By 2024, there may not be any more elections.

"With just two weeks left until Election Day and perhaps the most important midterms in our lifetimes, I want to take a minute to talk about what’s at stake. And I won’t sugar coat it.

A New York Times columnist wrote last week that if both chambers stay in Republican hands, we will see Trump unleashed. Even if Democrats win the popular vote in the House by a wide margin, if the gerrymandered map means Republicans hold on to a narrow majority, Trump will take that as a mandate. If we think he’s awful now, imagine how he will be if he feels vindicated."

...it goes on and ends with a more positive note, but it sure is an important election. I just wish to god we knew if there was interference in the last election, and fixed it.

close so fast. The momentum has accelerated so rapidly over the last few years I don't think that most people can get their minds around what is really happening in this country.

If we don't do very well in the mid-terms, I would not be shocked if we become a full-fledged dictatorship by the time his first term is up.

Last edited Wed Oct 24, 2018, 02:29 AM - Edit history (1)

they will have their constitutional convention with who knows what results.

they are just as delusional as the slaveowners.

would be blue states withholding tax payments, and the fed refusing to be the money supply.

at that point the central government would need to look to foreign powers for financial aid, and I would hope that would be enough to slow everything down.

but i hope that extinction is sooner rather than later.

the stone age did not end because we ran out of rocks.

no need to continue. a 21st century american civil war is possiblt their worst idea ever. maybe a koch/ alex constititional convention is worse, but maybe public choice economics. well, let me stop 'cause this could be a long list.

My friends & family who are political are extremely worried. Those who aren't political, or those who only became somewhat political after Trump, think that everything will be okay after November. "We'll win the House, Mueller will indict, & then we'll impeach him." A friend of mine said that with an upbeat voice.

I think shit is going to hit the fan after the election. If the dems take the House, Trump/GOP will try to invalidate the results, maybe even taking it to their conveniently stacked SCOTUS. If we lose, Trump/GOP will be emboldened & it will be over for the US as we know it. Never in my life did I think I would see the country in such a dire situation.

Is a no way that happens.

If the Dems do win the House there might be new investigations but it is doubtful that (no matter the findings) all of them come together to vote with unity. Even when Dems had control seldom did that happen. There are always 2-3 that don’t.

It is doubtful that Muller would actually indict trump while he is president. His findings would have to be so egregious that he has no choice.

We would need to Senate also to impeach and it does not look like Dems will win that back.

I think you are right on the money in your second paragraph. If Dems win the House trump & co will go full throttle on conspiracy/deep state to delegitimize the vote. If Dems don’t win he will feel emboldened as you say. Either way things are going to get much much worse before this national nightmare is over unfortunately.

I used to ask myself "why didn't they get out in time?" And now I know. Toward the end, it happened faster than they could absorb it. They couldn't believe what was happening all around them. How could this be happening here? But it did and it ended up being the greatest nightmare of the 20th century and nobody could stop it for a long time. By the time they did millions had been murdered and tortured to death for no reason other than they happened to be the "wrong" kinds of people. We cannot let this happen again.

We always say that it never will happen again, but honestly, I am not so sure. I know for a fact that there are many people who would like it to.

[link:https://www.democracynow.org/2017/5/30/on_tyranny_yale_historian_timothy_snyder|

Please take the time to watch the video or read the transcript, everyone.

This guy is the expert. They go through the points in his book "On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons From The Twentieth Century"

Here's the part about the first lesson: Don't Obey In Advance.

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: I wanted to ask you about the first lesson you talk about in your book, especially in light of the realities that, in our day and age, clearly, authoritarianism has enormous more power of surveillance and social control of populations. You write in your first lesson, “Do not obey in advance. Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then offer themselves without being asked. A citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do.” I think about that in terms of the enormous gravitation of the population toward social media and then the ability of states and corporations to actually monitor and control what people say and do and shop and everything they’re thinking about.

