The permanent fence around Lafayette Square isn't just about security. It's the latest warning that oligarchy is preparing to defend itself from democracy…
Is there any doubt that we are already living in a right wing fascist dictatorship, especially with the latest news that Trump is going to employ armed federal poll watchers into AZ, MI, MN, NH, NY, VA. ICE can murder, abduct, beat people with no fear of consequence. disappear people into concentration camps (yes that is what they are, filthy, dirty, camps without adequate food, sanitation, or medical care. America's own Dachau, Auschwitz, and like them, the regime wants to use them for free labor.
There's no question, as Ben Franklin put it, that"If we don't hang together, we shall hang separately." We don't have time to wait for the Anti-Trump, because that person may never come - or at least, not in time. Progressives must be as loud and persistent (and maybe more so, since the Republicans have a 45 year head start) as are our fascist countrymen, or every one of us, or those close to us, could be, snatched up, imprisoned (or worse,) for even thinking about criticizing or not cooperating with Trump's style of anti-governance.
It appears to me that it is going to get harder and harder, and less likely, that we will even have the midterm elections, for Trump is pulling out everything in the book, and that the Republicans can think up, to cancel them - not excepting many reasons he could claim a security emergency and apply martial law - and he would not hesitate to do so. It's been done before (when we didn't have a fascist government) and involved a couple of our greatest generals, so it could happen again...and this time, democracy might not recover. If it sounds like I'm scared, I am, and I'm not just "concerned," like a certain Maine senator might be.
The Musk quote, “The fundamental weakness of Western civilization is empathy", is a chilling view in the hands of anyone with power.
Imagine sitting down with your daughter's fiance, and having him say "The fundamental weakness of marriage is empathy".
Or getting called into an all-hands meeting at work and being told, "The fundamental problem with the management of this company is empathy".
This opinion, widely shared by spoiled, entitled brats who have reached a position of power through successful implementation of a single good idea (think Musk, Bezos), pure luck (Zuckerberg et. al.), or simple inheritance (don't have to go further than Trump, here) can be translated to this far more accurate opinion:
"The fundamental weakness of any power structure in which I participate is anything that makes me consider giving someone else something I want to keep".
When oligarchies reach a tipping point at which those in power, who truly believe that the biggest impediment to the maximization of their fortunes is the need to consider anyone else's needs - empathy, in Musk's terms - can act on that belief with impunity, we are truly at an end stage where government by the people is a mirage and true control rests fully in the hands of those with the money to buy it.
We are already very close to that state of affairs. It's likely the midterms will decide which direction we go.
Well said, Mobiguy. "When oligarchies reach a tipping point at which those in power, who truly believe that the biggest impediment to the maximization of their fortunes is the need to consider anyone else's needs - empathy, in Musk's terms - can act on that belief with impunity, we are truly at an end stage where government by the people is a mirage and true control rests fully in the hands of those with the money to buy it."
Not that I have been unaware of the oligarchy Thom describes my entire life, but in the context of US history and in contrast with Russian autocratic oligarchy, he has just made it harder for me to view November as a certain course reversal in our nation's democracy. The only thing that gives me lasting hope is the false myth that rich people are smarter than everyone else. As Rep AOC has pointed out, oligarchs are not smarter. They are just more ruthless than the rest of us. Thus, they make mistakes that, in the vast majority of cases, their wealth can protect them from total destruction.
---------------
All we need to do is look at our serial loser Ruler. It seems that nearly everything Trump touches turns to shit from reflecting ponds to invasions. While he has lost the support of most of the suckers who voted for him twice, his oligarch sponsors are still on board - likely underestimating the damage Trump's stupidity is doing to their insurrection. Not only does it appear that the majority of us voters are fed up with MAGA lies, but America has also lost every ally on the globe thanks to Trump's tariffs, insults, and failures to deliver. Many of the oligarchs Thom referred to are multinational. If Nov 2026 turns blue, many will move on thinking, "Oh well, I'm still rich as shit!"
