Yes, Ruth, authoritarians overwhelm with threats and retribution … but just saying we disapprove or are appalled, is the weak response authoritarians hope for. That “authoritarians often underestimate the fierce will of the people” is perhaps disingenuous when that “will” amounts to little other than hot air. What do we DO? Right now?
A recommendation has been get into face-to-face groups active in your community, on an issue you want to work on. Recommendation has been for local activism.
I’m sorry to put it this way, but it helps me to expect cr*p from Trump and his cronies. I’m not appalled; that would mean I’m surprised in part. I am not surprised; on the contrary this is exactly what I expect from them. We can fight it with the truth, good values, and in the courts.
The problem is murdoch, sinclair and the other liars and it's why I have massive trouble accepting anything from the WSJ. I can't scream loudly enough to fight through the roar of lies and I've been trying since 2015. So, we fight with truth (I'm doing what I can with that). But their voices are louder.
I see your point, but truth has power that lies don’t have, in my opinion. You sound to me like you’re doing your part; I will try to do mine, and if all of us who are pro-democracy tell the truth, it will be plenty loud enough, particularly since Trump and his cronies are revealing who they are more each day.
Oddly, I'm doing what I can and it's extremely limited. I spent a lot of time as a mini-activist never able to fill my mom's shoes :) . I had the energy and I saw results. I'm really not sure that the continued seeing his violent and brutal idiocies of mump and his cronies does much at all. He knew it years ago and said it won't hurt him. But yeah, I do what I can wherever I am as I feel obligated to stay engaged and do a mini-fight.
Yes, Sherri and loud is noxious. We all need to share the truths more. But how?
Saturate as they have effectively done. That the Budde approach is genuine ,has ample audience , is one way and wonderful ( the reaction was as expected because the principle was missed/is missed , most by the people who have to draw attention to their own selfish vitriol. Their principle is control …lies, disinformation and manipulation, that’s the Strongman MO.
I proffer the Bob Marley’s and loud , the Woodie Guthrie music, oh we dance and sing to , that protest/protested and spoke the truth IS one way to make loud heard . All you songwriters…do your magic. 😉
The onslaught , for near a decade now is if you understand the timelines of ‘the playbooks’ , is typical . Normalized. Incessant. Planned and executed for the insidious . Again….yup.
We have good people to watchdog..we are in an unprecedented time here..but it has happened before ..it ended badly for most. It took a lot of effort, a lot of change and deep thought , resistance, and hard times. But they did it. We are looked to by a world wondering if we can too. There’s much needed to correct this mess .
While I watched the round table in Ca with Felon34 and the people in charge there , I heard the same rhetoric…”we’ll look into that”, not even a mention of concepts . How many times do we hear how this could be so much better, more efficient. BUT NEVER THE HOW ,not ever the how…just the claims and fabricated sensationalism …that’s a constant …untruthful statements to dress up ..concepts ?
We have to get smarter, folks. See it for what it is.
Yes, the visuals are good , thanks. I do wonder how many saw this live, was there a neilson rating, by chance …anyone? A lot of coverage since also..I believe a doc. on it too…did Ken Burns per chance do something on it?
Will they believe it? I spent a number of years in my career saying, "A picture's worth a thousand words," that oldddd cliche I'm just not sure it works for the base at this point. I'm not trying to be a pessimist, I've been watching this crazed stuff for a long, long time.
I hot pressed iron on J621 to a ball cap and I wear it in public. It is my resistance. It is my hope that someday somewhere I will see J621 tagged or etched or being worn by another.
1. Resistance needs a symbol with meaning.
2. J621 was an attack on our country with at least as much malice as 911.
3. Congress couldn't vote fast enough to avenge 911.
4. Executive, Congress and SCOTUS had four years to make a definitive response to the attack on J621.
5. On J621 something like 14 people died, and 140 casualties because Trump, Stone and Bannon planned and directed their army to attack if not kill our representatives.
6. This is my take on our situation, and J621 is my torch.
One of the weirdest turncoats for me was when 91 yr old Grassley caved. It looked odd. In the meantime, Feinstein goes out being told what to vote for (us) and when her days of faking even that (I don't know if she had a clue what she was doing but it was striking - staying until her literal end). For Grassley, it was either the violence threatened or Applebaum's book title, "The Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism." The "Seductive" for whatever ungodly reason seems to work.
One thing we must do is refuse to be intimidated. And that's a lot easier said than done. It's easy for us to be all brave and pro-democracy until we find some J6 or Proud Boy or neo-Nazi thugs pointing guns at our heads and threatening our families and homes. As history has shown, and as we're quickly rediscovering, defending democracy is not, and never has been, a task for the faint of heart.
