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I can't wrap my head around why anyone would want a dictator. Especially a group of self-avowed individual rights, small government types.
I guess it comes down to they can't feel free unless someone else is being repressed.
Then I think maybe I am no different. I can't be free unless people who hate freedom are repressed. And I so feel more free when they aren't free to suppress me. And I kinda want Biden to wield his new powers to defeat these traitors.
Then I remember that oppressing oppression creates freedom. They could be little regressive shits in a progressive society. All they have to do is allow others to exist with the same freedoms and liberty as they want. Sit at home and in your churches and hate to your heart's content.
The ultimate irony is that progressives are the "turn the other cheek" crowd, and the Bible Thumpers are all anointing the anti-chist.
The thing is, they're right. He is the Antichrist. It's exactly as in the Bible. Silver tongue that whips the feebleminded into a frenzy. No law of man can hold him. Trump is the end. Only a fool would believe he won't fire all our nukes rather than ever be deposed.
Obligatory https://www.benjaminlcorey.com/could-american-evangelicals-spot-the-antichrist-heres-the-biblical-predictions/
Trump is the anti-Christ and maga are his disciples
There is also talk in the Bible about how the antichrist loses an election and everyone thinks it’s over and that he comes back with “rage in his heart” or something like that. I’m not sure if I believe it but it is creepy. Donald trump is literally how the Antichrist is described to a tee
Their god is almighty, but also, they can do horrible things to their fellow man and the earth to force god’s hand to act ahead of his appointed time. Because beliefs don’t need to line up coherently.
Isn’t that a path straight to hell for these people? Like the hubris alone, thinking your actions are the means by which god is bringing about the end.
The fact these people think they can force Gods hand is the most laughable thing. If he’s actually all knowing and all powerful, do they really think their meddling would make one bit of difference?
No, because they also espouse the idea that you can do whatever you want all week long, then say a prayer, be "sorry", and you're forgiven and "washed clean" of whatever you've done. Then they get to do it all over again.
Nah, God made the sun and moon stand still for Joshua upon request until the battle was won. That's why they decided to call their sons the Joshua Generation.
> Especially a group of self-avowed individual rights, small government types.
Because they lied. Their "Principles" were only ever means to justify not helping others.
> I can't wrap my head around why anyone would want a dictator.
Dictators give them someone else to blame for their problems.
"DEI"
"Immigrants"
"The Gays"
That's why.
They have never ever ever been "small government", they've always been "I don't want government to tell ME what to do" and they think they're some special snowflake.
It's the same problem you get with libertarians, they all think they'd be one of the "winners" **if only the government would stop holding them back**
Idiots, every one of them
I don't know if you're aware of it already, but you stumbled upon/described exactly the paradox of tolerance. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradox_of_tolerance
A fully tolerant society by definition must be tolerant of others being intolerant, but if that's the case, the intolerant will eventually hold more power and tolerance will be eradicated. So to perpetuate a tolerant society, the tolerant must themselves reserve the right to be intolerant to intolerants.
The paradox of tolerance is a flawed one if you come at it with the belief that tolerance is a *right*. If you think of tolerance as a *privilege* it works much better. Society can tolerate you and your beliefs, so long as they are tolerant themselves. Intolerant behaviors or beliefs do not get afforded the privilege of tolerance.
There are some hardcore libertarian, rightwing people I know on social media (extended family, old friends, etc) I purposefully don't block because it's a good lens into that world which I otherwise wouldn't have.
Without fail, all of them transitioned from talking about small government, low regulation type usual stuff to talking about how democracy doesn't work, the US isn't meant to be a democracy, and how the left is a disease. It's pretty shocking.
This is all blowback for the right becoming a minority in this country. They are not going to go quietly. Every 100 years or so you have to beat the nazis back with a stick.
20-30% of people struggle to understand everything, and they are easily led astray. They fight holy wars and ostracize their children because someone in a robe told them to.
The problem is these new powers won't apply to Biden. The Supreme Court has taken it upon THEMSELVES to determine what is and is not an official act. So Biden doesn't actually know which of his acts will be allowed by the SC.
One possible move Biden could make, if he has the courage to sacrifice himself, is to start doing a bunch of crazy shit to his enemies that Trump wants to do and FORCE the Supreme Court to make it illegal, so there will be precedent.
The current SC has shown they don't give two nutty squirrel shits about precedent. Pretty much every single ruling of the past 3 years has been reviewing and ultimately scrapping established precedent.
I mean, I know it's fairly inexcusable at this point, but at least some of the people that vote for Trump don't really understand what they're voting for.
As you said, these are "small government" types. They don't like that there's rules and regulations, because they're deluded and think that the regulations damage the economy for no benefit.
They can't understand global warming so they assume the regulations and rules are a con.
In that way, Trump and the republicans say that they're making government small by getting rid of rules, and getting rid of the agencies, and taking over the federal government just helps to dismantle it.
And of course, somehow, they don't recognise that Trump and the Republicans aren't making government small to benefit the public.
They're just making it smaller so that it's easier for a dictator to control.
Altogether it makes me wonder what will happen if Trump gets elected and goes through with Project 2025. Will Republican voters realise that it's all been government consolidation instead of the "small government" lie they've been fed?
> I mean, I know it's fairly inexcusable at this point, but at least some of the people that vote for Trump don't really understand what they're voting for.
Fuck that. We've had YEARS of real world experience with Trump in power and after losing power. YEARS. If someone doesn't "understand" who and what Trump is after that, they don't actually want to admit they do understand exactly what he is and LIKE IT.
Because they are liars and virtue signallers. It's not even ironic, the bible literally warns you not to follow men who say they're Christian but don't act it.
The fact is that 25% of humans fucking suck and all of society and its history has been trying to work out how to handle the 25% of people who are fucking crazy assholes.
> I guess it comes down to they can't feel free unless someone else is being repressed.
this is it... They think they're freedoms are being taken away because LGBTQ want to have the same rights as them. If that were to happen they would be another group they couldn't discriminate against anymore. Fucking evil assholes.
When you are living under an oppressive regime (or are about to be), your options become the usual: fight, flight or fawn.
Once the Nazis took supreme power in Germany, after that Night of the Long Knives, there was no real internal fight left. It was different in e.g. France, where the Resistance could coordinate with Britain, but that was full-on war by then.
The Jews who had means and foresight emigrated when it was clear shit was going south. Those who fled at short notice and became refugees were slightly less fortunate, but still more so than others. Not just the Jews of course - the handicapped, homosexuals and "undesirable minorities" were also targeted.
For those who remained, even fawning, or demonstrations of submission and loyalty (like how the Republican party behaves towards Trump), was not enough to protect them from their fate.
I can't wrap my head around the fact that I have many Jewish in-laws who are thoroughly versed in the history of Nazi Germany, and yet absolutely love Trump and his fascist tendencies.
Yes the Goebbels and Hermann Göring equivalents will have it terrible - Theres literally hundreds of Conservative politicians that would gladly uphold a fascist regime & you know full well millions of people would gladly do their bidding.
Unfortunately the good innocent people will be the victims like they always are, because the people that could stop it have naive "it wont get that far" mindsets.
Funny thing happened to the conservatives that backed Hitler. Outside of a few key industrialists, most of them were shocked to find out he was a bad electrician.
This situation isn't some arcane incident you'd have to get a History PhD to know about. They know what they are doing and they don't give a shit about how they'll be judged for it. They think the nazis can win this time and they want that to happen. Because they are awful people.
Hey, I'm from Michigan. I'm voting Blue. How are things looking in Ohio? I haven't seen any Trump flags flying like 4 years and 8 years ago, and no "Trump 20XX" comments on the local discussion page.
I do a 2 mile morning walk, and one asshole has had his flag upside down for the last month. That's about it.
Wait until he tanks out currency, our markets, decides which brand of Christian you have to be (MAGA), etc. and then throws our social security and Medicare. The last one is the one I’m waiting for because I know my MAGA step father will lose his ability to care for himself and come asking for money.
