#election rules manipulation

[reynard61]

When you have to manipulate the rules in order to win... 😒

[fibfoolingart]

i swear this was just supposed to be some fun aesthetic swap doodles, but then i started thinking about The Implications and now i have a wholeass story behind this au lol

any world where grace chasity isn’t a horny, homicidal prude, we lose the original plot, so this au would revolve more around the church of the starry children then max jägerman lol

solomon decides the best way to wield power in hatchetfield is through religion instead of government and he unites all the tiny denominational churches into his church, becoming the pastor (happening around the same time steph starts middle school.)

it works. almost everyone attends solomon’s church, and it becomes a required social event for anyone who’s anyone in hatchetfield.

but it’s all a manipulation for bigger purposes as solomon slowly incorporates text from the black book, pushing the church into culty territory.

as the preacher’s kid, steph is under constant scrutiny. she might have wanted to rebel as a kid, but the wrath of god is a much bigger threat than just breaking her phone and solomon uses fear and guilt to keep her in line, turning her into a model of godly behavior (at least on the surface).

the chasitys refuse to join solomon’s church, but their small congregation shuts down when there aren’t enough people left. 

grace’s parents encourage grace to pour all her free time into individual bible study to make up for the lack of church, church activities, and church outings, but grace starts treating the bible like a textbook instead of a spiritual guide.

without structured church activities, her obsession with rules and procedures shifts to the school system

grace unknowingly separates herself from spirituality when her bible obsession becomes academic. she’s still a christian, but she’s more likely to corner you in the library to infodump about angelic hierarchies than preach about purity.

travis coulson was ruth’s older cousin. it freaked her the hell out that someone could be bullied that bad that they have to transfer and their entire life is erased for a dumbass lie that everyone believes. so ruth vows that she and her friends will never be outcasts (or timberwolves) and drags pete and richie into a "popularity pact" in fifth grade, forcing them to get cool or else.

the trio spends their summer doing research and practicing social skills. (they basically spend their time practicing masking autism and refining their ability to camouflage.)

the trio starts researching what’s cool. their findings? football players, student council presidents, and school play leads are the pinnacle of popularity. so, they throw themselves into middle school tryouts and campaigns to fit these roles:

richie tries out for football but ends up as the mascot.

ruth auditions for the lead in the school play but gets relegated to lighting tech.

pete campaigns for class president but only gets elected secretary.

instead of quitting there, they regroup and try again in high school:

richie uses the athleticism he got as a mascot to land him a spot on the swim team.

ruth works her way up to the the student/assistant director for the school plays

pete works his way up the student council ranks, eventually becoming class president.

the trio is finally just cool enough that their quirks get rebranded as "quirky-cool" instead of "weird." they still bond over star wars and anime in secret, but their popularity ensures they’re never targets again.

[langernameohnebedeutung]

there's a lot of valid takes on why Gen Z is becoming radicalised at the rate they are - all that misinformation, tiktok, red pill, the pandemic - all have good points. But I think another factor is that even politically, their sense of normalcy is entirely different to the one of prior generations. The spiral of the last 15 years, the way the Overton window has moved, the change of style and tone in political discourse, the normalisation of anti-democratic ideas, the obsession with people's private lives, the topics that are front and centre during elections these days, the changing concept of the respect and dignity expected in a public office (god I sound like a boomer) - all of that was shocking to us.

the three generations of my family, all born and raised in VERY different time periods from one another, we've all just been equally shocked and horrified again and again these last 15 years - not just by what is happening but how it is happening and by what is possible and how easy it is to make a total mockery of the democracy and the rule of law. For all of us, that was a feeling of realising that something we implicitly trusted in to the point that it didn't need talking about ... just falling away. Or proving to always have been an illusion to begin with. To someone who grows up right now, this safety and security has NEVER existed.

But for these kids - the window of their life where they start becoming politically and culturally aware basically coincides with this downward spiral and I think that makes many of them blind or numb to it. I think for many of them, that's just their understanding of how things naturally progress and politics works. That the way previous generations evaluate the current situation - this framework of intentional manipulation and misinformation and radicalisation - is just fair and acceptable behaviour and that of course politicians manipulate the discourse to get what they want and of course it is normal to tell brazen lies and spread panic if that gets you what you want and if you're loyal to the party, you parrot those lines whether you really believe in them or not. (And let's be honest with ourselves - the seed to that has always been there)

And others, who I imagine intellectually know that things are going downhill, are really stuck in this extremely mind-numbing fatalist mindset (climate change is gonna kill us all anyway, haha) which makes you hopeless and desperate. And being hopeless and desperate also makes you vulnerable to all kinds of manipulation and radicalisation - because the offer you a perspective. Or meaning.

If you think about the trad-wife and redpill stuff or generally christian nationalism but also any movement that instrumentalises history with ideological narratives, you notice that their narratives place periods of stability way back in time in periods that match aspects of their idelogy e.g. their fetishisation of the 1950s. Then they come up with some horrible bad evil enemy that destroyed that paradise and created the 'degenerate' misery we live in now. Authoritarians and ideologues and cults have always done this. It's part of constructing the mutual enemy.

Beause this way, they can create their illusion of this kind of mythical, unreachable utopia (the past) that fascists love and attach all kinds of conditions to reaching that - with no pressure for them to ever actually deliver: women staying at home, racial segregation, christian hegemony, eugenics, absolute exclusion of gay and trans identities etc. This doesn't just have the benefit of pushing their politics on a confused youth (though that's a big benefit) - it also helps them hide from young people that these last 15 years, they literally created the chaos that these kids are living in. They sowed this situation and right now, with the radicalisation of the youth, they are reaping the rewards.

And the thing is, we can blame the Tiktok or whatever but I also think it is important that we let younger people know and feel that what's happening right now - is just not normal and not sustainable.

And yes, we need to let go of the naive illusion that "the kid are going to save the world". We should never have had that. But I also don't think a radical heel-turn vilifying all of Gen Z is going to help anyone or do justice to the situation.

[felixcloud6288]

Listen.

If you can vote, you need to get out and vote. You cannot boycott an election. Refusing to vote does not send the message you think it does. In fact, it sends the exact opposite message. If you refuse to vote, you're telling politicians that you are a demographic not worth appealing to.

If you care about reproductive rights and don't vote, politicians will not try to appeal to you.

If you care about LGBT protections and don't vote, politicians will not try to appeal to you.

If you care about a free Palestine and don't vote, politicians will not try to appeal to you.

If you care about police and prison reform and don't vote, politicians will not try to appeal to you.

If you care about immigrants and don't vote, politicians will not try to appeal to you.

Politicians will act to appeal to the greatest number of voters. If you do not vote, they will appeal to the people who will. And the people who want to take away birth control, and criminalize trans people, and support Israel's genocidal campaign, and want to militarize the police, and want to exile every non-white person WILL VOTE.

In November, there are only two choices that matter. You either vote for Joe Biden or you do not. Any vote not cast for him or a vote withheld is support for Donald Trump.

Joe Biden is a politician and an imperialist. He may support Israel, but as we've been seeing, he can be made to back down. If you are loud and you put pressure on him, he can be made to do what is right. And he knows that if he wins, it will be because the people didn't want Trump. So he will be more inclined to listen to the people.

Donald Trump is a dictator and a fascist. He does not respect the rule of law. He does not respect the will of the people. He does not respect anyone or anything. If he comes into power again, he plans on seizing permanent power, deporting people en-masse and stripping away everyone's rights.

And we have seen his response to protests. He has had protestors shot at. He will never yield to any amount of force. He will only respond with violence.

Fascism doesn't use tanks and armed forces to seize power. It seizes power through deception. Fascism uses the tanks and armed forces to keep its power after seizing it.

The majority of people DO NOT want what the Republicans are offering. The Republicans only have power because they have lied and cheated and manipulated everything. And we need to come out in a force great enough that no amount of foul-play can overcome.

All the Republicans have to offer is hatred. All they can do is divide us against each other. And they can only win by stripping the rights from the people they dehumanize.

No amount of moral conviction matters if you will not commit even the barest minimum effort.

No amount of protest or demonstration or internet posting matters if you do not vote.

If you refuse to vote because no candidate is the purest morally right choice that would solve everything, then you can take your WORTHLESS moral superiority and FUCK OFF!

Taking no sides is siding with whoever DOESN'T NEED YOUR HELP. And Trump and his fascist cronies DO NOT need your help.

I meanwhile am going to add what little strength I can to moving the US in the right direction.

[brieftimetravelwhispers]

On 26th October and even before that, Georgian Dream patry decided to steal elections in Georgia. The ruling party decided to strip us from our constitutional right to vote anonymously, they decided to steal our future and steer us back towards USSR, our dark past that promises us dark future.

In the last two years GD party has introduced at least two new laws that were used in Russia in past to solidify Putin's regime. Namely Law against foreign influence, that christens every NGO that is financed from abroad as an agent of foreign influence; and law regarding protecting family values and minors that forbids LGBTQ+ 'propaganda', meaning that symbolism associated to it, as well as literature, art or any kind of public expression that somehow informs about or includes non traditional family values, sexual orientation or gender identity is banned. We can no longer read Oedipus King in university, Sappho, Gilgamesh and many more starting from December, sections from cultural anthropology will be banned as well, and it's simply matter of time before critical skills and knowledge will no longer be reachable. This is authoritarian regime, where everything happens on a whim of one oligarch, what he says is a law for lawmakers, his slaves and he himself is subordinate of russian regiment.

Today, just several minutes ago, 'Parliament' declared itself legitimate, even though members of opposition are rejecting their seats, even though the President doesn't acknowledge fairness of elections, even though constitution clearly says that parliament needs at least 2/3 of deputies to do so. If that is not enough, constitutional court currently is discussing legitimacy of all 150 deputies per the Presidents suit, that automatically pauses working of the new parliament according to the constitution.

