The Sydney Morning Herald last month:

Hatred against trans people and a “radical precedent” in anti-discrimination law would flow from a lesbian group being allowed to invite only biological females to its events, Victoria’s peak union body has warned.

It’s not hatred for lesbians to have lesbian-only events. Women are the only people who can be lesbians; men can never be lesbians. Men who call themselves lesbians remain men. It’s not “hatred” to understand that men can’t be lesbians.

An application by the recently formed Lesbian Action Group to lawfully exclude trans women from a “Lesbians Born Female” event has caused a heated rift, with equality and inclusion advocates squaring off against women’s rights groups.

What about equality for women? What about inclusion of women? What about supporting equality and inclusion and rights for women?

The Lesbian Action Group, an organisation formed by veterans of the lesbian rights movement of the 1980s and 1990s, wants to stage its event at the government-funded Victorian Pride Centre in Melbourne next month to celebrate International Lesbian Day, and has applied for a five-year exemption from the Sex Discrimination Act.

So the Sex Discrimination Act requires everyone to pretend that men can be women?

The application triggered a flurry of submissions, published by the Australian Human Rights Commission, which echo arguments raging more broadly within political and feminist circles and women’s sporting and cultural institutions over how to balance gender inclusion and sex-based rights.

It can’t be done, not the way it’s being framed currently. It’s not possible to “balance” women’s rights with an imperative to pretend that some men are women. If men can invade and take every single thing women have just by saying “I’m a woman” then women have no rights.

In a joint submission, 15 community and legal groups – including Equality Australia, the Human Rights Law Centre, Transgender Victoria and Dykes on Bikes, which leads the annual Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade – said while it was important for lesbians to gather to celebrate their culture, it was unnecessary to exclude trans women and other queer groups.

Well you can’t have both.

The kind of trans woman who feels entitled to go to a lesbian event is the kind of trans woman who will want to use up all the oxygen at the event. Men who want to destroy everything women have by invading it and taking it are not going to stay politely in the background at lesbian events, they’re going to dominate everything they can.

The day after this masthead first reported the details of the Lesbian Action Group’s application, Pride Centre management wrote a letter to the group setting out its reasons. “Your request to hold an event that excludes and seeks to legally discriminate against people on the bases of their sex, sexuality and gender is inconsistent with the Pride Centre’s purpose,” the group was told.

So what is the Pride Centre’s purpose? To be a centre for everyone? Then what does the “Pride” part mean? It used to mean lesbian and gay; is that all over now?

Victorian Trades Hall assistant secretary Wilhelmina Stracke said the name of the proposed event revealed it true purpose.

“The Lesbian Action Group seeks to exclude transgender people from their events because they refuse to accept that transgender women are women,” Stracke told the commission. “This application seeks to exclude and discriminate against the most marginalised and discriminated against group of people in Victoria for no reason other than that the applicants dislike transgender people.”

But transgender women are not women; that’s what the “transgender” modifier means. If they were women there would be no need for the word “transgender” in front.

And who says men who call themselves women are the most marginalised and discriminated against group of people in Victoria? Based on what?

And why does Stracke equate knowing that men are men with “dislike” of anyone?

The Victorian Women’s Guild denounced the Victorian Pride Centre’s refusal to stage the event, noting centre management had previously allowed its meeting rooms to be used for trans-only functions.

What’s up with that then? Why is trans-only ok but lesbian-only forbidden?

Anna Kerr, a Sydney lawyer whose Feminist Legal Clinic specialises in domestic violence cases, said an exemption should not be necessary to hold a lesbian-only event.

“This application clearly demonstrates how extreme trans activism has adversely impacted on [harmed] the rights of women and girls,” she submitted.

“If the protections for gender identity, whether at state or federal level, were interpreted in a manner that did not inappropriately conflate the concepts of sex and gender identity, these conflicts would not arise.”

But destroying women’s rights is the whole point.

That’s nice. UN Women celebrates International Lesbian Day by shoving lesbians aside to celebrate men who call themselves lesbians. How solidaritious.

Women speak.

Vice tells us

…we are recirculating this article by British poet, model and activist Kai Isaiah-Jamal about how allies can make the world a better place for trans people. 

But what if we have no ambition to “make the world a better place for trans people”? What if we’re not moved to single out that one particular (very small) set of people for extra concern and pampering? What if, on the contrary, we think they should stop making all these demands for extra special treatment?

Let’s cut the shit – there’s no positive way a cis person can dictate or speak on a life that you do not live and a world you do not have to navigate as a trans person.

