#SQUARE. SECURE.

[curtain-caller]

I gave in. I ship them now. Macaron deserves a bad bitch.

[boozoo-flip]

got round to doing a vanny design,,

[rambunctioustoons]

wrong hall, maintenance..

[blushedfemmes]

… hm

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Efforts to alert Americans to the danger of Trump's fascism are beginning to gain traction

Efforts to raise the alarm about Trump's explicit threats of a fascist government are beginning to gain traction. On Sunday, the NYTimes published a powerful editorial entitled “Donald Trump says he will Order Mass Deportations, Prosecute His Enemies, Use Soldiers Against Citizens, Play Politics with Disasters, and Abandon Allies. Believe Him. (Click on the photo on top. Gift link to NYT.)

The editorial is a full-throated condemnation of Donald Trump. The article says, in part,

The record shows that Mr. Trump often pursues his stated goals, regardless of how plainly they lack legal or moral grounding. The record further shows that many of his most reckless efforts in his first administration were stymied only because of others in his administration who blocked, delayed or watered down his aims to ensure that he could not put himself above the law or the country. Mr. Trump has learned from that experience to surround himself with supplicants who would instead obey his wishes and bring his words and ideas to life even if they contradict facts, the public interest or the Constitution.

The Times Editorial Board is correct in its description of the threat posed by Trump. The question is whether it is too little, too late.

After reporting on Trump for two years as if he were a normal candidate for the presidency, the Times and other major media created a permission structure for otherwise rational, upstanding Americans to say they were voting for Trump because issues like “the economy” or “immigration,” while skipping over the attempted coup, insurrection, sexual abuse, attempted bribery of Ukraine, obstruction of justice in the Mueller investigation, and the withholding and disclosure of national defense documents.

It is never too late to start doing the right thing. But the Times deserves no special praise or credit for choosing nine days before the election to run this op-ed. It should have been running something similar every day for the last two years.

I acknowledge that this is not the first such article run by the Times; but articles of this type have been few and far between—and were overwhelmed articles about Joe Biden’s age and inflation—neither of which pose the existential danger to democracy presented by a second Trump term.

Let’s hope that it is not “too little, too late” and that the Times keeps up its attack on the real danger of a fascist second Trump term.

Many readers shared Saturday’s post by Heather Cox Richardson, Letters from an American, October 26, 2024. HCR reviews a 1943 pamphlet from the US War Department with the headline, “FACISM.” The pamphlet is a sobering description of fascism that maps neatly onto the MAGA movement of today. I highly recommend the article to your attention.

The closing paragraph of HCR’s newsletter is this:

“Fascism thrives on indifference and ignorance,” [the pamphlet] warned. Freedom requires “being alert and on guard against the infringement not only of our own freedom but the freedom of every American. If we permit discrimination, prejudice, or hate to rob anyone of his democratic rights, our own freedom and all democracy is threatened.”

The Trump rally in Madison Square Garden was the very model of “discrimination, prejudice, and hate” that the War Department warned against in 1943.

Also relevant on Sunday was JD Vance’s efforts to defend Trump's threat to use the military against American citizens. Incredibly, Vance argued that Trump did not threaten to use force against Americans but instead threatened to use the military against “lunatic members of the radical left”—who are Americans. See YouTube, JD Vance tries to defend Trump’s ‘enemy’ rhetoric.

Finally, Jonathan V. Last writing in The Bulwark gives the best explanation yet of why Jeff Bezos’s decision to not make an endorsement in the presidential race fits into the fascist playbook of forcing leaders of industry to “obey in advance.” See The Bulwark, Bezos, Trump, and the Failure of Democracy, by Jonathan V. Last

Jonathan Last writes,

When Bezos decreed that the newspaper he owned could not endorse Trump’s opponent, it was a transparent act of submission borne of an intuitive understanding of the differences between the candidates. Bezos understood that if he antagonized Kamala Harris and Harris became president, he would face no consequences. A Harris administration would not target his businesses because the Harris administration would—like all presidential administrations not headed by Trump—adhere to the rule of law. Bezos likewise understood that the inverse was not true. If he continued to antagonize Trump and Trump became president, his businesses very much would be targeted. So bending the knee to Trump was the smart play. All upside, no downside.

Bezos’s action was doubly cynical. He refused to do the right thing because he knows that Kamala Harris will abide by the rule of law. Having hedged that bet, he changed the Post’s policy at the last minute in a way that advantaged Trump—and Bezos if Trump wins.

At a time when our democracy faces the threat of fascism, those who seek to defend the rule of law do not have the luxury of hedging their bets in the way Bezos did. We need the rule of law to continue to enjoy the fruits of democracy. Bezos doesn’t, so he abandoned us. That is why Bezos is a coward. He is granting Trump obedience in advance—which is how fascists come to power.  