TIMOTHY SNYDER: Yeah, so, I agree with that completely. The historical basis of that first lesson, “Don’t obey in advance,” is what historians think we understand about authoritarian regime changes, and in particular the Nazi regime change of 1933. Historians of Nazi Germany disagree about a lot of things, but one of the few things we agree about is the significance of adaptation from below in 1933. When we look at Hitler in retrospect, we sometimes have a tendency to think of him as a kind of supervillain who can do anything. But in fact, the lesson of 1933 is that consent from below matters a lot, not consent necessarily in the sense of voting or marching or anything active, but consent in the sense of bystanding, going along, making mental adjustments.

So the point of “Don’t obey in advance” is not to give your consent in that way, which is very important, because if you do just drift at the beginning, then psychologically you’re lost, or, to put it a different way, if you don’t follow lesson one, “Don’t obey in advance,” then you can’t follow lessons two to 20, either. Politically, it’s also really important, because the time which matters the most is the beginning, where we are now. Right now we actually have much more power than we think we do. Our actions are magnified outwards now. When protest becomes illegal or dangerous, this is going to change. But right now Americans actually have more power than they think they do.

And your point actually magnifies all of this, because the reason—one of the reasons you shouldn’t obey in advance is that when you do, you’re actually giving power ideas. They don’t necessarily have plans. They don’t necessarily know what they can do. But when we lean towards what they think they want—and social media is a very good example of this—then we give them ideas. We teach them what they can do. So, in our real lives and in social media, it’s very important not to obey in advance, because, you’re absolutely right, that information is being collected and collated and considered

I assume you have "On Tyranny". Everybody should have "On Tyranny" for the twenty lessons telling us what to do now.

We're on the brink.

From the moment of his pugnacious inauguration speech, of which George W.* said "That's some crazy shit."

places and times. We thought majorities elected them to power, but it isn't so.

Another tactic Trump and Republicans elsewhere borrowed from successful takeovers and are using as much as they can now is to just ignore and break legal constraints. The more power they get, the more they'll just illegally smash opposition and impose their will.

Mainly because I see nothing stopping this - except YOU.

VOTE, DAMMIT!!!!

Of course I will and I will drag everyone I can with me. But I never underestimate them and their dirty tricks.

The first mistake we make is to underestimate the opposition. To assume that - “nah, s’not gonna happen”. I heard those exact words years ago from a hardcore CON voter who assured me Roe v Wade was safe. Not gonna get overturned or whittled away or any of that. “Nah. S’not gonna happen.” And I kept thinking “‘snot’ is IT, girlfriend.” She was so totally naive about it. Safely wealthy because her husband was a high-roller and she could stay home and and be a helicopter mom buzzing around their little boy. I’m sure, like ANY addled, self-contented L. A. CONservative who lived in that world - friends with the dreaded developer/GOP megadonor Rick Caruso on the chi-chi Westside - who regularly hosted a visiting dick cheney for dinner. She was one of those lucky few who would never have to worry. Never would have to go out and try to find work and scrape by so her son could eat a decent meal.

She was the same mom who was rock-solid certain that dick “FIVE-deferments” cheney served in the military. I said no. I told her cheney never served. She didn’t believe me. WOULDN’T believe me. Refused to take delivery on what I said or how much truth and explanation and facts and details I tried to offer.

HOWEVER, another mom strolled over. A mutual friend. Our kids were all in this same activity after school. This other mom was another “lady of leisure”, married to a wealthy husband, but far more enlightened and well-informed. Her daughter and mine were good friends, and she and I had become friends as a result. “Mom B” interrupted and said “no, ‘Mom A’, calimary’s right. cheney never served. He never served. He was never in the military.” “Mom A” who had adamantly rejected my argument moments earlier suddenly stopped arguing. She looked seriously unsettled. Then, after a somewhat disoriented pause, stammered “looks like I’m getting wrong information. I’m getting wrong information. My brother-in-law said...” “Mom B” repeated - “no. calimary’s right. You ARE getting wrong information. cheney never served.” “Mom A” then headed down the sidewalk to get coffee, visibly shaken, looking flustered as hell. She didn’t know what to make of what she’d just heard.

