We've been discussing this for too many years...and people are too uninvolved... Granted we have marchers and lots of us write our feelings and suggestions...but overall the response has not been powerful enough. I have been yelling about all the incredible prevarications, scams, and mishandling of OUR USA since 2016...and I still don't understand how this felon got reelected. The day that trump turned the incriminated, incarcerated insurgents free...he should have been impeached and incarcerated immediately!! Immunity??? That's crazy...and for us to even allow this "Supreme" court to continue against OUR UNITED STATES is beyond belief...
"Now we are engaged in a great civil war testing whether this nation or any nation can so endure"....Recognise this statement? ...It's what I remember of the Gettysburg Address by President Lincoln when our country was torn apart by the South...wanting to keep their slaves...or the right to do so...and now our military is being turned against its own people...for expressing their rights and for what most of us voted for in this wonderful country...the ability for all mankind to be treated equally and without cruelty.
I wonder how these men in this military justify their actions against "We the People"...are they so uneducated that they will follow a felon?? A felon without ideals, ethics or HONOR? A person who should've never been allowed to run for office in 2016.
Oh, if only this happy thinking were true... When peaceful protests are met with federal troops; when leaders from the opposing political party are handcuffed and imprisoned; when students are deported without due process and jailed for expressing an opinion; when visas are revoked solely on the basis of political speech; when so-called liberal institutions – universities, non-profits, news media – are demonized, sued and the target of extortion; when congressionally approved funds for healthcare, infrastructure and disaster relief are illegally withheld from “blue states”; when artists, civil servants, scientists and political opponents are personally targeted by the president; when the department of justice is used as a tool for political revenge, when business leaders, economists, teachers and academics censor themselves out of fear; when expertise is mocked and science denied; when masked agents seize US citizens and children from their bedrooms; when the president’s political party chooses idolatry over governance and the opposing party cowers; when the supreme court grants the president absolute immunity from prosecution …. it’s hard to deny that Trump has already consolidated power and autocracy has taken hold.
While Trump did claim a mandate last year, it was not (just typical Trump horse feathers). More than 50% of the voters picked someone other than Trump...delta between Trump and Harris was 1.65 percentage points.
I'm saying this because you said "now" which kind-of supports Trump's typical BS in one of your final sentences.
The numbers of polls are not so straightforward as they might seem. If a regime has become very authoritarian, I think that it is hard to have trustworthy poll numbers. Who dares to say the truth in such societies? So, I do not have much faith in Russian numbers. One thing it might say that luckily the US is not yet a full-blown authoritarian regime like Russia. Cross fingers that the damage of a disturbed checks and balances system, where both Congress and SC are dysfunctional, will be stopped at the right time.
Trump has already started a war in Venezuela. I think he just bombed another fishing boat. This is the start to adjust us to a larger conflict. Ruth Ben Ghiat keeps warning about that.
It is hard to say how popular Putin is. Those who live abroad either are against him or are able to live abroad because they benefit from his regime and therefore see him as a good thing. Russian pride is really great from what I see. They seem to feel they have a superior culture, which transcends being under Putin's thumb.
I think we should be studying how autocrats keep power in greater detail. I have read Ruth Ben-Ghiat's "Strongmen" and it seems like in many cases they stay in power being vicious and cruel and robbing their populations blind, until they die. Then some have children who step in their place. That is what Trump would like, not JDV. Does the MAGA following translate that well?
trump is so obviously failing with dementia, that his regime can’t prop him up much longer in public, as they do for short periods of signature writings, and his set piece rambling speeches. I suspect that behind the WH walls, negotiations are in train about who goes/who stays under Vance. And as soon as negotiations are completed, or earlier if trump suddenly loses even more obvious functionality, the Magang will announce that the cabinet has voted on the 25th Amendment, and Vance will take over well before the midterm elections. It’s a guess, but it sure feels like that’s the direction we’re headed.
I don't think they're doing ANY transition planning, the GOP has decided they're going to ride the Trump train for the rest of time. Which means if they're going to move on from him one of two things must happen.
1. They find a way to move on before his death, If this is mid-presidency I highly doubt his base would tolerate Trump being ousted/sidelined, Period.