Three final notes about the fascist threat posed by Trump. They don’t quite fit into the narrative of this article but they are important and I need to bring the newsletter to a close.

First, the New York Times reported that Trump intends to “outsource” security clearances to a private firm in order to cut out the FBI from the process. During Trump's first term, the FBI refused to grant clearance to Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Trump ultimately over-ruled the FBI and granted Kushner a security clearance. See NYTimes, Advisers Propose That Trump Give Security Clearances Without F.B.I. Vetting.

By privatizing a federal function—security clearances—Trump is eradicating the dividing line between himself and the state. The private firms will be beholden to him—rather than to the Constitution.

Speaking of privatizing government functions, Elon Musk boasted at the Madison Square Garden rally that he believes he can cut “one-third” of the federal budget. See Business Insider, Elon Musk says at a New York Trump rally that he could save the country $2 trillion through a department of efficiency.

Musk has no idea how the Constitution or the federal budgeting process works. Nor does he have the emotion intelligence or lateral thinking skills to understand the havoc on personal and national security that cutting the federal budget by one-third would cause. Even suggesting such cuts would likely undermine the stability of markets, interest rates, and investments in the US. But when fascists erase the distinction between themselves and the state, their hair-brained ideas become the policy of the state.

Finally, Trump said at the rally on Sunday that he would appoint Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to a position in charge of federal health care policy. Trump said,

I'm gonna let him go wild on health. I'm gonna let him go wild on the foods. I'm gonna let him go wild on the medicines.

The last time Trump promised something would be wild, we had an insurrection. Putting RFK Jr. in charge of healthcare and medicine in the US would cause human suffering and death on a grand scale—assuming Kennedy could get anything done. But Kennedy, like Trump, has no idea of what it takes to create policy, write legislation, and fund programs. So, is Trump simply planning to override federal law for the appropriations process?

The above facts should arm us with the knowledge we need to persuade the few remaining voters who are undecided about voting. Use the information to generate turnout. That is the key to victory. Anyone who is on the fence about voting shoud be concerned about the hate, authoritarianism, and recklessness highlighted in Trump's rally at Madison Square Garden on Sunday—and at all of his other appearances.

[Robert B. Hubbell Newsletter]

[pyrosomatic-metamorphosis]

im gonna be honest i dont care that the eggs bedrooms at NINHO look super scary rn. NINHO is a nuclear bunker built for survival, and that should ALWAYS be the #1 priority when building a space meant to be safe. If it isn't safe, then it has failed as a safe space, just by definition. That SAID- gaining functionality doesn't mean they have to give up a nice room entirely. There's still ways to decorate. The space has to be different now, but remember that each room started out as a double-block layered square box. even a nuclear bunker can have paintings on the wall

[brambletakato]

constantly thinking about the shape language between descole and desmond ... descole has a tightly fitted suit that looks like it can be broken down into triangles while desmond's suit is more square... he has square glasses while descole has a mask with a triangular cut... even his hat has triangles...

[panicinthestudio]

Further reading:

AFP, via HKFP: Hong Kong Christian newspaper runs blank front page ahead of Tiananmen crackdown anniversary, June 3, 2024

HKFP: Hong Kong’s Catholic Diocese axes third consecutive Tiananmen mass as cardinal urges ‘forgiveness’ over crackdown, June 4, 2024

HKFP: Ex-local councillor asked by police about Tiananmen crackdown anniversary plans; lawmakers say marking date in private is lawful, June 4, 2024

[springlock-suits]

*lego clicking noise*

[vault-heck]

This felt like literal psychoanalysis. I'm not qualified

[persistent-wallflower]

Eh I used to think that I was mostly immune to this, but truthfully this year it's been challenging to see my friends living their best summer lives with their friends on sm and not feeling really quite bad about myself in comparison.

[tacit-semantics]

Creature part 2!! Owl with bowling ball vibes. Anyways realized I’d been working the holes wrong about halfway through but the ones up on the wing things are worked correctly, and I believe I got all the edges too so that’s nice

[spookley-daily]

Love the new FNAF movie although the effects were kind of bad I mean look at that guy

[weraceasone]

every day i walk past the mclaren f1 car at work and every day i’m like. Why The Fuck is there an f1 car here

[theglizzardwizard]

Oh no 💀💀💀 nigga you are TWEAKING. Go get you a Gatorade or something

[kojiarakiartworks]

June 2011　KTM　Kathmandu　Bhaktapur

© KOJI ARAKI Art Works

Daily life and every small thing is the gate to the universe ：）