See that’s a really bad way to start a plea – let alone a demand – for extra concern and pampering. That kind of start is one reason I have no ambition to single trans people out for extra concern and pampering. They keep demanding extra concern and pampering, in a world riddled with wars and genocides and famines and natural disasters and persecution. It’s ugly. It’s ugly and selfish and precious and utterly clueless. There are literally billions of people on the planet who need extra concern far more than “trans” people in the UK or the US.

There’s that, and then much more trivial but still irritating is this business of starting a “be nicer to us” with “first of all shut up.”

In a world where misconstrued ideas about trans folk – what we need, what we deserve, how we should live – fall from the lips of so many cis people, we need to end the debate on whether trans womxn are womxn, whether we should be able to use the correct bathrooms and changing rooms, and whether we should be parents or teachers. Because it’s not a debate. We are entitled to our human rights just as much as everyone else.

That’s cute, that “fall from the lips” – as if there’s something especially disgusting about “cis” people (meaning women, of course) saying things. Again, great way to persuade us to coddle and cuddle and embrace you.

And the thinking is no good. Of course trans people are entitled to their human rights like everyone else. It’s not a human right to force people to agree that men can be women by saying they are women. It’s not a human right for men to use women’s changing rooms and toilets. It’s not a human right to be a teacher. It’s not even a human right to be a parent in the sense of “no matter what.” If a parent is abusive or dangerous, that parent may lose parental rights.

What we actually need are ears, eyes, and action. We need you to listen to our problems and our voices. We need you to be on the look out for how you can use your privilege for our benefit and not yours, and how to actively respond to, argue with, and call out transphobia in your everyday conversations and the national news.

They need us to give them all our time and attention.

No.

There follows a list of 100 ludicrous demands.

17. If you are called out for being offensive, do not argue. This is not a debate. Apologise. Take a moment to reflect. If necessary, leave or give the space over to those you have offended or upset.

That’s convenient, isn’t it. Trans people are always right and the rest of us are always wrong; no exceptions.

18. Never try to argue with a trans person that something isn’t transphobic.

See above.

29. Talk to the generation above you – your parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles. You can’t always change traditional mindsets, but you can give them a new perspective.

People who are older than you are always wrong. There are no exceptions to this rule.

30. Support the generation below; speak to young kids. Make them aware that gender is a spectrum and they don’t have to commit to one gender for their whole life. Educate them on their freedom and choices.

People who are older than you are always wrong except when we are talking to people younger than we are. There are no exceptions to this rule.

39. If you are dating a trans person, try to understand their triggers. For example, me and my partner call my menstrual cycle “Lucifer.” So if I text her to say “Lucifer is here,” she knows to bring chocolate and pillows. You can also try covering tampon or pad boxes and wrapping with cute cartoons or their favourite colour.

40. Buy a whole truckload of pacifiers.

51. Do not make someone feel bad after dragging you for something you have done that is deemed transphobic. Your guilt is not my guilt to feel.

Again – it’s impossible to stress this enough – we are always right, and you are always wrong.

52. Don’t ask what gender dysphoria feels like because it’s a stupid question and there’s no way you can try to understand it.

But you have to act on the assumption that it’s real and powerful and the cause of everything. Clear?

54. Do anything you can to stop trans exclusionary radical feminists (TERFs) from leaving stickers, leaflets etc. Tear down everything you see associated with them.

Feminist women are the enemy. Clear?

63. Offer shelter, money, food etc. The basics of survival are hard for trans folk. If you have enough to spare, try to offer.

Give us all your money. We want it, you have it, hand it over. Now.

70. Decolonise the way you think of gender. Remind yourself that these social constructs are postcolonial issues that the western world have pushed onto people.

Remind yourself that whales can fly and there are fairies at the bottom of the garden.

75. Don’t forget that racism is rife in the queer community and trans people of colour are often the most vulnerable. Protect us.

Wait what? I thought the queer community was the best, the perfect, the only community? It’s rife with racism now? Am I in the wrong classroom?

77. Sex work is a service. Again, this is not up for debate. Do not try to stop trans folk from advocating for and implementing their own safety measures. Do not hide your prejudice against sex workers with fake worry.

This is not up for debate and neither is anything else I say. Shut up and do what I tell you.

88. Fight for our rights. Block and report pages or people spreading hate, too.

Rights are for us. Blocking and reporting is for everyone else.

96. Do not deny your privilege. If you tell me that being a cis heterosexual white man doesn’t mean you haven’t “had it rough,” I will tell you that you are wrong.

