In or around 2014/15 Nancy MacClean was interviewed on 60 Minutes. My husband and I were in NY and the interview really perked up our attention. This was before the total addiction to social media to took hold. I remember her warning Americans about the plan by the Republican Party related to the Constitution. At the time, we were concerned and mildly alarmed. I think about all that has happened since. I think about the former Republicans who I follow and who must have known the intentions of the party. Shortly after that interview and before "disinformation" was so central to the dangerous place we are at today, I read reviews about Nancy MacClean and her book and she was really 'discredited'. I sort of dismissed her then. Now I realize that people like her, Dr. Bandy Lee and Steven Hassan become targets not just by nefarious politicians but by media moguls and elites. I think one day when Dr. Lee, Dr. Hassan and Dr. MacClean are exonerated, having been discredited by bad people and entities, we will "weep" knowing we could have and should have listened.
Ruth your comment about Pete Hegseth promoting the sale of grenade ammunition, I don’t believe is accurate. There are videos of Hegseth promoting sale of ammunition, but not grenades. Your voice is so important in these times to credibly link what is happening in our country with other authoritarian and fascist movements. When you offer inaccurate information, the right discredits what you’re saying and damages your message. Many people find firearms distasteful, but it’s not the firearm. that’s the problem, It’s the policies around those firearms that is the problem.. Please don’t fall into the trap providing misinformation about firearms. Hegseth is bad enoughwithout miss representing his association with firearms and militant right groups.
A quick search takes you to his FB page as he grifts. The grift is Grenade Soap. "One Man Army - Grenade GrenadeSoap.com 100% American made, anti-woke, Patriots! Been using their stuff for months, and can't beat it"
It does seem fantastical that the Donald and company will pull off what project 2025 indicates, but Ruth your knowledge of how authoritarians seize power is absolutely frightening ! I keep thinking of my parents in the French resistance during the Nazi occupation , and think we might have to form one here as well !
Am thinking about what will be the consequences of civil disobedience will be, how many of us will be willing to do so, and how strong the potential resistance will be - will we fight and not accept and how will best we accomplish holding together in our shared fight.
The article "What Could Stop Him?" by David Cole in The New York Review is instructive in that regard. "The Constitution’s checks and balances are not self-enforcing; they work only where citizens and civil society institutions fight back," he writes. "Trump’s first term showed that when we do, we can limit the damage and turn the tide." A daunting task, for sure, but here's hoping.
It seems almost surreal, but the time has come. It’s all happening so fast. I am tremendously grateful to Ruth and her “LUCID” for providing a refuge for us to learn and find guidance. I have ramped up my support with paid subscriptions because as certain aspects of the media falter and cave, we HAVE TO support Ruth and other writers/teachers/leaders whose light will help guide us through the darkness….Thank you, Ruth, as always. I’m glad to have the friends here amongst us, as well as your Zoom-‘guest commentators’ who attend these Zoom meetings and share their thoughts and insight here….thanks all!
Has anyone seen or heard from their federal representatives from either party, say in your local paper or on local stations acknowledging what is coming and what they are doing now? Are they able to offer hope by telling you what they accomplished in the last few weeks or how they plan to combat the incoming fascists? Are they doing anything? I have received the typical periodic email from one Senator but no mention of the elephant in the room. As if it's business as usual. I have written to all my reps. When I wrote or called during 45's first time around, I would get a form response back. Crickets this time. It feels a lot like Don't Look Up!
Shortly after the election and the gut punch we continue to feel, I turned on the news to see the House holding a hearing about UFO's. I was sick. Where are our elected officials?
I've had similar experiences. A few form letter responses, but mostly silence, and business as usual. None, even in this strongly Democratic district in NorCal, are talking about resistance or next steps.
Translations of it are plenty. In short the antifacistic song which dates back to the worst time of European facism, tells of giving one's life for freedom, celebrating the sacrifice of partisans.
Thank you thank you thank you Ruth for all these links and the reprise of your Atlantic article “A Permanent Counterrevolution”. As I write this I am looking at about a Scripts poll saying 64% of respondents oppose pardons for J6 convicts, how the world is too big with so many moving parts that tRump will screw up soon, his approval rating will tank and Dems take back the House in '26. Except for perpetual resistance against these American fascists, regardless of the particulars and actors, I do not think tRump will be president at the end of 2028.
ironic that the hatred of government by MAGites, once in power, become thoroughly oppressive governments . . . seems like an opportune time to transition from my species and bring my inner canine out of the closet although no being or entity can fare well under fascism when the existential truth of interdependence is under siege in such regimes
There could very well be a lot of unrest over a period of time before that. I read an article that suggested that MAGA won't connect increasing prices or discomfort to Trump at all. Of course the disinformation team is likely preparing for messaging that will blame Biden and Obama and Clinton (Hillary). I think there will be a mountain of smoke and mirrors as the right deploys their damage.
