What a perfect analysis of how the take over works and how closely Trump has followed those who've managed authoritarian take overs before him. I take heart that South Korea's populace had the guts to do what was needed. Having watched this slow crawl toward dictatorship that Trump's been proposing for 8 years, we lost heart and left the country a year ago. Were we younger, it might have not been as devastating, but hitting our 80's just took away the steam. Thank you for your consistently marvelous content. Your voice and your knowledge are so needed.
If he follows Hitler's lead, Trump will impose Martial Law using the excuse that he is responding to the call from the populous itself to use it to restore order. He will incite his Proud Oathtaker Boys to attack Left and "Woke" targets at will, and, if the Left and Woke retaliate in kind, there will be so much mayhem in the streets that the general population will call for Trump to do whatever he must but to get them peace in the streets. He will then have the mandate to arrest his enemies, and it will all be over. That is how Hitler engineered it. And that is why resistance to Trump must maintain nonviolence. Nonviolence is the only way to win because it puts the blame on the ones doing the attacking and maintains popular sympathy with the victims.
While the Proud Boys aren't nearly as large in numbers as Hitler's Brownshirts they could certain ally with other right wing and paramilitary groups to cause a lot of trouble. I'm not sure how many local police departments would stand by though as we don't have the centralized system of law enforcement that the Nazis could easily take over. But if the people around Trump are smart enough (he himself is not) they might "discover a terrorist operation" which requires lock downs. After all, Stalin did very well finding traitors and plots everywhere. And if they are really lucky an equivalent to the Reichstag Fire could give them all the opening needed. All the historical research I've seen indicates that this event was not planned by the Nazis, but they sure knew how to use it to their advantage.
Look up Operation Northwoods. False flags have been part of this nation for some time now. They won't need to "find" anything because they can, and will, create it.
Google Constitutional Sheriff and Peace Officers Association and also Oath Keepers
Then consider that LEO are ultra conservative to right wing, including black LEO's, they perceive themselves as blue, not black. And it was 5 black officers in Baton Rouge that killed a black motorist.
47 days, plenty of time for hand counts in appropriate locations. With proximate cause, Biden as unitary executive can order a do-over.
Someone has to remind Biden that, to a reasonable degree of probability, Trump has set the stage to prosecute him. Many of us need the equivalent of total absolution.
Nice thought Daniel, but Biden has played his part, sat in the West Wing with Trump, shook hands and congratulated him, meanwhile Kamala was too eager to concede, 4 PM EST November 6th while votes were still being counted. CNN called it and Kamala was all too eager to comply.
It's not even who counts the votes, it is the corrpt, complicit, corporate media.
It'll never happen. Trump will come to power and the cards will fall where they may.
Maybe he'll just come in and grift off of the people, or maybe he'll come in and try to completely take over the country.
4 years ago I might have thought he just wants to enrich himself and build his brand, but after what has happened to him, I think he'll take over the country.
I hate to say this, because I too subscribe to the MLK and Mandela methods of righteous protest, but I don't think nonviolence would ever have taken down Hitler.
Nobody has mentioned the "birth strike" by the women in South Korea that has resulted in their country having the lowest birth rate in the world. It's called the 4B movement, which stands for "no marriage, no childbirth, no dating, and no sex with men," all expressing a rejection of traditional gender roles and expectations. Women in South Korea make an even smaller proportion to men than women in the U.S.
Something off-topic, but about resistance, is that the CEO of UnitedHealthcare was killed in what they believe was a targeted attack. What made him think he could walk around in Manhattan without a bulletproof vest after his greed and tactics of insurance denials have caused the suffering and deaths of so many people? I'm not a violent person and don't support violence as a way to right wrongs, but I don't feel sad about this. It cheered me up.
Thanks, Thom, for keeping us informed about the things that affect our lives. With your brains and talent, you could have been one of the rising morbidly rich. But as you quoted Popeye the Sailor, "I yam what I yam." I believe that when a person consistently behaves or acts in ways that violate their conscience, they become physically ill. Of course, anyone can become sick for various reasons, which is why we need a universal healthcare system.