And if you tell me that I am wrong, you will be wrong. I am always right, you are always wrong. See above.

98. Not everything needs labels. As my grandmother would say: “Baby, some things just be as they be.”

Which is the opposite of 1-97 but never mind that – avoiding contradiction is for cis people.

This. This is what I keep talking about. Self self self – it’s a trap! Get out of it! There’s a big huge enormous world out there that’s not You: go out and explore it, and do what you can to improve it in some way. Look outward. Let your “personality” and your “identity” and your “true self” take care of themselves. No one is as interested in them as you are, so wriggle out of the trap and embrace the bigger world.

It’s way more than keeping busy and distracted, in my view, although it does of course do that. But you can be “distracted” by interests and activities that are of vast intrinsic value, so distraction is the least of their merits. Break out of the prison of self at all costs.

Narges Mohammadi:

This year’s Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Iranian human rights activist and journalist Narges Mohammadi. The award citation said Mohammadi received the prize for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and for promoting human rights and freedom for all.

The chairperson of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Berit Reiss-Andersen, made the announcement in Oslo. Reiss-Andersen began by quoting the slogan of Iranian human rights campaigners, in Farsi and English: “Zan, Zendegi, Azadi. Woman, Life, Freedom.”

Reiss-Andersen said that altogether the Iranian regime had arrested Mohammadi 13 times, convicted her five times and sentenced her to a total of 31 years in prison and 154 lashes. Mohammadi remains incarcerated in Iran’s notorious Evin prison.

What a sloppy evidence-free piece in the Guardian:

Belgium’s deputy prime minister, who ranks as one of Europe’s most senior transgender politicians, has urged Rishi Sunak not to join “the real bullies” after remarks made by the British prime minister at the Conservative party conference this week.

Transgender what? The fool reporter never says.

The prime minister’s comments came as it was revealed that the number of hate crimes committed against transgender people last year in England and Wales had climbed to a record high, with the Home Office suggesting in its report that the 11% rise may have been prompted by comments by politicians and media.

Climbed to what number? The 11% rise from what to what? How does the number compare to the number of hate crimes against women?

On Thursday, Petra De Sutter, Europe’s first openly transgender minister, described Sunak’s comments as “hurtful and very disappointing” on social media.

Transgender what? The name isn’t enough; you can’t expect readers to know whether “Petra” is a male name or a female name in Belgium. Sloppy sloppy incompetent journalism.

Attenders at the conference also heard from the health secretary, Steve Barclay, who promised to ban transgender hospital patients in England from being treated in female- and male-only wards.

Really? Or did he promise to keep males out of female-only wards?

Does the Guardian not have editors?

Man who pretends to be a woman wins service award. What’s his “service”? Pretending to be a woman, of course.

Humbled? I bet he’s not a bit humbled.

Diversity! So much diversity! Large white man who pretends to be a woman: what could be more diversity??!

So so so diversity!

The NY Times:

Shortly after he left office, former President Donald J. Trump shared apparently classified information about American nuclear submarines with an Australian businessman during an evening of conversation at Mar-a-Lago, his private club and residence in Florida, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The businessman, Anthony Pratt, a billionaire member of Mar-a-Lago who runs one of the world’s largest cardboard companies, went on to share the sensitive details about the submarines with several others, the people said. Mr. Trump’s disclosures, they said, potentially endangered the U.S. nuclear fleet.

Whose idea was it to put Elmer Fudd in charge of all this?

Federal prosecutors working for the special counsel, Jack Smith, learned about Mr. Trump’s disclosures of the secrets to Mr. Pratt, which were first revealed by ABC News, and interviewed him as part of their investigation into the former president’s handling of classified documents, the people said.

According to another person familiar with the matter, Mr. Pratt is now among more than 80 people whom prosecutors have identified as possible witnesses who could testify against Mr. Trump at the classified documents trial, which is scheduled to start in May in Federal District Court in Fort Pierce, Fla.

Well, unless we get into a nuclear war first.

During his talk with Mr. Pratt, Mr. Trump revealed at least two pieces of critical information about the U.S. submarines’ tactical capacities, according to the people familiar with the matter. Those included how many nuclear warheads the vessels carried and how close they could get to their Russian counterparts without being detected.

Why was this imbecile ever allowed anywhere near such information? His mental age is 6 months.

H/t What a Maroon

Hmmm tough question.

