Tootfinder

Moody Urbanity - Metro Consistency 📌
情绪化城市 - 都市质地 📌
📷 Pentax MX
🎞️ Orwo Wolfen P400
#filmphotography #Photography #blackandwhite

California's Prop 50 to combat Trump's blatant rigging of our elections is listed here.
Californians: This is the whole ballgame. Vote YES on Prop 50.
✅ Key Contests This November That Will Shape the Future of Democracy - Democracy Docket
https://www.

Key Contests This November That Will Shape the Future of Democracy
Read more here.

"I was elected mayor of Istanbul, but I write this from jail: Turkish democracy is under grave threat"
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/sep/24/mayor-istanbul-jail-ekrem-imamoglu-turkey-democracy

Anyone looking for context on the Irish presidential election, here is everything you need to know:
https://bellacaledonia.org.uk/2025/10/24/messy-democracy-irelands-reshaped-presidency/

Messy Democracy: Ireland’s Reshaped Presidency
As Ireland elects its new President, Claire McNab offers a historical overview of the role and its prospects.  Ireland is on its fifteenth instance of a task which Scotland has never done: electing…

“The United States, just months before its 250th birthday as the world’s leading democracy, has tipped over the edge into authoritarianism and fascism. ”
https://www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/america-tips-into-fascism-f51000e08e03254d

America Tips Into Fascism
Today is different than before.

Q&A with Wired's global editorial director Katie Drummond on how it is impossible to disambiguate tech from politics as the US turns toward authoritarianism (Oliver Darcy/Status)
https://www.status.news/p/wired-katie-drummond-interview

WIRED for the Moment
In a conversation with Status, WIRED’s Katie Drummond argues that Silicon Valley is no longer just innovating new technology—it’s actively shaping American democracy.

10 actions we can take to help protect our democracy | The Seattle Times
https://archive.ph/lbkPK

Well, we got our California Proposition 50 voting materials - that's the proposition to do redistricting.
Unlike the fake-democracy states, like Texas, here in California we voters actually get to chose whether we re-district or not.
(BTW, I am voting "YES" on Proposition 50.)

"Protests in Serbia: a battle for democracy that the EU must not ignore"
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/aug/25/the-guardian-view-on-protests-in-serbia-a-battle-for-democracy-that-the…

Democracy After Disaster
Natural disasters rip away our collective sense of control, so it's critical that the road of recovery is paved with community voice and agency...
Great Australian Pods Podcast Directory: https://www.greataustralianpods.com/democracy-after-…

sometimes, the misaddressed msgs for MEPs in the parltrack inbox are truly wtf. today some young citizen schleiming around and asking for:
> I would be extremely grateful if it would be possible to receive a small
autograph from you or perhaps a small gift or souvenir related to the
European Parliament. Such a gesture would mean a lot to me as someone who is eager to learn more about European institutions and democracy.

So now the Labour Party is a democracy that money can buy.
"Powell, who has cast herself as the "independent choice" in the contest, has also been boosted by a £15,000 donation from green energy industrialist Dale Vince."
Phillipson: I've been the victim of sexist briefings - BBC News
https://www.

Phillipson: I've been the victim of sexist briefings
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson is running against Lucy Powell for Labour's deputy leadership.

"#Austria’s Democracy on the Decline"
“The Situation is Serious”: #Democracy Index with Sobering Result for Austria
https://www.europesays…

LECTURE> MU-CRS Seminar with Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tomas Larsson about “Sacred Things and Democracy in Thailand” #acrel https://networks.h-net.org/group/annou…

This quote encapsulates some of my thinking about AI and knowledge creators, language communities: '"Inclusive institutions" reward you for baking more cake. Inclusive institutions like the rule of law, contracts, and open competition ensure that if you invest, you will reap the rewards.
"Extractive institutions" are how elites grab instead of bake cake. 
They siphon state revenues, seize assets, block competition, smother innovation, centralise power, explo…

sometimes, the misaddressed msgs for MEPs in the parltrack inbox are truly wtf. today some young citizen schleiming around and asking for:
> I would be extremely grateful if it would be possible to receive a small
autograph from you or perhaps a small gift or souvenir related to the
European Parliament. Such a gesture would mean a lot to me as someone who is eager to learn more about European institutions and democracy.

