Cyrano
Cyrano's JournalBe grateful it wasn't worse.
It may seem a bit cold to post this so soon after an assassination attempt on a former and possibly future president. But here's the reality you may (or may not) hear over the next day or two.
IMO, the Heritage Foundation would not have shed a tear if the assassination attempt had succeeded. Trump's chances of winning is really about 50/50. They would have loved to replace him with a candidate who doesn't carry Trump''s "baggage" of criminal, rapist, authoritarian, and a man filled with cruelty and seeking revenge, who has turned off countless voters in making it obvious he welcomed being "President for Life."
The people who head up the Heritage Foundation (and others) are seeking the end of democracy and permanent power through their Project 2025. But they don''t need Trump to make it come about. Had things turned out differently last night, they would have had the opportunity to pick their preferred candidate at next week's Republican Convention. It would be someone who could bring back the countless "Never Trump"" voters. It would be someone who agrees with their goals. And by making Trump a martyr it seems to me they could have rapidly put together a master propaganda campaign for their candidate, that would result in the win of, not only the presidency, but also the House and Senate.
I have no sympathy for Trump bringing upon himself the violence he's always preached.. My sympathy goes out to the family of the person killed and the two people who were critically wounded.
Yet, I also fear the end of democracy if this guy ends up in the White House because of a chipped ear.
(On edit: Anyone here think I'm being too cynical about the nature of politics?)
Project 2025 is the Republican version of Mein Kampf
It is a blueprint for destroying the America that currently exists and replacing it with total power in the hands of a small group of people. And most of these people either worked for, or are politically tied to Trump.
Most of the pundits have told us that horrible things will happen at the border, that "holding camps" will be opened for immigrants waiting to be deported, that tens of thousands in the federal bureaucracy will be replaced by Trump loyalists, that the Dept of Education and the FBI will be done away with, and so, so much more.
Trump says he wants revenge. And given who and what he is, you don't need much imagination to foresee what form that revenge would take:
IMO, the pundits haven't gone far enough.
Trump wants to arrest his enemies. How long do you think it would take before they were executed?
He wants to get rid of the bureaucracy. How long would it take him to ignore, or even disband congress?
The SCOTUS has given the presidency unheard of powers. He'll probably ignore their existence after he rids the Court of the three liberals.
Any whim he wakes up with in the morning will be carried out before evening.
Donald Trump will be the first American Fuhrer. Many pundits know this, but they worn't say it out loud for fear that people will think they're nuts. The fact that I've said it here will probably result in many DUers thinking I'm nuts.
Nonetheless, as I've said before, keep your passport up to date.
We are underestimating Project 2025
The Project 2025 document outlines four main aims:
* Restore the family as the centerpiece of American life.
* Dismantle the administrative state.
* Defend the nation's sovereignty and borders.
* Secure God-given individual rights to live freely.
Gee, just four goals. The devil is of course in the details. Tens of thousands of federal employees would be replaced by people who owe their total loyalty to the president. The Dept. of Education and the Federal Reserve would be gone, and all other Departments would be reorganized to fit with the far-right agenda. All cabinet members would follow any and all orders from the president with no questions asked. Restoring the family sounds like something that would have a detrimental effect on LGBTQ people. Border sovereignty sounds like bad news for immigrants. And there's so, so much more than can be listed here. After all, Project 2025 is a 920 page document.
But even with what is known about Project 2025, I am of the opinion that it goes far beyond what is publicly known. Many will disagree with me, but I truly believe that Project 2025 is a blueprint for a country that Hitler would have loved. And if it is ever put in place by a president, (in this case, Trump), America will come to resemble Nazi Germany, death camps and all. (You may not find this written in the pages of the Project, but it's where it would inevitably lead.)
Many may think that my beliefs about Project 2025 are extreme, or even nuts. My answer to you is to make sure to keep your passport is up to date.
Why do so many "love" Rachel Maddow?
I can only speak for myself.