Social norms don’t quite oblige us to address each other in certain ways, I would say. Social norms give us a menu of ways to address each other, but they’re not really mandatory, apart from the military and on the job and so on.

But, even if we agree for the sake of argument that the norms are mandatory or might as well be, it doesn’t follow (and it isn’t true) that all such purported mandates are equally legitimate.

And that’s all the more the case when the purported mandate is not in fact about how we address people but about how we talk about them in the third person. In other words no, social norms don’t “oblige” us to refer to men as “she” and “her” even if the men in question have issued aggressive orders to do so.

It might be considered bullying or harassment to refer to a man as “he” when he’s ordered you not to, but guess what, it’s bullying or harassment for men to tell women to call them “she” and “her.”

But you can’t.

Gymnastics Australia has unveiled a new set of guidelines for the inclusion of transgender and gender diverse people.

The changes will allow individuals to choose uniforms, changing and bathroom facilities and compete in competitions which they believe best align with their gender identity.

GA boss Alexandra Ash said it was an important step to ensure all participants and stakeholders feel safe and included in the sport.

But it isn’t. It can’t be. It’s the opposite. By ensuring that men can intrude on women’s sports, they’ve ensured that women will never feel safe in their own sport. By including men in sports for women, they’re excluding women.

“Our commitment to transgender and gender diverse people involved in our sport is that gymnastics is and will continue to be a safe and inclusive environment for everyone, regardless of their gender, sexual orientation, ability, cultural background, or ethnicity,” Ms Ash said.

Again: not possible. By letting men in, you make the environment unsafe and thus not inclusive for girls and women. It’s not possible to be unaware of this. You might as well include gorillas in wrestling and dolphins in swimming.

“Diversity ensures our sport is better for all involved, and we want everyone to feel comfortable and supported as part of the gymnastics community.”

For the third time: you can’t. You can’t both let men invade women’s sports and make women feel comfortable and supported. No one can; it can’t be done.

The guidelines said participation in sport was a human right…

But the issue is men participating in women’s sport. Men can participate in sport by participating in men’s sport.

Within GA and Australian Gymnastics Organisation managed facilities individuals have the right to use the changing and bathroom facilities that best reflect their gender identity.

Which means female individuals don’t have the right to use the changing and bathroom facilities that are exclusive to female individuals.

Originally a comment by Your Name’s not Bruce? on Listy McListerson.

…which provides detailed bios of all those they consider to be disrupting the trans narrative.

If they’re looking for culprits guilty of “disrupting” the trans “narrative,” then they need look no further than trans activism itself, which is a disjointed hodgepodge of contradictory, unevidenced claims. For each and every claim of gender ideology, there is an equal and opposite claim that contradicts it. Find an appropriate pair of trans statements and most of the work is already done for you. It’s an extension of the principle that the best weapon you can use against trans activism is to quote trans activists.

Of course this list isn’t simply a resource to be used against opponents of genderism, but also a warning to potential doubters, backsliders and apostates. “DON’T PISS US OFF OR WE’LL PUT YOU ON THIS LIST!” The criteria for orthodoxy are not clear (given the lack of consistency and coherence, how could they be?), and are subject to change. Yesterday’s hero can become today’s pariah at the posting of a tweet (c.f. Peter Tatchell). Reeducation, recantation, and remorse however heartfelt, will never remove the taint of Error.

A movement that had confidence in the truthfulness of its arguments and the justice of its cause wouldn’t need to hold such a threat over its allies and supporters; it would not have to bully, mob, and silence its critics from speaking out. It would relish each and every opportunity to argue and debate the merits of its case against all comers, attempting to win those critics and opponents to their side through reasoned discussion and exchange of ideas. It wouldn’t need to use threats and intimidation to shut down their opponents; it could use the truth. But that would take work. In such a tangled, contradictory mass of impossible bullshit, truth is going to be awfully hard to come by. So much easier to shout down dissent and vilify opponents. It takes no thought to scream.

What’s complex about it? Men are not women. Simple.

It’s a particularly creepy brand of self-flattery, that – declaring that it’s a “really complex conundrum” when women defend their rights, and that it takes kindness and civility – like his, of course – to find “a solution.” Behold, I, a man of kindness and civility, declare women’s rights too complex to figure out unless I, a man of kindness and civility, step in to say how complex it all is, kindly and civilly.

Amy Sousa on a new blacklist:

Evan Urquhart, founder of Assigned Media, has recently published the “Trans Data Library,” a list of people and organizations she considers to be dissidents to trans orthodoxy. This database, which went live on Wednesday morning, has now been featured in the popular LGBTQ+ news source, The Advocate.