Thanks for the good news but maybe it was a target attack, because he was perceived to be a threat to the PTB. I would like to know some background on what was going on, behind the scenes.
When an important person in a corporation or government is perceived to be a threat, they inevitably dies of suicide, drown, fall out of windows are killed in a mugging.
I read some comments under the Yahoo report about the CEO shooting. They are all about claims denials. Are the CEOs so ignorant about the suffering and deaths they cause with their greed that they are too stupid to have security or wear a bulletproof vest? They are in a different world of stats and numbers, not flesh and blood.
CEO's, COO's, CFO's, billionaires, board of directors are trapped in a world of their own making. If not addicts, they are caught in game they can't exit.
The laws of physics break down to this. You can't break even, you can't win and you can't get out of the game.
The higher you climb on the (social, finance) ladder the further you fall and the harder you hit the ground.
When you climb to the top of the smokestack, people look like ants, mere tools, resources that helped you climb to the top.
This attitude towards others is as old as time, it is the same with Kings as it is with Ayatollahs, as it is with Popes, Cardinals, Bishops, CEO's and boards of directors.
There is no concern for lower beings, anymore than ranchers have concern for their cattle or shepherds their sheep.
The job of the shepherd is to keep the flock together till time for the fleecing and slaughter.
You would think that when you attain a certain social status, one could relax
and enjoy their kingdom, but there are always other kings who want to take your kingdom, and kings are so leveraged that they are constantly in threat of not being able to pay their debts. That keeps them on the path of rapacious greed and unconscionable behavior
Do you think that this people actually own the airplanes they fly on, the mansions they live in, the yachts they sail in? They are either leveraged or owned by foundations, and LLC's.
Lots of luck with E Jean Carroll collecting on her debts, Trump tower is leveraged and three or more institutions have debt superseding liens, including Deutschebank. If you get the property, you also get the debt.
Well, Brian Thompson was CEO of the Medicare portion of United Healthcare during the time when that company stole 50+ billion from the American taxpayer, then after they got busted, they moved Brian up to be CEO of the whole deal.
I'd be surprised if this was a political hit. It's possible he was sleeping with someone's wife and they got him, but what's more likely is that people are finally sick of these CEOs running roughshod over everyone and getting away with it.
There is always background noise of which we are unaware. Someone perceived him as a threat. This was a professional hit. They knew his schedule, his route of travel and the assassin was laying in wait. This tells me there is inside knowledge.
His assassin lay in wait, letting passerby's walk on by, until Brian passed him then stepped out and shot him. Professional hit, as to why well that will be covered up.
Well, one of the first things Brian Thompson tried doing when he became CEO was to retroactively not pay for ER visits that they deemed "not an emergency."
That didn't work out because everyone flipped out but he tried. Given that he tried doing that - purely for profit - he did other things too. United Healthcare is probably the worst company for denying coverage, they also defrauded the US taxpayer out of over 50b.
He could've been offed for any number of reasons, but Occam's Razor would tell you that it's due to denial of coverage. Even his wife said he had been receiving death threats over denial of coverage. So, who knows.
But the "assassin" wasn't too smart - he bought a drink and food before, then left it behind. He also left a cell phone behind. He also wrote notes on the bullet casings.
So, not too good of a "hitman" if he's leaving DNA and a cell phone behind. lol
I do not buy into the notion that a disgruntled customer killed Brian Thompson, for the simple reason that this is the appearance of a professional hit, and I just don't see a husband or father of a person killed by Brian Thompson, with the funds and resources to travel to NY, know Brian's schedule, the hotel he was staying in, his itinerary and then know his face well enough to lay in wait for him, and let others pass by, and then jump out, calmly shoot him at a distance with a pistol, calmly walk up, check to see if he is dead,a and then calmly walk away.
You believe what you wish,but the evidence weighs against you..
So, no, I'm pretty certain this was rage against a machine that we've been fighting for decades to change, but now with the election of Trump, is quite unlikely to ever happen.