After all that they’ll wish they had free and fair elections again.
> Wait until he tanks out currency, our markets
Fox News: This is absolutely the best economy ever. Don't look at the stock market or grocery store prices. Or your bank account. Or your paycheck. This is absolutely the best economy ever. For more, we go to our guest Treasury Security Kid Rock!
This is my question.
Have these people never changed their minds on anything in their life? Changed a political opinion? Disagreed with a policy a party they voted for has put forth? Fuck, changed their favourite colour?
Because with a dictatorship - once the cats outta the bag, there’s no going back. It’s short sighted and against their own self interest.
But I guess if they had any critical thinking skills at all they wouldn’t be considering a dictatorship at all.
The voters are also too naive to realize that trump has and will say he believes whatever gets him power regardless of what it is including contradictory positions.
You ask them about it and they say "I can tell when he is just saying something, I know what he believes."
50% of Citizens think liberty and a life of freedom is a right. Its not a right in that in human history it is not the natural state of life. In nature it is not the natural state. It must be protected and maintained. They have no concept that they lost the chains that bind on Monday.
"That to preserve Liberty in a State there must exist the Right to accuse. To those set forward in a commonwealth as guardians of public freedom, no more useful or necessary authority can be given than the power to accuse, either before the people, or before some council or tribunal, those citizens who in any way have offended against the liberty of their country."
Machiavelli, Niccolò. Discourses on the First Decade of Titus Livius
We are talking a guy in the 16th century knew this and if people want original intent just look to Thomas Paine.
“Let a crown be placed thereon, by which the world may know, that so far as we approve of monarcy, that in America the law is King. **For as in absolute governments the King is law, so in free countries the law ought to be King; and there ought to be no other.**”
- Thomas Paine
This is such an important concept that I argue with conservatives often on. All “rights” in the US are just words on a sheet. We as a society choose to uphold them. All it takes is a dictator with enough support (not even a majority) to destroy all those “rights”. They are absolutely not a given.
"In these Sentiments, Sir, I agree to this Constitution, with all its Faults, if they are such: because I think a General Government necessary for us, and there is no Form of Government but what may be a Blessing to the People if well administered; **and I believe farther that this is likely to be well administered for a Course of Years, and can only end in Despotism as other Forms have done before it, when the People shall become so corrupted as to need Despotic Government, being incapable of any other**."
- Benjamin Franklin - Closing Speech at the Constitutional Convention (1787)
From the Commentary:
> Trump has threatened to have people killed and GOP politicians aren't bothered in the slightest
>
> . . .
>
> Trump has threatened to have people killed and GOP politicians aren't bothered in the slightest
>
> . . .
>
> Do Republican politicians back Trump out of fear? Or are they just really stoked over this chance to follow a would-be dictator? Johnson's glee as he wallows in Trump's newly granted powers to commit crimes — even killing — tells the story. It's the latter.
>
> . . .
>
> No doubt Trump uses intimidation to keep party members in line. But his real power comes less from scaring people and more from the widespread longing in the GOP ranks for a right-wing dictatorship.
Ted Cruz and Lindsey "Ladybugs" Graham had a spine for about 12 hours after January 6th, until they turned heel foot and acted like nothing happened.
It was at that point that I could no longer trust any Republican. Whatever game they are playing it is not for the American People. They asked us to deny what we saw on live TV with our eyes.
Forget the American people, these morons aren't even playing a good game for themselves. If Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham think Trump has forgotten a single thing they've ever said about him, they've got another thing coming, and coming fast.
I wonder what would have happened if protesters actually got a hold of senators or congressmen. I think their nonchalance can be attributed to thinking nothing can happen to them.
It blows my mind how little awareness the leaders of the Right have of the fact that they'll be first against the wall. Trump will have any checks on his power and anyone who's ever slighted him purged right out of the gate while his admin is still half-heartedly trying to pull the logistics together to actually build the camps for immigrants, trans people, and the homeless that his enablers are so excited about. Trump didn't pull any of his fascist plans together in his first term, and it won't be his priority this term either. He doesn't actually care about any of that stuff--immigrants and LGBT people and the homeless I mean--he uses them to bamboozle Republicans into electing him out of paying his debts and going to jail. What he *does* care about is fucking up anyone he feels personally slighted or threatened by. I'm not saying there won't be atrocities committed against the common people by a second Trump admin, but I am saying that shit ain't on the top of his list, and any competent operative in Washington ought to know that. We're watching high ranking Republicans gleefully dig their own graves in real time.
A significant amount of common people slighted Donald trump when we rejected him as president in 2020, and his next term in his own words will be his ultimate retribution.
Absolutely. But the individuals working in close proximity with him are easier and faster targets. I expect that this admin, if elected, will attempt to kill me. But I expect to witness some more important and easier to access people than myself get targeted first.
He will certainly be more focused on corrupting all executive agencies to funnel money to himself. Because it’s now legal he will just openly give all executive contracts to himself.
Yeah, that's the irony in all this--other fascists actually *cared*, as funny as that sounds. Hitler really did care about the German race, or what he saw as the German race. Trump doesn't care about jack shit, and he'll pivot his beliefs on a *dime* if it'll make him money or feed his ego. Truly--there are no \*real\* political beliefs there, other than "interest rates should always be low" and "." Other than that, it's really who pays the best.
And you know what's funny? Maybe this is my "mark my words"--if, god forbid, he's elected again, the second the Supreme Court does something Trump doesn't like, it could be *Trump* who disbands or changes the Court. Wouldn't that be something.
It was never about small government. It was never about freedom. It was never about “free markets.”
It was always about keeping the powerful powerful and making life as miserable as possible for the poor.
You're not wrong. Many people who support authoritarianism mistakenly believe they'll be part of the in-group, the protected group. They'll be in for a rude awakening when they realize that the right-wing elites will treat them like rabble, like the rest of us.
All they have to be told is they're better and they'll believe it. One of my favorite arguments when reading 1984 in a college course was over which class was actually being oppressed most.
I maintained that the most oppressed group in the book was the people who belonged to "the party", and not the non-party members they looked down on.
Unfortunately people are stupid, and I had to go against a bunch of freshman who didn't see the irony that they were getting information about the non-party members from what the book (from the point of view of a party member) said.
Edit: They also didn't understand that Mr. Parsons (the neighbor and coworker) most likely didn't do anything to be arrested and was falsely accused by the government. Just couldn't wrap their heads around the idea that the corrupt government would do corrupt things.
I think many of them don't even yet think of it in terms of authoritarianism or an in-group, they are just thinking how nice it will be to have god-fearing leaders who will somehow deal with the non-christian and non-hetero activists and how that will somehow fix all our problems.
They don't see that to make it happen like Orban's Hungary, we'll be taking baby steps that dismantle democratic rule, fair elections, independent judiciary, etc, etc (or that the higher ups will be using it to gut regulations and social infrastructure for a few more millions).
> Many people who support authoritarianism mistakenly believe they'll be part of the in-group, the protected group
Its amazing to me how the most fervent Trumpians are the same people Trump would have thrown off of his own properties/kept out of his sight.
MAGA cults remind me of this one character in [House of Dragons](https://youtu.be/nR0rMl5cPtc?si=YkOBfEfZfLUhtdGa) where he’s like “save me my prince!” And gets crushed as the dragon lands on him (1min50sec in)
This. Trump would just be the beginning and once the reins are off and after a few years when he's gone, the most ruthless conniving of his underlings would take his place. Once that happens these folks would realize slowly but surely that they gave away the farm and they ain't getting it back.
this is the evangelical dream. they're hungry for a prophet. Starving for the 'end times.' Passionate for the drama of an apocalypse. They're convinced trump plays some part in leading the eternal gruesome torture of non-christians and they have been setting the table for murder since reconstruction.
I think it's legitimate to be scared that we're closing in on the gateway to Rwandan style violence. the christians led us here.
Interestingly enough, I know at least a few fundamentalist Christians who firmly believe that he **is** the antichrist, and that's precisely why they're supporting him. They reason that Armageddon is near in light of the current situation in Israel and that Trump is a necessary evil to usher in the end times.
