I'm seeing Garry Kasparov has a piece in The Atlantic today, "The Putinization of America":
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2025/02/putinization-america/681837/

It begins:
We are barely a month into the second presidential term of Donald Trump and he has made his top priorities clear: the destruction of America’s government and influence and the preservation of Russia’s.

Unleashing Elon Musk and his DOGE cadres on the federal government, menacing Canada and European allies, and embracing Vladimir Putin’s wish list for Ukraine and beyond are not unrelated. These moves are all strategic elements of a plan that is familiar to any student of the rise and fall of democracies, especially the “fall” part.

It really used to be a slog to get through the daily news recap, but the past few weeks have been so uplifting. I just can't wait for the blog to post each morning.

No Amazon! No Walmart! No McDonalds! For a single day! How will I survive?

Fucking lame. Shop local. Every day. And maybe don't drive everywhere.

'The People's Union'?

We, the Peeps
Have a fucking UNION?

omg

too bad 'we' just
elected an Anti-Union
government, Dead-set on
Busting whatever Union we, the
Peeps might come up with in our Defense.

as babyback often makes abundantly Clear
All the Money all the Riches really oughtta
go to the Sons a Bitches cunning enough
to Weaponize Capitalism and use it as a
Cudgel to Extract every last bit ot Value
From we, the fucking People.

fuck him.
fuck Them.
I Am PRO the
People's Union.

sign Me UP.

I didn't vote for Fergi, but by god I'm thankful he is actually trying to make some much needed cuts in state gov, it's about time!
@2, I'm with you, it's a joy to read slog (and Huff Po) these days, some good news for a change!

I'm learning that "Probationary Employees" includes people promoted to new positions within agencies, not just new hires. IOW, people who know what they're doing.

The intent is not to reduce the "bloated" budget, it's to break the agencies that Repukes have always objected to.

@4 well
I signed Myself up
with "The People's Union USA"!

NOT to be Confused with
'The People Union' or
'The Peoples' Union'

nor Any of the far
right's (or whom-
Ever's) copycats.

perhaps
We, the Peeps
might have our
Very Own Cudgel
as Well & not a fucking
Moment too fucking Soon.

Join:
https://thepeoplesunionusa.com/command-center

oh and btw?
WE happen to
OUTNUMBER Them
by about 320,000,000
to maybe twenty million

and there's Fucktonnes
of POWER in Our fuck-
ing Numbers. do NOT
let them Fool YOU

and by Gawd you
KNOW they're
gonna Try.

Join:
https://thepeoplesunionusa.com/command-center

"...planned Day of Remembrance Event to commemorate the incarceration of Japanese Americans..."
Does the Japanese community in Seattle host a month of remembrance for all the American soldiers their relatives in Japan killed (not just incarcerated) during the war? I'd like to attend those events. (It's MAGA's reaction to stupid crap like this that gave us Trump & Musk. Not a reaction to a remembrance.....a reaction to throwing someone out of office over it.)

@8 The people locked up in the U.S. were mostly American citizens, and none of them were Japanese soldiers. A big reason we have Trump and Musk is false equivalencies drawn by racist fucks like you.

“but I see validity in a boycott”

A single day off from using your debit / visa card is meaningless (not to mention the US financial system is far from real time). Wholesale change is needed, not meaningless performance. Drop X, don’t shop on Amazon, support local businesses (that support local businesses), etc. - be more thoughtful in who and what you support with your money / time. Somehow I’ve made it through life not shopping at Walmart or Amazon, not using Grubhub or UberEats, etc. - it’s really not that hard to avoid shitty corporations.

@8: The Japanese-American internees have no connection with, and are not answerable for, the actions of the Japanese soldiers in Japan. You, sir, are a racist! 😜

Jesus, the Trump-Vance-Zelensky presser is painful to watch. Good for Zelensky for standing up to these assholes. I'd rather have him for president than anyone else in that meeting! 😃 Trump getting ready to throw yet another American ally under the bus... 😝

the boycott's an
Experiment to see
if it may be Plausible to
get unbridled Capitalism's
attention -- tho it's equally
plausible the djt'll Outlaw The
Citizen's Union along with All Unions

speaking of the djt:
his & Zelensky's Summit:

nyt:
Trump-Zelensky
Meeting Turns In-
to a Shouting Match

‘You Either Make a Deal
or We Are Out,’ Trump
Tells Ukrainian Leader

President Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated President Volodymyr Zelensky, accusing him of being ungrateful for aid and not acceding to U.S. demands.

oodles: nytimes.com

a shouting match!

Making America
Grotesque
Again.

thumpus @12, I'm seeing this from The New York Times: "President Trump reiterated claims he made during the explosive meeting, saying that Zelensky 'disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office,' by pleading his case for country’s security by pressing for more than just a cease-fire."

