That’s only if you happen to be of the accepted demographic and can keep your head down.
Things get much worse for minorities who can be blamed for all of those woes that come about due to the authoritarian rule.
Forget her emails, have you seen her emoji’s?
But, in seriousness, for the pit, anyway, there is a real concern that with the politicization of our intelligence agencies, whoever the next nominee will be will likely be in for a severe October surprise. Whether or not the Obama administration did anything wrong towards Trump’s campaign (I don’t think so), Trump thinks that they did, and that not only turn about, but escalation, is the way to play.
This is true, and I think we’re only going to see more racism in the months and possibly years ahead. And the first signs of this return to institutionalized racism will be the destruction of the civil rights division within the DoJ and federal law enforcement. Perhaps we’ve already started:
It’s no secret that when the Supreme Court ruled that states no longer required federal elections oversight that it was open season on the voting rights of minorities (blacks, mostly). But that’s only the first step. It’s not enough to win elections, because one day all those people just might make the effort to drive to that one polling station in town and stand in line for two hours to vote if they’re sufficiently pissed enough and determined enough to vote. Just like it was never enough for whites to keep blacks from voting during the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, it’s not enough for White Christian nationalists now, either. But the first step is to remove the federal hand that guides the states to make sure they do the right thing. The idea is to return to a time when state and local interests could institutionalize racism.
I think there is a very good chance that a former high-profile official from the Obama administration will be indicted for…something. I’m guessing perhaps Eric Holder or Loretta Lynch, but who knows, maybe Hillary herself. They probably wouldn’t get convicted and a judge could very well dismiss the case early on, but the threat of having Trump and Barr use all the resources of the federal government against a political enemy would be enough to shut his enemies up. Make them pay legal fees that could bankrupt them if nothing else.
Yes, there are still good sources of information that haven’t been blocked. One of the examples in which I take a small measure of solace is the fact that Barr isn’t comfortable enough to disregard the rule of law to the point of simply burying the Mueller report. It really is out there for anyone to read, and even in its redacted version, no reasonable person who actually reads it can dispute Mueller’s evidence, meaning and intent. It in no way exonerates Trump, and it in no way says that Trump did not collude with Russians. (You of course already know all this.) But who knows what else he has successfully buried?
Things are much further down the full-tilt crazy road than I think a lot of people are comfortable admitting to themselves. And let’s face it: If we acknowledge how far afield of ‘normal’ we’ve gotten, then we, you know, have to actually do something about it.
To this Doper, yes, it feels like a nightmare coming true. Relentlessly stripping Congress of its role of oversight. Putting people in detention camps in abhorrent, unacceptable conditions on the pretext of a racist-based danger that is wholly manufactured. Militarizing ICE, toying with Posse Comitatus. Disregarding constitutional norms, customs and practices of government. Flagrantly ignoring subpoenas for people and documents. Failing to safeguard our elections. And much more.
This is scary stuff for a country that stands on the rule of law.
I don’t think anyone quite knows what to do, which is why Dems are trying to proceed cautiously. Once an action is taken, we must live with the consequences of it – even if it’s the wrong choice. We’re in uncharted waters.
One thing I do hope every Democrat in office continues to do, and that is to stress the illegality of the steps Barr is taking. To act on behalf of Trump’s interests instead of the best interests of the country is criminal. I hope there is punishment for him soon. He is an illegitimate AG appointed by an illegitimate “president.” We must never overlook these truths.
It is. So let’s not ignore it. I hope everyone will do all they can and a bit more. Speak up. Vote in every election. Bug your congress persons. Protest. Give money. Make a ruckus to whatever extent you can. None of what is happening in this “administration” is normal or acceptable, ever.
Or he could just have a word with his slumlord son-in-law, who owns a large number of vermin-infested properties in the Baltimore area. That might be simpler.
IMHO, one of the very best Trump literary interpreters is Yastreblyansky over at The Rectification of Names. (Also some of the best commentary on politics, culture and current events you can find.)
Here’s a short sample from Elegy: Homelessness in America by Donald J. Trump:
Wherever there are rat-infested cities, Ma
I’ll be there.
Wherever there are greedy slumlords, feeding on the misery of the poor
Oh, you better believe! I’ll be there…
I’ll be around in the dark
-once I’ve cut your lights off.
Wherever you can look, wherever there’s a fight
that I started, because hungry people want to eat
I’ll be here. On the throne, tweeting.
I just heard Trump give an oral statement on the shooting at the Gilroy Garlic Festival. I haven’t seen a transcript so I can’t paste his exact words, but he definitely described the victims as “three citizens.” (followed by “thoughts and prayers, blah blah blah”, in his inimitable reading-from-a-book-report oratory style.)
The names of the victims have not been released yet.
Either Trump assumed the victims were citizens, which given the demographics of the Bay Area is an extremely shaky assumption; or he inquired about their citizenship status before making his statement, which would be appalling but believable.
VERY scary stuff. We should never have elected a president who did not know what those norms are and who has been above laws and social customs all his life. We should have never elected similar types of people who can support him in his efforts. But it is far too late for that thinking now: we’re already here.
And that makes the pace of the opposition understandable, but their pace ignores the fact that we’re already broken. We’ve gone beyond “breaking” a long time ago, IMO; we’re broken.
Change a few words and a Republican could have said this in 2016: "One thing I do hope every Republican in office continues to do, and that is to stress the illegality of the steps Lynch is taking. To act on behalf of Clinton’s interests instead of the best interests of the country is criminal. I hope there is punishment for her soon. She is an illegitimate AG appointed by an illegitimate "president.“We must never overlook these truths.” Sound kind of familiar?
Don’t forget that the GOP has the same conviction that they are right that you (royal you) do. They are pissed at almost exactly the same things you are, only at your side. Obama was illegitimate because he wasn’t really American, they believe. His administration covered up crimes, they believe. Obama wanted to take their guns away, they believe.
And they are fighting tooth and nail to stop that, to stop the erosion of their society into a form they do not want.
Don’t forget that the other side has goals they believe in at least as strongly as you believe in yours.
I say “at least” because I see a difference between the two sides, one that spells defeat for the left. The difference (this is the “more later” stuff) is that the GOP has expressed an overt willingness to use violence, to even kill people, to get what they want and they’ve been preparing to do it for a few decades now, via propaganda and militia training.
What did the country learn from the Bundy standoff? From the Malheur Wildlife Refuge takeover? From the threats to kill law enforcement officers by Oregon Senator Brian Boquist? Not much, apparently.
Y’see, the difference is that they’re wrong. You can tell that they’re wrong from the fact that they’re Republicans. And so can they. I’ve promulgated this fact many times here on the SDMB. The only excuse they could possibly have for not having seen it is that they don’t read the SDMB.
And of course, there’s NO excuse to not read the SDMB.
Out of all that you mention, I think protesting and mass demonstration is the only thing that will actually stop the madness. People have to be pissed off enough, and in numbers sufficient enough, for the corrupt GOP to get the message. But I’m afraid that among the masses have to be a fairly large number of current GOP’ers who quit the party. I just don’t see the level of alarm that we should be seeing, and I’ve felt that way for a long time. Honestly, not nearly enough progressives are sufficiently concerned, either.
It’s too late to scream “fire” once the entire building is burned to the ground.