*** “Every time we turn our heads the other way when we see the law flouted, when we tolerate what we know to be wrong, when we close our eyes and ears to the corrupt because we are too busy or too frightened, when we fail to speak out, we strike a blow against freedom and decency and justice.” [Robert F. Kennedy, Senior]
1]. So you want to change a democracy into an autocracy. Where to begin?…………Begin by eroding press freedoms. Then move on to threatening major universities….Frighten the legal community…go after any judge who has the temerity to disagree….. Your tools are fear, confusion, intimidation, and, where applicable, loss of funding..” [Judge Edward J. Cleary: “A step-by-step checklist toward autocracy – moving along too easily so far”: Minnesota Star-Tribune; 3/26/25. – READ THIS ARTICLE1111 – excerpts following…]
*** “So long as men worship the Caesars and Napoleons, Caesars and Napoleons will duly arise and make them miserable.” [ Aldous Huxley ]
2] “…..the land of the free, and the home of the brave…”??? YOUR democracy is undergoing a COUP right now – conducted by ruthless, GREEDY, cruel, ARROGANT, anti-democratic people. What have YOU done to stop them?
In 60 days, the Musk-Trump KAKISTOCRACY has done more damage to America, American society, American democracy than ANY individual or group, 1789-2024.
They are following. “Move Fast and Break Things.” And they have, they ARE. As usual, this particular FAR RIGHT group “justifies” their ILLEGAL acts by LYING. They’re MAKING STUFF UP. There is NOTHING in the U.S. Constitution, nor ANY “intent,” nor ANY practices, 1789-2024, that allows this ‘PROJECT 2025″ destruction
They are presenting YOU with a fait accompli and. daring YOU to undo it.
***. “In the end the Party would announce that two and two made five, and you would have to believe it. It was inevitable that they should make that claim sooner or later: the logic of their position demanded it.”
[. George Orwell: “1984” ]
3] “Let us begin with the press…she resigned in protest doe to a directive issued by the owner of the Post, Jeff Bezos….The directive limited the subject matter opinion columnists could cover and circumscribed what viewpoints they could express. So much for press freedom..” [ Judge Cleary: ‘…checklist…” ]
***. “I tell you..the cornerstone of democracy is free press…because that’s what they’re always first after..newspapers, radio, television..” [ Milos Forman ]
4] “On to the major universities. The Trump administration has made it clear that it will withhold funding from these institutions if they don’t cooperate….a climate of fear is descending on institutions of higher learning, leading to self-censorship and muted voices.” [ Judge Cleary: “…checklist…”
*** “Fascist politics seeks to undermine public discourse by attacking and devaluing education, expertise, and language…its representatives and facilitators denounce universities and schools as sources of “Marxist indoctrination”…By debasing institutions of higher learning and impoverishing our joint vocabulary to discuss policy, fascist politics reduces debate to ideological conflict.” [ Jason Stanley: “How Fascism Works” ]
5]. “Our goal is to intimidate the legal community and settle old scores. We’ll punish large law firms..for who they have represented in the past, thereby discouraging attorneys from taking on clients that do not adhere to the administration’s positions.” { Judge Cleary: “…checklist…” ]
***. “Fascist law-and-order rhetoric is explicitly meant to divide citizens into two classes: those of the chosen nation..and those who are not..women who do not fit traditional gender roles, non-whites, homosexuals, immigrants, “decadent cosmopolitans,” those who do not have the dominant religion, are by their very existence violations of law and order.” [ Stanley: “How Fascism Works” ]
6] “That brings us to the one major impediment to establishing your autocracy: the rule of law, as pronounced by the third co-equal branch of government, the judicial branch….a dozen federal judges…have issued injunctions and have otherwise put at least a temporary halt to your myriad attempts to impose your will….You cannot allow that to continue. Back to fear and intimidation. Call for the impeachment of these obstructionists….Sooner or later..cases will come to the Supreme Court. If a majority..rule against the administration..if the rule of law holds – then you will have to decide if you will accept the decision or defy it. If you defy it, and succeed in doing so, you have your autocracy.”
[ Judge Cleary: “…checklist…” READ THIS AGAIN! – THIS is how close YOU are to dictatorship ]
*** “Trump has no knowledge of the American story and so cannot have any faith in it. He has no understanding of our sympathy for the language of the Founders, so he cannot be inspired by it. Since he doesn’t believe American democracy is good, he has no interest in an America that aspires to be a model among nations…..”To destroy a society..it is first necessary to delegitimize its basic institutions.” If you believe that American institutions are no different from their opposite, then there is no reason to defend them. the same is true of transatlantic institutions.” [ Anne Applebaum: “Twilight of Democracy” ]
7] “Our nation is in the middle of a coup d’etat..a classic coup..An ill-defined but powerful group of people, most with no legal standing but with ample private funding, is making drastic change in our nation’s politics and governing structures. Many of these changes violate existing laws and some our Constitution.” [ Edward Lotterman: “Shaky politics make for a shaky economy”; St. Paul Pioneer Press; 2/16/25 ]
8] “President Trump’s second term dizzies many Americans, but I find it oddly familiar…I”ve seen parallels in authoritarian countries I’ve covered…Strongmen seek power through a pattern of behavior that is increasingly replicated in Washington.”….”When authoritarians covet power, they pursue several common strategies.
First, they go after checks and balances within the government….Trump ignores laws he finds inconvenient.”…
Second, authoritarians try to crush independent referees and civil society institutions….Trump is doing his best to intimidate news organizations and discredit them as “enemies of the people.”…
Third, authoritarians sometimes recruit shadowy private enforcers….Trump has not gone that far.”…
[ Nicholas Kristof: “An Alarming Pattern Emerges”; New York Times; 2/16/25 ]
***. So, OK – YOU tell me – as a patriotic American – should YOU be alarmed at what the Musk-Trump KAKISTOCRACY is doing? One simple test for you: the Constitution’s Preamble: “We the People, created OUR government to “…establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility…promote the general Welfare…” What, IF ANYTHING, has the Trump-Musk KAKISTOCRACY done to achieve these goals – in realty, not rhetoric – for ALL 340 million Americans???
With Justice For All 