Hiro Abe
@hiroakiabe.bsky.social
Political Science Ph.D. @Columbia under Bob Jervis & Ken Waltz. Decided I didn't want to write meaningless papers my whole life & left academia. Now buying & selling antiques.
I think Harris was put in an almost impossible situation b/c Hamas/Iran + Bibi both wanted Trump & knew Gaza was wedge issue that'd divide Dems so prolonged & exacerbated it intentionally. Only comeback was to promise to be harsh on both Hamas & Bibi, but Harris didn't see this.
November 21, 2024 at 3:13 AM
I think Harris was put in an almost impossible situation b/c Hamas/Iran + Bibi both wanted Trump & knew Gaza was wedge issue that'd divide Dems so prolonged & exacerbated it intentionally. Only comeback was to promise to be harsh on both Hamas & Bibi, but Harris didn't see this.
Critical point. A demagogue doesn't want to make things better. He precisely will make things worse, so he can keep lying to the people about the causes, keep scapegoating aliens / enemies, & keep consolidating more support through these persistent lies AND deteriorating reality.
November 21, 2024 at 3:12 AM
Critical point. A demagogue doesn't want to make things better. He precisely will make things worse, so he can keep lying to the people about the causes, keep scapegoating aliens / enemies, & keep consolidating more support through these persistent lies AND deteriorating reality.
Or, together with the promised tariffs and subsequent retaliatory tariffs (and accompanying trade war), a depression--the one George W Bush and Trump I almost got us into, but that Obama and Biden nipped in the bud before they became full-blown global meltdowns.
November 18, 2024 at 3:58 PM
Or, together with the promised tariffs and subsequent retaliatory tariffs (and accompanying trade war), a depression--the one George W Bush and Trump I almost got us into, but that Obama and Biden nipped in the bud before they became full-blown global meltdowns.
Excellent point. Trump as the law will threaten not only the impartial dispensation of justice, but it'll more fundamentally threaten security & even property rights. This is what a dictatorship is--legality is suspended and the dictator can make & remake the law ad infinitum.
November 18, 2024 at 3:57 PM
Excellent point. Trump as the law will threaten not only the impartial dispensation of justice, but it'll more fundamentally threaten security & even property rights. This is what a dictatorship is--legality is suspended and the dictator can make & remake the law ad infinitum.
The oligarchy is a prelude to the dictatorship.
November 18, 2024 at 3:55 PM
The oligarchy is a prelude to the dictatorship.
Could easily see this turning into a full-blown invasion and annexation of Mexico, given Trump's brain is addled and he'll probably think that controlling the manufacturing & natural resources in Mexico will reverse the economic crisis he causes with tariffs.
November 18, 2024 at 3:52 PM
Could easily see this turning into a full-blown invasion and annexation of Mexico, given Trump's brain is addled and he'll probably think that controlling the manufacturing & natural resources in Mexico will reverse the economic crisis he causes with tariffs.
The vulnerable have a strong incentive to engage in wishful thinking, as it's all they have in the face of imminent annihilation.
November 18, 2024 at 3:50 PM
The vulnerable have a strong incentive to engage in wishful thinking, as it's all they have in the face of imminent annihilation.
I hope The Onion isn't going to instantly make InfoWars a satire humor site, as this may be an incredibly important opportunity for anti-Trump forces to infiltrate the right wing disinformation bubble & start feeding our own anti right-wing disinformation disinformation into it.
November 18, 2024 at 3:48 PM
I hope The Onion isn't going to instantly make InfoWars a satire humor site, as this may be an incredibly important opportunity for anti-Trump forces to infiltrate the right wing disinformation bubble & start feeding our own anti right-wing disinformation disinformation into it.
Because Hamas and Netanyahu are co-dependent as two autocratic systems, who need the threat of the other to keep feeding fear into their own people and thereby maintaining their own base of support.
November 18, 2024 at 3:46 PM
Because Hamas and Netanyahu are co-dependent as two autocratic systems, who need the threat of the other to keep feeding fear into their own people and thereby maintaining their own base of support.
I agree completely with this. The time for recriminations has passed. We were foolish to think we could fight a demagogue using the tools of democracy and legality alone. But now we must fight to survive as a tyrant tries to subjugate us. We must not let him.
November 18, 2024 at 3:44 PM
I agree completely with this. The time for recriminations has passed. We were foolish to think we could fight a demagogue using the tools of democracy and legality alone. But now we must fight to survive as a tyrant tries to subjugate us. We must not let him.
Nuclear proliferation is indeed inevitable (and justified) if Trump's America won't protect America's allies, but in the spirit of my mentor Kenneth Waltz, I think that nuclear weapons within a defensive doctrine of no-first-use, may promote stability and prevent wars of aggression.
November 18, 2024 at 3:42 PM
Nuclear proliferation is indeed inevitable (and justified) if Trump's America won't protect America's allies, but in the spirit of my mentor Kenneth Waltz, I think that nuclear weapons within a defensive doctrine of no-first-use, may promote stability and prevent wars of aggression.
Late 80s might've been the start of our slide into dictatorship. Distopian films in early / mid 80s (Blade Runner, Brazil) had a pessimistic didactic edge, but by '87's Running Man it's distopianism purely for entertainment. Also late 80s was peak hedonistic nihilism.