I should have book marked it, but there was a list of events that Trump has junxed, alas that list did not include Game 3 of the Nicks vs the Spurs
The only friends Trump has are autocrats, and even those in the Mid east are starting to sour.
Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar all aligned with Trump because of the promise of a protective shield. The events following Feb 28th and the incessant pounding of Iranian drones and missiles, have disillusioned these Kings, Sheiks, Emirs and they are rethinking alliances, to the extent of offering a hand to Iran.
They even signed a pact with Ukraine
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are the primary Middle Eastern nations aligning with Ukraine. These Gulf states have entered into 10-year defense partnerships with Kyiv, exchanging Ukrainian drone warfare expertise for critical fossil fuel supplies and financial investments
And they have now joined African states in looking to China .
IMO Krasnov had been installed by Putin for one purpose, which he has done well, and that is to disassemble America, that Russia can rise.
The proof of the pudding is in the tasting, and he has done a bang up job,of destroying America's presence, power and democracy.
By appearances, the plan is for Trump to reign over the Technate of America, aka Oceana, aka the Shield of the Americas, and leave Europe to Russia, and East Asia to China., The Islamic world to Turkiye, which is the 2nd largest army in NATO, and among the 10th largest in the world.
Trump, like any schoolyard bully, doesn't need friends. He's the guy with the power, so all he needs is for people who need him to suck up.
In his mind, these are called "friends", but in fact it's all about the transaction. He needs nothing from them, other than affirmation and money. Those relationships are as deep as the other person's needs, and will disappear when that person no longer needs him.
If enough people turn their backs, he will be alone, "friendless", although he may still have the power to extract revenge. This is how most autocrats lose power and are either killed off or imprisoned, but many of them have had the chance to do significant damage before they are finally ushered off the world stage.
Our six bought SCOTUS justices have succeeded in making Lindsey Graham, a monumentally evil cynic, seem moderate. They, like him, are devoted to an ideology of self, integrity be damned. We are in dire need of politicians prepared to pull out all the stops, and we most emphatically can no longer support those who aren’t.
I've a better idea. Put a 10 ft. tall fence around Trump and all his allies who are wreaking destruction on America and democracy.
It needn't cost taxpayers a penny - there must be plenty of prisons or jails where room could be found for them, particularly if everyone guilty of no more than a misdemeanor is freed at the same time.
A challenge is that for much of the population democracy is equal to the twin corporate parties (D & R). Somehow we must get beyond the failed two-party presidential system. My hope is for strong regional governance that results in a true devolved democracy.
The ideas of democracy from 250 years ago still work but not that well for a mega-state with over 55 times the population of 1776. I still look to the Swiss model of a strong federation that has worked well for nearly 180 years. We need strong, empowered local and state governments to lead the way.
We live in a world in which one man, Elon Musk, has a net worth comparable to the GDP of Taiwan, while millions live in refugee and homeless camps, essentially penniless. The oligarchy view the world as a plantation, with us being their slaves; meanwhile, we expect and demand a world in which freedom is equally divided among all people (socialized), not treated as a commodity and hoarded by the rich.
Behind every 80-year-old, mic-blowing, smelly-ass dolt in burnt-sienna, lady makeup [there's only one, guess who] is not a woman but a pan-faced, ex-KGB, oligarchal puppeteer.
Our fat rodeo clown gets his/her bisexual biweekly tasks by phone from BIG face, i.e., Lavrov in the Kremlin.
The Lafayette Park fence? Probably a setup, a kind of deliberate provocation.
After the elections [plural] are stolen, it WILL be torn down by patriots. And that will be the cue for DC's red state, 5,000-strong National Guardsmen to switch their M-16s to full-auto and get itchy trigger fingers.
Trigger-happy? It'll make Kent State look like a visit from the tooth fairy.
DT's motive? Fear of said pan-faced commie. . . . Lindsey's aortic explosion was likely a warning shot from his Ruski puppet master.
Too Krasnov-ianly dark? Or, more likely, not dark enough?
