Thank you to Steve Bannon for giving away the game:

@JugglingWithEggs ”would be a declaration of civil war”

What do you think the US is having now, then? How many times can you move the red line?

@ricardoharvin Bullshit. If they really didn't, they wouldn't be pouring so much money and effort into making it harder to vote.

@MichaelMcWilliams mail bags can be (and in the past have been) vanished. 70 million ppl showing up for votes are visible. No one can deny they have been there, no one can believe the stolen election with visible ppl. Mail vote is better but nothing, but far from safe. You need to stand up, show up, speak up, vote. Make it visible, give proof. @randahl

@dmitry I agree 100% - spreading evey "news" of GOP & the Felon 47, helps them spreading the news & amplifiying. BUT: ppl will find the "news" them selves as well, stumble upon it & are alone with it, if not discussed & talked about. At least, as a community we can talk about it, shed light from multiple angles & view points on it, so ppl are not alone & dare to think outside of the box GOP is giving them. I am all for not giving clicks to support them aka clicking certain movie links. @randahl

@katrinakatrinka @randahl

They can't do the whole country, but they don't need to, they just need to do certain districts. This is about holding on to a razor majority in congress.

And you have to remember, states like Texas with Greg "the fucker" Abbott are going to be gleeful little helpers in making this happen.

I don't want to demoralize people from voting, but we have to be prepared for the real possibility of it being stolen.

@hadon@mastodon.social @randahl@mastodon.social Use #AI for that. What could possibly go wrong?

@randahl I have also posted this chilling video on FB. This is civil war in the making...

@randahl

As pointed by Devereaux, Bouie and probably many others, they don't have enough goons to do that, and by far.
And as shown by Minneapolis, if they try that in some voting places (which is the maximum their numbers can allow), getting their behavior on camera won't bring them good results overall.

I'm not saying that they won't try it, but they can't pull it out with the current political equilibrium.

@divVerent @randahl

Sure, and money is not a problem, since Greg Brockman (co-founder and director of OpenAI donated 25 million dollars to Maga Inc.
https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/867947/openai-president-greg-brockman-trump-super-pac

@ricardoharvin I fear there are a huge number of people in denial. And some of them are in charge of managing elections.

@ahltorp

I have come to that conclusion this week and said as much. There will be no public announcement of civil war…it will just seep into the public consciousness.

@lienrag @randahl But they only have to do it in a few key places where the winning margin is usually small one way or the other.

And they only have to be seen doing it in a few places and spread rumours that it's happening in more to put people off going anywhere near their voting location.

@beecycling

They have to do it at enough key places to offset the counter-effect that we've seen with the Pretti-Good answers to the Minneapolis situation (as far as Texas).
They don't have enough goons to do that.

And the chilling effect has to also offset the anger effect.

Remember, don't comply in advance.

There are reasons to worry (and to register as an observer in order to prevent them from succeeding), but not to capitulate.

@randahl

@randahl Steve Bannon? The guy from the Epstein files? No way, I can't believe it!!

Also, it is illegal for federal agents to be at polling locations without an active crime being committed. Let's see how they twist the law this time.

@lienrag @randahl I hope that counter effect is still going by November. I'm sure they will do many more terrible things by then. They're probably out to provoke a response that gives them an excuse to cancel the elections entirely. If they can't get that, they will steal them, however blatant they have to be about it. You're not going to get a normal election again until these people are gone, and they're not going to go quietly.

@beecycling

Sure.
That's why careful and reasonable assessment of the threats and opportunities is necessary, rather than FUD.

@randahl

@moonlight1494 With Music?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBUGI30V7lQ

@randahl

@randahl

Wasn't this guy already supposed to be in jail, like for committing fraud or something? No? Oh well, the Orange Menace would have waved his imaginary pardon wand for the customary fee.

I guess it pays to be a member of the Law & Order & Pardon Party 🥳

@ricardoharvin @dmitry

An election with only one allowed outcome is not an election.

This "election" is performative, to make people think they can still vote so they will accept all these measures. If they get away with it, it will be the last one. This performative election is the last faint chance to object to fascism, that is why they are spending so much - to render any opposition to the current administraton ineffective so that resistance will fail.

@randahl so much invested in the idea that trump will never die.

He's 80. He will, and soon. And then all the trumpys are fucked, because he won't leave behind a repeatable example anyone will follow, and no successor (Vance ain't it).