CA voters: Vote YES on Prop 50.
Here's the latest ad featuring AOC explaining how EVERYONE IN AMERICA is depending on Californians to counterbalance Trump & the Republican's gerrymandering in TX with CA Prop 50, the Election Rigging Response act.
Healthcare. Paychecks. Democracy. We're the last line of defense against Trump's rigging of future elections.

Antifa in the US:
7 000 000 and growing
There can be no democracy without antifascim
#antifa #antifascism #Antifaschismus

I wonder what inspired TIL to post this today.
https://noc.social/@todayilearned/115232287275687330

Today I learned (@todayilearned@noc.social)
Attached: 1 image TIL that Palpatine being a ruthless politician dismantling a democracy to achieve supreme power was inspired by real life examples of democratic backsliding. Nixon’s presidency got Lucas to thinking about how democracies turned into dictatorships: “Democracies aren't overthrown; they're given away“. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palpatine #til #todayilearned https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1nlamby/til_that_palpatine_being_a_ruthless_politician/

Trump is not the actual problem. The problem are all those people that enable him. And John Roberts stands out as someone that has the pretence of integrity (which nobody in MAGA or TESCREAL has), yet is going at great lengths to destroy the checks and balances of American democracy.
https://

The Roberts Court Is Winning Its War on American Democracy
Chief Justice John Roberts has now overseen 20 years of increasingly illiberal rulings by the Supreme Court.

From #RobertReich @…
The moral bankruptcy of #America’s #leadership class.…

America without a leadership class
In the face of the worst crisis American democracy has faced in living memory, they’re silent or complicit

One key point of democracy (and the minimal requirement) is that there is an official and working way to get rid of the running government (and representatives i.e. parliament).
This includes a free press, i.e. access to information and different (critical) views on politicians.
#pol

LECTURE> MU-CRS Seminar with Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tomas Larsson about “Sacred Things and Democracy in Thailand”
https://ift.tt/CmAByR1
Summer 2026 Vietnamese Language Study with Indiana University Kathleen Evans 09/19/2025 - 9:31am …
via Input 4 RELCFP

Americans worry democracy in danger amid gerrymandering fights, new poll finds – live;
Armed troops in cities? Kidnappings in broad daylight? No big deal.
Gerrymandering? OMG! 😏

"Les États-Unis sont-ils encore une démocratie ?
Je dirais que les États-Unis sont aujourd'hui un système "autoritaire compétitif". Il s'agit d'un jargon de science politique qui désigne les pays qui ont les apparences de la démocratie, mais où des règles du jeu équitables ne s'appliquent plus."
#USA

I’ll be here tomorrow for #NoKings, please join me here or… just about anywhere, really! There’s over 2,500 events tomorrow nationwide.
https://www.indivisiblepeninsulabayarea.org/nokings/…

No Kings Day for Democracy - Palo Alto Bay Area | October 18, 2025
Join the No Kings Day parade and Democracy Fair in Palo Alto, Bay Area. Stand against authoritarianism and build democracy together.

I'll gonna take some time today to personalize the message and send out emails from my own account to hopefully ditch filtering on the target side and make my voice heard. Allowing chat control does not only put privacy and democracy in danger. At times of constant digital attacks from rogue states like Russia, the US, North Korea and China etc. it should be obvious that having weak encryption and standard backdoor access to secure communications channels is an invitation for any malici…

Fight Chat Control (@chatcontrol@mastodon.social)
Angehängt: 1 Bild Germany's position has been reverted to UNDECIDED. Despite expressing concerns about breaking end-to-end encryption, Germany refrained from taking a definitive stance on the Chat Control proposal during the September 12th LEWP meeting. A willingness to negotiate and compromise remains. This is an unfortunate development as Germany is crucial to defeating Chat Control. Please make your voices heard! https://fightchatcontrol.eu/ Source: https://netzpolitik.org/2025/chatko…

In Italy, for thirty years under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror,
murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michaelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci
and the Renaissance. In Switzerland, they had brotherly love, they had
five hundred years of democracy and peace -- and what did they produce?
The cuckoo-clock.
-- Orson Welles, "The Third Man"

Rigging Elections to Save Democracy
#Elections #Election

Generative AI as a catalyst for democratic Innovation: Enhancing citizen engagement in participatory budgeting
Italo Alberto do Nascimento Sousa, Jorge Machado, Jose Carlos Vaz
https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.19497