I did a video yesterday morning talking about this very thing (the CEO). I am surprised that we haven't seen people offing CEOs long before this: https://youtu.be/SZJM3XP81aM?si=d5IhfVMYbm46Sm4t
I'm so proud of the South Koreans for standing up to a tyrant so forcefully that he had to back down immediately. Please let us learn from their example!
What does a person say to this? What do average people have in terms of actual power to resist this? What can we proud vermin realistically do with these facts to counter the inevitable arrival of Jan20?
I've been working on a really big jigsaw puzzle, which is a fun distraction but still seems a little early for me at 44.
That's a good question. I have seen movies about the French resistance but nothing about how and whether the German people resisted. There is a movie about a German officer who tried to kill Hitler, and apparently, there were several attempts on his life.
Hitler had a lot of doubles. I have examined the many pictures of Hitler as a young man, as a soldier, study the ears. The ears are like fingerprints, no two are alike.
I have a book published in 1938, The Strange Deathof Adolph Hitler, He was murdered because he was morose after the murder of his beloved lover/niece
Geli Rabaul.
The book may sound questionable, but it was printed in1938, and inside the flypiece of the 1st edition, was an official document, seals and all in German.
Thom said, "The resilience of democracy depends on the strength of its institutions, the vigilance of its citizens, and the commitment of its elected leaders of all parties to uphold democratic values. Yoon’s behavior serves as both a warning and a call to action: democracies must stand vigilant against the creeping authoritarianism that threatens their core principles."
Well, then, we are sunk now, aren't we? "...the vigilance of its citizens..."? Never mind "...the commitment of all parties...". Vigilance went out with the horse and buggy. Our citizens have been in a state of somnambulance for decades. Quick turn on the TV. Let's watch reruns of MASH. The news upsets me and it's repetitive and boring, just like school.
Presaging things to come. Yoon's declaration of martial law was defeated only because the Korean assembly was able to come together and vote to defeat it.
However as reported by Heather Cox Richardson, the So, Korean Army stormed the assembly to try and prevent the vote, but were defeated by the citizens army fire extinguishers , and cell phone lights.
Considering that so much of our military is recruited from the red states, and are themselves racists and conservatives. Can you see this scenario being repeated in America.
I can't see Republicans voting against Trump under any circumstance, and I can sure see the Military siding with him, especially under a Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen Charles Flynn, brother of Lt Gen Mike Flynn.
I shared that yesterday on Daily Kos. Malcolm Nance is apparently very popular there, because almost 300 comments were made on the Daily Kos post I put up, and people were still visiting the post for an entire day. The denial among progressives is fading at a healthy pace. They are all coming to terms with the fact that, "Yes, this really is going to be as bad as we feared when we were trying to prevent it."
I see the real powers behind this coup readjusting in tactical prescriptions, slowing things down, reducing the push of Trump's only real ace in the hole--everything exaggerated full tilt boogey--much in accord with today's piece describing how a gas pedal-to- brakes to gas pedal is politically, prudently necessary. So, the sudden appearance of Vance, the appointment of which was received by Trump with uncharacteristic silent compliance, camoflaged by the ridiculous cover that dim Don Jr recommended him. The Vice slot, Number Two, fully decided by a swaggering moron? Even in the midway carnival world of Trump, 'Hey Rubes' sometimes have to be quelled. Cleverly, Vance appearing in person with Trump's outrageous picks was perhaps just a little too hip for the room. In any case, the fascists are playing real chess, with the Democrats still only gasping for drama's sake.
Gerald the real powers behind the throne let Trump pursue his cultural agenda to please his MAGAt base, but reveal themselvex with their no nonsense pick of Treasury and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick heads the brokerage and investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald and is a cryptocurrency enthusiast.
When the plane hit tower #!, Cantor Fitzgerald employees were told to stay in their seats and continue trading, one woman disobeyed and went down the stair case and was the only Cantor Fitzgerald employee that lived to tell the tale.
The men behind the curtain are letting the wizard play with the culture, but not the money.