It's so important for us to resist quickly, before fascism escalates to the point that dissent is banned. This is what tRump is pushing for. Any pro-democracy march will be banned; online criticism of the regime will be subject to a prison sentence. We must stop this mess while we can.
"Any pro-democracy march will be banned;" I recall protestors breaking laws to protest injustice in the 20th c. Weren't draft card burnings, freedom protests and lunch counter sit-ins to protest humanitarian injustice illegal and subject to a prison sentence before this in our history Was that time a less fearful time than today? I wonder. Different time, same people: Klan, ProudBoy, same threats of physical violence used by Autocrats.
David, saying we disapprove or are appalled is a much stronger response than not saying anything at all. It has only been a week since Trump took Office and appointed a bunch of incompetent sycophants to his cabinet. The flurry of executive orders is a well fought out strategy to silence his critics. Even if we do not feel we have an effective strategy yet, the first thing to do is to speak out and encourage others to start talking also. That is how Martin Luther King’s opposition to the ill-treatment of African-Americans began and it is how the opposition to the war in Vietnam began also. We are not impotent, but it may take some time to forge opposition into a powerful force.
What we are lacking is a vision of how we would like the economy and governance to operate in the future.In my own research, I find the philosophy and practice of “Economic “Democracy” to be the most viable.
Yes, perhaps you’re right. Perhaps the shock of the impossible has stilled us. For now. But we’ve had four years to prepare—if Trump can prime his cult for the unjust J6 in a relatively short time, we can’t the just do the same?
I'm waiting for the day America explodes. Trump won by only 2 million votes, and it looks like many of the people who voted for him are experiencing buyer's remorse. Where we will be a year from now, who knows. Trump also looks like he's a heart attack waiting to happen. He can hardly walk these days.
We must consistently and repetitively continue to comment and let the authoritarians know that their constant need to engage in destructive behavior stems from their inadequacy and weakness and that they fool no one in the long run. Humpty Trumpy will have his great fall and all his ludicrous sycophants will leave him rotting in the dust. No one will care.
Me as well. WHAT does it say about a party that full scale bows down to this man and his billionaires? We've always known that Republicans were about corporate greed and advancement, but they usually exhibited a level of humanity and morality and cared about the constitution that guided us. They've literally sold the country down the river – this is what enrages me. Trump I expect this from; he's done this all of his life, and those who know him and have watched know this. But an entire party? The silence and acceptance is hard to reconcile.
What is hardest to accept is that there is a large swath of our country that supports this, knowingly. The supposed strong man. If we don't quickly create change, I don't see us having actual legitimate elections for a long time. We all just looking at the national level. Look at the local levels and what legislations are attempting. In my state my 1 of 3 local Democratic reps call what the GOP is doing as Dystopian.
Steve Bannon acknowledged that while they might not be the majority of the country, they weren't necessarily aiming for that. They were aiming for the State Legislations.
IMO they are aiming for minority rule, so they don't have to change anything for themselves - that would affect them. They just want to make the rest of us persona non grata.
Completely agree. Look at No Carolina and what they’re attempting to do to a single Democratic judge that won her election to the Supreme Court. They decided not to certify her election. She won 3 recounts. They still refused. They’re pushing it up to the Supreme Court and trying to throw out 60,000 votes.
This practice, if allowed to continue, will lead to more red states following suit. We may have elections, but if the person is not in a specific party, they won’t win.
Our MAGA folks want a one party system, just like historical fascism. They are Machiavellian, so their means to get there is not important, just as long as they get there.
I have spoken with several MAGA types and they are "all in" for fascism. Of course they really don't know what fascism is though. They are members of the tRump suckers club. Their minds are owned.
I think Trump's line, "I love the uneducated!" explains the large swath of our country.
I think fear and "resource-guarding" explains another group of "haves" in our country.
If we can resist authoritarianism and return to democracy, we will need a humanitarian renaissance in the ways we relate to one another, and in communication, education, technology, resource-sharing. We have gotten far away from being and feeling a part of a community.
One of the steps I am taking over the next four years is supporting writers like you . . . who are doing the forward-facing work of distributing real information about authoritarian schemes. It's reassuring to know that there are others who care about our democracy and who see the "plays" the current administration is using to a certain effect as they unfold. You encourage people to pay attention and speak openly about authoritarian rule. We are new to this, and we are learning how to resist and activate our power together.
