We're seeing media and Democrats -- and Canadian leaders, who are walking on eggs -- trying to squeeze abnormality into normal boxes. Americans are so quiet about all this craziness. Annex Canada? A few inches on p. 5 of the New York Times, as though they're covering agriculture policy changes. Any Democrats in Washington loudly calling the idea out as crazy and illegal? Nope. The idea is just part of the chatter in Canada, except among actual people, who are truly angry and concerned. Instead of denouncing fascism, established media and Democrats are picking over some of the details. Very few people are saying, "All this is batshit crazy and wrong."
Excellent piece! Whenever I hear the word "annex," I'm reminded of a grade 10 history student who brought the dictionary up to me at the end of class to show me that "annex" just means to make an addition. Hitler was just "adding more room to Germany". I explained, that's like adding an addition by taking over your neighbour's house and making them living in the basement or killing them. Understanding the nuance of words and the connotation within the context of real lives is vital to grasping the situation at hand.
An enormously timely read, and a call to arms for all those of good faith who can use words with precision and name the truths that must be named. The comments in this post by @David Moscrop are in themselves worth reading for the horror that some of these comments harbour. We will not be cowed by the tyranny of those who dislike the meaning of the words in this article. It is a time of autocracy and fascism, and no time for “congenial incredulity.”
If you support a fascist, YOU are a fascist. That’s how it works. It doesn’t matter if you do so holding your nose. It doesn’t matter if you do so because you’re deluded and fighting some ridiculously absurd war against “leftists”. You’re a fascist. Own it.
Because I assure you, when the pendulum swings and people wake up - as they eventually do - history will record who gave the likes of that lying hateful fraud Elon Musk the oxygen to dismantle democracy. Your name will be forever connected to the abuses happening now.
In the meantime, just fuck off. Seriously, fuck right off with your bullshit propaganda about how “courageous” the shit stains are who are working in secret, with guarantees of pardons for all the illegal acts they are committing.
And maybe read a fucking book instead of being spoonfed the ravings of a ketamine-addicted billionaire who openly celebrates wrecking the lives of millions, just because he can.
Nick - You are a raving idiot. Over 85 years ago most of the world fought against and defeated fascism, costing 100's of millions of lives. If not, you wouldn't have even been born to make such incredibly stupid comments. Sit the fuck down and shut the fuck up. The adults are talking here.
Good article David and certainly timely. Just reading through the comments, I'm reminded of the elephant metaphor where different folks are viewing the elephant from different perspectives and pronouncing what it is (an ear, a trunk, a foot, a tail, etc) - rather than stepping back and walking around the elephant to see what it is and how large it is. And given many have never seen an elephant up closely ... would dispute its existence.
Reducing big government is a tough job. It takes a strong hand and so folks like yourself will call a leader who tries a fascist... you can pick your favorite word .... my word for this is courage... Trump is now the most hated man in the world except for the millions that voted for him to do exactly what he is doing.. sometimes democracy sucks for those on the other side of change...the next four years and longer if the people like the results will be the judge.. I suggest all the leftist folks sit in the corner and eat their popcorn and watch a man with tremendous courage and strength dismantle the fraudulent bureaucracy, deep state that only knows how to tax,tax and more tax... enjoy the show!!
Last time he added more to the debt than any other president… by cutting taxes for the uber wealthy & programs for the middle and lower classes.
This time he’s already gone even further in terms of impacting the have-nots, via the Project 2025 blueprint that he claims he never heard of before. CDC, NIH, CFPB, FDA, DVA, USFS, … to say nothing about the NatSec self-owns of cutting USAID and the National Nuclear Security Administration, and harming your armed forces via cutting back on service academies and Black Engineer recruiting efforts.
Everything he does (or rather, DOGE and the Heritage Foundation does) just accelerates your inevitable collapse, between disease, sickness, external pressures, and internal strife.
And about those millions who “voted for him to do exactly what he is doing” - are you living in a hole?
And also OHSA, Dept of Education, SEC … “make our Human Resources less safe, more poorly educated, & poorer” sounds like a gift to the billionaire wannabe ruling class.
Remember that there are more of us than you, your fucked up friends, and the masters you serve (wittingly or otherwise), Nick.
Many, many times more.
So be careful what you wish for, as it may well lead to harming you instead of the people you clearly seek to harm.