I'm sure there are many factors that resulted in the push back by the South Korean people to the attempted installation of authoritarian rule, but their fair economic system was certainly a factor. South Korea has a GINI coefficient of 32, which reflects an economy that shares its prosperity fairly between the middle class and upper class. The US has a GINI coefficient of 49 which reflects an excess of prosperity going to the upper class. Our middle class "feels" this and therefore registers their displeasure with anti-establishment actions, including supporting Trump.
In our failing democracy, is the slide toward autocracy too far along to stop and reverse course? To ask that question of the great United States of America, once a beacon of freedom for oppressed people the world over, should shock every citizen to their core.
But for most people, it doesn't. Either they don't believe our nation is heading down this dangerous path, or they harbor a misguided faith beyond the evidence to the contrary that someone or something will surely come to the rescue and halt our rapid decline.
How in the hell did our justice system, our politicians, our media, and especially our election process not prevent the worst, most anti-democratic bastard among us, along with his cabal of authoritarian wingnuts, backed by hundreds if not thousands of ruthless millionaires and billionaires, from taking over our government? Critical democratic institutions have utterly failed the people.
Although this fascist crusade was years in the making, and academic debates forever explain how it all happened, diluting the emotional shock when the pieces come together so rapidly in the final stages — an escalation of power-grabbing previously unimaginable — it should not surprise anyone but terrify everyone.
The key point the German professor revealed to Milton Mayer is that by the time the political situation shocked the conscience, it was too late to save their democracy. "Insidious gradualism" and widespread denialism were the pivotal factors allowing the ascendancy of a fascist state run by a strongman.
The lesson of prewar Nazi Germany is loud and clear: the startling truth must stun the public consciousness for a meaningful change. With nine long years of right-wing and big corporate media excusing and reinforcing every small step of Trumpism — fascism (let's be honest) — and our wealthy overlords fiercely resisting democratic norms, how is it possible to shock a sedated people and spur them into action to reverse the slide into autocracy?
I think that they first wear you down. They flood the psyche with overwhelming sensitive energy numbing electrical impulses so that you become separated from your internal compass of right versus wrong. They amp up the financial stresses so that you cannot find any safety or secure footing. Like a drowning victim, you flounder around until something or someone comes to help and then you shrug them off and tell them that you didn't need any help (which statistically a majority of drowning victims do after receiving help). A sense of denial overcomes you as you seek to find your own sense of security. If that secure feeling includes turning away from others and justifying your position, you will willfully do so. The internal anger generated by this cold shoulder attitude and approach continues to build and overtake your morality. Survival of the fittest kicks in and you become centered only upon yourself and your survival. The Law of the Jungle overcomes civil law and social norms as this survival of the fittest spreads like a wildfire. The purveyors of this social disease comfort themselves with some alt-belief system that says they are serving their god. What they fail to understand is that no one approaches God other than through choice and surely not through force.
Partisan stooges will not be happy with this bit of investigative reporting. Drop Site News will be the first thing to get shut down when the ruling class decide the first amendment needs to be squashed. Squashing will be a "bipartisan" antic. I don't expect the mercenary congress to show the spine of the South Korean Parliament when it happens either.
What a perfect analysis of how the take over works and how closely Trump has followed those who've managed authoritarian take overs before him. I take heart that South Korea's populace had the guts to do what was needed. Having watched this slow crawl toward dictatorship that Trump's been proposing for 8 years, we lost heart and left the country a year ago. Were we younger, it might have not been as devastating, but hitting our 80's just took away the steam. Thank you for your consistently marvelous content. Your voice and your knowledge are so needed.
We have a national emergency. Our country was attacked by Russian psyops to "elect" Trump.
Our country’s GOP in congress invited the attack.
I believe you. What can we do?
See below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvImpAfyG8w&t=577s
This should qualify to take action against him using Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.