I felt SO vindicated! Even while ALSO feeling annoyed because “Mom A” hadn’t accepted my facts and documented truth. MY input wasn’t good enough. Probably because I was a lowly Democrat. A nuisance. One of those silly little liberal party-poopers who just want to get in the way of us having a good time. It took someone else (one closer to what she perceived as part of HER “tribe”) whose word she chose to accept, albeit with a lot of reluctance. MY word was somehow not sufficient. Galling as all-get-out. But hey, whatever it takes to make the point, ‘eh? I don’t like it but I’ll take it. Besides, there WAS a fair amount of satisfaction in that moment. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen someone on the Dark Side go “TILT!”

that's his base and any dittohead would come up with same top ten bomb list

but he and this GOP are toast if thinking americans stop ignoring talk radio

I'm glad he made the announcement two weeks before the election though.

Fascism has deep roots in the GOP.

father and grandfather two US Presidents. Coincidence? I highly doubt it...

That was my exact thought.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/sep/25/usa.secondworldwar

And we know where old man Bush was when the Towers come down. In a meeting with Bin Ladens. This did not start with Trump. It started when Bush was head of the CIA, then chosen as VP where he went to Iran, negotiated to hold the Iran hostages until Reagan was inaugurated.

And let us not forget where Reagan opened his campaign. In the city where 2 little girls were murdered. They have all been racist, murderous thieves.

GHW Bush was already in the CIA (although he denies that), as Hoover sent a memo in November 1963 discussing Bush's briefing on reaction of Cuban exiles in Miami to the assassination. https://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/11/us/63-fbi-memo-ties-bush-to-intelligence-agency.html

Poppy was appointed to the head of the CIA by Ford, a president who was never elected, and who served on the Warren Commission whitewash committee. Hunt, one of the Watergate burglars, was involved in JFK's assassination, an event discussed extensively on the Nixon tapes under the euphemism "The Bay of Pigs Thing." Nixon and Ford were in on it, and so were their appointees, including poppy bush.


This has been a slow-motion coup 55 years in the making...

The majority of Christians who voted in 2016 cast their ballots for Trump, and will enthusiastically do it again if given the chance. He and the rest of the Republicans would be nowhere without the widespread support they receive from Christians. Almost all of the well known, popular, and influential Christian leaders in the US sing his praises, and there appears to be very little public dissent from those Christians who disagree.

The greedy, money loving thing they have turned Organized Religion into.

I don't see any signs that is happening, and certainly not quickly.

Especially the young, who are deserting in droves. And that is the future. Otherwise,it will wither and die. Even I am losing interest beuse of what they have become.

Anyway, it's pretty common for young people to lose interest in the religion they were indoctrinated into as small children, only to return to it when they have children of their own. I can't tell you how many of my friends and acquaintances did this. Many believe religion is inherently a good thing, even if they don't really believe it themselves. So, they drag their children to church and Sunday school and make them say their prayers, and the cycle continues. It's encouraging is that more are raising their children with no religious indoctrination at all, but in the US that's still a small percentage of the whole.

Or something like that.

if they would stand their ground and quit taking his lying bullshit

crack him.

Now he also claims to be a Nationalist. Ergo--White Nationalist!

DEFCON 1, Homeland Security threat level: Severe.
This is not a drill!

We are.

This is full-on fascsism.
And my reading of history is that it always ends in civil war or transborder war. War, always.

Pulling out of the Arms deal with Russia is terrifying.

Don't know how to wake everyone up.

Politics is personal.

......I've gone over the edge.

I used to have just contempt for MAGA's but now I hate them for their lack of care and compassion for others. The amount of suffering they laugh about---makes me crazy.

The GOP is all about personal greed and screw everyone else. They are just like their dear leader...selfish and hurtful. This is why I do NOT have any as friends. They are the opposite qualities of what I would respect and admire from a good friend.

...Repug friend for years. I think of it as the Empaths vs. the Sociopaths.

I was surprised by it. We're going to give him the benefit of the doubt based on what?

He is NOT an overt racist piece of shit?

They insist the person screwing them has good intentions and is equally thoughtful.

Jeffrey says, yea, well I could! I don't want to see Trump ruin this label.

She looked as exasperated as you can imagine. lol

This is not helping, Toobin!

I think you're right.