I have been thinking from hearing what you have to say and reading the Spy Talk Substack, that it would be a good idea for our Democratic politicians to use much more protection when they communicate with each other, and there is a lot to be said for meeting in a large field and taking a walk and talking keeping an eye out for spying drones overhead. That might be self censorship, but it would be wise given who is coming into office.
I wonder if there is any other way to access your talk with Anand Giridharadas other than downloading the Substack app. I do not want to get a tablet, and I cannot see or hear my cell phone very well. I am mainly using my laptop. If you post it in a laptop friendly form, please let me know.
Linda, you can download it on your laptop. I did. It is worth doing as there are a lot of good sources of the truth. Besides Dr. Ben-Ghiat, I would recommend Joyce Vance, Robert Reich, Steve Schmidt (The Warning), the Grassroots Connector, Jay Kuo, Seth Abramson (Proof), Timothy Snyder, The Contrarian, Marc Elias, Simon Rosenberg, Aaron Parnas, Meidas Touch Network, Scott Dworkin. There are free subscriptions to most of these.
The new reality in America is that people of good will no longer control the levers of power. This makes our defense of democracy exponentially more difficult and challenging. Moreover, Trump's pardon of the J6 thugs puts an end to the protections of law and order as we once knew them. Our struggle against fascism in America just got a lot tougher, but all the more consequential and important in which to prevail.
tRump has tendered a new reality for people to believe in, based on his sociopathic mind. His propaganda has been so effective that followers have normalized his madness.
Organizations like Democracy 2025 are essential to give pushback on our chaos.
Ruth, thank you for writing this. It has most definitely been a hard and challenging week. What has been most unnerving and telling to me, is that except on forums like Substack no one is talking about it. It is hard for me to get a conversation going with others on this topic, including. So the tactic of shock and awe is, for the moment, working and it makes me feel very sad and isolated.
It is people like you, Robert Reich, Anand Ghiiri Das and Heather Cox Richardson, who are at least speaking out in writing and video rather than keeping silent like so many people I know.
Like you, I am not so surprised at the flurry of executive orders and outrageous announcements coming from Trump and his sycophants but, now that it is happening, it still knocks me off my feet a bit. In my weaker moments, I start looking up what it takes to immigrate to a country like Costa Rica, But that eventually passes because I firmly believe we cannot let this go, and I need to stay and fight.
Thank you for what you do and for helping to guide us through this most difficult period of history.
Thank you, John. I just downloaded the invisible.org booklet and will read it a little later. I joined my local chapter of The League of Women Voters in AZ last year at this time. I don't live here full time but I will find a chapter back in Illinois. And speaking of Illinois, the raids in Chicago today made me so disgusted. We have to fight back.
Just be aware they can be negative blowback depending on where you live.
I wrote a letter to the editor last summer about the blatant misogyny and discrimination at the local VA hospital (which has rapidly increased since 2016). Two days after my letter was published I woke up to find a large, violently killed rat on my doorstep.
Very hard to resist the urge to drag them out and (insert your level of action) to strike fear in the hearts of the others who would carry out this heinous attack on our great nation; they deserve no mercy, no quarter. They are pure evil..
Could one say that Congress was a "monster" to allow Bush Jr. to retaliate in kind for attack by foreign enemy on 911? Where was President Biden and AG Garland, not to mention the Judiciary branch, on J621? Weren't they supposed to fight back too? Those who failed us on J621, are they "monsters"?
We don't have to become monsters nor lose sight of our true natures. But we do have to find a way to fight back this assault on our democracy and on us citizens. I read yesterday that someone in Trumps toxic administration is proposing to change The Constitution to allow a third term for Trump. We cannot allow this to happen. It would be helpful if SCOTUS grew a spine again.
Thank you for your educated experienced insights & how we can think about the wilful trauma the DJT lieutenants want to inflict on those who disagree with them.
The zodiac is based on the Chinese lunar calendar, one of the cultural influences in the state of Hawaii. It seems particularly fitting that the animal associated with 2025 makes this The Year of the Snake.
I'm too damned old to be afraid of anybody. What concerns me is how naive some of our "leaders" are. Common ground?? NO! I have no common ground with fascists. Our younger representatives (AOC, Maxwell Frost, Jasmine Crockett, etc.) understand how to fight this war.
As does AOC. I highly recommend her interview with Jon Stewart on his Weekly Show. (Sorry I don’t have a link.)
She said the opposition needs to become a party of brawlers. I agree. I think Michelle Obama had the right idea in not going to the inauguration.