If he follows Hitler's lead, Trump will impose Martial Law using the excuse that he is responding to the call from the populous itself to use it to restore order. He will incite his Proud Oathtaker Boys to attack Left and "Woke" targets at will, and, if the Left and Woke retaliate in kind, there will be so much mayhem in the streets that the general population will call for Trump to do whatever he must but to get them peace in the streets. He will then have the mandate to arrest his enemies, and it will all be over. That is how Hitler engineered it. And that is why resistance to Trump must maintain nonviolence. Nonviolence is the only way to win because it puts the blame on the ones doing the attacking and maintains popular sympathy with the victims.
While the Proud Boys aren't nearly as large in numbers as Hitler's Brownshirts they could certain ally with other right wing and paramilitary groups to cause a lot of trouble. I'm not sure how many local police departments would stand by though as we don't have the centralized system of law enforcement that the Nazis could easily take over. But if the people around Trump are smart enough (he himself is not) they might "discover a terrorist operation" which requires lock downs. After all, Stalin did very well finding traitors and plots everywhere. And if they are really lucky an equivalent to the Reichstag Fire could give them all the opening needed. All the historical research I've seen indicates that this event was not planned by the Nazis, but they sure knew how to use it to their advantage.
Look up Operation Northwoods. False flags have been part of this nation for some time now. They won't need to "find" anything because they can, and will, create it.
They'll blame Democrats and that'll be that.
Google Constitutional Sheriff and Peace Officers Association and also Oath Keepers
Then consider that LEO are ultra conservative to right wing, including black LEO's, they perceive themselves as blue, not black. And it was 5 black officers in Baton Rouge that killed a black motorist.
47 days, plenty of time for hand counts in appropriate locations. With proximate cause, Biden as unitary executive can order a do-over.
Someone has to remind Biden that, to a reasonable degree of probability, Trump has set the stage to prosecute him. Many of us need the equivalent of total absolution.
Nice thought Daniel, but Biden has played his part, sat in the West Wing with Trump, shook hands and congratulated him, meanwhile Kamala was too eager to concede, 4 PM EST November 6th while votes were still being counted. CNN called it and Kamala was all too eager to comply.
It's not even who counts the votes, it is the corrpt, complicit, corporate media.
It'll never happen. Trump will come to power and the cards will fall where they may.
Maybe he'll just come in and grift off of the people, or maybe he'll come in and try to completely take over the country.
4 years ago I might have thought he just wants to enrich himself and build his brand, but after what has happened to him, I think he'll take over the country.
Deadlines have passed in most states
I hate to say this, because I too subscribe to the MLK and Mandela methods of righteous protest, but I don't think nonviolence would ever have taken down Hitler.
In fact, nonviolence didn't take down Hitler.
Nobody has mentioned the "birth strike" by the women in South Korea that has resulted in their country having the lowest birth rate in the world. It's called the 4B movement, which stands for "no marriage, no childbirth, no dating, and no sex with men," all expressing a rejection of traditional gender roles and expectations. Women in South Korea make an even smaller proportion to men than women in the U.S.
Something off-topic, but about resistance, is that the CEO of UnitedHealthcare was killed in what they believe was a targeted attack. What made him think he could walk around in Manhattan without a bulletproof vest after his greed and tactics of insurance denials have caused the suffering and deaths of so many people? I'm not a violent person and don't support violence as a way to right wrongs, but I don't feel sad about this. It cheered me up.
Thanks, Thom, for keeping us informed about the things that affect our lives. With your brains and talent, you could have been one of the rising morbidly rich. But as you quoted Popeye the Sailor, "I yam what I yam." I believe that when a person consistently behaves or acts in ways that violate their conscience, they become physically ill. Of course, anyone can become sick for various reasons, which is why we need a universal healthcare system.
American women, never, Gloria.
Thanks for the good news but maybe it was a target attack, because he was perceived to be a threat to the PTB. I would like to know some background on what was going on, behind the scenes.
When an important person in a corporation or government is perceived to be a threat, they inevitably dies of suicide, drown, fall out of windows are killed in a mugging.
