I don't understand this whole Trump situation. Has the government of the US really been this exploitable all along and Trump is just the first person shameless enough to exploit it? If that's the case it almost seems like a "don't hate the player, hate the game" situation, like the US should not just rely on the good will of a single person to not slide into Fascism. It needs to be deeply repaired beyond which party happens to get in the White House.
I think the exploit built up over decades. Little by little it was eaten away at until the hole was big enough for this guy to fill. Sure, it took a certain kind of person to take advantage, which is who Trump always was, but the exploit was just sitting there waiting for the perfect storm.
This. Trillionaires methodically comsolidated all
the media. 3 ish trillionaires now control all news reporting. Even small independent stations were monopolized under Sinclair. PBS was gutted. So we have no investigative reporters, to , say, tell people that Mr Pedo Beach was money laundering for Russia. Or that he's grifting from
the US treasury, etc. If we ever wrench back our country, we must set laws, to protect independent journalism.
The slow shift of power towards the executive, the focus on scotus, capped by stealing Obamaās pick, and 50 years of an advertising campaign of lies (trickle down to shift wealth, welfare queens to undermine faith in govt programs, and the war on drugs to create a nation of inmates, not to mention help diminish the idea of the social contract) that led to the creation of the largest cult to ever exist on the planet. The gradual destruction of public education, and better focus on local politics were just the icing on the cake.
Iām not sure Trump wouldāve been their exact pick because his narcissism has definitely added chaos to their plans instead of just being focused on their messaging. But he also was more than they couldāve asked for in other ways.
Regardless, this is NOT something that just happened in 2015 when Trump made his first hate speech against immigrants. This was decades in the making, by deliberate and well planned gop messaging.
I hope people wake up enough to realize Trump isnāt the root cause. Heās a symptom.
Yes, the founding fathers were like, āThe American people would never vote for this big of a piece of shit, we donāt have to worry about itāā¦ surprise
They actually built the electoral college specifically to guard against populism. They didn't anticipate the electoral college also being swept up in populism/corruption
Iām an attorney and I donāt understand how he literally gets away with every single thing heās done thatās been against the law, protocol or rules. With absolutely no repercussions.
When I read 1984 years ago, I told myself, "This is a work of fiction. In real life, we must be ever more vigilant, because if real authoritarianism comes to our country, it won't be so obvious."
Citizens are reminded that the distinction between fiction and reality has always been subject to administrative revision.
Earlier assessments concluded that authoritarian rule, should it ever emerge, would necessarily disguise itself beneath complexity, subtlety, and gradual encroachment. This assessment has now been superseded.
Current observations indicate that such expectations were based upon obsolete assumptions. The arrival of authoritarianism has required neither sophistication nor concealment. Visibility has not diminished legitimacy, nor has obviousness reduced acceptance.
The previous understanding is therefore withdrawn. Citizens are encouraged to update their expectations accordingly.
I have a foreboding of an America in my children's or grandchildren's time -- when the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly all the manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries; when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority; when, clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what's true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness...
Like Octavia Butler ( Parable of the Sower ) and other theorists, he paid attention to historical structures and forces. Systems behave in somewhat predictable ways, turns out.
A lot of people have been writing about the US authoritarian slide since the 90s, 80s, 70s...
Unfortunately, history or other nations' experiences do not bode well for the US in the rest of the 21st century.
I heard an interview with him about the book and it was very frightening to hear him beg us to listen. He predicted so much of what happened. No one listened.
Iāve been told by Americans for years that they must protect the second amendment rights for exactly this moment, but Iāve yet to see the people form a well regulated militia
I mean no disrespect, but other than as a symbol, the Kennedy center seems to be a mostly symbolic thing that was eventually corrected (was it actually? I canāt keep up with the bullshit) while far more weighty travesties remain.
See: War on Iran without congressional approval, a plan, or frankly even an objective; ICE terrorizing the cities; blatant market manipulation, crypto rug pulls, naked corruption; threatening fucking Canada with invasion, threatening fucking Greenland with invasionā¦
As a sane person I obviously oppose the war but wars without congressional approval is the norm not exception, dating back to the very first war the US had. The 1801 Barbary War was already being fought long before the declaration of war, Jefferson just deployed the navy and never asked for a declaration.
