Team Trump's Drive from Democracy to Autocracy: Are we there yet?

Emperor Trump by Wolfgang Eckert from Pixabay 
"I alone can fix it."

"Autocracy: a system of government by one person with absolute power."
(From Google’s English dictionary by Oxford Languages.) 

The Systemic Weakening of Our Democracy?

Is our democracy weakening? Given the many unilateral decrees by team Trump and his supporters many feel that he has moved much too fast to reduce or eliminate government agencies and the services they provide, trash relationships with our allies and cozy up to dictators who have traditionally been our enemies. He appears to be operating without the usual constraints that check presidential power. In short, he's behaving like an autocrat. So the central question emerges: Could Trump actually reduce our democracy to an autocracy?

To explore this question, I decided to use the AI assistant Perplexity to help me discover how democracies typically devolve into autocracies.

As context, consider this warning from one analysis: "Ominously, we find that once autocratization begins, only one in five democracies manage to avert breakdown." [1]  

So how will we know if we are actually moving towards autocracy and fascism? After all, autocratic rule doesn't appear overnight. And we can only prevent it from taking over if we are aware of how it gradually, insidiously, evolves and then disempower it before it becomes unstoppable.  

Enlisting the Help of Perplexity AI

I asked Perplexity AI to explore this problem. Perplexity AI is a conversational search engine that uses large language models to provide answers to user queries, offering features like real-time web search, transparent source citation, and the ability to toggle between different AI models for varied responses. Specifically, I gave Perplexity two assignments: 

1. List the specific stages through which a democracy moves towards an autocracy and fascism then explain each stage. 

(Note that Perplexity summarized the key differences between autocracy and fascism as follows: Autocracy focuses on centralized power, while fascism involves ideological radicalization, mass mobilization, and systemic coercion[4][6].)

2. For each step listed describe how the current executive branch is implementing this step.

Below are the seven specific stages that Perplexity provided. 

As you examine each of these stages, you might keep in mind news about Trump's latest decrees and ask yourself: Autocracy? Are we there yet?  

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[Begin Perplexity AI response below: I simply cut and pasted it directly from Perplexity's answer.]

Stages of Democratic Decline to Autocracy and Fascism  

1. Normalization of Anti-Democratic Rhetoric 

  Leaders exploit post-truth narratives and cultural conservatism to erode trust in institutions, often framing opponents as threats to national identity[2][3].  

...............

The current administration has amplified divisive rhetoric, portraying political opponents as threats to national security and identity. This polarizing language undermines trust in democratic institutions and fosters a "us vs. them" mentality[a][e].

2. Dismantling Checks and Balances 

   Judicial and legislative constraints on executive power are weakened, enabling centralized control. Media and civil society face censorship or repression[2][3][5].  

.....

The administration has expanded presidential immunity, limiting the judiciary's ability to hold the president accountable for potentially illegal acts. This weakens legislative and judicial oversight, consolidating executive power[e][h]. Congressional reluctance to act as a check further accelerates this erosion[f].

3. Exploiting Crises

   Emergencies (e.g., pandemics, economic instability) are used to justify authoritarian measures, such as restricting civil liberties or suspending democratic norms[3][5].  

......

Emergencies like economic instability have been used to justify executive overreach, sidelining Congress and centralizing decision-making in the presidency[f][g].

4. Populist Mobilization 

   Mass movements coalesce around a charismatic leader promising to restore order, often through nationalist or anti-establishment rhetoric[3][4]. 

......

The executive has cultivated mass support by framing itself as a defender of "ordinary Americans" against elites, leveraging populist narratives to consolidate political loyalty[a][g]. 

5. Constitutional Manipulation  

   Leaders amend or rewrite constitutions to consolidate power, bypassing democratic safeguards and enabling autocratic rule[3][7].  

......

 Proposals like "Project 2025" outline plans to restructure the federal government, concentrating power in the executive branch and bypassing traditional checks and balances[g].

