An excerpt from the excellent book, "How Democracies Die"

[berg80]

How Democracies Die by Steven Levitsky, Daniel Ziblatt: 9781524762940 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Comprehensive, enlightening, and terrifyingly timely.”—The New York Times Book Review (Editors' Choice) WINNER OF THE GOLDSMITH BOOK PRIZE •...

www.penguinrandomhouse.com

For some context, the authors are speaking of the litmus test used to identify authoritarian leaders.

"The final warning sign is a readiness to curtail the civil liberties of rivals and critics. One thing that separates contemporary autocrats from democratic leaders is their intolerance of criticism, and their readiness to use their power to punish those......in the opposition, media, or civil society..........who criticize them."

Justice Dept. Fires Prosecutors Who Worked on Trump Investigations​

The acting attorney general on Monday fired more than a dozen prosecutors who worked on the two criminal investigations into Donald J. Trump for the special counsel Jack Smith, saying they could not be trusted to “faithfully implement” the president’s agenda, a Justice Department spokesman said.

Justice Department veterans called the firings an egregious violation of well-established laws meant to preserve the integrity and professionalism of government agencies.

What made it all the more jarring, current and former officials said, was that such a momentous and aggressive step had been initiated by an obscure acting attorney general, James McHenry, operating on behalf of a president with a stated desire for vengeance, and few advisers with the stature or inclination to restrain him.

Greg Brower, who was a U.S. attorney during the George W. Bush administration, said the move was unheard-of.

“This is unprecedented, given the career status of these people, which makes them not subject to dismissal by the president, and the apparent lack of any cause that the department has been able to articulate,” Mr. Brower said. “And so I suspect we will see them exercise their rights to appeal” to the Merit Systems Protection Board, an independent agency that reviews the claims of dismissed civil service workers and can reinstate them.

Justice Dept. Fires Prosecutors Who Worked on Trump Investigations

The termination of more than a dozen lawyers who worked with the special counsel, Jack Smith, came hours after the department’s most senior career official was reassigned.

www.nytimes.com

A word to trump supporters. I know you know this is wrong. The reason I know is if a Dem prez did it you would rightly be calling this an abuse of power. Because it is.

Are you going to keep allowing trump to get away with things like this without speaking up? How far he goes really is up to you. If you collectively make it known you disapprove he will stop. Or you can do nothing and idly watch this orgy of revenge continue.

 

[CowboyTed]

How Democracies Die by Steven Levitsky, Daniel Ziblatt: 9781524762940 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Comprehensive, enlightening, and terrifyingly timely.”—The New York Times Book Review (Editors' Choice) WINNER OF THE GOLDSMITH BOOK PRIZE •...

www.penguinrandomhouse.com

For some context, the authors are speaking of the litmus test used to identify authoritarian leaders.

"The final warning sign is a readiness to curtail the civil liberties of rivals and critics. One thing that separates contemporary autocrats from democratic leaders is their intolerance of criticism, and their readiness to use their power to punish those......in the opposition, media, or civil society..........who criticize them."

Justice Dept. Fires Prosecutors Who Worked on Trump Investigations​

The acting attorney general on Monday fired more than a dozen prosecutors who worked on the two criminal investigations into Donald J. Trump for the special counsel Jack Smith, saying they could not be trusted to “faithfully implement” the president’s agenda, a Justice Department spokesman said.

Justice Department veterans called the firings an egregious violation of well-established laws meant to preserve the integrity and professionalism of government agencies.

What made it all the more jarring, current and former officials said, was that such a momentous and aggressive step had been initiated by an obscure acting attorney general, James McHenry, operating on behalf of a president with a stated desire for vengeance, and few advisers with the stature or inclination to restrain him.

Greg Brower, who was a U.S. attorney during the George W. Bush administration, said the move was unheard-of.

“This is unprecedented, given the career status of these people, which makes them not subject to dismissal by the president, and the apparent lack of any cause that the department has been able to articulate,” Mr. Brower said. “And so I suspect we will see them exercise their rights to appeal” to the Merit Systems Protection Board, an independent agency that reviews the claims of dismissed civil service workers and can reinstate them.

Justice Dept. Fires Prosecutors Who Worked on Trump Investigations

The termination of more than a dozen lawyers who worked with the special counsel, Jack Smith, came hours after the department’s most senior career official was reassigned.

www.nytimes.com

A word to trump supporters. I know you know this is wrong. The reason I know is if a Dem prez did it you would rightly be calling this an abuse of power. Because it is.

Are you going to keep allowing trump to get away with things like this without speaking up? How far he goes really is up to you. If you collectively make it known you disapprove he will stop. Or you can do nothing and idly watch this orgy of revenge continue.

They have spent over 15 years now vilifying Democrats in there media bubble.... The concept that they are wrong is a hard for them to fathom... It is tribalism now...
They know Trump is not a Christian. The GOP is not Fiscal Conservative. The isolationist policy will make US poorer....

It isn't about admitting they were wrong... It is about winning...