November 18, 2024 at 3:40 PM
Late 80s might've been the start of our slide into dictatorship. Distopian films in early / mid 80s (Blade Runner, Brazil) had a pessimistic didactic edge, but by '87's Running Man it's distopianism purely for entertainment. Also late 80s was peak hedonistic nihilism.
Biden has proved prone to crippling and self-defeating paralysis on every important issue that has faced his administration.
November 16, 2024 at 3:42 PM
Biden has proved prone to crippling and self-defeating paralysis on every important issue that has faced his administration.
Fascinating that Israel may end up aligned with Iran, and does Netanyahu realize that this is what he brought about by helping Trump win the election? If this leads to the total subordination of Israel to Iran, I certainly wouldn't be shedding any tears.
November 16, 2024 at 3:41 PM
Fascinating that Israel may end up aligned with Iran, and does Netanyahu realize that this is what he brought about by helping Trump win the election? If this leads to the total subordination of Israel to Iran, I certainly wouldn't be shedding any tears.
Precisely. The right-wing disinformation sphere combined with radical educational inequality within the American populace & the infantilization of its psyche w/social media snippets & smartphones, is an essential part of the explanation for America's decision to embrace tyranny.
November 16, 2024 at 3:37 PM
Precisely. The right-wing disinformation sphere combined with radical educational inequality within the American populace & the infantilization of its psyche w/social media snippets & smartphones, is an essential part of the explanation for America's decision to embrace tyranny.
All American allies must absolutely withhold all intelligence from the US henceforth.
November 16, 2024 at 3:14 PM
All American allies must absolutely withhold all intelligence from the US henceforth.
So were the Nazis and they managed to function somehow for quite a few years, despite all their festering hate for one another.
November 16, 2024 at 3:13 PM
So were the Nazis and they managed to function somehow for quite a few years, despite all their festering hate for one another.
Humiliation is how Trump gains power over his opponents, a type of initiation or rite of passage. So it's absolutely explicable that Trump is doing this.
November 16, 2024 at 3:12 PM
Humiliation is how Trump gains power over his opponents, a type of initiation or rite of passage. So it's absolutely explicable that Trump is doing this.
When the economy goes south w/Trump's misguided tariff plans, I predict the scapegoating of minorities & immigrants will ratchet up still further, creating an intolerable strain on interethnic harmony as currently exists in American cities. Prepare for a resurgence of race riots.
November 16, 2024 at 4:25 AM
When the economy goes south w/Trump's misguided tariff plans, I predict the scapegoating of minorities & immigrants will ratchet up still further, creating an intolerable strain on interethnic harmony as currently exists in American cities. Prepare for a resurgence of race riots.
It's a broken constitution, and if because of the destruction and implosion that Trump brings about, we get the chance to write a new constitution, all the better.
November 16, 2024 at 4:15 AM
It's a broken constitution, and if because of the destruction and implosion that Trump brings about, we get the chance to write a new constitution, all the better.
Yes, there were so many factors at play here, that it's hard to place blame accurately. Also some (though not all) of those who voted from Trump were misled. It feels like a Shakespearean tragedy that has its own unstoppable momentum which no-one has the power to stop.
November 16, 2024 at 4:07 AM
Yes, there were so many factors at play here, that it's hard to place blame accurately. Also some (though not all) of those who voted from Trump were misled. It feels like a Shakespearean tragedy that has its own unstoppable momentum which no-one has the power to stop.
Yes, the Republican principle is: state rights when a Democrat is president, untrammeled executive power to override state rights when a Republican is in office.
November 16, 2024 at 3:59 AM
Yes, the Republican principle is: state rights when a Democrat is president, untrammeled executive power to override state rights when a Republican is in office.
It's a massive failure of civic education about core American institutions, but it's also a failure to engage with authoritarianism seriously. Autocracy may be justified, but only in the most extreme of circumstances and absolutely not when the man is a demagogue and a sociopath.
November 16, 2024 at 3:57 AM
It's a massive failure of civic education about core American institutions, but it's also a failure to engage with authoritarianism seriously. Autocracy may be justified, but only in the most extreme of circumstances and absolutely not when the man is a demagogue and a sociopath.
Might the answer simply be about defining Trump & Rs as fascist demagogy pure and simple, and to leave no tactic or strategy, extra-legal or amoral, off the table to fight it? Fascism plays by no rules. It's hard to fight them when straightjacketed by morality / legality.
November 16, 2024 at 3:56 AM
Might the answer simply be about defining Trump & Rs as fascist demagogy pure and simple, and to leave no tactic or strategy, extra-legal or amoral, off the table to fight it? Fascism plays by no rules. It's hard to fight them when straightjacketed by morality / legality.
It's twisted that Dems the only responsible party haven't had a functional Senate majority for the longest time, and now these flame throwing far-right extremists get the largest majority in recent memory. The American Constitution is irrevocably broken.
November 16, 2024 at 3:55 AM
It's twisted that Dems the only responsible party haven't had a functional Senate majority for the longest time, and now these flame throwing far-right extremists get the largest majority in recent memory. The American Constitution is irrevocably broken.