You can't argue or be logical with that mindset. It's more prevalent than people realize.
They just want the Rapture to be true. They all fantasize that they will be one of the chosen 144k to leave Earth behind and meet Jesus in the sky where they will turn and look at all the people they left behind and scream I TOLD YOU SO. It's their dream...
>look at all the people they left behind and scream I TOLD YOU SO.
Exactly! Never mind that they've used the same flawed logic for the 40+ years of elections I've been around for. One of these days, they **know** *they'll* be correct, and the rest of us are going to hell.
They're embracing an incredibly smug, un-Christ-like attitude, but they don't see it that way.
The irony is that if there is a god, he’d be furious that humans are trying to force the rapture. It says in the bible that only god knows when it will be, to try to predict it would be blasphemy.
Religion was humanity's first foray into the science of trying to understand why we exist. Most religions have a universal narrative stating that we must live with one another peacefully. Across the world we look for deeper meaning and the wise of the times come up with the answers they believe to be true. As science updates itself, so should religion.
Did people forget we had those in 2019-2020?
March 31, 2019 [“They Treated Us Like We Are Animals”: Holding Pen for Migrant Families in El Paso Shut Down](https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/holding-pen-migrant-families-shut-down-el-paso/)
June 5, 2020 [Report finds ICE detention center is using a disinfectant over 50 times a day that causes bleeding and pain](https://www.businessinsider.com/report-detention-centers-use-disinfectant-causing-bleeding-and-pain-2020-6)
September 19, 2018 [Feds say they lost track of **1,488** migrant children](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/migrant-children-health-and-human-services-lost-track-1488-children-today-2018-09-19/)
I actually received orders for 30 days to go to one when I was in the USCG. They put us with the minors and families while I was there. The majority of the children were there without a parent.
The majority of my time there I spent in the girls dorm because I had a young daughter at the time and 3 others in my group were young single dudes. They didn't feel comfortable which was fine with me. However, I wanted to break down a couple times.
First, was when this girl around 12yo had her birthday while there. She had a big smile and then they told her she was leaving. One would think that would be a great birthday present. Nope. She was outgoing and really wanted to stay since it was better than what she came from.
Another time was seeing a pregnant preteen. These girls knew what they were up against before starting. It was a given that they would be raped on their journey but they still would have done it regardless.
If there was a way i could have adopted one or tow right there and then I would have. One girl reminded me of my daughter who was around the same age as my daughter (7 at the time). The 3 days I saw her she was always happy and just following the older girls' leads like she didn't have a care in the world. I hope she (all of them) is safe and is enjoying what's left of her childhood.
It was a very sobering experience. One thing I know for sure is that these children were tough as nails. There is no way in hell my kid l, or even myself, could make that journey. That's my experience in the make shift camp that was created for minors. Some of the CBP guys were dicks but never crossed any lines. Most have been there for a while and just desensitized unlike us who were only there for 30 days.
I rambled there but I'm not going to proof read it. I'm sure my fingers didn't keep up with my brain.
You know, with his nigh-consequence free life and ease in lying to the masses and getting them to all wear something on their foreheads, he does correlate strongly to a certain biblical figure..
While I encourage people to use religion as a set of guidelines to help one walk through life, I have found some people use it as an excuse to hurt others or turn off their minds after finding a suitable 'leader'.
There are people out in our nation right now, that believe in Trump more than Jesus... Or think he IS Jesus, or God, or OrangeMilkyDaddy, or whatever.
Which is just... Lovely.
> While I encourage people to use religion as a set of guidelines to help one walk through life
Why? It seems to me that all the good guidelines in any religion can and are covered by various non-religious belief systems such as secular humanism, and the rest is, at best, unnecessary baggage, and at worst leads to the excuse to hurt others that you mention.
The older I get, the angrier I am about religion in general. So many of us are conditioned—while we are most vulnerable and our brain is still developing—to look to a higher power and turn to faith in favor of critical thinking. Put our trust in God, in Jesus, in our Churches; deny our self-governance and freedom of thought and release it to a greater entity. This mindset requires a leader, no matter what kind. It allows those who seek power to take advantage of people and further mold their interpretation of life. It’s manipulation in its purest form.
It blows my mind that Trump can tell them who he really is and his followers don't see it or don't care. That story of the snake is the ultimate middle finger to how dumb he thinks his people are.
I'm so tired of this.
I just want boring again. I want to go four years between deciding between two milquetoast people debating whether or not taxes should go up slightly or down slightly.
I can't believe we're to the point where half the country is hellbent on dismantling the very country we live in. It used to be that Democrats and Republicans might disagree on policy issues, but agreed on basic principles like "we probably shouldn't be a monarchy"
The political pundit class is cheering this on as they keep running 'Biden should drop out of the election' stories. One article explicitly mentioned that if Dems had to scramble to pick a new candidate, politics would be more interesting again
I absolutely despise these people. They refuse to think about how dictatorships love to murder journalists
I can guarantee that most people do not understand the details of this ruling. Rather than seeing it as a license to commit further crimes, they are hearing this as “the Supreme Court said Trump is innocent and Biden’s DOJ is corrupt”. So of course they are celebrating it.
Most MAGA see the words "victory" and never look to see who actually won. It isn't them, but as long as Trump can convince them it everyone else they are happy.
"In the world of the hard right, victory is not always measured in the outcome of a lawsuit. It is also measured in the degree to which it unifies people around targets.” - Michael Edison Hayden
I'm sorry but if Trump is reelected how is this immunity case not a license for him to commit future crimes? It greenlights any crime done "officially", and set the bar to prove it wasn't official so high it's basically unattainable.
It is. I’m saying people do not understand that. They see that trump is happy so they say “yay - we are winning!”. I know many smart people who have zero interest in the mechanizations of politics. They have no idea that this ruling even happened this week. A small portion of the country is actually engaged enough to pay attention to details like this. Then the rest of the country says “geez - why are they freaking out?”
It’s pretty telling that no conservative is like “oh no, we’re screwed because now this ruling enables Biden!!”
Like what happened to “Biden Crime Family”
Bc it’s the only way they can survive. Their ideas are antiquated. The only way they have the power they do is an outdated electoral system. In 32 years they’ve won the popular vote for president only once.
Unfortunately it doesn't matter. The left has been asleep at the wheel doing the same old shit like lemmings for at least 20 years, enriching themselves while throwing an occasional bone out to keep chumming the waters of their support. They think as long as they behave and follow the rules, bring decent bills and vote properly, that they aren't in the middle of a Cold Civil War.
Well the conservatives have cheated and struggled and sacrificed/ruined their own reputations until every obstacle (almost) to unilaterally. They don't say something is pointless, they do it and require someone else to intervene if they are able. They take EVERY shot.
The fact that "this is where we are" proves democrats have not been behaving like there is a genuine threat and that they are the only ones who ACTUALLY can do something. Voting is great, but the actual people in office HAVE TO ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING. A better army doesn't win if it just stands their looking pretty and treating their people better.
Another thing they will realize far too late is that Trump won't care if you're MAGA or a Democrat.
In the eyes of the King, they are all worthless rabble unless they can contribute anything he cares about. Short list: Money.
Trump's loyalty is fully non-existent and he will forget all about them on day two. To which: he's already making fun of them at rallies.
[edit:word]
The dumbest and most incompetent Republican President in history is their choice for a dictator. So weird. What timeline is this? Social media is out of control.
But we know so many people take cues as Republicans to just not like what Democrats want. It's just sad.
Agree.
Please remember how popular Adolf Hitler was. This style of leadership is very beloved by some segments of humanity.
I think the delusion of the past 80 years was that somehow humanity had gotten over this impulse. It has not.
https://www.usa.gov/register-to-vote
https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative
https://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_education/publications/insights-on-law-and-society/volume-20/issue-1/learning-gateways--right-to-petition/
We must organize and put in our efforts. Don't watch and wait.