All those Dems who did go normalized the handing of power to a fascist. And, in going, they all completely undercut everything they said about him before the election - which makes them look like liars. Acquiescing and lying - so not a good look for the so-called opposing party.
You know, I am aware of their playbook because you have educated me, but that does not help me to not be depressed by all trump is trying to do. I just learned this morning that troops have been sent to Fort Bliss for training for border work. Given that Fort Bliss is right on the border, I find it interesting that they have to send in troops from elsewhere (note that I live very close to Fort Bliss). Knowing the playbook does not make the pain of seeing what they are doing to immigrants and even Native Americans lessen any. This is not how I want my old age to be, and I don't have any energy to do things like protests or anything that requires travel. So what I can I do to ease the pain?
The only thing that eases my pain is action. Hope comes from action. Action helps me learn and feel the thrill of improving my anti-authoritarian skills. It also created deep friendships.
I agree with the post about indivisible.org. A strong positive organization.
Are there local governmental meetings in your area you can attend in person or virtually? Attending those meetings can be a good way to identify the issues, venues, and people that click with you.
I have no idea of what meetings might be available for attendance and at least right now I don't have the energy to do things like that. Local government meetings would most likely involved driving to downtown when it's dark. I'm not very familiar with our downtown, and night driving is difficult with the lenses in my eyes (post cataract surgery). I'm also not sure how to find out about such things. Right now I just want to stay in my cocoon.
Ms Stone. Thank you for your reporting where the 1,500 troops were sent. I figured it would be to Texas. Do not fear. Here is what I am doing: wearing my ball cap emblazoned with the monogram J621 in public. I'd like to tag public surfaces with J621, but I am too chicken to do that. The point is I will NEVER let the Big Lie Party EVER rest from J621. I bought iron-on and hot pressed the monogram to me hat myself. Cost about five dollars and time on the board with a hot iron. Are you willing to attempt to do the same? Can you continue to post what your hear about the 1,500 troops actions at Ft. Bliss? That would be tremendous to me. Thank you.
I’m a female veteran and when I saw that the Army (& other services) had quickly removed any mention of MST - Military Sexual Trauma - and sexual harassment from their website I literally felt sick. They also canceled all classes on sexual harassment - what to watch out for, what not to do, how to report it. All of it. The Army is tripping over itself to obey the sexual predators that now hold the offices of Sec/Def and Presidency.
What removing all of this does is tell all service members, especially females (all service members experience sexual harassment and sexual assault but female service members are the largest group) that they don’t matter. It also gives the green light to all military sexual predators to help themselves, to do what they want.
I am sickened by how fast our militaries are moving to join ICE and CBP to block and mistreat immigrants. Our military actually had immigrants in chains and refused to let them use the bathroom on the flights to Columbia. They are already acting without humanity, already acting like trump & his cult.
Where is the opposition to using our militaries this way? It had better show up because the next step is using them against the rest of us.
Kasumii, what you are reporting is just awful. As a survivor of sexual trauma I know that the effects last a lifetime. No one deserves to suffer that way. And I hate that they are using Fort Bliss for training. It’s right in the middle of our city.
They do last a lifetime. I too know from experience (when I served). I’m sorry you went through that.
I’m so sorry about Ft Bliss being used. It’s even more frightening when it’s in your own backyard. I watched a group of various types of Army helicopters fly over the other day and instead of feeling pride as a veteran I felt trepidation and wondered exactly where they were headed and why.
Yes, Ruth, authoritarians overwhelm with threats and retribution … but just saying we disapprove or are appalled, is the weak response authoritarians hope for. That “authoritarians often underestimate the fierce will of the people” is perhaps disingenuous when that “will” amounts to little other than hot air. What do we DO? Right now?
A recommendation has been get into face-to-face groups active in your community, on an issue you want to work on. Recommendation has been for local activism.
Yes! And since Trump has a size thing (crowds, fingers) why not show up in overwhelming numbers?
Linda, I fully endorse what you are saying. I remember the quote “ Think globally, but act locally.”
I’m sorry to put it this way, but it helps me to expect cr*p from Trump and his cronies. I’m not appalled; that would mean I’m surprised in part. I am not surprised; on the contrary this is exactly what I expect from them. We can fight it with the truth, good values, and in the courts.
The problem is murdoch, sinclair and the other liars and it's why I have massive trouble accepting anything from the WSJ. I can't scream loudly enough to fight through the roar of lies and I've been trying since 2015. So, we fight with truth (I'm doing what I can with that). But their voices are louder.