Generative AI as a catalyst for democratic Innovation: Enhancing citizen engagement in participatory budgeting
This research examines the role of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) in enhancing citizen engagement in participatory budgeting. In response to challenges like declining civic participation and increased societal polarization, the study explores how online political participation can strengthen democracy and promote social equity. By integrating Generative AI into public consultation platforms, the research aims to improve citizen proposal formulation and foster effective dialogue between…

😎 How do politicians view democracy? It depends on whether they win or lose
#politics

How do politicians view democracy? It depends on whether they win or lose
There is a heightened concern about the current state of democracy around the globe. These include worries about a decrease in freedom, the growing number of autocracies around the world and citizens' dissatisfaction with democracy or government.

Democracy in the US is going to the dogs right now, and yet there are still people who fly there for a vacation or a conference with a clear conscience. It's unbelievable.
#USA

Performative Politics Is a Dead End https://jacobin.com/2025/09/ndp-leadership-race-social-democracy-identity-politics/

Performative Politics Is a Dead End
Canada’s New Democratic Party once rallied workers around a bold social democratic vision. The leadership contest now unfolding shows a center left so busy virtue signaling it forgets how to build power.

Amid deepening threats to pluralism and free expression, support for innovative civil society organizations that counter digital authoritarianism and build democratic infrastructure is key to carving out a freer future
https://bsky.app/profile/techpolicypress.bsky.so…

Tech Policy Press (@techpolicypress.bsky.social)
Amid deepening threats to pluralism and free expression, support for innovative civil society organizations that counter digital authoritarianism and build democratic infrastructure is key to carving out a freer future, writes Beth Kerley from the National Endowment for Democracy. https://www.techpolicy.press/autocrats-digital-advances-underscore-the-need-for-civil-society/

After Losing in Court, Utah GOPers Unveil Audacious Scheme To Create New Gerrymander - Democracy Docket
https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/after-losing-in-court-utah-gopers-unveil-audacious-scheme-to-create-new-gerrymander/

Podcast recommendation: The @… Podcast "How to fix the Internet" talks with @…, founder of the @…

Podcast Episode: Building and Preserving the Library of Everything
All this season, “How to Fix the Internet” has been focusing on the tools and technology of freedom – and one of the most important tools of freedom is a library. Access to knowledge not only creates an informed populace that democracy requires, but also gives people the tools they need to thrive....

Oregon’s mail-in voting system produces some of the higher voter turnouts in the nation. I live here and it works great. That Trump wants to end it is anti-democratic and unconstitutional—states run elections. #voting #elections

"France’s top court strikes down pesticide clause in farming law"
#France #Pesticides
ht…

France’s top court strikes down pesticide clause in farming law
Critics called the decision a win for democracy and the planet. Some lawmakers have already vowed to push for a full repeal in the coming months.

The Librarians Film | Official Site
https://thelibrariansfilm.com/
“Librarians under siege join forces as unlikely defenders fighting on the frontlines of democracy“
Gerade bei Aspekte (

One of the reasons I support free transit is because relying on fare revenue is a trap. One economic downturn, one pandemic, and suddenly the transit system is on life support and needs to drastically reduce service. On the other hand, funding operations through general taxes allows voters to dictate how to handle funding operations, rather than markets.
[This is just one reason I like free transit; I have many. And yes, if your democracy is broken, so is your transit]

i wish all people going out on the streets tomorrow during #NoKings day good luck, you are protesting for freedom and democracy.
https://www.nokings.org/

No Kings
As the president escalates his authoritarian power grab, the NO KINGS non-violent movement continues to rise stronger. We are united once again to remind the world: America has No Kings and the power belongs to the people.

