Welcome to America

[Lake View Too]

"If in fact he sort of stood over scores of boxes, not really knowing what was in them and said, 'I hereby declassify everything in here,' that would be such an abuse and -- that shows such recklessness it’s almost worse than taking the documents."
- Bill Barr on ferret headed fuckwaffle claiming he had declassified the documents he stole.

Since we are getting into silliness, hear me out: if he did the magical voodoo declassification, then sold them off to his buddies as “top secret classified” docs, for big, big dollars, wouldn’t that be fraud? Declassified docs ain’t worth diddly squat.

 

[mputnal]

I thi

Lou is trying to make the argument that one nanosecond prior to Biden's inauguration, Trump waved his magic wand and magically declassified a trove of classified information prior to stealing it.

Yes I understand that Lou believes that former President Trump is above the law and had the power to steal documents from we the people. If President Biden did what Trump did I think we know how Lou would react The political justifications for Trump or DeSantis that I hear almost every day is shockingly destructive to our Democracy. Biden is right about the maga trump people. Biden's mistake is that he did not include desantis and the others. They are destructive to our Democracy. If Crist beats DeSantis I can assure you that desantis will say Crist cheated and on and on. We will have to fight for Democracy...

 

[Leader of the Banned]

Yes I understand that Lou believes that former President Trump is above the law and had the power to steal documents from we the people. If President Biden did what Trump did I think we know how Lou would react The political justifications for Trump or DeSantis that I hear almost every day is shockingly destructive to our Democracy. Biden is right about the maga trump people. Biden's mistake is that he did not include desantis and the others. They are destructive to our Democracy. If Crist beats DeSantis I can assure you that desantis will say Crist cheated and on and on. We will have to fight for Democracy...

He didn't call those people out specifically, at least not yet. I think most people in their respective states know to whom he was referring. I think the speech was a success, and maybe it's time to come back and deliver a good knockout blow. It would be good for everyone to look beyond their own state see the importance of non-local races to the future of our country. People should be encouraged to donate to those campaigns if they have the means. A lot of states are trying to put in place a mechanism to overturn the electoral vote in 2024 if necessary. A lot of people don't realize this, and I think Biden should come back and make this clear.

If DeSantis loses that will be interesting if he cries fraud. How could that happen in a state where he brags so much about election security? I think Arizona is going to be a hoot. When Keri Lake loses, she is going to blow her stack. She was crying fraud in the primary against a Republican opponent, even though she won.

 

[PoppaJ]

Mark Jacobs: Let's compare the rise of Hitler and the rise of MAGA​

Unrolled thread (go here to see images of the book exerpts)
Thread by @MarkJacob16 on Thread Reader App

With all the arguments over whether MAGA Republicans are fascists, I reread William Shirer’s “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich” to see how much the rise of Hitler and the rise of MAGA smell similar.
Conclusion: They do. This thread lists 10 ways. Please take a look.
Image

1. A big lie about treachery is used to foment resentment.
Nazis: We didn’t really lose World War I. It was a “stab in the back” by Jews and other "November criminals."
MAGA: We didn’t really lose the 2020 election. It was a “steal” by politicians and Blacks in big cities.
Image

2. There’s an obsession with purity of the culture.
Nazis: “Racial mixture” was a threat to Aryan culture, Hitler wrote.
MAGA: “Great replacement theory” says immigrants threaten white culture.
Image

3. Chaos is something to be exploited, not addressed.
Nazis: Economic distress is a great political opportunity.
MAGA: Economic distress is a great political opportunity.
Image

4. The super-rich bankroll the right-wing seizure of power.
Nazis: Thanks to I.G. Farben, Deutsche Bank, Thyssen, Krupp, etc.
MAGA: Thanks to the Mercers, Uihleins, DeVos, Thiel, etc.
Image

5. Some people think the fascist threat is overblown.
Nazis: While Hitler posed a major threat, some said he "ceased to be a political danger.” (2 weeks later, he was chancellor.)
MAGA: While Trump poses a major threat, many people think it’s “just politics,” no worries.
Image

