@cdarwin@c.imThe road to preserving liberal democracy does not involve unilateral disarmament or faking normality in the hopes of making the world normal again.
It involves meeting force with force while crafting a national remedy for nonpartisan redistricting,
which would force everyone to behave according to standards of good government.
It’s classical deterrence theory.
As some Roman general once said,
“If you seek peace, prepare for war.”
This should be the mode…
@inthehands@hachyderm.ioThis is exactly the groundwork we need to be laying right now, and I’m delighted to hear it coming from a US Senator (!):
If Trump tries to prevent a fair election from happening, then we need “a true national strike in the sense that, if they do this, if they try to overthrow our democracy, if you are allied with democracy, do not go to work . If you’re a pilot, do not show up. If you drive a train, do not show up. If you’re a teacher, do not show up. We grind the country to a halt.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/06/donald-trump-voting-midterms-democrat-national-strike
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@tiotasram@kolektiva.socialSeeing Iran appoint new leaders and continue to fight is seeing the more literal kind of necropolitics in action, as a hierarchical system continues to function while replacing the expendable human parts that it lost. The system is of course changed and influenced (and ultimately was built) by humans, but it has become something undying, or at least almost as hard to kill as an idea, and it maintains a terrible inertia in it's destructive tendencies (e.g., "Morality Police" continue to patrol the streets).
Lest anyone think this somehow expresses approval of US actions, the same logic applies here too: what once had a (thin) verneer of democracy, a system which loudly proclaimed to be controlled by "the people" (but which never was nor was ever intended to be) has lost its paint job, exposing the inhuman machinations beneath. Trump is a symptom, not cause, of an institution built on blood and spoils, whose alignment with the Epstein class (and moreover, their institutions) is ever more apparent with each disregarded law and principle.
Stepping back for a moment, this systems/necropolitics perspective is just a perspective, with its own distortions and blind spots. To paraphrase LeGuin, any institution built by humans can also be changed or destroyed by them. But I think it's very useful to put on the systems goggles in this moment, especially when some are fond of preaching about the dangers of "overwhelmingly powerful systems unaccountable to humans which pursue destructive ends" without actually examining the plethora of existing systems that do just that.
P.S. yes, United Healthcare is another good example of this.
P.P.S. yes I bending the meaning of necropolitics here, but the two are related: these systems would not be so free to profit from human death and suffering if they were more vulnerable to the deaths of their constituent parts. Necropolitics of the standard variety is of course present as companies like Raytheon and Lockeed Martin profit from the carnage. The F-15 caught by friendly fire? Just as profitable for Beoing to replace as one downed by the enemy.
@cdarwin@c.imDemocracy experts believe there is no longer any doubt about Trump’s desire to interfere with this fall’s elections.
“We should not be waiting for the next shoe to drop,”
said Wendy Weiser, vice-president for democracy at the Brennan Center for Justice.
🆘“There is a full-blown effort to seize control of some of the mechanisms of our elections and to lay the foundation for interfering in upcoming elections.”
The president has no power over federal elections,
and …
@curiouscat@fosstodon.orgI donated again to the Southern Poverty Law Center. Due to the dire threats to the USA from the current administration and the Republican party I am donating as much as I spend on myself to charity this year.
https://www.splcenter.org/
We still have so much racism injustice for the poor in the USA. We…
@cdarwin@c.imTrump’s Fuck-ups have now become an ongoing, global humiliation of our once great country.
We cannot, and should not, sugar coat the gravity of what Trump has done.
He’s thrown the entire world into chaos.
Energy and food price shocks are coming for literally every person in the world.
This morning governments from all over the world are telling him to f*ck off, leaving America alone, weakened, humiliated.
Trump is a failed President.
Nothing he has d…
@LillyHerself@Mastodon.socialRE: https://mastodon.scot/@kim_harding/116345305718754160
This is not democracy. It's money-ocracy.
@adamhotep@infosec.exchangeCol. Lawrence Wilkerson (chief of staff to Colin Powell under George W Bush):
This administration has committed more war crimes in the last few days than I think any country since Adolf Hitler committed. And that is an incredible condemnation of this entire process.
He later says we can't win this war—and Israel might drop a nuke.
Full interview at 17:45:
@chris@mstdn.chrisalemany.caI have a problem with the House of Commons floor crossers, as I think most people do.
But I havent been able to come up with a more palatable alternative or at least a different scenario.
The biggest problem, for me, is the act of poaching. The trickle of MPs.
It gives the impression, falsely or not, that these people needed just a little more time, a little more convincing, a little more... ? to eventually turn on their constituent's choice of party.
What would be more pallatable? How about a group? Rather than a trickle.
People tallk, it is naïve to think it isn't known between individuals who may be thinking of leaving or switching parties.
So if there is more than one with that thought I think it would be better for our democracy if those MPs banded together and made their concerns known privately in their caucus first, then if nothing changes, they communicate to others including the public, and make it clear this is something that could happen en masse.