Georgia needs desperately to be in spotlight right now. Foreign support is all we have, as court, church, police is corrupt. Police keeps breaking up peaceful demonstations, beating up and jailing protesters, court keeps postponing their hearings as they know that the President, only pro-western institute right now, will use her right to pardon them and she wont be able to do that after her term is up in following months.

We've had painful past, full of protests, bloodshed and fighting for our nations survival. That's what being neighbour to Russia means for us. We won't stop fighting for our future and independence, won't let our ancestors sacrifice to be wasted.

20% of Georgia is occupied by Russia. And even today, there are some people, some georgians who prefer occupants claws, false sense of 'security' to fighting for our freedom.

This is not all, there's lot more that's impossible to fit in one post, for example GDPs pre election promises were pretty alarming, their rhetoric is horrendous, words they use are plain manipulative and dehumanising. They have their own pro government media that is brainwashing people and destroying every critical thinking brain cell. I am angry, I am disappointed and tired and so are hundreds of thousands.

Some sources about the situation:

[mariacallous]

Some Americans seem unable to accept how much peril they face should Trump return, perhaps because many of them have never lived in an autocracy. They may yet get their chance: The former president is campaigning on an authoritarian platform. He has claimed that “massive” electoral fraud—defined as the vote in any election he loses—“allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution.” He refers to other American citizens as “vermin” and “human scum,” and to journalists as “enemies of the people.” He has described freedom of the press as “frankly disgusting.” He routinely attacks the American legal system, especially when it tries to hold him accountable for his actions. He has said that he will govern as a dictator—but only for a day.

Trump is the man the Founders feared might arise from a mire of populism and ignorance, a selfish demagogue who would stop at nothing to gain and keep power. Washington foresaw the threat to American democracy from someone like Trump: In his farewell address, he worried that “sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction” would manipulate the public’s emotions and their partisan loyalties “to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of public liberty.”

Many Americans in 2016 ignored this warning, and Trump engaged in the greatest betrayal of Washington’s legacy in American history. If given the opportunity, he would betray that legacy again—and the damage to the republic may this time be irreparable.

The Moment of Truth

[crag-dreams]

It’s the Saturday before Election Day 2024 here in the US, and stress/anxiety/fear/etc… is pretty high for a lot of people. That’s warranted, because another 4 years of Trump/GOP rule will harm so many people. You should do whatever you need to manage the next few days (including voting if you haven’t already), but I really want to encourage you to stop giving polls and “close race” media coverage much / any of your time or consideration.

Polling processes are wildly obsolete for how Millennial and Gen Z voters act compared to Gen X and Boomers (this is not a dig at these generations, just a factual observation). Polls are also easily manipulated to return a desired result, and the people running polls have a vested interest in getting your engagement. Keeping the results tight keeps eyeballs on them.

Similarly, the 24/7 media environment needs you constantly on edge and worried so you keep checking in and listening. They have no interest in a boring election or landslide victory. The majority of journalists have not risen to address this moment with the deliberate, in-depth reporting that we need. It’s far easier to throw together click-bait headlines to pump their numbers. It’s why they spend days covering the tiniest slip by Harris/Walz (and previously, Biden) while giving Trump/Vance a pass on every insane thing they say. Trump is *incredible* for news companies. He is so outrageous that their headlines write themselves, and as long as they don’t follow-up to truly report on him in a way that would end any other politician, they have unlimited content. Whatever you think about Biden, just remember: a single debate performance that wasn’t great was seized upon by the media (because it made for great engagement) and ended his candidacy. Trump can say the most batshit things (they’re eating the dogs!), and they minimize it at every opportunity, because he is good for them. They are sacrificing their journalistic integrity and responsibility at the expense of real people’s lives and rights.

So, what do we do if polls and most news coverage isn’t useful? Remember:

Trump lost the 2020 election. The Electoral College is the only reason it was even close. People were fed up then, and they are even more fed up now.

Roe was overturned by an activist Supreme Court that Trump is responsible for. In virtually every state-level election since then, the results have been outstandingly positive for Democrats, including in the Deep South™. This is why so many GOP politicians have stopped talking about abortion, even going so far as to remove their position from their websites, or directly contradicting themselves when asked about it. The only person making a decision about a woman’s body should be that woman, and these predominantly white dudes still don’t realize how badly they fucked up.

The majority of Trump’s former Cabinet and senior leadership have very publicly turned on him. While it would have been nice for them to do this earlier, it’s unprecedented to see so many prominent Republicans declare they will not vote for him. This doesn’t impact the hardcore MAGA crowd, but it absolutely speaks to more centrist Republican voters.

Trump has been convicted of sexual assault, and he is an adjudicated rapist. He’s been convicted of 34 felony indictments, with more to potentially come. Even though it seems like he never suffers consequences for these legal issues, it costs him voters. People who could justify supporting him before are finally reaching a limit, even if they don’t publicly admit it. (Some do!)

Also, more and more people who voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020 are willing to publicly admit they are tired of him and can’t do it again. His rallies are smaller and smaller, the crowds are less engaged, and, yes, people leave during his rambling rants more and more often.

Gen Z is getting to vote for the first time at any real scale. Say what you will about TikTok and other platforms, but they are more informed and showing up and caring about issues that didn’t move the needle for Gen X or Boomers. Remember the Access Hollywood, grab ‘em by the pussy, tape? That should have ended his original campaign, but it didn’t. Gen Z has found out about that, and it’s just one of so many things driving them to get out and vote. The turnout is going to be incredible.

Because we still use the stupid Electoral College, this election largely comes down to swing states. The Trump campaign has done almost everything imaginable to lose those voters. Whether it’s bashing unions (Trump said a child could do the same job as automotive workers building cars, he bragged about not paying overtime, etc…), immigrants (they’re eating the dogs, GOP-led states demonizing them), Puerto Ricans (calling their home a floating pile of garbage, Trump denying hurricane relief for almost two years), or women (abortion, telling women they should vote how their husband wants them to, Vance thinking their purpose is nothing more than baby-making, stay-home, wait-on-a-man’s every need), they are losing the swing states.

Elections are *incredibly secure and trustworthy.* The Trump/GOP camp has attacked this at every opportunity with virtually no success. The few instances of voter fraud we’ve seen in the last few years are almost entirely from Republicans. They have already started the narrative that the election is rigged if Trump loses. This narrative will only increase as results start to roll in on Tuesday. Don’t even worry about it. They will lose every / almost every single lawsuit they try to bring. It will have no impact on the eventual outcome.

Early voting, including absentee and mail-in ballots, turnout is incredibly encouraging. The higher the turnout, the better, and people are showing up. There’s fatigue and embarrassment on the GOP side (you’re gonna eventually hear from those voters that they stayed home, voted for Harris, etc…), and there’s excitement and motivation on the Dem side.

Are there reasons to be worried? Of course. The Trump campaign is going to try and obstruct the voting process in every way they can. They’re blocking poll monitors in Texas and Florida. Drop boxes in some states have been attacked. Voter rolls have been illegally purged. They’re bringing lawsuits (most of which they’ve already lost) even before Election Day. They’re going to claim fraud. They’ll probably incite violence again.

These are the actions of a desperate campaign that isn’t trying to actually win, because they know they’ve already lost.

So, we can acknowledge our stress, anxiety, and fear, but we don’t have to let it ruin the next few days. Get outside and enjoy (hopefully) beautiful Fall weather. Snuggle your pets. Listen to your favorite albums. Read a great book. Hang out with your people. Vote.

We’re a few days away from a massive weight being lifted from our shoulders. Don’t let it weigh you down until then.

[brucewaynehater101]

Tim drake ruler of worlds

Ok I am an outsider but I think ppl are focused too much on the brucequest. Imagine the comedic potential of none of the batfam knowing but the loa does. Damian arrives and shows respect to Tim bc even the demons heir knows when they are outclassed (by several planets worth of people). Batfam + jl don't realize this until a force appears that overtakes planets and sees Tim. Tim says "fuck off". They promptly fuck off. What the jl doesn't know is that they only overtake weaker planets without a good defense. Planets Timmy has multiple planets to act as a defense and should not be counted. He wouldn't ask them but the second those planets hear of the threat to their beloved rulers planet???? They shall take this strain from his shoulders!!! He has done so much!!! (What if he thinks we are too much work) We can do this small act for him!!!

They hear of one (1) threat and are like but what does he get from ruling us?? (Mental health boost from millions saying how great he is, stress relief tbh, the ability to take days off while he feels like he's still being useful). We Will Keep Our Overlord!!!!

Better if they have longer lifespans and so Tim being 17 is like.. Smart Baby!! Babey so clever!! We love him!! Earth babies are clearly such good rulers!!! We should recommend?! But wait?? He tries to KILL earth?? THATS WHERE OUR BELOVED BABY RULER IS??

Tim is like people electing a bear to president because it clearly can't make anything worse right? But then he makes it BETTER?!??!??

I fucking love this so so much. I can't with them electing him for the morale boost (baby for overlord), and Tim somehow doing well anyways.

Just planets of people who love their mascot overlord who actually does really good work.

Also, you are correct that Damian (and LoA) knowing about Tim from the get-go would be such a juicy twist! Like, Damian would try to befriend Tim instead. He would try to establish a friendly relationship and connection for the purpose of having him on Damian's side when Damian takes over the LoA or Batman's mantle.

I bet Talia has trained Damian in business relations and how to manipulate people onto your side. Damian would try these tricks (there can still be some conflict with Tim being Robin) and notice months later that they somehow became brothers. Oh well. Tim's proven to be a formidable ally. For those who hurt his family? He's a terrifying opponent. It's truly better this way (and not that he'll admit it even to himself, but he also cares about Tim at this point).

Since Damian knows about the planets and they have a friendly relationship, Tim would take Damian with him sometimes when he visits. He'd show him some of the ropes (training useful for WE or LoA) and implement ideas Damian proposes.