It's not hyperbole to say that what we in the Fediverse are doing to build decentralized social media is important for the future of liberal democracy.
https://www.techdirt.com/2025/08/05/take-back-our-digital-infrastructure-to-save-democracy/

"Our government is being run by aggrieved elites who were thrown onto social platforms with everyone else in the 2010s, where they could finally read what we all think about them. And it caused them so much psychic damage that they have decided to destroy both the internet and democracy to make sure nothing like it will ever happen again."
(Original title: Petty, powerful, and pathologically online)

Petty, powerful, and pathologically online
Read to the end for an academic paper on puppygirls

How the US democracy is designed to avoid representation
Right now in the US, a system which proclaims to give each citizen representation, my interests are not represented very well by most of my so-called representatives at any level of government. This is true for a majority of Americans across the political spectrum, and it happens by design. The "founding fathers" were explicit about wanting a system of government that would appear Democratic but which would keep power in the hands of rich white landowners, and they successfully designed exactly that. But how does disenfranchisement work in this system?
First, a two-party system locked in by first-post-the-post winner-takes-all elections immediately destroys representation for everyone who didn't vote for the winner, including those who didn't vote or weren't eligible to vote. Single-day non-holiday elections and prisoner disenfranchisement go a long way towards ensuring working-class people get no say, but much larger is the winner-takes all system. In fact, even people who vote for the winning candidate don't get effective representation if they're really just voting against the opponent as the greater of two evils. In a 51/49 election with 50% turnout, you've immediately ensured that ~75% of eligible voters don't get represented, and with lesser-of-two-evils voting, you create an even wider gap to wedge corporate interests into. Politicians need money to saturate their lesser-of-two-evils message far more than they need to convince any individual voter to support their policies. It's even okay if they get caught lying, cheating, or worse (cough Epstein cough) as long as the other side is also doing those things and you can freeze out new parties.
Second, by design the Senate ensures uneven representation, allowing control of the least-populous half of states to control or at least shut down the legislative process. A rough count suggests 284.6 million live in the 25 most-populous states, while only 54.8 million live in the rest. Currently, counting states with divided representation as two half-states with half as much population, 157.8 million people are represented by 53 Republican sensors, while 180.5 million people get only 45 seats of Democratic representation. This isn't an anti-Democrat bias, it's a bias towards less-populous states, whose residents get more than their share it political power.
I haven't even talked about gerrymandering yet, or family/faith-based "party loyalty," etc. Overall, the effect is that the number of people whose elected representatives meaningfully represent their interests on any given issue is vanishingly small (like, 10% of people tops), unless you happen to be rich enough to purchase lobbying power or direct access.
If we look at polls, we can see how lack of representation lets congress & the president enact many policies that go against what a majority of the population wants. Things like abortion restrictions, the current ICE raids, and Medicare cuts are deeply unpopular, but they benefit the political class and those who can buy access. These are possible because the system ensures at every step of the way that ordinary people do NOT get the one thing the system promises them: representation in the halls of power.
Okay, but is this a feature of all democracies, inherent in the nature of a majority-decides system? Not exactly...
1/2
#uspol #democracy

I can't help but wonder if "...democracy-under-threat messaging might not work on voters in places such as the Central Valley. It hearkens back to 2024, when Democrats repeatedly — and unsuccessfully — warned that then-candidate Trump posed a risk to Democracy." is key to Democratic losses.
I have heard too few Democratic messages that clearly offer a meaningful message of how a #DemocraticParty

Will Prop. 50 burst state Dems’ bubble?
Advocates warn messaging that works in places like SF doesn’t cut it elsewhere.

I can't help but wonder if "...democracy-under-threat messaging might not work on voters in places such as the Central Valley. It hearkens back to 2024, when Democrats repeatedly — and unsuccessfully — warned that then-candidate Trump posed a risk to Democracy." is key to Democratic losses.
I have heard too few Democratic messages that clearly offer a meaningful message of how a #DemocraticParty

Will Prop. 50 burst state Dems’ bubble?
Advocates warn messaging that works in places like SF doesn’t cut it elsewhere.

Der Thread von @… über die Zerstörung des US-Amerikanischen Rechtsstaats.
Vorbereitet wurde das mit einer gezielten Besetzung des US-Verfassungsgerichts mit Trumps Handlangern in seiner ersten Amtszeit.
Ein Spiel das CDU und CSU derzeit auch spielen: sie versuchen die Besetzung des deutschen Verfassungsgerichts mit Richter*innen, die nicht auf Partei- son…

toad.social
Mastodon server operated by David Troy, a tech pioneer and investigative journalist addressing threats to democracy. Thoughtful participation and discussion welcome.

Maybe Musk saw how easily democracy can be destroyed in a federation of 50 states?

