The democratic world is expressing relief in the aftermath of Emmanuel Macron's victory over Marine Le Pen, head of France's National Rally party. Macron earned a decisive victory, 58.5% to Le Pen's 41%. The outcome of the June legislative elections (sometimes known as the "third round" of voting) will determine whether Macron obtains the parliamentary majority necessary to govern effectively. Yet France will have a centrist head of state who, unlike Le Pen, is not
yes, you are accurate and concise. Conniving also seems to fit the bill. That's why if we could devise a cartoon character to use broadly to laugh them out of our way that would be good.
After all the iconic long-lasting Uncle Sam cartoon had to come from somewhere. Social media has so much wording it's unfortunate because graphics speak to all. And 25% of the populace only receive messaging visually. Have a good rest of your day Kasumii. Kind regards.
These extreme women wrestler types need to be examined through the lens of an established women's group. However fact-based men communicate, it will be misconstrued. Established women's groups such League of Women Voters or Daughters of the American Revolution (D.A.R.) are conservative. But these extremist women present poorly. To everyone. Just visually, they appear anchor-less. A wind vane spinning wildly in the wind. They lack the tenacity and fortitude as displayed by other women public servants. Unlike their male autocrat counterparts, these women shriek and shrill in the public eye, desperate for attention. Even without educating yourself on the issues, these extremist women appear and present poorly.
Thank you Ruth for the link to the Politico interview. It was insightful, clear, chronological, fact-based and alarming enough but with your signature calm which helps keep us steeped in hope and focus. Kind regards.
So grateful for the results in France. Thank you for your summary on the feminist aspect of strongmen wanta bees. These woman have an enormous hunger for power and to play with the big boys. It's all a power game for these testosterone-driven wanta bees. Having been involved in state court proceedings trying to get child support established for 3 minor children, -- one would think hiring a female attorney to do the challenge would make sense. No. I tried, hired two and had two different female judges. These females all used my (hot-potato) case to try to catapult into the big boy crowd, and gain acceptance, further their careers by supporting the male illegalities that defied federal law and public policies. They (the power-seeking broads) know no bounds. Their use of the terms 'children', 'family', are a ruse. They do the exact opposite, by extracting money from these entities, using children as biblical chattel to further their wonkish under-flated egos. They know nothing of motherhood, femininity or retaining healthy families for children. There are religious organizations that tutor the same Phyllis Schlafy-like agenda or playbill to the opera. They wrongly lead uneducated Republican-like wives, waiting to get for their manicure appointments, down a misguided and blinded road. These women are the filth of the earth. They work in direct opposite to what they say, as do their small-egoed male counterparts. The world is challenged by the Quick winner-take-all Tiny-Tims of egos, masquerading as else.
Like you, I followed closely. Grateful for the results. I still cannot shake off the feeling of being in a reprieve. Like minded folks, have right to be concerned. One of the "leads" for the info on Deutsche Bank investigation, is dead. Not poison, or a window. I wonder if he choked on a Big Mac. I still wonder who paid off Kavenaughs debt, as well as Justice Kennedy's "retirement", and connection to Deutsche Bank. The world at large is no better. A reprieve, nothing more.
Your Politico interview is an example of why your voice needs to be heard far and wide. You make me think of that Michigan woman legislator slimed by a Republican. You and she call it like it is.
My wish is for the prosecutions to continue as Free Speech for the People are doing. Last week in Georgia they put Marjorie Taylor Green on the stand. Can the DOJ be far behind?
What if Sec 3, Article 14 keeps Trump from running and it goes to the Supreme Court?
Arizona has become a hotbed of feminine proto-fascism. Kari Lake, Wendy Rogers and Karen Robson are at the forefront of a wave of vile, vulgar and vitriolic hate and post-truth. Their propaganda is attempting to create a sense of anger and victimhood by making followers feel besieged by an outside enemy. This technique is right out of the fascist playbook. They are selling fascism but their followers don't understand what they are buying. They think it is still Republicanism.
Sometimes I think that the real threat from Trumpism might come from Ivanka Trump after her father Donald is out of the picture. She has all qualities that our culture loves, yet she has the same dishonest heart that is committed to the same power and money values as her dad. I fear that she will be the one to receive the sceptre after her father, much like Le Pen in France. And she will be much harder to defeat.
