Much of what President Trump has done fits classic signs of authoritarianism. Journalists hesitate to use the word, but a communications scholar argues the U.S. is “well past that point.”

Vast majority of Canadians no longer consider the United States an ally

Trump: "The ones that are run by radical left Democrats -- what they've done to San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles. They're very unsafe places & we're gonna straighten them out one by one. This is gonna be a major part for some people in this room. That's a war too. It's war from within"

“We are marching toward an uninsurable future in this country and across the globe, marching into the abyss.”

You’re Comparing Trump to the Wrong Fascist Dictator slate.trib.al/gSav5lD

Jimmy Kimmel's Suspension Was Always About Censorship (Just Ask Trump) youtu.be/DK9TkLPJY6w

White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller spoke at Charlie Kirk’s memorial service in Arizona on Sunday, stating that the conservative activist's assassination has "awakened" an army that is determined "to save the West."

STEWART: “Comedy doesn’t change the world, but it’s a bellwether— we’re the banana peel in the coal mine… authoritarians are the threat to comedy, music, art, thought… progress.” Nailed it.

Hey DOJ, today would be a great day to honor Charlie Kirk by releasing the Epstein Files. KIRK: "The DOJ should immediately move to unseal all the Epstein documents in the SDNY. I think every file should be released to the public."

"Trump has long thrived on chaos and disorder. Where real crises do not exist, he fabricates them – including imagined crime pandemics in Los Angeles, Washington DC and Chicago. Fake chaos fuels his power grab. Now he has been handed chaos on a silver platter."

I hadn’t seen this. Kirk, the moderate free speech guy who did politics the right way per some liberals (!), called for Biden to be executed. Meanwhile Joe Biden put out a very strong statement condemning Kirk’s killing. Both sides!

"The Groyper Army consists of "alt-right, white nationalist, and Christian nationalist activists" who hold virulently antisemitic, racist, and homophobic views, often cloaked in rhetoric about traditional values and family."

"The appeal of both Trump and South Park to many young men is not in the positive ideas they offer, but the way they both humiliate their opponents. Now, South Park is owning Trump, and with each new lurid reveal in the Jeffrey Epstein saga, it will have plenty of fodder as the season progresses."

Well done Brazil. One can only imagine just how much better off America would be right now if they had the conviction to do the same with Trump after Jan 6th 2021.

Fascism.

"One of those people is Thiel, whose venture capital firm is reported to have previously taken a large amount of money from the dead financier. In June, the NYT reported in 2015 and 2016, not long before his death, Epstein invested $40 million with a company Thiel had co-founded, Valar Ventures."

"Because authoritarianism is most visible in hindsight, people often don’t recognize it until it’s too late. When it comes to democratic backsliding, “there are no bright lines … people often find out the world they’re in after the fact. In Trump’s case, I believe the U.S. is well past that point.”

"Nearly all Republicans and 17 Democrats in the US House voted Wednesday evening for a military bill that would push the figure for defense spending approved this year beyond $1 trillion. Just four Republicans opposing the bill, which will still need to be reconciled with the Senate's version."

"Though the EV company once commanded a whopping 80 percent of the US EV market, its market share fell to 38 percent in August, well below the 40 percent it held in October 2017" "In other words, Tesla has completely destroyed its hard-won lead in the EV market."

"Carney said he wants to “turbocharge” Canada’s economy through “major nation-building projects that connect our regions, that diversify our products and build new markets and create those hundreds of thousands of high-paying careers for our workers, from the trades to technology.”"

"Democracy has declined in 94 countries over the last five years and faces a perfect storm of autocratic resurgence and acute uncertainty, due to massive social and economic changes,” "The survey is published every 5 years and considered the most comprehensive of its kind, covering 174 countries."

Trump's Pervy Epstein Bday Card Released & MAGA Allies Run Cover youtu.be/28CWM6df2tk

Poland is west of Ukraine.

So I basically took a mental health break from Bluesky and predominantly kept the app closed the past week. It was a conflicting experience including feeling guilt in 'looking away' from fascism and being out of the loop on the day to day this past week. Can anyone relate there? And wtf did I miss?

"Putin met both Xi and Modi during the summit as he seeks to strengthen ties with India and China in the face of Western pressure. The two major economies have become a crucial economic lifeline for Russia during the full-scale war and are leading buyers of its oil."

"What Republicans and Trump are doing today is not new. It has precedent in the last 100 years of conservatism, which, for a time, was not just in the Republican Party, but also the Jim Crow Southern Democrats. The Southern Democrats are a faction that has been fully absorbed by the Republicans…"

"The parent company of American alcohol producers such as Jack Daniel's whisky and Woodford Reserve bourbon says sales to Canada dropped 62 per cent during the latest fiscal quarter compared to a year ago, as American alcohol remains off the shelves in many provinces." 🍁

"A whopping 80% of Canadian travelers whose travel decisions are being influenced by U.S. policy and politics say U.S. tariffs and economic policy are the major negative influence. Seventy-one percent say political statements by U.S. leaders are a key negative factor, up from 64% in April,"

"With this Constitution-mocking action, the administration is bringing us closer to a shutdown on September 30, and it doesn't seem to care. "This is not just a constitutional crisis, it's a matter of global justice."