See America on the route were UK is right now. they relise they have been lied too... They are struggling to admit that they were lied too and they believed them... There is shame, a lot can't accept that they have been clearly lied too.
There are still a large proportion who still can't admit it. They are blaming everything else. They were told they would have more money and that is clearly a lie.

 

[pknopp]

Biden Firing Ukraine Prosecutor Clip - United States House Committee on Oversight and Accountability

https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Biden-Firing-Ukraine-Prosecutor-Clip.mp4

oversight.house.gov

 

[berg80]

They have spent over 15 years now vilifying Democrats in there media bubble.... The concept that they are wrong is a hard for them to fathom... It is tribalism now...
They know Trump is not a Christian. The GOP is not Fiscal Conservative. The isolationist policy will make US poorer....

It isn't about admitting they were wrong... It is about winning...

See America on the route were UK is right now. they relise they have been lied too... They are struggling to admit that they were lied too and they believed them... There is shame, a lot can't accept that they have been clearly lied too.
There are still a large proportion who still can't admit it. They are blaming everything else. They were told they would have more money and that is clearly a lie.

Point taken. trump will remain out of control unless or until rank and file Repubs acknowledge what he is engaging in, satisfying his lust for retribution, is not productive for the country. And then do something about it.

It has to be Repubs as clearly he doesn't give a shit what half the country thinks.

 

[berg80]

Biden Firing Ukraine Prosecutor Clip - United States House Committee on Oversight and Accountability

https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Biden-Firing-Ukraine-Prosecutor-Clip.mp4

oversight.house.gov

Trump Revives False Narrative on Biden and Ukraine - FactCheck.org

At a campaign rally in Iowa, President Trump cited an unsubstantiated news report to revive a widely debunked false narrative about Joe Biden's work in Ukraine on behalf of the Obama administration.

www.factcheck.org

 

[pknopp]

Trump Revives False Narrative on Biden and Ukraine - FactCheck.org

At a campaign rally in Iowa, President Trump cited an unsubstantiated news report to revive a widely debunked false narrative about Joe Biden's work in Ukraine on behalf of the Obama administration.

www.factcheck.org

Is the video fake? If not, Biden's own words.

 

[Billiejeens]

Bill Clinton fired 93 US attorneys at one time.

Elections have consequences.

 

[berg80]

Is the video fake? If not, Biden's own words.

His words are being taken out of context, as you know.

Would it be possible just this once for you not to inject a specious whataboutism in to the conversation?

Do you recognize what trump did in firing Smith's team is wrong?

 

[CowboyTed]

Point taken. trump will remain out of control unless or until rank and file Repubs acknowledge what he is engaging in, satisfying his lust for retribution, is not productive for the country. And then do something about it.

It has to be Repubs as clearly he doesn't give a shit what half the country thinks.

In this case the Repub are in deeper than the Brexit crowd in UK...

Tories were truly terrible for years before they admitted they were crap and even then half of them went to a party even more extreme... i.e. Tories weren't extreme enough..

They are starting to see how utterly awful they were now. But Tories went through 6 leaders in 8 years... They kept on selling the lie...

It is hard to see how US gets out from under the lie. A massive reform on the media and the way it works would be needed and you are not getting that with the present SC.

So way I see it:
Democrats would need large majority.
Make SC 13 members
Reintroduce the fairness doctrine for media

For social media, if the Social Media company is caught interfering with a there algorithm to a political end or personal view. They are no longer a platform they are a publication and such as will be subject to the liable laws of a newspaper.
Which means every post is considered an opinion backed by the newspaper.
This is a special exemption Social Media platforms have to protect them against liable. EU is looking at this right now with regard to Musk and X. There is a feeling that Musk and his posts are being pushed on his platform. He can do that but he isn't a platform anymore, he is a publication.

 

[theHawk]

A word to trump supporters. I know you know this is wrong. The reason I know is if a Dem prez did it you would rightly be calling this an abuse of power. Because it is.

Biden's Justice Department to ask nearly all Trump-era U.S. attorneys to resign

John Durham of Connecticut will remain to lead the investigation of the origins of the Russia probe, and U.S. attorney for Delaware David Weiss will also remain.

www.nbcnews.com

Womp womp

 

[pknopp]

His words are being taken out of context, as you know.

I don't.

Would it be possible just this once for you not to inject a specious whataboutism in to the conversation?

Do you recognize what trump did in firing Smith's team is wrong?

I understand that BOTH parties only care about party and not country. Why is Trump able to do whatever he wants? The people rejected the Democrats.

It was just 16 years ago that the Democrats had what is likely going to ever be the biggest majorities we will ever see. They blew it.

Now Republicans will do the same but it's not going to get better until people reject both parties.

I don't blame Trump on Republicans. I blame him on Democrats.

 

[berg80]

In this case the Repub are in deeper than the Brexit crowd in UK...

Tories were truly terrible for years before they admitted they were crap and even then half of them went to a party even more extreme... i.e. Tories weren't extreme enough..

