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Aaron J

@its-ya-boi-a-aron.bsky.social

1.3K followers 290 following 4.6K posts

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Aaron J @its-ya-boi-a-aron.bsky.social · Mar 3

“The destruction of state capacity isn’t something you get back in a few years” is why I say we are at war and why Dems need to fight: your only option is to defeat the people destroying the ability to govern or bend the knee and possibly never get back up.

Jonathan Ladd @jonmladd.bsky.social · Mar 3

This is it. The plausible scenario is not that the 2028 elections don’t happen. It’s that they happen with every financial oligarch and major corporation backing the GOP. And every major media organization backing the GOP, except for The NY Times which is trying to be neutral.

Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · Mar 3

Ominously plausible warnings from @filipecampante.bsky.social of what our descent into competitive authoritarianism could look like

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Duffel Blog @duffelblog.com · 53m

NEW: Hegseth sets record for largest military D&D campaign ever www.duffelblog.com/hegseth-set-...

Hegseth sets record for largest military D&D campaign ever

Hundreds of generals trapped at Quantico after DTS crash forced to role-play their way out.

www.duffelblog.com

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Mehdi Hasan @mehdirhasan.bsky.social · 53m

“Starving children screaming for food as US aid cuts unleash devastation and death across Myanmar”

Never forget or forgive that Trump, Rubio, & Musk *chose* to inflict this monumental level of death and suffering on the poorest & most vulnerable people.

Starving children screaming for food as US aid cuts unleash devastation and death across Myanmar

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has repeatedly said “no one has died" because of his government’s decision to gut its foreign aid program.

apnews.com

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Aaron J @its-ya-boi-a-aron.bsky.social · 50m

Charismatic authority doesn’t need a theory of state.

There’s plenty of historical examples—often re: authoritarian/fascist governments—that people weren’t concerned with what the dictator’s theory of state is.

And Miller thinks he’s Grima Wormtongue II.

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athenabird.bsky.social @athenabird.bsky.social · 1h

Newsom and Pritzker need to claim that Miller is president. Loudly. Trump will not stand by.

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Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 1h

Pritzker/Newsom see it as a defining fact of the moment that Trump is consolidating authoritarian power daily and using it to subjugate Blue America like an enemy nation within. Other Dems should stop the Beltway-speak about Trump laying "traps" for them and engage.

newrepublic.com/article/2014...

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Aaron J @its-ya-boi-a-aron.bsky.social · 55m

Yep. Or at least, we shouldn’t discount the “sleepwalking effect” poverty has—taking people’s focus away from things like politics and governance and on their continued day-to-day survival—ESPECIALLY with people who already discount the utility of government that’s perceived to be distant/uncaring.

Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 1h

Miller has a real theory of the case: A latent majority out there can be sleepwalked into authoritarianism with enough numbing agitprop. Polls show majorities reject the autocratic abuses but Miller plainly thinks voters in the middle lack conviction about any of it.

newrepublic.com/article/2014...

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Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 1h

This attracted oddly little notice, but Stephen Miller was recently asked directly if he has discussed invoking the Insurrection Act with Trump. He evaded the question.

Miller, a master manipulator of Trump, is clearly nudging him in that direction right now.

newrepublic.com/article/2014...

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Timothy Snyder @timothysnyder.bsky.social · 1h

More good work by Greg Sargent

Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 2h

JB Pritzker and Gavin Newsom are doing something new and important: They understand Stephen Miller's theory of fascist power politics, and they've developed a theory on how to combat it. More Dems need to reckon with Miller's understanding of the moment.

New from me:
newrepublic.com/article/2014...

Inside Stephen Miller’s Secret Plan to Normalize Trump’s Dictator Rule

He wants to supercharge searing civil tensions to get low-information voters to embrace their inner authoritarian. Exactly two Democrats appear to fully grasp this.

newrepublic.com

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Laura Jedeed @laurajedeed.bsky.social · 2h

More propaganda with painfully normal people zip-tied at the side of the road please, this will for sure convince the American people that you're the good guys

Homeland Security @DHSgov

We're having an All Night Revival

Still frame from a video: Painfully normal people zip tied on the side of the road, sitting on a guardrail in a row

14:30 07 Oct 25 2.1M Views

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Meredith Shiner @meredithshiner.com · 2h

Bridging my current life in Chicago and my past life in D.C., I argue today at @newrepublic.com that Democrats should ~never~ vote to fund this government. Make John Thune blow up Senate rules and Republicans wholly own the U.S. extra-military military doing war crimes against us, funded by us.