I read some comments under the Yahoo report about the CEO shooting. They are all about claims denials. Are the CEOs so ignorant about the suffering and deaths they cause with their greed that they are too stupid to have security or wear a bulletproof vest? They are in a different world of stats and numbers, not flesh and blood.
CEO's, COO's, CFO's, billionaires, board of directors are trapped in a world of their own making. If not addicts, they are caught in game they can't exit.
The laws of physics break down to this. You can't break even, you can't win and you can't get out of the game.
The higher you climb on the (social, finance) ladder the further you fall and the harder you hit the ground.
When you climb to the top of the smokestack, people look like ants, mere tools, resources that helped you climb to the top.
This attitude towards others is as old as time, it is the same with Kings as it is with Ayatollahs, as it is with Popes, Cardinals, Bishops, CEO's and boards of directors.
There is no concern for lower beings, anymore than ranchers have concern for their cattle or shepherds their sheep.
The job of the shepherd is to keep the flock together till time for the fleecing and slaughter.
You would think that when you attain a certain social status, one could relax
and enjoy their kingdom, but there are always other kings who want to take your kingdom, and kings are so leveraged that they are constantly in threat of not being able to pay their debts. That keeps them on the path of rapacious greed and unconscionable behavior
Do you think that this people actually own the airplanes they fly on, the mansions they live in, the yachts they sail in? They are either leveraged or owned by foundations, and LLC's.
Lots of luck with E Jean Carroll collecting on her debts, Trump tower is leveraged and three or more institutions have debt superseding liens, including Deutschebank. If you get the property, you also get the debt.
Well, Brian Thompson was CEO of the Medicare portion of United Healthcare during the time when that company stole 50+ billion from the American taxpayer, then after they got busted, they moved Brian up to be CEO of the whole deal.
I'd be surprised if this was a political hit. It's possible he was sleeping with someone's wife and they got him, but what's more likely is that people are finally sick of these CEOs running roughshod over everyone and getting away with it.
I talk about that a bit in a video I did yesterday: https://youtu.be/SZJM3XP81aM?si=d5IhfVMYbm46Sm4t
I'm surprised I haven't seen this happen sooner!
There is always background noise of which we are unaware. Someone perceived him as a threat. This was a professional hit. They knew his schedule, his route of travel and the assassin was laying in wait. This tells me there is inside knowledge.
His assassin lay in wait, letting passerby's walk on by, until Brian passed him then stepped out and shot him. Professional hit, as to why well that will be covered up.
Well, one of the first things Brian Thompson tried doing when he became CEO was to retroactively not pay for ER visits that they deemed "not an emergency."
That didn't work out because everyone flipped out but he tried. Given that he tried doing that - purely for profit - he did other things too. United Healthcare is probably the worst company for denying coverage, they also defrauded the US taxpayer out of over 50b.
He could've been offed for any number of reasons, but Occam's Razor would tell you that it's due to denial of coverage. Even his wife said he had been receiving death threats over denial of coverage. So, who knows.
But the "assassin" wasn't too smart - he bought a drink and food before, then left it behind. He also left a cell phone behind. He also wrote notes on the bullet casings.
So, not too good of a "hitman" if he's leaving DNA and a cell phone behind. lol
I do not buy into the notion that a disgruntled customer killed Brian Thompson, for the simple reason that this is the appearance of a professional hit, and I just don't see a husband or father of a person killed by Brian Thompson, with the funds and resources to travel to NY, know Brian's schedule, the hotel he was staying in, his itinerary and then know his face well enough to lay in wait for him, and let others pass by, and then jump out, calmly shoot him at a distance with a pistol, calmly walk up, check to see if he is dead,a and then calmly walk away.
You believe what you wish,but the evidence weighs against you..
Well, one thing you may not know is that the message inscribed on the bullets points to a book about why insurance companies deny claims.
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/12/05/deny-defend-depose-unitedhealthcare-ceo-shooting-shell-casing-thompson.html
So, no, I'm pretty certain this was rage against a machine that we've been fighting for decades to change, but now with the election of Trump, is quite unlikely to ever happen.
