Will It Be #Socialism or Barbarism for the Twenty-First Century?

fewer than half of Americans believe that the US is a #democracy.

The reasons are 1) corruption (73%), followed by 2) corporate control of the political system (72%). In other words, the reasons for this missing democracy are economic.

Illuminating the depravity of late-stage capitalism is a fools errand without alternatives. The US— Left, Right, and Center, is beholden to the logic of #capitalism

https://www.counterpunch.org/2023/09/11/will-it-be-socialism-or-barbarism-for-the-twenty-first-century/

#NeverForget on this day of all days that Giuliani has willingly & knowingly been actively part of an effort to overthrow U.S. #democracy - the very thing many Americans have given their lives to protect.

#WeRemember911 #September11 #PatriotDay #NineEleven

Reminder that you too can encourage people on #Twitter to make a #Mastodon account, because the #fediverse is a community that we are all part of, and we all benefit from growing it, through better #SocialMedia and #Democracy. Everyone can #volunteer to pitch in!

Here's my latest tweet about the recent #AI addition to the ToS, and how Mastodon doesn't have that. You can like and retweet it to help it be seen!
https://twitter.com/RockstarRaccoon/status/1700952416399557015

They really are planning a Fascist Regime.

This is no joke:

#ProtectDemocracy #PackSwingStates #MoveToASwingState #democracy #USpolitics #news #Arizona #Georgia #Michigan #Nevada #Pennsylvania #Wisconsin

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/conservatives-aim-to-restructure-u-s-government-and-replace-it-with-trumps-vision

#AI and the New Digital Cold War
https://hbr.org/2023/09/ai-and-the-new-digital-cold-war
#globalism #democracy #diplomacy

#Democracy Dies in Darkness when the news is restricted to only those who can pay. #Media

The #US state of #Georgia is the best current example of the death of even the idea of #democracy in this country as it prosecutes people in clear and open violation of the most basic of our supposed #CivilRights, #FreedomOfSpeech and association, as the #federal #government does literally nothing to stop the #state, tacitly granting its full approval.

"#Democracy is more than just the right to #vote and the ability of a nation to elect their leader democratically. It also means democracy cannot exist without accountability mechanisms..."

The #US has yet to be a democracy.

#Qatar is killing #irony with #AJ+, and #religion everywhere in the world is the greatest #political threat.

The U.S. exports malignant ideologies that return #virulent. #Apartheid is apartheid.

The evils of our allies and enemies are the same.

https://youtu.be/hmq02A8rXsk?si=oGRkf3mUlbIIGosx

« In Deutschland liberal zu sein ist ein bisschen, wie im Prenzlauer Berg Fleisch zu essen. »

And I thought they didn’t know humour in Germany.
I forgot @a_nnaschneider is Austrian 😉.

#books #booklover #politics #liberalism #freedom #liberty #CompetitionOfOpinions #democracy 🇩🇪 🇦🇹

"No one's coming to rescue us...the work is now ours alone.

This is a crisis of a nation. W/out a positive vision of ourself or compass toward an ever-more-inclusive #democracy , we'll inevitably become a nation of anarchy & #autocracy.

The 3 #GOP Drivers of this Anti-American suspicion & hate:
1 #Billionaires don't want to fund the Moochers/soc security, medicare, public schools, etc.

2] #America as free-vibrant 🌍 beacon is threat to other dictatorships who are funding our media disinfo. 🧵

"Democracy's Assassins Always Have Accomplices" by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Diblatt, Harvard history professors

"Many mainstream politicians who preside over a democracy’s collapse are not authoritarians committed to overthrowing the system; they are careerists who are simply trying to get ahead. They are less opposed to democracy than indifferent to it. ...when democracy is at stake, choosing political ambition over its defense can be lethal."

