Tag: Fascism
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“Good” Tribal v “Bad”
Here’s a stone cold fact: all humans are tribal. Tribalism’s a survival instinct for social creatures like us. We need to feel connected to others in order to be happy within ourselves. Even a raging egomaniac like Donald Trump needs everyone else’s approval (or disapproval) in order to be. Take the rest of us away…
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Why E Pluribus Unum Matters
Most Americans – if they think about the country’s founding – focus on “All men are created equal”. Alas, when our founders wrote those words, they didn’t mean them. Oh, they meant the “men” part. Only men could be other men’s equals. But by “men”, they meant only men like themselves: white, wealthy, land owning…
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Fascism Won’t Conquer America Because Diversity Won’t Let It
The Republican Party’s big secret is out. They’ve foresworn conservatism for outright fascism. America’s political balance needs conservatives – and I say that as a progressive. Opposition isn’t a bad thing. It keeps everyone honest. And progressives, whether they accept it or not, need a conservative counterweight. But, we definitely don’t need the brown shirt…
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Trump Didn’t Invent “The Big Lie Playbook”, Harry Anslinger Did
Question: what do cannabis prohibition and “The Big Lie” have in common? More than you realize. If there was a “Pantheon Of Liars”, Donald Trump’s bust would sit out front, greeting all visitors. Certainly, Trump’s more than just a “liar” (the word seems so mild when held up to him). Even “epic liar” seems epically…
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Democracy Is “Use It Or Lose It”
Winston Churchill famously said “democracy is the worst form of government – except for all the others that have been tried”. He said that after being voted out of office at the end of World War Two. Despite his cynicism (born of losing an election), he was right. Democracy is damned hard to pull off.…
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No, You CAN’T Run Government Like A Business Because They’re Two DIFFERENT Things
Thinking you can run a democratic government like a business is as silly as thinking you can run a mortuary like a birthing business. They exist on opposite ends of a spectrum. The mortuary and birthing business may both be for-profit businesses that require extra sensitivity in their workforces, but aside from that, no matter…
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There Absolutely Is A “Culture War” Aflame In America — White Culture Versus Everyone Else
Both sides don’t have a “Newt Gingrich” on their bench (or in their past). Only the Republicans do. Remember Newtie (“The Man Who Broke [American] Politics”? Back when Bill Clinton was POTUS, Newt served as 50th Speaker of the House of Representatives and drove the “Impeach Bill Clinton Cos A Blow Job” train as hard…
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Our News Media Reports Corruption The Way Corruption Wants
Yesterday, Lawrence O’Donnell focused a segment of his show “The Last Word” on a tweet thread published by former Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times editor Mark Jacob. Having left the field of “official” journalism — the bubble in which most American journalists live, breathe and work — Jacob has come to see that the neutrality…