> “Padilla didn’t want answers; he wanted attention,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said. “It’s telling that Democrats are more riled up about Padilla than they are about the violent riots and assaults on law enforcement in LA.”
Even if this was true, the pot is calling the kettle black. But that's kind of giving them the benefit of the doubt here:
- They were in his district uninvited
- Why even hold a local press conference if you don't allow questions?
- In a room full of cameras, how is there not a single video of the supposed "lunge?
- He is literally on the Senate committee that is supposed to oversee border security. Noem not knowing who he is is either incompetence or an outright lie
That’s what he wanted? Well, congrats on giving it to him. He’d have barely been on the local news if you just left him yelling in the back of the room.
Now he’s going to be on every newscast in the country/world.
two of the bigger comment threads have already been flagged so i'd like to reiterate a point made by anigbrowl before it disappears:
the most powerful tool we have against what's happening right now is a general strike. i'm reaching out to my union to see how we can collectively respond, and i encourage every single american unionized HN user to do the same or get involved with current action; but the seed must be planted in all of us: we don't have to accept what's going on, and we can grind things to a stop until we see change.
The fundamental issue is that a liberal democracy can't indefinitely survive a majority of the people prioritizing other things over continued democracy and rule of law. This is almost by definition. Democracies have failed in that way before, and they will do so again.
A strong liberal democracy, however, can endure that condition for longer than a weaker one. The US is a strong liberal democracy. The goal must, therefore, be to get out of the danger zone before it's too late. That means changing the hearts and minds of your fellow citizens.
(If you're asking how to do that... I am not remotely the right person to answer)
The US might have been a the strongest liberal democracy, but it in 2024 it was ranked 28th on the Economist Democracy list. I am worried that people in the US are over estimating the strength of their democracy and that that might be an important reason for its rapid decline.
Only voters count, and they have a majority of those. There are a great many people who choose not to vote, and as far as I can tell they haven't changed their minds about that.
It's not a large majority; it's a narrow majority with somewhat of a thumb on the scale. But that thumb is substantial, and it's why they've controlled the government for the vast majority of the 21st century.
No, the original sin here is pretty clearly that reconstruction didn't go nearly far enough.
Treason was treated as a difference of opinions before, and people to this day think it's a cute cultural quirk. We need to do a better job of stamping it out this time, once the dust settles.
General strike. Halt all cooperation with the federal government, refuse to honor contracts citing their criminality, DDOS federal officials (so to speak) with letters revoking their authority, get out on the street to one of the nationwide protests this Saturday and network with other people to provide logistic and administrative support to shut the country down for as long as it takes.
as long as we live in a representative democracy, we need leadership that's actually willing to act instead of stamping their feet about people not following the rules.
Correct. Here are her exact remarks just before Padilla interrupted:
“We are not going away. We are staying here to liberate the city from the socialists and the burdensome leadership that this governor and that this mayor have placed on this country and what they have tried to insert into the city.”
The president was expressing enthusiasm for the idea of Newsom being arrested the other day, while the Speaker of the House was inciting violence by saying he should be 'tarred and feathered'. I see no reason not to take their remarks at face value given the reality of their past and current actions.
"We are not going away," she said. "We are staying here to liberate this city from the socialist and the burdensome leadership that this governor and that this mayor have placed on this country,"
> “Padilla didn’t want answers; he wanted attention,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said. “It’s telling that Democrats are more riled up about Padilla than they are about the violent riots and assaults on law enforcement in LA.”
Even if this was true, the pot is calling the kettle black. But that's kind of giving them the benefit of the doubt here:
- They were in his district uninvited
- Why even hold a local press conference if you don't allow questions?
- In a room full of cameras, how is there not a single video of the supposed "lunge?
- He is literally on the Senate committee that is supposed to oversee border security. Noem not knowing who he is is either incompetence or an outright lie
> “he wanted attention”
That’s what he wanted? Well, congrats on giving it to him. He’d have barely been on the local news if you just left him yelling in the back of the room.
Now he’s going to be on every newscast in the country/world.
every accusation a confession
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two of the bigger comment threads have already been flagged so i'd like to reiterate a point made by anigbrowl before it disappears:
the most powerful tool we have against what's happening right now is a general strike. i'm reaching out to my union to see how we can collectively respond, and i encourage every single american unionized HN user to do the same or get involved with current action; but the seed must be planted in all of us: we don't have to accept what's going on, and we can grind things to a stop until we see change.
https://generalstrikeus.com/
Werent some of the biggest unions pro Trump? All the Police ones, USW, UAW.
