Edelweiss. A good song for today.

Captain Von Trapp says goodbye to country as Nazis take over.

We'll get to watch while the vultures pick the bones clean.

We're in uncharted territory, and there's no historical precedent for any of it.

I'm not sure there are any historical precedents for any of this. That is, a stable, long term democracy, that has maintained, more or less, democratic, constitutional rule for over 200 years, falling into fascism during a long term period of, for the most part, peace and prosperity. Maybe Rome's transformation from a republic into an empire.

We've maintained, even if imperfectly, democratic and constitutional government through a civil war, through two global wars, through a decades long Cold War, through assassinations and major social upheavals. We've pulled ourselves back from the brink during the McCarthy era, and after all of that, we're now walking right into fascism, peacefully and voluntarily.

I believe that we've been heading in this direction for the past few decades, with the groundwork being done by some very clever and extremely wealthy people who have funded think tanks and created a massive propaganda infrastucture, and gradually transformed what had been a conservative party, into a radical RW fascist one, and propagandized millions of people into followers; and they have done this mostly under the radar of people who should have been paying attention. And as I said, what they have achieved is historically unprecedented.

Where we go from here is anybody's guess. Maybe we slip into a totalitarian dystopia that lasts for decades. Maybe there will be a civil war, and the country will break apart. Maybe we'll end up having WWIII, and there will be nothing left but the cockroaches. Or maybe we'll be able to pull ourselves out of it before it becomes irreversible.

The fact that the "leader" is an overgrown infant, and the fascist party is tripping over their shoelaces in their overreaching power grabs, before he even gets inaugurated, is the one thing that gives me any hope that this country might manage to pull itself out. If we had gotten a more "reasonable" and sane looking R president, they would have been able to maintain the facade of normalcy until it was too late. So maybe Trump getting in is really a blessing in disguise.

I honestly wish I was reading about this in a history book, rather than living through it.

I apologize for posting my late night mental meanderings, but hope that it makes at least a little bit of sense to anyone other than myself.

No, he pounds it, and he has other Dems out pounding it, and pounding the 'pukes.

And it's not about persuading the 'pukes, it's about embarrassing them, and getting the public on his side. It's about making it, and the 'pukes obstruction, part of the national dialogue.

This has political value in and of itself, as a large part of politics is simply public perception. The 'pukes seem to "get" that, and act on it, and have used it to effectively advance their agenda, even when they were out of power.

This is something that Obama could have done. He is certainly not lacking in the ability to speak eloquently and persuasively. The Dems seem to have simply not figured out the importance of public perception when it comes to pushing your agenda, and have let the 'pukes largely monopolize the public discourse.

They had better get this figured out, because for the next 2-4 years (at least), their voices are going to be the only thing they really have to fight with.

So, yes. Lots and lots of news conferences and speeches, utilizing his gifts for speaking persuasively. It might not change the outcome, but it would change public perception, and show that the Dems are willing to fight for what's right.