First, her research, her diligence, and her devotion to provable facts and absolute truth is unquestionable.
Her knowledge of human history, (political and otherwise), is vast and, no matter how complex, she makes it accessible to us all.
She speaks into that camera like she's sitting next to you and speaking to you alone.
Her humor is delightful, precious and perfectly timed, given the ugliness of what she often covers.
And, I think that to some small, or perhaps large way, she's making the world a better place with her show, her podcasts, her writings and her very presence among us.
Even Steve Bannon doesn't want Trump to show up for the debate.
This morning, some Trump spokeswoman went on a rant on CNN. There was no stopping her, so her mike was cut and she was thrown off the air. Bannon considered this such an insult that he said that Trump should not show up for the debate.
Bannon isn't the only one. Some Republicans have come up with various reasons why Trump should not debate Joe.
But let's face it. There's only one real reason. He's nuts.
His handlers know this, but they have no way of controlling him He's going to do whatever he wants to do.
The debate is 90 minutes long, but it shouldn't take more than a few moments to drive him off the rails. A question he doesn't like, or a well-targeted statement by Joe would be enough to do it. With no audience to cheer him on, and with his mike cut off, my guess is he'll either walk off the stage, or start chewing on the edge of the podium.
Whatever he does, his MAGAs will stand by him. But he may turn off just enough voters to make a difference in November.
Project 2025 is a blueprint for American fascism.
Most people won't take the time to read it. But you don't have to.
There's currently a video posted on DU (by appalachiablue) in which an NY University professor explains it calmly and quietly. If Trump wins or steals the November election, Project 2025 will be put in place immediately and America, as we know it will be over. Project 2025 includes the end of the Dept. of Education, the end of The Dept. of Justice, the end of the FBI, and much more. It's a wingnut, Christo-fascist, batshit insane plan to destroy American democracy.
The video is 47 minutes long, so save it if you can't watch it now. And pass it on to everyone you know. What's at stake here is our freedoms, our country, and our way of life.
https://democraticunderground.com/132227750
(Please kick this thread so as many as possible learn the pure evil of Project 2025.)
Virtually every human invention or discovery has been weaponized.
When the ancients discovered fire, they had a way to keep warm and cook food. But it probably wasn't too long before they decided to use it against their enemies.
In the bronze age, humans used bronze to replace tools made of stone. Then, someone created the first sword which made killing much simpler.
When the Chinese mixed carbon, sulfur and saltpeter, they found that it exploded which helped simplify construction and enhance celebrations. How long do you suppose it was before someone decided to use it against people?
The discovery of electricity lit homes, and replaced steam as the major source of power for humanity. It also made possible countless new weapons, not to mention its use to execute people.
Einstein's theories led to the creation of nuclear power plants and also, to his ultimate dismay, weaponry of almost unimaginable power.
In 1945, ENIAC, the first general purpose electronic digital computer was developed. At this very moment we can see how software has been weaponized. The system used by over 15,000 car dealerships has been hacked and being held for ransom. Try buying a car today or in the next month or more.
But software can do far more damage than that. Electrical grids, communications systems, medical devices and most of what we take for granted in modern life can be hacked and possibly destroyed.
So here's the question: Will we humans outlive our adolescence before we destroy ourselves?*
(*This is a paraphrase of a Carl Sagan quote.)
They never go away.
I just watched the first thirty minutes of "Saving Private Ryan." It's but a snapshot of the actual horror of June 6th, 1944, the day on which tens of thousands of America's Greatest Generation, along with America's allies, invaded Nazi held Europe. The blood shed by those who perished on the beaches of Normandy are memorialized in annual ceremonies. And rightfully so. They, and those who survived, saved the world from fascism. Yes. Let me say that again. They saved the world from fascism.
Yet, here we are again, under the threat of the fascists. They never go away.
