From this side of the Atlantic (the UK side) it looks like the US is slipping towards civil war, goaded on by a President wanting to invoke the Insurrection Act as a way of militarising his political power.
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@d_a_n_a @ChrisMayLA6
What encouragement would be necessary for, say, California to secede?@guardeddon @ChrisMayLA6 A couple of book suggestions vis a vis secession:
Peter Heller, "Burn" (2024) (Maine secedes)
Brian Hart, "Trouble No Man" (2019) (West coast post secession of a large area described as "The Preservation")
Both are grim food for thought.
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From this side of the Atlantic (the UK side) it looks like the US is slipping towards civil war, goaded on by a President wanting to invoke the Insurrection Act as a way of militarising his political power.
I'd be interested if followers of these posts in the US think the same or whether the media's distorting mirror is deceiving us about the gravity of the situation...
(Civil) analysis & contextual answers boosted & thanks in advance for sharing.
@ChrisMayLA6 I feel that is exactly the case. It is terrifying, and I’d kinda hoped y final years would be a bit more peaceful
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I'm interested in the idea of self-correction - from here it looks like the forces with & behind Trump are seeking to ensure such a self-correction is not possible.... are you saying that is a misapprehension?
@ChrisMayLA6 @lukeryanps I think we will be very fortunate if there are elections this year, and too many people are still clinging to that as of things are normal
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From this side of the Atlantic (the UK side) it looks like the US is slipping towards civil war, goaded on by a President wanting to invoke the Insurrection Act as a way of militarising his political power.
I'd be interested if followers of these posts in the US think the same or whether the media's distorting mirror is deceiving us about the gravity of the situation...
(Civil) analysis & contextual answers boosted & thanks in advance for sharing.
@ChrisMayLA6 From a certain historical perspective, the US Civil War never really ended, it went underground. The attitudes were cultivated and channeled into institutional racism and Jim Crow laws.
The 20th century "Confederates" (fascists) never forgave the US government for Civil Rights and equality laws. The 21st century Confederates are trying to unmake the human rights advances in order to institute a white Christian theocracy. (Blame John Calvin.)
All empires eventually fall, as hubris takes its toll.
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@EvelineSulman @Mattrog @ChrisMayLA6 He can’t pause elections lawfully. US has held elections during all wars including the Civil War. He can prevent people from voting by scaring them enough to stay home but even this may not be enough to end voting as courts can extend voting to counter certain issues. Trump wants you to worry.
@alex_p_roe @EvelineSulman @Mattrog @ChrisMayLA6 He owns the supreme court. He can do what he likes.
The only barriers to what he can do are what will finally tip politicians over the edge (assuming they don't wait too long and lose that power too), and at what point the country goes up in flames.
Given even the "opposition" party is basically executing on "but we're a different kind of nazi" that seems pretty grim.
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@EvelineSulman @Mattrog @ChrisMayLA6 He can’t pause elections lawfully. US has held elections during all wars including the Civil War. He can prevent people from voting by scaring them enough to stay home but even this may not be enough to end voting as courts can extend voting to counter certain issues. Trump wants you to worry.
@alex_p_roe @EvelineSulman @Mattrog @ChrisMayLA6 not only that but from what I understand don't individual states administer their own elections? So Trump doesn't have power over how they're held. The controls he has are things like USPS (making postal voting harder) and terrorising people from showing up. But he can't directly do anything to stop them happening.
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@alex_p_roe @EvelineSulman @Mattrog @ChrisMayLA6 not only that but from what I understand don't individual states administer their own elections? So Trump doesn't have power over how they're held. The controls he has are things like USPS (making postal voting harder) and terrorising people from showing up. But he can't directly do anything to stop them happening.
@alex_p_roe @EvelineSulman @Mattrog @ChrisMayLA6 Amanda's Mild Takes on YouTube is very clear on this. https://youtube.com/shorts/cIHkd0YutTA
She points out in another one that even when Hawaii had martial law after Pearl Harbour, elections still happened. -
@alex_p_roe @EvelineSulman @Mattrog @ChrisMayLA6 He owns the supreme court. He can do what he likes.