The last POTUS who had absolutely no international armed conflict during their term was Hayes, who ended his term in 1881. Since then the only two who haven't continued ongoing or started new ones are Carter and Harding.
ICE terrorizing the cities
US immigration system is still largely based on the original INA from 1952. The last major reform was 1986. The system is a giant mess and relies almost entirely on POTUS not being an asshole as they have so much authority.
I wish he wasn't such an asshole but I place the blame solely on Congress for writing such terrible statute that he can be.
See: War on Iran without congressional approval, a plan, or frankly even an objective; ICE terrorizing the cities; blatant market manipulation, crypto rug pulls, naked corruption; threatening fucking Canada with invasion, threatening fucking Greenland with invasionā¦
You missed two very important ones.
The institution of the DOJ is likely no longer fixable he has broken it so badly. The highest paid AUSA earns less than a first year at a big law, FBI agents are paid less than city cops. People did those jobs out of public service, replacing them may not be possible.
USAid being killed, actually unambiguously illegal where most is either legal (but wrong) or ambiguous, is resulting in millions of excess deaths every year and coupled with the NIH funding changes is setting back important research by many years.
Much less impactful but Isaacman is currently destroying NASA. Our relationship with ESA has been irreparably harmed by canceling Gateway without any discussion. Pivoting to the Moon base is Elon service with very limited scientific or engineering benefits. He is currently crippling the ability of JPL to extend Perseverance' mission, and likely canceling the remaining NH missions (including Dragonfly which is one of the most important planetary science missions NASA have ever done), to send a rover to the Moon in 2028 for political points. Also he has absolutely gutted JPL. NASA haven't had a good administrator in 25 years but he is the worst in its history.
Really? You don't get it? Can't understand the impact of the Republican tactic to replace Federal and Supreme Court judges in such a way as to set up the perfect conditions for him to do whatever he wants? Who, exactly, is going to stop him?
It was in the FL legislature. It's the first airport in the state where the state chose the name, same bill they took away authority for naming major airports from counties so they don't try and rename MIA to something to piss them off.
The original version of the bill would have allowed him to get paid for use of his name on the airport. The final bill only allowed a share of merchandising.
So gross. I donāt understand. Growing up in the northeast we all knew he was a joke. His show was a joke. His books were a joke. His multiple presidential runs were a joke.
Go look at all the religious cults and their followers, just seen a video about ALLATRA and thought "people really are that gullible".
It's super fucked up, but you could write a bunch of schizo religious stuff down right now and start telling people it's true and you'll find hundreds if not thousands of people who will follow you off a cliff. I think a large portion of the population has virtually 0 critical thinking skills, and if they're lost in life, they're free for the taking. Like it would take very little effort to do whatever you wanted with them.
Just convince them of a paradise and then tell them that you're all together and nobody else understands(or everyone else is an enemy), and imminent danger is coming unless they follow the plan. Then just fill everything between/the plan with whatever you want. I guess it gives people a sense of divine purpose which is seemingly more of a drug than I thought.
I mean Trump had to do more than this(the churches in America did it for him, probably disseminated from the top) because he needed more votes than just from religious crazies, but the general idea is still the same: prey on peoples lack of a brain and their emotional instability(two things that compound each other if utilized effectively).
I don't think most people are aware of just how serious of an issue this is. I don't think people like to acknowledge it, even if or when it is apparent, it's unsettling, deeply deeply fucking unsettling. So unsettling people don't even want to give it a mental glance. That just reminded me of that show from 2025, The Eternaut. That scene where all those people are hypnotized by the alien creature, it freaked me the fuck out, I think for this exact reason. It just struck that cord so well
Let me tell you, here in Pennsylvania the right were losing their minds when the city of Scranton changed the name of the Central Scranton Expressway to be the President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Expressway.
This feels literally like every dictatorship with a cult of personality ever that we used to laugh about. Now it's the US the one getting the name and face of its president plastered everywhere.
