Falling like dominos, freedom erased, The playbook’s been written, the moves are in place. Fascists don’t wait, they tighten the chains, And once they are locked, you won’t break away.
The lyrics of this song are an absolute masterpiece! The time is now for resistance. We need to unite and build back our democracy or be destroyed by fascism
Trying to do my part by emailing, writing snail mail letters & calling. Would like to go to protests but my health right now is iffy so best not to chamce that. Oh & I donate to ACLU, Amnesty International, some pro democracy PACs. And most importantly I think I've convinced a few of my friends to call our representatives. I tell them it's important to get their voices heard, they need the data. You may have seen on some of the MSNBC shows that phones are ringing off the hook at the Capitol & seeing the protests around the country gave me a little bit of hope. But I'll keep fighting the best way that I can.
I saw that there were 1600 calls per hour on the Congressional switchboard yesterday as compared to 40 on an average day. People are getting the message.
We failed to stop the Iraq War because we protested in mass once or twice, then gave up. Every movement that has ousted corrupt leaders has done so because the population did not give up, but persisted and their numbers grew, until there were millions in the streets. Very soon, every one of us will have to decide, and force our congressional representatives to decide, if they will stand up for the constitution or give up American democracy.
On April 1, 2025 Democratic, Independent, and remorseful Republican voters have the opportunity to vote to tear our democracy away from this coup by autocrats. April 1 is special election day to replace the 2 open House seats vacated by Matt Gaetz (1st District) and Michael Walz (6th District). Republicans won the House 220 - 215 but Trump appointed Elise Sefanik (NY) to US Ambassador. The count is currently 217 to 215, winning the 2 Florida House seats on April 1 would tie House between Democrats and Republicans, bringing Republican legislation to a screeching halt.
Do your part. Support candidates Gay Valimont (District 1) and Josh Weir (District 6). Support the Democratic Party of Florida. Phone bank, mail postcards, knock on doors, register voters (deadline is 5:00 pm on March 20, 2025) donate to Valimont and Weir's campaigns. Call your friends and Families in Florida and get them to the polls!
Here's the icing on the cake. Once we win these 2 open House seats in Florida, if Dems take the open seat vacated by Elise Sefanik in New York, the count will be 218-217 and Dems take back the House!
And you don't know it," as we used to say. We'll keep hitting the streets every time he pulls a dictator maneuver! Less than 23 months till the mid-terms, and then we might be talking impeachment. Keep a stiff upper lip and soldier on! WE WILL WIN!
I was in the Army, staioned in West Germany in the 80s before the Berlin wall was torn down by democratic forces. We did a tour of a city that bordered East Germany. The people were very depressed, all wore black and grey, they were very very poor, unhappy and had to wait in line for bread and other food staples, the supply would oftentimes run out. The border had guards with snipers and very large dogs that were trained to kill anyone trying to cross the border. I remember saying " Im glad I live in a country that is free? Now, I fear our country is headed for a totalitarian, tyrannical, elitist, racist dictatorship, similar to communism. God help us all, I have seen this before....it doesn't end well for commoners
Thanks for that comment. You're right we are headed toward that dark shabby way of life. I'm going to increase my efforts to derail Trump's train. There's safety in numbers and power in them as well. I'm bugging my righty congressman to have a town hall.
United we stand, divided we wil fall. Let's hope neoliberal Democrats can turn their heads away from their stock portfolios and stop this State Capture from Russia and American Oligarchs.
I've been calling Republicans, Democrats, State Attorney Generals offices day and night. It will take a grassroots uprising to put a dent in this. Our political oligarchs want their white Christian Nationalists' agenda. The guardrails couldn't keep King Shitpants from office. Hope feels like a luxury.
Amen. Call, write, peaceful protest, join meetings. In Ohio, we have overloaded both our mega senators phone lines! We must try to do all we can to save our democracy. Love the song.
Powerful and Chilling- Thank YOU. Excellent writing!!!
Born into dictatorship( Yugoslavia ) I remember how it works , really well. First : Killing of the intellectuals, entrepreneurs ; jailing of the opponents, intimidation. Lies and betrayals. I immigrated US in 1968. I did my part until the age caught up : I am old ( 82) and It is disheartening to see the apathy that pervades the young ones.