The only barriers to what he can do are what will finally tip politicians over the edge (assuming they don't wait too long and lose that power too), and at what point the country goes up in flames.
Given even the "opposition" party is basically executing on "but we're a different kind of nazi" that seems pretty grim.
@etchedpixels @EvelineSulman @Mattrog @ChrisMayLA6 Yes, that he exploits his pet #SCOTUS in some way is a possibility - they may be able to find some obscure law or case and twist a decision in Trump’s favor. Trump and his evil cohorts will no doubt be scheming as we discuss this.
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@alex_p_roe @EvelineSulman @Mattrog @ChrisMayLA6 Amanda's Mild Takes on YouTube is very clear on this. https://youtube.com/shorts/cIHkd0YutTA
She points out in another one that even when Hawaii had martial law after Pearl Harbour, elections still happened.@Flisty @EvelineSulman @Mattrog @ChrisMayLA6 I asked #ChatGPT about this and the basic answer was no, Trump can’t stop the elections without a constitutional amendment which is highly unlikely - I assume - not always wise - that ChatGPT gave accurate info - will look at Amanda’s video to see how her take compares.
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@Flisty @EvelineSulman @Mattrog @ChrisMayLA6 I asked #ChatGPT about this and the basic answer was no, Trump can’t stop the elections without a constitutional amendment which is highly unlikely - I assume - not always wise - that ChatGPT gave accurate info - will look at Amanda’s video to see how her take compares.
@alex_p_roe @EvelineSulman @Mattrog @ChrisMayLA6 if you ask a real search engine it will give you a long list of articles by humans that agree that trump can't cancel elections
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@guardeddon @ChrisMayLA6 secession attempts would cause outright civil war. Remember that the federal govt. is heavily armed.
I believe we'll see interstate agreements to do things that the federal govt. used to do. If things fall apart completely, these associations could become the basis of regional entities.
@d_a_n_a @guardeddon @ChrisMayLA6 A looser union like the European Union could be the way forward
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From this side of the Atlantic (the UK side) it looks like the US is slipping towards civil war, goaded on by a President wanting to invoke the Insurrection Act as a way of militarising his political power.
I'd be interested if followers of these posts in the US think the same or whether the media's distorting mirror is deceiving us about the gravity of the situation...
(Civil) analysis & contextual answers boosted & thanks in advance for sharing.
@ChrisMayLA6 I read a piece some time ago saying that the second US civil war won't be armies and set-piece battles, it will be more like the Troubles in Northern Ireland, and the Irish independence fight before that: death squads at midnight, car bombs, kneecapping. Things are developing right along that trajectory at the moment. It's going to get worse before it gets better. Sorry.
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@EvelineSulman @Mattrog @ChrisMayLA6 He can’t pause elections lawfully. US has held elections during all wars including the Civil War. He can prevent people from voting by scaring them enough to stay home but even this may not be enough to end voting as courts can extend voting to counter certain issues. Trump wants you to worry.
@alex_p_roe @EvelineSulman @Mattrog @ChrisMayLA6 "lawfully" is doing a lot of heavy lifting here. Whether or not it is lawful, who's going to step up to stop him at this point? If there has not so far been a flash point to general civil war (I'd contend that that state exists in Minneapolis) then this might be a major candidate but it would require the General Staff to stand by their oaths and Hegseth has been culling the officers who would be likely to do that. Or else the public would have to.
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@ChrisMayLA6 To have a civil war, you'd have to have government bodies willing to fight the Nazis. That is not happening, nor is it realistic.
An uprising? Well we might be headed towards that hella fast. But it ain't gonna be a "Civil War" because the lib establishment will surrender before they start shooting.
@AnarchoNinaWrites @ChrisMayLA6 bollocks. Black Panthers are libs and they're already arming up.
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@alex_p_roe @EvelineSulman @Mattrog @ChrisMayLA6 Amanda's Mild Takes on YouTube is very clear on this. https://youtube.com/shorts/cIHkd0YutTA
She points out in another one that even when Hawaii had martial law after Pearl Harbour, elections still happened.@Flisty @alex_p_roe @EvelineSulman @Mattrog @ChrisMayLA6 I worry less that elections will be cancelled than that Republicans will create enough chaos in enough states and Mike Johnson will use that as an excuse to refuse swearing in the new Democratic House members and keep the GOP in control.