My recommendation stands.
The administration's strategy is to break laws repeatedly until held accountable.
Laws are merely "suggestions" until and unless they are enforced.
Fascist playbook. See also:
The Fascists’ Playbook [0]
10 Small Steps: Executing the Fascist Playbook [1]
[0] https://www.counterpunch.org/2023/05/08/the-fascists-playboo...
[1] https://www.huffpost.com/entry/10-small-steps-executing-the-...
What can we, who value our democratic system, do to stop Trump's admin making these fascistic moves the new normal.
If there aren't condemnations from both sides of the aisle, then I don't really know whether this further erosion of our democracy can be stopped.
The fundamental issue is that a liberal democracy can't indefinitely survive a majority of the people prioritizing other things over continued democracy and rule of law. This is almost by definition. Democracies have failed in that way before, and they will do so again.
A strong liberal democracy, however, can endure that condition for longer than a weaker one. The US is a strong liberal democracy. The goal must, therefore, be to get out of the danger zone before it's too late. That means changing the hearts and minds of your fellow citizens.
(If you're asking how to do that... I am not remotely the right person to answer)
The US might have been a the strongest liberal democracy, but it in 2024 it was ranked 28th on the Economist Democracy list. I am worried that people in the US are over estimating the strength of their democracy and that that might be an important reason for its rapid decline.
They don't have a majority. They have a small and shrinking plurality.
Only voters count, and they have a majority of those. There are a great many people who choose not to vote, and as far as I can tell they haven't changed their minds about that.
It's not a large majority; it's a narrow majority with somewhat of a thumb on the scale. But that thumb is substantial, and it's why they've controlled the government for the vast majority of the 21st century.
Democracy requires compromise. That's long gone. The "two" sides are far apart from compromise.
Maybe Abraham Lincoln should have let the South go. There's just too much difference in world views.
No, the original sin here is pretty clearly that reconstruction didn't go nearly far enough.
Treason was treated as a difference of opinions before, and people to this day think it's a cute cultural quirk. We need to do a better job of stamping it out this time, once the dust settles.
General strike. Halt all cooperation with the federal government, refuse to honor contracts citing their criminality, DDOS federal officials (so to speak) with letters revoking their authority, get out on the street to one of the nationwide protests this Saturday and network with other people to provide logistic and administrative support to shut the country down for as long as it takes.
Help ensure that the GOP gets utterly demolished in the midterms.
Repeatedly remind others about what has gone down so it doesn't happen again.
Having to vote the bums out is a slow process, as is litigation in the meantime.
The midterms are nearly 18 months away, relying on this is a politically suicidal strategy.
Certainly, I share your hope for such an outcome, but I think it would be extremely foolish to make it your top priority.
1. Congress refuses to act. First chance to make a change in Congress will be midterms.
2. Litigation takes time and is in almost all cases retrospective.
Open to other suggestions. Time travel is not exactly an option.
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44264104 (in this same thread)
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8647 - in other words, fire his ass. Impeach him and throw him out. Do the same to anyone with the same level of balls to disrespect the law.
as long as we live in a representative democracy, we need leadership that's actually willing to act instead of stamping their feet about people not following the rules.
we can't stop fascism by complaining.
Well, now you see why Ukrainians protested against Yanukovich for four months.
State violence is a very dangerous road.
Noem openly declared that the goal is the overthrow of California's government.
It's fascism, but you're not allowed to say that here, because Garry Tan helped pay for it, and Dan and Tom are Just Following Orders.
Correct. Here are her exact remarks just before Padilla interrupted:
“We are not going away. We are staying here to liberate the city from the socialists and the burdensome leadership that this governor and that this mayor have placed on this country and what they have tried to insert into the city.”
The president was expressing enthusiasm for the idea of Newsom being arrested the other day, while the Speaker of the House was inciting violence by saying he should be 'tarred and feathered'. I see no reason not to take their remarks at face value given the reality of their past and current actions.
Yep.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/sen-alex-padilla-f...
"We are not going away," she said. "We are staying here to liberate this city from the socialist and the burdensome leadership that this governor and that this mayor have placed on this country,"
Seems like the Federal government just started a civil war in California. I'm sure it's fine. How much do eggs cost right now?
With Ai killing so much employment I could see them weaponizing famine to try to unalive roughly 70-80% of the entire us population.
That’s not feasible. Starving takes a long time and starving people do some crazy things.
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Don't give them any ideas, starving a captive population is intellectual property they could import from Israel.