Requiem

 I am so grateful I was able to live nearly all of my adult life in the golden age of American democracy, enlightenment, and leadership in the world. I am so sorry for my children and grandchildren, who will now have to endure a future full of conflict and strife as white nationalism attempts to keep the multi-racial demographic shift and their control from happening. Democracy has met the enemy, and it is us.

The electorate has revealed itself. We are a fascist country as the rule of Trump and Project 2025 take over. ..whether we like being called it or not. Trump and/or Project 2025 have already attempted, advocated, proposed, or threatened these fascist-like policies. How much of this he is able to put into action has been eased by his control of the Supreme Court, the legislative branch, and Schedule F replacement of civil service employees with political hacks with proven loyalty to MAGA and not the Constitution and the rule of law.

Here is how it worked in Hungary in this century and in other fascist countries in our history. The problem is nearly all fascist countries in our era are mostly racially and religiously homogeneous. How that works in America with large and active groups of minorities who see themselves becoming majorities by 2040 is why attempting to make the fascist template work in America portends chaos and strife.

Tolerance of others who are different from us is no longer a national value. Civil rights are to be ignored and not protected.

The rule of a person, immune from legal constraints, takes the place of the rule of law. Interpretation of law becomes whatever leader Trump says it is. The control of the voting process is tightly controlled, including access and how the vote is counted.

People can no longer protest the actions of Trump policies they oppose by voting in free and fair elections since Trump, the ruler, can use the power of prosecution to shape who can have their votes counted.

The government exists to perpetuate and favor certain groups of people in power, in this case, the very wealthy and the slim white majority who swear allegiance to their particular version of a religion.

Only messages on social media extolling the leader are to be respected. The conveyors of opposition messages, the press, and TV are to be delicensed or otherwise financially disadvantaged.

Foreign alliances exist to support the interests of Trump and his supporters. Favoring democracies elsewhere is no longer part of the foreign policy objectives. Otherwise, the nation is disengaged from alliances that call for mutual defense.

Trade is a tool to generate national income through tariffs.

Financial policies and preference is given only to those who have demonstrated their loyalty to Trump

The military is a legitimate tool used to suppress opposition to the policies of Trump.

Women are to return to their traditional roles of taking care of children, bearing them, dying while bearing them, church, and the kitchen....while working for lower wages and inferior positions to males.

Allegiance to America means allegiance to Trump.

The way to succeed in a fascist country is to keep your political views to yourself, your head down, and shut up.

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A personal note of how Trump.2 will personally impact my family. Forgive my bitterness; our situation may be unique, though others may relate to some of this. High tariffs will put my small import business in the trash. My kids will be unable to get out of student loan burdens until their mid-40s and will be renters, not homeowners, for years. My son's international consulting business is highly dependent on Europe and what happens in Ukraine. Trump's flirtation with Putin has his business in turmoil as most European leaders do not trust Trump. A daughter found happiness in a same-sex marriage and will be facing government and discrimination by religious fanatics, ironically led by a godless man who would fail the Ten Commandments test and dismiss the Beatitudes because it has nothing in it for him. In short, Trump's win is our family's loss.

Do not be so sure the election will be decided on the issue of Democrcy v Autocracy

Do not be so sure if the election will be decided on the issue of democracy v autocracy or democracy vs. dictatorship. Yes, democracy will be on the ballot in November, but it is not a given. It will succeed as the determining issue in November.  Using the term "autocracy" only describes degrees, a range of rules by a person instead of the rule of law. It is a weak term that needs to be replaced by what Trump has already publicly promised if he is elected in November: a "dictatorship."  Even then, Trump has made the term "dictatorship" into a positive for his followers' benefit, not one to be afraid of, because it will "get their stuff done."His lulling words it is only "dictatorship for a day." Only fools believe that. That is all he needs to get the ball rolling for becoming a dictator quickly and, in the transition, throw this country into destabilizing chaos and uncertainty until he consolidates the power in lusts in his own hands. The April 27 white house correspondents' dinner dramatized the importance of the freedom of the press. (more below).