6. Authoritarian Consolidation 

   Elections become controlled, dissent is criminalized, and opposition is suppressed, establishing autocratic governance[3][7].  

......

 Efforts to weaken independent oversight bodies and suppress dissent through legal mechanisms reflect a move toward authoritarian governance[a][e].  

7. Fascist Transformation  

   Totalitarian control intensifies with hypermodern propaganda, mass mobilization, and violent suppression of dissent. Ideological indoctrination and radical societal transformation are enforced[4][6].  

.......

 While not fully realized, there are signs of ideological enforcement through propaganda and suppression of opposition narratives, setting the stage for more radical control[g].  

[End of cut and pasted response from Perplexity AI]

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Conclusion

To reiterate: "Ominously, we find that once autocratization begins, only one in five democracies manage to avert breakdown." [1]  

So what do you think? Given the analysis above, are we on our way to an autocratic takeover by a man who once said, "I alone can fix it?" 

Action Item: All those who would save our democracy must take steps to band together to amplify their individual voices and then locate and apply maximum pressure on all the available political levers of power. So do your own search for "Trump Resistance" to locate like-minded organizations and figure out how you can get involved. Nothing less than our democratic freedom is at stake.

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References

Citation List 1 (1-8):

[1] How democracies prevail: democratic resilience as a two-stage 

[2] How to Lose a Country: The 7 Steps from Democracy to Dictatorship 

[3] Democratic backsliding - Wikipedia 

[4] Kurt Weyland Distinguishes Between Fascism and Authoritarianism 

[5] When democracies autocratise 

[6] The Five Stages of Fascism - 

[7] Measurement Levels & Regime Typology - Democracy Matrix 

[8] Fourteen Steps to Fascism - The Tyee

Citation List 2 (a-h):

[a] Donald Trump and the Collapse of Checks and Balances /

[b] The Erosion of Our Checks and Balances - Senator Chuck Grassley 

[c] [PDF] Separations of Wealth: Inequality and the Erosion of Checks and ... 

[d] Inequality and the Erosion of Checks and Balanc" by Kate Andrias 

[e] Presidential Immunity’s Weakening Impact on U.S. Checks and Balances

[f] The Unconstrained Presidency: Checks and Balances Eroded Long ... 

[g] Project 2025 Would Destroy the U.S. System of Checks and Balances 

[h] Eroding Checks and Balances: The Immunity Decision 

Simple Pleasures: A Few of My Favorite Things

 

A western scrub jay has a morning splash in our bird bath.

Last month I shared my reasons for leaving behind the noisy, outrage-driven world of Facebook and moving on to a more civilized social network, Bluesky. (See Goodbye Facebook. Hello Bluesky!) In this article, I take a step back from online life completely and reflect on some things that I have been taking for granted. For years these have been providing me with some important, though simple, real-world pleasures. Many of these are little things, easily acquired. But each, in its own way, is able to make life just a bit better. 

[Note: Some of the links below are to specific products. I provide these as examples so you can see what I'm talking about. I am receiving absolutely zero compensation from any of these.]

• A "Good morning!" quart of water - In simplest terms, this just gets everything moving! So, immediately upon waking, I wash my face, comb my hair, brush my teeth and drink 32 ounces of water. Within a few minutes my colon is relatively clean and I'm ready for the day. (See Why Is Drinking Water In The Morning So Important?) 

• A "Good morning!" coffee near the bird bath (no phones or tech allowed!) - Thanks to our relatively dry and mild Southern California climate I am usually able to have my first cup of coffee of the day in our back yard next to the bird bath. (See photo above.) All sorts of permanent residents and migratory visitors provide a twitchy bit of a show while I ease into the day. 

• Any bidet - I will not elaborate on the mechanics or the usage techniques for this wonderful invention, the bidet. However, I will say that once you have regular access to one you will find that "going" without one feels like you're using a primitive outside privy! Depending on your budget, you can buy a complete, free-standing bidet with heated seat, heated water supply, etc. (See this example.)  Or you can save some plumbing effort and some money and outfit your regular toilet with a self-contained bidet seat. (See this example.)