Threats are always the leftist way.. bring it on.... the best economy was under Trump not the tax obsessed left... i do not need lectures about Trumps tax cuts for the rich etc... results matter.. have a nice day
The fight is over ....you must have been sleeping... the right has won.. woke is dead forever... the plebes you are referring to must be the leftist punks in their parents basements..good, caring people you are not... if you hit the streets today you will get your ass kicked unlike a few years ago... by the way... what happened to the protests....things are very quiet... wake up ....fight,fight, fight... ohhh.. Trump said that...sorry for your loss!!
Nick, perhaps the main message of David's post wasn't clear. Trump is engaged in dismantling the American constitution for power and self enrichment of himself and his friends. It isn't a simple reduction of a large government. For example, Trump has empowered Musk and is team to access the private information of American citizens via IRA tax returns. Nothing to do with the reduction of government and reduced spending but everything to do with accessing private information for political or business purposes.
There is always an excuse why the government cannot be audited.. private information is accessed.. so what... how else can you audit something... Musk does not need money or someone's private information for business purposes... the best part of all of this is when the names start to drop... who's hand is in the cookie jar!!! Enjoy the show lefties... most of your friends are going to get exposed.. lets see if you will defend them...
Privacy does matter Nick. People submit their tax documents with the express understanding that their privacy is paramount. Musk has goals; dirt on competitors and the people who enforce rules that limit what his companies can or can't do for example.
This is a forum for discussion, not name calling... you don't know my politics so reducing the conversation to calling people here"lefties" doesn't contribute anything of value.
Well said, Nick. Woke died in the U.S. on Jan 20th. It's trying damn hard to resurface here and impact the next election. My next click is the unsubscribe button.
Pacifism means non-violence, not non-resistance. It resists by upholding values and standards and norms, and publicly enduring the consequences when those norms are no longer acceptable.
In a group chat with friends, I described supporters of maga and musk as my enemies. They are opposed to my freedom and liberty, and I have no tolerance for that. Anyone who supports them is no longer my friend.
Well said, David, and you’ve noted several very important topics - authoritarians thrive on censorship, whether imposed by force or self-enforced.
That said, does your exhortation to speaking the truth aloud include:
- sex in humans is a binary, is immutable, and correlates clearly with physical advantage & much higher propensity for violence (both males🤷♂️) regardless of identity claims
- female humans of all ages have rights which are eroded and/or erased when males are granted access to their sports, spaces, and opportunities?
Or are those “true thing[s]” that must not be spoken?
And if so, what makes *those* truth claims so dangerous?
Great essay from David Moscrop on why we must use the terms that tell the truth we are facing — Moscrop focuses on fascist, authoritarian, genocide, and coup — rather than shy away because the terms have been so overused as to cause no impact when used again or because they are flung around so loosely, including in an Orwellian black-is-white mode by the likes of Trump (his and Musk’s opponents are apparently fascists and Zelenskyy is apparently is a dictator) and Putin (Ukraine apparently has committed genocide and Zelenskyy apparently heads a Nazi government).
The partner to David’s argument about words is that we must not shy away from discussing historical analogies and lesson. In this piece I discuss why the subjugation of the rule of law in the specific form of the Fuehrer Principle in Germany has distinct relevance for understanding the moves Trump is making and should help us see why we need to focus on a despot principle (into which category the Hitler leader principle falls, but which category is wider than it) as operating without assuming people will fully get this when other words are used that describe distinct aspects of Trump and Musk’s conduct (like its fascism). https://open.substack.com/pub/craigmartinscott/p/from-trumps-napoleonic-spasm-on-truth?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web We need to name fascism at work and we need also to drill down and name despotism at work. When the two come together, a like word Tim Snyder and Robert Reich use — “tyranny” — then becomes more powerful as it can be unbundled into both dimensions. All the more important, when there is a tendency to use “tyranny” south of the border as no different from despot or dictator when tyranny is best reserved for the despot or dictator that governs in cruel, inhumane and oppressive ways (with fascism being one obvious specific form of cruelty and oppression, with discrimination and violence being characteristic added layers).
After those salutes from the Pres Podium here's another true N-word for you: Nazi. Elon Musk is a Nazi. Trump hired a Nazi and that makes him a Nazi. There are almost twice as many Nazi supporters in the US as there are Canadians alive today. Nazi. You may have to say it a few times for it to sink in.
Sorry to quibble, but folks have started using the word “genocide” for all casualties of war. For instance, it is used to describe the deaths of civilians and soldiers in Ukraine. As far as the removal and relocation of nearly 2 million Gazans (which is an insane plan!) this is also not genocide. The Palestinian people will still be a people no matter where they live.
