Fascism, communism, or military authority, that were all forms of blatant tyranny, have all but disappeared from most of the world. Military takeovers and other violent appropriations of power are uncommon. Most nations regularly have elections. Democracies are still falling, but not in the same ways. Since the conclusion of the Cold War, elected governments themselves, rather than generals and troops, have been responsible for most democratic breakdowns.

Democratic backsliding today begins at the ballot box. The path to electoral breakdown is dangerously deceptive. On the electoral road, none of these things happen. There are no tanks in the streets. Constitutions and other institutions that claim to be democratic are still in force. Voting is still done. Elected autocrats destroy democracy's core while maintaining its outward appearance. Many government efforts to subvert democracy are "legal," in the sense that they are approved by the legislature or accepted by the courts. They may even be portrayed as efforts to improve democracy. Newspapers continue to publish despite being intimidated or bought into self-censorship. Despite their continued criticism of the government, citizens frequently run into legal or tax issues.

J. Dhopte – Author of – EROSION OF DEMOCRACY – How to save a dying democracy?

https://www.kobo.com/us/es/ebook/erosion-of-democracy

Hello, I come from an eastern European country, Lithuania which escaped the Soviet Union in the early 90s. In my country democracy is really appreciated and communism forgot—my friend is a quarter Lithuanian, Polish, Ukrainian and Russian. Despite having 3 quarters of the blood of the countries which had difficulties with Russia, he is really pro-communist, Stalinist, dictatorships, empires, gore stuff, Nacism, etc. (I've pinned a few images. Sorry I couldn't translate the Russian ones, he had translated them to me, but I don't remember the meaning). He supports people who like communism/socialism, and he shames people who like democracy. His parents on the other hand are really pro-democratic, they don't like the Soviet Union, and they don't support my friend's "idealisations". Despite all of the efforts he still thinks that is good. Not rarely you can see Stalin smiling in his notifications, and he even tries to make or even manipulate people into being pro-communist. Believe me, I've tried to convince him why communism, Stalinism, and dictatorship are bad, but he doesn't listen. Despite his sick mind, he is very loyal and genuinely a good person, almost a Giga-Chad persona, and I know that he has been misinformed quite a lot. I really need help changing him, it has been bothering quite a few people lately (including me). It's really sad to see him posting memes and posters on our independence day (March 11, today) about communism. Any ideas of how should I help him, and lead him to the correct path? In the future, it might be too late...

​

P.S. I'm not a hater of Russian art forms or culture. It has made quite an impact on our world.

P.P.S. This post was finished on March 11th 2023.

Is there any way to limit democracy in order to defend democracy? Do we have to just watch it die?

The first amendment was not intended to apply to Fox News. When the founding fathers wrote "press" they did not mean an organization devoted to disinformation intended to bring down their constitution and put the people in the power of a dictator. They would have strongly objected to this course of events. "The press" implies news. Deliberate and constant lying is not news.

Murdoch is an Australian who became a U.S. citizen so he could own Fox News. He is using Fox News to destroy our democracy. You can lose naturalized citizenship for treason. Google's definition of treason (this is not a legal brief) includes attempting to overthrow the government. The constitution includes "adhering to [the nation's] enemies, giving them aid and comfort." Russia and China can't wait for the U.S. democracy to fall. Why not give it a try? That could not be worse than Donald Trump, President for life.

Why can't we defend our democracy?

Is there any way to limit democracy in order to defend democracy? Do we have to just watch it die?

The first amendment was not intended to apply to Fox News. When the founding fathers wrote "press" they did not mean an organization devoted to disinformation intended to bring down their constitution and put the people in the power of a dictator. They would have strongly objected to this course of events. "The press" implies news. Deliberate and constant lying is not news.

Murdoch is an Australian who became a U.S. citizen so he could own Fox News. He is using Fox News to destroy our democracy. You can lose naturalized citizenship for treason. Google's definition of treason (this is not a legal brief) includes attempting to overthrow the government. The constitution includes "adhering to [the nation's] enemies, giving them aid and comfort." Russia and China can't wait for the U.S. democracy to fall. Why not give it a try? That could not be worse than Donald Trump, President for life.

Why can't we defend our democracy?

Will we continue to debate whether Ron DeSantis is a fascist after there's a $35,000 fine for saying that in Florida?

I think we're going to be an officially autocratic white-ruled nation very soon now. This may be more of an emotional than an intellectual conclusion, but sometimes our feelings know more than our brains.

