The Captain of the Mother Ship:
"MAYBE CHANGING PRESIDENTS SO OFTEN IS WHAT CAUSES OUR WEAK, CONFUSED REACTIONS TO MOST THINGS….
MAYBE WE NEED A DICTATOR !!
SOMEONE WHO MAKES DECISIONS AND STICKS TO THEM AND THE WORLD KNOWS WHAT THEY ARE."
The Mother Ship's captain is a HUGE fan of authoritarians/dictators:
"I happen to be a huge fan of Salvador’s President Bukele and she is, too! She’s very proud of him and all he’s doing there. (Remember Kamala went to Central America to figure out what makes the illegals come from those countries? She never visited El Salvador to see what Bukele is doing to KEEP his people, of course….creating jobs, arresting gangs, etc…) I told her we need a president Bukele here in America, too! She beamed!"
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So the Captain of the Mother Ship, who often claims how much she loves America, is a great admirer of Bukele, an anti-democratic authoritarian?
Yes, he's gone after the gangs and eliminated most of their thuggery, but at what cost? He is moving toward being a dictator.
"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." --B. Franklin
"Bukele's legislative allies removed and replaced members of the Supreme Court, stacking the court with loyalists. That move made it possible for Bukele to run for an immediate second term, even though El Salvador's Constitution forbids it, because the court reinterpreted that section of the Constitution in 2021.
In 2023, in what opponents said was another effort to consolidate power, Bukele and Nuevas Ideas pushed through a law to downsize the legislature from 84 seats to 60. Nuevas Ideas could go from a two-thirds majority to occupying nearly every seat.
'We're moving towards a one-party state with only the semblance of democratic legitimacy,' says Jorge Cuéllar, a professor of Latin American, Latino and Caribbean studies at Dartmouth who has written about El Salvador. 'And I think that's basically already happened.'
'People have a sense of security now and safety that they hadn't felt in quite a long time. So we can't discount that,' says Cuéllar.
But thousands of people with no gang connection have also been swept up in the arrests, human rights advocates say.
Verónica Reyna, who researches human rights for the Salvadoran group Passionist Social Services, says prisons are overcrowded and prisoners face unsanitary conditions, limits on food and water, and other mistreatment. An aid group recorded at least 223 deaths in prisons so far during the state of emergency, 'some of these with clear signs of having suffered torture,' she told NPR in an email.
Reyna says journalists, trade unionists and informal vendors have also been intimidated by the police and threatened with arrest. 'In some way,' she adds, the state of emergency 'is a permanent threat to anyone who may be inconvenient to the president's interests, and could be applied to anyone at any time.'
"Trump has vowed to 'root out … the radical-left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country.'
Trump’s own words have made increasingly clear how fixated he is on revenge and targeting his perceived enemies if he wins a second term in the White House next November.
The former president has openly mused in recent days that his own indictment has 'released the genie out of the box' and would allow him to weaponize the government against his opponents."
'His policies are not centered around improving the lives of his supporters or Americans in general, it’s centered around consolidating power for Trump, and that way he can wield it to enact that revenge on anyone he deems as an enemy,' said Sarah Matthews, a former Trump White House and campaign press aide who resigned over the Jan. 6 riots."
"I went to the Schnecksville rally today to talk with Trump voters, because our biggest story isn't a wannabe dictator but the 74 million who want to live under one. I met people trapped inside a hopeless doom loop of disinformation."
"Stewart listed everything from Trump claiming the New York Times leaker should be arrested (a violation of freedom of the press) to former Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper’s claims that Trump asked about shooting protestors (a violation of freedom of assembly). He also included Trump’s now-famous remark that he wants to be dictator for “one day.”
“Just so you know, that is how it starts,” Stewart said. “‘I’m not saying anybody has to do the arm salute! Let’s just start with a few people doing the arm salute, and we’ll see if the arm salute catches on.’”
" Among other things, Mr. Kagan cited Mr. Trump’s effort to overturn an election that he had lost, disregarding the will of the voters. And he noted Mr. Trump’s overt discussion of prosecuting opponents and sending the military into the streets to quell protests.
'In just a few years, we have gone from being relatively secure in our democracy to being a few short steps, and a matter of months, away from the possibility of dictatorship,' Mr. Kagan wrote."
16 comments:
Shaw... the comment stating "maybe we need a dictator" stunned me.
I've seen the love for Bukele, but I attributed to the lack of an ability to read and understand Spanish. Let's also remember that the views many on the HMS Mothership share about the inefficiencies of democracy are also shared by a certain fmr. president.