2. Trump's eventual death, this reduces the risk of the base hating whoever replaces him, however will most likely lead to a power vacuum within the GOP that could be a disaster for them.
Anything is possible with that crew. My guess could be completely wrong. But there are some indications in media sources, that previously never said anything negative, or reported or revealed, his more inane rants. Now that behavior is revealed and reported every so often by press that covered for him before. I don’t think those reveals are an accident. I think they pave the way in case trump’s more rational moments are eclipsed by ever more unpredictable, uncontrollable mental instability. When he becomes more liability than productive for them, he disappears. I think they have a hard time deciding when to pull the plug, because he rallies and collapses. When he rallies, he pulls his act together and gets things done that they want. But his collapses are more and more severe.
Interesting in theory, I guess, but don’t take your eye off the ball. Trump’s unpopularity is a distraction; he is but one head of the hydra. In reality, the focus today should be the implications of the ICE drone and helicopter assault on children in Chicago.
My attention has been on the implications of the ICE drone and helicopter assault on the building in Chicago that is in the community south of my own in Chicago. I was in Chicago on Monday, and on Tuesday I left. When I read that article I realized how traumatized I had been while in the city. I had to take care of a lot of family things.
Fascism expert Ruth Ben Ghiat says that this kind of spectacle is what Trump loves. I think my state needs to get a militia together and not allow federal troops into our state. I also think that a big task is going to be to figure out how to do a massive defunding of the federal government where Trump is mostly stealing our money.
Here is a piece I wrote about ICE in Chicago. This about the terror that ICE creating among immigrants in the city.
My entire time there I was aware of ICE, and carried my passport with me. I have brown skin and feel much safer in my German city than in my American city, even though politically both stand for democracy.
What Trump is doing in Chicago is federal overreach, and a judge has told him this action was illegal in California, but allowed him to continue until mid October in which he is supposed to have time to appeal to SCOTUS. I don't know what is going on with that. I haven't heard anything. What is it is illegal if he controls the military, purging those who will not do his bidding in the leadership and the rank and file. He does not care if they have global combat experience because he seems to think the US is invincible to attacks from abroad, and only needs to worry about having a force willing to break the law at home.
Thank you for a well-reasoned, carefully supported ray of hope!
The U.S. federalist system means "autocratic capture" has to happen 50 times, not once. That means a slower takeover here and more potential points of failure for Trump. Since autocrats have to be popular to retain control, Trump is truly racing against time.
I'll tell you what I know from anecdotal (sorry, GEM ;) evidence of friends and family whose kids are/were in the military, that stunt of pulling all the 1 stars and above back to DC for the BS they had to sit through did not go over well. Not with enlisted, officers or NCOs.
Trump is not as popular with the military as he used to be, that's for sure.
My major issue with all of the mainstream media coverage has been the sane washing of Trump. I canceled my decades long NYT subscription because of their blatant failure to accurately report what Trump was actually saying in his rallies. As his mental decline only worsens it gets harder for the press to sane wash his gibberish and his support will erode into the 30's. By the way I'm really glad Paul Krugman sent me your way! Keep up the good work.
Maduro didn’t cheat, he openly stole the 2024 elections before the eyes of the entire World. By comparing him with Orban or Trump you are elevating his true moral standing, if this applies to him.
At this point in time both Trump and Biden have negative polling numbers. According Gallup both get low 40s approval numbers. Americans today are generally displeased with politicians. I expect Trump to self-destruct but so did Biden. No. Fascists is not at our doorstep. But our grandchildren will condemn for passing a mountain of debt.
We've been discussing this for too many years...and people are too uninvolved... Granted we have marchers and lots of us write our feelings and suggestions...but overall the response has not been powerful enough. I have been yelling about all the incredible prevarications, scams, and mishandling of OUR USA since 2016...and I still don't understand how this felon got reelected. The day that trump turned the incriminated, incarcerated insurgents free...he should have been impeached and incarcerated immediately!! Immunity??? That's crazy...and for us to even allow this "Supreme" court to continue against OUR UNITED STATES is beyond belief...
"Now we are engaged in a great civil war testing whether this nation or any nation can so endure"....Recognise this statement? ...It's what I remember of the Gettysburg Address by President Lincoln when our country was torn apart by the South...wanting to keep their slaves...or the right to do so...and now our military is being turned against its own people...for expressing their rights and for what most of us voted for in this wonderful country...the ability for all mankind to be treated equally and without cruelty.