If the sensible conscientious politicians can't prevent the modern Republican party from presenting the Jan. 6 insurrection to the nation as a pleasant visit to congress by tourists, then how can they stop any of the other well-planned and calculated initiatives to take over the government? They knew the Republicans were going to take over the House. They knew the majority of the Republican members backed the overthrow of the government. Did they imagine McCarthy was a gentleman who would never do something underhanded, never take advantage of a lapse in judgment? Why didn't the White House have a copy? Why weren't the tapes classified? McCarthy's not a brave man who would risk indictment. Why can't the FBI go take the tapes back, copy them, then hand them out to all news media? Yes, there would be a big stink. But bigger than the stink of becoming an officially white supremacist autocracy?

It seems to me the anti-woke white supremacist Republicans can do whatever they want. They are proceeding step-by-step through gerrymandering, biased election officials and legislatures with the power to alter election outcomes, federal judges who freely ignore the constitution, widespread voter suppression, and probably other initiatives we don't even know about, to end our experiment in democracy and finally declare themselves victors in the civil war.

DeSantis is not so inspiring,

Trump's power is starting to ebb.

But the enemy's troops are still firing,

And the enemy is still Johnny Reb.

There is every reason to believe Ohio Rep., Jim Jordan, will spend the rest of his natural life in Federal prison. The 1/6 Committee has turned over to the Justice Department evidence taken from his phone and the phones of other seditionists, that they consider ‘Damning’!

The FBI has his Tweets, email, texts, incriminating transcripts of sworn statements by turncoat fellow insurrectionists, and his own recorded conversations.

But has this raised any alarms in the dullard in the yellow tie?

 No. He's whistling past the graveyard.

As the craziest of the crazy, the Marjorie Taylor Greenes, Lauren Boeberts, et al, spouted their lies and madness, they did make some converts. They enraged and enflamed the bigots, the white supremacists, and otherwise disaffected, so much so these people started to threaten public servants, decent men and women who were only looking to serve their communities, with overt threats of death for these officials and their families.

It finally got to be so bad the authorities had to be brought in to protect these forthright citizens.

Now Jim Jordan sits at the head of a congressional committee investigating these attacks. But is he investigating the criminals? No, in an attempt to condone such egregious behavior, he’s investigating the government. He’s brought forth a trio of disaffected former FBI agents who have brought forth unsubstantiated claims and made the whole procedure reek of Jackass-ery.

This is typical of the way the Republicans plan to use their new-found power.

Meanwhile, aside from the massive infrastructure bill Biden has enacted, he is now introducing yet another bill that will positively affect the lives of all American families.

Here’s what’s in Biden’s $1.8 trillion American Families Plan:

0The massive package – which Biden is calling the American Families Plan – is the second half of his effort to revitalize the nation and ensure a more equitable recovery. The proposal would also extend or make permanent enhancements to several key tax credits that were contained in the Democrats’ $1.9 trillion rescue bill which Biden signed into law last month.

“These are generational investments in our future, in the future of our families and the future of our kids,” said a senior administration official of the latest proposal, which contains about $1 trillion in investments and $800 billion in enhanced tax credits. “They pay enormous dividends.”

The President intends to finance the latest package by hiking taxes on the rich, saying he wants to reward work, not wealth. His new proposed measures would raise about $1.5 trillion over a decade.

The families plan pairs with Biden’s infrastructure proposal known as the American Jobs Plan, which calls for improving the nation’s roads, bridges, broadband, railways, and schools. It would also provide a boost to manufacturing and funnel $400 billion into augmenting home- and community-based care for the elderly and disabled and raising the wages of care workers. It would be paid for by hiking corporate taxes.

Here’s what’s in the American Families Plan:

Helping families afford childcare

Biden’s proposal calls for having low- and middle-income families pay no more than 7% of their income on child care for kids younger than age 5. Parents earning up to 1.5 times the median income in their state would qualify.

The President also wants to invest more in the childcare workforce to bring their wages up to $15 an hour, from the typical $12.24 hourly rate they earned in 2020.

The Covid relief plan provided about $39 billion to childcare providers. The amount a provider receives is based on operating expenses and is available to pay employees and rent, help families struggling to pay the cost, and purchase personal protective equipment and other supplies.

Making community college free

Biden is proposing a $109 billion plan to make two years of community college free.

