Democracies don't end with a bang. They are slowly chipped away at until they become something else. Don't be fooled into thinking it can't happen here.
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To be a political reporter in 2025, you have to be gullible enough to believe that a convicted felon who launched a violent coup attempt is worried about crime. Or you just have to be willing to pretend you’re that gullible. Either way, we deserve better.
The next Democratic president should declare that the National Emergencies Act and Article II of the Constitution allow him to: •admit D.C. and Puerto Rico as states •abolish ICE •grant citizenship to any immigrant •disband the 5th Circuit •expand the Supreme Court Seriously: Why the hell not?
Defense of the country or defense of his own fragile ego?
9 CDC Directors going back to 1977 speak out. What RFK Jr has done to our nation’s public health system "should alarm every American." It "is unlike anything we have ever seen at the agency, and unlike anything our country has ever experienced." www.nytimes.com/2025/09/01/o...
That would explain his recent actions. He can't control death, but he can try to control everything else before it happens. And he needs control like most of us need oxygen.
CHICAGO…
The usual "wait for the midterms" strategy Democrats appear to following is a huge mistake. The time to fight is now.
And yet here you are, 4 months later, letting Trump go unchallenged. Still no "People's (Shadow) Cabinet" you promisted. Still no daily press briefings in the Capitol by Dems (see my pinned post" How Merrick Garland-ish of the DNC, Schumer, and Jeffries.
True, but you'd think they'd also be facing state charges for many of these crimes.
Homan might want to acknowledge the fact that presidential immunity does not extend to him and start acting accordingly.
#NIH is hanging by a thread. The #CDC has been decimated. #RFK Jr. and Russell #Vought are psychopaths--I don't say this frivolously--they are cold, calculating, inflicting violence on millions through public policy. It is where we are right now. These men are not normal. 1/
"We don't like him stealing money from Americans unless we are also able to profit from it."
Never underestimate MAGA's ability to exploit any tragedy to push their unpopular agenda.
National Guard soldiers called into service for President Trump's law enforcement surge in D.C. have been assigned to spread mulch at federal monuments. Normally the Park Service does that, but the administration laid off the workers. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
"America First" is nothing but a pathway to American irrelevance.
Nothing quite like seeing someone near the end of their life deciding to burn it all down before they go.
Japan Post just announced they will no longer deliver mail to the United States, joining Germany, Austria, Denmark, Italy, France, and Sweden.
McConnell had the chance to end Trump's political career in 2021 but intentionally delayed his Senate impeachment trial until he was no longer in office then said his removal was unnecessary because he was no longer president. This is all on him.
Access journalism will be our downfall.
The precise moment when and where in recent weeks America crossed that invisible line from democracy into authoritarianism can and will be debated by future historians, but it’s clear that the line itself has been crossed. www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/america-ti...
The prolonged public torturing of a single man because the state cannot admit to its errors is not something that occurs in a free country
Never thought I'd see the day where an American president would tell the military to turn around and aim their guns inward, towards the American people.
"We have some very bad people. We have some sick people, radical-left lunatics. And it should be very easily handled by, if necessary, by the National Guard. Or, if really necessary, by the military.” ~ Trump, 10/13/24.
I’m walking past humvees in the the nation’s capital, seeing viral images of Black and brown people being disappeared by masked agents in broad daylight, and Trump is saying law enforcement should “knock the hell out of” them. But the trending debate is over words Dems shouldn’t say. I hate it here.
"The federal government cannot require states and localities to carry out its immigration policy." ~ Justice Scalia, Printz v. United States (1997)
Man, how depressing is that?
“If you killed Ted Cruz on the floor of the Senate, and the trial was in the Senate, nobody would convict you" ~ Lindsey Graham Even his fellow seditionists hate him.
Can we just skip ahead to the part where we split into two separate countries?
Our country has no DOJ right now. What we have is the biggest law enforcement agency in the world doing the bidding of one person.
This dude has done more damage to DC tourism in two weeks than any criminal activity could do in decades.
He's gonna start going after all blue state governments so he can justify withholding their federal funds and sending his armed goons into their cities.
Do any museums talk about the future?
Yep, he has stolen 10 years of our lives and it infuriates me and it breaks my heart. 🤬💔
The fruit of Republican dismantling of medical research will be industrial scale, preventable death. It will take decades to restore what Trump is destroying. Yet elected Democrats lack any sense of urgency. Docilely waiting for '26 or 28 is a failure of leadership.
The self-proclaimed "no new wars" president is declaring war on the American people.
Quite the contrast. Feb 28, 2025. Aug 15, 2025. @stevenbeschloss.bsky.social
DOGE says they’ve saved $53 billion The real number is $1.4 billion, and it doesn’t come off the deficit because it’s still Congressionally allocated money.
Future historians will note that America's version of the Reichstag Fire was an exaggerated attack on someone named Big Balls and the throwing of a Subway sandwich.
Never thought I'd see the day where an American president would tell the military to turn around and point their guns inward, towards the American people. And that his party would fully support it.
For the record, our division commander BANNED things called “presence patrols” in Iraq. “If you don’t have a specific task & purpose, your ‘presence’ doesn’t do anything.” National Guard stating they are now doing presence patrols in DC. A complete waste of soldier’s time & effort.
We have met the shithole country, and it is us.
If the next Democratic presidential nominee campaigns on a "return to normalcy", I'm gonna throw something.
You'd think mass shootings on Capitol Hill would've gotten a little more media attention.
I'd almost rather them not release anything than release a fake report showing that they added a million jobs and that the unemployment rate is at 0%.
The self-proclaimed "no new wars" president is trying really hard to start a war with the American people.
Weird how he claimed he was powerless to deploy the DC National Guard on 1/6, but now that it serves his purpose...
Yeah those could be a bit messy by the time they got here.