Not to be lost should be the comments last night by Senator Cotton who said if people block traffic, Americans should take matters into their own hands, not wait for police and in the case of the Golden Gate Bridge where there was a protest the other day, the protestors should be thrown off the bridge.
No trial, no arrest, no waiting around for justice. Just throw them off the bridge. Do what you think is right before the cops get there.
From a sitting US Senator.
And like the comments that "maybe we need a dictator", no push back from the ppl who see themselves as sane.
The lights are flashing red and no one seems to care.
Franklin's qoute is more poignant today, in the era of trump, than at anytime in our history. Idiots like the one who penned those sentiments are willing to be oppressed by request. Remarkable.
The lights are flashing red and no one seems to care.
Qoute of the day i think belongs to Dave.
Dave M. "No trial, no arrest, no waiting around for justice. Just throw them off the bridge. Do what you think is right before the cops get there."
As POTUS, Trump wondered why protesters couldn't be shot.
Former Pentagon chief Esper says Trump asked about shooting protesters
"Former Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper said President Donald Trump inquired about shooting protesters amid the unrest that took place after George Floyd's murder in 2020. He recounts that incident, and many others, in a wide-ranging interview with NPR's Michel Martin on All Things Considered.
Esper said he stayed in the administration because he worried that if he left, the president would more easily implement some of his "dangerous ideas."
The former Defense chief also said he hopes Trump does not seek the presidency in 2024.
"We need leaders of integrity and character, and we need leaders who will bring people together and reach across the aisle and do what's best for the country. And Donald Trump doesn't meet the mark for me on any of those issues."
The cultish worship of Trump has blinded certain Americans to the dangers of a wannabe dictator.
As long as the wannabe dictator goes after the same people they dislike, they'd be okay with bastardizing our American democracy and put a strongman in the WH who would continue to debase our system of government.
How any American who has read history, even of the past 50 years, could wish for a government takeover by an authoritarian strongman is astounding, and insane.
Les
Exactly. Someone/something must have turned the light off on The Mother Ship!
It's been a while since I've seen the Ben Franklin quote. Thanks for the reminder!
Here's "The Captain" admitting that Trump represents her values:
"...we will vote for Trump does NOT mean we’re crazy about HIM……Conservatism is not truly represented by him…..he just represents our values so much better, in my opinion.
Trump is an adjudicated sexual assaulter/rapist, a serial adulterer. Trump's a former CiC whose Chief of Staff (Gen. John Kelly) heard him first-hand say that soldiers who died in combat were "losers and suckers."
Trump had to pay $25 million for cheating people who signed up for his Trump University, he stiffed contract workers all the time, and to top all of those miserable "values," he broke our American tradition of having a peaceful transition of power from one POTUS to another POTUS because he LIED about winning the 2020 election and caused an insurrection against the United States government and said his own VP deserved to be hanged.
Those are the values that millions of Americans as well as the Mother Ship and its Captain are proud to call their own.
"Conservatism is not truly represented by him"???
What does that mean? That people who are conservative, will vote for him because why???
Because he represent their values better. Whatever those values are.
The only value they have is not Dem, not Biden, no progressive.
Ever.
Sure explains a lot doesn't it.
The two fatal flaws in human nature are authoritarian leaders and authoritarian followers.
A quarter to a third of any population would welcome autocracy and a dictator. And they will have it if the rest of us don't stop them.
They stand athwart the evolution of human intelligence and compassion, and ultimately the survival of our species.
Now we have a lone American Democratic Party facing the combined forces of a powerful new Axis of Evil. Trump's base of greedy Republican billionaires, white Christian nationalists, and the usual nitwits, racists and bigots are allied with the greed and corrupting influence of Wall Street and finally Putin's Russia.
And all we have is a flawed republic with an anti-democratic Constitution that is rigged for minority rule.
The authoritarian minority can defeat the majority's will in the Senate, Electoral College and Supreme Court. Both Trump and Bush Jr. lost the popular vote and won the White House, and thanks to a Senate installed run by a minority they installed a six to three majority in the Supreme Court. This is not in any way the will of the people or consent of the governed.
The Constitution was originally set up to give an advantage to wealthy white men over minorities, women, the poor and working class.
It was designed to be amended, but we likely won't see any more pro-democracy amendments. The authoritarian Right has it essentially locked up. And why not? The antiquated Constitution is truly rigged in their favor. If our democracy falls, this will be the reason.
Dave Dubya: "A quarter to a third of any population would welcome autocracy and a dictator. And they will have it if the rest of us don't stop them."
I've been saying that for a while. Heck, even our own Revolution that separated us from Britain did not have unanimous support from the people living in the 13 colonies. About one third of the colonists were for it, one third against separation; and one third had no feeling about it either way.