The federal government would cover about 75% of the average tuition cost in each state when the program is fully implemented, with states picking up the rest, another senior administration official said. States would also be expected to maintain their current contributions to their higher education systems.

If all states, territories, and tribes participated, about 5.5 million students would pay nothing in tuition and fees, according to the White House.

Biden has so far resisted calls from party leaders like Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren to cancel up to $50,000 of debt per borrower. The President has said he would support canceling up to $10,000 per borrower but has indicated that he believes Congress should make changes through legislation, which would make them harder to undo.

In addition to his community college measure, Biden would create a $39 billion program that provides two years of subsidized tuition for students from families earning less than $125,000 who are enrolled in four-year historically Black colleges and universities or other minority-serving institutions.

Enhancing Pell Grants

The President would provide up to approximately $1,400 in additional assistance to low-income students by increasing the Pell Grant award.

Nearly 7 million students, including many people of color, rely on Pell Grants, but their value has not kept up with the rising cost of college.

Students can receive up to $6,495 for the 2021-22 school year. Biden has promised to double the maximum award.

Providing paid family and medical leave

A limited federal paid family and sick leave measure was included as part of the major pandemic rescue package passed by Congress in March 2020. It provided up to two weeks of paid sick days for workers who were ill or quarantined, as well as an additional 10 weeks of paid family leave if they needed to care for a child whose school or daycare was closed due to the pandemic. The requirement expired in December. though the federal government will continue to subsidize employers who choose to offer paid leave through September.

The American Families Plan would provide workers with a total of 12 weeks of guaranteed paid parental, family, and personal illness/safe leave by the 10th year of the program, according to a White House fact sheet. The partial wage replacement would apply to individuals who wanted “to take time to bond with a new child, care for a seriously ill loved one, deal with a loved one’s military deployment, find safety from sexual assault, stalking or domestic violence, heal from their own serious illness or take time to deal with the death of a loved one.”

The plan would also ensure three days of bereavement leave annually starting in the first year of the plan’s rollout.

Workers would receive up to $4,000 a month through the national leave program, with a minimum of two-thirds of their wages replaced. The White House estimates the program will cost $225 billion over 10 years.

About 30 million private sector workers, many of whom are low-income earners and part-time, did not have any paid sick leave before the pandemic.

Universal paid leave already has support among Democrats in Congress, who earlier this week introduced a plan that would provide up to 12 weeks of universal paid medical and family leave for full- and part-time workers, including those who are self-employed.

Investing $200 billion in universal preschool

Biden is calling for the federal government to invest $200 billion in universal preschool for all 3- and 4-year-olds through a national partnership with states. The administration estimates it would benefit 5 million children and save the average family $13,000 when fully implemented.

The program would be accessible to families of all income levels, according to the White House. States would be required to foot about 50% of the cost when the measure is fully up and running. If a state were to opt-out, the federal government would work with localities to implement the program, the second senior administration official said.

A key Democratic priority, funding universal pre-K aims to both prepare children for K-12 learning and provide some financial relief to families paying for childcare.

The proposal will be constructed to prioritize high-need areas. It will carry the pledge to ensure publicly funded preschool would include low student-to-teacher ratios and a “developmentally appropriate curriculum.”

While 44 states have some form of publicly funded pre-K, the National Institute for Early Education Research says that most spend too little per child to support high-quality, full-day pre-K.

All employees participating in pre-k programs and Head Start, a longstanding federal health and education program for low-income children, would earn at least $15 per hour as part of the proposal, “and those with comparable qualifications will receive compensation commensurate with that of kindergarten teachers,” according to a White House fact sheet.

Providing more nutrition assistance for children

Biden wants to invest $25 billion to make the summer Pandemic-EBT permanent and available to the 29 million children receiving free and reduced-price meals. Congress created the program last spring to provide funds to low-income families whose children could not receive meals in school because of pandemic closures.

The President would also expand the free meals program for children in the highest poverty districts so that an additional 9.3 million kids would qualify.

Here are the relief measures the plan would extend or make permanent

Keeping the expanded child tax credit through 2025

The American Families Plan would maintain the newly enhanced child tax credit for another four years. And it would make it fully refundable permanently.

Democrats passed a one-year expansion of the child tax credit as part of the March relief bill. Families with children under the age of 6 will receive $3,600 per child, while those with kids between the ages of 6 and 17 will receive $3,000 for each child for 2021. That’s up from a maximum of $2,000 per child under age 17.