The terms “authoritarian,” “fascist,” “genocide,” have been used to describe the Conservative Winston Churchill. Yes, those words have meaning but are thrown out as labels of disqualification, when it would be better to express ones dissatisfaction in more articulate terms.
Indeed, words matter. But what we are seeing is exactly, by definition, ethnic cleansing. And that’s bad enough for us to be outraged. It is not, by definition, genicide. As much as I agree that we should be using the right words to describe what’s going on, you then completely lost me by purposefully using the wrong words simply for hyperbole.
We're seeing media and Democrats -- and Canadian leaders, who are walking on eggs -- trying to squeeze abnormality into normal boxes. Americans are so quiet about all this craziness. Annex Canada? A few inches on p. 5 of the New York Times, as though they're covering agriculture policy changes. Any Democrats in Washington loudly calling the idea out as crazy and illegal? Nope. The idea is just part of the chatter in Canada, except among actual people, who are truly angry and concerned. Instead of denouncing fascism, established media and Democrats are picking over some of the details. Very few people are saying, "All this is batshit crazy and wrong."
Excellent piece! Whenever I hear the word "annex," I'm reminded of a grade 10 history student who brought the dictionary up to me at the end of class to show me that "annex" just means to make an addition. Hitler was just "adding more room to Germany". I explained, that's like adding an addition by taking over your neighbour's house and making them living in the basement or killing them. Understanding the nuance of words and the connotation within the context of real lives is vital to grasping the situation at hand.
An enormously timely read, and a call to arms for all those of good faith who can use words with precision and name the truths that must be named. The comments in this post by @David Moscrop are in themselves worth reading for the horror that some of these comments harbour. We will not be cowed by the tyranny of those who dislike the meaning of the words in this article. It is a time of autocracy and fascism, and no time for “congenial incredulity.”
There is no doubt in my mind that America elected a populist who very quickly morphed into a fascist. As most populists tend to do.
If you support a fascist, YOU are a fascist. That’s how it works. It doesn’t matter if you do so holding your nose. It doesn’t matter if you do so because you’re deluded and fighting some ridiculously absurd war against “leftists”. You’re a fascist. Own it.
Because I assure you, when the pendulum swings and people wake up - as they eventually do - history will record who gave the likes of that lying hateful fraud Elon Musk the oxygen to dismantle democracy. Your name will be forever connected to the abuses happening now.
In the meantime, just fuck off. Seriously, fuck right off with your bullshit propaganda about how “courageous” the shit stains are who are working in secret, with guarantees of pardons for all the illegal acts they are committing.
And maybe read a fucking book instead of being spoonfed the ravings of a ketamine-addicted billionaire who openly celebrates wrecking the lives of millions, just because he can.
Nick - You are a raving idiot. Over 85 years ago most of the world fought against and defeated fascism, costing 100's of millions of lives. If not, you wouldn't have even been born to make such incredibly stupid comments. Sit the fuck down and shut the fuck up. The adults are talking here.
Good article David and certainly timely. Just reading through the comments, I'm reminded of the elephant metaphor where different folks are viewing the elephant from different perspectives and pronouncing what it is (an ear, a trunk, a foot, a tail, etc) - rather than stepping back and walking around the elephant to see what it is and how large it is. And given many have never seen an elephant up closely ... would dispute its existence.
Reducing big government is a tough job. It takes a strong hand and so folks like yourself will call a leader who tries a fascist... you can pick your favorite word .... my word for this is courage... Trump is now the most hated man in the world except for the millions that voted for him to do exactly what he is doing.. sometimes democracy sucks for those on the other side of change...the next four years and longer if the people like the results will be the judge.. I suggest all the leftist folks sit in the corner and eat their popcorn and watch a man with tremendous courage and strength dismantle the fraudulent bureaucracy, deep state that only knows how to tax,tax and more tax... enjoy the show!!
Nick, what you are doing is immoral. Most likely you are in Israel or Russia. Well I’m here to tell you to fuck off.
Last time he added more to the debt than any other president… by cutting taxes for the uber wealthy & programs for the middle and lower classes.
This time he’s already gone even further in terms of impacting the have-nots, via the Project 2025 blueprint that he claims he never heard of before. CDC, NIH, CFPB, FDA, DVA, USFS, … to say nothing about the NatSec self-owns of cutting USAID and the National Nuclear Security Administration, and harming your armed forces via cutting back on service academies and Black Engineer recruiting efforts.
Everything he does (or rather, DOGE and the Heritage Foundation does) just accelerates your inevitable collapse, between disease, sickness, external pressures, and internal strife.