#Democracy
#GiftLink
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/08/opinion/trump-republicans-spain-brazil.html?unlocked_article_code=NJRhUS2c4uTo3Ylat5buTc3nbpeN5Y7cJ-Z5fVeiTO2UaHMxeqMTRCSY3cBql9u36krKpSq24NUyHhNao2nnoQ49R3a9IXLmvBbLuDKBJiLjog_iFhe7NTuss2i9wWntwPUPXkVQsrPWL_oUcz2tXocrz_JZNticuBkw2HN6cBhYAflh1A4-nmo9laLRPy-IAwOOicaaqZH8qelwoKoM1kw7265Hc7S1JBKQtmPud2JayIMX7tjIO3SVsTLstPpsjrAV_EXPu5VT5iolffbN0mZGlEMhOoZlU4YSNstIwSd5DbLUQR9vCq9psMCpzoaaE0EiNFwj7IiqHgsJqZ02M9GwlGir53o&smid=url-share

"Individual autocrats, even popular demagogues, are never enough to wreck a democracy. Democracy’s assassins always have accomplices among mainstream #politicians...

The greatest threat to our #democracy comes not from demagogues like #Trump or even from extremist followers like those who stormed the Capitol on #Jan6, but rather from the ordinary politicians, many of them inside the Capitol that day, who protect and enable him."
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/08/opinion/trump-republicans-spain-brazil.html

#USPol #Politics #GOP #USA #News

Robert Reich tells it absolutely clear: #thirdparty groups are in effect front groups for Trump in 2024, and should be treated as such. No Labels, no fables, no betrayals—All Americans who believe in #democracy must unite behind Joe #Biden. https://robertreich.substack.com/p/no-fables-no-labels-is-a-trump-front

@w7voa

"These are the stakes: dueling visions for America — not #Democratic or #Republican... but brutal #fascism or flawed #democracy. The #news media needs to stop with the horse-race coverage...

We need to hear from more experts on authoritarian movements, and fewer pollsters...

We need the media to see 2024 not as a traditional election but as an effort to mobilize a mass movement that would undo democracy"
~@willbunch
https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/commentary/media-2020-election-trump-authoritarianism-20230827.html

#Journalism #USPol #USA #News

#AlternateReality:

Imagine there's some shift in the #internet #markets, such that #servers #Mastodon and other #Fediverse programs cannot afford to keep going without mandatory #financial #contributions from their users. (I don't think this will ever happen, it's just a #hypothetical)

What is the maximum amount of #money you would be willing to #pay / #donate to keep your #server / #instance running?

What #content would you most want to keep interacting with? #Friends, #art, #science, #news, #politics, #AI, #tech, #VideoGames, #streaming, #LGBTQ, #furry, or something else? What cause would most entice you? #OpenSource, #NonProfit, #Democracy, #Freedom, or just non-#toxic #SocialMedia?

Please respond to and #boost this #poll, and let me know your thoughts in the #replies! (Sorry for #hashtag #spam, trying to maximize #reach for #diversity and volume of #responses)

Today's #Thought

"#Pluralism.
#Democracy reigns in the country,
in society #Darwinism,
in the company #oligarchy,
in the consciousness #conformism,
in the subconscious #anarchy."

Rainer Kohlmayer

Our mainstream, legacy #media are repeating the failures of 2016 #election coverage by not fully interrogating the dangers of the #gop it's candidates and the clear threats to #Democracy.

https://www.damemagazine.com/2023/09/07/we-cant-have-a-repeat-of-election-2016/

Presidential Foundations and Centers across the United States, for the first time, have issued a joint statement regarding the future of our nation and an urgent call to action for all Americans. https://www.bushcenter.org/publications/reaffirming-americans-commitment-to-a-more-perfect-union #democracy #2024Elections

Concern for U.S. democracy amid deep national polarization has prompted the entities supporting 13 presidential libraries dating back to Herbert Hoover to call for a recommitment to the country's bedrock principles, including the rule of law and respecting a diversity of beliefs. https://www.startribune.com/presidential-centers-from-hoover-to-bush-and-obama-unite-to-warn-of-fragile-state-of-us-democracy/600302642/

#democracy #politics #UnitedStates

It wasn't a hint. He flat-out said that if #Republicans don't win in 2024, they will abandon #democracy and seek to seize power through political #violence. It was as clear a #threat to the #Constitution and our #democratic principles as you will ever hear from a member of the political class. If that doesn't scare you, take a moment to consider what #MikeHuckabee's ideal America would look like, and the #consequences of imposing that vision through violence.

https://www.thewrap.com/mike-huckabee-trump-loses-2024-election-violence-clip/