LECTURE> MU-CRS Seminar with Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tomas Larsson about “Sacred Things and Democracy in Thailand”
https://ift.tt/LZ4o0By
Summer 2026 Vietnamese Language Study with Indiana University Kathleen Evans 09/19/2025 - 9:31am …
via Input 4 RELCFP

This is the way.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/11/brazil-supreme-court-bolsonaro-guilty-coup

Brazil’s supreme court finds Bolsonaro guilty of plotting military coup
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/11/brazil-supreme-court-bolsonaro-guilty-coup

From Distrust to Retribution: America’s Escalating Spiral: https://blog.rmendes.net/2025/09/11/from-distrust-to-retribution-americas.html

This #WaPo slogan is outdated.
Democracy dies in darkness was the official slogan of the American newspaper The Washington Post since 2017. It was meant to symbolise that a thriving democracy requires transparency and illumination of government actions and decisions. The slogan underscores the role of journalism in holding power accountable by shining a light on public officials and decision…

https://terikanefield.com/whyextremismhappens

Why Intolerance and Extremism Happen (and how to protect democracy in a divided world) - Teri Kanefield
Hello, and welcome. I plan to take on some big questions, including: Why do some people spiral into extremism? Why does democracy seem perpetually on the brink? Why are we so divided? What can we do to protect democracy in a divided world? To answer these questions, I’ve pulled insights from political psychologists, neuroscientists, American […]

😰 Americans worry democracy is in danger amid gerrymandering fights, poll finds
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/22/world/politics/gerrymandering-us-democracy-danger-poll/
🆓

Americans worry democracy is in danger amid gerrymandering fights, poll finds
As Texas Republicans redraw the state's congressional maps to benefit their party, California Democrats threaten to respond in kind.

The Beacon of Democracy Goes Dark (Anne Applebaum/The Atlantic)
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2025/11/america-democracy-autocracy/684335/?gift=hVZeG3M9DnxL4CekrWGK39aSMipcYjqT3FSdM6_hvGI&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share
http://www.memeorandum.com/251014/p63#a251014p63

The Most Important Election In 2025 | Rep. Mikie Sherrill by Democracy Docket
#NewJersey

„MAGA seems to think it can begin with coercion and then build hegemony. But they may be making the same mistake the Leninist parties did in the West: pursuing an insurrectionary politics unsuited to the terrain of an advanced liberal democracy with a developed civil society. They are pursuing what Gramsci called the “war of maneuver”—rapid, lightning assaults—rather than the “war of position”—a gradual and more deliberate kind of approach.“

We're wandering down this afternoon to the Jessie Price Keep Bean on the map: Reconnecting Our Supporter Community!
Enjoy a democracy sausage BBQ.
Jessie and David Pocock will be in conversation about the critical importance of community Independents on the crossbench in the context of a Coalition shambles and Labor majority - sharpening the role of the crossbench in holding the government to account and pushing for stronger action.
Tuggeranong Park Stage, 2-4pm and a…

#lectrr #cartoon #democracy

Most impressing video about the differences between Europe and the USA...
explanation for what occures in the USA so regularly, that they have a name of it:
Post Europe Depression.
People come from the most advanced democracy of the free to Europe and realize their delusion. When they go back home, they are very unhappy...
https://www.

Indeed, Ed Davey, our democracy IS too precious to be a plaything for foreign tech barons. Which does rather make me wonder why you are supporting these tech barons through your choice of where you are posting your comments 🤦‍♀️

"The Librarians" @ BBC Four Storyville
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002kkmj
"A Storyville documentary that explores how librarians across the US are risking their safety to defend free speech as book bans and censorship threaten democracy from within."

Last boost --
"Democracy is based on the assumption that a million men are wiser than one man. How's that again? I missed something."
from Time Enough for Love by Robert A. Heinlein
"Autocracy is based on the assumption that one man is wiser than a million men. Let's play that over again, too. Who decides?"
also from Time Enough for Love by Robert A. Heinlein

If you read what Jimmy Kimmel actually said...this is free speech in any democracy in the western world, his comments weren't even hateful or inciting. The USA is transforming into a fascist state before our eyes.
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/17/charlie-kirk-jimm…

ABC pulls 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' off air 'indefinitely' over Charlie Kirk comments
Jimmy Kimmel suggested that Tyler Robinson, the man accused of killing Charlie Kirk, was aligned with President Donald Trump's MAGA movement.