• Dr. Bronner's multi-purpose soap - My brother introduced me to Dr. Bronner's multi-purpose soap many years ago. He washed lots of things with it, including his dog! I use it for all sorts of personal cleaning. Here's their description: "Only the purest organic and fair trade ingredients—most products vegan and certified to the same organic standards as food! No synthetic preservatives, no foaming agents. Body, hair, face, mouth & teeth—food, dishes, laundry, mopping, pets—Dr. Bronner’s is the very best for human, home, and Earth." Learn all about it here. 

• WD-40  -  WD-40 stands for "Water Displacement, 40th formula." (It's a long story...) I use this stuff for all sorts of things, from freeing up rusty nuts & bolts to removing sticky stuff left by price tags, quieting squeaking hinges, etc. Here's what Wikipedia says: "It acts as a lubricant, rust preventive, penetrant and moisture displacer. There are specialized products that perform better than WD-40 in many of these uses, but WD-40's flexibility has given it fame as a jack of all trades." (From Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WD-40)

• Bitdefender security - I have one Bitdefender account and I use it to protect mine and my wife's tablets and phones and our shared Chromebook PC -- 11 devices in all! The Bitdefender Central app allows me to manage all these devices from a single app. As they say, "Bitdefender offers antivirus and malware protection services, as well as password management, identity threat protection, and VPN services." (from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitdefender)  Personal versions: Bitdefender free for Android, Apple and Windows PC. 

• Bitwarden Password Manager - As you are well aware, it is essential that you make complex, hard-to-guess and hard-to-crack passwords for your accounts. With Bitwarden's free personal account I can generate big, ugly passwords full of impossible-to-guess characters for all my online accounts. Then I store these in my Bitwarden "vault" for access with one super password or biometric (i.e., fingerprint) login. Get started here. 

• Soft, gel-like silicon squeegees - We have Waterblade squeegees in our showers as well as in both our cars. One quick swipe leaves the shower surface or the car windows clean and streak-free. Stop driving around with moisture-obscured windows! Whisk water away with a Waterblade! You can get them, or something very similar, at Home Depot, Amazon or most auto parts stores. (https://www.waterblade.com/us/product/12-waterblade/ )

• Simpler Times beer from Trader Joe's - Simply put, we really like this! I have one each evening before dinner as a decidedly low-cost, low-brow sorta pre-meal cocktail. I'm no beer snob so the flavor, the ABV and the low price all come together to make this my beer of choice. Check it out!

• Internet speed check - Are you getting the download speed you're paying for? These apps will help you find out. 
• Netflix fast app - The Netflix "Fast" app, also known as "Fast.com", is a simple and quick internet speed test designed primarily to gauge your ability to stream Netflix content. It offers a fast, straightforward result with no ads. Because some internet service providers "throttle" Netflix and other video streaming services this will help you confirm that you're getting your money's worth. (I'm pleased to report that my ISP, Frontier, actually provides slightly faster speeds than I am paying for! Thanks, Frontier!)
• Speedtest by Ookla for Android - Checks your internet speed.
• Speedtest by Ookla for Apple - Checks your internet speed.

• Earbuds that sync with a TV - Both my smart TV (Sony Bravia) and my Roku box allow me to send sound to headphones or earbuds so I can listen to late-night TV without waking my spouse. I love and highly recommend my JBL Tune Buds - True wireless Noise Cancelling earbuds w/Pure Bass Sound, Bluetooth 5.3, 4-Mic technology for Crisp, Clear Calls - In addition to the TV these things pair up with my phone and my tablets to allow mobile audio and calling. And the bass goes way beyond any headphones I've ever heard at any price! Recently I was watching an episode of Star Trek Voyager which I'd seen many times before and I heard, for the first time ever, the deep rumble of the starship's engines! These have earbuds opened up new sonic frontiers for me! 