In my opinion. He doesn't have a freaking clue what that is.

His utter and complete control of the media is. If you have the stomach to watch his press conference he has rigged it up so the public cannot even hear what the question is. Whether it's with whirling helicopters in the background or his dog and pony show in the White House. This is undoubtably by design. And for the press to go along with it is almost as bad.

Today he sat at his desk like he was some kind of King. And all his minions stood beside him in waiting. He doesn't want you to hear the question so he can obfuscate and answer any way he wants to.

I hadn't noticed 'til you said something but you're right.

If you watched CNN or MSNBC after that press availability, you saw the correspondents and the anchors and the guests call him a LIAR. They flat out called him a LIAR. In the Oval Office itself, they challenged him directly.

Our watchdog press is the only check we have on him at this moment. Better start giving them some credit and backing them up, instead of tearing them down. It takes some courage to be a journo covering the WH on a day when the world is reeling over the assassination of a journalist and this WH is accepting it as the cost of doing business.

Dipshit to win. Surely, surely, they can get their bright minds together and figure out how to combat this monster. Step one...don't allow themselves to be pawns on the WH lawn ...it is an utter sham. And P.S. know fully well the Free press is vital. To me, things have reached epic proportions. Time for competing networks to band together.

Over and over simply for the ratings factor. That is why so many have turned them out.

They breathlessly show Trump so they can now call him a liar, but that first picture sticks.

But Trump definitely isn't cunning or charismatic enough to go toe to toe with Thanos.

Truth. He's got nuttin.

I don’t think the problem is that Trump is a “nationalist.” People on the left can uphold state sovereignty and oppose practices like internationalization of law. There are many bases on which to oppose Trump.

That said, Euro-American “nationalism” is not about state sovereignty; rather, it’s racial chauvinism.

In the same way that not all Republicans are racists, but all racists are Republicans.

Nationalism is the “über Alles” framework upon which fascism grows.

We need to LOCK THE MOTHERFUCKERS UP!!

We are doomed.

They keep trying but rigid power structures breed corruption, secrecy, lies and abuses of power. It's important to see *why* some people are attracted to fascism (though they don't call it that). I think they believe in an order and hierarchy they see serving their needs for security and opportunities. What they fail to see is how horribly cruel and corrupt people in power become under totalitarian, right-wing governments. They fail to recognize that they actually erode security and opportunities. But the social structure gives them a clear view of "the greater good" as they imagine it so they hang on as the world turns to shit around them, never seeing it's their own ideology that is ruining things.

What bothers me most about this is how it keeps popping up in our history. I grew up in the '70s and it was ingrained in us that fascism and nazism were bad things. Now I see much of my generation embracing those ideals. They have made themselves useful idiots to these pasty-faced worms who try to pass themselves off as their leaders. Oh republicans...they make such a mess of things and overlook some mighty hypocrisies but they never fail to vote.

The half-million dead Americans, half-million dead Brits, and 26 million dead Russians that fought off Hitler didn't get any do-overs on life.

They just lost out.

That's better than a fascist take-over but it's still fucking horrible.

you nailed it brother

He said it in the context of nationalism as the opposite of globalism. He prefers nationalism.

It's a striking thing to say. America has been hegemon of the global order these past 75 years and Trump is abdicating this position in return for personal enrichment by way of demagoguery.

This ethno/religious nationalist authoritarian crap is spreading around the world like kudzu. Liberal democracy is under attack everywhere right now.

The stakes have never been higher and we find our country is now leading the charge for nationalism.

black Trump supporters have disappeared from the crowd behind him..

my heart and spirit are breaking.

They also hear racism, xenophobia, and violence.

To show how in the current state of politics how the Nazi Party and Republicans are so similiar. People get hung up on the Conservative vs National Socialists.

It doesnt have anything to do with the description of what the definition of a Republican is. It has to do with other similarities that are like those old 3d posters that you had to stare at to see the dinosaur jumping out at you.

Hitler said in the last months of World War 2 that if he is defeated, its because the German people have abandoned him. Trump has said time after time, that if those Damn Librulz get into power, that they will get rid of him.