The youth in America do not have 1st hand, eyewitness accounts of a truly totalitarian regime. You know firsthand and I am a witness to the cruelty, deprivation and violence that accompanies a dictatorship.
If you are a would-be dictator, you want to destroy a democracy and seize power, what are the first steps you would take? Presumably you would try to seize control of the nexus points of power. One of the first targets would be the payment system that disburses payments to other agencies, government contractors, payments to citizens for retirement, healthcare, etc. Once you seize control of this function you can control the lever of government that disburses power. What is one of the first targets of Elon Musk’s DOGE? He illegally takes control of government disbursements by forcing the career civil servants in charge to give him access. When these managers rightly refuse to comply, he has the new Treasury Secretary illegally force them out. He then installs his coterie of Gen Z computer nerds take over the system and possibly download the contents to their own servers. To enable this theft, the acting Attorney General orders all civil service employees to comply with the orders of DOGE or be prosecuted. What does Musk do with his newfound powers which totally usurp the function of Congress? He starts to defund agencies whose functions don’t coincide with the agenda of the new administration including USAID, the Education Department, the CFPB
What would your next target be? You would want to take control of the database that holds information on all civil service and government employees so you could target employees that may not implement your agenda and scare others into subjugation. What is the next target of DOGE? The Office of Personnel Management. After relieving authorized personnel of their positions, Musk installs his rogue band of hackers and nerds to sift through the database and download the information to his private servers. He then targets all employees even remotely concerned with any DEI initiatives and has the acting Secretary remove them.
What is absolutely essential to establish a fascist regime? You have to corrupt the justice department so that it becomes the personal lawyer for the would-be dictator and prosecutes his political rivals. The President appoints his personal lawyer as Deputy Attorney General who then illegally proceeds to fire career justice department officials including prosecutors and FBI agents who either prosecuted cases against the President or January 6th thugs and rioters who tried to overthrow the election on his behalf. He appoints a slavish sycophant to be head of the FBI who seems to be headed for confirmation.
How is a Democracy set up to prevent a would-be dictator from taking over in this manner? Our Constitutional government is set up as three coequal branches with the Congress and the Judiciary functioning as a check on executive branch over-reach. What is happening now? The Congress in the hands of the Presidents party supinely and silently sits by offering no check on the President’s appointing unqualified and sycophantic cabinet secretaries or on the blatantly illegal power grab of his multi-billionaire buddy who runs a made up, fake governmental agency in the process of destroying a democracy. Will the Judiciary act as a check? Besides a Supreme Court that has in the past acted in a totally political way to save the President from prosecution, the courts have a problem in that even if they rule to restrain the illegalities, they have no way to enforce compliance in that the Justice Department who have enforcement powers is now in the process of being corrupted.
At this point it seems that Republican leaders are the only ones to stop this travesty. Will they show some moral courage or willingness to obey their oath to the Constitution. The only way this can happen is if voters who elected them make it very clear that they will be punished in the next election if they don’t.
I have a different opinion. I posted this on another of your Substack posts:
“With more than half the country that didn’t vote for Trump plus more and more of the people who supported him becoming disaffected from him, I’m watching for some moment when there’s a dramatic incident and virtually everyone turns on him. Law-abiders are at a disadvantage dealing with someone who has no regard for the law and has power, but I even wonder about a coup. Not a bloody one. Does acting lawfully, as we are committed to do, and losing our country make sense? I’m just asking…”
And watch for it being a red herring about a fascist takeover. There are too many of us smarties, and with more disaffection from Trump all the time it's the oligarchs we have to protect ourselves from, where that takeover already is in play.
We now live in a kakistocracy. We are in the throes of a coup, plain and simple. There doesn't seem to be any real effort at holding these non governmental persons to infiltrate our sensitive information. There is no pushback, no resistance from our elected officials that I have seen. These are dark days and times for our beloved nation. God bless us all, we truly need peace blessings and resistance
On the streets in SW Florida, considered a "Paradise" (for the rich driving their Maserati's, Lamborghini's, Aston Martins) I've noticed many if not a majority of the vehicles are all a shade of gray. I see that as a metaphor for the mood of the country, monochromatic, lacking color and life.