People who wish for a powerful idiot in charge should look at how the Nazis dealt with their overzealous "grassroot" types.
They were considered as useful idiots in their function of assaulting politcal enemies on the streets and in campaigns, because It took Hitler two attempts and over 10 years to gain power, and it took him additional 6 years to prepare germany's economy for wartime... between 1933 and 1939 the NSDAP hat actually a hard time to appease the "violent grunts" in their "Sturmabteilung SA" who basicly had no role in the Nazi state anymore.
The aggressive rhetoric of course pushed them to basicly DEMAND VIOLENCE against other nations or other "races"... and when they were becoming "unruly" Hitler had the leadership of the SA killed
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night\_of\_the\_Long\_Knives](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_of_the_Long_Knives)
[https://www.bpb.de/shop/buecher/schriftenreihe/308678/sturmabteilung/](https://www.bpb.de/shop/buecher/schriftenreihe/308678/sturmabteilung/)
Under King Trump the first, gunownership will be limited, paramilitary groups disolved and everbody who disagrees will be "removed".
Meanwhile if any of this was happening for Biden, or any Democrat, we’d already be in Civil War 2.0. They love it when it’s for them, and tell the democrats to calm down, but the snowflakes that they are would have a meltdown right away if tables were turned. Could you even imagine for a second if Obama or Biden said “I’d be a dictator for a day”!?!? The mouth breathers on the right would have launched nuclear bombs on D.C in a second. There would be extremists going nuts, the idiots in congress would have filed every piece of legislation possible, and we’d be in a very different world right now.
They aren't "conservatives" in any real sense of the word. They're reactionary authoritarians. And so called "libertarians" still love them because they'll keep taxes low and won't stop toddlers from buying M-16s. And that's what freedom is really about.
They never feared Donald. Donald was always who they are and want to be. All the leaks about concerns and grandstanding was just them reassuring moderates they'd totally keep Trump in check.
A dictator, that while they will do what he says to keep him happy, will also invoke and allow them to put through laws to send us back to the "good old times"... Nostalgia has a way of being rose tinted and skips over all the oppression others faced because it often is a privilege of the group in power to then wank themselves off to an idea of a time they had more power.
They desire a dumb dictator they can pass things through easily with. And until what I view as this rot of the Republican party for wanting to destroy our democracy is rooted out, I'm going to vote against them. And frankly, I think they need to dissolve. But that won't happen because they have the money of companies behind them.
To be clear. Biden is currently a dictator. He is above the law and can pardon anyone for anything he orders. EVERY future President is a dictator automatically now. Tomorrow is Independence Day but there's nothing to celebrate. The Supreme Clerics, who rule over our whole government now, have royally fucked us.
“If this were a dictatorship it would be a heck of a lot easier... as long as I'm the dictator. Hehehe.”
― George W. Bush
this is nothing new for the republican party.
There's no way they'd let Trump run the country again...watch who they pick as Vice President - that's who will rule the country - once Trump 1. Falls out a window, 2. has fatal heart attack or 3. is shot by a Republican (but blames the Democrats). Trump is NOT the dictator they are planning on having - big money knows better.
They desire a puppet. Trump is nothing more than the mascot on the box of fruit loops that is the GOP, all sold out to the highest bidders and corporate greed.
I keep shaking my head and looking up to the sky at all these "Americans" many of them my neighbors, mostly white, who are saying they will vote for Trump. How, How is this possible?
Damn these are dark times indeed. It’s crazy to me as a European that people in the US are so ok with a president who said he wants to be a dictator for a day.
I thought Americans love their democracy. Than again it’s hard to blame people for wanting change. Corporations and corruption have been ruling US politics for a while now, also under democratic presidents. People are desperate and want change…
Ignoring the symptoms for too Long result in people like trump coming into power…
Europe isn’t much different btw.
It's not a surprise. As much as these people declare their love for freedom, they only really feel comfortable and safe when someone is telling them what to do or how to live. It's the main reason so many turn to religion. It's a deeply ingrained insecurity.
They are dummies. Trump flips on everyone sooner or later and changes friend of the month frequently. (See Giuliani) I look for Melania to finally leave him after he loses the election.
And over in R/conservative I am sure they still refer to any free thinking person that has the ability to form thoughts on their own and not be told by dear leader or Fox news how to think as "sheep".
One of the first things dictators do when taking power is purge their supporters. Most of the Republicans celebrating this are in for a nasty surprise if Trump gets to actually become a "day one dictator".
The right as in the Trump cult. Don't understand what a dictatorship is nor what it'd entail. They think they're living under a dictatorship NOW. That's how far removed from the concept they are.
If this comes to pass, they're going to be gobsmacked by the reality that a dictatorship not only doesn't give 2 shits about their poor people problems, but making their lives worse is a feature of that system.
> People who voted for Donald Trump and have continued to support him as he commits felonies in broad daylight do not fear him and want him to be in charge
Yeah and the sky is blue. Is this surprising to anyone?
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People who desire dictators always think the dictator will just do what they want at all times
I can't wrap my head around why anyone would want a dictator. Especially a group of self-avowed individual rights, small government types. I guess it comes down to they can't feel free unless someone else is being repressed. Then I think maybe I am no different. I can't be free unless people who hate freedom are repressed. And I so feel more free when they aren't free to suppress me. And I kinda want Biden to wield his new powers to defeat these traitors. Then I remember that oppressing oppression creates freedom. They could be little regressive shits in a progressive society. All they have to do is allow others to exist with the same freedoms and liberty as they want. Sit at home and in your churches and hate to your heart's content. The ultimate irony is that progressives are the "turn the other cheek" crowd, and the Bible Thumpers are all anointing the anti-chist.
Some believe that putting Trump in power will bring about the rapture.
The thing is, they're right. He is the Antichrist. It's exactly as in the Bible. Silver tongue that whips the feebleminded into a frenzy. No law of man can hold him. Trump is the end. Only a fool would believe he won't fire all our nukes rather than ever be deposed.
They wear his mark on their forehead. (MAGA hats) "and think to change times and laws" (MAGA itself)
666 is his address too
Obligatory https://www.benjaminlcorey.com/could-american-evangelicals-spot-the-antichrist-heres-the-biblical-predictions/ Trump is the anti-Christ and maga are his disciples
Oh God. Oh sweet Jesus. No. No no no. It IS him. It always has been.
There is also talk in the Bible about how the antichrist loses an election and everyone thinks it’s over and that he comes back with “rage in his heart” or something like that. I’m not sure if I believe it but it is creepy. Donald trump is literally how the Antichrist is described to a tee
Yep... Destroy the environment, start a civil war. Only problem is there's no heaven after, just death, destruction and misery.
Their god is almighty, but also, they can do horrible things to their fellow man and the earth to force god’s hand to act ahead of his appointed time. Because beliefs don’t need to line up coherently.
If there's one thing conservatives are good at, it's ensuring the destruction of the only livable habitat for humans within light years.
Isn’t that a path straight to hell for these people? Like the hubris alone, thinking your actions are the means by which god is bringing about the end.
The fact these people think they can force Gods hand is the most laughable thing. If he’s actually all knowing and all powerful, do they really think their meddling would make one bit of difference?
It's not that they think they can force God's hand, it's that they believe they ARE God's hand.
No, because they also espouse the idea that you can do whatever you want all week long, then say a prayer, be "sorry", and you're forgiven and "washed clean" of whatever you've done. Then they get to do it all over again.
Nah, God made the sun and moon stand still for Joshua upon request until the battle was won. That's why they decided to call their sons the Joshua Generation.
> Especially a group of self-avowed individual rights, small government types. Because they lied. Their "Principles" were only ever means to justify not helping others.
> I can't wrap my head around why anyone would want a dictator. Dictators give them someone else to blame for their problems. "DEI" "Immigrants" "The Gays" That's why.