• Fancy stretchy cotton sweatpants (with stripes, pockets & other details) - I blame Covid!! During those couple of years isolating and spending so much time at home I developed a new normal of comfort spending most of my waking life in cotton sweatpants. Before long I was running errands and generally going out in public in sweats instead of my usual jeans. Now I wear them almost everywhere... no more "hard pants" for me! Here are my two favorites with fairly large relative amounts of cool, comfortable cotton:  
• Puma Stretch Lite
• Fruit of the Loom Supersoft Fleece Open Bottom Sweatpants

• Flossing Right After Dinner - This is a habit with two benefits. First, obviously, it gives me healthy teeth and gums. Second, it stops after dinner, mindless TV-watching snacking and the associated weight gain. And as a bonus, I get a clean feeling mouth for the evening and while sleeping. 
• Here's a relevant quote from Healthline.com Is It Worse to Skip Brushing Your Teeth or Flossing: "The goal of flossing and brushing is to remove plaque buildup. Plaque consists of active colonies of destructive bacteria, which basically eat and then excrete on our teeth. Brushing only removes plaque from the front and back surfaces of your teeth... Flossing, on the other hand, allows you to remove plaque from between your teeth and underneath the gums. These hard-to-reach spots are where the most destructive microbes live. Failure to remove plaque from these areas can cause gum disease..."
• Then there's this from WebMD's Still Not Flossing? More Reasons Why You Should:   "Each tooth has five surfaces. If you don't floss, you are leaving at least two of the surfaces unclean... Floss is the only thing that can really get into that space between the teeth and remove bacteria."

• A "Good Night" Bedtime Melatonin - Your body produces melatonin naturally. It doesn’t make you sleep, but it prepares your body for sleep by helping you mellow out. I first discovered melatonin tablets when I traveled across time zones and had to be fresh to teach my classes whether my body was in sync with the local time or not. I learned that airline pilots and crews use it for jet lag. It helps them get a good night's sleep even though their bodies say it's too early for bed. I now take mine about an hour before bed and I get naturally sleepy right on time! 
• As people age, the body produces much less melatonin. So elders in particular may benefit from melatonin supplements. Reference: Aging and Sleep 
• I use Natrol Fast Dissolve Strawberry-Flavored Tablets which I get from Costco. But you can get it from Amazon, Walmart, CVS or almost any drug store. Learn all about it here: Melatonin for Sleep: Does It Work? 

Some Other Articles You Might Like

• 10 Specific Actions That Can Help You Become Happier (an audio podcast)
• Some New Graffiti on the Wall of the Universe: All My Stuff at Internet Archive
• Ten Podcasts that Can Challenge You, Irritate You & Deepen Your Understanding of Current Events 
• Quick-Reference PDF: A Dozen Free Google Apps to Keep Your Family or Team Organized
• 5 Reasons Everyone Should Get a Regular "Tune-Up" from a Physical Therapist (1 of 2)
• 5 Specific Steps to Get Your Physical Therapy "Tune-Up" (2 of 2) [worksheet included]

Goodbye Facebook. Hello Bluesky!

My Account on Bluesky

Overview

After nearly 15 years as a Facebook user, I've completely deleted my account. And I've also stopped posting or signing in to my Twitter account. My new (and only) active social media account is Bluesky. In this article I'll review the why and how of all this. 

Toxic Trumpism

As we all know, Donald Trump lies... frequently and with little regard for those who suffer from those lies. Worse, Trump's zealous followers take their cues from him and either repeat his lies or invent lies of their own that support his themes. These lies place the social media platforms who publish them in a difficult position. They can catch them and publish disclaimers, verified by their fact checkers. Or they can simply pass them along, inadvertently amplifying them and causing them to "go viral." In the recent past, the platforms' fact checkers worked overtime and beyond, feverishly trying to keep up with it all. They were trying to do the right thing by their readers and honor the truth.  Sadly, they burned out quickly and it was difficult and costly to replace them. 