The lyrics of this song are an absolute masterpiece! The time is now for resistance. We need to unite and build back our democracy or be destroyed by fascism
Trying to do my part by emailing, writing snail mail letters & calling. Would like to go to protests but my health right now is iffy so best not to chamce that. Oh & I donate to ACLU, Amnesty International, some pro democracy PACs. And most importantly I think I've convinced a few of my friends to call our representatives. I tell them it's important to get their voices heard, they need the data. You may have seen on some of the MSNBC shows that phones are ringing off the hook at the Capitol & seeing the protests around the country gave me a little bit of hope. But I'll keep fighting the best way that I can.
I saw that there were 1600 calls per hour on the Congressional switchboard yesterday as compared to 40 on an average day. People are getting the message.
Yes, I was excited to see that!
America is pissed!!!
We failed to stop the Iraq War because we protested in mass once or twice, then gave up. Every movement that has ousted corrupt leaders has done so because the population did not give up, but persisted and their numbers grew, until there were millions in the streets. Very soon, every one of us will have to decide, and force our congressional representatives to decide, if they will stand up for the constitution or give up American democracy.
On April 1, 2025 Democratic, Independent, and remorseful Republican voters have the opportunity to vote to tear our democracy away from this coup by autocrats. April 1 is special election day to replace the 2 open House seats vacated by Matt Gaetz (1st District) and Michael Walz (6th District). Republicans won the House 220 - 215 but Trump appointed Elise Sefanik (NY) to US Ambassador. The count is currently 217 to 215, winning the 2 Florida House seats on April 1 would tie House between Democrats and Republicans, bringing Republican legislation to a screeching halt.
Do your part. Support candidates Gay Valimont (District 1) and Josh Weir (District 6). Support the Democratic Party of Florida. Phone bank, mail postcards, knock on doors, register voters (deadline is 5:00 pm on March 20, 2025) donate to Valimont and Weir's campaigns. Call your friends and Families in Florida and get them to the polls!
Here's the icing on the cake. Once we win these 2 open House seats in Florida, if Dems take the open seat vacated by Elise Sefanik in New York, the count will be 218-217 and Dems take back the House!
We can do this!
Mo S, Thanks for giving me hope and reason to support candidates not in my state, but important to saving America for all the people.
"You're a poet
And you don't know it," as we used to say. We'll keep hitting the streets every time he pulls a dictator maneuver! Less than 23 months till the mid-terms, and then we might be talking impeachment. Keep a stiff upper lip and soldier on! WE WILL WIN!
I was in the Army, staioned in West Germany in the 80s before the Berlin wall was torn down by democratic forces. We did a tour of a city that bordered East Germany. The people were very depressed, all wore black and grey, they were very very poor, unhappy and had to wait in line for bread and other food staples, the supply would oftentimes run out. The border had guards with snipers and very large dogs that were trained to kill anyone trying to cross the border. I remember saying " Im glad I live in a country that is free? Now, I fear our country is headed for a totalitarian, tyrannical, elitist, racist dictatorship, similar to communism. God help us all, I have seen this before....it doesn't end well for commoners
Thanks for that comment. You're right we are headed toward that dark shabby way of life. I'm going to increase my efforts to derail Trump's train. There's safety in numbers and power in them as well. I'm bugging my righty congressman to have a town hall.
United we stand, divided we wil fall. Let's hope neoliberal Democrats can turn their heads away from their stock portfolios and stop this State Capture from Russia and American Oligarchs.
I've been calling Republicans, Democrats, State Attorney Generals offices day and night. It will take a grassroots uprising to put a dent in this. Our political oligarchs want their white Christian Nationalists' agenda. The guardrails couldn't keep King Shitpants from office. Hope feels like a luxury.
Amen. Call, write, peaceful protest, join meetings. In Ohio, we have overloaded both our mega senators phone lines! We must try to do all we can to save our democracy. Love the song.
Powerful and Chilling- Thank YOU. Excellent writing!!!
Born into dictatorship( Yugoslavia ) I remember how it works , really well. First : Killing of the intellectuals, entrepreneurs ; jailing of the opponents, intimidation. Lies and betrayals. I immigrated US in 1968. I did my part until the age caught up : I am old ( 82) and It is disheartening to see the apathy that pervades the young ones.
The youth in America do not have 1st hand, eyewitness accounts of a truly totalitarian regime. You know firsthand and I am a witness to the cruelty, deprivation and violence that accompanies a dictatorship.