The enhanced portion of the credit is available for single parents with annual incomes up to $75,000, heads of households earning up to $112,500 and joint filers making up to $150,000 a year.

Under the relief bill, families can receive half their total credit on a monthly basis – up to $300 per child up to age 6 and $250 per child ages 6 to 17 – starting in July and running through the rest of the year. They could then claim the remaining half on their 2021 tax returns. The credit will also be fully refundable for 2021 so more low-income households can take advantage of it.

Researchers have found the benefit could reduce child poverty by nearly half – a statistic Biden repeatedly cited when advocating for the rescue package.

Beefing up Affordable Care Act subsidies permanently

Biden’s proposal would permanently extend the more generous subsidies contained in the rescue package, which are currently in effect for two years.

The boost in aid is part of Biden’s effort to get more Americans covered by health insurance by making it more affordable, particularly for the middle class.

Under the rescue law, enrollees pay no more than 8.5% of their income toward coverage, down from nearly 10%. And lower-income policyholders receive subsidies that eliminate their premiums completely.

Providing more help to pay for child care permanently

The President is calling on Congress to make permanent the enhancements to the child and dependent care tax credit contained in the relief package.

Under that plan, families can receive a tax credit for as much as half of their spending on qualified childcare for children under age 13, up to a total of $4,000 for one child or $8,000 for two or more children.

Parents making less than $125,000 annually are eligible for the full credit, while those earning between $125,000 and $400,000 will receive a partial credit.

Making the enhanced earned income tax credit permanent

The latest package would make permanent the expansion of the earned income tax credit for workers without children.

The relief law bolstered the credit by nearly tripling the maximum credit and extending eligibility to more childless workers. The minimum age to claim the credit will be reduced to 19, from 25, and the upper age limit will be eliminated.

This was the largest expansion to the earned income tax credit since 2009.

I know this is a lot to assimilate, but this is what the Democratic administration is working on to benefit the American public, while the Republicans are looking for revenge for non-existent crimes.

We have let the fascists and white supremacists come way too far. They are passing laws like mad. Democracy is not endangered sometime in the future but is disappearing beneath us right now. We are expending time and energy showing our astonishment at their behavior as our reactions bring them more favorable attention from the anti-American and anti-democratic authoritarian racists.

Less than 2/3 of us voted in the last presidential election. We can save democracy by just voting. But once it's gone voting won't do a bit of good.

​

By virtue of the testimony under oath by Fox owners and their on-air, and off-air personnel it's been proven that they lied about believing ‘The Big Lie’ and did so only to enrage their viewers to keep them tuned to their station.

Despicable, but apparently effective.

They allowed themselves to be the sounding board for every crackpot Qanon Quack, conspiracy theorist, and deranged malcontent, all the while giggling about how well their duplicity functioned with the dupes.

But that is no more. For them there now must be a way to retain the disaffected voters who are streaming to Newsmax, and other drooling opportunists, who are looking to hoist Murdoch on his own petard.

The answer seems to be to return to the original playbook; culture wars!

Until Bill O’Reilly got his hands caught in someone else’s pants he was the primary proponent of the ‘War on...” school of yellow journalism.

You remember, “The war on women", "The war on Christians,” “The war on family values”, “The war on Brussels sprouts -- okay, I made that one up, but it is no more absurd than the others.

What to do, what to do?

Obviously, let the Republican House lead the way. Be in full support of their efforts to convince the American people that the government has been weaponized against them, that the FBI and all Federal agencies need to be abolished (They are an inconvenience to Chinese spies, corrupt politicians, Dishonest businessmen, and Wall Street manipulators), that more tax breaks are needed for the rich, and we need more farm support for Brussels sprouts. (Did it again.)

“Rile ‘em up”, “Enrage them”, “Demand a march on Washington to preserve our rights”.

(Uh, maybe not just yet).

Through all this Congressional and Fox News hew and cry, Biden has brought down the cost of insulin to a manageable 35 dollars from hundreds of dollars per month.

President Joe Biden also signed a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill into law, finalizing a key part of his economic agenda.

It will deliver $550 billion of new federal investments in America’s infrastructure over five years, touching everything from bridges and roads to the nation’s broadband, water, and energy systems. Experts say the money is sorely needed to ensure safe travel, as well as the efficient transport of goods and produce across the country.