I wonder how these men in this military justify their actions against "We the People"...are they so uneducated that they will follow a felon?? A felon without ideals, ethics or HONOR? A person who should've never been allowed to run for office in 2016.
Oh, if only this happy thinking were true... When peaceful protests are met with federal troops; when leaders from the opposing political party are handcuffed and imprisoned; when students are deported without due process and jailed for expressing an opinion; when visas are revoked solely on the basis of political speech; when so-called liberal institutions – universities, non-profits, news media – are demonized, sued and the target of extortion; when congressionally approved funds for healthcare, infrastructure and disaster relief are illegally withheld from “blue states”; when artists, civil servants, scientists and political opponents are personally targeted by the president; when the department of justice is used as a tool for political revenge, when business leaders, economists, teachers and academics censor themselves out of fear; when expertise is mocked and science denied; when masked agents seize US citizens and children from their bedrooms; when the president’s political party chooses idolatry over governance and the opposing party cowers; when the supreme court grants the president absolute immunity from prosecution …. it’s hard to deny that Trump has already consolidated power and autocracy has taken hold.
While Trump did claim a mandate last year, it was not (just typical Trump horse feathers). More than 50% of the voters picked someone other than Trump...delta between Trump and Harris was 1.65 percentage points.
I'm saying this because you said "now" which kind-of supports Trump's typical BS in one of your final sentences.
I buy that!!!
modi rating is bogus . never trust western polls in india . they have terrible sample sizes
The numbers of polls are not so straightforward as they might seem. If a regime has become very authoritarian, I think that it is hard to have trustworthy poll numbers. Who dares to say the truth in such societies? So, I do not have much faith in Russian numbers. One thing it might say that luckily the US is not yet a full-blown authoritarian regime like Russia. Cross fingers that the damage of a disturbed checks and balances system, where both Congress and SC are dysfunctional, will be stopped at the right time.
Kim Jong Un enjoys support of 387% of the non-voting public in North Korea. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Exactly!!!
What if Trump and his team, aware of the net approval chart, decide to emulate Greorge W. Bush by starting a war in Venezuela?
Trump has already started a war in Venezuela. I think he just bombed another fishing boat. This is the start to adjust us to a larger conflict. Ruth Ben Ghiat keeps warning about that.
It is hard to say how popular Putin is. Those who live abroad either are against him or are able to live abroad because they benefit from his regime and therefore see him as a good thing. Russian pride is really great from what I see. They seem to feel they have a superior culture, which transcends being under Putin's thumb.
I think we should be studying how autocrats keep power in greater detail. I have read Ruth Ben-Ghiat's "Strongmen" and it seems like in many cases they stay in power being vicious and cruel and robbing their populations blind, until they die. Then some have children who step in their place. That is what Trump would like, not JDV. Does the MAGA following translate that well?
An interesting possibility...BUT SCARY!!!
trump is so obviously failing with dementia, that his regime can’t prop him up much longer in public, as they do for short periods of signature writings, and his set piece rambling speeches. I suspect that behind the WH walls, negotiations are in train about who goes/who stays under Vance. And as soon as negotiations are completed, or earlier if trump suddenly loses even more obvious functionality, the Magang will announce that the cabinet has voted on the 25th Amendment, and Vance will take over well before the midterm elections. It’s a guess, but it sure feels like that’s the direction we’re headed.
I am waiting for them to have an AI Trump talking to the public. We shall see.
I don't think they're doing ANY transition planning, the GOP has decided they're going to ride the Trump train for the rest of time. Which means if they're going to move on from him one of two things must happen.
1. They find a way to move on before his death, If this is mid-presidency I highly doubt his base would tolerate Trump being ousted/sidelined, Period.
2. Trump's eventual death, this reduces the risk of the base hating whoever replaces him, however will most likely lead to a power vacuum within the GOP that could be a disaster for them.