You'll have to send me some so I can test them out. 🙂
That recipe is good, but if you want something easier you can't go wrong with the Magical Butter machine.
The replies make it look like one of those organized spam campaigns that helped ruin Twitter.
The bill he just signed adds more than $11k in new federal debt for every single person in the country.
Democrats should do that, and I think they will. But all this gerrymandering will only widen the divide between red and blue states. I don't know if that can be fixed.
Can we just skip ahead to the part where we split into two separate countries?
How much evidence do Republican donors need before they realize that their donations are being used as personal slush funds?
After 40+ years of evidence proving that trickle down is a scam, Republicans are still telling us that it totally works. 🙄
The person who said her arm was broken after shaking someone's hand calls herself "serious". 🙄
We're paying taxes to a federal government who's agencies are being led by people that are only there to serve one person.
Yet another "conservative" who creates a problem so he can act like a victim when he faces consequences for it.
When your politicians are above the law, you aren't being governed; you're being ruled. It's pretty clear that we're being ruled now.
Trump has doubled his net worth to over $5 billion in the last 6 months and handed himself a billion-dollar retrofitted jet courtesy of US taxpayers but hey, glad his $33k monthly paycheck was donated. Heroic stuff.
It must be tough recruiting for this job when most people understand that presidential immunity would not be extended to them.
Republicans are slowly learning that the story they hear on Fox, where everything they do is incredibly popular with 99% of the country, is, in fact, not true.
Denial is a helluva drug.
Trump only got 56% of the vote in Texas this last election. Romney got 57% GWBush got 59% and 61% Reagan got 63% in 1984 Nixon got 66% in 1972 LBJ got 63% in 1964 FDR got 88%, 87%, 80%, 71% In the Solid South era, Dems routinely did >70%. None demanded the prize that Our Special Boy wants
I want every TX story on redisctricting to point out that what's different here is that it's a mid-cycle gerrymander by the same party that did the original gerrymander.
It's no longer a question of if authoritarianism comes to America; now it's just a question of how bad it gets, and how long it lasts. It's here. We can get rid of it if we fight together.
The house is on fire and he's punishing the person that dialed 911.
Not only do MAGA folk believe the lie that money is "pouring in", but they seem to think that any money this administration pulls in will be distributed equally amongst them. 🙄
It's pretty funny watching their faces when they try to blame Biden for everything and get practically booed off the stage.
You'd think at some point elected Republicans would realize that the soothing stories they hear on Fox about how amazingly popular their party is do not even come close to representing reality.
Democrats seem to think that threats are enough to stop Republicans from doing something. Republicans hear the threats, laugh, and carry on with what they were doing.
The people we used to laugh at in the Facebook comment section are now in charge of every federal agency.
Yup.
Every time I find myself hoping that Republicans will do the right thing I ask myself when was the last time Republicans did the right thing and I cannot remember a time.
I'm concerned that 'whistleblowing' may soon become a thing of the past. Why would anyone speak out if they feel unheard when politicians refuse to listen? It's disheartening to see Republican 'Christian' senators ignore the truth to maintain their power, sacrificing facts, morals, and decency
All because they have to meet an arbitrary quota set by a guy who is only happy when others are suffering.
What the hell does she need immunity for? If she says the "right" things, she'll be pardoned by the person she's being bribed to protect.
I think @keithedwards.bsky.social nails it here, with the next step being Republicans like MTG and Burchett rallying around Trump for "exposing the Democrats."
total mentions on Fox Business yesterday: Obama -- 101 Epstein -- 5
Pretty impressive that she's suddenly able to "compile evidence" that she apparently didn't have access to before she was convicted.
Until they prove otherwise by releasing it, I’m assuming every single Republican either supports someone, works for someone, or is someone on the Epstein list
This entire cabinet has only one goal: to help their boss avoid accountability for everything. And they'd be more than willing to burn the whole country down if it would help their cause.
They could easily slip a resignation letter in the pile and he'd immediately sign it without even looking at it.
Access journalism will be our downfall.
We have no US Attorney General. The person currently holding this position has only one duty: to protect her boss, no matter what damage it may cause.
Donald Trump's strategy of unifying his base by floating lies which provide them with a familiar common enemy is having success on Fox. Monday mentions on Fox News live programming: "Obama": 117 "Epstein": 2
They will delay the vote until the report has been scrubbed of all mentions of Trump and Maxwell has been issued a pardon in exchange for her silence.
In California, Dems have 40 of 52 seats. I looked at a bit last night and it seemed to me it shouldn’t be too difficult to redistrict to create an addition 7 or 8 seats in just that state alone. I think Texas is opening a can of worms they’re not going to like eating.
Politico & Punchbowl report House Republican leadership is shutting down the Rules Committee - which is essential for moving party-line bills on the floor - for the week rather than vote on Democratic amendments on the Epstein files. Dems have effectively halted Republican legislation in the House:
The US is in the hands of a gang of psychopathic criminals led by a mad king with a collapsing brain, and the media just keeps pretending this is all normal.
Weird how so many people are blaming the far-left for all the problems in the country, as if the far-right isn't working overtime to destroy everything America has ever stood for.
When your political leaders are above the law, you aren't being governed; you're being ruled. Thanks for Congress and the courts, we are now being ruled.
Talk about The Wire, Sopranos, Game of Thrones all you want, but the greatest US television program ever made is Sesame Street. It's not even close. 50+ years of treating kids across class, ethnicity, religion not as mini-consumers...but as citizens with a stake in this world.
"Gaslighting involves deliberate actions and words to distort reality and make the victim question their own experiences." Sounds about right to me. But thanks for the helpful feedback.
I used to not even know what gaslighting is, but now I can recognize that shit from a mile away.
Trump's foreign policy strategy:
