patrickgillam.bsky.social
I’m not Christian in any conventional sense, but I love this thought in John 9:3:
“Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him.”
A good thought whenever I behold something needing fixing.
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A boy’s idea of what it is to be a man: Do whatever you want. Be afraid of no one. Get girls without spending money on them. Be ripped without working out. Serial murder is righteous, not punishable. It’s the Bro Show of our present Zeitgeist.
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Isolation is huge, as Hannah Arendt notes in the attached well-timed clip I just heard. But I would offer something more—and something more fundamental—which is to consider the problem one of moral development, as per Ken Wilber, and spiritual development, as per Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
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We have to live with our families, friends, coworkers and neighbors whether we share a democracy or live in chaos. Regardless of politics, the problem is with us. And that’s an opportunity!
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Now we have a popular, election-winning political party embracing fascism and white supremacy. We have to figure out a way to fix this problem without violence against our families and neighbors who voted for that shit.
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In 1860 we had white supremacists, but they mostly lived in one region we could treat as another country. When they actually tried to create another country, President Lincoln had to remind his own generals and politicians that place was our country.
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In the 1940s we had America fascists, but we were able to broom them under the rug when their overseas counterparts declared war on us.
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The Reluctance of the Hero, Copy Editor Edition.
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All the hand-wringing over whither Democrats is wasted because right now, Democrats—the mislabeled “progressives”—think their job is to preserve what has been. But we’re out of power and the problem we’ll need to fix is not yet clear. Our challenge will be to build something new from the rubble.
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Your trenchant observation prompts me to rewatch that scene in “The Man in the High Castle” when a helpful patrolman explains ash in the air by saying Tuesdays are the days the hospital cremates “cripples and the terminally ill,” their being “a drag on the state.”
youtu.be/TFM2xZ7dytk?...
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But iOS’s autocomplete suggestions are holding out.
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I guess we can get prescriptions for ketamine, huh. So I can’t hope some renegade squad Federal Bureau of Investigation agents would bust these guys. How about Don Junior? He uses cocaine, no? I fantasize about taking them down on drug charges the way they jailed Alphonse Capone for evading taxes.
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So he speaks from experience! Every accusation is a confession.
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Agreed. Trump may talk about thirds terms, but his statement on Vance is a different topic. Also, Trump may well stroke out in the next few years and then JD will have the last laugh.
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You may have just explained the existence of valets. I can dress myself without help, but no way am I tracking which collar to wear.
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I feel I should work misogyny into this Pie Chart Of The Damned, but I’ve filled my quota of finger pointing and name calling.
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Cue the apocryphal story of the Adlai Stevenson supporter who hailed the 1950s Democratic presidential candidate with “Senator, you have the vote of every thinking person!” To which Stevenson is said to have replied, “That's not enough, madam! We need a majority!”
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Political discourse focuses on race and class, as it should, but I can’t get over the portion of the political divide revolving around cognitive abilities. We Democrats lost our base by being intelligent and Republicans have prevailed by being stupid.
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Ever since Bill Clinton, it feels as if we Democrats have appealed to voters with “Republicans are doing their own policies wrong, but we’ll do them right!”
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When Republicans and MAGA supporters reply to concerns over events by saying “Elections have consequences,” show them this list and say, “That’s what I’m afraid of.”
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Dictators who first took office by means of free and fair elections, No. 1:
Adolf Hitler (Germany)
- Came to power in 1933 after the Nazi Party won a significant portion of the vote in democratic elections and President Paul von Hindenburg appointed him Chancellor.
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Dictators who first took office by means of free and fair elections, No. 2:
Hugo Chávez (Venezuela) - Elected president in 1998 in a free and fair election. He centralized power, weakened democratic institutions, and ruled in an increasingly authoritarian manner until his death in 2013.
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Dictators who first took office by means of free and fair elections, No. 3:
Vladimir Putin (Russia)
- First elected president in 2000 in an election considered relatively free and fair. Over time, he consolidated power, suppressed opposition, and effectively established an authoritarian regime.
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Dictators who first took office by means of free and fair elections, No. 4:
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (Turkey)
- Became Prime Minister in 2003 after his party won democratic elections. He has since weakened checks and balances, restricted the press, and transformed Turkey into an authoritarian state.
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Dictators who first took office by means of free and fair elections, No. 5:
Robert Mugabe (Zimbabwe)
- Initially came to power in 1980 after winning a free and fair election. He consolidated power, suppressed opposition, and ruled in an increasingly authoritarian manner until his ouster in 2017.
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Dictators who first took office by means of free and fair elections, No. 6:
Daniel Ortega (Nicaragua)
- First elected president in 1984. After losing power, he returned to office in 2007 through democratic elections but has since undermined institutions and ruled as an authoritarian.
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Dictators who first took office by means of free and fair elections, No. 7:
Viktor Orbán (Hungary)
- First elected Prime Minister in 1998 in a free and fair election. After returning to power in 2010, he dismantled democratic institutions, restricted press freedom, and consolidated power.
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Dictators who first took office by means of free and fair elections, No. 8:
Ferdinand Marcos (Philippines)
- Elected president in 1965 in a democratic election. He declared martial law in 1972, consolidated power, and ruled as a dictator until his ouster in 1986.
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Dictators who first took office by means of free and fair elections, No. 9:
Alberto Fujimori (Peru)
- Elected president in 1990 in a free and fair election. He later dissolved Congress, rewrote the constitution, and ruled in an authoritarian manner until his resignation in 2000.
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Dictators who first took office by means of free and fair elections, No. 10:
Alexander Lukashenko (Belarus)
– Elected president in 1994 in an election considered free and fair. He has since consolidated power, suppressed opposition, and ruled as an authoritarian leader.
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Rahm thinks USAID is Czechoslovakia when really it’s Fort Sumter.
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Gaza, Greenland, Panama… It’s all just real estate. Don’t worry about zoning and permits. The Russians have enough money to buy everyone off. Everyone who’s anyone needs to launder money.
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Enjoyed the conversation. Added “Crack-Up Capitalism” to my Libby library queue. Followed you here. Carry on.
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Insiders and outsiders.