We know that before we entered WWII, there were thousands of Americans who supported and marched in favor of the Nazis!
"On the evening of Feb. 20, 1939, the marquee of New York's Madison Square Garden was lit up with the evening's main event: a "Pro American Rally." The organizers had chosen the date in celebration of George Washington's birthday and had procured a 30-foot-tall banner of America's first president for the stage. More than 20,000 men and women streamed inside and took their seats. The view they had was stunning: Washington was hung between American flags — and swastikas.
The rally was sponsored by the German American Bund, an organization with headquarters in Manhattan and thousands of members across the United States. In the 1930s, the Bund was one of several organizations in the United States that were openly supportive of Adolf Hitler and the rise of fascism in Europe. They had parades, bookstores and summer camps for youth. Their vision for America was a cocktail of white supremacy, fascist ideology and American patriotism."
Two years later, Americans were fighting against the very Nazis the Americans were extolling in Madison Square Garden!
I see parallels today. Sadly, too many Americans are ignorant of their history of admiring authoritarian/totalitarian ideology.
Just look at the example of the "conservative" blogger quoted on this post.
Dave Miller said...
"Conservatism is not truly represented by him"???
What does that mean? That people who are conservative, will vote for him because why???
Because he represent their values better. Whatever those values are."
If ever there was an example of muddy thinking, that is it!
To her, Trump does not "truly" represent Conservatism, but his values do?
What does she think constitutes Conservative ideology, if not belief in certain values?
These confused and thoughtless statements are rampant in Trumplandia. I've seen and heard Trumpers (interviewed while waiting in line for his rallies) not able to coherently answer why they support Trump with such fervor. When they are confronted with Trump's own anti-democracy words, they don't know how to react, or don't believe what is the truth about him.
There is no cohesive thinking, or no thinking at all, about why they are drawn to this deeply flawed and dangerous, anti-democracy demagogue. They remind me of the mobs that willingly attended Nazi bund rallies pre-WWII.
Dave D., I think the fatal flaw in human recognition is the non recognition of our true human nature. Due to our many obscurations and delusions we simply fail to realize what that is. Nor does the human race in generl seem too concerned. It keeps plodding, or racing, down the exact wrong path or road.
This comment is probably better left to Les' expertise, but how a good part of our population, or the political operatives, has devolved since our Nation's founding is truly troubling.
We've come from the brilliance and vision of Hamilton, Madison and Jay's Federalist Papers, to the leaders of one of our major political parties doing it's best to appeal to the most negative aspects and worst beliefs of a segment of our population. Over 70 million people are going to vote for Trump this November. Very few of them either have a clue what Trump really represents, or don't care since his being in office benefits them financially. A wise person said in the absence of facts, people tend to make things up. I add that they will justify any lunacy their preferred candidate may spout as this Mother Ship person apparently does. I won't visit his/her site as I have better things to do than have my brain assaulted with ridiculous lies and nonsense. Every four years we're told this is the most important election in history. This one may be right. The Supreme Court is packed with intellectually dishonest kooks. Biden loses the republicans could very well have an 8 to one majority that will reverse every good thing ever done.
Sorry JoeBama "Truth 101" Kelly. No expertise. Just a lot of meditation and contemplation.
JoeBama... as to your concern about brilliance and vision, I too am concerned, across the board. No one can credibly argue that Biden fits the bill as a brilliant man with a huge vision for America. Even in his younger days. In fact, American has rejected him twice before.
What you've identified is a problem for America across the board, so the question that is begged is this...
Why?
I believe the problem goes back at least to the 1972 introduction of national binding primaries across the land after the debacle of the 1968 Dem Convention. Then in 1980, candidate Reagan ushered in the era of the telegenic candidate.
Trump in 2016 just took control of the system and social media we had, energized it and here we are.
Why would academics and visionaries like Hamilton, Jefferson and others run? How can a humble leader like a Washington or an Ike get elected these days? How in an era of 24/7 media coverage can a candidate like FDR, in a wheel chair, or a guy like Kennedy suffering daily from Addison's disease, get elected?
I'm not sure they can. We still have those people in America, both conservative and progressive, the best and the brightest we used to all them, but why those people subject themselves to the idiocy of what we currently have?
We're not voting for the best presidential candidates for America. We're voting for the least bad candidates willing to subject themselves to a system that is broken.
It's pretty much what we've been doing since, depending on your perspective fill in the date, but voting for the lesser of two evils has been an American thing for sometime.
We are, lock stock and barrel (for the most part) a culture and society driven by extreme consumerism and materialism.
Yup, the system is broken. So my guess is well travel down the same path that got us here in the first place all over again.
Unfortunte and sad. But, likely true.
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