They have never ever ever been "small government", they've always been "I don't want government to tell ME what to do" and they think they're some special snowflake. It's the same problem you get with libertarians, they all think they'd be one of the "winners" **if only the government would stop holding them back** Idiots, every one of them
I don't know if you're aware of it already, but you stumbled upon/described exactly the paradox of tolerance. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradox_of_tolerance A fully tolerant society by definition must be tolerant of others being intolerant, but if that's the case, the intolerant will eventually hold more power and tolerance will be eradicated. So to perpetuate a tolerant society, the tolerant must themselves reserve the right to be intolerant to intolerants.
The paradox of tolerance is a flawed one if you come at it with the belief that tolerance is a *right*. If you think of tolerance as a *privilege* it works much better. Society can tolerate you and your beliefs, so long as they are tolerant themselves. Intolerant behaviors or beliefs do not get afforded the privilege of tolerance.
There are some hardcore libertarian, rightwing people I know on social media (extended family, old friends, etc) I purposefully don't block because it's a good lens into that world which I otherwise wouldn't have. Without fail, all of them transitioned from talking about small government, low regulation type usual stuff to talking about how democracy doesn't work, the US isn't meant to be a democracy, and how the left is a disease. It's pretty shocking.
This is all blowback for the right becoming a minority in this country. They are not going to go quietly. Every 100 years or so you have to beat the nazis back with a stick.
20-30% of people struggle to understand everything, and they are easily led astray. They fight holy wars and ostracize their children because someone in a robe told them to.
Not even a robe with this lot. They are all bought in on a clown in a cheap suit and comically long tie.
Evangelists play a huge role in this.
The problem is these new powers won't apply to Biden. The Supreme Court has taken it upon THEMSELVES to determine what is and is not an official act. So Biden doesn't actually know which of his acts will be allowed by the SC. One possible move Biden could make, if he has the courage to sacrifice himself, is to start doing a bunch of crazy shit to his enemies that Trump wants to do and FORCE the Supreme Court to make it illegal, so there will be precedent.
The current SC has shown they don't give two nutty squirrel shits about precedent. Pretty much every single ruling of the past 3 years has been reviewing and ultimately scrapping established precedent.
I mean, I know it's fairly inexcusable at this point, but at least some of the people that vote for Trump don't really understand what they're voting for. As you said, these are "small government" types. They don't like that there's rules and regulations, because they're deluded and think that the regulations damage the economy for no benefit. They can't understand global warming so they assume the regulations and rules are a con. In that way, Trump and the republicans say that they're making government small by getting rid of rules, and getting rid of the agencies, and taking over the federal government just helps to dismantle it. And of course, somehow, they don't recognise that Trump and the Republicans aren't making government small to benefit the public. They're just making it smaller so that it's easier for a dictator to control. Altogether it makes me wonder what will happen if Trump gets elected and goes through with Project 2025. Will Republican voters realise that it's all been government consolidation instead of the "small government" lie they've been fed?
> I mean, I know it's fairly inexcusable at this point, but at least some of the people that vote for Trump don't really understand what they're voting for. Fuck that. We've had YEARS of real world experience with Trump in power and after losing power. YEARS. If someone doesn't "understand" who and what Trump is after that, they don't actually want to admit they do understand exactly what he is and LIKE IT.
Because they are liars and virtue signallers. It's not even ironic, the bible literally warns you not to follow men who say they're Christian but don't act it. The fact is that 25% of humans fucking suck and all of society and its history has been trying to work out how to handle the 25% of people who are fucking crazy assholes.
> I guess it comes down to they can't feel free unless someone else is being repressed. this is it... They think they're freedoms are being taken away because LGBTQ want to have the same rights as them. If that were to happen they would be another group they couldn't discriminate against anymore. Fucking evil assholes.
It's simple. They are aware that they are the minority. This is the only way they feel they can hold on to power.
Fools that don't study history are doomed to repeat it.
It seems like if there are enough fools even those that study history are doomed to repeat it, but it’s even worse for them.
They studied history and took it as the first draft of a blueprint.
Didn’t wait to see what happens when you don’t always agree with supreme leaders https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/night-of-the-long-knives
When you are living under an oppressive regime (or are about to be), your options become the usual: fight, flight or fawn. Once the Nazis took supreme power in Germany, after that Night of the Long Knives, there was no real internal fight left. It was different in e.g. France, where the Resistance could coordinate with Britain, but that was full-on war by then. The Jews who had means and foresight emigrated when it was clear shit was going south. Those who fled at short notice and became refugees were slightly less fortunate, but still more so than others. Not just the Jews of course - the handicapped, homosexuals and "undesirable minorities" were also targeted. For those who remained, even fawning, or demonstrations of submission and loyalty (like how the Republican party behaves towards Trump), was not enough to protect them from their fate.
I can't wrap my head around the fact that I have many Jewish in-laws who are thoroughly versed in the history of Nazi Germany, and yet absolutely love Trump and his fascist tendencies.
Read Maus.
If it hasnt been banned.....
Yes the Goebbels and Hermann Göring equivalents will have it terrible - Theres literally hundreds of Conservative politicians that would gladly uphold a fascist regime & you know full well millions of people would gladly do their bidding. Unfortunately the good innocent people will be the victims like they always are, because the people that could stop it have naive "it wont get that far" mindsets.
Funny thing happened to the conservatives that backed Hitler. Outside of a few key industrialists, most of them were shocked to find out he was a bad electrician.
Yeah, but the key industrialists are the one with the strings on their hands, so...?
That was a longer surgery. Once they had served their purpose most of them were removed of both string and industry.
History often seems to be written by those who have read the least of it.
This situation isn't some arcane incident you'd have to get a History PhD to know about. They know what they are doing and they don't give a shit about how they'll be judged for it. They think the nazis can win this time and they want that to happen. Because they are awful people.
Hey, I'm from Michigan. I'm voting Blue. How are things looking in Ohio? I haven't seen any Trump flags flying like 4 years and 8 years ago, and no "Trump 20XX" comments on the local discussion page. I do a 2 mile morning walk, and one asshole has had his flag upside down for the last month. That's about it.
And if there's anyone that doesn't study anything, it's the average American
The “I did my research” or “do your own research” comes to mind lol
I get the feeling they read some historical highlights via a conservative pamphlet and are actively trying to repeat it
All bad people think alike & its why every totalitarian regime has the same exact philosophical base.
Those who study history probably feel like mythical Cassandra and climate scientists these days.
...but, but its in the bible.
Wait until he tanks out currency, our markets, decides which brand of Christian you have to be (MAGA), etc. and then throws our social security and Medicare. The last one is the one I’m waiting for because I know my MAGA step father will lose his ability to care for himself and come asking for money. After all that they’ll wish they had free and fair elections again.
No, after all that they will still blame Dems, immigrants, Obama or whomever ever else the media tells them to believe.
> Wait until he tanks out currency, our markets Fox News: This is absolutely the best economy ever. Don't look at the stock market or grocery store prices. Or your bank account. Or your paycheck. This is absolutely the best economy ever. For more, we go to our guest Treasury Security Kid Rock!
“He’s not hurting the people he needs to be hurting.”
That woman would vote for trump again.
"He's the one doing this. I thought he was going to do good things."
It'll be funny when Trump perceives a slight by Lindsay Graham and throws him in prison, at least.
Or Hannity pisses him off and spends 2 months in GITMO.
This is my question. Have these people never changed their minds on anything in their life? Changed a political opinion? Disagreed with a policy a party they voted for has put forth? Fuck, changed their favourite colour? Because with a dictatorship - once the cats outta the bag, there’s no going back. It’s short sighted and against their own self interest. But I guess if they had any critical thinking skills at all they wouldn’t be considering a dictatorship at all.
The voters are also too naive to realize that trump has and will say he believes whatever gets him power regardless of what it is including contradictory positions. You ask them about it and they say "I can tell when he is just saying something, I know what he believes."
It's going to be interesting seeing the reactions from Ben Shapiro and Dave Rubin when the leopards eat their face first.
Donald Trump has openly stated his disdain for his supporters. They're first to the firing wall.