"‘I don’t expect to live a normal life’: how a Leeds teenager woke up with a Chinese bounty on her head"
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/aug/11/leeds-teenager-china-chloe-cheung-democracy-p…

'Archivist fired by Trump launches a national effort to strengthen democracy': 'On Constitution Day, Shogan launched a national bipartisan effort called "More Perfect" to work on strengthening democracy' https://www.pbs.org/newsho…

Archivist fired by Trump launches a national effort to strengthen democracy
Colleen Shogan made history when she became the first woman to serve as Archivist of the United States in 2023. In February, President Trump fired her with no reason given. On Constitution Day, Shogan launched a national bipartisan effort called "More Perfect" to work on strengthening democracy. Amna Nawaz reports for our series, Art in Action, and our arts and culture coverage, CANVAS.

Speculative politics
As an anarchist (okay, maybe not in practice), I'm tired of hearing why we have to suffer X and Y indignity to "preserve the rule of law" or "maintain Democratic norms." So here's an example of what representative democracy (a form of government that I believe is inherently flawed) could look like if its proponents had even an ounce of imagination, and/or weren't actively trying to rig it to favor a rich donor class:
1. Unicameral legislature, where representatives pass laws directly. Each state elects 3 statewide representatives: the three most-popular candidates in a statewide race where each person votes for one candidate (ranked preference voting would be even better but might not be necessary, and is not a solution by itself). Instead of each representative getting one vote in the chamber, they get N votes, where N is the number of people who voted for them. This means that in a close race, instead of the winner getting all the power, the power is split. Having 3 representatives trades off between leisure size and ensuring that two parties can't dominate together.
2. Any individual citizen can contact their local election office to switch or withdraw their vote at any time (maybe with a 3-day delay or something). Voting power of representatives can thus shift even without an election. They are limited to choosing one of the three elected representatives, or "none of the above." If the "none of the above" fraction exceeds 20% of eligible voters, a new election is triggered for that state. If turnout is less than 80%, a second election happens immediately, with results being final even at lower turnout until 6 months later (some better mechanism for turnout management might be needed).
3. All elections allow mail-in ballots, and in-person voting happens Sunday-Tuesday with the Monday being a mandatory holiday. (Yes, election integrity is not better in this system and that's a big weakness.)
4. Separate nationwide elections elect three positions for head-of-state: one with diplomatic/administrative powers, another with military powers, and a third with veto power. For each position, the top three candidates serve together, with only the first-place winner having actual power until vote switches or withdrawals change who that is. Once one of these heads loses their first-place status, they cannot get it again until another election, even if voters switch preferences back (to avoid dithering). An election for one of these positions is triggered when 20% have withdrawn their votes, or if all three people initially elected have been disqualified by losing their lead in the vote count.
5. Laws that involve spending money are packaged with specific taxes to pay for them, and may only be paid for by those specific revenues. Each tax may be opted into or out of by each taxpayer; where possible opting out of the tax also opts you out of the service. (I'm well aware of a lot of the drawbacks of this, but also feel like they'd not necessarily be worse than the drawbacks of our current system.) A small mandatory tax would cover election expenses.
6. I'm running out of attention, but similar multi-winner elections could elect panels of judges from which a subset is chosen randomly to preside in each case.
Now I'll point out once again that this system, in not directly confronting capitalism, racism, patriarchy, etc., is probably doomed to the same failures as our current system. But if you profess to want a "representative democracy" as opposed to something more libratory, I hope you'll at least advocate for something like this that actually includes meaningful representation as opposed to the current US system that's engineered to quash it.
Key questions: "Why should we have winner-take-all elections when winners-take-proportionately-to-votes is right there?" and "Why should elected officials get to ignore their constituents' approval except during elections, when vote-withdrawal or -switching is possible?"
2/2
#Democracy

From The Guardian at 15.22 EDT
"Lauren Gambino
Border patrol has showed up outside Gavin Newsom’s event at the democracy center in Los Angeles.
Local news reported that at least one man was arrested, as the governor vowed on X that Democrats would “not be intimidated”.
Inside, speakers referenced the enforcement activity. Ann Burroughs, president of the Japanese American National Museum, said the center was built on the site because it was where, in 1942, Japanes…