Flashing Red Light, Coup D’état in Progress
If you are a would-be dictator, you want to destroy a democracy and seize power, what are the first steps you would take? Presumably you would try to seize control of the nexus points of power. One of the first targets would be the payment system that disburses payments to other agencies, government contractors, payments to citizens for retirement, healthcare, etc. Once you seize control of this function you can control the lever of government that disburses power. What is one of the first targets of Elon Musk’s DOGE? He illegally takes control of government disbursements by forcing the career civil servants in charge to give him access. When these managers rightly refuse to comply, he has the new Treasury Secretary illegally force them out. He then installs his coterie of Gen Z computer nerds take over the system and possibly download the contents to their own servers. To enable this theft, the acting Attorney General orders all civil service employees to comply with the orders of DOGE or be prosecuted. What does Musk do with his newfound powers which totally usurp the function of Congress? He starts to defund agencies whose functions don’t coincide with the agenda of the new administration including USAID, the Education Department, the CFPB
What would your next target be? You would want to take control of the database that holds information on all civil service and government employees so you could target employees that may not implement your agenda and scare others into subjugation. What is the next target of DOGE? The Office of Personnel Management. After relieving authorized personnel of their positions, Musk installs his rogue band of hackers and nerds to sift through the database and download the information to his private servers. He then targets all employees even remotely concerned with any DEI initiatives and has the acting Secretary remove them.
What is absolutely essential to establish a fascist regime? You have to corrupt the justice department so that it becomes the personal lawyer for the would-be dictator and prosecutes his political rivals. The President appoints his personal lawyer as Deputy Attorney General who then illegally proceeds to fire career justice department officials including prosecutors and FBI agents who either prosecuted cases against the President or January 6th thugs and rioters who tried to overthrow the election on his behalf. He appoints a slavish sycophant to be head of the FBI who seems to be headed for confirmation.
How is a Democracy set up to prevent a would-be dictator from taking over in this manner? Our Constitutional government is set up as three coequal branches with the Congress and the Judiciary functioning as a check on executive branch over-reach. What is happening now? The Congress in the hands of the Presidents party supinely and silently sits by offering no check on the President’s appointing unqualified and sycophantic cabinet secretaries or on the blatantly illegal power grab of his multi-billionaire buddy who runs a made up, fake governmental agency in the process of destroying a democracy. Will the Judiciary act as a check? Besides a Supreme Court that has in the past acted in a totally political way to save the President from prosecution, the courts have a problem in that even if they rule to restrain the illegalities, they have no way to enforce compliance in that the Justice Department who have enforcement powers is now in the process of being corrupted.
At this point it seems that Republican leaders are the only ones to stop this travesty. Will they show some moral courage or willingness to obey their oath to the Constitution. The only way this can happen is if voters who elected them make it very clear that they will be punished in the next election if they don’t.
We might not have elections. Remember when Trump promised you’ll never have to vote again?
I have a different opinion. I posted this on another of your Substack posts:
“With more than half the country that didn’t vote for Trump plus more and more of the people who supported him becoming disaffected from him, I’m watching for some moment when there’s a dramatic incident and virtually everyone turns on him. Law-abiders are at a disadvantage dealing with someone who has no regard for the law and has power, but I even wonder about a coup. Not a bloody one. Does acting lawfully, as we are committed to do, and losing our country make sense? I’m just asking…”
And watch for it being a red herring about a fascist takeover. There are too many of us smarties, and with more disaffection from Trump all the time it's the oligarchs we have to protect ourselves from, where that takeover already is in play.
We are in this together
We now live in a kakistocracy. We are in the throes of a coup, plain and simple. There doesn't seem to be any real effort at holding these non governmental persons to infiltrate our sensitive information. There is no pushback, no resistance from our elected officials that I have seen. These are dark days and times for our beloved nation. God bless us all, we truly need peace blessings and resistance
On the streets in SW Florida, considered a "Paradise" (for the rich driving their Maserati's, Lamborghini's, Aston Martins) I've noticed many if not a majority of the vehicles are all a shade of gray. I see that as a metaphor for the mood of the country, monochromatic, lacking color and life.
The absurdity of it all-
Our country being taken over by a 53 yr old virgin who has 12 kids and wants to go to Mars.
* next time I’ll be more serious
Thom, for fuck’s sake, that stupid shit IS NOT HELPFUL! It’s not fucking funny, haha.
This is very real,Thom. Grow up and start doing something serious.