Courting Disaster - Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance
There is no pretense that Trump would take office as anything other than an authoritarian leader, unconcerned by the rule of law. Itâs a stern reminder that we are being realists, not alarmists, when we talk about how devastating a second Trump presidency would be.
How Corporate America Invented Christian America
Inside one reverendâs big business-backed 1940s crusade to make the country conservative again.
By KEVIN M. KRUSE April 16, 2015
This is an older, but relevant, article that gives some insight into the rise of Christian Nationalism. It compliments nicely Elizabeth Fones-Wolf's book, The Business Assault on Labor and Liberalism (1994). I've only just started The Power Worshipers by Katherine Stewart but highly recommend it. Lastly, I'll include a link to Political Research Associates and their work on uncovering Right-Wing funding.
#religion #ChristianNationalism #RightWing #authoritarianism #conservatism #liberalism #libertarianism #business #fascism
https://newsie.social/@ZhiZhu/112026279928099587 ZhiZhu@newsie.social - @protecttruth
The #NYTimes once published an article saying that #Hitler wasnât really that bad. He was just using #antisemitism as a way to attract followers & keep them excited about his #political campaign.
The NYTimes more recently published an article saying that #Trump isnât really that bad. He is just using threats of #violence & #authoritarianism as a way to attract followers & keep them excited about his political campaign.
And a heart-felt "Fuck you" to everyone who told me in 2016 that I was overreacting. Yes, that's a meme. I don't care. I feel it in my bones. I cried the night they called that election for Trump. I cried myself to sleep.
"I told you so" is too gentle, too subtle.
'Dr. John Gartner on a tale of two brains: "Biden's brain is aging. Trump's brain is dementing" '
One for weekend conspiracists (&/or anti-conspiracists)...
On the creeping and ever-darker resurgence of authoritarian, bubbling up from the underworld, globally. (Guardian story)
And referencing one of my personally banned buzzwords, "neoliberal". [poisoning the actual word AND prefix!]
The Atlas Networkâs dark-money junktanks are behind neoliberal policies around the world. And you may find its leaders on a resignation honours list near you
#authoritarianism #fascists #dictators #neoliberalism #geopolitics #DarkMoney
The Eagle Forum
https://eagleforum.org/publications/insights/solzhenitsyns-calls-for-courage-are-critical-warnings-for-2024.html
"At a time in our country when we see daily examples of creeping â no, galloping â authoritarianism, it might be a good reminder to read what Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn wrote not that long ago about this human tendency. As G.W. Thielman describes, Solzhenitsyn "excoriated Western leaders" in 1978 that âA decline in courage may be the most striking feature which an outside observer notices in the West in our days. ⌠Such a decline in courage is particularly noticeable among the ruling groups and the intellectual elite." Gulags are not an impossibility if malevolence is given a free rein. Reprinted with permission. Pat Daugherty, Ed.D."
#fake-regime #authoritarianism #fake-president #cowardice
https://terikanefield.com/can-democracy-work-in-america-part-1-there-are-no-yankees-here/
The #Misinformation-Outrage Cycle, Part 1: âThere are no Yankees here!â
..."Democracy requires an educated population able to analyze the implications of government policies. It requires voters to look beyond their own interests and consider the interests of society as a whole. It requires people who are aware of the appeal of a demagogue and can withstand that appeal.
This cannot happen if people do not have accurate information.
...
#Democracy draws its authority from rule of #law. Rule of law requires an adherence to #facts, or what sociologists call a shared factuality. A court of law cannot function if jurors say, âI donât believe any evidence you are showing me. I only believe whatever the Leader tells me is true.â
#Authoritarianism, in contrast, is based on lies. The underlying lies are these: âI am the great and powerful leader who can solve all of our problems. I alone have the answers. I am strong and bold enough to protect you from our enemies and the dangers that threaten us.â
Because authoritarianism is based on lies and democracy is based on truth, the way to destroy democracy is to obliterate truth.
...
Political psychologists define the authoritarian personality as one that rejects nuance and complexity (including diversity) and tends to engage in all-or-nothing thinking. Those with an authoritarian personality prefer sameness and uniformity and have âcognitive limitations.â Karen Stenner calls them âsimple-minded avoiders of complexity.â For more, see this article.
Conspiracy theories appeal to those with an authoritarian disposition.
...
There are people who are pro-democracy and people who are disposed toward authoritarianismâand there are degrees. Some people are extreme, but there is lots of gray. Many (if not all) people can exhibit authoritarian traits, particularly in times of high anxiety.
...
The current information disruption and proliferation of conspiracy theories is making it less likely that enough citizens will be able to make the kinds of informed decisions that a working democracy requires."...
On the recent Texas SC decision on abortion and its implications for the future of Americans' freedom.
The more power republicans have, the fewer rights we have. With Trump in power, we will have none whatsoever.
The Republican Party aims to remake the USA in Russia's image. Once upon a time, Republicans were so afraid of "communists" that they created McCarthyism.
What changed, guys? Did you finally realize that "communism" is just another word for authoritarianism? Took you long enough. Then again, you've never been very bright.
FTA: Congressional Republicans are meeting in secret this week with allies of the far-right Christian nationalist authoritarian Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor OrbĂĄn. Those allies, including representatives from a Hungarian government agency that reportedly organized a far-right U.S. groupâs conference in Budapest, are working to support Russian President Vladimir Putinâs war against Ukraine.
#Republicans #Putin #PutinFanBoys #Fascism #Authoritarianism
"Prequel - An American Fight Against Fascism
MSNBCâs Rachel #Maddow argued that #authoritarianism has existed on the fringe far-right of U.S. #politics for nearly a century. Politics and Prose Bookstore and George Washington University in Washington, D.C., hosted this event."