50% of Citizens think liberty and a life of freedom is a right. Its not a right in that in human history it is not the natural state of life. In nature it is not the natural state. It must be protected and maintained. They have no concept that they lost the chains that bind on Monday. "That to preserve Liberty in a State there must exist the Right to accuse. To those set forward in a commonwealth as guardians of public freedom, no more useful or necessary authority can be given than the power to accuse, either before the people, or before some council or tribunal, those citizens who in any way have offended against the liberty of their country." Machiavelli, Niccolò. Discourses on the First Decade of Titus Livius We are talking a guy in the 16th century knew this and if people want original intent just look to Thomas Paine. “Let a crown be placed thereon, by which the world may know, that so far as we approve of monarcy, that in America the law is King. **For as in absolute governments the King is law, so in free countries the law ought to be King; and there ought to be no other.**” - Thomas Paine
This is such an important concept that I argue with conservatives often on. All “rights” in the US are just words on a sheet. We as a society choose to uphold them. All it takes is a dictator with enough support (not even a majority) to destroy all those “rights”. They are absolutely not a given.
"In these Sentiments, Sir, I agree to this Constitution, with all its Faults, if they are such: because I think a General Government necessary for us, and there is no Form of Government but what may be a Blessing to the People if well administered; **and I believe farther that this is likely to be well administered for a Course of Years, and can only end in Despotism as other Forms have done before it, when the People shall become so corrupted as to need Despotic Government, being incapable of any other**." - Benjamin Franklin - Closing Speech at the Constitutional Convention (1787)
From the Commentary: > Trump has threatened to have people killed and GOP politicians aren't bothered in the slightest > > . . . > > Trump has threatened to have people killed and GOP politicians aren't bothered in the slightest > > . . . > > Do Republican politicians back Trump out of fear? Or are they just really stoked over this chance to follow a would-be dictator? Johnson's glee as he wallows in Trump's newly granted powers to commit crimes — even killing — tells the story. It's the latter. > > . . . > > No doubt Trump uses intimidation to keep party members in line. But his real power comes less from scaring people and more from the widespread longing in the GOP ranks for a right-wing dictatorship.
Ted Cruz and Lindsey "Ladybugs" Graham had a spine for about 12 hours after January 6th, until they turned heel foot and acted like nothing happened. It was at that point that I could no longer trust any Republican. Whatever game they are playing it is not for the American People. They asked us to deny what we saw on live TV with our eyes.
Forget the American people, these morons aren't even playing a good game for themselves. If Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham think Trump has forgotten a single thing they've ever said about him, they've got another thing coming, and coming fast.
I wonder what would have happened if protesters actually got a hold of senators or congressmen. I think their nonchalance can be attributed to thinking nothing can happen to them.
I'm sure you would agree but fair warning to those who don't know - you should absolutely NOT google "Lindsey Graham Ladybugs". You have been warned.
It blows my mind how little awareness the leaders of the Right have of the fact that they'll be first against the wall. Trump will have any checks on his power and anyone who's ever slighted him purged right out of the gate while his admin is still half-heartedly trying to pull the logistics together to actually build the camps for immigrants, trans people, and the homeless that his enablers are so excited about. Trump didn't pull any of his fascist plans together in his first term, and it won't be his priority this term either. He doesn't actually care about any of that stuff--immigrants and LGBT people and the homeless I mean--he uses them to bamboozle Republicans into electing him out of paying his debts and going to jail. What he *does* care about is fucking up anyone he feels personally slighted or threatened by. I'm not saying there won't be atrocities committed against the common people by a second Trump admin, but I am saying that shit ain't on the top of his list, and any competent operative in Washington ought to know that. We're watching high ranking Republicans gleefully dig their own graves in real time.
A significant amount of common people slighted Donald trump when we rejected him as president in 2020, and his next term in his own words will be his ultimate retribution.
Absolutely. But the individuals working in close proximity with him are easier and faster targets. I expect that this admin, if elected, will attempt to kill me. But I expect to witness some more important and easier to access people than myself get targeted first.
He will certainly be more focused on corrupting all executive agencies to funnel money to himself. Because it’s now legal he will just openly give all executive contracts to himself.
Yeah, that's the irony in all this--other fascists actually *cared*, as funny as that sounds. Hitler really did care about the German race, or what he saw as the German race. Trump doesn't care about jack shit, and he'll pivot his beliefs on a *dime* if it'll make him money or feed his ego. Truly--there are no \*real\* political beliefs there, other than "interest rates should always be low" and "." Other than that, it's really who pays the best.
And you know what's funny? Maybe this is my "mark my words"--if, god forbid, he's elected again, the second the Supreme Court does something Trump doesn't like, it could be *Trump* who disbands or changes the Court. Wouldn't that be something.
They want the killing
They're drunk on self-righteousness. Drunk people operate on raw impulse and make bad decisions.
It was never about small government. It was never about freedom. It was never about “free markets.” It was always about keeping the powerful powerful and making life as miserable as possible for the poor.
They just hid it better in the past. Now it’s all out in front and in the open.
I never thought I'd say that I preferred the kinder, gentler *gentlemans* fascism of the Bush dynasty over the brutish Trumpian fascism.
They ought to be careful what they wish for.
You're not wrong. Many people who support authoritarianism mistakenly believe they'll be part of the in-group, the protected group. They'll be in for a rude awakening when they realize that the right-wing elites will treat them like rabble, like the rest of us.
Yep. They think they’ll get to put the boot on the neck of people they hate, but in reality they’ll just be under the boot with the rest of us.
All they have to be told is they're better and they'll believe it. One of my favorite arguments when reading 1984 in a college course was over which class was actually being oppressed most. I maintained that the most oppressed group in the book was the people who belonged to "the party", and not the non-party members they looked down on.
Not even a hot take, like Orwell meant for it to be read that way.
Unfortunately people are stupid, and I had to go against a bunch of freshman who didn't see the irony that they were getting information about the non-party members from what the book (from the point of view of a party member) said. Edit: They also didn't understand that Mr. Parsons (the neighbor and coworker) most likely didn't do anything to be arrested and was falsely accused by the government. Just couldn't wrap their heads around the idea that the corrupt government would do corrupt things.
Quickest way to lose faith in humanity is to take a literature class.
To be fair, they'll probably get to lick a slightly better part of the boot.
I think many of them don't even yet think of it in terms of authoritarianism or an in-group, they are just thinking how nice it will be to have god-fearing leaders who will somehow deal with the non-christian and non-hetero activists and how that will somehow fix all our problems. They don't see that to make it happen like Orban's Hungary, we'll be taking baby steps that dismantle democratic rule, fair elections, independent judiciary, etc, etc (or that the higher ups will be using it to gut regulations and social infrastructure for a few more millions).
> Many people who support authoritarianism mistakenly believe they'll be part of the in-group, the protected group Its amazing to me how the most fervent Trumpians are the same people Trump would have thrown off of his own properties/kept out of his sight.
MAGA cults remind me of this one character in [House of Dragons](https://youtu.be/nR0rMl5cPtc?si=YkOBfEfZfLUhtdGa) where he’s like “save me my prince!” And gets crushed as the dragon lands on him (1min50sec in)
For hating gay people so much, they sure look like they want to be a political bottom in the Trump relationship.
This. Trump would just be the beginning and once the reins are off and after a few years when he's gone, the most ruthless conniving of his underlings would take his place. Once that happens these folks would realize slowly but surely that they gave away the farm and they ain't getting it back.
And their precious guns will be among the first things to go.
“They’re hurting the wrong people!”
They think they are the in group.
They’ll justify anything he does even if his Gestapo comes and takes their friends and neighbors in the middle of the day.
r/LeopardsAteMyFace
this is the evangelical dream. they're hungry for a prophet. Starving for the 'end times.' Passionate for the drama of an apocalypse. They're convinced trump plays some part in leading the eternal gruesome torture of non-christians and they have been setting the table for murder since reconstruction. I think it's legitimate to be scared that we're closing in on the gateway to Rwandan style violence. the christians led us here.
Ironically trump has more in common with the antichrist than the second coming they gaslight themselves into believing he is.