I think it's more accurate to say that our two Russian stooges, Donald Trump and J.D. Vance, have just desecrated the Oval Office. Looking forward to hearing all these homegrown cucks and suckers cheering them on as they destroy our once great nation.

I wouldn’t be complaining about Ferguson. He is a rational governor in a blue state. All of us should be grateful as hell we are in Washington State. One furlough day per month means one 3 day weekend per month.
@12 Remenber every accusation by Trump is a confession; “America is disgusting and fat” means Trump is disgusting and fat. “You’re going to start World War III” means Trump will start WWIII through his insane and evil incompetence.
If you weren’t alarmed before, you should be now. People have expected Trump to hit rock bottom for the last 10 years. Guess what? It hasn’t happened.

@14: Hamas got a ceasefire on favorable terms, Putin's probably going to get a ceasefire on favorable terms, we've once again ditched the Kurds to face Fajr al-Hurriya and the Turkish Air Force on their own ... in every conflict where there are decent liberals lined up on one side and corrupt fascists lined up on the other, we've begun choosing the fascist side under this president. 🤪

thumpus @14, Putin doesn't want a ceasefire. He wants to keep fighting while giving the pretense that he wants peace and Zelenskyy is the one who is (to use Trump's words) "not ready for peace." Of course, the reality is just the opposite. What happened today was a setup.

I'd love to continue having this conversation, but this will probably have to be it for me.

I cannot be grateful to be in the state that ranks 49/50 (only one spot higher than florida) on fair tax system. Rich keep getting richer, poor keep getting poorer. A 1% wealth tax on the richest 3100 people in our state would prevent these cuts from happening. When turdison wants to cut programs and staffing for mental health and vulnerable populations while his rich buddies get richer because they don't pay their fair share, living ever more comfortable lives, this is criminal. Turdison is a Republican in a faux blue wool coat. He was only slightly better than Dicky Reichart is why he got the win. Tax the rich or eat them, I don't see much else for choice as the times progress.

@8, 9, 11:

The PPMF backed out of the DOR because "...Organizers planned to highlight similarities they see in the Trump administration’s anti-immigration rhetoric and actions today." (Sea Times)

So, PPMF didn't want to be endorsing what was becoming more a protest rather than a memorial event. Sure, cowardly, but it had a logic to it, likely protecting their non-profit status from the vengeful morons running the Fedrul Gubmint.

I can't think of other protest events that were hosted by the Market previously. I remember Clinton held a rally in Victor Steinbreuck Park, and I'd guess the Market was involved with that? Not sure.

"The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command."

George Orwell, 1984.

Donald Trump, his cabinet, and Elon Musk are traitors and criminals in the pale.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvL-WGcoBis

bingo
CD. c u
@ the gulag.

on Green-
land!

MUXland

@18 "I cannot be grateful to be in the state that ranks 49/50 (only one spot higher than florida) on fair tax system."

The amount of revenue the state brings in has no bearing on fairness. You will continually notice state officials use fairness whenever they discuss tax increases yet they never discuss lowering regressive taxes. It's always about new revenues for more spending.

"A 1% wealth tax on the richest 3100 people in our state would prevent these cuts from happening."

This is wishful thinking. The capital gains tax is already bringing in less than expected because guess what? Bezos moved to Florida: https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2024/05/21/capital-gains-tax-receipts-in-washington-tumble/. Assuming other wealthy people won't leave the state or take steps to avoid a wealth tax is foolish especially since wealth taxes have been tested elsewhere and never live up to the hype (they often cost more to administer than they collect).

All of this ignores the fact that revenue has already increased faster than both inflation and population growth. Adjusted the state is taking in more in taxes that it has at other time in history. Yet spending has grown even faster. Just a couple years ago the state had a $14B+ surplus. It's crazy and no amount of tax increases is going to fix it.

Tell them to gulag deez nutz.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ym4VmVwd24c

@19: The head of the Pike Place Market Foundation has lost her job for doing it well. Such intolerance should have no place in Seattle. It's no better than Trump firing anyone who dares disagree with him.

The Pike Place Market is one of Seattle's crown jewels, and needs all the protection it can get. It should not be abused for political graffiti. As @9 noted, this Day of Remembrance recalls an injustice wherein American citizens lost their rights to due process, their homes, and their livelihoods, including their farms -- farms which supplied the Pike Place Market, hence the connection -- because of racism. It was primarily a racist attack upon Americans, not immigrants. Current immigration policy is another matter entirely, and this Day of Remembrance should not be abused to make a modern political point which is tangential (at best).

I'm old enough to remember when the Left called Reagan a fascist for standing up to Russia, especially after invading Afghanistan. Now the Left is calling Trump a fascist for bending over like a leftist bitch for Russia.

So confusing.