Here’s what’s in the infrastructure package:

Funding for roads and bridges

The legislation calls for investing $110 billion in roads, bridges, and major infrastructure projects That’s significantly less than the $159 billion that Biden initially requested in the American Jobs Plan.

Included is $40 billion for bridge repair, replacement, and rehabilitation, according to the text. The White House says it would be the single, largest dedicated bridge investment since the construction of the interstate highway system, which started in the 1950s.

The deal also contains $16 billion for major projects that would be too large or complex for traditional funding programs, according to the White House.

Also in the package is $11 billion for transportation safety, including a program to help states and localities reduce crashes and fatalities, especially of cyclists and pedestrians, according to the White House. It will direct funding for safety efforts involving highways, trucks, and pipelines, and hazardous materials.

And it contains $1 billion to reconnect communities – mainly disproportionately Black neighborhoods – that were divided by highways and other infrastructure, according to the White House. It will fund the planning, design, demolition, and reconstruction of street grids, parks or other infrastructure.

Money for transit and rail

The package provides $39 billion to modernize public transit, according to the text. That’s less than the $85 billion that Biden initially wanted to invest in modernizing transit systems and help them expand to meet rider demand.

The funds will repair and upgrade existing infrastructure, make stations accessible to all users, bring transit service to new communities and modernize rail and bus fleets, including replacing thousands of vehicles with zero-emission models, according to the White House.

RELATED: Here’s how long it may take the infrastructure package to jolt the economy

The deal will also invest $66 billion in passenger and freight rail, according to the text. The funds would eliminate Amtrak’s maintenance backlog, modernize the Northeast Corridor line and bring rail service to areas outside the Northeast and mid-Atlantic regions, according to the White House. Included in the package is $12 billion in partnership grants for intercity rail service, including high-speed rail.

The funding is less than the $80 billion Biden originally wanted to send to Amtrak, which he relied upon for decades to get home to Delaware from Washington, DC.

Still, it would be the largest federal investment in public transit in history and in passenger rail since the creation of Amtrak 50 years ago, according to the White House.

Broadband upgrade

The legislation provides a $65 billion investment in improving the nation’s broadband infrastructure, according to the text. Biden initially wanted to invest $100 billion in broadband.

RELATED: Biden wants to close the digital divide in the US. Here’s what that could look like

It also aims to help lower the price households pay for internet service by requiring federal funding recipients to offer a low-cost affordable plan, by creating price transparency and by boosting competition in areas where existing providers aren’t providing adequate service. It will also create a permanent federal program to help more low-income households access the internet, according to the White House fact sheet.

Upgrading airports, ports, and waterways

The deal will invest $17 billion in port infrastructure and $25 billion in airports to address repair and maintenance backlogs, reduce congestion and emissions near ports and airports and promote electrification and other low-carbon technologies, according to the White House Electric vehicles

The legislation will provide $7.5 billion for zero- and low-emission buses and ferries, aiming to deliver thousands of electric school buses to districts across the country, according to the White House.

Another $7.5 billion will go to building a nationwide network of plug-in electric vehicle chargers, according to the text.

Improving power and water systems

The package invests $65 billion to rebuild the electric grid, according to the White House. It calls for building thousands of miles of new power lines and expanding renewable energy, the White House said.

It provides $55 billion to upgrade water infrastructure, according to the text. It will replace lead service lines and pipes so that communities have access to clean drinking water, the White House said.

Another $50 billion will go toward making the system more resilient – protecting it from drought, floods and cyberattacks, the White House said.

The point is, while the Republicans are trying to fire up their base with nothing but nonsense and silliness to distract from the fact they are doing nothing for the American people, the Democrats are proposing and enacting real legislation for all of America!

Now, you ask how to pay for this complete upgrade of America;

Combined with savings from repealing the Trump Administration’s rebate rule, the plan is fully paid for by asking more from the very largest corporations and the wealthiest Americans. The 2017 tax cut delivered a windfall to them, and this would help reverse that—and invest in the country’s future. No one making under $400,000 will pay a penny more in taxes.

Specifically, the framework stops large, profitable corporations from paying zero in tax and tax corporations that buy back stock rather than invest in the company.

Alao, stops rewarding corporations for shipping jobs and profits overseas.

Asks the highest income Americans to pay their fair share.

Invests in enforcing our existing tax laws, so the wealthy pay what they owe.

A “chicken in every pot” the Republicans might ridicule but let them show you what they are proposing to MAGA.

Nothing, just unfounded criticism of a government that works.