Just listen to some of the stuff this guy did: https://youtu.be/i8wQQoHcj3E?si=nQdo8C276N-P8l8M
He's a scumbag and almost certainly got himself got because of his position. Sucks to be a CEO right now.
I did a video yesterday morning talking about this very thing (the CEO). I am surprised that we haven't seen people offing CEOs long before this: https://youtu.be/SZJM3XP81aM?si=d5IhfVMYbm46Sm4t
I'm so proud of the South Koreans for standing up to a tyrant so forcefully that he had to back down immediately. Please let us learn from their example!
What does a person say to this? What do average people have in terms of actual power to resist this? What can we proud vermin realistically do with these facts to counter the inevitable arrival of Jan20?
I've been working on a really big jigsaw puzzle, which is a fun distraction but still seems a little early for me at 44.
Say the word "Recount."
We're passed the deadline for this.
If there were any books citing what to do or what they should have done when Hitler came to power, please tell us their names. We need to read them!
That's a good question. I have seen movies about the French resistance but nothing about how and whether the German people resisted. There is a movie about a German officer who tried to kill Hitler, and apparently, there were several attempts on his life.
Hitler had a lot of doubles. I have examined the many pictures of Hitler as a young man, as a soldier, study the ears. The ears are like fingerprints, no two are alike.
I have a book published in 1938, The Strange Deathof Adolph Hitler, He was murdered because he was morose after the murder of his beloved lover/niece
Geli Rabaul.
The book may sound questionable, but it was printed in1938, and inside the flypiece of the 1st edition, was an official document, seals and all in German.
Widerstand. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_resistance_to_Nazism
Thom said, "The resilience of democracy depends on the strength of its institutions, the vigilance of its citizens, and the commitment of its elected leaders of all parties to uphold democratic values. Yoon’s behavior serves as both a warning and a call to action: democracies must stand vigilant against the creeping authoritarianism that threatens their core principles."
Well, then, we are sunk now, aren't we? "...the vigilance of its citizens..."? Never mind "...the commitment of all parties...". Vigilance went out with the horse and buggy. Our citizens have been in a state of somnambulance for decades. Quick turn on the TV. Let's watch reruns of MASH. The news upsets me and it's repetitive and boring, just like school.
Presaging things to come. Yoon's declaration of martial law was defeated only because the Korean assembly was able to come together and vote to defeat it.
However as reported by Heather Cox Richardson, the So, Korean Army stormed the assembly to try and prevent the vote, but were defeated by the citizens army fire extinguishers , and cell phone lights.
Considering that so much of our military is recruited from the red states, and are themselves racists and conservatives. Can you see this scenario being repeated in America.
I can't see Republicans voting against Trump under any circumstance, and I can sure see the Military siding with him, especially under a Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen Charles Flynn, brother of Lt Gen Mike Flynn.
I suggest following Malcom Nance. Here’s his latest. https://open.substack.com/pub/malcolmnance/p/five-steps-to-resist-the-coming-tyranny?r=dkif&utm_medium=ios
I shared that yesterday on Daily Kos. Malcolm Nance is apparently very popular there, because almost 300 comments were made on the Daily Kos post I put up, and people were still visiting the post for an entire day. The denial among progressives is fading at a healthy pace. They are all coming to terms with the fact that, "Yes, this really is going to be as bad as we feared when we were trying to prevent it."
I see the real powers behind this coup readjusting in tactical prescriptions, slowing things down, reducing the push of Trump's only real ace in the hole--everything exaggerated full tilt boogey--much in accord with today's piece describing how a gas pedal-to- brakes to gas pedal is politically, prudently necessary. So, the sudden appearance of Vance, the appointment of which was received by Trump with uncharacteristic silent compliance, camoflaged by the ridiculous cover that dim Don Jr recommended him. The Vice slot, Number Two, fully decided by a swaggering moron? Even in the midway carnival world of Trump, 'Hey Rubes' sometimes have to be quelled. Cleverly, Vance appearing in person with Trump's outrageous picks was perhaps just a little too hip for the room. In any case, the fascists are playing real chess, with the Democrats still only gasping for drama's sake.
