tootoughtoremember

I mean... It's not like the signs weren't there.

Elon hadn't fully committed to his right-wing heel turn in 2013 when the model S arrived in the Canadian market. Back then he was far less forthcoming with his opinions in general and was largely known as a leader for the promotion and advancement electric car technology, rockets, and PayPal.

It wasn't until 2018 that he tweeted about the British cave diver being a pedo after helping rescue 12 trapped boys in Thailand, and became a lot more public with his "based takes" from then forward.

It's easy to say with hindsight that the evidence was always there, but there was a time (not that long ago) when he wasn't in our news cycle everyday. And when he was in the news back then, it was generally for more positive reasons.

None of this is a defense of Elon. I deleted my twitter accounts the day he bought it. But I have sympathy for people who made a purchase decision for car that should last them a decade+, especially if they felt they were doing it for the right reasons, who now regret it given whose pockets they've lined in the process and wouldn't chose to do it again now.

In 2016 I thought that social democracy could reform the neoliberalism of the past 40 years and put us back on a new deal pathway, but the more I watch "left-wing" parties capitulate to ring-wing parties, the less hope I have that capitalism can be saved. America needs a real opposition party immediately.

I wouldn't minimize the comparability when there are such blatant examples of Trump utilizing Nazi propaganda like the Big Lie and the demonization of an out-group, like the Nazi's antisemitic populism, to gain power.

Prior the Reichstag fire, the Nazi's electoral high point was 37% in 1932 (or 31% of Germans at 82% turnout), compared with Trump at 49.8% last year (or 31.8% of Americans at 64% turnout). The point being that you don't need a significant buy-in from the people to elevate leaders with dictatorial motives. You simply need a triggering event which they can use to justify their consolidation of power permanently.

Also, if the desire is to avoid authoritarian leadership, I'm not sure military coup is the play. I know the American Armed Forces swear an oath to uphold the Constitution, but it seems that would get real tricky once you've overthrown the Commander in Chief, in defiance of the Constitutionally mandated chain of command.

One paved the way for the other.

They didn't start out with extermination on day one. Before that they failed an attempted coup, stripped Jews of their rights, forced the emigration and deportation of Jews, and had to build up the capacity of the future death camps.

Their point is to recognize the rise of fascist authoritarianism before we've reached the holocaust stage.

Reagan with the "brave mujahideen fighters" from Afghanistan at the White House.

Donald Rumsfeld, Defense Secretary to Ford and George W Bush, meeting Saddam Hussein during the Reagan administration.

America has a history of arming its future enemies. Deeming the cartels to be terrorist organizations will make special ops and drone warfare permissible. The Mexican president knows this move invites more violence on her country, not less.

Fuck this guy. He's always been party above country, too late to change his tune now. If he'd had any integrity at all, he wouldn't have voted to acquit Trump while simultaneously saying he was guilty.

He prefers pictures.

Don't forget clever names for bills that will die in committee.

Time for a new opposition party, ffs.

Best I can do is a new global pandemic. But with no public information from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and without working with the World Health Organization.

https://lemmy.world/post/25026679

Can we please resurrect FDR, we need a newer deal.