• werefreeatlast@lemmy.world
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    9 hours ago

    Here’s something we could fix:

    We have no recall option! WTF! We should have such a mechanism. We should ask Congress to enact a law where we the people can recall the president via votes if we can collect enough signatures just like we are able to do for other things.

      • DerArzt@lemmy.world
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        8 hours ago

        Now why would the elected officials do something to their own detriment? You want them to act like representatives or how they’ve been acting?

        • Fedizen@lemmy.world
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          6 hours ago

          Many states have done things like that. the problem is for the feds its all defined in the constitution so getting an overwhelming majority to agree to limit power needs an overwhelming push.

          Imo the best thing to do would be push for a constitutional amendment that creates an initiative system that fully bypasses congress.

    • CaptSatelliteJack@lemy.lol
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      We do. It’s the 2nd amendment. Literally what it was written for, the forceful reclamation of democratic freedom should it be taken by a tyrannical leadership. Too bad everyone that actually gives a damn about that option is on red team, and blue team thinks the 2nd amendment is for killing children and nothing else.

      • HotdogThud@lemmy.world
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        4 hours ago

        I mean, to be fair, the red team thinks it’s pretty much only for killing children too…

      • CircuitGuy@lemmy.world
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        3 hours ago

        I believe in the 2nd Amendment, but certainly NOT to overthrow the government for light and transient causes. I don’t take Trump lightly, but he hasn’t turned into a total despot yet. There is grave risk, but there’s also a chance his abuses will lead to reforms that limit Executive branch powers. I think many non-Republicans like our guns as much as Republicans, but we don’t bluster about them and unlike Republicans we don’t rebel because our candidate lost an election.

        • ℍ𝕂-𝟞𝟝@sopuli.xyz
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          3 hours ago

          That moment was Jan 6th. There was no heavy and hard change in Hitler’s Germany from the Beer Hall Putsch all the way to Stalingrad and the gas chambers. It’s all boiling the frog from here to there. Every change will seem like a light and transient one. By the time you feel you should go all in on the 2A, you will be mostly alone. That is by design.

          In fact, we are already in the Gleichschaltung and the appeasement phase.

        • DrDeadCrash@programming.dev
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          2 hours ago

          From a VA employee:

          This is destroying the Agency. People come to work terrified every day. I don’t know a single competent and qualified person who isn’t actively looking for work elsewhere and the only people who will be left to serve our Veterans are those with no other choices. The amount of sheer experience, knowledge, and brainpower being lost is irreplaceable, and the trust is already broken. We’ll never get it back. I am heartbroken that so many Republicans deeply, deeply hate us for doing our best every single day to serve Veterans. I will never forgive them for this.

          https://open.substack.com/pub/progressreport/p/revenge-of-the-whiny-pampered-baby?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=2lkdbh

          I don’t know what you think despotism looks like, but this sure as hell isn’t democracy nor is it a republic. This has nothing to do with losing an election, this has to do with some people’s fantasy that Trump will ever give up power. I guess we need to wait until evidence surfaces, and then only iron clad evidence that the worst is happening will possibly motivate them, maybe.

          I disagree with your overall assessment that we are experiencing “light” or “transient” causes for general revolt.

      • NιƙƙιDιɱҽʂ@lemmy.world
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        This is exactly why I’ve always maintained that the 2nd amendment against tyranny is complete and utter horseshit. There will never, ever, be a case in which civilians can take up arms against the US government and have any remote shot of doing anything. Any tyrannical government will get to where they are with such significant support they will be so ridiculously protected you’d have to take on the entire military and legal branches of the USA.

        In 1814 when everyone had a flintlock pistol? Sure. Now? Have fun getting remote drone striked before you even step foot into Washington D.C.

            • endeavor@sopuli.xyz
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              1 hour ago

              Then just move. I know the current administration is happy you are spreading propaganda that states to roll over since there’s nothing to do. You are the maga hero.

              • NιƙƙιDιɱҽʂ@lemmy.world
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                1 hour ago

                Look, I’m not saying to just roll over, but wtf are we supposed to do. The second amendment is there, I don’t see anyone utilizing it, and I don’t think they ever will.

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              Let’s pretend any of that actually matters and the US government doesn’t have a history of losing to locals, and ask the following: what happens if you willingly disarm yourself? Criminals will still have guns, your police will still shoot “less-lethal” rounds into the heads of protesters, and you will still be oppressed.

