I think a lot of people have been noticing this over the past couple years but courage and conviction wins people over. Drawing lines and plotting indifference curves to figure out what you believe in turns them off

The lesson of history is that tyrants cannot be appeased. Appeasement only feeds their insatiable hunger for power. Tyrants prey on people who feel unsafe and vulnerable. But without mass submission, a tyrant is powerless. Remember this.

At this point I think there is about a 3% probability that he is pulling a God Emperor of Dune, and the correction from this will usher us into a thousand years of justice, responsible government and prosperity.

The SNAP fight is actually a recapitulation of the entire purpose of the shutdown. There's a contingency fund, Trump is required to spend it, but he's not, usurping Congress's power of the purse, essentially so he can do it again with normal appropriations whenever he wants

The amount of effort required to refute bullshit is an order of magnitude larger than producing it, which is why we're all drowning. This is called the Bullshit Asymmetry Principle and it explains the entire internet

The president of the United States posted a video of him defecating on the American people. Many in my profession normalized it. This is a big reason why we are where we are.

There’s a thought experiment that goes something like “imagine how much more successful fascism could be if they put a friendlier face on it” but it seems to come with a permanent sneer everywhere it takes root. The promise is that you get to be nasty and evil all the time and no one can stop you.

The Monster's thesis in the novel: "I am a Frankenstein, I have been unjustly rejected and disowned by my father!" Every pedant online, taking the side of the abuser: "Actually, Frankenstein is the name of the scientist, not the monster."

George Carlin nailed it. They're ready for violence. They know just what to do about violence. What they cannot handle is humor. Ridicule. The sardonic truth of their evil on full display for all of society. So - we know what have to do to win this. Show the world their mediocrity. That's their fear

Its funny how many people chastise others for choosing the lesser of two evils, while half the country gleeful chooses the greater of two evils, every single time.

😂

He would start a civil war purely to watch the spectacle unfold on TV, the way he watched the Jan 6th insurrection. Any other motivations, while real, are superfluous. He doesn't care about anybody or anything but his own in-the-moment satisfaction. Not even his legacy.

What we are experiencing can be framed as a neo-confederate coup that is imposing an anti-reconstruction on free (blue) states.

Hanlon's razor seems to be inapplicable when people in charge happen to be both malicious and stupid

The "Department of War" rebranding is very telling. "Defense" serves the interest of the country, it protects American interests, citizens and institutions from foreign aggressors. "War" makes no such commitment, it is merely the exertion of violence at the direction of the state.

"As an Italian who understands fascism and its roots I would like to remind our friends across the pond that the opposite of fascism (aka antifascism) isn't communism. It's democracy." – @thetransformedhubby

The two things authoritarians fear most is satire and hope The first exposes their absurdity and the second gives people a reason to resist them Promote satire and spread hope

Fighting evil is absolutely necessary, but will only get you so far. You also have to actively work to increase the good in the world, and give other people a reason to join you in defending it. The good news is some of us are better at the one than the other, and we can work together.

People fundamentally misunderstand the relationship he is establishing with our institutions. Its not corruption as most understand it. Not bribery or currying favor or quid pro quo. Its extortion, and that is now the sole purpose of the entire US government, to indulge his vindictive whims.

If an authoritarian says "we can do this the easy way or the hard way", choose the hard way. Make them fight for it. Make them fight for every inch. Use up their time and attention and resources. That is resistance, even if they get their way in the end. They run on momentum. Deny it to them.

This is the greatest thing I have seen all day and if you’re not seeing it right now that is OK because I will be posting it over and over and over again

"...and they let you do it." We are now seeing what that part of his vile Access Hollywood comment meant. He doesn't believe in rights, or duties, or reciprocity, or any other social contract. There is only whatever you can get away with, through force, and lack of consequences. He will never stop.

fascism has one tool and it's a stick and they hit you with it and when you say stop they say no and hit you harder and when you look like you're gonna fight back, they hit you again and when you give in they keep hitting you until you're dead there's no middle ground with fascism

When the Left gets offended, it's "Stop hurling slurs at me. I'm just trying to be myself." When the Right gets offended, it's "Stop existing! You shouldn't exist! Don't you dare be angry at me. I'm going to make you not exist." So that's the big difference, really.

they don't have the capacity to compel obedience by the process of law. they don't have the capacity to compel obedience by violence. the only lever by which they can obtain obedience is fear. do not offer it to them.

Silly Jimmy Kimmel. He should have just called for all homeless people to be killed and he’d still have a job.

It’s a lot easier to understand what’s happening when you accept that this country is having a collective mental breakdown and some people are trying to fix it and others are leaning in real hard.

one of the clearest signs you're dealing with a strong and principled political movement is when they want to make it illegal to make fun of them

Maybe we shouldn't trust RFK Jr. given what happened after he offered that peach to Jennifer Connelly.

The Department of War is just a stage name. Its full legal name is still the Department of Defense. Folks, I think this is the first time the United States has had a department in drag.

Occupying Chicago with the TX National guard in Autumn is like invading Russia as winter is around the corner.

Hate that we're living in an era where "good news" includes stuff like "Courts decide people entitled to basic rights can, in fact, continue having those basic rights, up until the government appeals"

Sometimes some crimes go slipping through the cracks was a wild under-estimate.

Fascism is convergent evolution for dipshits with power. No matter how idiosyncratic they start out, they all eventually start doing the exact same things, sponsoring the exact same narratives, targeting the exact same subgroups.

Cracker Barrel is terrible and I wonder how many people are using the current stupid controversy just as an excuse to stop going.

Its nice to realize that there is now enough of a backlog of good movies, TV shows, and video games, that I can be immersed in the media entertainment my choosing for the rest of my life even if everything new becomes absolute AI garbage.

"Hell is empty and all the devils are here." William Shakespeare

Its only a Gerrymander if its Congressional Districts 3 and 6 within Essex County, Massachusetts. Otherwise its just sparkling corruption.

People need to remember that Nazi Germany didn't fall because fascists are bound to lose at home, it fell because they invaded their neighbors and started a brutal war on two fronts that they could not win.

Fascism is literally loser behavior. They did not succeed in the marketplace of ideas; they did not win hearts and minds through the power of persuasion. Using force is the absolute last resort after all other methods of control have failed. Losers, all of them.

Ok everybody take a deep breath and remember that the people we are up against are stupid, venal cowards whose second favorite hobby after fascism is backstabbing each other

They’re not arresting criminals. They’re arresting resistance. And if that doesn’t shake you, read this twice.👇 www.jackhopkinsnow.com

Fascism - rule by dictator Oligarchy - gvt by wealthy few Theocracy - ruled by religion Kakistocracy - gvt by least qualified America has produced a most unique system of government A theofascoligkakracy

No matter how much they lie, reality doesn't care. They can't defeat it. It will devour them.

"Solar power isn’t just different because it doesn’t produce carbon. It’s different because it doesn’t necessarily produce control....Even humans will have a hard time figuring out how to fight a war over sunshine." — @billmckibben.bsky.social archive.ph/kYEn5#select...

I think a lot about how "cautionary tale" dystopian fiction may have had the opposite of its intended effect, by making dystopian future seem inevitable, and more likely to be accepted. We also need fiction of an aspirational future, to inspire people to work towards it and resist the darkness.

Johnson should be removed as Speaker of the House for his cowardly protection of the President and betrayal of his branch of Government. The votes of a handful of Republicans who are already in revolt over the Epstein thing is all it would take. Chaos as consequence, for sure. Let them reap it.