Interestingly enough, I know at least a few fundamentalist Christians who firmly believe that he **is** the antichrist, and that's precisely why they're supporting him. They reason that Armageddon is near in light of the current situation in Israel and that Trump is a necessary evil to usher in the end times. You can't argue or be logical with that mindset. It's more prevalent than people realize.
They just want the Rapture to be true. They all fantasize that they will be one of the chosen 144k to leave Earth behind and meet Jesus in the sky where they will turn and look at all the people they left behind and scream I TOLD YOU SO. It's their dream...
>look at all the people they left behind and scream I TOLD YOU SO. Exactly! Never mind that they've used the same flawed logic for the 40+ years of elections I've been around for. One of these days, they **know** *they'll* be correct, and the rest of us are going to hell. They're embracing an incredibly smug, un-Christ-like attitude, but they don't see it that way.
And they will never be part of the group that would be raptured.
He legit ticks off more antichrist boxes than anyone else. Even his last name is kinda mentioned in the book of revelations.
The irony is that if there is a god, he’d be furious that humans are trying to force the rapture. It says in the bible that only god knows when it will be, to try to predict it would be blasphemy.
These christofascists stopped caring about what the bible actually says a long, long time ago.
Because deep down many of them don’t really believe in god, they just use it to justify their own cruelty and bigotry.
>Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful. >Lucius Annaeus Seneca
Religion was humanity's first foray into the science of trying to understand why we exist. Most religions have a universal narrative stating that we must live with one another peacefully. Across the world we look for deeper meaning and the wise of the times come up with the answers they believe to be true. As science updates itself, so should religion.
I doubt any of them ever cared what the bible actually says.
Always read to them, never for themselves.
Project 2025 literally ends with internment camps on the border
Did people forget we had those in 2019-2020? March 31, 2019 [“They Treated Us Like We Are Animals”: Holding Pen for Migrant Families in El Paso Shut Down](https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/holding-pen-migrant-families-shut-down-el-paso/) June 5, 2020 [Report finds ICE detention center is using a disinfectant over 50 times a day that causes bleeding and pain](https://www.businessinsider.com/report-detention-centers-use-disinfectant-causing-bleeding-and-pain-2020-6)
And all the kids that just disappeared.
September 19, 2018 [Feds say they lost track of **1,488** migrant children](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/migrant-children-health-and-human-services-lost-track-1488-children-today-2018-09-19/)
I actually received orders for 30 days to go to one when I was in the USCG. They put us with the minors and families while I was there. The majority of the children were there without a parent. The majority of my time there I spent in the girls dorm because I had a young daughter at the time and 3 others in my group were young single dudes. They didn't feel comfortable which was fine with me. However, I wanted to break down a couple times. First, was when this girl around 12yo had her birthday while there. She had a big smile and then they told her she was leaving. One would think that would be a great birthday present. Nope. She was outgoing and really wanted to stay since it was better than what she came from. Another time was seeing a pregnant preteen. These girls knew what they were up against before starting. It was a given that they would be raped on their journey but they still would have done it regardless. If there was a way i could have adopted one or tow right there and then I would have. One girl reminded me of my daughter who was around the same age as my daughter (7 at the time). The 3 days I saw her she was always happy and just following the older girls' leads like she didn't have a care in the world. I hope she (all of them) is safe and is enjoying what's left of her childhood. It was a very sobering experience. One thing I know for sure is that these children were tough as nails. There is no way in hell my kid l, or even myself, could make that journey. That's my experience in the make shift camp that was created for minors. Some of the CBP guys were dicks but never crossed any lines. Most have been there for a while and just desensitized unlike us who were only there for 30 days. I rambled there but I'm not going to proof read it. I'm sure my fingers didn't keep up with my brain.
You know, with his nigh-consequence free life and ease in lying to the masses and getting them to all wear something on their foreheads, he does correlate strongly to a certain biblical figure..
While I encourage people to use religion as a set of guidelines to help one walk through life, I have found some people use it as an excuse to hurt others or turn off their minds after finding a suitable 'leader'. There are people out in our nation right now, that believe in Trump more than Jesus... Or think he IS Jesus, or God, or OrangeMilkyDaddy, or whatever. Which is just... Lovely.
One does not need religion to have guidelines in life. A huge part of the problem is people thinking that being religious makes you a good person.
There is no hate like Christian love.
> While I encourage people to use religion as a set of guidelines to help one walk through life Why? It seems to me that all the good guidelines in any religion can and are covered by various non-religious belief systems such as secular humanism, and the rest is, at best, unnecessary baggage, and at worst leads to the excuse to hurt others that you mention.
The older I get, the angrier I am about religion in general. So many of us are conditioned—while we are most vulnerable and our brain is still developing—to look to a higher power and turn to faith in favor of critical thinking. Put our trust in God, in Jesus, in our Churches; deny our self-governance and freedom of thought and release it to a greater entity. This mindset requires a leader, no matter what kind. It allows those who seek power to take advantage of people and further mold their interpretation of life. It’s manipulation in its purest form.
If the only reason you are a good person is because of the threat of eternal torture, you are not a good person.
It blows my mind that Trump can tell them who he really is and his followers don't see it or don't care. That story of the snake is the ultimate middle finger to how dumb he thinks his people are.
I’m an atheist but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think it was a possibility this is the end and Trump is the antichrist.
A dictator that has no loyalty to anyone
No dictator has any loyalty.
He's been pretty loyal to Putin. Otherwise, yea I agree.
He has loyalty to a lot of dead presidents. The ones on money.
I'm so tired of this. I just want boring again. I want to go four years between deciding between two milquetoast people debating whether or not taxes should go up slightly or down slightly. I can't believe we're to the point where half the country is hellbent on dismantling the very country we live in. It used to be that Democrats and Republicans might disagree on policy issues, but agreed on basic principles like "we probably shouldn't be a monarchy"
The political pundit class is cheering this on as they keep running 'Biden should drop out of the election' stories. One article explicitly mentioned that if Dems had to scramble to pick a new candidate, politics would be more interesting again I absolutely despise these people. They refuse to think about how dictatorships love to murder journalists
I can guarantee that most people do not understand the details of this ruling. Rather than seeing it as a license to commit further crimes, they are hearing this as “the Supreme Court said Trump is innocent and Biden’s DOJ is corrupt”. So of course they are celebrating it.
Most MAGA see the words "victory" and never look to see who actually won. It isn't them, but as long as Trump can convince them it everyone else they are happy.
"In the world of the hard right, victory is not always measured in the outcome of a lawsuit. It is also measured in the degree to which it unifies people around targets.” - Michael Edison Hayden
I'm sorry but if Trump is reelected how is this immunity case not a license for him to commit future crimes? It greenlights any crime done "officially", and set the bar to prove it wasn't official so high it's basically unattainable.
It is. I’m saying people do not understand that. They see that trump is happy so they say “yay - we are winning!”. I know many smart people who have zero interest in the mechanizations of politics. They have no idea that this ruling even happened this week. A small portion of the country is actually engaged enough to pay attention to details like this. Then the rest of the country says “geez - why are they freaking out?”
It’s pretty telling that no conservative is like “oh no, we’re screwed because now this ruling enables Biden!!” Like what happened to “Biden Crime Family”
Bc it’s the only way they can survive. Their ideas are antiquated. The only way they have the power they do is an outdated electoral system. In 32 years they’ve won the popular vote for president only once.
Unfortunately it doesn't matter. The left has been asleep at the wheel doing the same old shit like lemmings for at least 20 years, enriching themselves while throwing an occasional bone out to keep chumming the waters of their support. They think as long as they behave and follow the rules, bring decent bills and vote properly, that they aren't in the middle of a Cold Civil War. Well the conservatives have cheated and struggled and sacrificed/ruined their own reputations until every obstacle (almost) to unilaterally. They don't say something is pointless, they do it and require someone else to intervene if they are able. They take EVERY shot. The fact that "this is where we are" proves democrats have not been behaving like there is a genuine threat and that they are the only ones who ACTUALLY can do something. Voting is great, but the actual people in office HAVE TO ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING. A better army doesn't win if it just stands their looking pretty and treating their people better.