Basically, someone I know in real life, is blatantly pretending and lying, attempting to trick my mind into believing that anarcho-syndicalism is the same thing as authoritarianism. The absurdity of this conflation is laughable.
Anarcho-syndicalism fundamentally opposes authoritarian structures by advocating for decentralized, worker-controlled organizations and direct democracy, whereas authoritarianism centers on concentrated, top-down control and coercive power.
The attempt to…

this👇
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/15/redistricting-gerrymandering-democrats-republicans-texas-california?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

this👇
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/15/redistricting-gerrymandering-democrats-republicans-texas-california?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

#FreeDC

'Shaken' historian issues dire warning: 'Americans have 400 days to save US democracy' - Raw Story
https://www.rawstory.com/trump-2674000987/

🗷 Gerrymandering erodes confidence in democracy
#politics

Gerrymandering erodes confidence in democracy
When politicians redraw congressional district maps to favor their party, they may secure short-term victories. But those wins can come at a steep price—a loss of public faith in elections and, ultimately, in democracy itself.

Because calling for one's political opponents to be incarcerated is a perfectly normal and healthy part of a liberal democracy. 🙃
#uspol

The mainstream media loves making it seam like dysfunction in Washington is coming from both parties.
Hello?
Much of the GOP no longer accepts the rule of law, or the norms of democracy, or the legitimacy of the opposing party.
Enough of the false equivalence.
https://bsky.app/profile/rbr…

Robert Reich (@rbreich.bsky.social)
The mainstream media loves making it seam like dysfunction in Washington is coming from both parties. Hello? Much of the GOP no longer accepts the rule of law, or the norms of democracy, or the legitimacy of the opposing party. Enough of the false equivalence.

"Appointed by Starmer as his undersecretary of state for homelessness and democracy she could have been a trailblazer for reform in the housing sector. She could have championed the return of sold-off council houses to the public sector. She might have persuaded the Cabinet to introduce rent controls to drive private-sector rents down to affordable levels."
The Rushanara Ali case is a spotlight on a broken housing sector | Morning Star

North Carolina Elections Chief Demands Voters' Full Social Security Numbers From DMV (Yunior Rivas/Democracy Docket)
https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/north-carolina-elections-chief-demands-voters-full-social-security-numbers-from-dmv/
http://www.memeorandum.com/251016/p148#a251016p148

Let's conclude the "checks&balances" of US democracy are truly gone, nobody can or will stop Trump in militarizing Washington DC. The rest of the world is watching the fascist dictator Trump in action.
Apparently city government is no longer relevant or in charge...Democrats in Congress don't lift a finger, they should walk out and obstruct everything in government they can....
#trump

To the GenZ & GenAlpha... I'm so sorry.
I hope you all grow up w/ a better sense of civic duty & what it means to be a Republic than previous generations did.
Take heart in knowing the dumbassed male Boomers & GenX like me will all be dead by then.
That is, if we're still a democracy. 😕

Democracy on the March... into the abyss...
In today's news, a rather small fish in the world of voting systems swallows a whale.
This reporter wonders: Who provided the funding for this acquisition?
"Scoop: Dominion Voting sold to company run by ex-GOP election official"
htt…

Scoop: Dominion Voting sold to company run by ex-GOP election official
Dominion is one of the biggest election equipment providers and was used by 27 states during the 2024 election.

‘No suggestion of democracy’ in US plan for future governance of the Gaza Strip
https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20251014-no-suggestion-of-democracy-in-us-plan-for-future-governance-of-the-gaza-strip

The EU is pushing to scan ALL private messages, even encrypted ones, endangering privacy, security, and fundamental freedoms across 450 million people.
This is mass surveillance disguised as child protection, and it breaks encryption, risks false accusations, and threatens democracy worldwide.
Learn more & act NOW: https://fightchatcontrol…

"The United States, just months before its 250th birthday as the world’s leading democracy [sic], has tipped over the edge into authoritarianism and fascism. In the end, faster than I imagined possible, it did happen here.
'America' (i.e. the USA) Tips Into Fascism
https://www.

America Tips Into Fascism
Today is different than before.

