State of the Discussion

The posts in play...

Where are the 5 words?
(125)
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Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk, nyuk
(9)
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Excelsior 2.1
(18)
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What do you mean ‘we’, kemosabe?
(4)
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Ad futurum
(17)
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The DIY party
(5)
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The comments...

GftNC
+ I cannot resist replying to you russell. I agree with every single word you say about Stephen Miller. I do not think it [. . .]
russell
+ <i>it is about an attempt to avoid demonisation</i> I affirm this, but as the kids say, "it's complicated". It's important - essential - to recognize and respect [. . .]
wjca
+ As a note, in Kamala Harris’ recent book, she said that she wanted Buttgieg, but thought that it was ‘asking too much of America’ (if [. . .]
wjca
+ Stopping watching them on YouTube is one thing. But it might be more effective if they provided an email (or whatever) that fans use. [. . .]
GftNC
+ Yup, I think we're just going to have to agree to disagree. In my case because it looks to me like at the moment [. . .]
Liberal Japonicus
+ So, in e.g. the case of Gay, the fact that she is a second generation Haitian immigrant could certainly make one understand why in the [. . .]
GftNC
+ lj: I certainly don't think one should ignore someone's history if, like Kirk, they have a consistent record of saying the same kind of [. . .]
Liberal Japonicus
+ Buttigieg? Pritzker? I’d prefer either of them As a note, in Kamala Harris' recent book, she said that she wanted Buttgieg, but thought that it was [. . .]
Liberal Japonicus

I think that if you choose Newest instead of Oldest at the top, you should see what you are responding to.

nous
+ wj- <i>I’d vastly rather look to someone else. But that requires there be someone else who a) is willing to stand up, and b) has [. . .]
wjca
+ The first issue I notice (and it's as much because it's something different) , I supposeis that new comments are entered at the beginning. [. . .]
Liberal Japonicus

Testing the wpDiscuz plugin

wj
+ In an ideal world, people wouldn’t be looking to him or people like him for leadership, but it may be all we have. I'd [. . .]
russell
+ I"m on a Zoom call right now with the ACLU. They're providing a briefing for folks who are planning to attend the No Kings [. . .]
+ And I suppose I quote this to show why I think it worth zeroing in on the arguments people actually make, rather than those people’s [. . .]
russell
+ Another possibility, from Thomas Geoghegan in the Guardian. I don't follow it all but basically Geoghegan seems to be proposing / calling for "blue" states to [. . .]
GftNC
+ Josh Marshall has an interesting post today about fighting this/getting back from this. This should be a gift link: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/power-is-the-order-of-the-day-and-other-beds-trump-has-made But weirdly the bit that made [. . .]
novakant
+ Denazification both did and didn't go well: many Nazis slipped through the cracks, were quietly let back into the fold or even more or less [. . .]

good point

https://www.indiewire.com/news/general-news/why-the-lone-rangers-anachronisms-make-its-history-lessons-hard-to-swallow-127703/

wj

For the benefit of the non-Americans, you might want to add a footnote explaining the quote that is the title. Just a thought

wj
+ Always great to see people standing up. Of course, as soon as the MAGAts notice that people (who are not white people!) are undercutting their [. . .]

woo hoo! Great to see you Chuchundra! I'll be in touch in a couple of weeks for advice.

+ Historically, these sort of efforts (denazification, debaathfication) haven't gone so well. Lustration (the process of decommunization) was a mixed bag (Czechoslovakia good, Poland and Hungary, [. . .]
Chuchundra
+ Took me a while to find this. I thought someone owned an obwings domain that redirected to the typepad site and maybe it would be [. . .]
wj
+ to get back to anything like a pre-Trump normal, we’re going to need some kind of national de-MAGA-fication. We will need to root the bastards [. . .]
wj
+ The oath to the Constitution is pretty deeply ingrained in that culture, especially the higher up you go. And, importantly, the higher up you go [. . .]
russell
+ And the final target audience is the military. The military at this point is the last guardrail. If they flip, it's game over. And as far [. . .]
russell
+ Still, looking at where we were in, say, the early 1800s, I’d say that we’ve made significant progress over the last two centuries. I'll try again, [. . .]
wj
+ I'd say the target of the "excuse" is, first, all those people who generally don't pay attention. The military going into an American city [. . .]
russell

"Knowing that Gay is second-generation *Haitian*".

I do miss the preview. Now I'll have to start paying attention to what I write!

:)

russell
+ Russell is a bit more familiar with Leslie than I am, but I have to ask, is his taking issue with Gay on civility related [. . .]
Tony P.
+ CharlesWT, thank you for responding, and thank you for the content of your response. It's a good start toward civility when we can [. . .]
+ Well, we are probably at the end of the line for talking about this, but I do subscribe to Descartes line that "the heart has [. . .]
wj
+ the failures of the local authorities to enforce the law and ordinances So, are you expecting the police to successful arrest every criminal? Because [. . .]
CharlesWT
+ what would you want the Guard or the Army to actually do? I don't want them to do anything. Trump shouldn't be mobilizing the National Guard [. . .]
GftNC

TonyP: I meant on the blog! But, FWIW, I am in general completely in sympathy with your approach.

Tony P.
+ wj, I don't know about you, but "20-30 years from now" there's a good chance I will not be around to "look back". One [. . .]
Michael Cain
+ Before that, it has been Italians, and before that the Irish. At our nation’s founding the boogie man was the Germans.... I won’t be astounded [. . .]
GftNC
+ ps By the way, I completely agree with what Pro Bono says @11.44. And, about Ian Leslie, on reading more of his Wikipedia [. . .]
GftNC
+ Ah, I think I'm finally getting what you mean by "a stake" in this context, lj. If I understand correctly, you mean that people [. . .]
wj
+ I think that the constitution could be saved, but it would take another Lincoln or FDR to do it, .... Of course both ended up having their [. . .]
wj
+ wonkie, I would note that, at least in the US, the pattern has included an additional phase: the group of outsiders is moved into Our [. . .]
bobbyp
+ ...thought I'd pass this on to those of you who like to assess our current political travails in light of wider themes: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/05/opinion/west-europe-america-lost.html?unlocked_article_code=1.rE8.064G._2GkKn5zEX4W&smid=url-share Resillience is [. . .]
+ Nous and Pro Bono are having a much more interesting conversation about what shape post Trump America could take if it were to avoid running [. . .]
+ I've read a good bit of Gay, (my daughter recommended her book Bad Feminist which led me to her other books) but Ian Leslie wasn't [. . .]
Pro Bono
+ That’s because you are seeing Republicans as people who have a different worldview and position, and trying to understand them in order to live with [. . .]
Hartmut
+ Oh, I forgot the 'clear and present danger' doctrine that Hitler invoked after the 'Night of the long Knives' and that has also been a [. . .]
Hartmut
+ The Nazis never officially abolished or even changed the Weimar constitution. Elections still took place (with of course only one party on the ballot) etc. Hitler [. . .]