They are starting to see how utterly awful they were now. But Tories went through 6 leaders in 8 years... They kept on selling the lie...

It is hard to see how US gets out from under the lie. A massive reform on the media and the way it works would be needed and you are not getting that with the present SC.

So way I see it:
Democrats would need large majority.
Make SC 13 members
Reintroduce the fairness doctrine for media

For social media, if the Social Media company is caught interfering with a there algorithm to a political end or personal view. They are no longer a platform they are a publication and such as will be subject to the liable laws of a newspaper.
Which means every post is considered an opinion backed by the newspaper.
This is a special exemption Social Media platforms have to protect them against liable. EU is looking at this right now with regard to Musk and X. There is a feeling that Musk and his posts are being pushed on his platform. He can do that but he isn't a platform anymore, he is a publication.

I'm trying to do something a bit more immediate. I'm trying to appeal to the sense of right and wrong I hope trump supporters have not lost.

 

[berg80]

I don't.



I understand that BOTH parties only care about party and not country. Why is Trump able to do whatever he wants? The people rejected the Democrats.

It was just 16 years ago that the Democrats had what is likely going to ever be the biggest majorities we will ever see. They blew it.

Now Republicans will do the same but it's not going to get better until people reject both parties.

I don't blame Trump on Republicans. I blame him on Democrats.

Do you recognize what trump did in firing Smith's team is wrong?

If you can't bring yourself to admit to what should be obvious can you at least admit trump's pardon of the J6 violent criminals was wrong?

 

[pknopp]

Do you recognize what trump did in firing Smith's team is wrong?

Sure. I believe we need to neuter the office of president. Far too much power.

A lot of this is because Congress has refused to do their job in the past.

If you can't bring yourself to admit to what should be obvious can you at least admit trump's pardon of the J6 violent criminals was wrong?

Indeed, as were Biden's pardons which is why I support removing the right to pardon people from the office.

 

[SeaMajor7]

Another day, another PSYCHOPATH thread from our beloved Stalinberg.

 

[Marener]

MAGA can’t tell the difference between appointed US attorneys and career prosecutors.

 

[westwall]

Another day, another PSYCHOPATH thread from our beloved Stalinberg.

Like clockwork. Fun to watch!

 

[berg80]

Sure. I believe we need to neuter the office of president. Far too much power.

Putting aside the issue of the prez's power, not authority, to do certain things............Do you recognize firing Smith's team was wrong?

 

[Mr. Friscus]

How Democracies Die by Steven Levitsky, Daniel Ziblatt: 9781524762940 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Comprehensive, enlightening, and terrifyingly timely.”—The New York Times Book Review (Editors' Choice) WINNER OF THE GOLDSMITH BOOK PRIZE •...

www.penguinrandomhouse.com

For some context, the authors are speaking of the litmus test used to identify authoritarian leaders.

"The final warning sign is a readiness to curtail the civil liberties of rivals and critics. One thing that separates contemporary autocrats from democratic leaders is their intolerance of criticism, and their readiness to use their power to punish those......in the opposition, media, or civil society..........who criticize them."

Justice Dept. Fires Prosecutors Who Worked on Trump Investigations​

The acting attorney general on Monday fired more than a dozen prosecutors who worked on the two criminal investigations into Donald J. Trump for the special counsel Jack Smith, saying they could not be trusted to “faithfully implement” the president’s agenda, a Justice Department spokesman said.

Justice Department veterans called the firings an egregious violation of well-established laws meant to preserve the integrity and professionalism of government agencies.

What made it all the more jarring, current and former officials said, was that such a momentous and aggressive step had been initiated by an obscure acting attorney general, James McHenry, operating on behalf of a president with a stated desire for vengeance, and few advisers with the stature or inclination to restrain him.

Greg Brower, who was a U.S. attorney during the George W. Bush administration, said the move was unheard-of.

“This is unprecedented, given the career status of these people, which makes them not subject to dismissal by the president, and the apparent lack of any cause that the department has been able to articulate,” Mr. Brower said. “And so I suspect we will see them exercise their rights to appeal” to the Merit Systems Protection Board, an independent agency that reviews the claims of dismissed civil service workers and can reinstate them.

Justice Dept. Fires Prosecutors Who Worked on Trump Investigations

The termination of more than a dozen lawyers who worked with the special counsel, Jack Smith, came hours after the department’s most senior career official was reassigned.

www.nytimes.com

A word to trump supporters. I know you know this is wrong. The reason I know is if a Dem prez did it you would rightly be calling this an abuse of power. Because it is.

Are you going to keep allowing trump to get away with things like this without speaking up? How far he goes really is up to you. If you collectively make it known you disapprove he will stop. Or you can do nothing and idly watch this orgy of revenge continue.

You had no problems when Biden took away liberties.. your “warnings” are just leftist hysteria. Nobody believes it, your like Rachel Maddow at the moment.. just crying and emotional

 

[pknopp]

Putting aside the issue of the prez's power, not authority, to do certain things............Do you recognize firing Smith's team was wrong?

I need to answer the question twice?