Tootfinder

Autocracy concerns in the U.S. continue to grow
https://www.npr.org/2026/02/16/nx-s1-5705955/us-autocracy-concerns-grow

Been on another kick of reading Soviet history lately and boy-oh-boy why does every other page I read make me realize how much the current US administration is just copying the good old Russian autocracy playbook?
I need to write some essays about this, because the parallels are worth examining if for nothing else then simply for learning from the past.

How autocracy (Trump) in the US, destroys science and research, https://open.spotify.com/episode/6KduJi09Od0ycrpq8F0x0A?si=0VlWnNdoR9iSBr4cSHvIIA&t=973&pi=KD1EwB_UTMqhF

Reality Reshaped
Autocracy in America · Episode

If Anne Applebaum talks about autocracy i listen....
#AnneApplebaum

ICE and the National Guard Are Acting with Impunity
Autocracy in America · Episode

Tattoo autocracy

Funny. There was I, thinking that freedom and autocracy were incompatible.

Geweldig boek als je beter wilt begrijpen wat Trump aan het doen is en hoe onze wereld verandert door leiders zoals Putin en Trump.
https://www.bol.com/nl/nl/p/autocracy-inc-the-dictators-who-want-to-run-the-worl…

I feel as though I should illustrate the difference that this one single constraint can make by two examples.
The rules of Simon Says are maximally authoritarian. You must perform any action ordered, with the only restriction that the authority must say "Simon says" first. Were you forced to stay in this system, it would be the most despotic autocracy possible. But it's not. It's a silly game because you can leave at any time.
Let's flip this and imagine a room. During a specific period of time you will have absolute control over everything in this room. In this room you have total freedom. This is not even the limited freedom, the coordinated freedom, the compromising freedom of civil society. You could, without consequence, perform any action you wish in this room. You could say anything, destroy or steal any object, order any individual to perform any action, kill any person in the room with you and take anything they own. This is the sovereign freedom, the absolute freedom, of dictators and kings. The only restriction is that you are not allowed to leave the room while you have this freedom. In fact, you really only have this level of freedom because the room is actually empty other than for you. I am, of course, talking about a form of torture still common in the US: solitary confinement.

It's clear now, Trump wants to take control of the elections in the US and manipulate them where possible. The next step in transforming the US in an autocracy (or worse)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0mke841zj0o

Trump says Republicans 'should take over the voting' and 'nationalise' US elections
American elections are primarily run by state law, and voting is administered by local officials across the country.

I feel as though I should illustrate the difference that this one single constraint can make by two examples.
The rules of Simon Says are maximally authoritarian. You must perform any action ordered, with the only restriction that the authority must say "Simon says" first. Were you forced to stay in this system, it would be the most despotic autocracy possible. But it's not. It's a silly game because you can leave at any time.
Let's flip this and imagine a room. During a specific period of time you will have absolute control over everything in this room. In this room you have total freedom. This is not even the limited freedom, the coordinated freedom, the compromising freedom of civil society. You could, without consequence, perform any action you wish in this room. You could say anything, destroy or steal any object, order any individual to perform any action, kill any person in the room with you and take anything they own. This is the sovereign freedom, the absolute freedom, of dictators and kings. The only restriction is that you are not allowed to leave the room while you have this freedom. In fact, you really only have this level of freedom because the room is actually empty other than for you. I am, of course, talking about a form of torture still common in the US: solitary confinement.

"Inside the ‘industrial-scale’ Trump pardon machine"
#Trump #corruption #autocracy #pardons