Then! Your whole JL and invading forces ideas??? Fuuuudge. I love that shit so much. I just love dramatic reveals like that

[reasonsforhope]

"It was widely described as the week that India’s beleaguered democracy was pulled back from the brink. As the election results rolled in on Tuesday [June 4, 2024], all predictions and polls were defied as Narendra Modi lost his outright majority for the first time in a decade while the opposition re-emerged as a legitimate political force. On Sunday evening, Modi will be sworn in as prime minister yet many believe his power and mandate stands diminished.

For one opposition politician in particular, the humbling of the strongman prime minister was a moment to savour. Late last year, Mahua Moitra, one of the most outspoken critics of Modi and his Bharatiya Janata party (BJP), found herself unceremoniously expelled from parliament and kicked out of her bungalow, after what she described as a “political witch-hunt” for daring to stand up to Modi.

The murky and allegedly undemocratic circumstances of Moitra’s expulsion from parliament was seen by many to symbolise Modi’s approach to dissenting voices and the steady erosion of India’s democracy. She was among several vocal opposition politicians who were subjected to investigations by government crime agencies.

But having won a landslide re-election in her home state of West Bengal, Moitra will return once again to parliament, part of the newly empowered opposition coalition. “I can’t wait,” said Moitra. “They went to egregious lengths to discredit and destroy me and abused every process to do it. If I had gone down, it would have meant that brute force had triumphed over democracy.”

While he may be returning for a historic third term, many have portrayed the results as something of a defeat for Modi, who has had to rely on coalition partners to form a government. The BJP’s campaign had been solely centred around him – even the manifesto was titled “Modi’s guarantee” – and in many constituencies, local BJP candidates often played second fiddle to the prime minister, who loomed large over almost every seat. He told one interviewer he believed his mandate to rule was given directly by God.

“Modi’s aura was invincibility, that the BJP could not win elections without him,” said Moitra. “But the people of India didn’t give him a simple majority. They were voting against authoritarianism and they were voting against fascism. This was an overwhelming, resounding anti-Modi vote.”

During his past decade in power, Modi and the BJP enjoyed a powerful outright majority and oversaw an unprecedented concentration of power under the prime minister’s office, where key decisions were widely known to be made by a select few.

The Modi government was accused of imposing various authoritarian measures, including the harassment and arrest of critics under terrorism laws, while the country tumbled in global democracy and press freedom rankings. Modi never faced a press conference or any committee of accountability for the often divisive actions of his government. Politicians regularly complained that parliament was simply reduced to a rubber-stamping role for the BJP’s Hindu-first agenda.

Yet on Tuesday [June 40, it became clear that the more than 25 opposition parties, united as a coalition under the acronym INDIA, had inflicted substantial losses on the BJP to take away its simple majority. Analysts said the opposition’s performance was all the more remarkable given that the BJP stands accused of subverting and manipulating the election commission, as well as putting key opposition leaders behind bars and far outspending all other parties on its campaign. The BJP has denied any attempts to skew the election in its favour.

“This election proved that the voter is still the ultimate king,” said Moitra. “Modi was so shameless, yet despite them using every tool they had to engineer this election to their advantage, our democracy fought back.”

Moitra said she was confident it was “the end of Mr Modi’s autocratic way of ruling”. Several of the parties in the BJP’s alliance who he is relying on for a parliamentary majority and who will sit in Modi’s cabinet do not share his Hindu nationalist ideology...

Moitra was not alone in describing this week’s election as a reprieve for the troubling trajectory of India’s democracy. Columns heralding that the “mirror has cracked” and the “idea of India is reborn” were plastered across the country’s biggest newspapers, and editorials spoke of the end of “supremo syndrome”. “The bulldozer now has brakes,” wrote the Deccan Chronicle newspaper. “And once a bulldozer has brakes, it becomes just a lawnmower.” ...

“This was not a normal election, it was clearly an unfair and unlevel playing field,” said Yadav. “But still, there is now a hope and a possibility that the authoritarian element could be reversed.”

Harsh Mander, one of India’s most prominent human rights and peace activists who is facing numerous criminal investigations for his work, called the election the “most important in India’s post independence history”, adding: “The resilience of Indian democracy has proved to be spectacular.”

He said it was encouraging that an “intoxication of majoritarian hate politics” had not ultimately shaped the outcome, referring to Modi’s apparent attempts to stir up religious animosity on the campaign trail as he referred to Muslims as “infiltrators” and “those who have more children”.

“The past decade has seen the freedom of religion and the freedom of conscience and dissent taken away,” said Mander. “If this election had gone fully the BJP way, then India would not remain a constitutional secular democracy.”"

-via The Guardian, June 9, 2024

[tanadrin]

One of the greatest virtues in politics is effectiveness; if you can't get anything done, you're not much of a politician, regardless of your other positive qualities. Lenin, by that metric, is definitely a Good Politician, but Lord, how he tests the principle in every other way. It's almost impossible to escape the conclusion that he is arrogant, manipulative, has a fragile ego, and is perfectly willing to put whatever personal principles he has aside for the sake of his own glory and his aims--sure, he's dedicated and hardworking, too, but these are traits that, but for the grace of historical accident, could just as easily have shredded the early Russian Marxist movement as helped it. Lenin is not a bridge-builder: it seems like, at this point in the narrative, he is interested in building the largest organization possible that he retains control of.

And one reason that revolutions are a risky business, I think, is that there is a bit of a selection effect for Lenin-like personalities--people who are not just fiercely intelligent, extremely hardworking, and highly focused, but personally ambitious, personally demanding, and personally quite amoral. Lenin is of a type with the supporters of revolutionary dictatorship among the Jacobins, and, frankly, anyone who has ever led the establishment of a Committee for National Salvation that keeps promising to hold elections "soon." In short, the type of personality that often makes a revolutionary organization politically effective is very, very bad at creating an organization suited to transitioning to democracy and the rule of law after--which I guess is not a bug if you're not actually interested in that sort of thing.

[patriottruth]

For Everyone Who Wants to Join the Informed Patriot Peaceful Protest and Resistance Against Another donald j. trump Presidency, Here's How Easy It Is to End donald j. trump For At Least Another 4 Years, Tank His Net Worth, And Dump All of His Legal Nightmares, His 34-Felony Conviction Election Interference Sentencing and Possible Imprisonment, and Hundreds of Millions of Dollars in Fines and Ever-Accumulating Interest and Judgments Back on His Head.

donald j. trump is actively engaging in the federal crime of attempting to hold office while being an impeached and indicted insurrectionist. He has no path to the White House other than receiving 70 Democrat votes from the House of Representatives, and 17 Democrat votes from the Senate. It can't be 69 and 17, or 70 and 16; because Section 3 of the 14th Amendment requires a full two-thirds vote from each house to remove donald j. trump's insurrectionist disqualification to hold federal office. Chuck Schumer can easily force the Section 3 vote in the Senate; and if donald j. trump gets no Democrat votes in the Senate, then the House vote is unnecessary. If MAGA mike johnson refuses to allow a House vote, then that's an instant disqualification for insurrectionist donald j. trump.

Hakeem Jeffries Democratic Leader of the House of Representatives https://www.congress.gov/member/hakeem-jeffries/J000294 https://democraticleader.house.gov/contact

Chuck Schumer Democratic Leader of the Senate https://www.congress.gov/member/charles-schumer/S000148 https://www.schumer.senate.gov/contact/message-chuck

So why isn't this checkmate option being discussed far and wide at the moment? It just so happens that Jack Smith is in the process of releasing the evidence against donald j. trump and his classified documents Espionage Act violations at mar-a-lago. Also, American companies are already laying people off, firing them, advising employees there'll be no holiday bonuses or raises, and Americans are learning the hard truth about trump's insane tariff policies. On top of that, donald trump and his supporters are taking their masks off and revealing how bigoted and fascist they actually are toward all minorities and marginalized groups within the MAGA cult now that they've succeeded in manipulating them to vote for trump; and that's having an effect on people's interest in protesting or rioting should donald trump be disqualified from office for insurrection and tyranny. The MAGA cult is already in-fighting and imploding in the same ways the Romans and the Nazis did; because everyone in authoritarian and tyrannical power structures wants to be the right hand puppetmaster who controls the tyrant at the top, no one in those power structures ever tolerates not being the reigning Alpha of their group, or over all groups, and there's nothing those types of people won't do for more power and influence.

It's only been 5 days since the election, and Americans who voted for donald trump are already paying the price for voting for donald trump. That's just going to continue compounding and festering into a disgust for donald trump and his MAGA cult by the time Jack Smith's Espionage Act report reveals what a traitor donald trump actually is, and has been all along. Let all the American families who've already been decimated by donald trump from November 5th through Thanksgiving meet around the holiday table and discuss the truth about donald trump; and then schedule the Senate vote for December 11th, 2024. Once donald trump is disqualified, Kamala Harris can challenge donald trump's ability to be elected by the Electoral College during their December 17th, 2024 meeting. MAGA SCOTUS already clarified the President Elect would default to the other presidential candidate, not the insurrectionist's unelected Vice President candidate when they wrote this in their Anderson vs. trump "ruling": "The disruption would be all the more acute—and could nullify the votes of millions and change the election result—if Section 3 enforcement were attempted after the Nation has voted. Nothing in the Constitution requires that we endure such chaos—arriving at any time or different times, up to and perhaps beyond the Inauguration."

So how are the holidays looking for American patriots this year? Well, if Chuck Schumer and the Senate Democrats force a vote on removing donald j. trump's insurrectionist disqualification from holding federal office and trump gets zero Democrat support, at that moment, all of donald j. trump's legal and criminal nightmares consume his life once more, and per the Berger Test, MAGA SCOTUS can't help him, all of those hundreds of millions in judgments against him are immediately collectible and continue accruing interest again, donald trump's net worth is decimated, truth social stock nosedives into obliviion, and he gets sentenced and possibly imprisoned for his 2016 election interference felony convictions. In the midst of all of that, his precious MAGA SCOTUS can be immediately and permanently disbarred from ever judging or practicing law anywhere in the United States now or in the future. And then probably around a week after MAGA SCOTUS' immediate and permanent disbarment, the remaining three SCOTUS justices restore national Roe vs. Wade protections, and all of the trump abortion bans brutalizing women across the United States will finally come to an end. Shortly after Roe vs. Wade is restored as the law of the land, the United States will inaugurate and swear in the 47th President of the United States, Kamala Harris. Anyone who wants that joyus happy ending to the endless nightmare of the donald trump saga simply needs to contact Chuck Shumer and Hakeem Jeffries and explain why donald trump is in violation of federal law for being an insurrectionist attempting to hold office without first having his disqualification removed via a two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress.

