Today's Vic

In every time of major conflict - either a state-vs-state shootin' war, or an internal beef among various factions inside a government - there's always a belligerent jerk who's willing to push for his own ends at the expense of everything and everybody else. 

And we always get to see who that jerk is when the quotable quotes pop out.

• The Chief Justice has made his ruling, now let's see him enforce it (Andy Jackson)
• How many divisions does the Pope have? (Joe Stalin)
• If you've got 'em by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow (Teddy Roosevelt)

The operative concept now is the Andrew Jackson quote, which of course, Trump has stolen because he can't do anything on his own.

Action Items

I'm just one little nobody blogger who likes to troll MAGA on social media. Elon and Zuckerberg and the other big players can shut me out with a tiny tweak of the algorithms.

Getting out and (eg) picketing the local offices of my congress critters carries a little more weight - it makes me think maybe I'm not just shouting at the wind. It's not a lot - I'm not thinking about some kinda big Mr-Smith-Goes-To-Washington moment where I make a big splash and suddenly everything's rosy - but when we make our presence known, we can be seen by others who could be looking for just a little encouragement to do something similar.

So connecting with local Dems is a way for me to fight back. Figuring out something I can do helps me not feel lost and powerless.

Protest

Jesse Welles

Billy Simons Jr

Carsie Blanton

Today's Vic

Two great points:

1. If I flake off, it means the bad guys will have more goons to send after you
2. My obligation as a citizen doesn't end just because my side lost an election

Timothy Snyder's "On Tyranny" - here's the outline:

1. Do not obey in advance. Much of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then start to do it without being asked. You've already done this, haven't you? Stop. Anticipatory obedience teaches authorities what is possible and accelerates unfreedom.
2. Defend an institution. Follow the courts or the media, or a court or a newspaper. Do not speak of “our institutions” unless you are making them yours by acting on their behalf. Institutions don't protect themselves. They go down like dominoes unless each is defended from the beginning.
3. Recall professional ethics. When the leaders of state set a negative example, professional commitments to just practice become much more important. It is hard to break a rule-of-law state without lawyers, and it is hard to have show trials without judges.
4. When listening to politicians, distinguish certain words. Look out for the expansive use of “terrorism” and “extremism.” Be alive to the fatal notions of “exception” and “emergency.” Be angry about the treacherous use of patriotic vocabulary.
5. Be calm when the unthinkable arrives. When the terrorist attack comes, remember that all authoritarians at all times either await or plan such events in order to consolidate power. Think of the Reichstag fire. The sudden disaster that requires the end of the balance of power, the end of opposition parties, and so on, is the oldest trick in the Hitlerian book. Don't fall for it.
6. Be kind to our language. Avoid pronouncing the phrases everyone else does. Think up your own way of speaking, even if only to convey that thing you think everyone is saying. (Don't use the Internet before bed. Charge your gadgets away from your bedroom, and read.) What to read? Perhaps The Power of the Powerless by Václav Havel, 1984 by George Orwell, The Captive Mind by Czesław Milosz, The Rebel by Albert Camus, The Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt, or Nothing is True and Everything is Possible by Peter Pomerantsev.
7. Stand out. Someone has to. It is easy, in words and deeds, to follow along. It can feel strange to do or say something different. But without that unease, there is no freedom. And the moment you set an example, the spell of the status quo is broken, and others will follow.
8. Believe in truth. To abandon facts is to abandon freedom. If nothing is true, then no one can criticize power because there is no basis upon which to do so. If nothing is true, then all is spectacle. The biggest wallet pays for the most blinding lights.
9. Investigate. Figure things out for yourself. Spend more time with long articles. Subsidize investigative journalism by subscribing to print media. Realize that some of what is on your screen is there to harm you. Learn about sites that investigate foreign propaganda pushes.
10. Practice corporeal politics. Power wants your body softening in your chair and your emotions dissipating on the screen. Get outside. Put your body in unfamiliar places with unfamiliar people. Make new friends and march with them.
11. Make eye contact and small talk. This is not just polite. It is a way to stay in touch with your surroundings, break down unnecessary social barriers, and come to understand whom you should and should not trust. If we enter a culture of denunciation, you will want to know the psychological landscape of your daily life.
12. Take responsibility for the face of the world. Notice the swastikas and the other signs of hate. Do not look away and do not get used to them. Remove them yourself and set an example for others to do so.
13. Hinder the one-party state. The parties that took over states were once something else. They exploited a historical moment to make political life impossible for their rivals. Vote in local and state elections while you can.
14. Give regularly to good causes, if you can. Pick a charity and set up autopay. Then you will know that you have made a free choice that is supporting civil society helping others doing something good.
15. Establish a private life. Nastier rulers will use what they know about you to push you around. Scrub your computer of malware. Remember that email is skywriting. Consider using alternative forms of the Internet, or simply using it less. Have personal exchanges in person. For the same reason, resolve any legal trouble. Authoritarianism works as a blackmail state, looking for the hook on which to hang you. Try not to have too many hooks.
16. Learn from others in other countries. Keep up your friendships abroad, or make new friends abroad. The present difficulties here are an element of a general trend. And no country is going to find a solution by itself. Make sure you and your family have passports.
17. Watch out for the paramilitaries. When the men with guns who have always claimed to be against the system start wearing uniforms and marching around with torches and pictures of a Leader, the end is nigh. When the pro-Leader paramilitary and the official police and military intermingle, the game is over.
18. Be reflective if you must be armed. If you carry a weapon in public service, God bless you and keep you. But know that evils of the past involved policemen and soldiers finding themselves, one day, doing irregular things. Be ready to say no. (If you do not know what this means, contact the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and ask about training in professional ethics.)
19. Be as courageous as you can. If none of us is prepared to die for freedom, then all of us will die in unfreedom.
20. Be a patriot. President Trump is not. Set a good example of what America means for the generations to come. They will need it.