#video #cspan
https://www.c-span.org/video/?531194-1/prequel-american-fight-fascism
The university where i studied, Chalmers in Gothenburg (Sweden), has now banned political expressions on the campus. This is to my knowledge a unique event in Swedish history. Hopefully people will resist/ignore these new authoritarian rules and continue to speak up for peace
https://www.flamman.se/darfor-vill-chalmers-tysta-studenter-och-anstallda/
#Chalmers #Sweden #Sverige #Gothenburg #GĂśteborg #censorship #FreeSpeech #authoritarianism #weapons #Elbit
Authoritarianism is inherent to the GOP
about 25 years ago, i was iffy on the word "authoritarianism", in seeing how it could be used/interpreted to mean the authority of any who author, and that we each and all could. ... and that of course stands in contrast to the disempowering impositional likely-centralised top-down monstrosity the word may more generally conjure, in corrupted power.
... ... ... ... .. ... ... ... ... ... ... [and maybe i'm due vocabulary improvements here]
... thought occurs after i found myself again fear-quoting "authoritarianism" in this comment: https://iviv.hu/posts/1504955#c4ccea303cef013ccab2723c915ba918
#authoritarianism #etymology #words
#politics #politicialphilosophy #sociology
[ps, also reminds of when sunyata wanted to get an even more pleasant spin word yet than authoritarianism, like they wanted to get a thicker curtain for the man to hide behind. lol, wat.]
"This week reinforced another reality about the modern GOP â thereâs a faction within the party, including its leader and likely presidential nominee, who have a soft spot for a murderous autocrat who despises freedom, peace, and global stability. These days, the acronym GOP could also stand for Gaga Over Putin."
~ Dan Rather and Eliot Kirschner
#Putin #Trump #Republicans #democracy #authoritarianism
https://steady.substack.com/p/gaga-over-putin
A liberal just won a state Supreme Court seat. Republicans want to strip her power.
Wisconsin Republicans are already thinking of impeachment for the state's newest Supreme Court justice, Insider reported. Janet Protasiewicz handily won her seat in April on a platform heavily focused on abortion rights, giving the court a 4-3 liberal majority after a long period of conservative control. But it's her criticism of the state's legislative maps â which she called "rigged" during the campaign, and have given the GOP a lock on power in Madison â that have earned Republican ire.
The GOP argument is that Protasiewicz "prejudged" a case challenging the state's legislative maps when she called them "rigged," Ian Millhiser wrote for Vox. But the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that candidates for office have a right to "publicly state their positions on contentious legal issues." The real point here, though, is that knocking Protasiewicz off the court would almost certainly leave the maps in place, making the GOP impeachment push a "plan that could entrench their rule forever."
In fact, impeachment would only be successful because of Wisconsin's gerrymandering, Philip Bump wrote at The Washington Post. Republicans have "disproportionate power" in the Wisconsin Legislature because of aggressive map drawing, and now they're "using that disproportionate power in consideration of impeachment and removal." In essence, gerrymandered power is being used to defend gerrymandered power. And that raw display is drawing national attention.
. . .
#Wisconsin #fascist #authoritarianism #republican #legislators #WisconsinStateSupremeCourt #politics
Meanwhile...
Speaking of affronts to labor, workers, dignity, and rationality - meaning #DeathSantis
G-go Ron Ron. (That's Ronald! No nicknames!)
#Fascist #DeSantis - the Anti- #woke, anti- #truth Saviour of #fascism, #racism, #authoritarianism, and #TrumpVirus (lite)
#wordoftheday #Bankingarchy (and considering it for my next word of the year).
[2023-08-10 12:01:57] <@Digit> goofballs: word for ruled by banks
[2023-08-10 12:02:00] Digit: Bankingocracy
[2023-08-10 12:02:33] <@Digit> goofballs: how long have we been in a bankingarchy?
that would be an ecumenical matter
[2023-08-10 12:02:37] The term "bankingarchy" was coined in the early 2000s to describe the concentration of economic and political power among a few large banks. Since then, bankingarchy has become an increasingly prominent feature of global finance.
(thought to ask that[] in first minutes of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LjFzjK8H9U '"FULL AUDIOBOOK" - The Tower of Basel: The Shadowy History of the Secret Bank that Runs the World' #audiobook #thetowerofbasel #bis )
[ "word for ruled by banks" (intent to expand my vocabulary to a more accurate term amidst all the #plutarchy #kleptarchy #olligarchy #gerontarchy #patriarchy #supremacy #hegemony #jingoism #authoritarianism #fascism #totalitarianism #topdown etc, to help get further away from divisive inaccuracies that paint many innocents guilty. ever worth asking, are you sure you've got the right who and criteria yet? #areyousure #they)]
A quotation from Stewart, Potter
Censorship reflects a societyâs lack of confidence in itself. It is a hallmark of an authoritarian regime. Long ago, those who wrote our First Amendment charted a different course. They believed a society can be truly strong only when it is truly free. In the realm of expression, they put their faith, for better or for worse, in the enlightened choice of the people, free from the interference of a policemanâs intrusive thumb or a judgeâs heavy hand. So it is that the Constitution protects coarse expression as well as refined, and vulgarity no less than elegance. A book worthless to me may convey something of value to my neighbor. In the free society to which our Constitution has committed us, it is for each to choose for himself.
Potter Stewart (1915-1985) US Supreme Court Justice (1959-81)
Ginzburg v. United States, 383 U.S. 463, 498 (1966) [dissenting]
#quote #quotes #quotation #authoritarianism #censorship #confidence #freespeech #freedomofexpression #freedomofspeech #freedomofthepress #firstamendment
Sourcing / notes: https://wist.info/stewart-potter/3738/
