Etiquette



DP Etiquette

First rule: Don't be a jackass.

Other rules: Do not attack or insult people you disagree with. Engage with facts, logic and beliefs. Out of respect for others, please provide some sources for the facts and truths you rely on if you are asked for that. If emotion is getting out of hand, get it back in hand. To limit dehumanizing people, don't call people or whole groups of people disrespectful names, e.g., stupid, dumb or liar. Insulting people is counterproductive to rational discussion. Insult makes people angry and defensive. All points of view are welcome, right, center, left and elsewhere. Just disagree, but don't be belligerent or reject inconvenient facts, truths or defensible reasoning.

Friday, June 20, 2025

Dem party update: Another Hitler-djt comparison

A recent poll reveals moderate disconnects between younger Democrats and party leaders. The main point of agreement is support for legalized nationwide abortion rights. 

The main disappointment with this is that the lowest priority for young Dems is trying to control the corrosive, corrupting, anti-democracy power of money in politics. Older Dems are more concerned about money.




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We are witnessing the death of American democracy
Historian Sir Richard Evans says this Preußenschlag (Prussian coup) of July 1932 was the critical moment in inter-war Germany, opening the door for much that followed.

What Donald Trump has done by activating the California National Guard against the protest of the governor, and then bringing in US Marines – both of which his critics argue are unconstitutional – is a very light version of Preußenschlag, but in some ways it is worse. The street protests in Los Angeles were the result of his own theatrical stunt. You could be forgiven for thinking he deliberately provoked the alleged “rebellion” in order to set this precedent.

One can see now why Trump moved so fast to purge the top echelons of the US defense department, including the three judge advocates general. These officials rule on whether military orders are legal, and when they should be disobeyed. They are legally independent by Congressional statute.

Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary, told us why they had been sacked: it was to stop them posing any “roadblocks to orders given by the commander-in-chief”. (emphasis added)

So there it is, djt does not want any lawyers telling him if his military orders are legal or not. He just wants to US military to do what he orders them to do, even if it means mowing people down in the streets. That amounts to dictatorship.