Most people have bills that are automatically paid with their debit card or bank accounts; thinking that an "economic blackout" on the last day of the month is going to have any real, substantive impact is political theater.

If you want to have a real impact on the shit that goes on in D.C. with either the president or the Congress, get off your ass and vote in every election (it's really easy in WA since they mail us a postage paid ballot weeks in advance).

Additionally, don't "take your ball and go home" for an election because a candidate didn't 100% acquiesce to your political purity. Nobody should have needed convincing that Donald Fucking Trump was going to be an even bigger train wreck in a second term. Hell, they put it down on fucking paper in Project 2025. But here we are...

@9, @11, Because I asked a simple question, "Is there a day of remembrance......" you call me a racist. And our nation HONESTLY protecting themselves, significantly or not, in a deadly war, you call racist. Yet you don't consider your mindless pursuit of an ancient, immaterial grievance to be misguided bigotry? America has officially apologized for the incident and paid reparations to those aggrieved, but you, who probably have no standing in the issue, can't let it go. I don't think I'm the one with the problem.

@19, Which is why I asked the question. Thank you.

And, in asking my question, I'm not unaware of the heroic service of the US 442nd Infantry Regiment of which @9 & @11 seem to be unaware.

@10 you missed the critical next sentence after the part you quoted: "I see validity in a boycott. This is something anyone can do to feel like they're doing something"

Like the "In This House We Believe" signs all over this town a one-day boycott with no demands is something people can do to signal to everyone around them that they're one of the Good Guys, and also "feel like" they're doing something meaningful.

@15 "One furlough day per month means one 3 day weekend per month."

Ya and being fired by Elon means those federal employees get a permanent vacation! If you just ignore the lack of income these moves are awesome!

@30 You’re a racist because you can’t differentiate a person of Japanese descent who lives in America from a Japanese soldier fighting American soldiers in Japan. They’re all the same to you.

@30 Your comment is racist because you can't differentiate people of Japanese descent living in America from Japanese soldiers fighting American soldiers in Japan. They're all the same to you—an enemy based on nothing but race.

@32,33: Hence you classify President Franklin Delano Roosevelt as a racist, correct?

@20 C Dizzle (Garb Garblar?): +1 For the WIN!!!

I had to get groceries yesterday (02/28/2025), but shopped at my local community food co-op.
And my beloved little Love Beetle is tucked safely away in winter hibernation, not burning fossil fuels in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Griz and her VW both are actively doing our parts to economically protest Mu$k's and his Mein Trumpf's criminally insane capitalism and federal spending cuts run amok.

@34 He signed an inherently racist order, so yes. I'm guessing if he were alive today, he'd recognize that. Unlike some people on this thread.

Wanna hear something racist? Go back to Africa, Elon Musk.

@36: “I'm guessing if he were alive today, he'd recognize that.”

You’d be surprised how often racists are blind to their own racism, even as they vigorously defend their racism! 😄 Over in the Books section, for example, there are a couple of commenters right now denying there is any such thing as a “Jewish nation.” And these people think they are being ANTI-racist! 🤣🤣🤣

@8 &30...
Every day at the Arizona Memorial there are dozens, if not more, of Japanese tourists that come to pay respect to the people that their ancestors killed. Maybe not an "officially recognized" whatever, but it is there.
Daily.
If I ever got the chance to visit Japan, I would go to the Atomic Dome in Hiroshima to do the same thing. Pay my respects to the innocents that my ancestors killed.

@39: Great comment. But ancestors? It was only two or three generations ago,

@40

reveling in your Clue-
lessness trolling for attention
hoping for another beatdown?

@41: Yet you provoke? You are always impertinent.

Ten-
HUT!

@40...
Ummm, yes? By definition?
Sometimes I wonder if you actually know how words work (not the Humpty Dumpty version).

@44: Comes down to quibbling about "remote" - but I admit - ancestors to you, parents and grandparents to me.

a person, typically one more remote than a grandparent, from whom one is descended.

@40, 42, 45

so
are
we Free
to Go now?

@46: Well, there's no Gaza thread going on, and you failed to start a debate with me, so yeah.

thnx,
dwebee!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFTLKWw542g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cs1NpvEVQoo

@45...
So, when you are proven wrong, it is just a "quibble".
Yeah, just go fuck yourself and spare us from your tedious wanking.
You asswipe.

@51: No, it really is a quibble. There is no definitive number of generations when ancestors should or should not be used. You taking offense over such an innocuous topic is what's tedious.

@40, 42, 45, 47, & 52

reveling in your Clue-
lessness trolling for attention
tenacity & tediousness rivaling even
tentsores' -- FINALLY gotchyur beatdown.

congratulations
you Won.

@53: "Trolling for attention" is quite rich, coming from you.

@40, 42, 45, 47, 52 & 54
STILL Trying? wormmy's
gonna be So jealous.

@56:

brava.