US democracy is about to die

Just proves that it's all about money. Rich foreigners are welcome.

Interesting how quickly people have capitulated.

They have been overwhelmed by a calculated media strategy throwing so much shit at them up has become down.

Labour have clearly been taking notes.

The situation in America illustrates the most significant flaw with democracy, or at least a paradox. Any democracy worthy of the name must allow for itself to be dismantled and replaced. It must allow voters to choose candidates who will destroy it. A democracy that doesn't allow voters to replace it with another form of government isn't really a democracy. (North Korea has democracy but few would describe it as true democracy because although technically someone could oppose the current ruler it wouldn't end very well for them.)

If we look at human history, democracy is an unusual way of running things. Most of the time, in most places, a small elite has held power, power based on military strength.

Generally the form of government a society has runs through a cycle. People get increasingly angry, they revolt and overthrow the existing hierarchy, install a different one they are more happy with, get complacent, get disillusioned, get increasingly angry and the cycle starts again. Our current style of democracy has been around for long enough for people to have become disillusioned and are getting increasingly angry. It signifies change is coming.

People voted for Trump for the same reason people voted for Brexit and for the same reason they voted for Starmer. They were sick of the way things had been run for years and wanted change. They didn't really think about what that change would be, perhaps they didn't even care - the logic went "it's shit now, if we vote for the same we'll get more shit, if we vote for something different it might be better and it might be worse, but at least we've tried."

I deliberately included Starmer in that list because it may help people understand why people voted for Trump or Brexit. Lots of Starmer-voters hate Trump and hated Brexit but the point is the thinking pattern among the electorate was the same: it's shit now, let's vote for something different.

You must not criticise our great leader!

French scientist refused entry to US for criticising Trump.

Interesting how quickly people have capitulated.

Agree completely. Netanyahu hand in glove here too. Thousands of Israelis protesting against him, busily dismantling the democratic order there. Criminals own us all now. I can't see a way out.

Just heard his latest plan, to take “real estate” in Ukraine as part of the settlement.

The man is clearly unwell. No one could be so crass.

I don't understand how USA, enthusiastically deporting foreigners and imposing sanctions against drug importers, has handed the country to an admitted drug user, the foreign - South African born- apartheid supporting, ketamine using Elon Musk. It, like so much - most- of the Bigly Lying stuff, makes no sense at all. Heaven help you USA, you're going, to need it.

They're misidentifying people with tattoos aren't they? There's no logic, let alone intelligence, applied to the process at all.

Money is involved …it’s a “deal”. Everything and everyone can be bought and sold now.

Some of the detainees have been identified as Venezuelans seeking asylum picked up.during their asylum meetings. People with no criminal convictions sent to a prison where torture is the norm.
This is Trumps "Cracking down on illegal immigration"

Those Venezuelans who were removed, there's no evidence they were gang members and Trump hasn't released their names so his claims can't be verified. It's against international law to send people somewhere they could be tortured - not that he cares.

They're now using it for other nationalities too. They're also just declaring people to be terrorists with no evidence presented, no hearings, no proof - often based on things like a person being young and male and from a part of the world where actual known terrorists operate. If you listen to the most recent Pod Save America there's a good explanation of what's happening.

Does this not all mean that the US will increasingly be seen by the rest of the world as backward and unenlightened, they will lose their ability to dominate and the rest of us will move on and leave them behind?

Yes, the Puritans were heavily influenced by the Reformers in Switzerland, where a lot of them lived in exile during the reign of Mary I. The Reformers there persecuted Anabaptists, drowning many of them. Particularly Zwingli. Calvin was very zealous, too.

We focus so much on ‘Bloody Mary’ burning Protestants that we forget that both sides were equally zealous in their persecution of those they perceived to be ‘heretics’.

I believe this is way the Christian right in the US want their country to go, and it’s terrifying.

If Jesus returned to earth and visited the US today he would be denounced as a communist.

There were a lot of threads asking this pre-election, it came down to trans, immigration and Trump is the saviour.

Project 2025, abortion rights, racism, january 6th, Musk were all brushed aside

Almost, until you remember the racism Trump openly spouted during his election campaign and the Musk salute.

Thanks Elon, apartheid imported from your homeland. Watch out you don't erroneouly repatriate yourself as an undesirable immigrant.

This is almost unbelievable

Definitely, also thinking of the Scarlet Letter earlier. Amazing really, if I suggested that USA has its own equivalents of Ayatollahs, many would argue the point. But there's little difference. Religious fanatics are the essence of repression.