"Eternal vigilance," an ideal commonly attributed to Jefferson, is required to beat back the forces of fascism. Fortunately for the French people who fervently believe in representative democracy, they've done so again in 2022. But whether their American counterparts can do likewise – on a preliminary basis this year and then, crucially, in 2024 – is very much an open question.
(And speaking of "hate with a feminine touch," Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, Sarah Palin and their ilk don't take a back seat to anyone.)
The fact that the worshippers of Orange Mussolini have already become adept at seizing the levers of power that at the state and local levels oversee elections within the federal system, and that Trumpism could start controlling one body of Congress and perhaps both as early as January 2023, is certainly not a cause for complacency, let alone optimism, now. Or ever.
Sincerest thanks yet again to Ruth Ben-Ghiat for being such a brilliant beacon to help us navigate through our collective fog, nationally as well as internationally. Anyone who still thinks "It Can't Happen Here" need only look back to the American presidential election of 2016.
Excellent observation Dr. Ben-Ghiat! Even though France and the world dodged another far right extremist bullet the real question remains is "how long will this trend continue?" The world is very unsettled right now with the Ukrainian conflict, combined with the recent Hungary election, and the looming mid-term elections here in the US. Your interview in Politico with Michael Kruse only serves as a reminder of the instability that is facing us. Thank you for your continuing attempts to keep these issues in the spotlight!
Until we fix the income gap and plutocratic legal forms of aligning state actions with interests of the wealthy, populist ethno-nationalists will have plenty listening to their seductive lies. As they learn from these short term defeats, they will become better at messaging. Those who prefer a liberal democratic order need to get organized and start fixing the governance structures that are rotting away the stability of the middle class, pronto.
We can breathe easier with Macron for the next 5 years, but we should not be complacent. Marine Le Pen's percentages have grown every year, like a cancer.
It may be time for us to recognize that the human species is the problem and to start to recognize illiberal minds, racist minds, violent minds. The danger is in the species' thinking and the logic behind its actions. Any human being can be a threat. We must learn to look beyond surface trivialities to discern the principles of action motivating different individuals.
We have a bullpen in the US of potential far right female authoritarians. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, Sara Palin, Marsha Blackburn, Elise Stefanik and others. They are all vicious and determined to bring about one party autocratic control through demagoguery, corruption, conspiracy theories and propaganda.
This doesn't explain how Le Pen is an 'authoritarian' though.
yes, you are accurate and concise. Conniving also seems to fit the bill. That's why if we could devise a cartoon character to use broadly to laugh them out of our way that would be good.
After all the iconic long-lasting Uncle Sam cartoon had to come from somewhere. Social media has so much wording it's unfortunate because graphics speak to all. And 25% of the populace only receive messaging visually. Have a good rest of your day Kasumii. Kind regards.
These extreme women wrestler types need to be examined through the lens of an established women's group. However fact-based men communicate, it will be misconstrued. Established women's groups such League of Women Voters or Daughters of the American Revolution (D.A.R.) are conservative. But these extremist women present poorly. To everyone. Just visually, they appear anchor-less. A wind vane spinning wildly in the wind. They lack the tenacity and fortitude as displayed by other women public servants. Unlike their male autocrat counterparts, these women shriek and shrill in the public eye, desperate for attention. Even without educating yourself on the issues, these extremist women appear and present poorly.
Thank you Ruth for the link to the Politico interview. It was insightful, clear, chronological, fact-based and alarming enough but with your signature calm which helps keep us steeped in hope and focus. Kind regards.
So grateful for the results in France. Thank you for your summary on the feminist aspect of strongmen wanta bees. These woman have an enormous hunger for power and to play with the big boys. It's all a power game for these testosterone-driven wanta bees. Having been involved in state court proceedings trying to get child support established for 3 minor children, -- one would think hiring a female attorney to do the challenge would make sense. No. I tried, hired two and had two different female judges. These females all used my (hot-potato) case to try to catapult into the big boy crowd, and gain acceptance, further their careers by supporting the male illegalities that defied federal law and public policies. They (the power-seeking broads) know no bounds. Their use of the terms 'children', 'family', are a ruse. They do the exact opposite, by extracting money from these entities, using children as biblical chattel to further their wonkish under-flated egos. They know nothing of motherhood, femininity or retaining healthy families for children. There are religious organizations that tutor the same Phyllis Schlafy-like agenda or playbill to the opera. They wrongly lead uneducated Republican-like wives, waiting to get for their manicure appointments, down a misguided and blinded road. These women are the filth of the earth. They work in direct opposite to what they say, as do their small-egoed male counterparts. The world is challenged by the Quick winner-take-all Tiny-Tims of egos, masquerading as else.
