Maybe a handful such as Mark Kelly. But heroes are always in short supply, and the stock is quickly exhausted when subjected to persistent assault.
It's only 8 weeks in and the bars are moving rapidly. As of yesterday, the regime asserts that it may now abduct and imprison persons legally in the country, regardless of whether they have been convicted of or even charged with any crime.
Today there is a sort of restriction: the target is first deemed, --substantiation optional-- to support "terrorism." And the definition of "terrorism" is equally optional and entirely fluid.
Actually even the deeming part may already be optional. If the remarks yesterday by the person (or homunculus) purporting to be the White House "press secretary" are to be relied upon -- (?) -- it seems that simple 100% confidence that such and such a target supports "terrorism", that's all it takes. And by implication even asking questions about how this "confidence" works, or who has to have it, or in fact what "terrorism" consists of, is itself support for terrorism.
"Terrorism" will do for now, because there is limited police state infrastructure at present, so they are focusing on immigrants and foreigners. Mostly. But as they ramp up the apparatus of oppression, they will be able to take on more and more targets. And even so arbitrary a term as "terrorism" will sit more and more awkwardly on the people being rounded up. The regime will want better words to use.
Those of us old enough to recall the cold war days of Soviet propaganda are wondering when the "press secretary" will first use the term "hooliganism".
Ladies and gentlemen, fellow hooligans, this is everyone at the Bulwark and all of us who read the Bulwark or subscribe to the New York Times or urge people to boycott Tesla or post on social media or still have a Harris or or Black Lives Matter yard sign or imprudently express distaste for the regime in the wrong company.
Because the conservatives had a good point about government agencies growing out of control. It's pretty clear now that the FBI, DOJ, and ICE are gearing up to replicate here the examples of Venezuela, China, Cuba, etc. And one thing a police state apparatus needs is enemies. If you run out of enemies, what do all the thugs and concentration camp guards do all day? Ask Anne Applebaum, but one reason -- maybe the main reason -- that Gulags and dictatorships metastasize is simply that like invasive species, once a police state apparatus is set up, it runs out of control, because every organism must feed or die.
I think it's as safe a bet as sunrise each morning that when the regime wants enemies to gobble up, if they don't exist, they will be manufactured.
We desperately need to find some way to live with this doom and remain decent human beings. I fear it's too late to turn it back. How did ordinary people in the Eastern block manage it? Because even those of us who are citizens and have unthreatening jobs and don't go out of our way to make trouble are going to start being picked off and disappeared.
Maybe a handful such as Mark Kelly. But heroes are always in short supply, and the stock is quickly exhausted when subjected to persistent assault.
It's only 8 weeks in and the bars are moving rapidly. As of yesterday, the regime asserts that it may now abduct and imprison persons legally in the country, regardless of whether they have been convicted of or even charged with any crime.
Today there is a sort of restriction: the target is first deemed, --substantiation optional-- to support "terrorism." And the definition of "terrorism" is equally optional and entirely fluid.
Actually even the deeming part may already be optional. If the remarks yesterday by the person (or homunculus) purporting to be the White House "press secretary" are to be relied upon -- (?) -- it seems that simple 100% confidence that such and such a target supports "terrorism", that's all it takes. And by implication even asking questions about how this "confidence" works, or who has to have it, or in fact what "terrorism" consists of, is itself support for terrorism.
"Terrorism" will do for now, because there is limited police state infrastructure at present, so they are focusing on immigrants and foreigners. Mostly. But as they ramp up the apparatus of oppression, they will be able to take on more and more targets. And even so arbitrary a term as "terrorism" will sit more and more awkwardly on the people being rounded up. The regime will want better words to use.
Those of us old enough to recall the cold war days of Soviet propaganda are wondering when the "press secretary" will first use the term "hooliganism".
Ladies and gentlemen, fellow hooligans, this is everyone at the Bulwark and all of us who read the Bulwark or subscribe to the New York Times or urge people to boycott Tesla or post on social media or still have a Harris or or Black Lives Matter yard sign or imprudently express distaste for the regime in the wrong company.
Because the conservatives had a good point about government agencies growing out of control. It's pretty clear now that the FBI, DOJ, and ICE are gearing up to replicate here the examples of Venezuela, China, Cuba, etc. And one thing a police state apparatus needs is enemies. If you run out of enemies, what do all the thugs and concentration camp guards do all day? Ask Anne Applebaum, but one reason -- maybe the main reason -- that Gulags and dictatorships metastasize is simply that like invasive species, once a police state apparatus is set up, it runs out of control, because every organism must feed or die.
I think it's as safe a bet as sunrise each morning that when the regime wants enemies to gobble up, if they don't exist, they will be manufactured.
We desperately need to find some way to live with this doom and remain decent human beings. I fear it's too late to turn it back. How did ordinary people in the Eastern block manage it? Because even those of us who are citizens and have unthreatening jobs and don't go out of our way to make trouble are going to start being picked off and disappeared.
I'm wondering how long till they decide to deport Ilhan Omar and AOC....
Before they come after meтАж probably