My comment always about what Scott Walker (who was a trial balloon for Trump): Walker destroyed 100 years of Wisconsin progressive history in one legislative session and they're still trying to claw back stuff today. I will be dead before the phoenix rises from these ashes.
The great Sen William Proxmire (D-WI) was a true public servant, elected several times by huge margins with near zero campaign expense...just postage to RETURN campaign contributions! He was 1st elected to succeed the infamous RWN Sen Joe McCarthy.
Doesn’t explain the now majority in the WI Supreme Court and ending of the Supermajority the Republicans had in the WI Senate and Assembly. Also Tammy Baldwin, an out lesbian, retained her Senate seat. There’s hope, keep fighting. Vote for Susan Crawford for WI Supreme Court April 1st!
The funny thing is this is Obama’s legacy… every bit of it. From running Hilary and Biden in the elections and making those calls to secure their nominations
No
This has taken coordinated effort by the 1% since the BusinessMans War. McCarthy terrorized the American people with the evil of communism then they lowered ed standards until ppl couldn’t distinguish it from socialism. We forged a social contract with a safety net they’re breaking the deal. 🔥
But the truly scary part is ONLY about 1/3rd of total population is responsible for it because 1/3 are dedicated Dem voters but 1/3 are too apathetic to even bother! Their apathy screws ALL OF US! Also... The Dem Congress NEEDS to find their spine & quit being so damn intimidated! Trump is a nobody!
Exactly!! However... How do we get them to 1) Care OR 2) Turn OFF Fox "News", NewsMax, OAN, Joe Rogan, Steve Bannon, etc...?? How do we get them to actually learn how to believe real truth w/valid evidence to prove it?? We're talking about the uneducated who do NOT possess Critical Thinking Skills!
I've got some suggestions but EVERY TIME I put my .02¢ worth out I'm ALWAYS blown off!! However, I'm NOT an idiot on acct. I have 3 separate College Degrees at & above Bachelor's & I've been around a minute... I'm a Baby-Boomer. 🤣 So, having a few legit ideas but being blown off is disheartening!
The descent has been accelerating exponentially over the decades. One doesn’t notice change in an exponential curve in the beginning as change is slow at that stage. But, we are now in the straight-up part of the exponential curve. 53 days—from the point we are, basically, now at, it took 53 days.
This hit me in the gut. Everything djt is doing is designed to break our government and the GOP capitulation shows there may be no stopping this demise of our democracy. How the hell do we prepare for this?
It’s too late to “prepare.” Now we must just act from the seat of our pants, and we have to hope we have enough constitutional and legal scholars available to guide our actions, that their guidance reaches us, and that we organize around it.
That's some real wishful thinking. It seems to me that the Democrats are no longer interested in fighting back. They never pushed back on the lies, never bragged about their accomplishments and now they have gone very quiet, except for a limited few.
Notsure we can count on the Democratic party to be the opposition. Too many won't vote against self-interests. If we have a chance, it has to come from uprising. Maybe maga disillusionment as they see the personal cost of what's coming. Want to bet whether there meaningful elections in 2026?
Anne Applebaum lays out in this piece various arguments one might make to oneself en route to becoming a collaborator. From her long article, a synopsis:
1. “We can use this moment to achieve great things.”
2. “We can protect the country from the president”
3. “I, personally, will benefit.”
4. “I must remain close to power.”
5. “My side might be flawed, but the political opposition is much worse”
6.“I’m afraid to speak out”
7 “LOL nothing matters. Cynicism, nihilism, relativism, amorality, irony, sarcasm, boredom, amusement—these are all reasons to collaborate, and always have been.”
There are those of us who’ve tried to warn everyone. People don’t listen and only hear what they want to. How did this happen? Apathetic cruelty along with mean selfish purposeful ignorance.
No, it is not over yet. The Germans did not have the benefit of fascist history to learn from, nor decades of analysis to determine what the appropriate thwarting actions must be.
WE DO!
The Kochs and their pals purchased an entire political party in order to own SCOTUS. Now, they do. For a lifetime. They had a plan and a little luck. The power is theirs.
Going to take an army to dig us out of this s#*t storm of a mess. It’s going to get ugly. Universe will bare down on those who created it. Karma. The peace ☮️ we’ve known for 4 yrs under Joe is done. Pill 💊 that’s hard to swallow. Get ready for civil unrest again. GOP blood thirsty.
Been warning of fascism for 11 years now. People thought it was extreme to use the word to describe what @stephenharper.bsky.social was doing as PM of Canada.
He took his act global with IDU Alliance, and every autocrat in the world is a member of his criminal gang.
When I think back, though, the rise of the false idea of the “welfare queen” was the start. It was the 80s. I thought we were pushing past that all these years. I thought 2020 was the end of that cruel, false, greedy ideology, but turns out 2024 was possibly the end of human rights progress.
Recently read *It Can’t Happen Here*, by Sinclair Lewis. It was published in 1935, but feels shockingly current. We have been warned… (Do yourself a favor & read it.)
