Anne Applebaum shares an excerpt from a new preface for the paperback edition of her book Autocracy Inc."

"Musk claimed he cut these programs because he wanted to save money. But that explanation, given that they represent a tiny fraction of the U.S. budget, was insuffi cient."

#Trump #ElonMusk #FederalGovernment #chaos #destruction #DOGE #fascism
/3

Autocracy, Inc

Sneak peek at the new preface

(anneapplebaum.substack.com)

"Instead, their destruction, alongside the damage done to domestic departments and agencies overseeing education, scientific research, health and social security, seemed deliberately designed to alter the behavior and values of the civil service."

#Trump #ElonMusk #FederalGovernment #chaos #destruction #DOGE #fascism
/4

"The nation’s media elites have been working overtime these last few weeks framing Trump’s moves not as an authoritarian effort to seize power but as a bold effort to fight crime – and insisting that the public is with Trump."

~ Jamison Foser

#Trump #WashingtonDC #military #fascism #authoritarianism #media
/5

Trump’s military occupation of American cities is unpopular. The media is trying to manufacture consent for it.

Donald Trump’s military assault on America’s cities has been denounced by legal and national security experts as an “authoritarian power grab” that is “dangerous for liberty” and “an absolute seizing control of our country through our own military used against us” in an attempt to “dominate” the American

Finding Gravity (www.findinggravity.net)

"Something clearly is up with the 79-year-old president, and the official explanations don’t make sense. That’s not surprising given that Trump is a world historical liar surrounded by toadies who surrendered their shame long ago. But it’s past time for reporters to ask some questions."

~ Stephen Robinson

#Trump #Biden #health #media #fascism
/6

Alert the media: The White House is lying about Trump's health

Their explanations are absurd and it's time to start asking questions.

(www.publicnotice.co)

"The mainstream media are still in self-flagellation mode over how they purportedly 'ignored' former President Joe Biden’s decline. (In reality, they never stopped talking about.) But this soul-searching is apparently only backward looking and exclusive to Democratic presidents."

#Trump #Biden #health #media #fascism
/7

"The relentless coverage of Biden’s age reinforced a public perception about his fitness. So Trump and Republicans in general benefit when the media shrugs off his obvious health issues as Trump just being Trump."

#Trump #Biden #health #media #fascism
/8

"If we ever got to the point in which a president was sending the military into cities for purely political reasons, aggressive policing wouldn’t be our most urgent problem. Our most urgent problem would be authoritarianism.

And so here we are."

~ Radley Balko

#Trump #WashingtonDC #military #authoritarianism #fascism

#Trump #Biden #health #media #fascism
/9

Liberals Cannot Stop Authoritarianism by Compromising With It

They should heed Russian dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza's warning at LibCon2025 to not fall for the false narratives that authoritarians use to consolidate power

(www.theunpopulist.net)

"I don’t think Trump’s vulgarity is irrelevant to understanding what he’s doing to America and the world. One of the best explanations I’ve read of who Trump is, and implicit predictions of what he would do, was a 2017 discussion of his design tastes titled 'Dictator Chic.' ... Trump has vandalized the world trading system as casually as he has paved over the Rose Garden."

~ Paul Krugman

#Trump #FederalGovernment #chaos #destruction #fascism
/10

Decline and Fall of the American Empire

Alliances were what made us great

(paulkrugman.substack.com)

"This moment cannot be seen in isolation. It reflects a broader 'pro-death' political movement that prizes ideology over evidence, power over public health, and partisan gain over human life."

~Danielle Moodie

#Trump #RFKJr #CDC #FederalGovernment #chaos #destruction #fascism #healthcare
/11

RFK Leads the GOP's Pro-Death March

The Dangerous Politicization of Public Health in America: Why RFK Jr.’s Rise to Power Puts Millions of Lives at Risk

(thelefthook.substack.com)

"Tens of millions of people are gonna die because of [RFKJr}.

I don’t know why they want that—why the MAGA want that, I’m not really sure. The only explanation I can think of is that Putin wants us sick and dead. If you can come up with a better explanation, please enlighten me."

~ Greg Olear

#Trump #RFKJr #Putin #CDC #FederalGovernment #chaos #destruction #fascism #healthcare
/12

Ramble On: "Villains: A Review" (video)

Morning thoughts on the Trump appointees who are doing the most damage to the American people: Musk, Gabbard, Hegseth, Bondi & Patel, RFK Jr. Plus: a special announcement!

(gregolear.substack.com)

"Social Security Administration chief information officer Charles Borges resigned in an email sent to select offices within the agency on Friday."

~ Marisa Kabas

#Trump #FederalGovernment #chaos #destruction #fascism #SocialSecurity
/13

'Intolerable': SSA chief data officer and whistleblower resigns in blistering email

Charles Borges involuntary resignation comes just days after publicly calling out a critical agency data vulnerability.

The Handbasket (www.thehandbasket.co)

"Every cancer patient should know the next round of life-saving drugs is being stolen from them by people in Washington who don’t want them developed. Every parent should know their children are more likely to become gravely ill—or even die.

Make Cancer Great Again."

~ Elliot Kirschner

#Trump #RFKJr #CDC #FederalGovernment #chaos #destruction #fascism #healthcare
/14

The Death Cult in Washington

Making cancer great again

(elliotkirschner.substack.com)