There are also semi-encouraging signs that some Senate Republicans are getting queasy. I hope voters with Republican senators will keep writing, calling, emailing them, futile as the effort may feel.
Three things keep playing in my mind: 1) years ago when YouTube was new, a reporter tracked down to Eastern Europe a "channel" that posted bizarre stuff that went viral. The two young men said something to the effect of "you Americans will believe anything". 2) an article I wish I saved so I could correctly credit the author, noted that several historians said only 1 in 5 countries that are "this far
down the path toward autocracy" could save their democracy (this was written during Trump's first
administration, I believe.) and 3) Trump saying if he is elected, "you won't have to vote again".
Renowned curmudgeon (and apparently proto-fascist, per Jacob Heilbrunn's recent book AMERICA LAST) H. L. Mencken famously said something along the lines of "you Americans will believe anything" in September 1926:
"No one in this world, so far as I know—and I have searched the records for years, and employed agents to help me—has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people. Nor has anyone ever lost public office thereby. . . ."
I think this would be a good time to study how various communities survived under oppressive conditions. For eg, I think of American Black communities that banded together, creating their churches which are, still, a place of refuge, inspiration and support.
The rest of us Americans have not experienced life under authoritarianism and we are going to have to learn how to do so very quickly. We are also going to have to learn how to resist. Ruth, I’m going to reread the relevant chapters in Strongmen. For those who contributed salient links, I’ll be checking those out as well.
Still trying to wrap my head around this nightmare that’s about to occur.
I dunno. As someone who did a lot of marches in the 1960s I question the effectiveness of marches anymore. Maybe I'm wrong. Are Americans ready to face rifle fire as they march? I remember Kent State like it was yesterday. That had a chilling effect on marches for a long time.
I was only 11 but it's a vivid memory. Again, law & order Republicans creating a climate of oppression and death. "Tin soldiers and Nixon coming... We're finally on our own. This summer I hear their drumming... Four dead in Ohio".
There's so much we just don't know yet. If marchers were "only" facing cops/military violence with clubs, as on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, that would be one thing. Rifles would be another. So some marching is possible...especially if it's like the Women's March...would they really beat up women? We don't know...yet. At the same time, Dems/progressives/NeverTrumpers need to begin doing what the Republicans began doing 40 years ago...begin building the educational and philosophical and religious infrastructure that inculcates what we stand for...freedom/Democracy/Social Justice/Equality/Compassion/Rule of Law. If we do, although it's a long slog, we may eventually be able to come up with our own 2025 Project, which is the physical manifestation of how we believe our national government should be structured. Even though we have known for years that the Republicans have been putting this into place, Democrats have refused to do this hard work. Why is that? In my estimation this work HAS to be done if we are to win back the sustainable government and governance we need and believe in.
And given Trump’s desire for violence, we need to be prepared for a reception not unlike the one facing the marchers across the Edmund Pettus (sp?) bridge.
A question this reader has is, what will happen if, right out of the gate, Trump starts using active-duty military domestically? Whether or not Hegseth is confirmed to run the Pentagon, it will be a stooge or a MAGA zealot. (Or perhaps one of Trump's typical "acting" appointments to circumvent the Senate.) What about the generals who take their constitutional oath seriously? Will they keep getting fired until Trump finds ones who don't? If there is to be pushback against Trump's excesses, who will provide it?
It seems that project 2025 is something that many Americans are just not aware of or they simply just don’t care about the consequences it will bring.
Thank you Ruth, very much.
We must be prepared to
resist. The seat of power is
Washington. Once "the
people" are "really" aware of
and see what's happening with the new regime, I have
hope they will not bend a
knee throughout this great
land.
Do what you can to protect
yourselves financially, with
your food supplies, etc.
Fascist takeover is never
a pretty picture.
To think a LOT of this rot could have been muted by a more bold President than the one we got saddled with, or as I call him President Hindenberg...