The Case for the Forever Shutdown

Senate Democrats actually allowing the GOP to stop funding the government is only the first step. Now they have to make the case that Trump’s government is illegitimate.

newrepublic.com

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Cav(R), Gentleman Rogue @combatcavscout.bsky.social · 1h

Imagine someone at a Pride festival hauled off and hit a crazy street preacher in the face with a sock full of quarters. They’d almost certainly be arrested and charged.

What you’re witnessing is literally aggravated assault. And not one of those “agents” will ever face consequences for it.

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Cav(R), Gentleman Rogue @combatcavscout.bsky.social · 1h

Like, imagine if there were police standing in the street, doing perfectly legal activities, and you shot one of them in the face with a hard plastic ball full of pepper powder.

You and everyone around you would be instantly riddled with bullets.

But they’re allowed to do just… do that shit.

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Cav(R), Gentleman Rogue @combatcavscout.bsky.social · 1h

This is the logical extension of the attitude we’ve had in this country for a long time, which is: “Cops are just allowed to do things that would get anyone else arrested for assault, and to do them without reason.”

The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 2h

WATCH: Trump’s lawless Ice goons shoot an unarmed priest in the head with a pepper ball. Completely out of control.

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Aaron J @its-ya-boi-a-aron.bsky.social · 7h

Yup. CRM organizers were planning down to the lunches that would be made so they could get as many people as possible and do it at cost.

Haven’t seen such a degree of organization and coordination at a national level in my lifetime.

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Melanie D’Arrigo @darrigomelanie.bsky.social · 14h

I feel like this photo of masked, armed men pepper spraying a pastor protecting his community is going to be a defining picture of this moment in America for a long, long time.

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pcrritesgood.bsky.social @pcrritesgood.bsky.social · 12h

To b clear, this means the Attorney General of the United States and her staff spent most of their time (paid for by YOUR taxmoney) to come up with stupid insults and attacks on various Senators instead of preparing to answer the questions she was supposed to answer under oath.

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rwabhm.bsky.social @rwabhm.bsky.social · 10h

So yet another point that Schiff was right about, and Bondi was wrong.

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jhalp2.bsky.social @jhalp2.bsky.social · 13h

Which they’ve been proven now to be.

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Paul Tree @paultree10.bsky.social · 14h

She got mad when Adam Schiff totally correctly called her attack lines “canned”

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DC3 in the 'sky ✈️ @dc3inthesky.bsky.social · 14h

Presumably she has a folder like that for each Democratic Senator. Might be wise (necessary?) for one of those Senators to remind the Attorney General of her obligations under the Federal Records Act of 1950 in case she's unfamiliar. Those folders might need to be subpoenaed or requested under FOIA.

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Denise Wheeler @denisedwheeler.bsky.social · 15h

So Bondi plans her congressional hearings by bringing up dirt on the senators who questioned her rather than answering the questions. This is the lying schemer that is running the DOJ.

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Denise Wheeler @denisedwheeler.bsky.social · 15h

Reuters photographer Jonathan Ernst noticed that Bondi flipped open a file during the Senate hearing and he zoomed in.

Inside were her crib notes for attacking the senators.

The GOP now practicing Cliff's Notes Fascism

In other words, under oath Bondi was purely a performance.

Bondi senate hearing had a folder full of notes for attacking the senators

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Aaron J @its-ya-boi-a-aron.bsky.social · 9h

It is an effective response—one of the most.

Bc authoritarianism relies on charismatic authority—meaning people follow and obey a leader bc of their personality.

No one follows the person who gets pointed and laughed at. Hell, even the loudest Christians today don’t follow Jesus bc of it.

Brian Finucane @bcfinucane.bsky.social · 9h

The administration wants authoritarian theater.

Mockery and derision may be an effective response.

Resulting in them looking buffoonish and absurd rather than strong and dominant.

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Brian Finucane @bcfinucane.bsky.social · 9h

I was completely unprepared for the threat posed by the Antifa super soldiers.

Courtney Vaughn @courtneyvaughn.bsky.social · 10h

Streets are still closed off in front of the Portland ICE facility at 8:30pm. Protesters have gathered on a side street. Dance party in progress.

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Aaron J @its-ya-boi-a-aron.bsky.social · 10h

And that’s why I say it’s more likely that if there will be a “general strike” it’ll be bc everyone’s out of a job or unemployment skyrockets.

Sorry, but today’s civil rights activists could stand to learn a lot from the CRM organizers. Organizing a national general strike is unlikely.

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