Here's a form letter that'll be under 1980 characters no matter if you're contacting House Democratic Leader Jeffries or Senate Democratic Leader Schumer. Just copy and paste the text into the contact form. If these Democratic leaders receive hundreds of these messages from different IP/Internet addresses, we'll have their attention. If they receive thousands of these messages from different IP/Internet addresses, we might see this in the news. If they receive tens of thousands of these messages from different IP/Internet addresses, we might finally be free from the threat of another donald trump presidency (turnout is everything in this fight for our human and civil rights, freedoms, and literal survival as non-trump supporters and non-MAGA cult members).

Dear Democratic Leader Jeffries,

My family, loved ones, friends, and I are greatly concerned that Donald J. Trump and all of his MAGA allies, supporters, enablers, donors, and voters have what clearly appear to be genocidal intentions to all American non-Trump supporters and voters whom they call, "traitors, anti-American, enemies from within, very bad people, very dangerous people, racists, radicals, extremists, communists, Marxists, fascists, thugs, liars, sick, ugly, stupid, mindless, thoughtless, brainless, disabled, deranged, criminals, rapists, cheaters, sleazebags, low-lifes, scum, trash, genetically inferior, weak, poison, insects, animals, rats, snakes, and vermin" on a regular basis. As I'm sure that you and all elected Democrat representatives at every level across the United States are aware, Donald J. Trump was not granted permanent immunity from federal enforcement of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment in the SCOTUS ruling for Anderson vs. Trump on March 4, 2024; and the moment Donald J. Trump was declared the President Elect, he was committing the federal crime of attempting to hold office while being an impeached and indicted insurrectionist without first having that insurrectionist disqualification removed by a two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress. Donald J. Trump and his MAGA cult appear to intend to not only deport 15 million people, but to also engage in undeniable genocide and ethnic and cultural cleansing against half the population of the United States (using voter registration as a "vermin" purge mechanism). Thankfully, per the Supreme Court's own Berger Test to disqualify judges, Donald J. Trump's MAGA SCOTUS allies can never intervene on any of his legal cases again, so if you would please bring the matter of a two-thirds vote to the House of Representatives for an immediate vote by no later than December 11th, 2024, my fellow Americans and I would greatly appreciate it.

Respectully,

An American patriot

Dear Democratic Leader Schumer,

My family, loved ones, friends, and I are greatly concerned that Donald J. Trump and all of his MAGA allies, supporters, enablers, donors, and voters have what clearly appear to be genocidal intentions to all American non-Trump supporters and voters whom they call, "traitors, anti-American, enemies from within, very bad people, very dangerous people, racists, radicals, extremists, communists, Marxists, fascists, thugs, liars, sick, ugly, stupid, mindless, thoughtless, brainless, disabled, deranged, criminals, rapists, cheaters, sleazebags, low-lifes, scum, trash, genetically inferior, weak, poison, insects, animals, rats, snakes, and vermin" on a regular basis. As I'm sure that you and all elected Democrat representatives at every level across the United States are aware, Donald J. Trump was not granted permanent immunity from federal enforcement of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment in the SCOTUS ruling for Anderson vs. Trump on March 4, 2024; and the moment Donald J. Trump was declared the President Elect, he was committing the federal crime of attempting to hold office while being an impeached and indicted insurrectionist without first having that insurrectionist disqualification removed by a two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress. Donald J. Trump and his MAGA cult appear to intend to not only deport 15 million people, but to also engage in undeniable genocide and ethnic and cultural cleansing against half the population of the United States (using voter registration as a "vermin" purge mechanism). Thankfully, per the Supreme Court's own Berger Test to disqualify judges, Donald J. Trump's MAGA SCOTUS allies can never intervene on any of his legal cases again, so if you would please bring the matter of a two-thirds vote to the Senate for an immediate vote by no later than December 11th, 2024, my fellow Americans and I would greatly appreciate it.

Respectully,

An American patriot

[reynard61]

When you have to change the rules to win. 🙄😒

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Robert Reich:

Friends, Some say if he loses, that’s the end of Trump. Wrong. We’ve been through this before. When Trump lost in 2020, most Republican insiders thought he’d be toast after January 6.

[...]

The Republican Party is more MAGA now than it was in 2020. More congressional Republicans are election deniers than they were in 2020.

If Trump loses by a small margin, he’ll almost certainly contest the outcome once again. At least this time Trump is not the incumbent president. He won’t be sitting in the Oval Office receiving recommendations from his staff to send in the military to seize voting machines and “rerun” the election, as happened in December 2020. He won’t have power to pardon anyone and won’t be able to claim presidential immunity. And instead of Trump’s vice president presiding over the counting of Electoral College votes on January 6, 2025, this time it will be Vice President Kamala Harris. But I wouldn’t be surprised if Trump and his lapdogs created post-election chaos at the precinct, county, and state levels, where votes are counted and the results certified. Trump loyalists in key districts will almost certainly try to manipulate the process and withhold certification.

I expect the federal courts will become involved. Some of this litigation may make its way to the Supreme Court. Raise your hand if you trust the current Supreme Court to rule impartially. Even if Trump loses these battles, there’s nothing to keep him from meddling in 2026, or even running again in 2028, when he’d be 82. I’ve heard from a few Never-Trump Republicans that they hope he wins in November so he can serve his final term now, and then disappear for good. But he won’t disappear. Trumpism will live on, regardless. But if he loses in November, he’s very likely to do some time in prison — in a special wing of a prison in New York state or a federal prison secured by the Secret Service. This will slow him down but also make him a martyr in the eyes of his loyalists.

If Trump loses in 2024 and is unable to run again due to physical or psychological decline — or a prison sentence — JD Vance will be his heir apparent for 2028. In the short time Vance has been a vice presidential candidate, he’s shown himself just as bigoted and unconstrained by facts as Trump. Trump sons Donald Jr. and Eric will also continue to fire up the Trump base. Fox News, Newsmax, and other right-wing outlets will continue to distort the truth. Trump’s billionaire backers such as Peter Thiel and Elon Musk will continue to finance Trumpism’s shambolic politics.

I doubt a majority of Americans will support Trumpism after Trump, but Trump’s base will continue to be a significant force in America. They have remained remarkably loyal and resilient for eight years — consistently 42 to 44 percent of American voters. If Trump loses, some proportion of them may turn to violence. Even a relatively small portion could threaten social stability. Apart from the immediate aftereffects of a Trump loss, many of his followers will remain wedded to the isolationism, xenophobia, racism, and misogyny he has stirred up.

Robert Reich gives valuable insights on the future of Donald Trump and Trumpism should he lose the election to Kamala Harris. Trumpism will be here to stay even after he leaves the scene.

[fuckyeahmarxismleninism]

How the wealthy engineered white supremacy: The Wilmington Massacre of 1898

By Gregory E. Williams

The Wilmington, North Carolina, massacre of 1898, also called a coup, was not a spontaneous eruption of white supremacist violence, but instead came from the top leadership of the Democratic Party and was backed by the rich. The purpose was to drive Black people out of public life and ensure minority rule by wealthy white businessmen. How did they pull this off? Manipulation of the mass media was a principal factor, along with setting up pseudo-grassroots organizations throughout the state. ...

Take the editorial published first in the Progressive Farmer and reprinted in the Charlotte People’s Paper on Nov. 4, just before the election. The article correctly characterizes the Democratic Party’s White Supremacy Campaign as swindling whose real objective was to secure “a legislature which will be the tool of plutocracy – of the moneyed men, and that will give us an election law, whose meaning shall be ‘those who own property must rule.’” Very well, but the author went on to say that among the Democrats there is “not one who is a more earnest advocate of white supremacy than we.” There we have it! Sections of the populist movement attacked the Democrats from the right, attempting to prove that they were the true white supremacists. 

This should be familiar to us today. This sort of capitulation happens when sections of the progressive movement adopt transphobic and other reactionary positions. It happens when sections of the progressive movement attack Palestine solidarity, following the lead of the Democratic Party.

[perfectsunlight]

( 𝟮𝟮 ) ✏ 𝗶 𝗸𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗲

𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀: manipulation, mentions of sex

𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀: 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲

kim minjeong never broke rules. she would color in the lines, look both ways before crossing, and followed instructions to the letter. 

for minjeong, rules provided a sense of security. they created boundaries within which she could navigate life, making decisions based on logic and order rather than impulsivity. the structure assured her she was on the right path. breaking rules felt like stepping into the unknown, a territory fraught with risks and uncertainties.

it was unsafe. minjeong liked playing it safe. she couldn’t get into trouble if she followed the rules.

trouble, in all of its forms, was something she tended to avoid. until she met the personified version — a girl named kiran kwon.

from the moment kiran walked into the first lecture of the semester, minjeong knew she was going to be nothing but trouble. 

“this seat taken?” minjeong couldn’t even finish forming a response before kiran took a seat next to her. kiran plopped down in the seat and rested her feet against the chair in front of her. she yawned and stretched her arms before resting her head back against her arms.

“um,” minjeong stuttered as she tried to process what just happened. “i don’t think that’s allowed.” 

the brunette turned her head to look at the other girl, a small grin playing on her lips. “oh yeah? says who?”

the scholarly girl was at a loss for words. she truly didn’t know how to respond to the girl sitting next to her. caught between disbelief and intrigue, minjeong couldn't help but study kiran. there was an air of nonchalance about her, and it rubbed minjeong the wrong way. but it was a quality that both fascinated and bewildered her.

she didn’t know trouble could look so good, either.