In his second term, Donald Trump is essentially unconstrained by any administrative or institutional guardrails. Supported by congressional sycophants and a cadre of others who would lay waste to all such guardrails, Trump is an existential threat to all those who publish. Crossing him or his propaganda agenda, even in the noblest pursuit of truth, risks getting bogged down in a public war of words or worse, costly and time-consuming lawsuits. 

Zuckerberg and Musk Surrender

In an era of endless Team Trump lies, Facebook and Twitter find that it's easier and cheaper to simply eliminate fact checking. And that's just what they have done. Not only does this allow their founders to suck up to Trump and get a seat at White House dinners, but it saves them money and effort. So what if their users are subjected to lies, weird conspiracy theories, etc.?  

Given all this, I have decided that I can't and won't help either of these platforms by posting or engaging on them in any way. So I've effectively disappeared from both. 

Here are some references: 

• Mark Zuckerberg takes a cue from Elon Musk: Facebook and Instagram will ditch fact-checking and instead rely on community notes
• The broligarchs have a vision for the new Trump term. It’s darker than you think: The real reason Musk, Zuckerberg, and Bezos are supporting Trump.
• Deleting Facebook:  Why I’m Deleting Facebook Tomorrow
• How to delete Facebook, Instagram, and Threads

Enter Bluesky

These days I've decided to get my social media fix exclusively from Bluesky. And while it's true that not all of my former Facebook friends have made the leap to Bluesky, many have and I've invited many others to join us there. 

What's so good about Bluesky? I put this question to Google Search Labs AI and it answered as follows:

"Bluesky is a decentralized social media platform that gives users more control over their content and experience. It's built on the AT Protocol, an open network that allows developers to build on top of it. 

Features

• Custom feeds: Users can create custom feeds based on their interests, such as a feed for cat photos or a feed for mutual followers 
• Content moderation: Users can create custom keyword lists to mute certain types of content, and control who can interact with them 
• Starter packs: Users can create curated lists of suggested accounts to share with others 
• Website addresses as handles: Users can use their website address as their handle, which could act as a verification tool 
• Transparency: Bluesky is built on an open network, so no single company has complete control over the platform 
• Open API: Bluesky has an open API, which makes it easier to automate with third-party tools 

Benefits

• More democratic approach to content curation: Bluesky offers a more democratic approach to content curation, with less reliance on algorithmic feeds 
• Safer spaces: Bluesky's moderation tools help to filter out harmful interactions and create safer spaces for meaningful engagement 
• Transparency and open standards: Bluesky is built on an open network, which promotes transparency and collaborative improvements "

Conclusion

So that's it. I have no more Facebook account and I've stopped using my Twitter account. Below is a powerful quote from Brian Boland, a former Facebook developer, in his article Deleting Facebook that makes it clear why we should all consider leaving these two behind:

"The latest news that Meta is ending its fact-checking program and scaling back user protections is the final straw for me. This is the same company whose platform contributed to genocide in Myanmar, harmed teenage users and enabled political and racial polarization across the globe. Instead of addressing these harms, Meta consistently prioritizes its growth over public safety..."

Unfortunately, the same can be said of Musk's Twitter. So that's it. I'm out. These days you can find me at Bluesky. As Google's Search AI says regarding Bluesky:  "... many appreciate the feeling of a more controlled and personalized social media experience compared to other platforms... [and] a lack of algorithmic manipulation in the feed, a more positive and less toxic community compared to other platforms." 

See you on Bluesky! 

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Previous, Related Articles

• The Trump Resistance: Fighting Back Against Fascism
• PLAN TO VOTE & STOP TEAM TRUMP from Implementing Their "Fascist Playbook!"

• Reality Check: Practical Tools for Finding the Truth

• From Political Hobbyist to Political Activist: Why and How to Make the Shift
• 5 Things You Can Do to Get Positive Political Results in a Soul-Numbing, Negative Media World (w/ links to tools & resources)