The Washington Post

Good Morning America

Fandango30 Comments

73EB194A-1164-4DAC-8BC6-F6D924020171This is what greeted me this morning as I opened up my iPhone and went to my newsfeed.

According to the Washington Post article:

The scenes have been disturbingly familiar to CIA analysts accustomed to monitoring scenes of societal unraveling abroad — the massing of protesters, the ensuing crackdowns and the awkwardly staged displays of strength by a leader determined to project authority.


In interviews and posts on social media in recent days, current and former U.S. intelligence officials have expressed dismay at the similarity between events at home and the signs of decline or democratic regression they were trained to detect in other nations.


“I’ve seen this kind of violence,” said Gail Helt, a former CIA analyst responsible for tracking developments in China and Southeast Asia. “This is what autocrats do. This is what happens in countries before a collapse. It really does unnerve me.”

It really does unnerve me as well.

Good morning America.

WTF?

Fandango12 Comments

83383F66-3798-4863-85B7-133FDBE0DFF0A Tennessee Republican state representative, Micah Van Huss, recently introduced a measure at the state’s capital that would recognize CNN and the Washington Post “as fake news,” and condemn the two outlets as being “part of the media wing of the Democratic Party.” Van Huss said these two media outlets are denigrating Tennessee’s citizens by implying that they are “weak-minded followers instead of people exercising their rights that our veterans paid for with their blood.”

“To describe the entire Republican Party as a cult led by President Trump is problematic. If journalists are going to refer to the party as a cult, and its supporters as cultists, they must define what “cult” means. Otherwise, they are assuming that a cult is some obvious phenomenon and everyone knows what the word means,” reads a portion of Van Huss’ resolution.

********

Meanwhile, in Montana, Republican state representative Rodney Garcia, is claiming that the U.S. Constitution allows for socialists “to be tried, and if they’re found guilty, they can be jailed or shot.” Garcia said he believes that the Constitution’s treason clause in Article III allows for the jailing or killing of “enemies” of the U.S., which he believes to mean socialists.

Garcia’s statements were even a bit much for other Republican lawmakers in the state. “Your reckless and un-American remarks are beneath that of a public official and do not represent the values of the Republican Party, the Montana House of Representatives, or the people of our great state,” several state lawmakers wrote in a letter to Garcia.

“Your actions have irreparably undermined the body in which you serve and have irrevocably broken the trust of those you were elected to represent. We believe it is clear that you can no longer effectively discharge the duties of the office you hold; therefore, it is our request that you submit your resignation with immediate effect,” the letter continued.

But Garcia was unfazed. “They can ask me to step down, but, no, I don’t think so,” Garcia said. “I will only resign if God asks me to.” Then he added, “I’m going to run for the Senate and I’m going to win. People are going to have to eat their words.”

********

I know that, in the age of Donald Trump, things are crazy in politics, but seriously, where do Republicans dig up some of the characters they run for state legislative offices? And what is wrong with the voters who vote these assholes in office in the first place?