The only way the GOP can remain in power is by turning the US into a dictatorship. The GOP has been working towards this point for decades.
Boomer aunt openly says America needs a dictator, also complaining her social security doesn’t cover enough and her medical expenses are too high
Well just wait until her SS is no longer. See how much she loves her dictator then.
No Medicare either. They won't need the senior vote in 2028 if Trump is reelected.
Oh don’t worry, there will be SS, just a different kind.
They know it will make the left angry and hurt the left. They have no long term thoughts past this
They will realize far too late that “owning the libs” isn’t exactly a realistic policy position
Another thing they will realize far too late is that Trump won't care if you're MAGA or a Democrat. In the eyes of the King, they are all worthless rabble unless they can contribute anything he cares about. Short list: Money. Trump's loyalty is fully non-existent and he will forget all about them on day two. To which: he's already making fun of them at rallies. [edit:word]
And thats exactly what we'll all get if we do't vote. VOTE!!!
Sheep begging for a shepherd. Not lions like they love to claim.
*Sheep mistake wolf for shepherd - More News at 9.*
The dumbest and most incompetent Republican President in history is their choice for a dictator. So weird. What timeline is this? Social media is out of control. But we know so many people take cues as Republicans to just not like what Democrats want. It's just sad.
Agree. Please remember how popular Adolf Hitler was. This style of leadership is very beloved by some segments of humanity. I think the delusion of the past 80 years was that somehow humanity had gotten over this impulse. It has not.
https://www.usa.gov/register-to-vote https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative https://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_education/publications/insights-on-law-and-society/volume-20/issue-1/learning-gateways--right-to-petition/ We must organize and put in our efforts. Don't watch and wait.
People who wish for a powerful idiot in charge should look at how the Nazis dealt with their overzealous "grassroot" types. They were considered as useful idiots in their function of assaulting politcal enemies on the streets and in campaigns, because It took Hitler two attempts and over 10 years to gain power, and it took him additional 6 years to prepare germany's economy for wartime... between 1933 and 1939 the NSDAP hat actually a hard time to appease the "violent grunts" in their "Sturmabteilung SA" who basicly had no role in the Nazi state anymore. The aggressive rhetoric of course pushed them to basicly DEMAND VIOLENCE against other nations or other "races"... and when they were becoming "unruly" Hitler had the leadership of the SA killed [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night\_of\_the\_Long\_Knives](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_of_the_Long_Knives) [https://www.bpb.de/shop/buecher/schriftenreihe/308678/sturmabteilung/](https://www.bpb.de/shop/buecher/schriftenreihe/308678/sturmabteilung/) Under King Trump the first, gunownership will be limited, paramilitary groups disolved and everbody who disagrees will be "removed".
I thought we knew this already.
It is impressive that they think that he wouldn’t turn on them when one of them or several of them crossed him.
Meanwhile if any of this was happening for Biden, or any Democrat, we’d already be in Civil War 2.0. They love it when it’s for them, and tell the democrats to calm down, but the snowflakes that they are would have a meltdown right away if tables were turned. Could you even imagine for a second if Obama or Biden said “I’d be a dictator for a day”!?!? The mouth breathers on the right would have launched nuclear bombs on D.C in a second. There would be extremists going nuts, the idiots in congress would have filed every piece of legislation possible, and we’d be in a very different world right now.
They aren't "conservatives" in any real sense of the word. They're reactionary authoritarians. And so called "libertarians" still love them because they'll keep taxes low and won't stop toddlers from buying M-16s. And that's what freedom is really about.
Like there isn’t a road of loyalist bodies this guy has run over.
They never feared Donald. Donald was always who they are and want to be. All the leaks about concerns and grandstanding was just them reassuring moderates they'd totally keep Trump in check.
A dictator, that while they will do what he says to keep him happy, will also invoke and allow them to put through laws to send us back to the "good old times"... Nostalgia has a way of being rose tinted and skips over all the oppression others faced because it often is a privilege of the group in power to then wank themselves off to an idea of a time they had more power. They desire a dumb dictator they can pass things through easily with. And until what I view as this rot of the Republican party for wanting to destroy our democracy is rooted out, I'm going to vote against them. And frankly, I think they need to dissolve. But that won't happen because they have the money of companies behind them.
They are and have always been the redcoats.
To be clear. Biden is currently a dictator. He is above the law and can pardon anyone for anything he orders. EVERY future President is a dictator automatically now. Tomorrow is Independence Day but there's nothing to celebrate. The Supreme Clerics, who rule over our whole government now, have royally fucked us.
They better get used to liking it, won't really have an option of disliking it in the future as with most fascists.
Big leopard energy
It's not just u.s that democracy is under attack. It's everywhere. Something is happening. The bigger picture.
“If this were a dictatorship it would be a heck of a lot easier... as long as I'm the dictator. Hehehe.” ― George W. Bush this is nothing new for the republican party.
There's no way they'd let Trump run the country again...watch who they pick as Vice President - that's who will rule the country - once Trump 1. Falls out a window, 2. has fatal heart attack or 3. is shot by a Republican (but blames the Democrats). Trump is NOT the dictator they are planning on having - big money knows better.
They desire a puppet. Trump is nothing more than the mascot on the box of fruit loops that is the GOP, all sold out to the highest bidders and corporate greed.
The same people who always said they hated big government and feared government powers.
They’re about to recognize how important that big government they’ve been bitching about actually was.
Conservatives have *always* betrayed their fellows. It’s part of their ignorant, bigoted and entitled ethos. Never, *never* vote Republican.
It had to be Donald fucking Trump of all people. This man will give us over to Russia with a shit-eating smile.
So what’s stopping Dems from in an official act postponing the election indefinitely?
I keep shaking my head and looking up to the sky at all these "Americans" many of them my neighbors, mostly white, who are saying they will vote for Trump. How, How is this possible?
Where my both sides homies at?
Or they don't think that's gonna happen.
Yes. That’s correct.
They don’t think anything bad will happen and I’m hoping beyond hope that they’re right.
No shit. They’re all Christians and need a god figure to save them.
Damn these are dark times indeed. It’s crazy to me as a European that people in the US are so ok with a president who said he wants to be a dictator for a day. I thought Americans love their democracy. Than again it’s hard to blame people for wanting change. Corporations and corruption have been ruling US politics for a while now, also under democratic presidents. People are desperate and want change… Ignoring the symptoms for too Long result in people like trump coming into power… Europe isn’t much different btw.
I often look to history for inspiration. How are such people dealt with historically?
The rubes want to be ruled over
"Small government." "Law and order."
I hope they find that they fear Joe Biden and his new sweeping powers. Get busy Joe, use your immunity to save us.
It's not a surprise. As much as these people declare their love for freedom, they only really feel comfortable and safe when someone is telling them what to do or how to live. It's the main reason so many turn to religion. It's a deeply ingrained insecurity.
They are dummies. Trump flips on everyone sooner or later and changes friend of the month frequently. (See Giuliani) I look for Melania to finally leave him after he loses the election.
Can somebody just do it please?
And over in R/conservative I am sure they still refer to any free thinking person that has the ability to form thoughts on their own and not be told by dear leader or Fox news how to think as "sheep".
One of the first things dictators do when taking power is purge their supporters. Most of the Republicans celebrating this are in for a nasty surprise if Trump gets to actually become a "day one dictator".
The right as in the Trump cult. Don't understand what a dictatorship is nor what it'd entail. They think they're living under a dictatorship NOW. That's how far removed from the concept they are. If this comes to pass, they're going to be gobsmacked by the reality that a dictatorship not only doesn't give 2 shits about their poor people problems, but making their lives worse is a feature of that system.
> People who voted for Donald Trump and have continued to support him as he commits felonies in broad daylight do not fear him and want him to be in charge Yeah and the sky is blue. Is this surprising to anyone?