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...regents...

kemajic said:
Ursa Major said:
The erosion of Democracy is happening globally, not just here. Take a look at the right-wing strongmen in Poland, Hungary, India, Turkey and Brazil. The rise of neo-nazism and the far right in Western Europe. Much of it fueled by xenophobia, hatred and fear toward immigrants, outsiders and domestic political enemies.

They all use the same playbook to tear down the fundamental institutions of democracies: degradation of the rule of law, restrictions and denunciation of a free and vigorous press, attack and manipulate free and fair elections, using the judiciary to go after their domestic enemies, and, attacking the nation’s intelligentsia, replacing subject-matter experts with apparatchiks that will follow the party line.

Democracies are incredibly fragile.

I encourage anyone who doesn’t believe me to read Twilight of Democracy by right of center historian and journalist Anne Applebaum. It’s an important book that records the decline of democracy in the US and Western Europe.

I dare any of you doubters to read the book and come back here and debate its contents.

We’re heading to a barbecue, depending on my post-event sobriety, I will try and respond to other posts.
So you think our degrading democracy is due to right of center influence? Who is in power in the US and trying every means possible to grab more? Who is closing off free speech in universities? Who is indoctrinating school children with political narrative? Who is destroying cities with rioting and looting? Without consequences. Who is defunding police to destroy rule of law? Tells us all we need to know about you.

So your response to the erosion of democracy and threat of authoritarianism in this country is to parrot Fox News culture war arguments?

We’re talking about a president that routinely called the press the enemy of the people. A guy that fired an FBI Director who was investigating his relationship with Russia and fired five inspector generals investigating the actions of his administration.

Attempted to involve foreign countries in American elections in both 2020 and 2016.

Refused to accept the results of a free and fair election and then incited a group of his supporters to march on the Capitol.

Those are the actions of an illiberal authoritarian. If we elect another leader like that, regardless of party, it very well could be the end of the American experiment.
 
noncasualobserver said:
Ursa Major said:
I encourage anyone who doesn’t believe me to read Twilight of Democracy by right of center historian and journalist Anne Applebaum. It’s an important book that records the decline of democracy in the US and Western Europe.

I dare any of you doubters to read the book and come back here and debate its contents.

.

Thanks for the book recommendation, Ursa. Just ordered the book and looking forward to the read. Applebaum's "The History of the Gulag"* should be read by anyone who is concerned about what Socialism looks like, not that we need any other proof. What I appreciate about her and Robert Conquest's books (Harvest of Sorrow, a must-read) are they are merciless on communism, control, eliteism, socialism without being right wing drivel.

*I offered the book to two friends who are concerned about socialist trends in the US and warned them them "this book crams 200 pages of info into 600 pages" and they both stopped reading around page 250. Tough read. Ms. Applebaum also writes on how Stalin/socialism/communism purposefully starved out millions of Ukrainians in "Red Famine".

Thank you for the recommendations!! I actually own Red Famine but haven’t started it yet. Mrs. Ursa and her mom were both born in Ukraine. It’s amazing how little they both know of the famine. I guess it’s a testament to the indoctrination of Soviet era schools.

I’m currently mired in Shelby Foote’s series on the Civil War. Volume 1 alone is 850 pages. If anyone needs a book to crush a cyst, I highly recommend it.
 
Ursa Major said:
noncasualobserver said:
Thanks for the book recommendation, Ursa. Just ordered the book and looking forward to the read. Applebaum's "The History of the Gulag"* should be read by anyone who is concerned about what Socialism looks like, not that we need any other proof. What I appreciate about her and Robert Conquest's books (Harvest of Sorrow, a must-read) are they are merciless on communism, control, eliteism, socialism without being right wing drivel.

*I offered the book to two friends who are concerned about socialist trends in the US and warned them them "this book crams 200 pages of info into 600 pages" and they both stopped reading around page 250. Tough read. Ms. Applebaum also writes on how Stalin/socialism/communism purposefully starved out millions of Ukrainians in "Red Famine".

Thank you for the recommendations!! I actually own Red Famine but haven’t started it yet. Mrs. Ursa and her mom were both born in Ukraine. It’s amazing how little they both know of the famine. I guess it’s a testament to the indoctrination of Soviet era schools.

I’m currently mired in Shelby Foote’s series on the Civil War. Volume 1 alone is 850 pages. If anyone needs a book to crush a cyst, I highly recommend it.
Reminds of the text for a UM Civil War History course I took one summer, enormous with a tiny font and no pictures. Pure torture; my best attempt at speed reading....
 
kemajic said:
Ursa Major said:
Thank you for the recommendations!! I actually own Red Famine but haven’t started it yet. Mrs. Ursa and her mom were both born in Ukraine. It’s amazing how little they both know of the famine. I guess it’s a testament to the indoctrination of Soviet era schools.

I’m currently mired in Shelby Foote’s series on the Civil War. Volume 1 alone is 850 pages. If anyone needs a book to crush a cyst, I highly recommend it.
Reminds of the text for a UM Civil War History course I took one summer, enormous with a tiny font and no pictures. Pure torture; my best attempt at speed reading....

Kem,

That very well could be one and the same. Volume 1 published in 1958 and volume 2 in 1963. Well written but not sure anyone cares what General McClellen was wearing during the second battle of Bull Run.
 
noncasualobserver said:
Ursa Major said:
I encourage anyone who doesn’t believe me to read Twilight of Democracy by right of center historian and journalist Anne Applebaum. It’s an important book that records the decline of democracy in the US and Western Europe.

I dare any of you doubters to read the book and come back here and debate its contents.

.

Thanks for the book recommendation, Ursa. Just ordered the book and looking forward to the read. Applebaum's "The History of the Gulag"* should be read by anyone who is concerned about what Socialism looks like, not that we need any other proof. What I appreciate about her and Robert Conquest's books (Harvest of Sorrow, a must-read) are they are merciless on communism, control, eliteism, socialism without being right wing drivel.

*I offered the book to two friends who are concerned about socialist trends in the US and warned them them "this book crams 200 pages of info into 600 pages" and they both stopped reading around page 250. Tough read. Ms. Applebaum also writes on how Stalin/socialism/communism purposefully starved out millions of Ukrainians in "Red Famine".

Noncasual—Thank you for the recommendation of Red Famine! Fascinating book on the holodomor. Unbelievable what happened to the Ukrainian people from the revolution thru the end of the Second World War. Hard to imagine watching your children die of starvation.There is no doubt a special place in hell for Stalin.

I was surprised to learn that Shit-bag Putin’s invasion of Crimea followed the same strategy of using disguised regular army troops as shit-bag Lenin’s invasion of Ukraine 96 years earlier.

Hard not to see so many similarities with contemporary China.
 
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