You're under the mistaken assumption that this is a country of laws any more.
Rule of Law is being replaced by Rule of Power
I'm happy she made a stand, and its being talked about. I, like you, doubt anything will really come of it, but it does highlight the change.
She did the right thing by making them force her out
I'm pasting Timothy Snyder's Twenty Lessons on Fighting Tyranny from the Twentieth Century here.
I think #1 is incredibly important in these dark times. Donald Trump and his cronies can make all the decrees they want, but these decrees depend on people obeying. Any resistance is better than none.
1. Do not obey in advance. Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then offer themselves without being asked. A citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do.
Defend institutions. It is institutions that help us to preserve decency. They need our help as well. Do not speak of “our institutions” unless you make them yours by acting on their behalf. Institutions do not protect themselves. So choose an institution you care about and take its side.
Beware the one-party state. The parties that remade states and suppressed rivals were not omnipotent from the start. They exploited a historic moment to make political life impossible for their opponents. So support the multi-party system and defend the rules of democratic elections.
Take responsibility for the face of the world. The symbols of today enable the reality of tomorrow. Notice the swastikas and other signs of hate. Do not look away, and do not get used to them. Remove them yourself and set an example for others to do so.
Remember professional ethics. When political leaders set a negative example, professional commitments to just practice become important. It is hard to subvert a rule-of-law state without lawyers, or to hold show trials without judges. Authoritarians need obedient civil servants, and concentration camp directors seek businessmen interested in cheap labor.
Be wary of paramilitaries. When the men with guns who have always claimed to be against the system start wearing uniforms and marching around with torches and pictures of a Leader, the end is nigh. When the pro-leader paramilitary and the official police and military intermingle, the end has come.
Be reflective if you must be armed. If you carry a weapon in public service, God bless you and keep you. But know that evils of the past involved policemen and soldiers finding themselves, one day, doing irregular things. Be ready to say no.
Stand out. Someone has to. It is easy to follow along. It can feel strange to do or say something different. But without that unease, there is no freedom. Remember Rosa Parks. The moment you set an example, the spell of the status quo is broken, and others will follow.
Be kind to our language. Avoid pronouncing the phrases everyone else does. Think up your own way of speaking, even if only to convey that thing you think everyone is saying. Make an effort to separate yourself from the internet. Read books.
Believe in truth. To abandon facts is to abandon freedom. If nothing is true, then no one can criticize power because there is no basis upon which to do so. If nothing is true, then all is spectacle. The biggest wallet pays for the most blinding lights.
Investigate. Figure things out for yourself. Spend more time with long articles. Subsidize investigative journalism by subscribing to print media. Realize that some of what is on the internet is there to harm you. Learn about sites that investigate propaganda campaigns (some of which come from abroad). Take responsibility for what you communicate to others.
Make eye contact and small talk. This is not just polite. It is part of being a citizen and a responsible member of society. It is also a way to stay in touch with your surroundings, break down social barriers, and understand whom you should and should not trust. If we enter a culture of denunciation, you will want to know the psychological landscape of your daily life.
Practice corporeal politics. Power wants your body softening in your chair and your emotions dissipating on the screen. Get outside. Put your body in unfamiliar places with unfamiliar people. Make new friends and march with them.
Establish a private life. Nastier rulers will use what they know about you to push you around. Scrub your computer of malware. Remember that email is skywriting. Consider using alternative forms of the Internet, or simply using it less. Have personal exchanges in person. For the same reason, resolve any legal trouble.
Contribute to good causes. Be active in organizations, political or not, that express your own view of life. Pick a charity or two and set up autopay.
Learn from peers in other countries. Keep up your friendships abroad, or make new friends abroad. The present difficulties in the United States are an element of a larger trend. And no country is going to find a solution by itself. Make sure you and your family have passports.
Listen for dangerous words. Be alert to the use of the words extremism and terrorism. Be alive to the fatal notions of emergency and exception. Be angry about the treacherous use of patriotic vocabulary.
Be calm when the unthinkable arrives. Modern tyranny is terror management. When the terrorist attack comes, remember that authoritarians exploit such events in order to consolidate power. Do not fall for it.
Be a patriot. Set a good example of what America means for the generations to come.
Be as courageous as you can. If none of us is prepared to die for freedom, then all of us will die under tyranny.
I don't want to criticize her too strongly because I absolutely think she did the right thing by ignoring the bullshit firing Friday night and going into work Monday, but why isn't she commenting publicly on this and why are we only finding out days after the fact that this happened?
She could be seeking legal counsel, and their first rule is usually "shut the fuck up" until they get their ducks in a row.
Non partisan bureaucrats/government workers are important for a functioning government.
Had she come out loudly and vociferously condemning the Trump Administration they would have just accused her of being another partisan making it easier to dismiss her.
I'm sure privately she is pulling no punches. But it's up to us to be outraged and incensed for them in this case and push the issue. These are people who did their job. Serving the public regardless of who was in power. And we all will be the ones to suffer from these fascists. Not just her.
There's a lot of news happening all at once. Overwhelming is the goal.
No, we didn't miss it, it's only just being reported on today, and even then only because anonymous sources told us about it.
Fong should have made a public statement or held a press conference Monday afternoon raising the alarm on this, fascists have a harder time doing their worst when everyone's watching and they're forced to keep justifying their unhinged behavior. If nothing else, she's already going to be punished like she did this anyway.
