Trump takes the tools of dictators and adapts them for the Internet. We should expect him to try to cling to power until death, and create a cult of January 6th martyrs.
Trump has always been a presence, not an absence: the presence of fascism. What does this mean?
When the Soviets called their enemies “fascists,” they turned the word into a meaningless insult. Putinist Russia has preserved the habit: a “fascist” is anyone who opposes the wishes of a Russian dictator. So Ukrainians defending their country from Russian invaders are “fascists.” This is a trick that Trump has copied. He, like Vladimir Putin, refers to his enemies as “fascists,” with no ideological significance at all. It is simply a term of opprobrium.
Putin and Trump are both, in fact, fascists. And their use of the word, though meant to confuse, reminds us of one of fascism’s essential characteristics. A fascist is unconcerned with the connection between words and meanings. He does not serve the language; the language serves him. When a fascist calls a liberal a “fascist,” the term begins to work in a different way, as the servant of a particular person, rather than as a bearer of meaning.
[…]
Fascism is a phenomenon, not a person. Just as Trump was always a presence, so is the movement he has created. It is not just a matter of the actual fascists in his movement, who are scarcely hiding, nor of his own friendly references to Hitler or his use of Hitlerian language (“vermin,” “enemy within”). He bears responsibility for what comes next, as do his allies and supporters.
Yet some, and probably more, of the blame rests with our actions and analysis. Again and again, our major institutions, from the media to the judiciary, have amplified Trump’s presence; again and again, we have failed to name the consequences. Fascism can be defeated, but not when we are on its side.
It been all over since the guy[shrub] who lied us into two 20 year wars & brought us the Patriot act, got re elected
Haliburton won, the DoD who can’t pass an audit continues to have an open checkbook & ever increasing budget
Then we moved to Hope & Change, that turned out to be great for banks & insurance companies
Every cycle is portrayed as vitally important with a platform of
We Suck Less
The Donor Class calls the tune
Allowing money to overtly be speech removed the pretense of representation for the rest of us
The expectations have changed
Avoiding the appearance of impropriety
Degraded to
Maintain Plausible Deniability
Eroded to
Prove it in a Rigged Court of Law Beyond any Conceivable Doubt no Matter How Absurd
Enabling all this is a solid 1/3rd of the population that have reduced empathy
Energized by the various corporate media that have been consolidated into unanimous support for
our not so benevolent overlords
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It been all over since the guy[shrub] who lied us into two 20 year wars & brought us the Patriot act, got re elected
Haliburton won, the DoD who can’t pass an audit continues to have an open checkbook & ever increasing budget
Then we moved to Hope & Change, that turned out to be great for banks & insurance companies
Every cycle is portrayed as vitally important with a platform of
We Suck Less
The Donor Class calls the tune
Allowing money to overtly be speech removed the pretense of representation for the rest of us
The expectations have changed
Avoiding the appearance of impropriety
Degraded to Maintain Plausible Deniability
Eroded to
Prove it in a Rigged Court of Law Beyond any Conceivable Doubt no Matter How Absurd
Enabling all this is a solid 1/3rd of the population that have reduced empathy
Energized by the various corporate media that have been consolidated into unanimous support for our not so benevolent overlords
Not this time. GQP actively campaigned for all the worst policies and actively making things worse and people still voted for it.