Gerald the real powers behind the throne let Trump pursue his cultural agenda to please his MAGAt base, but reveal themselvex with their no nonsense pick of Treasury and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick heads the brokerage and investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald and is a cryptocurrency enthusiast.
When the plane hit tower #!, Cantor Fitzgerald employees were told to stay in their seats and continue trading, one woman disobeyed and went down the stair case and was the only Cantor Fitzgerald employee that lived to tell the tale.
The men behind the curtain are letting the wizard play with the culture, but not the money.
I'm sure there are many factors that resulted in the push back by the South Korean people to the attempted installation of authoritarian rule, but their fair economic system was certainly a factor. South Korea has a GINI coefficient of 32, which reflects an economy that shares its prosperity fairly between the middle class and upper class. The US has a GINI coefficient of 49 which reflects an excess of prosperity going to the upper class. Our middle class "feels" this and therefore registers their displeasure with anti-establishment actions, including supporting Trump.
Is it too late?
In our failing democracy, is the slide toward autocracy too far along to stop and reverse course? To ask that question of the great United States of America, once a beacon of freedom for oppressed people the world over, should shock every citizen to their core.
But for most people, it doesn't. Either they don't believe our nation is heading down this dangerous path, or they harbor a misguided faith beyond the evidence to the contrary that someone or something will surely come to the rescue and halt our rapid decline.
How in the hell did our justice system, our politicians, our media, and especially our election process not prevent the worst, most anti-democratic bastard among us, along with his cabal of authoritarian wingnuts, backed by hundreds if not thousands of ruthless millionaires and billionaires, from taking over our government? Critical democratic institutions have utterly failed the people.
Although this fascist crusade was years in the making, and academic debates forever explain how it all happened, diluting the emotional shock when the pieces come together so rapidly in the final stages — an escalation of power-grabbing previously unimaginable — it should not surprise anyone but terrify everyone.
The key point the German professor revealed to Milton Mayer is that by the time the political situation shocked the conscience, it was too late to save their democracy. "Insidious gradualism" and widespread denialism were the pivotal factors allowing the ascendancy of a fascist state run by a strongman.
The lesson of prewar Nazi Germany is loud and clear: the startling truth must stun the public consciousness for a meaningful change. With nine long years of right-wing and big corporate media excusing and reinforcing every small step of Trumpism — fascism (let's be honest) — and our wealthy overlords fiercely resisting democratic norms, how is it possible to shock a sedated people and spur them into action to reverse the slide into autocracy?
I think that they first wear you down. They flood the psyche with overwhelming sensitive energy numbing electrical impulses so that you become separated from your internal compass of right versus wrong. They amp up the financial stresses so that you cannot find any safety or secure footing. Like a drowning victim, you flounder around until something or someone comes to help and then you shrug them off and tell them that you didn't need any help (which statistically a majority of drowning victims do after receiving help). A sense of denial overcomes you as you seek to find your own sense of security. If that secure feeling includes turning away from others and justifying your position, you will willfully do so. The internal anger generated by this cold shoulder attitude and approach continues to build and overtake your morality. Survival of the fittest kicks in and you become centered only upon yourself and your survival. The Law of the Jungle overcomes civil law and social norms as this survival of the fittest spreads like a wildfire. The purveyors of this social disease comfort themselves with some alt-belief system that says they are serving their god. What they fail to understand is that no one approaches God other than through choice and surely not through force.
Too much despair in this thread. Despair is capitulation. Not having any of it.
Partisan stooges will not be happy with this bit of investigative reporting. Drop Site News will be the first thing to get shut down when the ruling class decide the first amendment needs to be squashed. Squashing will be a "bipartisan" antic. I don't expect the mercenary congress to show the spine of the South Korean Parliament when it happens either.
https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/south-korea-martial-law-yoon-biden-blinken?publication_id=2510348&post_id=152565123&isFreemail=false&r=rdp7&triedRedirect=true