6. There’s a cult of personality.
Nazis: The German army made a pledge of loyalty to Hitler personally.
MAGA: Trump’s supporters bill him as “the most moral president” in U.S. history.
Image

7. Christianity is used to legitimize the movement.
Nazis: “The party stands for positive Christianity.”
MAGA: Trump is described as the “Chosen One” protecting American Christianity.
Image

8. Books are the enemy.
Nazis: Any book that “acts subversively on our future” must be burned.
MAGA: “I think we should throw those books in a fire,” says a Virginia school board member.
Image

9. An independent news media is the enemy.
Nazis: Any newspaper that “offends the honor and dignity of Germany” must be banned.
MAGA: The press is the “enemy of the people.”
Image

10. Educators are pressured to be politically compliant.
Nazis: Teachers took an oath to “be loyal and obedient to Adolf Hitler.”
MAGA: Florida’s DeSantis accuses teachers of “indoctrination” and pressures them to avoid references to America’s racist history and LGBTQ people.
Image

I'm not saying that MAGA will end up as horrifically as Nazism. I am saying that America 2022 feels too much like Germany 1932, and I don't want to take the risk of watching MAGA cultism play out. We have to stop it now.
• • •

 

[mputnal]

Mark Jacobs: Let's compare the rise of Hitler and the rise of MAGA​

Unrolled thread (go here to see images of the book exerpts)
Thread by @MarkJacob16 on Thread Reader App

With all the arguments over whether MAGA Republicans are fascists, I reread William Shirer’s “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich” to see how much the rise of Hitler and the rise of MAGA smell similar.
Conclusion: They do. This thread lists 10 ways. Please take a look.
Image

1. A big lie about treachery is used to foment resentment.
Nazis: We didn’t really lose World War I. It was a “stab in the back” by Jews and other "November criminals."
MAGA: We didn’t really lose the 2020 election. It was a “steal” by politicians and Blacks in big cities.
Image

2. There’s an obsession with purity of the culture.
Nazis: “Racial mixture” was a threat to Aryan culture, Hitler wrote.
MAGA: “Great replacement theory” says immigrants threaten white culture.
Image

3. Chaos is something to be exploited, not addressed.
Nazis: Economic distress is a great political opportunity.
MAGA: Economic distress is a great political opportunity.
Image

4. The super-rich bankroll the right-wing seizure of power.
Nazis: Thanks to I.G. Farben, Deutsche Bank, Thyssen, Krupp, etc.
MAGA: Thanks to the Mercers, Uihleins, DeVos, Thiel, etc.
Image

5. Some people think the fascist threat is overblown.
Nazis: While Hitler posed a major threat, some said he "ceased to be a political danger.” (2 weeks later, he was chancellor.)
MAGA: While Trump poses a major threat, many people think it’s “just politics,” no worries.
Image

6. There’s a cult of personality.
Nazis: The German army made a pledge of loyalty to Hitler personally.
MAGA: Trump’s supporters bill him as “the most moral president” in U.S. history.
Image

7. Christianity is used to legitimize the movement.
Nazis: “The party stands for positive Christianity.”
MAGA: Trump is described as the “Chosen One” protecting American Christianity.
Image

8. Books are the enemy.
Nazis: Any book that “acts subversively on our future” must be burned.
MAGA: “I think we should throw those books in a fire,” says a Virginia school board member.
Image

9. An independent news media is the enemy.
Nazis: Any newspaper that “offends the honor and dignity of Germany” must be banned.
MAGA: The press is the “enemy of the people.”
Image

10. Educators are pressured to be politically compliant.
Nazis: Teachers took an oath to “be loyal and obedient to Adolf Hitler.”
MAGA: Florida’s DeSantis accuses teachers of “indoctrination” and pressures them to avoid references to America’s racist history and LGBTQ people.
Image