I see your point, but truth has power that lies don’t have, in my opinion. You sound to me like you’re doing your part; I will try to do mine, and if all of us who are pro-democracy tell the truth, it will be plenty loud enough, particularly since Trump and his cronies are revealing who they are more each day.
Oddly, I'm doing what I can and it's extremely limited. I spent a lot of time as a mini-activist never able to fill my mom's shoes :) . I had the energy and I saw results. I'm really not sure that the continued seeing his violent and brutal idiocies of mump and his cronies does much at all. He knew it years ago and said it won't hurt him. But yeah, I do what I can wherever I am as I feel obligated to stay engaged and do a mini-fight.
Yes, Sherri and loud is noxious. We all need to share the truths more. But how?
Saturate as they have effectively done. That the Budde approach is genuine ,has ample audience , is one way and wonderful ( the reaction was as expected because the principle was missed/is missed , most by the people who have to draw attention to their own selfish vitriol. Their principle is control …lies, disinformation and manipulation, that’s the Strongman MO.
I proffer the Bob Marley’s and loud , the Woodie Guthrie music, oh we dance and sing to , that protest/protested and spoke the truth IS one way to make loud heard . All you songwriters…do your magic. 😉
The onslaught , for near a decade now is if you understand the timelines of ‘the playbooks’ , is typical . Normalized. Incessant. Planned and executed for the insidious . Again….yup.
We have good people to watchdog..we are in an unprecedented time here..but it has happened before ..it ended badly for most. It took a lot of effort, a lot of change and deep thought , resistance, and hard times. But they did it. We are looked to by a world wondering if we can too. There’s much needed to correct this mess .
While I watched the round table in Ca with Felon34 and the people in charge there , I heard the same rhetoric…”we’ll look into that”, not even a mention of concepts . How many times do we hear how this could be so much better, more efficient. BUT NEVER THE HOW ,not ever the how…just the claims and fabricated sensationalism …that’s a constant …untruthful statements to dress up ..concepts ?
We have to get smarter, folks. See it for what it is.
Hang on.
WE.CAN.DO.THIS.
Get J621 into the public sphere just where it can be seen by pedestrians.
Yes, the visuals are good , thanks. I do wonder how many saw this live, was there a neilson rating, by chance …anyone? A lot of coverage since also..I believe a doc. on it too…did Ken Burns per chance do something on it?
These are the inputs , we can refresh…
Will they believe it? I spent a number of years in my career saying, "A picture's worth a thousand words," that oldddd cliche I'm just not sure it works for the base at this point. I'm not trying to be a pessimist, I've been watching this crazed stuff for a long, long time.
I hot pressed iron on J621 to a ball cap and I wear it in public. It is my resistance. It is my hope that someday somewhere I will see J621 tagged or etched or being worn by another.
1. Resistance needs a symbol with meaning.
2. J621 was an attack on our country with at least as much malice as 911.
3. Congress couldn't vote fast enough to avenge 911.
4. Executive, Congress and SCOTUS had four years to make a definitive response to the attack on J621.
5. On J621 something like 14 people died, and 140 casualties because Trump, Stone and Bannon planned and directed their army to attack if not kill our representatives.
6. This is my take on our situation, and J621 is my torch.
Bring on JD Vance? The world breathes not a sigh but a gasp. Republicans don’t care about America, only the grift and white supremacy.
One of the weirdest turncoats for me was when 91 yr old Grassley caved. It looked odd. In the meantime, Feinstein goes out being told what to vote for (us) and when her days of faking even that (I don't know if she had a clue what she was doing but it was striking - staying until her literal end). For Grassley, it was either the violence threatened or Applebaum's book title, "The Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism." The "Seductive" for whatever ungodly reason seems to work.
One thing we must do is refuse to be intimidated. And that's a lot easier said than done. It's easy for us to be all brave and pro-democracy until we find some J6 or Proud Boy or neo-Nazi thugs pointing guns at our heads and threatening our families and homes. As history has shown, and as we're quickly rediscovering, defending democracy is not, and never has been, a task for the faint of heart.
Yes. Many of the six million were well-meaning.
It's so important for us to resist quickly, before fascism escalates to the point that dissent is banned. This is what tRump is pushing for. Any pro-democracy march will be banned; online criticism of the regime will be subject to a prison sentence. We must stop this mess while we can.
"Any pro-democracy march will be banned;" I recall protestors breaking laws to protest injustice in the 20th c. Weren't draft card burnings, freedom protests and lunch counter sit-ins to protest humanitarian injustice illegal and subject to a prison sentence before this in our history Was that time a less fearful time than today? I wonder. Different time, same people: Klan, ProudBoy, same threats of physical violence used by Autocrats.
