US democracy is about to die

[StandFirm]

... So many indicators for this, the most recent is Trump calling for the DoJ to go after his enemies:

Dear American friends, I hope you find a peaceful way out of this. As for us here, I can only hope we keep the contagion at bay.

While both Germany and the United States have faced democratic crises, American democracy has proven fundamentally stronger due to its constitutional durability, federalist system, entrenched democratic norms, and historical resilience.

The collapse of the Weimar Republic was a consequence of constitutional weaknesses and a lack of democratic tradition, whereas the United States has successfully weathered numerous crises without succumbing to authoritarian rule. While vigilance is always required to safeguard democracy, the U.S. remains far more structurally resilient than Germany in 1933.

He's got a well-documented affinity with the wrestling world. Early fan of kayfabe.

I did point out that it was a coincidence :)
I still think it's disturbing and revealing of a desire to move fast and quickly secure the maximum amount of power in a minimum amount of time. I bloody well hope that the US is nothing like 30s Germany but every day seems to bring a new announcement confirming the direction of travel. It's a one-way journey right now unless something happens to stop this train.

They have quite a bit in common then

I can't see how any of these checks and balances will work if he just...ignores them?

And the US largely as a populous seems fine with it. Anyone who is speaking out doesn't seem to be doing so collectively. I'm unsure if they're waiting for him to make a catastrophic mistake or they're all too scared to challenge?

I can't see how any of these checks and balances will work if he just...ignores them?
Nail -> head.

They are back in court later today

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/17/trump-judge-venezuela-deportations

“I don’t care what the judges think” answers the question posed by the OP.

Mango Mussolini wants the judge to be impeached

His rantings are attached in post below
https://bsky.app/profile/lawrencehurley.bsky.social/post/3lknqom7en22b

From Salem to McCarthy, USA seems to suffer from a need to collectively obsess about something Nasty in the Woodshed on a regular basis. I saw recently that Salem stopped burning witchy women when some bright spark observed that maybe the Devil was making the population behave in this way so they should 9pack it in. I don't know what happened with the end of the McCarthy persecutions but they ebbed away I guess, leaving a legacy of paranoia about Reds under the Beds and a horror of Communism embodied in all things Russian. What now? Now they're being persuaded that the Russians Are our Friends and it's the turn of W Europe, longtime NATO allies, to become the current scapegoat for the incompetence of the USA government. I believe some Americans are finding it hard to credit that those outside the benighted country are feeling a bit pissed off with them. One can only sigh; it's beyond rational explanation.

There's definitely always been a fear of the bad guy waiting to get you. I think that's very much part of the American culture. The whole far right discourse about liberals being Devil worshippers is also redolent of the 80s Satanic Panic... I think whoever has been pulling the strings here has been very good at identifying Americans' dark fantasies.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8j0vwpkwkxo

The chief justice of the US Supreme Court has released a rare statement in response to President Donald Trump's call to impeach a judge who ruled against his administration over migrant deportations.
"For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision," Chief Justice John Roberts said in a statement.
He added that the "normal appellate review process exists for that purpose".
Trump earlier referred to US District Judge James Boasberg as a "troublemaker and agitator" after he ordered the administration to halt deportations of accused gang members to El Salvador.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Justice Roberts, who leads the Supreme Court, rarely issues public statements on political matters.

I am surprised we haven't had the Enemies of the People bit yet.

The US Supreme Court is expected to ultimately take up some legal challenges to Trump's early actions, as the lawsuits make their way through the federal courts.

It will be very interesting to see how Trump responds to the lawsuits.

Oh it'll come...
JD Vance notoriously called academics 'the enemy' a couple of years ago. Just wait.

Another day, another overreach. How long before they start raiding universities, like all fascists do?
https://newrepublic.com/post/192854/elon-musk-doge-police-independent-nonprofit-usip
Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency staffers used police and private security to forcefully take over the U.S. Institute of Peace on Monday.
The USIP, an independent nonprofit founded by Congress, had its president, Greg Moose, and its board fired last week by the Trump administration. The Associated Press reported that DOGE workers on Monday had law enforcement escort them into USIP, which is not located in a federal building, after previously being denied access.

Why arent they rioting/ protesting or has the moment for that passed by now? Will they go like lambs to the slaughter?

I could understand it if they were in a country with no proper education system🤷🏼
Or is it more that trump (the vile worm that he is) has a special talent for making some people slavishly devote themselves? Those that dont fall under his spell abhor him with a hatred which is equal in magnitude to the devotion of the other segment, thus the society is turned against itself. Divided & conquered🤷🏼

A jaw-dropping - for Brits - glance into US education now available on c4, where Brit and US teens swap places for a few weeks. So far I have learned, many books banned including Harry Potter for the 'satanic' content. Christian 'worship' daily, weekly and via tv. Little knowledge of, or interest in, anything outside their state. No tuition about other reiligions. That said, they seem like delightful people with their children's - and their UK visitors -best interests at heart, even as they buy yet another gun or crossbow as a present. They hunt a lot in Arkansas. Very different to UK and, I understand, pretty representative of the mid-West.

Indeed, as I pointed out on a different thread, one of the biggest threats to US democracy right now is book censorship (which has been happening for a while now in the more conservative states).
There are many examples illustrating how organisations like Moms for Liberty are completely corroding education in some places to an absurd extent (teaching about seahorses is contentious in their eyes). A huge factor in that is the growth of radical Christianity - now laced with white nationalism. There is a sense that you have to believe in God, to the point where there's more distrust towards someone who declares themselves secular than for a satanist (who might bat for the wrong side but at least implies a degree of belief in God).

Yes. It's very scary. Personally, I consider it both neglectful and abusive to limit children's access to knowledge thus preventing their ability to make informed choices in life. It's the lack of curiosity and desire to question that I find worrying. It's deeply depressing. Philistines rather than Christians.

I have a depressing anecdote highlighting this further: one of my old friend lives in Georgia. She was telling me that the preacher at her local church complained about rightwing nuts in his congregation who came up to him one day saying that the ten commandments felt too leftie and can he not mention them in his sermons. I shit you not.