Trumpo-fascism is a symptom, not a disease
This is gonna be a brief, gentle reminder to us all (not that we need it, necessarily, here at C99P).
The latest from the great orange hairpiece is this terrible news. Of course there are strong denials, the memo never made it up the ranks into "serious" consideration, etc. It's all phony, one way or the other.
But that's neither here nor there. What worries me more about this isn't so much that it exists--our venerated FDR did so much worse to American citizens of Japanese birth or ancestry during WWII--it's the casual nature of the reporting around it and the rhetoric around it that is sure to come, primarily from crocodile tear shedding Democratic hypocrites. It worries me because it reinforces the same path we've been down for 40 years and more already: Americans will once again face and mostly accede to a false choice between fascists who hide their fascism behind agreeable rhetoric and fascists who are more open about their goals even if they deny the fascist character of them. Meanwhile, the Democrats will continue to silently and tacitly support the very policies they make lots of public noise about.
Trump's Trumpo-fascism isn't substantially different from the bilge offered us by the Other Party. It is just marginally more open. A sort of peeling back the curtain has occurred. Unfortunately there is a tandem effort by the media, Democrats and certain disgruntled GOP soldiers, largely successful so far in my opinion, to cast Democrats as the leaders of the Resistance.
So while we have this steady march toward a modern incarnation of Nazi Germany, please consider that we (on the left), do not have allies or officials in power. It is a mistake to rely on Democrats to oppose this fascism, because they're happy enough to partake on the down-low. Both the major parties benefit immensely from this steady erosion of what little sanity remains in our supposed-republic.
The disease is our (collectively speaking here, in terms of the broader American public) continued ceding of power to a corrupt one-party-with-two-factions. That has got to change. Trumpo-fascism is just a sideshow symptom of this disease.
I've outlined some ways to change it (see my essay history). Others have different ideas. It's all good. But we need to do something. Pick your activity and go for it.
Comments
It is troubling, but inevitable that
the DNC and the Vichy Dems (what a great label from the late wordsmith, Steve Gilliard) will tackle this Trump madness in the manner in which they are best equipped to do so. More fundraising. "We Dems are all that stand between Trump and the destruction of the Republic. Help us defeat Trump. Your country is counting on you! Send us $25, $50, $100 or whatever you can. Do it today!!"
"Just call me Hillbilly Dem(exit)."
-H/T to Wavey Davey
I keep getting email after email
thanking me, begging me, pleading with me for money. I delete them all. I've tried unsubscribing several times but it never takes. Every once in a while I answer one with some criticism, especially some really obnoxious ones from James Carville. As if that asshole didn't do enough damage to this country and has any room to demand help for his corrupt buddies. I don't know if anyone sees my responses but they used to come back undeliverable and now do not so I like to hope someone does.
Only a fool lets someone else tell him who his enemy is. Assata Shakur
Yep. These people can't tale a dump without having to
initiate a funding drive.
"What would you do if YOUR Senator/Congressperson got lost or waylaid on the way back from the toilet? What if he or she missed an important markup or vote because they had no clue where they were and where they were going and what they were supposed to do when they got there? What if he/she took a right at the end of the hall instead of a left? Well, I am not going to wait for that to happen. If you send me your hard earned money, I will see to it that signs marking the way to AND from the bathroom are prominently posted where everyone can see them. That way, you will have the security of knowing that no matter if a bill is being marked-up or voted on, I will NEVER be absent from the action because I was wandering the halls due to a full bladder or a 'touching cloth' potential bowel incident.
Can I count on you for $25 to help prevent this catastrophic event from occurring? Remember, your donation will go a long way toward guaranteeing that your Senator/Congressperson isn't clueless and full of shit while roaming aimlessly through the halls of Congress."
EDIT: added 'halls of'
I'm tired of this back-slapping "Isn't humanity neat?" bullshit. We're a virus with shoes, okay? That's all we are. - Bill Hicks
Politics is the entertainment branch of industry. - Frank Zappa
maybe the oligarchy realizes the end is near
for the better part of humanity, having listened to Guy McPherson's enlightened talks wrt global warming.
Exponential increases in temps and CO2 levels are likely going to happen in less than 10 years. Drop dead areas of highest wet bulb climate will be most of SE USA and Gulf Coast, that would become the most lethal form of weather in the United States.
So as far as the oligarchy is concerned, it doesn't matter if this buffoon Trump runs amok, says absurdities on a daily basis, is a Manchurian candidate for Russia, starts more wars. They have escape plans when the Titanic hits the iceberg. The rest of us will be going down with the ship.
Good riddance, I say --
ol' Abe Lincoln made the SERIOUS mistake of trying to re-"integrate" (note the irony) Slave Nation into the Union following the Civil War, and the rest of the ACTUAL nation has been paying a heavy price ever since.
Let 'em drown, and let's ensure that NO ONE (other than SLAVE NATION) pays a price --
When Cicero had finished speaking, the people said “How well he spoke”.
When Demosthenes had finished speaking, the people said “Let us march”.
Li'l help, please?
Perhaps you could throw those of us (and out families and friends) down here in Slave Nation a rope?
Gladly
if I can find any way of doing so. I can't see writing anybody off, except for the .001 percenters. I have no sympathy for them.
@ngant17
Didn't the fossil fuel industry know about climate change way back when? The denial of any reality which will interfere with profits seems to be a standard polluting industry/corporate response even when their knowledge has been publicly proven, and the pathological corporate culture/tactics permeating politics has long been a giveaway of corruption.
Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.
A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.
