#809 Musings Beyond the Bunker (Monday December 4)
Good morning,
WORDS MATTER
There is a meme going around comparing Trump’s rhetoric to that of Hitler. The parallels are uncanny, as both appeal to racial purity, historic connection to “blood and soil,” fear of pollution of the bloodline, and other such tropes. No one is suggesting (at least I’m not) that Trump will institute death camps. But his rhetoric parallels the rhetoric of strongmen and points at a desire to impose authoritarian type rule. He describes his political adversaries as “vermin.” He talks about how others are diluting the “blood” of the American people. He makes no secret that he is ready to act upon his rhetoric in a second term, taking greater control over executive functions, dismissing career civil servants, and following the model of authoritarians over the course of history in demanding total fealty to him and his whims.
But it isn’t just echoes of the rhetoric authoritarians that is troubling. Some American politicians are using language about “strong leadership,” our strong Christian national heritage, and fear of the “other” that sounds lot like calling for a dictatorship, a theocracy, or both. Mike Johnson, the new Speaker of the House, recently maintained that “Depraved America deserves God’s wrath.” That, Bill Maher points out, sounds exactly like Osama bin Laden.
ANOTHER SIGN OF THE APOCALYPSE
As we all know, the 2016 and 2020 elections were rife with Russian and other foreign influence through social media platforms. The government has been fighting an uphill battle to thwart the attempts of foreign actors to manipulate our elections. It appears we are pretty close to throwing in the towel and ceding the battle. The government no longer is advising social platforms regarding foreign disinformation. Here, from the Washington Post:
“The developments underscore the far-reaching impact of a conservative legal campaign against initiatives established to avoid a repeat of the 2016 election, when Russia manipulated social media in an attempt to sow chaos and swing the vote for Donald Trump. Republican lawmakers even have proposed cutting funding for combatting foreign disinformation and subpoenaed government agencies, including the State Department’s Global Engagement Center, which counters foreign propaganda.
For months, researchers in government and academia have warned that a barrage of lawsuits, congressional demands and online attacks are having a chilling effect on programs intended to combat health and election misinformation. But the shift in communications about foreign meddling signals how ongoing litigation and Republican probes in Congress are unwinding efforts once viewed as critical to protecting U.S. national security interests.”
You really can’t make this up. As Donald Trump continues to gain power on his way to reelection, the Republican faithful are lining up to put their thumbs on the scale by damaging our government’s ability to respond to foreign threats. Selling their souls to Donald Trump and Russian influence carries real costs to us and our continuing democratic way of life.
The Post continues: “The shift erodes a partnership considered crucial to the integrity of elections around the world — just months before voters head to the polls in Taiwan, the European Union, India and the United States. Ahead of the 2024 U.S. presidential race, foreign actors such as China and Russia have become more aggressive at trying to exacerbate political tensions in the United States, while advanced artificial intelligence allows bad actors to easily create convincing political propaganda.”
YET ANOTHER SIGN OF THE APOCALYPSE
Beyond pushing pushing the government not to address foreign interference in our elections, thereby undermining our democracy, it is Republican party policy to defund the Internal Revenue Service. This seems as nutty as those who suggest that defunding the police is a good idea.
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office has estimated increased direct tax revenues of over $200 billion as a result of the $80 billion in new investment in the IRS. In the last ten years, audits of high-income Americans has declined. Compliance with tax laws increases if the risk of audit, and the cost of non-compliance increases. Apparently, the Republican party platform is that adequately funding the IRS and upgrading their antiquated systems amount to the “weaponization” of the IRS. Never mind that “Project 2025,” the blueprint for the next Trump administration, quite clearly calls for the weaponization of arms of the Executive branch to go after Trump enemies.
EVEN MORE APOCALYPTIC? THE QANON SHAMAN RETURNS
In other news, the goofball “QAnon Shaman” who stormed the Capitol wearing pelts and a horned helmet on January 6th, is running for Congress in Arizona. He’s shaved his beard, dumped his horns, and is ready to go. He may actually stand a chance. After all, he’s running in Arizona, the state that almost elected Kari Lake, another election-denying conspiracy theorist, as Governor and will have the opportunity next year to elect her to the Senate.
Have a good day,
Glenn