 What is not clear is whether American voters understand there is a link between "blanket immunity" and the continuation of democracy, the issue before the Trump-dominated Supreme Court.  Trump wants the power not only to get himself out of the January 6 criminal case filed by DOJ special counsel Jack Smith but to give him the power to become a dictator, a get-out-of-jail card, able to ignore any threat of criminal prosecution for breaking laws, as he assembles dictatorial powers for himself.  If he can even get the Court to decide he can break laws if it is in his "official duties" capacity, as Trump's loyalists on the Supreme Court are arguing, he is well on his way to claiming any action he performs is official and throwing the US into chaos as this claim is challenged in federal courts and make its way through the judicial appeal system to his Trmmp Supreme Court.  How do we know that will happen? It is happening now, and Trump is not even back in the Oval Office. 

 In December, a YouGov poll revealed that when asked if they supported a dictatorship over democracy, the result was that only a small percentage agreed with having a dictatorship. https://today.yougov.com/politics/articles/48238-most-americans-support-democracy-and-oppose-dictatorship However,  by February, Trump embraced the concept of being a dictator and his loyalists fell in line. Trump's own promise he "would be a dictatorship for a day" was ok for 3/4 of those who identified themselves as Republicans.   https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4453457-74-percent-of-republicans-say-its-fine-for-trump-to-be-dictator-for-a-day/ 

What a bunch of fools If Trump had immunity from committing crimes,  he could run rampant over existing laws that restrict presidential power, from bribery to assassination of rivals to oppressing press freedom to putting down any peaceful protests and gatherings.  In one day, he could sign the documents already prepared by the Heritage Foundation to allow him to fire thousands of federal employees and replace them with his loyalists, as well as replace those heading regulatory agencies with his sycophants such as licensing media outlets and protect consumers from environmental catastrophes, dangerous products, unfair business practices, and loan sharks. withdraw the US from NATO and throw the economy into a tailspin by sabotaging the only institution that could control inflation, the Federal Reserve. He has already promised to do all of this. and the Heritage Foundation, with millions in the bank, is already at work lining up those replacement loyalists to Trump. The lists will be ready to go on day one.   With a Trump Supreme Court, forget the guardrails of the justice system, and with such power of appointments, a jubilant business community and any GOP opposition to Trump will be hailing "the boss" if they want to have any political power.  The raised clenched fist palms forward will be the 2025 version of the old nazi salute. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_gestures#:~:text=Clenched%20fist%20is%20used%20as,%2C%20%22a%20thumping%22).

The April 27 white house correspondents' dinner dramatized the importance of the freedom of the press. In Trump's dictatorship, it is already stated by him as a promise to eliminate opposition press as treasonists.. In a post on his Truth Social platform in September, Trump repeated both phrases and vowed to investigate NBC News and MSNBC for “Country Threatening Treason” and try to curb their access to the airwaves.“I say up front, openly, and proudly, that when I WIN the Presidency of the United States, they and others of the LameStream Media will be thoroughly scrutinized for their knowingly dishonest and corrupt coverage of people, things, and events,” Trump said in the post. “Why should NBC, or any other of the corrupt & dishonest media companies, be entitled to use the very valuable Airwaves of the USA, FREE? They are a true threat to Democracy and are, in fact, THE ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE! The Fake News Media should pay a big price for what they have done to our once great Country.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/sep/25/trump-nbc-msnbc-comcast-country-threatening-treason  He could do this by controlling the Department of Justice to selectively prosecute opposition press and delicensing opposition media,, and using his flunkies running the Federal Communications Commission.  Trump may be a proven liar, but he has always been upfront about what he promises he will do, can effectively keep his promises,  even without blanket immunity for breaking criminal laws, and if elected again, he has the power to get it done.   If he controls the Supreme Court, as he already seems to do, legal action to protect First Amendment rights would have a rough go. His MAGA supporters would love to muzzle opposition.  So what about the rest of us who do not rely on FOX News?