Finally someone refers to Stalin and not Nazi Germany..the methods the Trump administration is using and the behaviour of affected institutions are perfectly in line with Soviet style politics and Stalinism in particular..far more subtle than the explicitly murderous Nazis (a West-German having experienced also East Germany)
Hitler never got more than 33% of the vote but, as there was over eight parties, the Nazi vote was one of the highest. Needless to say when he got into power there were no more elections, only referendums. Trump is simply using the American Constitution to take over the State. With his nominees in every position of power how could a university stand up against him? No one in Britain could achieve this level of power in less than a year.
Is Britain not, in some ways, an easier task? Just need a simple Commons majority, override or stuff the House of Lords, no codified constitution etc. In reality, whether presidential or parliamentary, written or unwritten constitutions, you need political elites to accept election losses, otherwise it's very difficult.
Thank you, Jack, as always. I read this and was immediately compelled to agree. Well done! But then I thought for a bit…your ‘victims’ undoubtedly have good reasons for not rebelling:
• They – or some of their members, actually agree with Trump
• It’s not worth the fight. Keep your powder dry etc
• Winning this fight may be worse than losing. Be careful what you wish for
Trump, like Hitler, was elected by a clear majority of citizens. My understanding is that most of them still believe in Trump. Sections of the media have nothing good to say about him. Everything he does is wrong. But that’s illogical: some of his actions must have a good effect, by the law of averages, if nothing else.
No human is always right or wrong.
I have no political affiliations of any kind. As a business HR leader, I knew that if my decisions pleased better than 50% of employees, I was doing OK.
"Donald Trump has yet to establish a personal dictatorship". Questionable assertion! Difficult to imagine what further powers and behaviour he would wield if he were.
I agree with you on today piece but was chilled by your last sentence: did people really unsubscribe because yesterday you were critical of the cancelling of Jewish comedians by an Edinburgh Fringe venue? If so my 88 happy years of living the lift of an integrated British woman who is Jewish have been a sham.
Oh, Jean. They did, but neither that nor the explosion in antisemitism makes anything a sham. The world has changed, but what came before was just as real.
Finally someone refers to Stalin and not Nazi Germany..the methods the Trump administration is using and the behaviour of affected institutions are perfectly in line with Soviet style politics and Stalinism in particular..far more subtle than the explicitly murderous Nazis (a West-German having experienced also East Germany)
Lots of dystopian political systems to go around.
Hitler never got more than 33% of the vote but, as there was over eight parties, the Nazi vote was one of the highest. Needless to say when he got into power there were no more elections, only referendums. Trump is simply using the American Constitution to take over the State. With his nominees in every position of power how could a university stand up against him? No one in Britain could achieve this level of power in less than a year.
Is Britain not, in some ways, an easier task? Just need a simple Commons majority, override or stuff the House of Lords, no codified constitution etc. In reality, whether presidential or parliamentary, written or unwritten constitutions, you need political elites to accept election losses, otherwise it's very difficult.
Thank you, Jack, as always. I read this and was immediately compelled to agree. Well done! But then I thought for a bit…your ‘victims’ undoubtedly have good reasons for not rebelling:
• They – or some of their members, actually agree with Trump
• It’s not worth the fight. Keep your powder dry etc
• Winning this fight may be worse than losing. Be careful what you wish for
Trump, like Hitler, was elected by a clear majority of citizens. My understanding is that most of them still believe in Trump. Sections of the media have nothing good to say about him. Everything he does is wrong. But that’s illogical: some of his actions must have a good effect, by the law of averages, if nothing else.
No human is always right or wrong.
I have no political affiliations of any kind. As a business HR leader, I knew that if my decisions pleased better than 50% of employees, I was doing OK.
“Into each life some rain must fall,
Some days must be dark and dreary."
Thanks, Brian. Though I can't tell if you're saying you agreed until you had more time to think about it!
Exactly that, Jack. You wrote it well so I believed you. I had second thoughts after thinking about it!
I promise only to use my powers of persuasion for good and not evil...
'With great power comes great responsibility...' :-)
"Donald Trump has yet to establish a personal dictatorship". Questionable assertion! Difficult to imagine what further powers and behaviour he would wield if he were.
Many, many powers...
There are 2 very interesting books that I can recommend on this subject.
Nazi Billionaires by David de Jong
Nazi Seizure of Power William Sheridan Allen.
Another book about standing up to tyrants is My Opposition by Robert Scott Kellner. This is a man standing upto The Nazis as an individual!
I agree with you on today piece but was chilled by your last sentence: did people really unsubscribe because yesterday you were critical of the cancelling of Jewish comedians by an Edinburgh Fringe venue? If so my 88 happy years of living the lift of an integrated British woman who is Jewish have been a sham.
Oh, Jean. They did, but neither that nor the explosion in antisemitism makes anything a sham. The world has changed, but what came before was just as real.
Love him or loathe him he at least gets things done and in many ways that is what made Lady Thatcher successful- though only for a while!