In or around 2014/15 Nancy MacClean was interviewed on 60 Minutes. My husband and I were in NY and the interview really perked up our attention. This was before the total addiction to social media to took hold. I remember her warning Americans about the plan by the Republican Party related to the Constitution. At the time, we were concerned and mildly alarmed. I think about all that has happened since. I think about the former Republicans who I follow and who must have known the intentions of the party. Shortly after that interview and before "disinformation" was so central to the dangerous place we are at today, I read reviews about Nancy MacClean and her book and she was really 'discredited'. I sort of dismissed her then. Now I realize that people like her, Dr. Bandy Lee and Steven Hassan become targets not just by nefarious politicians but by media moguls and elites. I think one day when Dr. Lee, Dr. Hassan and Dr. MacClean are exonerated, having been discredited by bad people and entities, we will "weep" knowing we could have and should have listened.
Ruth your comment about Pete Hegseth promoting the sale of grenade ammunition, I don’t believe is accurate. There are videos of Hegseth promoting sale of ammunition, but not grenades. Your voice is so important in these times to credibly link what is happening in our country with other authoritarian and fascist movements. When you offer inaccurate information, the right discredits what you’re saying and damages your message. Many people find firearms distasteful, but it’s not the firearm. that’s the problem, It’s the policies around those firearms that is the problem.. Please don’t fall into the trap providing misinformation about firearms. Hegseth is bad enoughwithout miss representing his association with firearms and militant right groups.
A quick search takes you to his FB page as he grifts. The grift is Grenade Soap. "One Man Army - Grenade GrenadeSoap.com 100% American made, anti-woke, Patriots! Been using their stuff for months, and can't beat it"
It does seem fantastical that the Donald and company will pull off what project 2025 indicates, but Ruth your knowledge of how authoritarians seize power is absolutely frightening ! I keep thinking of my parents in the French resistance during the Nazi occupation , and think we might have to form one here as well !
Yes! Resist. Do not obey in advance!
Am thinking about what will be the consequences of civil disobedience will be, how many of us will be willing to do so, and how strong the potential resistance will be - will we fight and not accept and how will best we accomplish holding together in our shared fight.
The article "What Could Stop Him?" by David Cole in The New York Review is instructive in that regard. "The Constitution’s checks and balances are not self-enforcing; they work only where citizens and civil society institutions fight back," he writes. "Trump’s first term showed that when we do, we can limit the damage and turn the tide." A daunting task, for sure, but here's hoping.
It seems almost surreal, but the time has come. It’s all happening so fast. I am tremendously grateful to Ruth and her “LUCID” for providing a refuge for us to learn and find guidance. I have ramped up my support with paid subscriptions because as certain aspects of the media falter and cave, we HAVE TO support Ruth and other writers/teachers/leaders whose light will help guide us through the darkness….Thank you, Ruth, as always. I’m glad to have the friends here amongst us, as well as your Zoom-‘guest commentators’ who attend these Zoom meetings and share their thoughts and insight here….thanks all!
Has anyone seen or heard from their federal representatives from either party, say in your local paper or on local stations acknowledging what is coming and what they are doing now? Are they able to offer hope by telling you what they accomplished in the last few weeks or how they plan to combat the incoming fascists? Are they doing anything? I have received the typical periodic email from one Senator but no mention of the elephant in the room. As if it's business as usual. I have written to all my reps. When I wrote or called during 45's first time around, I would get a form response back. Crickets this time. It feels a lot like Don't Look Up!
Shortly after the election and the gut punch we continue to feel, I turned on the news to see the House holding a hearing about UFO's. I was sick. Where are our elected officials?
I've had similar experiences. A few form letter responses, but mostly silence, and business as usual. None, even in this strongly Democratic district in NorCal, are talking about resistance or next steps.
Knowing what's coming, what can we do now?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8y8zEzk9-A8
@Never_again_against_anyone
10 months ago
Translations of it are plenty. In short the antifacistic song which dates back to the worst time of European facism, tells of giving one's life for freedom, celebrating the sacrifice of partisans.
Thank you thank you thank you Ruth for all these links and the reprise of your Atlantic article “A Permanent Counterrevolution”. As I write this I am looking at about a Scripts poll saying 64% of respondents oppose pardons for J6 convicts, how the world is too big with so many moving parts that tRump will screw up soon, his approval rating will tank and Dems take back the House in '26. Except for perpetual resistance against these American fascists, regardless of the particulars and actors, I do not think tRump will be president at the end of 2028.
ironic that the hatred of government by MAGites, once in power, become thoroughly oppressive governments . . . seems like an opportune time to transition from my species and bring my inner canine out of the closet although no being or entity can fare well under fascism when the existential truth of interdependence is under siege in such regimes
The end may well come about when the maga folks turn on each other
There could very well be a lot of unrest over a period of time before that. I read an article that suggested that MAGA won't connect increasing prices or discomfort to Trump at all. Of course the disinformation team is likely preparing for messaging that will blame Biden and Obama and Clinton (Hillary). I think there will be a mountain of smoke and mirrors as the right deploys their damage.
