Mike 03
Mike 03's JournalI've been thinking about this too, especially after reading "Unholy" by
Sarah Posner. She writes in that book about how the Alt Right, the White Supremacists and the Christian Nationalists found common ground to coalesce around Trump, with a little prodding from far right billionaires and foreign interlopers in Russia, Hungary and other Eastern European countries who would love to see our Democracy collapse.
Ruth Ben-Ghiat points out in her new book Strongmen that it is more difficult to break up a coalition when it is united around a single "personalist authoritarian" (unless, of course, his power collapses). That means it is gathered around a charismatic leader rather than policy, ideology or principle.
But I strongly agree we should look for weak spots. One, according to Sarah Posner, is U.S. foreign policy with respect to Israel. I can't think of a way to 'exploit' that weakness without really playing with fire, though.
This needs to be tested in court.
Yes, most good attorneys attempt to have charges dismissed against their clients, for all sorts of reasons.
Many authorities on the Constitution disagree that a President can, in essence, serve as the judge and jury of his own conduct by granting himself a pardon, or abusing the privilege of granting pardons if it clearly conflicts with his sworn oath to "take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed."
So one of the questions at issue is, When does granting a pardon become obstruction of justice? And that, frankly, is only one of a number of questions at issue.
Another important issue is, What is the intended meaning of "granting"?
Bitterly sad and ironic
So based on this specific action, one would argue that Arthur C. Clarke was right about our species and that Kubrick was mistaken.
Arthur C. Clarke's original ending for 2001 was far more pessimistic and predicted we would not evolve but would destroy ourselves.
Kubrick rejected it and went with the optimistic prediction that we would transcend our basest stupidities.
Andrew Cuomo gave a speech on something called "Living Room Spread"
in which he asserted domestic gatherings were what he was most worried about. I don't know the science behind it, but isn't "length of time in the same place with others" a growing factor of concern? Remember those bus and restaurant (and church) studies?
I recall another study that claimed that many very brief exposures (while wearing a mask) over a period of time might be a good way to build antibodies without actually getting sick. But it was just one study and I never heard more about it.
Excellent analogy.
Also, when von Papen and General Schleicher were getting cold feet about the idea of Hitler being made Chancellor, he threatened them with "civil war" from his alleged "2 million" SA and millions of angry, impatient supporters if they did not go forward. At that point, the Nazi party was the largest party in the Reichstag.
Good points. We can only hope that their refusal to change or even introspect
has consequences. It will be very interesting to see what happens within the Republican party over the next four years. They have demonstrated a refusal to adapt. If anything, they have a tendency to double down and become more extreme.
Yesterday, on Twitter, the hashtag #MikeFlynn2024 (or #Flynn2024) was trending, on the same day he called for Martial Law and the suspension of the Constitution.
I completely agree, too, with that last paragraph.
No, no, no. Have you ever heard that expression, "Picking gnat shit out of pepper"?
He will be remembered as the first U.S. President to attempt an autocratic takeover of our country by breaking the conventions of Democracy from within. And as the leader of the most corrupt administration in our history.
What I hope he's not remembered as is the POTUS who began the process of flipping us from a Democratic Republic to an authoritarian state, meaning a process that hasn't concluded yet.
Because once a country has come this close to the brink, it's not so unimaginable it won't happen again, possibly soon.
Hitler isn't remembered as "the first German Chancellor who liked to paint."
Look at that squinting, sour face.
Like Bea Arthur giving her death glare to a co-star in Golden Girls. He is pitiful beyond anything I've seen of a world leader EVER.
Pinochet, Pol Pot and Idi Amin would be proud.
It's mind boggling that a former general in the United States military would propose this, or retweet a recommendation by the Ohio Tea Party to "suspend the Constitution."
Does he realize this puts him in the same league as some of the most vicious and lawless tyrants in world history?
I doubt it, but in fact this is exactly how Berlusconi avoided ten criminal trials
that awaited him. He ran for prime minister of Italy again, got re-elected, then passed a law (or some kind of edict) saying that he couldn't be tried for his crimes.
We need to do something to nip this degree of corruption and impunity in the bud. He's out of control, he's making a fool of himself and he's destroying our country and the legitimacy of our system, or at least trying to.
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Gender: MaleHometown: Modesto California
Home country: United States
Current location: Arizona
Member since: Mon Oct 27, 2008, 06:14 PM
Number of posts: 16,616