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@alex_p_roe @EvelineSulman @Mattrog @ChrisMayLA6 "lawfully" is doing a lot of heavy lifting here. Whether or not it is lawful, who's going to step up to stop him at this point? If there has not so far been a flash point to general civil war (I'd contend that that state exists in Minneapolis) then this might be a major candidate but it would require the General Staff to stand by their oaths and Hegseth has been culling the officers who would be likely to do that. Or else the public would have to.
@Mschatelaine @alex_p_roe @EvelineSulman @Mattrog @ChrisMayLA6
I see in this thread a lot of touching belief in variants of the phrase "Trump can’t do XYZ lawfully".
Sadly, the last 12 months is the story of Trump doing whatever he wants, regardless of law or constitution. Tariffs, removing trans rights, invasion, genocide, murder at sea, demolishing the East Wing, snatch squads, torture: all "can't legally do" but all being done.
These legal theories no longer describe actual power in #USA.
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@ChrisMayLA6 From a certain historical perspective, the US Civil War never really ended, it went underground. The attitudes were cultivated and channeled into institutional racism and Jim Crow laws.
The 20th century "Confederates" (fascists) never forgave the US government for Civil Rights and equality laws. The 21st century Confederates are trying to unmake the human rights advances in order to institute a white Christian theocracy. (Blame John Calvin.)
All empires eventually fall, as hubris takes its toll.
@c_merriweather @ChrisMayLA6
It never goes away, it gets beaten, goes under ground, licks its wounds and waits for society to forget. Unfortunately, human nature is what it is.
There are, and always will persist, the dark things in our nature. You don't beat them for good, there is no 'never again.' There is only eternal vigilance, and the price for complacency is tyranny.
For the failings of our complacent society, regardless of the guilty few, we face that now. -
@Mschatelaine @alex_p_roe @EvelineSulman @Mattrog @ChrisMayLA6
I see in this thread a lot of touching belief in variants of the phrase "Trump can’t do XYZ lawfully".
Sadly, the last 12 months is the story of Trump doing whatever he wants, regardless of law or constitution. Tariffs, removing trans rights, invasion, genocide, murder at sea, demolishing the East Wing, snatch squads, torture: all "can't legally do" but all being done.
These legal theories no longer describe actual power in #USA.
@2legged @Mschatelaine @alex_p_roe @EvelineSulman @Mattrog
Sadly I agree; a reliance in the rule of law in the US in the moment is more about hope than experience
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@Mschatelaine @alex_p_roe @EvelineSulman @Mattrog @ChrisMayLA6
I see in this thread a lot of touching belief in variants of the phrase "Trump can’t do XYZ lawfully".
Sadly, the last 12 months is the story of Trump doing whatever he wants, regardless of law or constitution. Tariffs, removing trans rights, invasion, genocide, murder at sea, demolishing the East Wing, snatch squads, torture: all "can't legally do" but all being done.
These legal theories no longer describe actual power in #USA.
@2legged
Before he took office in 2025, various people commented that Congress could act as a stop on his shitnanigans, to them I responded that out corrupt SCOTUS had given him the authority to override Congress... And he has done so.People commented that the courts would block him, to which I responded that the courts have no enforcement tools unless he gives it to them... And he has not done so, further he simply ignores them.
@Mschatelaine @alex_p_roe @EvelineSulman @Mattrog @ChrisMayLA6
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@Mschatelaine @alex_p_roe @EvelineSulman @Mattrog @ChrisMayLA6
I see in this thread a lot of touching belief in variants of the phrase "Trump can’t do XYZ lawfully".
Sadly, the last 12 months is the story of Trump doing whatever he wants, regardless of law or constitution. Tariffs, removing trans rights, invasion, genocide, murder at sea, demolishing the East Wing, snatch squads, torture: all "can't legally do" but all being done.
These legal theories no longer describe actual power in #USA.
@2legged @Mschatelaine @alex_p_roe @EvelineSulman @Mattrog @ChrisMayLA6
Sadly, any law or constitution is only applicable as far as the people with the power to ignore them choose to pretend they apply.