Be like Budde, Bishop Marianne Budde
That's not enough.
David, saying we disapprove or are appalled is a much stronger response than not saying anything at all. It has only been a week since Trump took Office and appointed a bunch of incompetent sycophants to his cabinet. The flurry of executive orders is a well fought out strategy to silence his critics. Even if we do not feel we have an effective strategy yet, the first thing to do is to speak out and encourage others to start talking also. That is how Martin Luther King’s opposition to the ill-treatment of African-Americans began and it is how the opposition to the war in Vietnam began also. We are not impotent, but it may take some time to forge opposition into a powerful force.
What we are lacking is a vision of how we would like the economy and governance to operate in the future.In my own research, I find the philosophy and practice of “Economic “Democracy” to be the most viable.
Yes, perhaps you’re right. Perhaps the shock of the impossible has stilled us. For now. But we’ve had four years to prepare—if Trump can prime his cult for the unjust J6 in a relatively short time, we can’t the just do the same?
I'm waiting for the day America explodes. Trump won by only 2 million votes, and it looks like many of the people who voted for him are experiencing buyer's remorse. Where we will be a year from now, who knows. Trump also looks like he's a heart attack waiting to happen. He can hardly walk these days.
Fuck them!
We must consistently and repetitively continue to comment and let the authoritarians know that their constant need to engage in destructive behavior stems from their inadequacy and weakness and that they fool no one in the long run. Humpty Trumpy will have his great fall and all his ludicrous sycophants will leave him rotting in the dust. No one will care.
I want to see the same thing happen to all the sycophants.
Me as well. WHAT does it say about a party that full scale bows down to this man and his billionaires? We've always known that Republicans were about corporate greed and advancement, but they usually exhibited a level of humanity and morality and cared about the constitution that guided us. They've literally sold the country down the river – this is what enrages me. Trump I expect this from; he's done this all of his life, and those who know him and have watched know this. But an entire party? The silence and acceptance is hard to reconcile.
What is hardest to accept is that there is a large swath of our country that supports this, knowingly. The supposed strong man. If we don't quickly create change, I don't see us having actual legitimate elections for a long time. We all just looking at the national level. Look at the local levels and what legislations are attempting. In my state my 1 of 3 local Democratic reps call what the GOP is doing as Dystopian.
Steve Bannon acknowledged that while they might not be the majority of the country, they weren't necessarily aiming for that. They were aiming for the State Legislations.
IMO they are aiming for minority rule, so they don't have to change anything for themselves - that would affect them. They just want to make the rest of us persona non grata.
Completely agree. Look at No Carolina and what they’re attempting to do to a single Democratic judge that won her election to the Supreme Court. They decided not to certify her election. She won 3 recounts. They still refused. They’re pushing it up to the Supreme Court and trying to throw out 60,000 votes.
This practice, if allowed to continue, will lead to more red states following suit. We may have elections, but if the person is not in a specific party, they won’t win.
Wow. When will a judge assert his or her integrity?
Our MAGA folks want a one party system, just like historical fascism. They are Machiavellian, so their means to get there is not important, just as long as they get there.
Bannon is a Traitor. Capital T.
"But an entire party?"
I have spoken with several MAGA types and they are "all in" for fascism. Of course they really don't know what fascism is though. They are members of the tRump suckers club. Their minds are owned.
I think Trump's line, "I love the uneducated!" explains the large swath of our country.
I think fear and "resource-guarding" explains another group of "haves" in our country.
If we can resist authoritarianism and return to democracy, we will need a humanitarian renaissance in the ways we relate to one another, and in communication, education, technology, resource-sharing. We have gotten far away from being and feeling a part of a community.
Richard Nixon was the first President I’m aware of implying the same thing. “The less they know, the better for us.”
One of the steps I am taking over the next four years is supporting writers like you . . . who are doing the forward-facing work of distributing real information about authoritarian schemes. It's reassuring to know that there are others who care about our democracy and who see the "plays" the current administration is using to a certain effect as they unfold. You encourage people to pay attention and speak openly about authoritarian rule. We are new to this, and we are learning how to resist and activate our power together.
I have been thinking from hearing what you have to say and reading the Spy Talk Substack, that it would be a good idea for our Democratic politicians to use much more protection when they communicate with each other, and there is a lot to be said for meeting in a large field and taking a walk and talking keeping an eye out for spying drones overhead. That might be self censorship, but it would be wise given who is coming into office.