I hope people have learned a lesson. While factions on the left were protest voting or casting votes based on issues like inflation, the right unified and built power, top to bottom.
In times like these, defending what we have is important. We’re a society that is motivated by what’s in it for me.
We have to learn that we can’t always get what we want. Sometimes that means biting your tongue and doing what’s best for the country. Everyone had a beef about something more important than a democratic future.
“Voluntarily” is not quite the best language to use.
America has been its own worst enemy. Equally, America has been its own best savior.
Listen to the poorest, most suppressed and silenced people before considering the biggest, loudest people.
When we win again in 2026 and 2028 (hopefully sooner) we need to do whatever it takes to make sure nothing like this ever happens again. No more playing nice.
The first thing they do is close every single loophole in the law that the grifter & his cronies have exploited. Then expand the court to get big money out of politics. It saddens me that we had the chance, but our guy was too nice & truly believed that these people would have a conscience & behave
It happened very slowly, then all at once. It took decades for the Reagan tax policies to allow the richest .1% to extract $50 trillion from working people. Decades for Fox to brainwash people. Decades for Putin's psyops to work, and for the GOP to capture the SC. Trump was just the final reveal.
And it was all because they decided that they wanted to court the vocal group of morons who couldn't stomach a black president with even the slightest whiff of being a liberal and would do anything to prevent it from ever happening again.
The current situation reminds me of Redemption. Conservatives are taking away hard-won rights, and too many people don't care enough to fight for them. If history really rhymes, it will be 30 to 40 years before we get them back.
“Smart”phones , baby! No one wants to address the real issue bc everybody’s addicted to their damn phones. 2012 was the year FB went public & also the year the tech companies forced smartphones by offering free data plans. Social media has killed us. Cover the real story.
It’s almost impossible to reverse autocratic rule. They will control the media, police and military. The right to protest will be crushed with violence and imprisonment. We tried to warn you but you cared about the price of eggs.
Think it's really more like decades, it's just that its momentum was gaining such that it became more visible and louder within the last decade. It's interesting to re-watch West Wing, a show that debuted 25 years ago, highlight R strategies and hypo-critical posturing not too different than today
Comments
He’s targeting blue states and cities — especially those states run by governors whom he views as a threat in 2028, such as Gov Pritzker of Illinois.
I predict civil war will break out. This will be disastrous.
Bluesky ought to federate. Read Cory Doctorow's excellent rationale:
https://doctorow.medium.com/https-pluralistic-net-2024-11-02-ulysses-pact-tie-yourself-to-a-federated-mast-b2f89bb5b4d8
Bluesky ought to federate. Read Cory Doctorow's excellent rationale:
https://doctorow.medium.com/https-pluralistic-net-2024-11-02-ulysses-pact-tie-yourself-to-a-federated-mast-b2f89bb5b4d8
This has taken coordinated effort by the 1% since the BusinessMans War. McCarthy terrorized the American people with the evil of communism then they lowered ed standards until ppl couldn’t distinguish it from socialism. We forged a social contract with a safety net they’re breaking the deal. 🔥
1. “We can use this moment to achieve great things.”
2. “We can protect the country from the president”
3. “I, personally, will benefit.”
4. “I must remain close to power.”
5. “My side might be flawed, but the political opposition is much worse”
6.“I’m afraid to speak out”
7 “LOL nothing matters. Cynicism, nihilism, relativism, amorality, irony, sarcasm, boredom, amusement—these are all reasons to collaborate, and always have been.”
https://www.carnegie.org/our-work/article/twenty-lessons-fighting-tyranny/
The German Ambassador noticed...
...and he's pulling no punches.
WE DO!
Something, something, Patriot Act?
Revolutionary War, Tories.
Pre Constitution, we were the the Confederation.
Post Constitution, Federalists then Know Nothings.
Civil War, Confederates.
PreWW2, the Republican were NAZIs supporters.
Red Scare, Republicans.
Since the Reagan Insurrection, we have been on the slide into the toilet.
DumpsterFireDonnie is nothing new.
B) It’s been worse
C) it’s going to get much worse
D) the policies will be stupid & cruel, but the incompetence will cause the most damage
Been warning of fascism for 11 years now. People thought it was extreme to use the word to describe what @stephenharper.bsky.social was doing as PM of Canada.
He took his act global with IDU Alliance, and every autocrat in the world is a member of his criminal gang.
In times like these, defending what we have is important. We’re a society that is motivated by what’s in it for me.
America has been its own worst enemy. Equally, America has been its own best savior.
Listen to the poorest, most suppressed and silenced people before considering the biggest, loudest people.
It was actually a longer process. The Cold War didn’t end.
https://bsky.app/profile/nytimes.com/post/3lg2eeno3322k
We’re just taking the final steps..
Fast forward... you are here.
Christian Nationalism is your government.
Maybe not as bad as Trumpism, but it's not a great look.
"Fools" said I, "You do not know
Silence like a cancer grows
Hear my words that I might teach you
Take my arms that I might reach you"
I'll not live to see the cure for this...thx assholes.
The sad part is that the next one is learning from Trump’s mistakes!