Trump allowed Israel to almost completely destroy Gaza, kill tens of thousands innocent civilians, now we should praise him for making "peace" on the rubble that is left. Meanwhile in his own country, democracy and the rule of law are in fast decline. The breakdown of the values the USA once stood for is almost complete. Next will be the further destruction of US economy and society, it will not be a pretty sight I am afraid.

An election law expert weighs in on Trump's effort to reshape our democracy : NPR
https://www.npr.org/2025/09/10/nx-s1-5536528/an-election-law-expert-weighs-in-on-trumps-effort-to-reshape-our-democracy

⚖️ Inequality, pollution, and democracy levels shape how quickly populations age: Study
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-07-inequality-pollution-democracy-quickly-populations.html

Inequality, pollution, and democracy levels shape how quickly populations age: Study
A groundbreaking international study of 161,981 participants across 40 countries published in Nature Medicine reveals that air pollution, social inequality, and weak democratic institutions substantially accelerate aging. The collaborative study involves leading researchers from the Global Brain Health Institute in Trinity College Dublin.

Mike Flood, (R-NE), wasn’t received as expected by his Constituents on 10/4. Met with Boos & chants of “Tax the Rich” & “Vote Him Out”they’re not happy about Medicaid & SNAP cuts

JUST Wait ‘till they 👀 their ACA INCREASES!
Vote for ACA subsidies Mike & end the GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN
https://

Guardrails of Democracy (@demguardrails.bsky.social)
Mike Flood, (R-NE), wasn’t received as expected by his Constituents on 10/4. Met with Boos & chants of “Tax the Rich” & “Vote Him Out”they’re not happy about Medicaid & SNAP cuts JUST Wait ‘till they 👀 their ACA INCREASES! Vote for ACA subsidies Mike & end the GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

By-the-way, it is clear that we are experiencing the end of Democracy and rise of Dictatorship in the US.
We have long observed the rise of large corporations as a class of privileged nobility.
And now we are watching the onset of governance by artificial "intelligence".
Perhaps we will resume democracy, but unless we change our ground rules - such as our Constitution - the power of corporations and, now, AI's will remain a serious problem.
So I will men…

“Trump just threatened to punish an entire city with federal funding cuts because he doesn’t like who New Yorkers might elect as mayor,” noted investment banker Evaristus Odinikaeze. “That’s not just unconstitutional, it’s authoritarian. Weaponizing government money to suppress democracy is exactly the kind of abuse of power the Founders warned about. And yes, it’s impeachable.”
Trump teases threat to defund NYC after governor’s endorsement for mayor - Alternet.org
https://www.alternet.org/trump/trump-nyc-governor/

Warnings From Weimar. Why Bargaining With Authoritarians Fails.
#weimar

Warnings From Weimar
Why bargaining with authoritarians fails.

Motion to dismiss DENIED
Court Cases - New Hampshire Citizenship Requirement Challenge - Democracy Docket
https://www.democracydocket.com/cases/new-hampshire-citizenship-requirement-challenge/

🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 **Illinois Judge Rules Against Arresting Quorum-Breaking Texas Lawmakers** - Democracy Docket
https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/illinois-judge-rules-against-arresting-quorum-breaking-texas-lawmakers/

People in Moldova, choose for Europe, democracy and prosperity. Not for Russia, corruption and destruction.
#moldova #elections #europe

BREAKING: Democracy Forward Sues DOJ and FBI to Enforce FOIA Compliance Over Withheld Records Relating to Epstein
https://michaelpopok.substack.com/p/breaking-democracy-forward-sues-doj

"The question of whether we’re in a constitutional crisis or whether authoritarianism has arrived is kind of an academic one. It’s either here or it’s going to be here very soon. **We’re still short of them openly defying a supreme court ruling or intentionally deporting US citizens or attempting to shut down a news media operation. But we’re not very far short.**"
Trump promised to be a dictator on day one. We’re now past day 200 | Donald Trump | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/10/donald-trump-authoritarian-democracy

Missouri Dems Hold Sit-In for 100 Hours to Protest GOP Assault on Democracy | Common Dreams
https://www.commondreams.org/news/missouri-congressional-map

**Appeals Court Rejects Trump’s Attempt to Fire FTC Commissioner** - Democracy Docket
https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/appeals-court-rejects-trumps-attempt-to-fire-ftc-commissioner/