There are also semi-encouraging signs that some Senate Republicans are getting queasy. I hope voters with Republican senators will keep writing, calling, emailing them, futile as the effort may feel.
That can't come soon enough.
Three things keep playing in my mind: 1) years ago when YouTube was new, a reporter tracked down to Eastern Europe a "channel" that posted bizarre stuff that went viral. The two young men said something to the effect of "you Americans will believe anything". 2) an article I wish I saved so I could correctly credit the author, noted that several historians said only 1 in 5 countries that are "this far
down the path toward autocracy" could save their democracy (this was written during Trump's first
administration, I believe.) and 3) Trump saying if he is elected, "you won't have to vote again".
Renowned curmudgeon (and apparently proto-fascist, per Jacob Heilbrunn's recent book AMERICA LAST) H. L. Mencken famously said something along the lines of "you Americans will believe anything" in September 1926:
"No one in this world, so far as I know—and I have searched the records for years, and employed agents to help me—has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people. Nor has anyone ever lost public office thereby. . . ."
The quote in context is provided on Quote Inspector, https://quoteinvestigator.com/2020/03/01/underestimate/
I think this would be a good time to study how various communities survived under oppressive conditions. For eg, I think of American Black communities that banded together, creating their churches which are, still, a place of refuge, inspiration and support.
The rest of us Americans have not experienced life under authoritarianism and we are going to have to learn how to do so very quickly. We are also going to have to learn how to resist. Ruth, I’m going to reread the relevant chapters in Strongmen. For those who contributed salient links, I’ll be checking those out as well.
Still trying to wrap my head around this nightmare that’s about to occur.
The Civil Rights Movement had many marches with huge numbers of participants. We need to do the same, but this time for democracy.
I dunno. As someone who did a lot of marches in the 1960s I question the effectiveness of marches anymore. Maybe I'm wrong. Are Americans ready to face rifle fire as they march? I remember Kent State like it was yesterday. That had a chilling effect on marches for a long time.
I was only 11 but it's a vivid memory. Again, law & order Republicans creating a climate of oppression and death. "Tin soldiers and Nixon coming... We're finally on our own. This summer I hear their drumming... Four dead in Ohio".
Ohio... Again...
What would you suggest instead?
There's so much we just don't know yet. If marchers were "only" facing cops/military violence with clubs, as on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, that would be one thing. Rifles would be another. So some marching is possible...especially if it's like the Women's March...would they really beat up women? We don't know...yet. At the same time, Dems/progressives/NeverTrumpers need to begin doing what the Republicans began doing 40 years ago...begin building the educational and philosophical and religious infrastructure that inculcates what we stand for...freedom/Democracy/Social Justice/Equality/Compassion/Rule of Law. If we do, although it's a long slog, we may eventually be able to come up with our own 2025 Project, which is the physical manifestation of how we believe our national government should be structured. Even though we have known for years that the Republicans have been putting this into place, Democrats have refused to do this hard work. Why is that? In my estimation this work HAS to be done if we are to win back the sustainable government and governance we need and believe in.
Agree.
And given Trump’s desire for violence, we need to be prepared for a reception not unlike the one facing the marchers across the Edmund Pettus (sp?) bridge.
A question this reader has is, what will happen if, right out of the gate, Trump starts using active-duty military domestically? Whether or not Hegseth is confirmed to run the Pentagon, it will be a stooge or a MAGA zealot. (Or perhaps one of Trump's typical "acting" appointments to circumvent the Senate.) What about the generals who take their constitutional oath seriously? Will they keep getting fired until Trump finds ones who don't? If there is to be pushback against Trump's excesses, who will provide it?
Great questions, Gene. It remains to be seen who will resist and who will acquiesce from within the military.
We need to do it before they outlaw dissent. We are on a slippery slope right now.
The Nazi regime consolidated power over the course of only several weeks with the Reichstag Fire Act and the Enabling Acts, both early in 1933.
Did anyone see the movie Race, about Jesse Owens and the 1936 Berlin Olympics? Not a great movie but an inspiring story in this context.