The longest running protest in Lafayette Park was dismantled on September 7, 2025---President TRump determined the White House Peace Vigil of 44 years was an "eye-sore". It was first manned by activist William Thomas in 1981. When he died in 2016, Phillipos Melaku-Bello took over.
Their signs read, "Ban All Nuclear Weapons or Have A Nice Doomsday" and "Live By The Bomb. Die By The Bomb.". Like millions, I saw this beautiful expression of free speech. Like BILLIONS, we all know TRump is the eye-sore and an enemy of democracy everywhere. Stay LOUD, friends. See you in the streets.
It's interesting that one of the end states proposed by Melnichenko is for Russia, weakened by internal politics and drained by the Ukraine war, becomes a vassal state of China and plundered for its natural resources. If the world sinks further into great-power anarchy, this seems like a real possibility.
In that context, as Trump and the oligarchs take over the United States. erect barriers to any expression of the popular will, and involve us in endless wars that drive home the concurrent points that our hard power is less effective than people thought and the soft power that kept us in control of much of the world no longer exists, I see a strong possibility that the US could follow Russia into China's orbit - another piggy bank to be plundered.
If that happens, China becomes the unchallenged leader of the world, and it's unlikely anything would dislodge them from that position.
Just some happy thoughts for the morning. Thanks, Thom, for starting me down this path.
If you haven't heard the Cold War is over Thom. All your nonsense about Putin and the "Domino Theory" if his taking over the world, as well as the "Russiagate" conspiracies pushed by hundred millionaire Rachel Maddow with your able assistance, are mere distractions from the crimes against humanity and democracy of the political party you represent. Physical fences are easy to see, but the fences placed by a Democratic Party that covers up the advanced Parkinson's dementia of its presidential nominee only to subvert democracy by anointing an empty suit without a primary are more insidious because they are systemic and lead to the ascent of autocrats like Trump. As for democracy, there are 93 million surveillance cameras in this country, suppression of free speech particularly about Israel, illegal spying on Americans by intelligence agencies as covered up by Obama and so on. Within the current two party system there is little if any hope of reversing course as the Democratic Party has let Trump in twice and then failed to adequately oppose him. Hakeem Jeffries who shrugged and said Democrats could not do anything about Trump because they were not in power, and who has taken over a million dollars from AIPAC, was endorsed by Mamdani and AOC. more evidence that politicians are obsessed with their careers than our collective well-being.
I grew up in the D.C. area. Downtown is unrecognizeable. There is fencing and National Guard surrounding the White House from 15th to 17th Streets and Constitution Avenue to H Street north of Lafayette Park. I rode my bike downtown on June 14 before the grotesque fighting show that was set up on the People’s Ellipse. They had set up the fencing by then and it was still there on Independence Day. I took a photo looking south from H Street where a crowd of tourists was trying to see the People’s House through the fence. There is no question it is a police state around the White House. I tried to post the photo here, but it didn’t paste.
French Revolution 2.0, 21st Century American Style
WE the People have the chance to take back our country and demand the wealthy pay their fair share. As Thom points out in every revolution, the People rise up and protest the inequalities within the societal system in which they participate. Whether it's the inequality with $$ or it's about taxation without representation/vote, the script boils down to what WE the People expect of the governance they entrust to representatives they elect.
The current governance that was elected lied to stay out of jail and now the lies are obvious as well as the morally bankrupt, misogynistic, lawless, and racist characteristics that make WE the People nauseated and intolerant of such governance.
With the known past tax codes that properly taxed the wealthy, WE the People are fed up with the bloated arrogance of such scum, wishing to control their financial destinies and want them to help pay off our financial national debt, lest WE fall into a debt trap WE face. This November WE the People have a choice and it's not a difficult one....WE just have to be angry.
I vote for some combo of the first three reasons. .the question is what to do about it. Yes, we rise up - but where is the leadership? How to secure the mid terms?
Is there any doubt that we are already living in a right wing fascist dictatorship, especially with the latest news that Trump is going to employ armed federal poll watchers into AZ, MI, MN, NH, NY, VA. ICE can murder, abduct, beat people with no fear of consequence. disappear people into concentration camps (yes that is what they are, filthy, dirty, camps without adequate food, sanitation, or medical care. America's own Dachau, Auschwitz, and like them, the regime wants to use them for free labor.