“i just... i mean, we're in a classroom,” minjeong finally managed to say, her voice a little stronger, though uncertainty still lingered in her tone. “there’s etiquette, like the unspoken rules.”

kiran arched a perfect eyebrow towards the scholar before chuckling. “and are you the enforcer of these rules?”

fortunately minejeong didn’t have to come up with a response because the professor began speaking. the entire lecture was going in one ear and out the other. all she could focus on was the girl next to her.

that, and the fact that the professor had announced that their current seats would be the seating chart for the rest of the semester.

minjeong didn’t think much of it at the time. she simply wanted to focus on school and the upcoming student council elections. it was only freshman year, but her only goal for the year was landing a spot in the student council.

but kiran was making that goal very difficult to focus on.

“morning, loser.” the arrogant girl said as she sat down in her desk, resting her head on her chin as she looked at the girl next to her. 

minjeong could only roll her eyes, huffing in annoyance. she just wanted to focus on her class, not the girl who was constantly flicking her during lecture.

“hello, kiran.” she mumbled in defeat, focusing on only the professor setting up his slideshow. kiran seemed to take great pleasure in teasing minjeong, whether it was passing snarky notes during lectures or playfully stealing her pen during exams.

as the weeks passed, minjeong found herself reluctantly drawn into kiran's orbit. there was something magnetic about the way kiran carried herself, a confidence that bordered on arrogance, yet minjeong couldn't deny the spark of intelligence that lurked behind those teasing eyes. she was infuriating, yet undeniably intriguing.

one day, after enduring yet another round of kiran's playful jabs, minjeong finally snapped. "why do you always have to bother me?" she blurted out, her frustration getting the best of her.

kiran merely grinned, seemingly unfazed by minjeong's outburst. "because it's fun," she replied, her tone playful. "besides, you're not like the other students here. you're different. it's refreshing."

minjeong frowned, not entirely sure how to interpret kiran's words. she had been called many things before – dedicated, hardworking, driven – but "different" was a new descriptor. as much as she wanted to ignore kiran's antics, she couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to the rebellious girl than met the eye.

despite her better judgment, minjeong found herself engaging in conversations with kiran in class. 

it had been weeks of this, and minjeong had to continually ask her friends for their notes in class because she was too busy being distracted by kiran’s presence. she didn’t think it was too much of a problem until she noticed her loss of focus continuing outside of the classroom.

“min? are you listening?” ningning asked as she waved her hand in front of her face. snapping out of her daydreaming, minjeong shifted her focus to her best friend. “sorry, what were you saying?”

the chinese girl furrowed her brows as she leaned forward. “what were you thinking about?” ning teased with a smile. “is it kiran?”

“huh?!” minjeong said in disbelief as her cheeks flushed. “what?”

ningning laughed, clearly enjoying minjeong's flustered reaction. “come on, unnie. it's so obvious. ever since kiran showed up, you've been acting all weird and distracted. i've seen the way you look at her.”

minjeong stammered, trying to come up with a denial, but the words caught in her throat. the truth was, she couldn't deny that kiran was a distraction. but that was all she was, just a simple distraction.

“okay, fine,” minjeong admitted, her shoulders slumping in defeat. “she’s just…interesting.”

ningning grinned knowingly. “well, they do say that opposites attract.” minjeong’s eyes narrowed at the chinese girl for a moment. “i said she was interesting, not that i was interested.”

the younger girl rolled her eyes playfully before going back to poster designing for both of their campaigns. minjeong was running for vice president, and ning was running for secretary. the two had been helping each other out with posters and practicing speeches.

“just be careful, unnie.” ning said after a few minutes of silence, a pair of scissors in hand as she glanced up at her older friend. “i’ve heard things about her…”

minjeong's brows furrowed in concern. “what kind of things?” she asked, her curiosity piqued despite her attempt to sound uninterested. she didn’t look up from the tape she was holding, fearing her red cheeks would betray her if she moved.

yizhuo’s cutting faltered for a moment before she forced a bubbly smile. “i don’t think it’s important. they’re just rumors after all.” she kept cutting for a few seconds before pausing to spare a glance at her friend. “i’ve heard that she’s not the best, is all.”

the candidate for vice president shrugged her shoulders, still not looking up. “i know.” minjeong smiled a little, grateful for her friend's concern. “but still, i promise, yizhuo. i'll be careful regardless.”

trouble had many forms, but so did love. however, the latter confused her more than the former did.

love was confusing for her, and the only other time she had heard the word used so much was at her brother’s funeral. 

“we love you so much, minjeong. i’m so sorry.” “your brother was loved.” “we love you and your family.”

the word “love” was always followed with the word “sorry.” kiran was no exception to this.

their interactions were always a rollercoaster of emotions for minjeong. she felt a mixture of exhilaration and trepidation whenever she was around. kiran's magnetic presence seemed to pull her in, and despite her best efforts to resist, she found herself captivated by her carelessness.

kiran didn’t care, and minjeong guessed she liked that.

“what are you doing after this class?” kiran whispered, glancing at the candidate for vice president with a small smile. minjeong turned her head slightly to make eye contact with the girl next to her, ignoring the flutter in her stomach.

“uh,” she fidgeted with her notepad before glancing back down. “nothing. why?”

the brunette’s smile widened as she leaned closer, her voice barely audible over the noise of the classroom. “how about we grab a coffee together? there's this new café around the corner.”

minjeong hesitated for a moment, her mind racing with conflicting thoughts. she knew of the more recent rumors that followed kiran, the stories of her fleeting romances and broken hearts.

yet, there was an undeniable charm about her that intrigued minjeong, and it made it difficult to resist the invitation.

“i have to study,” she replied as she started putting her pencil pouch away, trying to sound nonchalant despite the racing of her heart. a mix of excitement and apprehension coursed through her veins. kiran gently pulled the chair minjeong was sitting in closer.

“i thought you said you weren’t doing anything after this?”

minjeong felt her cheeks flush as kiran's words hung in the air, her heart pounding in her chest. caught in a moment of vulnerability, she hesitated before finally meeting kiran's gaze, her eyes searching for sincerity. 

“i do need to study,” minjeong stammered, her voice wavering slightly. “but i guess a coffee wouldn't hurt.”

“good. don’t be such a nerd. besides,” kiran's smile widened into a grin, her eyes sparkling with amusement. “i knew you wouldn’t say no,” she said, her confidence infectious. 

as the classroom emptied, minjeong found herself walking beside kiran, the flutter in her stomach refusing to subside. the bustling energy of the campus faded into the background as they made their way to the café. 

the autumn leaves crunched beneath their feet as they walked side by side. minjeong studied the way each leaf sounded differently when crushed, choosing to focus on that instead of the beating of her heart.

maybe if she looked up she would have seen the way kiran was eyeing the other girls they walked past.

to minjeong, it seemed like an ordinary walk to a coffee shop, but to kiran, it was a game she had played many times before. 

as they entered the café, the warm aroma of coffee enveloped them. they settled into a corner table, and kiran continued to maintain her charming facade. 

“so,” kiran’s velvety voice rang out as she tilted minjeong’s face towards her. “you’re running for vice president?”

minjeong's heart skipped a beat as kiran's fingers gently brushed against her cheek, her touch soft and inviting. “yes.” she rushed out quickly, ignoring the way her own voice sounded to her.

kiran’s chuckle echoed in the other girl’s ears as she brushed a piece of her hair behind her ear. “i think its cute that you do such boring things like that.”

minjeong blushed, caught off guard by kiran's teasing compliment. she tried to maintain her composure, but kiran's charm was disarming, leaving her feeling both flustered and strangely captivated.

“uh, thank you?” minjeong mumbled, her cheeks tinged with a deeper shade of red. she shifted in her seat, attempting to regain her confidence. “so, what about you? are you involved in any student activities?”

kiran's smile widened, green eyes twinkling with mischief. “you really think i care about that stuff?” she replied cryptically, her tone playful. “i do things outside of school. mostly just volunteering at the animal shelter.”

minjeong's curiosity piqued at kiran's unexpected revelation. “the animal shelter?” she echoed, her eyebrows lifting in surprise. “that sounds interesting. i didn’t think you’d be involved in something like that.”

the taller girl’s playful demeanor softened into enthusiasm. “absolutely,” she said, her eyes lighting up. “i just love helping animals.”

the small insight into kiran’s life intrigued minjeong. it was like there were layers to the other girl, and she found herself itching to peel back the next ones.

how could the arrogant girl who sat next to her every other day also help animals find forever homes? 

“that's really cool,” minjeong said, a genuine smile tugging at her lips. “animals have a way of bringing out the best in people.”

kiran's eyes softened, and for a moment, minjeong glimpsed a vulnerability beneath the surface. “animals don't judge,” kiran said, her voice carrying a hint of emotion. “they love unconditionally, and helping them find homes where they can be safe and loved...it's fulfilling.”

the presidential candidate nodded, feeling a newfound respect for the arrogant girl in front of her. she realized that there was so much more to kiran than met the eye. the pair continued talking for hours, to the point where the shop owner had to tell them to get going because they were going to close up shop.

minjeong blushed as she let kiran drag her by the arm and into her car, mentally thanking the night sky for hiding her reddened skin. “where are we going?” she raised an eyebrow at the taller girl for a moment, who just flashed her green eyes at her in response. 