Ah yes, Evan Urquhart. She did a hit piece on me in Slate back in 2015, based on a dishonest manipulative “interview.”

Evan is a woman who claims the identity of a “transman,” and together with two men who claim to be “transwomen,” she started a fundraiser in order to create a propaganda campaign to silence reasonable dissent. They raised over $12,500 with a goal of $20,000 to support their project which provides detailed bios of all those they consider to be disrupting the trans narrative.

…

Urquhart has curated Assigned Media and the Trans Data Library using carefully crafted manipulative language. 

Now there’s a surprise! See above. I called her manipulative before I got to that sentence.

It is deeply concerning when lists start being collated and disseminated that are used to target and discredit. The biggest tactic of the entire trans agenda is to silence dissent. Authors on this list such as Abigail Shrier have had their books pulled off of Target’s shelves, organizations such as Partners for Ethical Care have had their private speaking venues shut down, activists such as myself and others have been drowned out with noise and attacked in public for attempting to hold public press conferences about this issue. This list is just one more silencing tactic.

Where’s that megaphone?

I hate it that the left has gone all-in on fantasy so we have to turn to The Telegraph for reality.

The Science Secretary will on Tuesday unveil a review into the “utter nonsense” of public bodies being urged to collect data on self-identified gender rather than biological sex. 

Speaking at the Conservative Party Conference, Michelle Donelan will sound the alarm at what she calls the “denial of biology and the steady creep of political correctness”.

It’s not even political correctness though. It’s not correct and it’s not political. It’s some other brand of bullshit – a noxious mix of idenniny and fannasy and narcissism. What in hell is “left” about any of that?

Ms Donelan has been moved to act by examples such as the NHS sometimes using a person’s stated gender rather than their biological sex in data records. 

The NHS might as well carefully record patients’ favorite tv shows and music instead of their medical histories. That would make just as much sense.

The intervention comes as the Conservative Party hardens its position on the importance of biological sex being recognised amid the debate about transgender rights.

The issue has played an increasingly prominent role in British political discourse, with all parties facing pressure to make clear how they would strike the right balance.

Balance? What balance? Men aren’t a little bit women; men aren’t women at all.

In 2005 the Athena Swan charter was established to encourage commitment to advancing the careers of women in higher education in areas such as science, engineering and maths.

At first, it monitored the gaps between men and women in recruitment and career progression. But in 2016, Athena Swan recommended that data collections should be based on gender identity rather than sex.

Miss the whole entire point why don’t you.

The Times informs us:

Former President Donald J. Trump said undocumented immigrants were “poisoning the blood of our country” in a recent interview, language with echoes of white supremacy and the racial hatreds of Adolf Hitler.

That’s quite breathtaking.

In the interview, Mr. Trump was asked about immigration and the Southern border.

He replied: “Nobody has any idea where these people are coming from, and we know they come from prisons. We know they come from mental institutions and insane asylums. We know they’re terrorists. Nobody has ever seen anything like we’re witnessing right now. It is a very sad thing for our country. It’s poisoning the blood of our country. It’s so bad, and people are coming in with disease. People are coming in with every possible thing that you could have.”

It’s Trump who’s poisoning this country. Not with his blood but with his filthy evil mouth.

A spokesman for Mr. Trump, Steven Cheung, called the former president’s comment “a normal phrase that is used in everyday life.” He added, “For anyone to think that is racist or xenophobic is living in an alternate reality consumed with nonsensical outrage.”

A normal phrase? Used in everyday life?

I suppose that could be true for people in Trump’s orbit. It probably is something they say often and routinely, because they’re people in Trump’s orbit. But people not wholly immersed in a mental swamp? Not so much.

In “Mein Kampf,” as noted by the website MeidasTouch.com and amplified by others, there are several passages in which Hitler used the words “poison” and “blood” in attacking people he deemed a threat to the purity of the Aryan race.

In a chapter titled “Race and People,” Hitler wrote, “All the great civilizations of the past became decadent because the originally creative race died out, as a result of contamination of the blood.”

There’s nothing surprising about that. Hitler had a small filthy mind, and so does Trump.

More more more men.

That is some baaaaaaaaaaaad gymnastics in that photo.