There's no question, as Ben Franklin put it, that"If we don't hang together, we shall hang separately." We don't have time to wait for the Anti-Trump, because that person may never come - or at least, not in time. Progressives must be as loud and persistent (and maybe more so, since the Republicans have a 45 year head start) as are our fascist countrymen, or every one of us, or those close to us, could be, snatched up, imprisoned (or worse,) for even thinking about criticizing or not cooperating with Trump's style of anti-governance.
It appears to me that it is going to get harder and harder, and less likely, that we will even have the midterm elections, for Trump is pulling out everything in the book, and that the Republicans can think up, to cancel them - not excepting many reasons he could claim a security emergency and apply martial law - and he would not hesitate to do so. It's been done before (when we didn't have a fascist government) and involved a couple of our greatest generals, so it could happen again...and this time, democracy might not recover. If it sounds like I'm scared, I am, and I'm not just "concerned," like a certain Maine senator might be.
The Musk quote, “The fundamental weakness of Western civilization is empathy", is a chilling view in the hands of anyone with power.
Imagine sitting down with your daughter's fiance, and having him say "The fundamental weakness of marriage is empathy".
Or getting called into an all-hands meeting at work and being told, "The fundamental problem with the management of this company is empathy".
This opinion, widely shared by spoiled, entitled brats who have reached a position of power through successful implementation of a single good idea (think Musk, Bezos), pure luck (Zuckerberg et. al.), or simple inheritance (don't have to go further than Trump, here) can be translated to this far more accurate opinion:
"The fundamental weakness of any power structure in which I participate is anything that makes me consider giving someone else something I want to keep".
When oligarchies reach a tipping point at which those in power, who truly believe that the biggest impediment to the maximization of their fortunes is the need to consider anyone else's needs - empathy, in Musk's terms - can act on that belief with impunity, we are truly at an end stage where government by the people is a mirage and true control rests fully in the hands of those with the money to buy it.
We are already very close to that state of affairs. It's likely the midterms will decide which direction we go.
Well said, Mobiguy. "When oligarchies reach a tipping point at which those in power, who truly believe that the biggest impediment to the maximization of their fortunes is the need to consider anyone else's needs - empathy, in Musk's terms - can act on that belief with impunity, we are truly at an end stage where government by the people is a mirage and true control rests fully in the hands of those with the money to buy it."
Lol. You said it as far as I know.
Oh. Right. I knew I saw it somewhere. :)
Good quote. Where's it from?
Excellent comment. Sure puts things in perspective.
Not that I have been unaware of the oligarchy Thom describes my entire life, but in the context of US history and in contrast with Russian autocratic oligarchy, he has just made it harder for me to view November as a certain course reversal in our nation's democracy. The only thing that gives me lasting hope is the false myth that rich people are smarter than everyone else. As Rep AOC has pointed out, oligarchs are not smarter. They are just more ruthless than the rest of us. Thus, they make mistakes that, in the vast majority of cases, their wealth can protect them from total destruction.
---------------
All we need to do is look at our serial loser Ruler. It seems that nearly everything Trump touches turns to shit from reflecting ponds to invasions. While he has lost the support of most of the suckers who voted for him twice, his oligarch sponsors are still on board - likely underestimating the damage Trump's stupidity is doing to their insurrection. Not only does it appear that the majority of us voters are fed up with MAGA lies, but America has also lost every ally on the globe thanks to Trump's tariffs, insults, and failures to deliver. Many of the oligarchs Thom referred to are multinational. If Nov 2026 turns blue, many will move on thinking, "Oh well, I'm still rich as shit!"
I should have book marked it, but there was a list of events that Trump has junxed, alas that list did not include Game 3 of the Nicks vs the Spurs
The only friends Trump has are autocrats, and even those in the Mid east are starting to sour.
Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar all aligned with Trump because of the promise of a protective shield. The events following Feb 28th and the incessant pounding of Iranian drones and missiles, have disillusioned these Kings, Sheiks, Emirs and they are rethinking alliances, to the extent of offering a hand to Iran.
They even signed a pact with Ukraine
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are the primary Middle Eastern nations aligning with Ukraine. These Gulf states have entered into 10-year defense partnerships with Kyiv, exchanging Ukrainian drone warfare expertise for critical fossil fuel supplies and financial investments
And they have now joined African states in looking to China .
IMO Krasnov had been installed by Putin for one purpose, which he has done well, and that is to disassemble America, that Russia can rise.
The proof of the pudding is in the tasting, and he has done a bang up job,of destroying America's presence, power and democracy.
By appearances, the plan is for Trump to reign over the Technate of America, aka Oceana, aka the Shield of the Americas, and leave Europe to Russia, and East Asia to China., The Islamic world to Turkiye, which is the 2nd largest army in NATO, and among the 10th largest in the world.
Trump, like any schoolyard bully, doesn't need friends. He's the guy with the power, so all he needs is for people who need him to suck up.
In his mind, these are called "friends", but in fact it's all about the transaction. He needs nothing from them, other than affirmation and money. Those relationships are as deep as the other person's needs, and will disappear when that person no longer needs him.
If enough people turn their backs, he will be alone, "friendless", although he may still have the power to extract revenge. This is how most autocrats lose power and are either killed off or imprisoned, but many of them have had the chance to do significant damage before they are finally ushered off the world stage.
Our six bought SCOTUS justices have succeeded in making Lindsey Graham, a monumentally evil cynic, seem moderate. They, like him, are devoted to an ideology of self, integrity be damned. We are in dire need of politicians prepared to pull out all the stops, and we most emphatically can no longer support those who aren’t.
I've a better idea. Put a 10 ft. tall fence around Trump and all his allies who are wreaking destruction on America and democracy.
It needn't cost taxpayers a penny - there must be plenty of prisons or jails where room could be found for them, particularly if everyone guilty of no more than a misdemeanor is freed at the same time.
A challenge is that for much of the population democracy is equal to the twin corporate parties (D & R). Somehow we must get beyond the failed two-party presidential system. My hope is for strong regional governance that results in a true devolved democracy.
The ideas of democracy from 250 years ago still work but not that well for a mega-state with over 55 times the population of 1776. I still look to the Swiss model of a strong federation that has worked well for nearly 180 years. We need strong, empowered local and state governments to lead the way.
We live in a world in which one man, Elon Musk, has a net worth comparable to the GDP of Taiwan, while millions live in refugee and homeless camps, essentially penniless. The oligarchy view the world as a plantation, with us being their slaves; meanwhile, we expect and demand a world in which freedom is equally divided among all people (socialized), not treated as a commodity and hoarded by the rich.
Behind every 80-year-old, mic-blowing, smelly-ass dolt in burnt-sienna, lady makeup [there's only one, guess who] is not a woman but a pan-faced, ex-KGB, oligarchal puppeteer.
Our fat rodeo clown gets his/her bisexual biweekly tasks by phone from BIG face, i.e., Lavrov in the Kremlin.
The Lafayette Park fence? Probably a setup, a kind of deliberate provocation.
After the elections [plural] are stolen, it WILL be torn down by patriots. And that will be the cue for DC's red state, 5,000-strong National Guardsmen to switch their M-16s to full-auto and get itchy trigger fingers.
Trigger-happy? It'll make Kent State look like a visit from the tooth fairy.
DT's motive? Fear of said pan-faced commie. . . . Lindsey's aortic explosion was likely a warning shot from his Ruski puppet master.
Too Krasnov-ianly dark? Or, more likely, not dark enough?
#VOTE #Jared and Witkoff to Hormuz
The longest running protest in Lafayette Park was dismantled on September 7, 2025---President TRump determined the White House Peace Vigil of 44 years was an "eye-sore". It was first manned by activist William Thomas in 1981. When he died in 2016, Phillipos Melaku-Bello took over.