Like you, I followed closely. Grateful for the results. I still cannot shake off the feeling of being in a reprieve. Like minded folks, have right to be concerned. One of the "leads" for the info on Deutsche Bank investigation, is dead. Not poison, or a window. I wonder if he choked on a Big Mac. I still wonder who paid off Kavenaughs debt, as well as Justice Kennedy's "retirement", and connection to Deutsche Bank. The world at large is no better. A reprieve, nothing more.
Your Politico interview is an example of why your voice needs to be heard far and wide. You make me think of that Michigan woman legislator slimed by a Republican. You and she call it like it is.
My wish is for the prosecutions to continue as Free Speech for the People are doing. Last week in Georgia they put Marjorie Taylor Green on the stand. Can the DOJ be far behind?
What if Sec 3, Article 14 keeps Trump from running and it goes to the Supreme Court?
Pack the court.
Arizona has become a hotbed of feminine proto-fascism. Kari Lake, Wendy Rogers and Karen Robson are at the forefront of a wave of vile, vulgar and vitriolic hate and post-truth. Their propaganda is attempting to create a sense of anger and victimhood by making followers feel besieged by an outside enemy. This technique is right out of the fascist playbook. They are selling fascism but their followers don't understand what they are buying. They think it is still Republicanism.
Sometimes I think that the real threat from Trumpism might come from Ivanka Trump after her father Donald is out of the picture. She has all qualities that our culture loves, yet she has the same dishonest heart that is committed to the same power and money values as her dad. I fear that she will be the one to receive the sceptre after her father, much like Le Pen in France. And she will be much harder to defeat.
"Eternal vigilance," an ideal commonly attributed to Jefferson, is required to beat back the forces of fascism. Fortunately for the French people who fervently believe in representative democracy, they've done so again in 2022. But whether their American counterparts can do likewise – on a preliminary basis this year and then, crucially, in 2024 – is very much an open question.
(And speaking of "hate with a feminine touch," Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, Sarah Palin and their ilk don't take a back seat to anyone.)
The fact that the worshippers of Orange Mussolini have already become adept at seizing the levers of power that at the state and local levels oversee elections within the federal system, and that Trumpism could start controlling one body of Congress and perhaps both as early as January 2023, is certainly not a cause for complacency, let alone optimism, now. Or ever.
Sincerest thanks yet again to Ruth Ben-Ghiat for being such a brilliant beacon to help us navigate through our collective fog, nationally as well as internationally. Anyone who still thinks "It Can't Happen Here" need only look back to the American presidential election of 2016.
Excellent observation Dr. Ben-Ghiat! Even though France and the world dodged another far right extremist bullet the real question remains is "how long will this trend continue?" The world is very unsettled right now with the Ukrainian conflict, combined with the recent Hungary election, and the looming mid-term elections here in the US. Your interview in Politico with Michael Kruse only serves as a reminder of the instability that is facing us. Thank you for your continuing attempts to keep these issues in the spotlight!
Until we fix the income gap and plutocratic legal forms of aligning state actions with interests of the wealthy, populist ethno-nationalists will have plenty listening to their seductive lies. As they learn from these short term defeats, they will become better at messaging. Those who prefer a liberal democratic order need to get organized and start fixing the governance structures that are rotting away the stability of the middle class, pronto.
We can breathe easier with Macron for the next 5 years, but we should not be complacent. Marine Le Pen's percentages have grown every year, like a cancer.
It may be time for us to recognize that the human species is the problem and to start to recognize illiberal minds, racist minds, violent minds. The danger is in the species' thinking and the logic behind its actions. Any human being can be a threat. We must learn to look beyond surface trivialities to discern the principles of action motivating different individuals.
Fascism wears Prada.
Also wondering how Floridians are thinking about their Disneylandness Tax for next year?
We have a bullpen in the US of potential far right female authoritarians. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, Sara Palin, Marsha Blackburn, Elise Stefanik and others. They are all vicious and determined to bring about one party autocratic control through demagoguery, corruption, conspiracy theories and propaganda.