I'm not saying that MAGA will end up as horrifically as Nazism. I am saying that America 2022 feels too much like Germany 1932, and I don't want to take the risk of watching MAGA cultism play out. We have to stop it now.
• • •

Yes there is an ominous sense of fascism in the maga people. No question about it. However many of those people don’t really understand what fascism is and even if they did they fear socialism more. The Democratic Party up until Biden’s Soul of America speech have failed to connect long enough to distinguish and explain. I say failed but it is more like not able. There is inherent fear in our DNA and the Republican Party is manipulating that part of our human nature. They believe the ends justify the means and want power more than they care about ethics. Our Democracy is stronger when there is political ethics but we now know that it is fragile because there are millions of Maga people willing to sacrifice whatever it takes to protect their cultural values. They will justify everything for those values. Are they Evil like hitler? Most are Not anymore than the rest of us however as we know it really only takes a strong fear of something and a manipulation of that fear to create chaos with our moral behaviors. The maga republicans have united behind the fear of cultural change. It is a movement. A stirring. A religion. It is a battle for the “soul of America”.

 

[PoppaJ]

 

[UofL]

He didn't call those people out specifically, at least not yet. I think most people in their respective states know to whom he was referring. I think the speech was a success, and maybe it's time to come back and deliver a good knockout blow. It would be good for everyone to look beyond their own state see the importance of non-local races to the future of our country. People should be encouraged to donate to those campaigns if they have the means. A lot of states are trying to put in place a mechanism to overturn the electoral vote in 2024 if necessary. A lot of people don't realize this, and I think Biden should come back and make this clear.

If DeSantis loses that will be interesting if he cries fraud. How could that happen in a state where he brags so much about election security? I think Arizona is going to be a hoot. When Keri Lake loses, she is going to blow her stack. She was crying fraud in the primary against a Republican opponent, even though she won.

(No one would expect this from a Kentucky republican, but he's been calling out the 'republicans' who are demanding recounts & threatening clerks. As a democrat and Louisvillian, I applaud him.) (Counting down to our next visit to 30A) Ellen

 

[mputnal]

Trump is a POS and everything he touches turns to s**t.

At this point it is crystal clear, anyone who will support him in any way, give him money or vote for him or cheer for him is a PO

I wish everything was that easy but you need to get out more and talk to people. Even though my emotions want to agree with you my brain says it is better to treat people the way you want to be treated. In other words when you call someone a name which then causes them to call you a name the net result is anger and hatred. I believe the maga people are dead wrong about trump. I believe the maga people are destructive to our democracy. I have friends and family and business associates who are maga people. If I call them names to make myself feel superior then I am no better than they are. It solves nothing and actually makes everything worse. This is just the truth of human moral behavior. It takes one to know one in other words. That said I understand we all have emotions that complicates behavior. I have hope that there is a better way to communicate. If not then I believe that we need to really get behind our political choices and campaign for them with a more positive tone. Even when it is not your style

 

[Jenksy]

I wish everything was that easy but you need to get out more and talk to people. Even though my emotions want to agree with you my brain says it is better to treat people the way you want to be treated. In other words when you call someone a name which then causes them to call you a name the net result is anger and hatred. I believe the maga people are dead wrong about trump. I believe the maga people are destructive to our democracy. I have friends and family and business associates who are maga people. If I call them names to make myself feel superior then I am no better than they are. It solves nothing and actually makes everything worse. This is just the truth of human moral behavior. It takes one to know one in other words. That said I understand we all have emotions that complicates behavior. I have hope that there is a better way to communicate. If not then I believe that we need to really get behind our political choices and campaign for them with a more positive tone. Even when it is not your style

The reason we have maga people is because we have allowed it. Bad people and bad behavior needs to be called out. Whether it is in middle school, a county commission meeting, church, or the white house. A spade is a spade and doesnt need to be given a voice in a decent society.

 

[Bob Wells]

Did anyone see Das Furhrer’s speech tonight? Holy smokes!!!!

Former President Trump spoke? Did he have new material or is he still slinging his old shtick?