Maybe we've all heard this a gazillion times, but I'll say it again: The repeal of Citizens United in 2010 by the "conservative" 5-4 SCOTUS majority ruling has probably doomed America. It's not like there isn't rank corruption in the DNC and in the relationships between Dem lawmakers and lobbyists, but fucking hell, The Heritage Foundation and The Federalist Society are now funding the attempts to undermine American democracy. The "American experiment" is far along into the process of ending, and anyone who seems to understand is slandered as an alarmist doomsayer. Unless, of course, they're Trumpist idiots attempting to violently usher in a neo-fascist oligarchy without any clue that they're being played. Lev Parnas's trial starts today. The trial will probably see Rudy Giuliani get even more implicated in his campaign work for foreign oligarchs, but he's got so many other legal issues brewing that it's impossible to know the exact reason he'll go to jail. I'm glad there are others keeping track. It makes me feel a little less crazy. --- Only-Semi-Related Public Therapy Sesh: I've tried to game out 2024. If Trump loses, he'll undoubtedly be sending his supporters into the cities to shoot people. Mostly brown and black people, but if the Google street view history of your house shows a Biden/Harris sign, congrats, you might wanna get some sheet metal to mount on the wall of your bedroom that faces the street. Honestly, I don't think the margin will really matter that much. If he wins? Well, at least you won't have to worry about renewing your voter registration card for a looooooong time. Probably never. And actually, after reading kleinbl00's fantastic new book review, I'm wondering if he has any insights into scenario #1 (Trump losing), which seems fairly analogous to rural/mountain caravans of religious extremists descending on cities/valleys. Are enough folks in urban American police forces commuting in from far away (read: Trumpists) such that city police will look the other way or even help Trump's terrorists? At least the military chain of command seems like it should hold strong, right? The fact that I'm even asking questions like these blows my mind. It's like... embarrassing. Just like I felt embarrassed when I warned my parents on Christmas last year, "You don't understand; He'll do anything to stay in power. He is openly planning an assault on Congress when they certify the electoral college vote on January 6." They looked at each other, and back at me, with grimaces, and I could tell that they thought I'd gone off the deep end. There is one (very) small possible perk to a Republican majority 2023 House of Reps.: If Steve Bannon & co. have their way, Trump will be appointed Speaker of the House (the Speaker doesn't have to be a member of Congress). The perk will be the look on Kevin McCarthy's stupid fucking face during and after the vote tally. And if I have to read one more fucking article from the MSM like "The Biden DoJ could face allegations of politicization by acting on a referral of (e.g.) Bannon for disregarding Congressional subpoenas," I'm gonna lose whatever's left of my mind. The majority of "liberal" media sources seem completely unaware that they're helping the GOP use lawfulness as a bludgeon against the Dems when they frame issues like that. Meanwhile, GOP lawmakers will do anything they can to ruin the country while Biden is prez. Creating instability and engineering socioeconomic deterioration to pin on The Other and help seize power is classic fascist tactics. Hats off to McConnell, he was fascy before Trump. Full-blown fascism was pretty much the only possible endpoint for the GOP. UGH