Their signs read, "Ban All Nuclear Weapons or Have A Nice Doomsday" and "Live By The Bomb. Die By The Bomb.". Like millions, I saw this beautiful expression of free speech. Like BILLIONS, we all know TRump is the eye-sore and an enemy of democracy everywhere. Stay LOUD, friends. See you in the streets.
It's interesting that one of the end states proposed by Melnichenko is for Russia, weakened by internal politics and drained by the Ukraine war, becomes a vassal state of China and plundered for its natural resources. If the world sinks further into great-power anarchy, this seems like a real possibility.
In that context, as Trump and the oligarchs take over the United States. erect barriers to any expression of the popular will, and involve us in endless wars that drive home the concurrent points that our hard power is less effective than people thought and the soft power that kept us in control of much of the world no longer exists, I see a strong possibility that the US could follow Russia into China's orbit - another piggy bank to be plundered.
If that happens, China becomes the unchallenged leader of the world, and it's unlikely anything would dislodge them from that position.
Just some happy thoughts for the morning. Thanks, Thom, for starting me down this path.
If you haven't heard the Cold War is over Thom. All your nonsense about Putin and the "Domino Theory" if his taking over the world, as well as the "Russiagate" conspiracies pushed by hundred millionaire Rachel Maddow with your able assistance, are mere distractions from the crimes against humanity and democracy of the political party you represent. Physical fences are easy to see, but the fences placed by a Democratic Party that covers up the advanced Parkinson's dementia of its presidential nominee only to subvert democracy by anointing an empty suit without a primary are more insidious because they are systemic and lead to the ascent of autocrats like Trump. As for democracy, there are 93 million surveillance cameras in this country, suppression of free speech particularly about Israel, illegal spying on Americans by intelligence agencies as covered up by Obama and so on. Within the current two party system there is little if any hope of reversing course as the Democratic Party has let Trump in twice and then failed to adequately oppose him. Hakeem Jeffries who shrugged and said Democrats could not do anything about Trump because they were not in power, and who has taken over a million dollars from AIPAC, was endorsed by Mamdani and AOC. more evidence that politicians are obsessed with their careers than our collective well-being.
I grew up in the D.C. area. Downtown is unrecognizeable. There is fencing and National Guard surrounding the White House from 15th to 17th Streets and Constitution Avenue to H Street north of Lafayette Park. I rode my bike downtown on June 14 before the grotesque fighting show that was set up on the People’s Ellipse. They had set up the fencing by then and it was still there on Independence Day. I took a photo looking south from H Street where a crowd of tourists was trying to see the People’s House through the fence. There is no question it is a police state around the White House. I tried to post the photo here, but it didn’t paste.
I think we're going to have to make a great noise together because my expectation is that the midterms will be just as hacked as the 2024 election was. I've been watching the evidence gather over the course of the last six months , and this is a roundup of where we stand so far.....https://thiswillhold.substack.com/p/ex-cia-whistleblower-the-nsa-audited?r=5vogaw&triedRedirect=true
French Revolution 2.0, 21st Century American Style
WE the People have the chance to take back our country and demand the wealthy pay their fair share. As Thom points out in every revolution, the People rise up and protest the inequalities within the societal system in which they participate. Whether it's the inequality with $$ or it's about taxation without representation/vote, the script boils down to what WE the People expect of the governance they entrust to representatives they elect.
The current governance that was elected lied to stay out of jail and now the lies are obvious as well as the morally bankrupt, misogynistic, lawless, and racist characteristics that make WE the People nauseated and intolerant of such governance.
With the known past tax codes that properly taxed the wealthy, WE the People are fed up with the bloated arrogance of such scum, wishing to control their financial destinies and want them to help pay off our financial national debt, lest WE fall into a debt trap WE face. This November WE the People have a choice and it's not a difficult one....WE just have to be angry.
Let’s put him in prison behind a permanent fence
I vote for some combo of the first three reasons. .the question is what to do about it. Yes, we rise up - but where is the leadership? How to secure the mid terms?