“somewhere.”

the night was cool, the darkness broken only by the soft glow of streetlights as kiran drove in silence. minjeong felt a mixture of excitement and curiosity, wondering where they were headed. as they drove further away from the city, minjeong's anticipation grew, her mind filled with endless possibilities.

after what felt like an eternity, they arrived at a quiet, dimly lit street. kiran parked the car and turned to minjeong with a mischievous smile. “we're here.”

minjeong's curiosity piqued even further as kiran led her down a narrow path, surrounded by shadows and the distant sounds of crickets. they reached a gate, and kiran pushed it open, revealing a small, cozy animal shelter nestled behind a few buildings.

minjeong's eyes widened in surprise. “an animal shelter? at this hour?” she asked, her voice filled with amusement. “is this even allowed?”

kiran nodded, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “yes, they always need someone to spend time with the animals, especially at night. besides, i work here, so it’s not like we’re breaking in.”

they entered the shelter, and minjeong was greeted by the soft barks and wagging tails of the resident dogs. the taller girl led her to a room filled with a few puppies, their eyes shining with innocence as a few of them stirred from their slumber. 

“pick any dog you like,” kiran said, her voice gentle. “we can wear them out so they can sleep better.”

minjeong hesitated for a moment before kneeling down to pet a small, energetic puppy with floppy ears. the puppy licked her hand, its tail wagging furiously. the kim girl smiled, feeling an overwhelming sense of joy and warmth fill her heart.

the two spent the next hour and a half playing with a few of the energetic puppies, laughing to themselves as they just simply existed in the moment.

after what felt like forever, the puppies eventually fell asleep from exhaustion, and the pair of students made their way back towards kiran’s car.

“you looked cold.” kiran said as she swung her jacket off her shoulders and draped it over minjeong.

minjeong shook her head, feeling a sense of warmth not just from kiran's jacket but from the night they had shared. “oh,” she said, her voice soft and filled with gratitude. “thanks.”

the brunette smiled, her eyes softening as she looked at the slightly smaller girl. for once, minjeong didn’t see the usual arrogant smirk on the taller girl’s face.

as they stood beside the car, kiran hesitated for a moment before taking a step closer to minjeong. the night air between them, filled with only the ambiance of crickets and the soft breeze blowing.

“minjeong,” kiran said, her voice barely above a whisper. “i’m not really good with words but…”

before she could finish her sentence, kiran gently cupped minjeong's face in her hands and leaned in, pressing her lips against minjeong's in a soft, tender kiss. time seemed to stand still as minjeong felt a rush of emotions flood through her, a mix of surprise, warmth, and a deep, inexplicable connection.

the kiss was gentle and fleeting, yet it held an unspoken promise of something more, something that went beyond the confines of friendship. when they pulled away, their eyes met, and minjeong saw a vulnerability in kiran's gaze, a raw honesty that mirrored her own feelings.

“i've wanted to do that for a while,” kiran admitted, her voice mumbling a bit as she scanned the other girl’s face for any sign of rejection. “i hope that’s okay.”

minjeong didn’t remember what came over her, but she remembered pushing kiran into her car with her lips against hers. the kiss deepened, their hearts racing each moment filled with an overwhelming desire that neither of them could deny. kiran responded with equal fervor, her hands finding their way to minjeong's waist, pulling her closer in the already crammed space.

“it's more than okay,” minjeong whispered, her voice husky with emotion. “i think i wanted this too.”

a small smile lit up kiran's face, her eyes shining with unspoken affection. as they caught their breath, minjeong gently traced her fingers along kiran's jawline, memorizing the contours of her face. she knew others had done the same, ning had made her a list.

but minjeong didn’t care at the moment. she knew this was a bad idea, this was going against the rules, this was coloring outside of the lines. 

she knew she shouldn’t. but god did she want to.

the next morning, minjeong told ning what had happened and the younger girl had screamed so loud in the library she thought the windows were going to explode.

minjeong winced as ning's scream pierced the otherwise quiet atmosphere of the library. heads turned, and curious glances were thrown in their direction. minjeong gestured for ning to calm down, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment. “ning, please, not so loud! people are staring!”

ning, wide-eyed and mortified, couldn't contain her concern. “unnie, are you stupid?" she squeaked, her voice still loud enough to draw disapproving glares from nearby students.

minjeong sighed, her face turning even redder. she lowered her voice, trying to salvage what was left of their dignity. “it's complicated.”

the chinese girl shot her older friend a disapproving stare before shaking her head and plopping down in a nearby chair. “well, we can’t focus on that right now. we’ve got our speeches to give, and i for one need to make sure my outfit is perfect.”

minjeong rolled her eyes playfully before giving her a small smile. “i think every pink dye in the world went into your outfit, ningning.”

“good! it will make people remember me better.” she said matter of factly as she paced around, mumbling her rehearsed speech over and over again. 

ning was nervous. she acted confident, as usual, but minjeong knew her best friend was nervous.

“you'll do great, ning,” minjeong said, reaching out to squeeze her friend's hand reassuringly. “and your outfit will definitely make a statement.”

yizhuo grinned, her nervous energy momentarily pushed aside by her best friend’s encouraging words. “thanks, unnie. i'll try my best,” she replied, her determination flickering in her eyes.

with a deep breath, minjeong gathered her own composure. “we both will. let's focus on giving our best speeches. and afterward, we can deal with... the complicated situation.”

ning nodded, her gaze softening with understanding. “you're right. we've got this.”

as the time for their speeches approached, minjeong and ning stood side by side backstage, their friendship grounding them amidst the nervous energy of the room. 

minjeong spoke eloquently about her vision for the student council, emphasizing unity, empathy, and understanding among the student body. her words resonated with the audience, drawing them in with her sincerity. 

afterwards, the kim girl made her way to the nearby exit to get a breath of fresh air. she stared out at the student parking lot as the sun slowly set, catching her breath after the speech she gave.

“good job, nerd.”

minejong whipped around as she saw kiran leaning against a nearby wall, cigarette in hand as she smiled at the presidential candidate.

she couldn't help but roll her eyes at kiran's teasing remark. “smoking on school grounds isn’t allowed,” she replied, her tone light despite the flutter of nerves in her stomach.

kiran took a drag from her cigarette, the orange glow casting a soft light on her face. “i just complimented you and you’re telling me off?”

minjeong chuckled, her nerves slowly giving way to a playful spirit. “i can multitask, you know,” she chuckled, taking a step closer to kiran.

kiran's smile widened, and she let her cigarette drop to the ground, grinding it out with her heel. she leaned in closer, their faces mere inches apart. “you're something else, minjeong,” she whispered, her voice husky.

the distance between them closed as kiran pulled the younger girl in for a deep kiss. minjeong's fingers found their way into kiran’s hair, holding her close as their kiss deepened, their mouths moving in a slow, sensual rhythm. 

when they finally pulled away, breathless and flushed with desire, their eyes met in an unspoken understanding. 

“i guess here’s another rule we're breaking,” kiran murmured, a mischievous glint in her eyes. minjeong could only smile as she let the older girl drag her to her car.

minjeong missed ningning’s campaign speech because she was too busy in the backseat of kiran’s car.

the following week, ning spent a lot of time hunting down minjeong. her best friend had been oddly quiet, and the chinese girl was well aware of the fact that her friend had missed her speech. 

kiran kwon was minjeong’s first ever girlfriend. but ningning knew her best friend was getting deeper into trouble with the girl who was known for nothing but trouble itself.

but kiran’s eyes were rose colored glasses, and minjeong couldn’t see any wrong when she looked into them.

“kim minjeong!” 

the chinese girl in a pink skirt and matching hoodie stomped her way towards the presidential candidate, who was standing next to the infamous kiran kwon.

ningning's voice sliced through the air, sharp and filled with frustration. minjeong turned, her eyes widening in surprise at her friend's angry approach. kiran, unfazed by the tension, simply crossed her arms, her expression unyielding.

“hi?” minjeong said softly, her voice hesitant. “what’s going on?”

“you missed my speech, unnie!” ning’s eyes were ablaze with a mixture of hurt and anger. “i thought we were supposed to support each other. you've been avoiding me, and i know it's because of her,” she said, pointing her pink painted nail at kiran.

minjeong shifted uncomfortably under ningning's accusatory gaze. “ningy, it's not like that,” she began, her voice faltering.

yizhuo scoffed, her frustration bubbling over. “not like that? you're throwing away our friendship for her! she's trouble,” she hissed before getting pushed slightly by kiran.

“i don’t think that’s very nice, ning yizhuo.” kiran said in feigned innocence, giving the chinese girl a small smile.

“oh, you want to talk about being nice?” yizhuo scoffed as she glared at the taller girl. “tell minjeong where you were this weekend.”

the mentioned girl’s eyes widened in surprise at her best friend’s accusation. she turned her gaze towards kiran, her heart pounding in her chest. “what's she talking about, kiran?” minjeong's voice wavered with uncertainty.

kiran hesitated for a moment, her eyes flickering with guilt before she composed herself, a mask of indifference settling on her features. “i was just at a friend's place, i told you that already, baby,” she said casually, avoiding minjeong's eyes.

ningning crossed her arms, her expression skeptical. “funny, because i saw her at a party on saturday night with choi jisu sitting in her lap,” she retorted, her tone cutting.

minjeong's heart sank at ningning's words. she felt a mix of disappointment and betrayal, unable to comprehend why kiran would lie to her. “is that true?” minjeong asked, her voice barely above a whisper, directed at kiran.

kiran looked away, a hint of annoyance flickering in her eyes before she regained her composure. “ningning must be mistaken. i wasn't at any party,” she said, her tone convincing.

“unnie,” ning said in a frustrated sigh, stomping her foot for emphasis. “come with me right now. i will show you the pictures.”