Trump has already made it clear as the sky is fucking blue, that he doesnt like reporters who dont like him. There is a litteral journalist that wrote badly about our president, was murdered by a, not only friendly country, but a country that does dollars, millions, billion dollars of work with the Trump family (we dont know because he hasn't released his taxes) and the U.S. it seems, ain't doing diddly shit about it.

Hitler didnt start off marching Jews, Gypsies, Mentally I'll, and dissidents off into camps and ovens right off the bat in 1930. No, he first had a very effective propaganda campaign that turned his opponents into Der Untermenschen. Trump has repeatedly said that Democrats or librulz are demons, arsonists, not to be trusted with power.

Trump has put a Supreme Court Justice that is nothing more than a Trump bought and paid for partisan hack that already has said that the president cannot be charged with a crime.

We are currently living in a time that in 50 years, people will say, "That's when Americans should have spoken up and done something." "There is no way they can deny that they didnt know what was going on."

CNN, MSNBC, and other "News outlets" better wake the fuck up! One of their colleagues was murdered and the US President is not leading the charge against this crime. They better figure out this "Trump Effect" and fast. They are giving this traitor and his fucking acolytes hours and hours of free advertisement. They better wake the Fuck up and realize that the neck cut throat symbol that was done at his rally was directed to them.

Stop giving him and his ministers of propaganda
free airtime. He is not their friend, and we sure as shit arent either.

I've said this a few times already. The first shots of this Civil War WILL BE CIVIL and they will be fired this November 6th. After that, your guess is as good as mine.

I've been trying to get people to see this, his rallies have always been violent and extreme, but they've changed in tone recently to the type of hyper nationalism that is a hallmark of fascism.

Even people on the left are asleep, he's done nothing but consolidate power the last 2 years. The FBI now targets his opponents at his order. We have crossed a line and a Democratic Congress is the only possible defense against totalitarianism taking hold in America.

and it is full-on real. I've long feared there would be blood in the streets, and this has not dissuaded me in the slightest.

1930's Germany.

just like all these bombings.

It is only a matter of time before we start hearing "kill them all" from either trump or his base at his miniature Nuremberg rallies. Those of you here who are insulated from the fascists neo nazis that make up his white, semi rural base have not seen what's coming. These people want nothingless than you, your children and everyone who is not them to be horrifically tortured and killed. If that sounds hyperbolic, come spend some time here and listen to his base as they enter my workplace. They are primed and craving genocide. I've already had two of our "good people" say they wished that those bombs went off. Another one said he wished the military would drop a nuke on New York. His base is evil, and if we survive this, we will have to confront them at some point.

Are nothing but Nazi White Supremacist , and racist , who are liars and hate and fear mongers dividing this country up by any means they can for putin who has his puppet creating chaos and disasters with every move he has him make. This latest claiming he's pulling out to the Nuclear agreement acting like it was a strong move against putin , when this is exactly what putin wants, and was rejected in 2007 when they tried to get it passed, but trump is conning people by acting like it's against him, when it was FOR him all along. He's putin's puppet, and looks like the Prince's puppet too since he also knows trump's corruption and compromising him with it now. he Republican party is now a racists dream come true and cruz and all these gopers in Congress say nothing. Criminal terrorists and liars all of them. Justice will prevail for these people. Its coming for them.

What would have happened with a Supreme Court like we have now during the release of the Pentagon Papers. Nixon would have remained president, Viet Nam war would have gong on for who knows how long, and freedom of the press would have been destroyed.

Pinochet’s dictatorship.

Check the Chile story starting at about 51:00

Before that, the Danes defeated the Nazis.


We are powerful. Together.

Since Trump was placed in power it's been a dead-on run. In a little less than two years Trump (and his Russian overlords) have systematically gutted everything that was fair and good about our country.


From Merriam-Webster: Definition of fascism

1 often capitalized : a political philosophy, movement, or regime (such as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition

Now if that's not what's going on in our country at the moment, I'll lick the beads of flop sweat off Trump's 'taint' after he's played 18 holes of golf at Mar-ma-lado on a 95 degree day.
I believe that's the most disgusting thought that's ever entered my mind.