I wonder if there is any other way to access your talk with Anand Giridharadas other than downloading the Substack app. I do not want to get a tablet, and I cannot see or hear my cell phone very well. I am mainly using my laptop. If you post it in a laptop friendly form, please let me know.
Linda, you can download it on your laptop. I did. It is worth doing as there are a lot of good sources of the truth. Besides Dr. Ben-Ghiat, I would recommend Joyce Vance, Robert Reich, Steve Schmidt (The Warning), the Grassroots Connector, Jay Kuo, Seth Abramson (Proof), Timothy Snyder, The Contrarian, Marc Elias, Simon Rosenberg, Aaron Parnas, Meidas Touch Network, Scott Dworkin. There are free subscriptions to most of these.
Thanks Ruth. I will try that.
The new reality in America is that people of good will no longer control the levers of power. This makes our defense of democracy exponentially more difficult and challenging. Moreover, Trump's pardon of the J6 thugs puts an end to the protections of law and order as we once knew them. Our struggle against fascism in America just got a lot tougher, but all the more consequential and important in which to prevail.
tRump has tendered a new reality for people to believe in, based on his sociopathic mind. His propaganda has been so effective that followers have normalized his madness.
Organizations like Democracy 2025 are essential to give pushback on our chaos.
Ruth, thank you for writing this. It has most definitely been a hard and challenging week. What has been most unnerving and telling to me, is that except on forums like Substack no one is talking about it. It is hard for me to get a conversation going with others on this topic, including. So the tactic of shock and awe is, for the moment, working and it makes me feel very sad and isolated.
It is people like you, Robert Reich, Anand Ghiiri Das and Heather Cox Richardson, who are at least speaking out in writing and video rather than keeping silent like so many people I know.
Like you, I am not so surprised at the flurry of executive orders and outrageous announcements coming from Trump and his sycophants but, now that it is happening, it still knocks me off my feet a bit. In my weaker moments, I start looking up what it takes to immigrate to a country like Costa Rica, But that eventually passes because I firmly believe we cannot let this go, and I need to stay and fight.
Thank you for what you do and for helping to guide us through this most difficult period of history.
I’m not sure what to do other than call my reps every week.
Get involved with a group such as Indivisible ( https://indivisible.org/ ). (In addition to communicating with your reps.)
Thank you, John. I just downloaded the invisible.org booklet and will read it a little later. I joined my local chapter of The League of Women Voters in AZ last year at this time. I don't live here full time but I will find a chapter back in Illinois. And speaking of Illinois, the raids in Chicago today made me so disgusted. We have to fight back.
If you have a local paper writing letters to the editor can provide people with information that they might not be aware of.
I've been doing that since I saw tRump's first few rallies in 2015.
Just be aware they can be negative blowback depending on where you live.
I wrote a letter to the editor last summer about the blatant misogyny and discrimination at the local VA hospital (which has rapidly increased since 2016). Two days after my letter was published I woke up to find a large, violently killed rat on my doorstep.
That's more than most LJ.
Very hard to resist the urge to drag them out and (insert your level of action) to strike fear in the hearts of the others who would carry out this heinous attack on our great nation; they deserve no mercy, no quarter. They are pure evil..
Strongly agree!
I do, too.
"Do not become a monster to fight a monster." -- Maria Ressa, 2021 Nobel Peace Prize winner.
Could one say that Congress was a "monster" to allow Bush Jr. to retaliate in kind for attack by foreign enemy on 911? Where was President Biden and AG Garland, not to mention the Judiciary branch, on J621? Weren't they supposed to fight back too? Those who failed us on J621, are they "monsters"?
We don't have to become monsters nor lose sight of our true natures. But we do have to find a way to fight back this assault on our democracy and on us citizens. I read yesterday that someone in Trumps toxic administration is proposing to change The Constitution to allow a third term for Trump. We cannot allow this to happen. It would be helpful if SCOTUS grew a spine again.
I know. But when up against pure evil in a godless universe? What is your solution.. cant build a campfire and sit around singing folk songs.
Ruth Ben-Ghiat, I value what you are doing here very highly.
The way that we respond is critical. They want us to shriek in outrage and despair, but we can stand firm and just say NOPE!
Thank you for your educated experienced insights & how we can think about the wilful trauma the DJT lieutenants want to inflict on those who disagree with them.
The zodiac is based on the Chinese lunar calendar, one of the cultural influences in the state of Hawaii. It seems particularly fitting that the animal associated with 2025 makes this The Year of the Snake.