​​minjeong's heart was torn between the friend she had known for years and the girl who had ignited a passionate but confusing connection within her. as ningning urged her to go see the pictures, she hesitated, torn by the choices before her.

kiran, noticing minjeong's inner conflict, decided to take a different approach. she sighed, her expression softening as she met minjeong's eyes. "look, minjeong, i was at a party, but i promise, nothing happened. i was just there with some friends," she admitted, her voice filled with sincerity.

ningning was still agitated, but she recognized the shift in kiran's tone. "let's just go check the pictures, minjeong. then you can decide for yourself," she suggested, a hint of worry in her voice.

minjeong nodded, her heart heavy with uncertainty. she couldn't ignore the evidence presented by her best friend, but she also wanted to hear kiran's side of the story. “okay, where are the pictures,” she said, her voice determined.

the youngest hesitated for a moment, “well i took them on my film camera so i have to get them developed…”

“see?” kiran was quick to scoff at ning. “she’s just reaching.”

ningning clenched her fists, her frustration mounting. "i'm not making this up, kiran. i saw you with my own eyes," she shot back, her voice firm despite the trembling in her hands. minjeong watched the exchange, feeling a knot tighten in her stomach. the tension in the room was palpable, and she struggled to make sense of the conflicting accounts before her. 

the trust she had in both ningning and kiran was unraveling, leaving her feeling adrift and uncertain. kiran rolled her eyes dismissively, her confident facade momentarily faltering as she glanced at her girlfriend. “babe, you know me. i wouldn't lie to you,” she said, her voice carrying a hint of desperation. minjeong sighed, her head throbbing with the weight of the situation. “i need time to think,” she said, her voice wavering. “i can't make a decision right now. and i need to focus on tomorrow.”

the election results would be announced tomorrow morning. minjeong didn’t need this mess right now.

minjeong couldn’t distinguish “vice president” from “girlfriend,” and kiran only ever wanted the latter.

truth be told, kiran didnt care about the election. she found minjeong’s obsession with academics truly a turn off, and more boring than watching paint dry. but she forced herself to accept the “lousey” conversations in favor of getting to sleep with the future student council member.

but minjeong would never know that. kiran wouldn’t say it out loud. at least, not to her directly. but to a group of strangers at a party?

she just might.

minjeong spent the rest of her day pacing around her room, anxiousness from everything in her life surfacing. she had about 100 missed calls from ning, but none from her girlfriend. 

torn between the duties of a presidential candidate and the emotions of a confused teenager, minjeong found herself unable to focus on anything other than the looming election results and the tangled web of relationships surrounding her. she knew that her decision could have far-reaching consequences, not only for her personal life but also for the student council and the school's atmosphere.

in the early hours of the morning, after a sleepless night filled with doubts and indecision, minjeong stood in front of her mirror, her reflection appearing weary and conflicted. her phone buzzed with a new message, and she hesitated before picking it up. it was from kiran.

i'm sorry abt last night. i didn't mean to upset u

the message was lacking the sincerity minjeong longed for.

gritting her teeth, minjeong replied, “we'll talk later. i have to focus on the election right now.”

it wasn’t until minjeong heard the knock on her door that made her sigh in defeat. she knew from the annoying pattern of knocking that kiran was outside.

with a heavy heart, minjeong opened the door, and there stood kiran, her expression a mix of concern and uncertainty. "can we talk?" kiran asked softly, her eyes searching minjeong's face for a sign of understanding.

minjeong nodded, allowing kiran to enter her room. the atmosphere between them was charged with unspoken emotions. kiran hesitated for a moment before speaking. 

“i didn't mean to lie to you, baby. i care about you, and i didn't want to upset you. but i also didn't want to lose you. i messed up, and i'm sorry.”

minjeong sighed, her shoulders slumping with exhaustion. “i don't know what to believe anymore, kiran. i trusted you, but i also trust ningning. i need honesty, especially now.”

kiran took a step closer, her eyes pleading for understanding. “i'll be honest with you. no more lies. i care about you too much to lose you over something like this.”

a few moments of silence passed between them before the presidential candidate spoke again. “kiran?” minjeong asked softly, eyes hesitant and conveying a plethora of emotion. 

“have you heard the rumors about you and jisu?”

the taller girl’s expression flickered with surprise, but she quickly composed herself. “rumors? what are you talking about, baby?” she asked, her voice steady, but her eyes darting away for a split second before meeting the other girl’s gaze again.

minjeong's brow furrowed, suspicion creeping into her eyes. “there are whispers around school, kiran. i’ve heard people, who are not just ning, saying you and jisu have been spending a lot of time together, more than just friends,” minjeong said cautiously, watching kiran's reaction carefully.

kiran's smile seemed forced, her eyes searching minjeong's face. “babe, you know how rumors are. people talk without knowing the truth,”  she said, her tone convincing, but minjeong couldn’t help but feel unease.

she wanted to believe kiran, wanted to trust her completely, but doubt lingered like a shadow. 

“i need you to be honest with me, kiran. can you do that?” minjeong's voice wavered, revealing the depth of her vulnerability.

the taller girl gently cupped minjeong’s face, looking into the younger girl’s eyes. “i love you, i would never lie to you.”

kim minjeong had never felt this way before. those 3 words were supposed to feel euphoric, to feel right. neither of those things felt like this.

“i love you too, kiran,” minjeong replied, her voice soft and shaky. “but i need to be sure. i need to know that i can trust you completely.”

her green eyes softened, her thumb gently brushing against her girlfriend’s cheek. “you can, baby. i promise i'll prove it to you,” she said carelessly. “now let’s go, you’re going to be late for the result reading. i’ll drive you.”

when ning saw kiran and her best friend walking into the gymnasium together, it took everything in her to not ruin her perfectly pressed pink blazer by strangling kiran with it.

despite her frustration and suspicion, ningning decided to focus on supporting minjeong.

kiran, on the other hand, seemed completely unfazed by the tension in the air. she wore her signature confident smile, her arm around minjeong as they walked. 

the school principal stepped up to the podium, capturing everyone's attention. the room fell silent as the results were about to be revealed. minjeong's heart pounded in her chest, and she clutched kiran's hand tightly one last time, before moving to take a seat on the stage.

ning took her seat on the opposite end, not wanting to risk the chance of having the sudden urge to swing at her best friend on stage.

“and now, the moment you've all been waiting for,” the principal announced, her voice echoing through the gymnasium. “this year’s new student council secretary is…”

the tension was palpable as the principal opened the envelope containing the results. ningning, seated on the opposite side of the stage, exchanged a knowing glance with minjeong. both of them held their breath, waiting for the verdict.

“ning yizhuo!”

ningning shot up so quickly as she squealed and bowed in every direction, waving as she took to the podium to give a quick congratulatory speech with an outfit even more pink than her former one.

minjeong felt guilty, since all she could focus on was her girlfriend’s figure slipping through the exit with a girl’s hand in hers. she tried to push the nagging thoughts away, telling herself that she needed to focus on ningning's achievement right now. 

her best friend had won, and minjeong should be silently celebrating with her.

with a forced smile, minjeong turned her attention back to the back of ning’s pink figure, clapping along with the rest of the students as her best friend finished her speech. despite her efforts to be present, her mind kept drifting back to kiran and the mysterious girl she had left with.

she was only brought back to the present after the principal announced the election results for vice president.

“your student council vice president will be…” the woman smiled as she read out loud the name next to the new title. “kim minjeong!”

the cheers were all muffled to her, except for a very loudly screaming chinese girl that sat only 8 feet away from her.

as the newly appointed vice president stood at the podium to give her congratulatory speech, her eyes scanned the crowd briefly. 

her mother wasn’t there. nor her father, or her girlfriend. 

“i love you, kim minjeong!” yizhuo whisper-yelled from behind her.

but she had ningning.

minjeong smiled softly, as she heard ning’s numerous cheers of encouragement from behind her. “i’d like to thank the student body for their generous votes,” she spoke into the mic with a small smile still on her lips. “but most of all, i’d like to thank my best friend, and your new secretary, ning yizhuo.”

more applause erupted from the crowd as minjeong took a quick glance back at her best friend before resuming. “i promise to serve you all and give my best to this calling. thank you so much, go tigers!”

after the speeches, minjeong made her way through the jubilant crowd, congratulating ningning and her other fellow council members. however, her heart wasn't in it. she felt a gnawing sense of unease, wondering where kiran had gone and who the other girl was.

"hey, where did you go after the announcement? is everything okay?" she typed, her fingers trembling slightly.

minutes turned into an agonizing hour as she waited for a response, walking around in circles. 

“come on unnie,” ning said as she dragged the older girl by the arm. “president jimin unnie is throwing a party at her place to celebrate. everyone is going, and we should go too!” she said with a knowing smile.

minjeong didn’t even get a chance to refuse before the chinese girl had dragged her across the street and down the block to yu jimin’s party. 

the atmosphere at jimin's party was lively, with music blaring and students dancing and chatting animatedly. minjeong tried her best to immerse herself in the festivities, attempting to push aside the nagging worry about kiran. she joined in on the laughter and celebrations, but her mind kept drifting back to the unanswered message she had sent earlier.

as the night wore on, minjeong decided to step outside for some fresh air. she found a quiet spot in the backyard, away from the noise of the party. leaning against a fence, she took out her phone and checked for any new messages. there it was, a response from kiran, but minjeong's heart sank as she read the words.

just hanging out w a friend. don't worry abt me, babe. enjoy ur victory party. i'll talk to u later.

something in kiran's message felt off, but minjeong couldn't pinpoint what it was. she hesitated for a moment before deciding to trust her girlfriend's words and rejoined the party, trying to put her worries aside.

half an hour passed by and minjeong went to the bathroom, only to stop dead in her tracks at the scene in front of her.

her girlfriend was leaning against the wall with choi jisu’s lips on hers.

heartache wasn’t something minjeong thought could be felt twice. she felt it once when she lost her brother, and yet here she was feeling it again.

it was as if the ground had crumbled beneath her feet, leaving her suspended in a void of betrayal and despair. she couldn't tear her eyes away from the sight before her, the image of kiran and jisu entwined haunting her like a nightmare she couldn't escape.

every word kiran had ever said, every touch they had shared, now felt like a cruel mockery. the love she thought she had found had turned into a cruel deception, leaving her feeling raw and vulnerable. the realization hit her like a tidal wave, threatening to drown her in a sea of her own heartbreak.

ningning had followed her best friend when she saw her wander off, and now was witnessing minjeong's devastation. 

she pulled her into a tight hug, providing a comforting presence amidst the storm of emotions. “i'm so sorry, unnie. you deserve so much better than this,” she whispered, her voice filled with genuine empathy.

minjeong clung to the younger girl, her tears soaking into her shoulder. “i thought she loved me," she sobbed out, her voice breaking with each word. 

ningning held her even tighter, offering silent support. there were no words that could mend minjeong's shattered heart, but in that moment, the presence of her best friend was a lifeline, grounding her amidst the devastation.

the newly appointed secretary looked around before pulling minjeong into a spot outside, away from everyone at the party to spare her friend’s dignity.

the chinese girl let her friend sob against her for over an hour and a half. she let minjeong release the pain she had been holding in, allowing her friend's tears to flow freely without judgment or interruption. the night air was cool against their skin, but ningning's presence provided a comforting warmth for both her body and soul.