Then at least it takes away the transactional nature of it and frames it more as a democratic choice, informed by whatever situation is happening and done for the benefit of constituents and Canadians.
How does this change get made? Unfortunately that's the hard part. It would be hard or maybe inappropriate to "legislate".
It would need to be an expectation, a habit, a "norm".
It could happen. Though today, politicians following "norms" seems to be a little out of vogue.
#canPoli #cdnpoli #canada #democracy #houseofcommons
https://halifax.citynews.ca/video/2026/04/13/floor-crossing-raises-questions-on-canadian-voting-stability/
@chris@mstdn.chrisalemany.caThere is a summit happening in Barcelona, Spain this weekend hosted by PM Sanchez titled "IV In Defense of Democracy". He is hosting leaders of 15 counties including Mexico's Sheinbaum, Brazil's Lula, and South Africa.
They are countering the "illiberal forces" building in the world with a force for democratic values.
No, Carney is not there.
#ElbowsWhatever #canada #canpoli #cdnpoli #democracy #progressive
@cdarwin@c.imTrump has effectively turned the White House into a slush fund,
running the federal government like a personal ATM.
Public money, political favors and government power are funneled to his friends and family businesses,
while regulatory agencies and enforcement mechanisms are hollowed out or weaponized for profit.
His oligarch allies, from big tech executives to big oil barons, are already seeing massive returns on their political investments.
This is not demo…
@pre@boing.worldIt is such a mystery, why do American presidents start patriotic wars far from home when they are unpopular and the mid-terms are coming up and there's incriminating evidence against them in the news every day. 🧐 🤔
Nothing like this has ever happened before.
Some say he's doing what he promised and ending the forever wars!... By winning them!
Israel thinks that having the country next door fall to chaos and civil war makes them less of a threat. I don't think that's right, but I think that's what motivates them. Those in charge of it's military want that Greater Israel with bigger borders and smaller neighbours.
Trump thinks he can go down in history as the saviour of the world and if he just chops off the head of the regime the people will rise up and be a liberal democracy. I don't think that's right either. He thinks similarly about Venusualia.
The US administration aim to take control of the global oil supply for private American and multinational owned corporations. Their power is rooted in control of the literal power supply. Oil. Distributed clean energy is a threat to their power. They want to stop all this solar windmill crap and go back to good old fashioned tax and control of centralized oil distribution hubs.
Starmer just thinks he has no choice and he has to do what America says and can't risk the Telegraph and the Mail calling him antisemitic. He falsely accused thousands of not-terrorists of terrorism and is putting them through courts as terrorists for the same reason.
@chris@mstdn.chrisalemany.caVery proud and excited to vote in the NDP leadership race today!!
This is not the first time I've voted in a Federal leadership race... more on that later but first, my choices! I considered only voting for two people, but I ended up filling in all 5 choices.
#1: Tanille Johnston @…
#2: Avi Lewis @…
#3: Heather McPherson
#4: Tony McQuail
#5: Rob Ashton
Why?
You might ask why I would publicize my choices. I don’t expect others to of course. It is a privilege and a right in Canada to exercise your democratic choice freely and privately, but I also think there is value in knowing how others voted.
#1 why Tanille? #electoralReform and proportional representation myself, I didn't just want to pick my top two. I wanted to make a statement on each of these candidates an influence each one.
To be blunt, Heather is #3 because she is the middle-of-the-road candidate. She is an excellent representative as MP and has gathered the support of other MPs including my own, but while I would be OK with her leadership, I would see her as a continuation of the status quo, and that is not what the NDP needs as a party, nor is it what Canada needs as a country.
We desperately need a vigorous and clear alternative to the Centre-but-mostly-Right Liberals, and the MAGA-wannabe Conservatives. The only way to do that is to catch the attention of Canadians and inspire them. I am not sure that Heather has the ability to do that, and if we continue with the same leadership crew in the NDP, I am not confident that the policy choices will be strong enough to inspire and attract Canadians.
That is why Tanille and Avi are far better options.
#4 Why Tony:
Tony is the real deal. Honestly, I would have loved to rank him higher. He represents the true life blood of rural, socially progressive, environmentally aware, Canadians. You should go check out his platform. I am so glad that he was able to participate fully in the race and we need his voice in the NDP.
#5 Why not Rob?
I have been an active member in my Union for more than 10 years. Unionism is The Way. Rob is representing a division within the union movement that claims that working people can't have jobs if the environment is put first. This is a lie.
We need union leaders that look to the future and speak honestly to people. We need union leaders who are genuinely progressive, not ready to do the bidding of corporate masters to the benefit of a few.
Working people need honesty, and when an industry is on decline, a clear path to new, excellent, union, jobs!
#CanPoli #CdnPoli #Liberal #CPC #Canada #Democracy #NDP