"The email, sent after Trump signed an executive order in March directing federal agencies and the Smithsonian to eliminate divisive and "anti-American" content from museums and national parks, informed staff that exhibit teams at the museum would work to "upgrade the gallery and the exhibition.""

"Trump has also threatened military action against Mexico targeting drug cartels; imposed tariffs on nations based in part on false or exaggerated claims about their role in fentanyl trafficking; and falsely blamed fentanyl trafficking on undocumented migrants."

"Hoping for the best and preparing for the worst is a way of life in Finland. The entire country lives by a concept called "comprehensive security," which requires every citizen, business, military member and government official to recognize the role they have to play in defending their country."

Instagram influencer Adventorin goes viral after demonstrating how simple it is to climb over the U.S. Border Wall.

The Catholic Christofascist undoing of 250 years of democracy and not a peep from NYT, Wapo, Mother Jones or any legacy MSM. @jayrosen.bsky.social @sulliview.bsky.social @markjacob.bsky.social linktr.ee/dissentinbloom dissentinbloom.substack.com/p/one-blood-...

"Dozens of Russian attack drones have also been reported across multiple regions, including the country's far-west." "In response to the attack, Poland scrambled fighter jets to protect the country's own air space."

J.D. Vance is wrong about history – here’s why this matters for Ukraine: The US vice-president recently said that all major wars end in negotiations. It’s a clue to how the US might approach ending the war in Ukraine. Article BASE thread 🧵 (7 min) 📖🍿🔊

"Hardly anyone has said what would work, and has been proven to reduce gun violence in every other advanced nation. To license new gun buyers and require both criminal and mental health background checks, and a permit each time they want to purchase either a semiautomatic weapon or handgun."

"The NYPD's facial recognition software lumped him in with a group of "possible matches"" "Despite being 12 miles away from the crime when it happened, not to mention eight inches taller and about 70 pounds heavier, Williams was still arrested and held in jail for more than two days."

"As this is happening, the actual condition of the grid is decaying rapidly. Nearly a third of transmission infrastructure is already near or beyond its useful life span. 46% of US distribution infrastructure, including utility poles and power line transformers, was found to be in a similar state."

"Trump’s dictator-like behaviour is so brazen, so blatant, that paradoxically, we discount it. It’s like being woken in the night by a burglar wearing a striped shirt and carrying a bag marked “Swag”: we would assume it was a joke or a stunt or otherwise unreal, rather than a genuine danger."

"The GOP also seems to like when a president abuses his power as Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and Trump all have done. It’s been a party tradition for the last 50 years."

"School shootings have been rising over the past decade, in particular since the Covid pandemic, even as some states tighten gun laws." "Last year saw the most school shootings in history (83); with each year since 2021 setting new record highs. That’s roughly one school shooting every four days."

How Hurricane Katrina Paved the Way for American Fascism: For New Orleanians like Black Panther community organizer Malik Rahim and author Sarah Fouts, the hurricane that struck 20 years ago marked a pivotal moment in America’s shift toward the political right. Article BASE thread 🧵 (9 min) 📖🍿🔊

"We are now witnessing a most peculiar twist of history. Two decades ago, western leaders thought China was becoming more “American”, in the sense of adopting free market, capitalist principles. Now it is the US that looks more Chinese." archive.ph/mn1MQ

“Unlike what had been agreed between President Trump and President Putin last week, when we were together in Washington, it is obviously not going to come to a meeting between President Zelenskyy and President Putin,” archive.ph/x7Rue

"The precision of the strike indicates Russia deliberately targeted this Ukrzaliznytsia facility. Notably, the site is a depot where passenger trains are based and prepared for service. In other words, civilian infrastructure was directly destroyed."

“Democrats, the one thing they should learn from President Trump is to laugh at themselves a little bit. They don’t have to be so serious. They don’t have to get offended at everything. Sometimes it’s actually a good thing to have a sense of humor about our political process.” archive.ph/vnynW

"Nor was it likely that the Department of Homeland Security would share a constant string of cruel and gross tweets, jokes, and memes about deporting immigrants, repelling “invaders,” and thinly-veiled references to white supremacist talking points."

"Musk blew the deadline to file a special form saying he had accumulated at least a 5% ownership stake in Twitter before launching his $44 billion takeover bid for the social media platform. By waiting too long, Musk cost Twitter shareholders more than $150 million," archive.ph/GKaEG