Anything is possible with that crew. My guess could be completely wrong. But there are some indications in media sources, that previously never said anything negative, or reported or revealed, his more inane rants. Now that behavior is revealed and reported every so often by press that covered for him before. I don’t think those reveals are an accident. I think they pave the way in case trump’s more rational moments are eclipsed by ever more unpredictable, uncontrollable mental instability. When he becomes more liability than productive for them, he disappears. I think they have a hard time deciding when to pull the plug, because he rallies and collapses. When he rallies, he pulls his act together and gets things done that they want. But his collapses are more and more severe.
A race he is destined to lose, happy to say.
Interesting in theory, I guess, but don’t take your eye off the ball. Trump’s unpopularity is a distraction; he is but one head of the hydra. In reality, the focus today should be the implications of the ICE drone and helicopter assault on children in Chicago.
My attention has been on the implications of the ICE drone and helicopter assault on the building in Chicago that is in the community south of my own in Chicago. I was in Chicago on Monday, and on Tuesday I left. When I read that article I realized how traumatized I had been while in the city. I had to take care of a lot of family things.
Fascism expert Ruth Ben Ghiat says that this kind of spectacle is what Trump loves. I think my state needs to get a militia together and not allow federal troops into our state. I also think that a big task is going to be to figure out how to do a massive defunding of the federal government where Trump is mostly stealing our money.
Here is a piece I wrote about ICE in Chicago. This about the terror that ICE creating among immigrants in the city.
https://lindaweide.substack.com/p/view-from-chicago-life-with-ice-is?r=f0qfn
My entire time there I was aware of ICE, and carried my passport with me. I have brown skin and feel much safer in my German city than in my American city, even though politically both stand for democracy.
What Trump is doing in Chicago is federal overreach, and a judge has told him this action was illegal in California, but allowed him to continue until mid October in which he is supposed to have time to appeal to SCOTUS. I don't know what is going on with that. I haven't heard anything. What is it is illegal if he controls the military, purging those who will not do his bidding in the leadership and the rank and file. He does not care if they have global combat experience because he seems to think the US is invincible to attacks from abroad, and only needs to worry about having a force willing to break the law at home.
Stay safe,,,we are all endangered...but keep making GOOD TROUBLE!!
Stay safe too Leigh. I love the gif Jeff Tiedrich has here in this piece of the ICE protesters in their costumes.
https://www.jefftiedrich.com/p/fuckwits-and-furniture-molesters?r=f0qfn&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
Me too!! No Kings day coming up...We'll be there!!!
Thank you for a well-reasoned, carefully supported ray of hope!
The U.S. federalist system means "autocratic capture" has to happen 50 times, not once. That means a slower takeover here and more potential points of failure for Trump. Since autocrats have to be popular to retain control, Trump is truly racing against time.
Big stretch required to win over the military. Likely impossible without using extraordinary means.
I'll tell you what I know from anecdotal (sorry, GEM ;) evidence of friends and family whose kids are/were in the military, that stunt of pulling all the 1 stars and above back to DC for the BS they had to sit through did not go over well. Not with enlisted, officers or NCOs.
Trump is not as popular with the military as he used to be, that's for sure.
We definitely HOPE YOU ARE CORRECT!! Germany 1933,,,is too close for comfort
My major issue with all of the mainstream media coverage has been the sane washing of Trump. I canceled my decades long NYT subscription because of their blatant failure to accurately report what Trump was actually saying in his rallies. As his mental decline only worsens it gets harder for the press to sane wash his gibberish and his support will erode into the 30's. By the way I'm really glad Paul Krugman sent me your way! Keep up the good work.
This is a hopeful read. Keep pushing back, people! All is not lost!
Maduro didn’t cheat, he openly stole the 2024 elections before the eyes of the entire World. By comparing him with Orban or Trump you are elevating his true moral standing, if this applies to him.
At this point in time both Trump and Biden have negative polling numbers. According Gallup both get low 40s approval numbers. Americans today are generally displeased with politicians. I expect Trump to self-destruct but so did Biden. No. Fascists is not at our doorstep. But our grandchildren will condemn for passing a mountain of debt.
For what it’s worth, Trump’s approval is lower than Biden’s at this point in his term. Not disagreeing about the debt comment. https://www.gelliottmorris.com/p/data?open=false#%C2%A7how-popular-is-donald-trump
I compared NY Times to Gallup.