“i knew she was trouble,” minjeong's voice was hoarse from crying, her words barely audible through her sobs. her heartache echoed in the stillness of the night, the weight of betrayal pressing down on her. “i should have listened to you.”

ning gently rubbed minjeong's back, her touch conveying understanding and empathy that words could not. “love blinds us," she murmured, her voice soft as the bass from inside boomed loudly.

"it's not your fault, unnie. we all make mistakes when our hearts are involved."

minjeong nodded weakly, her fingers gripping the fabric of ningning's ruined pink outfit as if holding onto a lifeline. (ning didn’t mind though, only because it was her best friend.)

“why couldn’t i just leave?” she whispered, her voice filled with a mix of sorrow and disbelief. “i knew better…”

ningning pulled back slightly, her hands cupping minjeong's tear-streaked face, forcing her to meet her gaze. “you can’t blame yourself for that, especially since she lied, unnie.”

minjeong nodded again, her eyes searching ningning's for solace. “but it hurts, yizhuo. it hurts so much.”

yizhuo’s gaze softened, her thumb gently brushing away a stray tear from her friend’s cheek. “i know. just let yourself feel the pain now, but promise me you won't let it consume you. you’re better than that.”

minjeong let out a shaky breath, the weight of her best friend's words sinking in. “thank you, ning.”

as the two sat there, the kim girl could only think about how she never wanted to feel this again. if this was love, minjeong never wanted to feel it again.

she should have known that love never lasted, her parents taught her that years ago. but she was naive enough to think she could find her own version of love that didn’t end.

“yizhuo,” the vice president whispered, swallowing dryly as she let out a shaky breath. “i don't know what i'd do without you.”

ningning grinned, her eyes filled with unwavering determination. “you'll never have to find out. and even when you find someone who’s perfect for you, i’ll still be there.” she gave her best friend a sudden serious tone as she continued.

“unless they don’t like pink, then i don’t think i can give my approval.”

and all minjeong could do was laugh softly. maybe one day she’d believe in love again, but as long as she had ning, she’d always be okay with or without it.

𝗧𝗔𝗚𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗧: @silantryoo @forever-in-the-sky2 @rosiehrs @urfriendlylocalidiot @chaewonluvsme @zhivaxo @baebeefyburrito @jisooftme @winterlve @mina1vr @rgxjsss @uzumakioden @bexisbomb @tzuyuscloud @cwpiqwon @dream-chasers-things @demtions @sewiouslyz @jeindall777

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CLOSED.

[mariacallous]

WASHINGTON — It took decades for defenders of the Confederacy to rewrite the history of the Civil War to recast Southern rebels’ treasonous attack against the United States as an act of honor and courage.

It took Donald Trump a mere fraction of that time to accomplish the same feat for his Jan. 6, 2021, coup attempt.

In a mere four years, that day’s effort to end or, at the very least, suspend American democracy with a deadly assault on the Capitol, incited by Trump himself, has for a large swath of the country instead become a peaceful protest whose participants have been persecuted by Trump’s political opponents.

“What they have in common is that in both cases a story is propagated that a portion of the population wants to hear because it absolves them, or those in their in-group, of a transgression of not just the law, but of commonly held moral principles,” said Gabriel Reich, a Virginia Commonwealth University professor who has studied how the history of the Civil War and Reconstruction is taught in schools.

“Liberal democracies really struggle with bad-faith actors who manipulate existing rules and norms to their own benefit,” he added.

Tom Joscelyn, a counterterrorism expert who served on the staff of the House Jan. 6 committee and was a co-author of its report, said he still finds it hard to believe that people could watch what happened that day unfold on television and then still accept Trump’s version of it. Unlike children growing up in the South in the 1940s and 1950s, for whom the Civil War was generations in the past, Trump’s followers and allies are rejecting readily available evidence of contemporary violence.

“All you need is the images and the videos from that day, his own words, and what you saw with your own eyes, and it was clear that he had crossed some bright lines,” he said. “All of that should have been disqualifying, and it wasn’t.”

Trump’s transition team did not respond to HuffPost queries. Even since his win in November, Trump has continued to lie about the 2020 election having been stolen from him and has described those who have been prosecuted for their actions on Jan. 6 as political prisoners.

“These people have been treated really, really badly,” he told Time magazine last month. “They’ve suffered greatly, and in many cases they should not have suffered.”

Mac Stipanovich, a longtime Republican political consultant in Florida, said he remembers as a child reading a plaque honoring dead Confederate soldiers in his town square. “That’s the way we grew up. That’s what we knew,” he said.

That Trump was able to revise his own history so quickly is a noteworthy achievement, he added.

“It is a tribute to Trump and his posse’s ability to convince half the country,” Stipanovich said. “And it is a telling indictment of the intelligence of that half of the country.”

From Protecting Slavery To The Honorable ‘Lost Cause’

When America elected the leader of a party dedicated to abolishing slavery as president, 11 Southern states decided to secede and started a war against those that remained. That these rebel states would lose was likely inevitable, given the Union’s industrial might and population advantage, and 700,000 deaths later, they did.

Yet within a few short years, an effort to reinvent that loss and the motivations behind it began. Confederate sympathizers and segregationists in academia, the media and politics cast men like Robert E. Lee — officers in the U.S. Army who had taken up arms against the United States — as tragic American heroes. And the reason behind the war, the preservation of human slavery, was replaced with a principled defense of “states’ rights” — even though slavery was plainly cited in the states’ own articles of secession.

“They made sure that teachers, including university-level historians, taught that story as historical truth, while simultaneously suppressing other points of view from the media,” VCU’s Reich said.

It took decades of repetition, replete with the construction of statues and memorials to the leaders of the failed insurrection, but this “Lost Cause” myth eventually became an accepted narrative, primarily in the South but to a lesser extent all over the country. So much so that some U.S. military bases in the first half of the 20th century were named for Confederate officers.

Trump’s propaganda campaign to redefine Jan. 6, in contrast, has taken place at lightning speed.

On Jan. 6 itself and in the days immediately afterward, the early consensus was that Trump had incited the attack on the Capitol and that he was wrong to do so. Republican congressional leaders blamed him in floor speeches. Trump himself on Jan. 7 read prepared remarks warning members of his mob: “To those who broke the law, you will pay.”

Trump’s former United Nations ambassador, Nikki Haley, expressed the conventional wisdom at the time that Trump was finished. “I think he’s lost any sort of political viability he was going to have,” she told Politico on Jan. 12.

Four years later, Trump is about to return to the same White House he left in disgrace. His new administration will be stocked with those willing to repeat and spread his continuing lies about the 2020 election. And he has promised not only to pardon those prosecuted for taking part in the Jan. 6 attack but to prosecute those who tried to hold him and his followers to account.

The Triumph Of The Repeated Lie

That Trump was able to return to power, despite everything, was perhaps foreseeable because he never lost the loyalty of the Republican primary voting base.

Indeed, the day after his coup attempt had failed, the overwhelming majority of the 163 members of the Republican National Committee gave him a sustained ovation when he called into their winter meeting in Amelia Island, Florida.

Three weeks later, then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, at the time the country’s highest-ranking elected Republican, visited Trump at his South Florida country club, effectively signaling that Trump remained the party’s leader. Two weeks after that, Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell, while lambasting Trump for his behavior leading up to and on Jan. 6, nonetheless voted not to convict Trump for inciting the insurrection following his House impeachment for that offense. A conviction would have been followed by a vote to ban him from federal office for life.

By April, the RNC was again holding fundraising events at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club, putting donors’ money into his personal bank account. Officials acknowledged privately that Trump remained their biggest fundraising draw and that they had to go along with the fiction that the 2020 election had been stolen because their voters believed it to be true — even though the only reason for that belief was Trump’s lies.

And by the end of 2021, following the release of conspiracy theorist Tucker Carlson’s “documentary” claiming that the Jan. 6 insurrection was actually a “false flag” operation by the FBI, Trump began calling those under prosecution for taking part in his coup attempt — even the hundreds convicted for having assaulted police officers — “hostages” and “political prisoners.”

Republican candidates for offices large and small in increasing numbers made pilgrimages to Palm Beach to win his endorsement. Journalists similarly made the trek — not to ask about his unprecedented attempt to thwart the peaceful transfer of power, but about his candidacy to regain the presidency in 2024.

The new “Lost Cause” myth for Jan. 6 was complete.

“It’s disheartening,” Joscelyn said.

Stipanovich, who broke from the Republican Party when it embraced Trump in 2016, said that a more apt — and troubling — comparison to Trump’s rewriting of Jan. 6 may be the way Adolf Hitler and the Nazis remade their 1923 Beer Hall Putsch into a valiant act of patriotism, rather than an attempted coup that sent Hitler and others to prison.

“When it failed, the heroes of the failure became the hope of the future,” he said.

Whatever the appropriate historical analogy, the fact that Trump was able to assault democracy as he did and still come back to power is worrisome, said Larry Sabato, a University of Virginia political scientist. Sabato also grew up in that state, where the Civil War was taught as the “War of Northern Aggression.”

“The Lost Cause was a ‘big lie,’ but I’m not so sure Trump’s ‘big lie’ will ever be a lost cause,” he warned. “This is not cynicism. It’s the reality we face.”