I stand corrected. My memory served me incorrectly.

Nevertheless, they are more prepared now and the MAGA party holds more of the power compared to last time. It’s a bit like putting the foxes in charge of the henhouse - I suppose we’ll have to see where those that remain of the former GOP are willing to push back.

You are giving examples in history and changing the dates to the first Trump presidency, which is somewhat confusing.

Those things certainly didn’t happen because the GOP did not have a majority in the legislature. I agree that it is unlikely that these will occur during this term as well, given that the majority in the house will be very small, but I assure you there will be bills passed that will continue to strip away power from the legislature and grant those powers to the executive. There will also be interpretations of the law that will disenfranchise the citizens and/or will have repercussions for years to come.

LegalEagle gives a pretty good rundown: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TG_L3fLLG3c

I used to be a heartthrob like you, but then I took an arrow to the knee.

And now I’m 89.5% sexier!

Or you know, get banned from attending events at the St. Louis Chess Club.

The chest speaks for itself.

He sounds like, looks like, and acts like a character out of Resident Evil.

There are few places where I agree with Rand Paul, but the abolishment of “Homeland Security” is one of them. We got this shit because of 9/11. It greatly expanded the power and control of government over our lives and we weakened our constitutional rights (e.g. illegal search and seizure) because of it.

I completely understand that weak cybersecurity is a threat, but we already have the Department of Defense, Department of National Intelligence and Department of State covering it, so there is already built in redundancy, why do we need DHHS doing it too?

Capitalism has served me well and, I think if you have a particularly strong work ethic, then the American model can serve you well, up to a certain extent.

BUT, I am not a sycophant. I have seen the dark underbelly of the American model, how certain vampires at the top of companies will maximize profits at the expense of literally everything else - contractually locking in customers and then raising rates on them to the point where they can barely afford it (they’d call that “equilibrium “). Firing good long-time employees because new fresh blood is cheaper, damned if it makes everyone else’s life harder, including that person who gave their life to the company. Predating on the meek, desperate, or just those who don’t think like them, in spite of what it may do to the relationship long term (fuck any sort of commitment or customer relationship at all because it can’t accurately be monetized).

These people chase money above all else. They’re loot dragons. The only relationships they have are those that either think like them or those they can manipulate and control.

So no, don’t chase the American model, but perhaps borrow from some of its most useful tenets. There are good motivated people in the flesh, but the structure is rotten at its core.

Hone your inner Jimmy.

Bone apple tea!

Hmm, how do I say this without getting downvoted all to hell?

I think this is actually a decent pick. Rubio is fairly moderate for a Republican. His parents emigrated from Cuba, so he likely has at least some respect for the blight of immigrants. He presents well intentioned and intelligent. He’ll probably actually read his briefings.

Secretary of State had formerly been a springboard for higher office. Perhaps he would actually bring a smidge of sanity back to the GOP. This country deserves functional bipartisanship.

Probably not, but one could hope.

It’s true. They’re only as powerful as you let them be. The “First they came” poem comes to mind.

Well that’s an odd name to call your phlunctus.

You asked for a staunch democrat 🤷‍♂️

My point is that fascism builds until the root causes and those fanning its flames are rooted out and destroyed ala Napoleon, Mussolini, Hitler; or they burn on and continue to oppress under an authoritarian like Franco, Pinochet or Putin. There aren’t a whole lot of examples in between where an authoritarian relinquishes power after a short term.

I know which one I prefer, and, from example, we can see a little jail time is insufficient.

I’ll move if they distance themselves from the platform I believe in, or if there’s a third party candidate that happens to be enticing enough.

The platform I support, in ranked order:

• Pro environment
• Personal freedoms / social liberty
• Statecraft over War
• Higher taxes on the rich, comparatively, but not to the point of stifling innovation
• Education, Internet and Healthcare as fundamental rights
• Capitalism, with competition
• Global Trade
• Pro Union
• Space exploration
• Security (only at the level needed to maintain personal freedom)
• YIMBYism
• Reducing National debt
• Federalism

As I see it, the Dems are still pretty aligned with that, perhaps just not in the same prioritized order, and that’s fair, because they have others they’ll lose first before they lose me.

I don’t know exactly why, but the way you stated that reminds me of how Saddam Hussein gained power.

There’s a part of me that thinks, if the right can do it, why can’t we? If it takes an order of magnitude more effort to clear up falsified statements then why are we taking up all of our resources on representing the truth? Why can’t we just start saying “they’ve started deporting American citizens in Miami back to Cuba?” or “The mafia is intimidating election workers to stuff ballots in XYZ county?” or “the government has been gutted so much that Social Security checks are not coming out in time. Old people in Arizona are getting kicked out into the streets and dying of heatstroke.”

But then the Ego side of my brain smacks the Id side and says, “You dunce, that’s how we become current-day Russia”

When people do not feel safety and security, they will first reach for scapegoats. When that doesn’t work, they will reach for a gun.

There are a lot of people hurting in this country, obviously a whole lot more than I thought. So the people have found their scapegoats this cycle, now we wait and see if it satisfies them.

Hitler went to jail. What good did it serve the Germans?

It’s as if the sheep decided, “f these boring shepherds, let’s go party with these wolves.”