              What do you get out of this? A fraction of the illusion of safety? And all it cost you was the last defense against oppression anyone has.

              • NιƙƙιDιɱҽʂ@lemmy.world
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                1 hour ago

                I really don’t care to get into overarching discussion of the 2nd amendment, it’s been done to death. It’s also not what this conversation was about.

            • Sightline@lemmy.world
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              When CW II kicks off some people will be caught, some people will be thrown in prison, and some people will be killed.

              Remember it’s “home of the brave”, not “home of the cowards”.

  • tisktisk@piefed.social
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    1 day ago
    1. Is this real
    2. What does it mean?
    3. Where are we in terms of worrying? Should I begin to start to think about worrying or something more urgent?
    • aasatru@kbin.earth
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      23 hours ago
      1. I see little reason to doubt it
      2. It means whoever hoisted it considers there to be a crisis, which is consistent with accounts of public offices being overtaken by random young white men who are rapidly taking control.
      3. Speaking as a non-American political scientist having worked a little with rule of law and fascism, it seems a bit late to start worrying. Think about what you can do for yourself, your neighbours, and your country, urgently or in the longer term. It’s going to be ugly for a while.
    • Furbag@lemmy.world
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      4 hours ago

      It appears to be real. The federal government is currently in the midst of the most comprehensive purge in the history of the nation, and many career civil servants are being asked to retire early with a severance “or else”. The worrying part should have come when Project 2025 laid out the groundwork for what is happening right at this very moment, back when it was first revealed. Trump intends to replace all of these government workers with yes-men and cronies who will be loyal to him and him alone, and not the constitution or the American people they are meant to serve. The damage being done right now will probably never be reversed in our lifetimes and will pave the way for absolute executive control - in other words, a dictatorship. This is not alarmist, this was the plan all along and nobody listened.

      If you don’t have a plan to GTFO in case things get even worse, I would start making one right now. You have to set an uncrossable line yourself and be prepared to act on it, because other people are going to continue to go along with this until the very end, so you can’t count on other people to be giving you signals on when to bail out.

    • Ms. ArmoredThirteen@lemmy.zip
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      22 hours ago

      #3 depends where you are on the hit list I suppose. I’m trans, so I’m well past worry-o-clock and am actively making arrangements to leave the country. Someone like a cishet white male tech worker has a lot less to worry about though

        • cabbage@piefed.social
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          9 hours ago

          That looks like a PieFed bug - the leading # should normally not be parsed into a headline in Markdown unless it is followed by a space. I’ll give @[email protected] a heads up!

          That said, there’s every reason to scream at this point. I wish all Americans seeking to flee the country the best of luck.

    • fine_sandy_bottom@discuss.tchncs.de
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      24 hours ago
      1. I think so.

      2. That’s unclear but my take is that this is an expression of the distress felt by the employees, and perhaps the only possible outlet for their feelings. I suspect that it’s more likely the action of one or two people rather that some kind of collectively approved signal.

      3. I just don’t know. I’m not even American but I feel very discombobulated.

  • Kompressor @lemmy.world
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    24 hours ago

    There’s only one way this gets stopped. And the people that would need to do it think they’ll have a ‘prime minister’ title when the dust settles and not that they’ll be chucked out a window. It’s some weapons grade stupid and apathy letting this happen and they’re just hoping that god king chooses to keep them around it’s all so pathetic

  • ClanOfTheOcho@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    That seems like a very bad sign. Someone wanted a message to get out to the public, but I’m not entirely sure what can be effectively done about it. Credit to the person with the balls to send out the warning, though.

    • GiddyGap@lemm.ee
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      22 hours ago

      There’s nothing that can be done. Republicans have every bit of power there is. At least for the next two years.

        • WideEyedStupid@lemmy.world
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          8 hours ago

          No, they say they want their 2nd amendment to protect their country from tyrants. But what they really meant was: to help the tyrant.

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          21 hours ago

          This is a strong reason why I would think it would be a tactical error to mess with the elections. Elections are the pressure valve that people are willing to wait for. You can do so much harm and all is forgiven if you step down after an election loss.

          Take away that mechanism, and you put all your leadership at huge risk, for minor benefit (history has shown they can get their way like 90% of the time anyway, the “left” will barely even say anything about their material goals and let them stand).

        • Hemingways_Shotgun@lemmy.ca
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          20 hours ago

          I know how anyone could organize something so large, But a mass strike/walkout would have more impact than anything else right now.