That's heavy.
I'm too damned old to be afraid of anybody. What concerns me is how naive some of our "leaders" are. Common ground?? NO! I have no common ground with fascists. Our younger representatives (AOC, Maxwell Frost, Jasmine Crockett, etc.) understand how to fight this war.
I think Jasmine Crockett is terrific. She is a dynamo and I should follow her more closely.
As does AOC. I highly recommend her interview with Jon Stewart on his Weekly Show. (Sorry I don’t have a link.)
She said the opposition needs to become a party of brawlers. I agree. I think Michelle Obama had the right idea in not going to the inauguration.
All those Dems who did go normalized the handing of power to a fascist. And, in going, they all completely undercut everything they said about him before the election - which makes them look like liars. Acquiescing and lying - so not a good look for the so-called opposing party.
Thank you for this message.
You know, I am aware of their playbook because you have educated me, but that does not help me to not be depressed by all trump is trying to do. I just learned this morning that troops have been sent to Fort Bliss for training for border work. Given that Fort Bliss is right on the border, I find it interesting that they have to send in troops from elsewhere (note that I live very close to Fort Bliss). Knowing the playbook does not make the pain of seeing what they are doing to immigrants and even Native Americans lessen any. This is not how I want my old age to be, and I don't have any energy to do things like protests or anything that requires travel. So what I can I do to ease the pain?
The only thing that eases my pain is action. Hope comes from action. Action helps me learn and feel the thrill of improving my anti-authoritarian skills. It also created deep friendships.
I agree with the post about indivisible.org. A strong positive organization.
Are there local governmental meetings in your area you can attend in person or virtually? Attending those meetings can be a good way to identify the issues, venues, and people that click with you.
Solidarity.
I have no idea of what meetings might be available for attendance and at least right now I don't have the energy to do things like that. Local government meetings would most likely involved driving to downtown when it's dark. I'm not very familiar with our downtown, and night driving is difficult with the lenses in my eyes (post cataract surgery). I'm also not sure how to find out about such things. Right now I just want to stay in my cocoon.
Cocoons can be good too. Change and growth happen inside cocoons!
My grandmother had cataract surgery in her 90s back in the early 2000s. Amazing!
EldersActionNetwork meets virtually. Has several different interest areas.
Ms Stone. Thank you for your reporting where the 1,500 troops were sent. I figured it would be to Texas. Do not fear. Here is what I am doing: wearing my ball cap emblazoned with the monogram J621 in public. I'd like to tag public surfaces with J621, but I am too chicken to do that. The point is I will NEVER let the Big Lie Party EVER rest from J621. I bought iron-on and hot pressed the monogram to me hat myself. Cost about five dollars and time on the board with a hot iron. Are you willing to attempt to do the same? Can you continue to post what your hear about the 1,500 troops actions at Ft. Bliss? That would be tremendous to me. Thank you.
I will be glad to post whatever I find out. I get the El Paso Times and they should cover that.
I know what you mean Susan.
I’m a female veteran and when I saw that the Army (& other services) had quickly removed any mention of MST - Military Sexual Trauma - and sexual harassment from their website I literally felt sick. They also canceled all classes on sexual harassment - what to watch out for, what not to do, how to report it. All of it. The Army is tripping over itself to obey the sexual predators that now hold the offices of Sec/Def and Presidency.
What removing all of this does is tell all service members, especially females (all service members experience sexual harassment and sexual assault but female service members are the largest group) that they don’t matter. It also gives the green light to all military sexual predators to help themselves, to do what they want.
I am sickened by how fast our militaries are moving to join ICE and CBP to block and mistreat immigrants. Our military actually had immigrants in chains and refused to let them use the bathroom on the flights to Columbia. They are already acting without humanity, already acting like trump & his cult.
Where is the opposition to using our militaries this way? It had better show up because the next step is using them against the rest of us.
Kasumii, what you are reporting is just awful. As a survivor of sexual trauma I know that the effects last a lifetime. No one deserves to suffer that way. And I hate that they are using Fort Bliss for training. It’s right in the middle of our city.
They do last a lifetime. I too know from experience (when I served). I’m sorry you went through that.
I’m so sorry about Ft Bliss being used. It’s even more frightening when it’s in your own backyard. I watched a group of various types of Army helicopters fly over the other day and instead of feeling pride as a veteran I felt trepidation and wondered exactly where they were headed and why.
So you, more than most, understand how bad that current situation is. I’m sorry you had to go through that.