Today's Vic

Lauren Boebert may be headed for a crash. Charlie Cook has moved this race from Likely Red to Leans Red.

Today's Vic

Trump has earned justice - he's got it comin'.

Today's Vic

 

And The Grift Goes On

Other than the usual crap about tearing down the institutions of The American Experiment, there's another reason Trump needs you to believe FEMA sucks and isn't doing what's needed. 

It's right there. Right out in the open.

Today's Vic

About that tariff thingie.

IMHO, Republicans want tariffs for possibly two reasons.

1. To kill off the normal income tax schedules
2. To petty fog their schemes to smash dissent by stripping resources from potential opposition, and keep people so busy just trying to stay afloat that they don't dare make waves

When dealing with "conservatives" on any issue, the one thing you can always count on is that they're angling for control. Minority rule (aka: The Daddy State) doesn't work if people feel free to confront and challenge the privilege and sense of entitlement of snobbish effete plutocrats.

That's why they want to kill women's rights, and cut back voting rights, and squash labor rights, and eliminate Queerfolk rights, and and and.

Today's Vic

"... because they asked me."

Today's Vic

Agenda 47 (aka: Project 2025) advocates rounding up brown people for expulsion. 

But I think it's pretty plain to anybody who cares to look - it's not possible to force other countries to take them in. 

The Trumpsters know this.

So it would seem they intend to deliberately create that particular problem, which has always meant that somebody is angling for some kind of "final solution".

Of course, we won't just immediately start to eliminate them - not when there's big money to be made in the meantime from hiring them out as "contract labor".

Hacking Immigration Law, LLC

Today's Vic

Book mark this one for your MAGA friends on social media.

Today's Vic

For Labor Day

Today's Vic

I love this guy.

Permission

Permission to think for yourself, and then to vote according to what you think, unencumbered by the negative peer pressure and the sometimes venomous rhetoric.

My ex-Mom-in-Law came for a visit in the fall of 2012, and I asked her who she was going to vote for. She told me she hadn't decided yet because she didn't know who all her friends were going to vote for.

Every yard sign, every bumper sticker, every casual conversation at the bar or the grocery store or the barber shop will have some impact on how people vote. Maybe not on the ones you're talking to, but the ones who overhear what you're saying.

Thank You For Smoking - The Ice Cream Scene