          None of the common people go in to work until shit stain “abdicates”

          • vaultdweller013@sh.itjust.works
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            19 hours ago

            Ya seem to not gwt what he is saying, let me make it damn simply. The Tree of Liberty is watered by the blood of tyrants and patriots alike, and Freedom is earned through the barrel of a gun.

      • echolalia@lemmy.ml
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        This is the message of the enemy. I am not sure what there is to be done, but to say this:

        There’s nothing that can be done.

        is to give up. The only thing that we ordinary people can know is that the democratic party is unable/unwilling to form an effective resistance right now.

    • floquant@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      I’m not entirely sure what can be effectively done about it.

      History offers no control groups; there is no “right” way to proceed. What’s certain is that “nothing” is not the answer.

      • Allonzee@lemmy.world
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        22 hours ago

        Maybe we should double down on capitalism again.

        It’s the only move the US has used in living memory.

        • pyre@lemmy.world
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          15 hours ago

          I’m not even joking but if this doesn’t happen there’s no hope for the future. we’re past the point of simply prosecuting and hoping they get some time in prison. examples need to be made so others know that just because the supreme court said it’s legal to do whatever the fuck you want doesn’t mean you’re getting away with it from the public.

          • ZILtoid1991@lemmy.world
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            I used to say “You know Monopoly is an old game, because it has rich people in prison”. The moment we stopped to hold them accountable, everything went really bad. And if the legal systems don’t hold them accountable, it’ll be the duty of the common people.

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    22 hours ago

    Kudos to the person who is sending the correct message. Everyone who believes in protecting the US Constitution should fly the US flag upside down.

    • maxoakland@lemmy.world
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      19 hours ago

      I think we need to do more than that. The flag is a distress signal. We have to help the people who are distressed

    • espentan@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      Definitely. Do we know if the people who wanted a criminal moron in charge are still cheering him on, or are they starting to catch on to the fact that his plan always was to thoroughly fuck everyone over? Well, everyone but his clique.

      • taiyang@lemmy.world
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        21 hours ago

        Everyone just giving their opinion but the answer is mixed. Some regret, many don’t. And it’s not just disinformation, people have to deal with their own cognitive dissonance. Just on the radio earlier was an Arab man still defending vote for Trump because “it’s just rhetoric” right now. He’s willing to say it’s terrible rhetoric, but won’t come to terms with the vote being a bad decision.

        • Clent@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          19 hours ago

          They will deny it until they can’t and go right back to denial the moment they can.

          He’s their security blanket, their binkie. Any parent knows it’s nonsense but to the child’s mind the magic of the binkie it is real. Arguing the reality of the binkie is futile.

          Parents can rely on their child growing out of magical thinking but since these are adults, we’ve got to accept they are forever lost to the magic.

          Their need for president binkie cannot be argued with. It can be slipped from their grasp by logic or trickery. The magic must be shattered, utterly and irrevocably. Only they can choose when that occurs.

        • SoftestSapphic@lemmy.world
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          As long as the right people get hurt they’re happy.

          Republicans would shit their own pants just to make us smell it.

          They’re gonna be a lot less happy when they try putting armed citizens in camps and they get fucking shot.

          • chingadera@lemmy.world
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            20 hours ago

            Time has shown that these motherfuckers don’t even care if “the right people get hurt”

            As long as there is hurt, and their preferred propaganda machine tells them, they’re happy.

      • gwheel@lemm.ee
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        1 day ago

        They’re completely caught in the misinfo and still cheering him on. Anyone getting hurt must have deserved it and if they’re getting hurt it just shows how important it is to hurt the others back.

      • Bronzebeard@lemm.ee
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        23 hours ago

        The majority did not vote for this. The majority of voters didn’t even vote for this. He only won a plurality (<50%)

          • Bronzebeard@lemm.ee
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            8 hours ago

            Given that he campaigned claiming he wouldn’t be enacting Project 2025 (even though it was obvious he would be), I don’t think you can claim people not voting are automatically okay with him breaking that very explicit promise.

            No. Americans do not want this. Americans especially didn’t want it done by some nutjob private citizen who has zero authority to do what he’s doing, and no oversight.

            • GeneralEmergency@lemmy.world
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              6 hours ago

              No. Americans do not want this

              Then they would’ve voted.

              By not voting they are saying they are ok with either option.

