for two years. The thinking was more sunlight in the evening would reduce the nation’s energy consumption.

It didn’t work, said David Prerau, one of the nation’s foremost experts on the issue. […]

Americans do not like changing their clocks, but they disliked even more going to work and school in the dark for months — the price the nation had to pay for more sunlight in winter evenings. 

It also didn’t reduce energy consumption as intended. In 1974, Congress repealed the law — before the two-year experiment was even up. (National Public Radio)

America 🇺🇸 should ditch Daylight Savings Time altogether as it serves no useful purpose for most residents of this great Republic.

If people, organizations, schools, and businesses want to start an hour earlier for whatever reason, they can do it on their own time without dragging the rest of the nation along to experience their madness.

Discovered via: Yasharali & EWilliams1

Note: This is one of the few times Donald Trump and I are in agreement. Crazy world we live in!

Posted in Politics

Donald Trump Threatens World War E (For Economy) Against Dollar Hating Nations

Joker from The Dark Knight

America’s 🇺🇸 once & future President, Donald Trump, is now threatening to descend the world into economic chaos because a few nations decided they did not want to use the American dollar 💵 as their preferred international currency.

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Screenshot of Donald Trump threatening tariffs

The idea that the BRICS Countries are trying to move away from the Dollar while we stand by and watch is OVER. We require a commitment from these Countries that they will neither create a new BRICS Currency, nor back any other Currency to replace the mighty U.S. Dollar or, they will face 100% Tariffs, and should expect to say goodbye to selling into the wonderful U.S. Economy. They can go find another “sucker!” There is no chance that the BRICS will replace the U.S. Dollar in International Trade, and any Country that tries should wave goodbye to America. (@realDonaldTrump)

BRICS originally stood for Brazil 🇧🇷, Russia 🇷🇺, India 🇮🇳, China 🇨🇳 & South Africa 🇿🇦, & the acronym was created by Jim O’Neill (a Goldman Sachs economist).

Previously called BRIC (South Africa 🇿🇦 was added later), it was a simple acronym used by investors who wanted to invest in emerging, albeit promising, international markets.

BRICS has the potential to theoretically dominate the global economy, which makes it an attractive prospect for investors & a worrying economic rival for American politicians.

Years later, more nations have joined the BRICS Alliance. However, if Donald Trump follows through on his threat, his tariffs would affect more than the founding five members.

His threat was directed at countries in the so-called BRIC alliance, which consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates.

Turkey, Azerbaijan and Malaysia have applied to become members and several other countries have expressed interest in joining. […]

The dollar represents roughly 58% of the world’s foreign exchange reserves, according to the IMF and major commodities like oil are still primarily bought and sold using dollars. The dollar’s dominance is threatened, however, with BRICS’ growing share of GDP and the alliance’s intent to trade in non-dollar currencies — a process known as de-dollarization. (Associated Press)

Since launching a global tariff war would result in a worldwide recession (as those nations would respond with counter-tariffs of their own), I am skeptical Congress would allow the President to descend the entire planet into economic ruin.

But suppose Republicans decide to allow Trump to dictate America’s 🇺🇸 fate off an economic cliff. In that case, the GOP will have no one to blame but themselves when food prices become unaffordable for the upper middle class (let alone for the rest of us!).

Posted in Politics

Theory: Why Donald Trump Is Not Disclosing Who Is Funding His White House Transition

Many pundits and legal experts are alarmed that President-elect Donald Trump has declined to sign the ethics agreements required to gain access to various government agencies and cabinet offices.

This is a requirement for the incoming administration to receive classified details for potential cabinet members and to facilitate a smooth transition between Presidents before January 20th.

Donald Trump refusing to sign off on ethics pledge

However, Donald Trump has refused to sign any documents, which could be over Trump’s reluctance to expose who is funding his transition team.

“This failure undercuts the fundamental purpose of presidential transition laws,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren wrote in a letter to the Biden administration on Thursday. She added, “In effect, President-elect Trump is undermining his administration’s ability to manage urgent national security threats, health and safety threats, and serious conflicts of interest starting on day one of his presidency.”

Historically, presidential transitions — including Trump’s 2016 transition — have signed an agreement to receive financial assistance from the General Services Administration, which is responsible for monitoring the transition process. By accepting the funds and signing the agreement, transitions are agreeing to abide by certain conditions that would limit individual donations to $5,000 and mandate transparency regarding donors. Without disclosing donors, foreign influence is also a concern since there are no restrictions on international donations to transitions, unlike presidential campaigns. (Rolling Stone, emphasis mine).

The @RollingStone has more info regarding this fiasco, so it is worth reading the whole article. However, I believe there are two reasons why Donald Trump refuses to sign documents.

  • Elon Musk is funding the transition, which would make sense as Musk seems to be always around Donald Trump, & according to @theinformation, Musk is oddly present during phone calls to Trump (which is eerie).
  • Donald Trump is receiving funding from foreign sources, which although legal—so long as they are directly not coming from sanctioned or hostile nations (like Russia 🇷🇺, China 🇨🇳, etcetera)—is extremely alarming

Currently, there is very little the government can do to force Trump to sign the ethics agreements, which means we might experience some chaos once Donald Trump becomes President again on January 20th.