Enough Gaslighting - Trumpism Is Fascism.
Added 2024-10-07 06:08:31 +0000 UTCIs it okay to call Trump a “fascist”? Is our democracy itself really on the line next month? And what might our legal system look like after a second Trump term? We look behind the headlines to begin to examine the nuances of these questions in this first of several planned episodes on the current state of the American right.
“The Rise of Competitive Authoritarianism,” Steven Levitsky and Lucan A. Way, Journal of Democracy (April 2002)
They Thought They Were Free (full text), Milton Meyer (1955)
The Road to Unfreedom: Russia, Europe, America, Timothy Snyder (2018)
Nothing is True and Everything is Possible: The Surreal Heart of the New Russia, Peter Pomerantsev (2015)
Comments
I have added it to my Audible library and look forward to listening. Thanks for the recommendation!
Matt Cameron
2024-10-10 14:07:47 +0000 UTCWhew. What an incredible episode. I listened 3 times (please don’t judge) and shared around. Thank you Matt and Thomas! 🙏🏼💕
Status Quo Level Thing
2024-10-08 16:10:54 +0000 UTCIsn’t it terrifying that the so-called “conservative” side still clings to Kissinger-esque statesmanship?!?
dddebz
2024-10-07 22:12:05 +0000 UTCIndeed. But we need to repeal the draft or make it applicable to all people who meet the age requirements, without regard to zip code. And I mean as soon as possible. Because there’s no way the next wars will be consensual of strictly commercial interests.
dddebz
2024-10-07 22:09:49 +0000 UTCI was not aware of this, but am going to look into a bit more. You'd certainly never know from reading the book that Mayer didn't speak German, and I guess now that I think of it maybe it was just sort of implied because he is German-American and is spending so much time getting to know people in this little village in a way that feels very natural. I know that he was a visiting researcher at a local university at the time so no doubt he had access to an interpreter and I'm sure he must have used one, but I do wish he had been more clear in the text about this!
Matt Cameron
2024-10-07 16:25:49 +0000 UTCFor sure, very well said. I'm going to be talking more next time about how immigration has consistently provided that story for Trump, how he used it in his first term to supercharge some of the worst stuff the government was doing (even beyond ICE/CBP), and how his actual campaign promises around it are cover for truly terrifying integration of law enforcement around the country which could normalize things we can't even really imagine even in 2024
Matt Cameron
2024-10-07 16:17:38 +0000 UTCgreat recommendation, thanks!
Matt Cameron
2024-10-07 16:14:12 +0000 UTCAt the end of the episode Thomas said something about either dodging the draft or being a deserter. Just wanted to add that dodging the draft isn't the same as being a deserter. FTR (Failure to Report), AWOL (Absent Without Official Leave) and Desertion are all prosecuted under the UCMJ which only applies to members of the armed forces. Draft Avoidance is a federal felony.
Mark Critzman
2024-10-07 16:12:01 +0000 UTCThe NYT has helpfully provided a very detailed answer this morning to Thomas's question at the end this episode of how Trump would actually go about prosecuting anyone who has ever investigated him--starting with the first step I mentioned, but quite a roadmap from there https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/10/02/magazine/trump-politics-justice-department.html
Matt Cameron
2024-10-07 16:05:56 +0000 UTCyes, I should have been more specific there: she had held a license to import ether for more than ten years at the time that she was arrested and it was not a controlled substance in Russia. There is actually a monument to ether in the Boston Public Garden, one of my favorites anywhere: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/ether-monument#:~:text=Also%20known%20as%20The%20Good%20Samaritan,%20Ether%20Monument%20is%20a
Matt Cameron
2024-10-07 14:50:09 +0000 UTCPretty sure diethyl ether used to be abused by inhaling it. It is a solvent used in chemistry labs but also used to have medical applications before modern anesthesia.
Lawrence Frank
2024-10-07 14:27:58 +0000 UTCThis book doesn't get nearly enough attention, especially since it's available for free download and is written in a way that laymen can easily understand it.
Maytree
2024-10-07 13:29:23 +0000 UTCAt 14 minutes Matt says that Mayer spoke German, but a contemporaneous review of the book by Franz Adler says that Mayer claims not to have spoken German and his interview subjects did not speak English. The same reviewer says that some of the translations of German texts that appear in the book are incorrect in some details. The reviewer still praises the book and doesn't claim that Mayer misrepresented his interviewees' views, but since the meat of the book is personal interviews, it would be good to know whether Mayer was working with a translator or not.
Maytree
2024-10-07 13:27:44 +0000 UTCOmg PLEASE I BEG YOU do a gavel-gavel episode of the tina peters trial! It is hilarious, and the balls she has to have the way she talks to that judge and his speech during her sentencing makes me wanna put him on the supreme court!
NSaneAtheist
2024-10-07 13:08:18 +0000 UTCBeau of the Fifth Column does a great 6 minute video listing 14 of Trump’s characteristics that his own supporters wholeheartedly claim as accomplishments. Definitely give it a watch. https://youtu.be/1M6CXhUS-x8?si=ASSdjDIMI4IO1Tnm
Austin Flake
2024-10-07 12:29:38 +0000 UTCI want to hold a symposium with Matt. The idea that consensus binds us and we’ve collectively lost it because a big enough percentage can manipulate the cultural discourse to whatever short-term goals they seek…the usual historical answer is a greater threat (or war more likely) kills a generation that couldn’t agree to agree. U.S. Civil War is one example, Germany post-war is another. As much as the end of Game of Thrones is terrible. There is a truth about countries needing an internal collective “story” be it climate change zombies, war, or whatever. It’s why fascist regimes need to constantly create new enemies. I was curious about the fall of Yugoslavia & Somali where neighbors suddenly couldn’t “believe” in the country anymore. It’s always a small minority of a-holes that actually feel like murdering but they were able to create another “story” to bind together their new countrymen
Rachel J Larris
2024-10-07 12:22:55 +0000 UTCMatt, if you haven't, I can't recommend strongly enough that you add The Authoritarians by Bob Altemeyer to your reading list as well. It's not about facism directly, but is a detailed overview of the psychology of authoritarian movements by a Canadian psychologist who dedicated his career to the study of authoritarian personalities.
Mothringer
2024-10-07 12:10:52 +0000 UTC