              That’s how democracy works. Voters can bury their heads in the sand, it doesn’t make the politicians go away.

              • Bronzebeard@lemm.ee
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                3 hours ago

                Getting voted in is NOT permission to break the law.

                He’s illegally bypassing Congress with his actions. Doesn’t matter if this is what your dumbass voted for, it’s not how this works.

        • Majorllama@lemmy.world
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          23 hours ago

          No vote. No opinion.

          He got the majority of votes. He got the majority of the electoral.

          The majority of participating voters wanted this.

          Just because you guys cannot fathom how anyone would want this doesn’t mean this is the same panic inducing situation for them. The majority of politically active people in the United States of America wanted this to happen as evidence of the election we just held.

          • Bronzebeard@lemm.ee
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            23 hours ago

            No. He got a plurality of the votes. Not a majority.

            The majority of participating voters voted against him.

            How many times do you need that repeated to understand?

            • applejuicy@lemmy.world
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              12 hours ago

              I mean, I’m sure you’re right. What I don’t understand is how that technicality is even relevant. Even if 40% of the people voted for this, does that not still mean you have a sick and dangerous population on your hands? We’re talking about tens of millions of people that voted for a fascist regime.

              • Bronzebeard@lemm.ee
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                11 hours ago

                It means he doesn’t have the popular mandate they keep claiming they do.

                But yes. Half of adults are functionally illiterate. 5th-6th grade reading levels. They can physically read the words, but will only grasp the most basic surface level meaning. Republicans’ started attacking education decades ago. This is what they wrought.

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                23 hours ago

                Outdated data. The votes were not done being counted on November 10th. Trump got 49.8% to Harris’ 48.3%

                • Majorllama@lemmy.world
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                  22 hours ago

                  Ah. Fair enough. Last time I had seen it it was more than 50% still. Well then by a technicality not a majority then. I do love a technically correct statement so I’ll give you that one.

                  Still. More people voted for this than didn’t vote for this.

        • Kecessa@sh.itjust.works
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          23 hours ago

          He got the support of all the people who voted for him and all the people who didn’t vote against him.

          • idiomaddict@lemmy.world
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            23 hours ago

            Lucky the USA allows everyone to vote no matter what; doesn’t schedule it for a standard workday, meaning nobody has to choose between feeding their kids and voting; plans out enough polling stations so that people don’t have to wait for hours without access to food, water, or seating; doesn’t surprise deregister voters with little notice; and sends out absentee ballots reliably with sufficient time to return them…

            • ripcord@lemmy.world
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              22 hours ago

              Georgia had both mail-in absentee voting and, especially, 2 weeks of early voting including on weekends. In most places the early voting lines weren’t terribly long. On election day most places were short.

              Most people still didn’t vote.

              Some people couldn’t vote. Millions of assholes just didn’t bother and are partly to blame.

  • not_amm@lemmy.ml
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    23 hours ago

    This has happened in México too, the most famously recorded one was during Enrique Peña Nieto’s term (sorry for linking to YT). They said the flag thing was an accident, but it was during the Flag Day and everyone was angry with the way the government was handling things. The government-influenced media was angry with the military because “they made a mistake”, but we all knew why it happened.

    https://youtu.be/cwW9X_GBtco

  • Xaphanos@lemmy.world
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    22 hours ago

    The State is in distress. Who will answer the call? Who will come it’s aid? We have all been summoned.

    • john_lemmy@slrpnk.net
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      14 hours ago

      Yeah, that is a great first step. Especially if you try to connect and network with other people during the protests to form longer lasting groups or find and participate in already existing ones.

      This shit won’t be fixed with protests alone, but if they help people get a taste for what it feels like to organize and take some power back, then it is already worth it. Hell, even being around people that feel the same way is already a net plus for a lot of people who are ideologically isolated.

    • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      16 hours ago

      Yeah like every day… none of this “we will spend one hour during our lunch break on one Wednesday!” bullshit.

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      12 hours ago

      Yeah but we need to stop occupying sidewalks and start occupying gated communities. The fact that protest organizers won’t do this says everything you need to know about them - they prefer passive action that does nothing but maintain the status quo. I’ve been to over 100 protests everything from workers strikes to BLM to Occupy Wall St, and i’ve learned that occupying a sidewalk that the oligarchs don’t walk on does nothing but make the cause look pathetic. We need to protest where the oligarchs will be afraid, anything less is just playing into their hands.