The full tweet:

Gymnastics Australia changes guidelines to allow Transgender athletes to compete in the women’s category and for biological males to undress in girls locker rooms and showers. 93% of 800,000 Australians involved in gymnastics are under the age of 12. Under the new rules, biological males will be allowed to compete in whichever category matches their gender identity and will be allowed to wear women’s uniforms. They will also be allowed to undress in women’s locker rooms and showers, regardless of their genitalia. The director for Gymnastics Australia defended the decision saying “Diversity ensures our sport is better for all involved, and we want everyone to feel comfortable and supported as part of the gymnastics community.” Source: Sky News Australia

“Diversity” may make their sport better, but letting men invade women’s sport obviously will make it much much worse.

Trudeau says he never said parents who dissent from trans dogma are hateful, he just…

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday he never suggested that individuals concerned about their rights as parents were hateful when he issued a statement in response to the thousands who attended recent protests about “gender ideology” in schools.

Speaking to reporters at a housing announcement in Vaughan, Ont., Trudeau said the post he issued Sept. 20 on [Twitter] was about taking a stand for the LGBTQ+ community.

There is no such community. Trans people are not part of a big jolly group that includes lesbians and gay men; they’re a separate group that focuses on fantasies about being the sex one is not.

Trudeau said in the post that “transphobia, homophobia, and biphobia have no place in this country,” adding that the country condemns “this hate and its manifestations.”

Again. The homo- part is not the same as the trans- part.

“I never suggested that someone who’s concerned about parental rights is somehow filled with hate or intolerance,” said Trudeau.

“But what we need to make sure is that when we do see expressions of hatred or intolerance against Muslims, against the (LGBTQ+) community, against any Canadians, that we are firm in standing against intolerance – that we reach out to bring people together.”

Again: trans people are not part of the LGB community; they are different, and have different goals and different ideas. They have, above all, a different epistemology. They view sex as decided by feelings rather than bodies. They view sex as a kind of allegiance, rather than an immutable fact that’s just there, like the fact that people are humans not lobsters. Trans believers think you can decide to be a woman the way you decide to be a doctor or farmer or politician. That’s wrong.

Aha! Appearances are never deceiving! Actors who play characters are the characters they play! You are what you say you are!

Yes indeed and Helen Mirren is Elizabeth Windsor, Gillian Anderson is Margaret Thatcher, Tom Hanks is Ben Bradlee, Robert Redford is Bob Woodward, Helena Bonham Carter was on the Titanic when it broke apart and sank.

Also, by the way, we can see the color difference between Willoughby’s heavily made-up face and his chest. Oops.

Why do we have to have Steve Bannon running things?

On Wednesday morning, two Republicans who hours earlier had toppled Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the House made a well-worn trek to a 19th-century brick townhouse a few blocks away from the Capitol and entered the cluttered sanctuary of Stephen K. Bannon’s recording studio.

Representatives Matt Gaetz of Florida, the instigator of the rebellion, and Nancy Mace of South Carolina, one of seven other Republican defectors, huddled with Mr. Bannon for a morning meeting ahead of a joint appearance on his “War Room” podcast.

Steve Bannon ffs. Why don’t the Republicans just go scour all the psych wards for their gurus, it would be cheaper.

From this cavelike studio not far from where Congress meets, Mr. Bannon, the former Trump adviser, has been stoking the chaos now gripping the Republican Party, capitalizing on the spectacle to build his own following and using his popular podcast to prop up and egg on the G.O.P. rebels.

Why do they let him? Why do they seek him out?

Mr. Bannon represents a clear through line from the grievance-driven MAGA base to Congress. And his role in the meltdown that played out this week in the House helps explain why the Republican Party appears to be eating its own. He is a vital part of a feedback loop of red-meat media hits and social media posts, online fund-raising and unfettered preaching to an often angry and fervently right-wing base that rewards disruptions and detests institutions.

Anarchists, in short.

Representative Lauren Boebert of Colorado said she was grateful to him for recently offering her a slot on his show to talk about the southern border, rather than to rehash her embarrassing evening at “Beetlejuice.”

“Steve is an actual trusted source, he understands that my one personal night out does not impact the work that I’ve been doing for four years,” she said. “Steve understands the base and what the base wants. I don’t go on there for the donor aspect, but I’m grateful when folks do chip in.”

Ah yes, that’s the important thing – ignore what a piece of trash Boebert is, and pretend she’s a real legislator and adult.

Mr. Bannon, an unrepentant agent of chaos, admits he was spoiling for a government shutdown.

“You create a firestorm now that totally changes things,” he said. “People right now think government is a benefit. I’m going to show government spending as cootie-infested.”

Good good good. Let’s just revert to a war of all against all.