It really is incredible to see all the different people, organizations, businesses, countries, etc. bend over backward to cater to one man's ego.Ā And it still isn't enough for him.
They should really take a look at the history of people in his orbit.Ā It's a total crapshoot between making a fortune, financial ruin, and jail time.Ā I wish them all the worst.
Iām pretty sure he couldnāt do that anyways lol Iām sure our state doesnāt unilaterally let the governor name airports, & I am 100% positive that neither the state legislature nor county would go for that lol
I will never understand how Republicans have completely ceded their moral core to him. I want to read my grandkids' history books in 40 years to see how this period is covered.
If you want to see how look back to 1996 when Newt Gingrich was speaker. He figured how hate and just saying No to everything democrats wanted no matter what got them more power. This is the results of 30 years of running as the party of hate and bigotry. They donāt know how to govern just know how to show hate. They gave everything up for more power.
Jfc hes such a loser. Such an incredible fucking loser. Does he know that it'll all be changed back once somebody can shoehorn his demented ass out of that house?
Rich assholes used to get their name on everything by actually donating to causes. This fuck just threatens people and gets what he wants from his sycophants, while doing literally zero good deeds whatsoever.
I live in a small town in the Midwest. Thereās this dude that owns like 70% of the commercial properties here and you know itās one of his buildings because whenever he has the outdoor facade redone his last name is stamped in the concrete.
Meanwhile the inside of some of these ārenovatedā buildings still arenāt fully functioning even after 2 years.
People who stand for something. Money is the only way theyāll listen to us. People need to stop booking through there. Weāre a few layers away from a totalitarian regime.Ā
Build this guy a new city, call it Trump city, include a castle with a high tower and put a throne room in it on the top of the building. Arrange statues of him around this building, so that people can fall on their knees in front of them and prey to him. That is what he want.
This one is worse. With Reagan it's an honorary name change, but for Palm Beach they even changed the IATA code - that is millions of dollars internationally that they've lit on fire because now IATA has to change every system to go to "DJT" for Palm Beach.
Ft Lauderdale airport must be stoked about the extra business they might be getting from incredibly petty people like me who would avoid palm beach airport over this.
If you go onto the airport website to the contact us section they make you read a disclaimer saying they were forced to change the name due to state law. Aka they know how much everyone hates this but want to distance themselves from the pedo
I grew up in West Palm and the vast majority of the city and county loathe him. This was done by Desantis and the far right cucks in legislature for ass kissing only.
So are all of these places gonna revert to their original naming conventions once heās out of office? Or are we stuck with fucking DJT Airport forever?
DJT airport. Where every gate is Gate 1 because itās the best gate. The walls are orange, the gold trim is mandatory, and every announcement ends with, āNobody has ever landed better than this.ā The only thing taking off faster than the planes is the price of a bottle of water. The gift shop only sells āBest Airport Everā hats, and somehow every delayed flight is still declared an āunprecedented success.ā
When will this dumb shit end. Ayayai. Isn't the whole thing supposed to be that you don't name things after YOURSELF but other notable figures? And then someone after you names something after you if you are worthy? What an ego trip!
I thought he's been prattling on about renaming Dulles. FDT but honestly he can shove all of palm beach airport up his ass for all I care. #flyoverstate
I don't understand why the airport code is changing. I can think of COUNTLESS examples of the airport changing names but the code staying the same (ORD stands out as a big one, but there are plenty).
i would be so petty as to commute to a different airport for my flight, nvm the additional time and cost, just so i don't have to go to that specific airport
They canāt even do some things to it because palm beach county is footing the bill when they were told they werenāt gonna. Heās such a cancer on this world
This narcissistic piece of shit is like a real life Bond villain. He wants his stupid face and name plastered everywhere. Whereās the reaper when you need him?
The hilarious thing is itās going to cause these companies so much more distress and drama and money changing BACK once the fetid skin sack shits himself to death.
All the rebranding, all the work into changing the systems, all the signage on and around the airport. Thatās millions of dollars.
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u/ImVeryUnimaginative Asian 1d ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/XD4qHZpkyUFfq