The freedoms we Americans have were secured by those who stormed those beaches to defeat a foreign threat. But now, that threat is homegrown. Who can doubt that Trump is a dictator wannabe, who might just see his fantasies come to be reality? Who can doubt that the billionaire donors who back him want to add to their wealth and power by putting him back in the White House? Who can doubt that the Republican Party consists of those who agree with him, and/or those too afraid to oppose him? Who can doubt that tens of millions of American voters are conned and drawn in by the Republican media propaganda machine? And who can doubt that many are just too ignorant to grasp that they are voting to fuck themselves?
This week, the week that was the beginning of the end for German fascism, was the week in which American fascists hit the gas pedal. Dear Leader was convicted of 34 felonies, so he went online and on TV to whip up his faithful. And perhaps the worst of those "faithful" are elected Republicans who went public, declaring that our system of government is illegitimate, "rigged," corrupt, and needs to be removed.
There it is, folks. The standard fascist playbook. Accusing us of everything they themselves are guilty of. They have declared war on truth and democracy. They are lying their asses off and they intend to turn this country into our worst nightmare when they gain complete power. And, no matter how you want to describe them, they are today's Nazis. They are what our forebears were fighting and dying for on those Normandy beaches.
Right now, our plan to stop them is to vote. And hopefully, we'll win, but even if we do, they are not going away. So here's my question. Do we have the fortitude to stand up to homegrown fascism the way our forebears stood up to European fascism on this day, 80 years ago?
And the death threats are flying.
So this is Trump's America. Go against him at the risk of your life. And tens of millions of Trump voters seem to be saying this is okay. After all, they're planning to vote for him.
Think about that. Judges, jurors, witnesses, and anyone else who says anything negative about Trump is at risk of being murdered if he wins or steals the presidency. Does anyone here think he'll play by any rules?
Are we here on DU safe? After all, who or what is going to stop him from seizing the DU membership info and then sending his elves after each and every one of us? For that matter, what's to stop him from going after any of his voters who don't show sufficient enthusiasm for him? -- And if the American billionaire oligarchs who are backing him think they are safe, they're fools.
And anyone who believes this post is a bit extreme, either doesn't see, or doesn't understand the possible consequences if he comes to power. It's happened before in other places at other times. America doesn't have any magic immunity to the whims of a lunatic who has total power.
(And no. I haven't been drinking or smoking weed.)
A peek behind the curtain. Trump is just the front man.
The Republicans are on the verge of owning America. Billionaires, whose names we don't even know, have spent decades buying their way to this point. And the irony is that Trump is too stupid to know that they lucked out when he came along. He's their flashing, neon, "free candy for everyone" billboard.-- And he's one of the most effective in history.
Tens of millions have bought into his "The drinks are on the house" pitch. After all, doesn't everyone love the guy who has said he'll pick up the tab.
Those who ran Germany's "Third Reich" sold much the same shit. It worked. They ended up owning the country, and then they tried to own the entire world. Britain, Russia and our forebears stopped them. But this time around, the shit peddlers are homegrown. Our founders called them "Domestic Enemies." And they have a good chance of winning or stealing this year's election. If they do, it will be the last.
And here we are. The majority. We're watching it unfold and our leaders seem to be caught like deer in the headlights. Yes, the media is assisting the barbarians. But you'd think that countless millions of sane people could put up a better defense. Actually, "defense" seems like joke. We're barely in this fight. And millions of people who are Democrats are only vaguely aware that the Republicans have declared war on democracy.
So what do we do besides everything possible to get out the vote and beat them at the polls? I wish I had the answer. Yet, we know going into this election that their suppression tactics, their gerrymandering, their "lost votes" claims, and everything else they have in their bag of dirty tricks, is being employed.
The only advice I have to give is VOTE! And if that's not enough, we need a Plan B, which we currently seem to lack. And it's a lack that could cost us our freedoms, our country and our lives.
Profile Information
Gender: MaleHometown: Palm Beach County, Florida
Member since: Fri Apr 16, 2004, 02:36 PM
Number of posts: 15,168