Our last hope for renewable energy died in 1979
Pres. Carter installed those famous 32 solar panels on the White House roof 1979. Raygun took them down.
Now the The Plains project with SolAmerica has just installed 100x more panels that what JC did at the White House. And Trump won't be taking these down in Georgia, like it or not.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/11/us/jimmy-carter-solar-energy-plains-g...
The POTUS can set a direction for the corporations to follow. Unfortunately we lost out bigtime when the buffoon from Cali took over. It probably was the last chance we had to steer the course away from the disaster that now awaits us.
I'm a Democrat. I don't appreciate the false equivalency.
Trump is fascist and the Republican Party long has flirted with fascism and welcomes him. The Democratic Party, for all its many faults, which I regularly point out, opposes Trump and fascism. That is a good thing. That seems to be a bigger fear here than Trump and fascism, as reflected in language like this: "It worries me because it reinforces the same path we've been down for 40 years and more already: Americans will once again face and mostly accede to a false choice between fascists who hide their fascism behind agreeable rhetoric and fascists who are more open about their goals even if they deny the fascist character of them."
My goals are peace, liberty, and justice for all, as in all people everywhere. I don't want to insult this site or the many fine people at this site, but I don't blog here anymore because this is a hostile place for Democrats, even democratic socialist Democrats like me. It has become for Democrats what Daily Kos was during the post-March 2016 primary election season to Sanders supporters like me and always is, by Kos edict, to third party advocates, whom I by and large respect if they are on the left and whom I certainly do not slander. The strategic decision some make to be in the Democratic Party may not be something you agree with. But I won't participate at a site that tolerates calling me a fascist.
My friends here know how to reach me. I don't blog much anywhere anymore. I'm actually reading books again. This is a good site in many ways--but it won't be a great website until it quits the one-sided focus on Democrat-bashing. Pushing the left third party of your choice is fine. But the false equivalency, even to the point of fascist labeling, is tiresome and insulting to the targets like me. Call me a lot of names if you want to, but don't call me a fascist, that is a slanderous bridge way too far. I oppose fascists. There's a difference.
garden variety dem soc
Very good site at garden variety dem socialist. Will be absorbing some of your knowledge there as my free time permits.
I'm down here way down in South. These days, the further south you go, the more fascist it seems to get. Rethug migration from N to S is probably the main culprit. It isn't coming from us locals who were borne and have roots here, at least I don't think so.
Throughout its history, it seems that many flags have flown over Florida. The territory here was at times official power plays between Spain, France, Great Britain, the United States, and the Confederate States of America.
The history with Florida and Spain is an interesting thing itself, as the territory was under Spanish-governing control from Havana. Business in Florida was conducted for the benefit of Cuba. For example, the old Florida cattle drives would end up in ports which would then be transported on barges to Havana with our highest quality beef -- not to be compared with that garbage steak that Trump Restaurant pushes as gourmet. Trump may operate out here from his Fla. White House but he and his Rethug camp have no clue about our real "cracker" history. They don't belong.
Normalization suggests to me a sense of that "eternal return", the theme of which Ana Maria Matute often wrote about in her short stories, a return that may finally be closing, putting an end to this accursed cycle of hatred and exploitation and imperialism. It's possible that if the normalization process will continue, we can see a return of business and many other beneficial things between Florida and Cuba.
These days I do find myself becoming a little more active in my writings coming from the Carlos Baliño Institute (private news group at Yahoo -- https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/cbiacs/info), of which I and a Cuban-American Luis Martin established to be in solidarity with its Revolution.
BTW 13 Feb 2017 was the 169th birthday of Carlos Baliño. A tireless champion of workers' rights in Cuba, and co-founder of the Cuban Communist Party in 1925 with Julio A. Mella. A compatriot of José Martí, the Apostle of Cuban Independence, who referred to Baliño as a man "with a heart of gold".
I don't appreciate Democrats' insulting my intelligence
constantly. Nobody here has banned or censured you. It isn't remotely close to anything like TOP. You're exposed to criticism of the Democratic Party here, and that's a good thing for you. Defend it! That's a good thing for us, as is any intelligent debate and discussion. As for Democrat bashing? Please. The Featured Content ("front page") here is mainly anti-Trump, sprinkled with some wonderful updates from Robyn about news from a trans perspective and miscellaneous items otherwise.
What I won't accept is this absurd accusation of false equivalency. Fascism isn't just thugs acting like Nazis. It's an economic and political view. And my view is the Democratic Party is and has been engaged in tracking toward fascism just as surely as the Republican party has been. They just do it differently.
What you seem to be after is pretending the Democratic Party represents you as a Democratic Socialist. It doesn't. You need to reflect on the last two decades and, I respectfully submit, reevaluate your allegiance and priorities with respect to that. I'm serious: your goals aren't shared by the Democratic Party.
Misdirected reply?
I'm thinking you meant to reply to Galtisalie's post?
Easy to hit the wrong reply button sometimes.
@travelerxxx It seems the 'Titanic
It seems the 'Titanic hitting iceberg' scenario could be playing out in the Central Valley of California, 30ft. flooded towns and cities.
In Central Florida, I recall it was the stalled a tropical storm (Fay), not a hurricane, that caused the worst flooding in recent history in Aug. 2008. Zig-zagging back and forth onto Florida a record 4 times. Weird and erratic movement, unpredictable, that's real climate change behavior. Heavy rains, record rainfalls, tornadoes. Wind speed was never high enough to become a hurricane, though.
The "atmospheric river" that is going to hit Sacramento and adjacent areas, that could ruin farmland and cause enormous destruction, and cause flooding to stay around for a year.