There's still laws, they only apply to us though
Laws that protect but do not bind, and laws that bind but do not protect.
as it has always been.
Ms. Fong is correct. Let's start with the wrongful termination suits. And let's stop reacting to these fascists, instead let's seek injunctions, and other proactive things. They've told us their plans. It's well past time to get active!
Exactly. I keep hearing “how can they do this” or “they can’t do this” exasperated and aimless energy from the democrat/liberal crowd, which needs to be channeled into literally any form of action rather than perpetual reaction. Yes, there will always be tomorrow’s new atrocity. No, it won’t really be a surprise, they wrote a damn manual on it. What effort, big or small, can be done today?
Trump bilked the courts for years. Tying them up to great effect. Why don’t we do it back?
The USDA office staff should've barricaded the building to keep the jackbooted thugs out.
That is the level of resistance we need to be at, at this point.
They should've, yet they didn't. All this 2A stuff Americans have been hyping up for decades has really just been a pose this whole time. All a bluff, and now that the fascists are not only within their shores, but in the highest offices of power? It is a beyond imaginably fucked situation right now, even with all this controversy it doesn't resemble a fraction of how alarmed we should all be. There needs to be a mass panic, or people need to act RIGHT NOW.
American here, and what you wrote sounds pretty good on the surface. The problem is that the nutty vocal 2A fanatics are the exact people who delighted in putting the fascists in charge.
These cosplaying-few day old accounts need to get a life. Love how much you've distorted the reality of the situation thinking the 2A crowd is the same ones declaring fascists are in charge now. Please tell us more how an individual should put themselves into harms-way while you type behind your brave keyboard.
The lady refused to leave her post till forcefully removed, same action as a sit-in which was effective as a peaceful demonstration of a protest during the civil rights era. The fact that you're telling people to arm up in a government building makes me think you're just another Jan 6'er or watch way too much entertainment thinking it's facts.
The White House defended the firing of Fong and the other inspectors general, saying “these rogue, partisan bureaucrats … have been relieved of their duties in order to make room for qualified individuals who will uphold the rule of law and protect Democracy.”
They really have the doublespeak down.
rogue, partisan = nonpartisan
qualified = sycophantic
uphold the rule of law and protect Democracy = ride Trump's cock
The amount of corruption will definitely turn the USA into another China and Russia. Wake up Congress! This is under your watch.
The current majority of Congress not only enabled this; they want this.
They certainly want whatever their donors want.
They want to turn western countries also into kleptocratic shitholes. It seems like billionaires have power already, not congress
Escorted out by whom? Who marched into a government building to follow this illegal order?
The ss
Whoever did it had qualified immunity, without a doubt. Better off not resisting there.
After everything, I do still generally respect and like Jon Stewart, but even I found his piece this week on the Daily Show to be some real weak ass shit. I try my best to keep ahold of myself, not run away too much with assumptions or conspiratorial thinking. But you don't have to wait for them to do 100% fascist shit to start calling them fascists.
The White House defended the firing of Fong and the other inspectors general, saying “these rogue, partisan bureaucrats … have been relieved of their duties in order to make room for qualified individuals who will uphold the rule of law and protect Democracy.”
This. This right here. They are screaming their intent at us and we don't need to wait for them to do it to respectably call them fascists. Like to be clear I guess he can do this but the way he did it is potentially incorrect? Regardless, that's not what I want to hear you say when you do it to a 22-year veteran of the department.
And who did the escorting??
Exactly! Get names. The order was illegal. "Just following orders" isn't justification. Get those security people in court. Get their manager. Get everyone at every step in the decision-making chain. Make people second guess whether participating in a thing that's "controversial" is a good idea. The little foot soldiers should be worried about just doing things because the boss said so.
"Security agents" according to the article, whatever that means
I guess they work for the Department of "You Ask a Lot of Questions for Somebody in Imprisoning Range"
The article says "security agents". Probably contract security.
Build union power, mass strike action is a necessity and the only way to prove who runs the country.
They would just all be terminated. They don't seem to care if the government functions or not.
This the plan. No government -> no regulations. No regulations -> no lube. No lube -> the US citizenry's anus. Gaping, flaccid, prolapsed US citizenry's anus' -> corporate profits.
Metaphorically speaking of course.
I'm talking broadly, US unions should be showing solidarity to government workers getting fired and put in place mass strike action. So employment in any and all industries necessitates union membership. That is union power.
Good for her. Step one in resistance is not just complying with illegal orders. A step the news organizations have been woefully failing at. "[T]he White House terminated her" just assumes correctness and ability. They'll "allege" a crime that was recorded and broadcast to the public, but just accept Trump's framing of actions that are plainly illegal.
Respect to anyone fighting back or pushing back against Trump.
Good for her.
Phyllis Fong is a hero. We could get through this more easily if more people acted like her.
A lot of agency workers were offered 9 months severance to quit, but they chose to stay on.
I'm just seeing and hearing Blinken saying 'respect the process' as goons illegally drag this woman from her office.
When they go low, we go nuclear. Retribution can cut both ways.
Man, that's a grade A beef. Or wait, is it? This keeps happening and how the hell are we going to know!?
[Yes, I'm making cheap jokes as the U.S crumbles. Yes, I feel this is necessary.]
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