And about those millions who “voted for him to do exactly what he is doing” - are you living in a hole?
https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/02/17/repub/republicans-worry-gop-led-states-will-suffer-from-trumps-firings-of-federal-workers/
Anyway, good luck with your fascist leadership 🤷♂️
And also OHSA, Dept of Education, SEC … “make our Human Resources less safe, more poorly educated, & poorer” sounds like a gift to the billionaire wannabe ruling class.
Remember that there are more of us than you, your fucked up friends, and the masters you serve (wittingly or otherwise), Nick.
Many, many times more.
So be careful what you wish for, as it may well lead to harming you instead of the people you clearly seek to harm.
Threats are always the leftist way.. bring it on.... the best economy was under Trump not the tax obsessed left... i do not need lectures about Trumps tax cuts for the rich etc... results matter.. have a nice day
Not threats, dumb ass.
Warnings you might want to heed about what’s coming.
What you’ve been cheerleading for.
The fight you’ve brought to the doorsteps of good, caring people, and that we’re going to finish.
I even hope you’re a religious man, as you’d also get an eternity to reflect on your shortcomings.
But alas, I’m more than comfortably certain that’s just a fairytale carefully crafted to keep the plebes in line.
The fight is over ....you must have been sleeping... the right has won.. woke is dead forever... the plebes you are referring to must be the leftist punks in their parents basements..good, caring people you are not... if you hit the streets today you will get your ass kicked unlike a few years ago... by the way... what happened to the protests....things are very quiet... wake up ....fight,fight, fight... ohhh.. Trump said that...sorry for your loss!!
“Woke” is dumb.
Equality of opportunity is not.
Get complacent, Nick. I hear it makes your neck less tough when the guillotines are back. Tick tick tick.
Nick, perhaps the main message of David's post wasn't clear. Trump is engaged in dismantling the American constitution for power and self enrichment of himself and his friends. It isn't a simple reduction of a large government. For example, Trump has empowered Musk and is team to access the private information of American citizens via IRA tax returns. Nothing to do with the reduction of government and reduced spending but everything to do with accessing private information for political or business purposes.
My question for you is, what is your agenda?
There is always an excuse why the government cannot be audited.. private information is accessed.. so what... how else can you audit something... Musk does not need money or someone's private information for business purposes... the best part of all of this is when the names start to drop... who's hand is in the cookie jar!!! Enjoy the show lefties... most of your friends are going to get exposed.. lets see if you will defend them...
Privacy does matter Nick. People submit their tax documents with the express understanding that their privacy is paramount. Musk has goals; dirt on competitors and the people who enforce rules that limit what his companies can or can't do for example.
This is a forum for discussion, not name calling... you don't know my politics so reducing the conversation to calling people here"lefties" doesn't contribute anything of value.
Ugghh!
Well said, Nick. Woke died in the U.S. on Jan 20th. It's trying damn hard to resurface here and impact the next election. My next click is the unsubscribe button.
Blake, are you the president of the Aurora Chamber of Commerce?
We need someone in Canada to do the same thing Trump is doing in the USA...
Fair warning: Quislings get the wall, Nick.
No, we respect rule of law and democracy. Or most of us do at least.
Glad I came to my senses, Don: I don’t need to be picking fights with compatriots, even though at times I find myself a bit more flaily.
My bad - newbie to Substack.
Me too … I love the content and (most of) the people here, but my god the app, the search, and so much needs improvement!
Apologies - you might have been responding to Nick …
So executing fascists and collaborators after Nuremberg was wrong, Don?
What is the role of pacifists in escalation. How do you support peace without supporting appeasement?
Pacifism means non-violence, not non-resistance. It resists by upholding values and standards and norms, and publicly enduring the consequences when those norms are no longer acceptable.
In a group chat with friends, I described supporters of maga and musk as my enemies. They are opposed to my freedom and liberty, and I have no tolerance for that. Anyone who supports them is no longer my friend.
“… we still need to say true things out loud”
Well said, David, and you’ve noted several very important topics - authoritarians thrive on censorship, whether imposed by force or self-enforced.
That said, does your exhortation to speaking the truth aloud include:
- sex in humans is a binary, is immutable, and correlates clearly with physical advantage & much higher propensity for violence (both males🤷♂️) regardless of identity claims
- female humans of all ages have rights which are eroded and/or erased when males are granted access to their sports, spaces, and opportunities?
Or are those “true thing[s]” that must not be spoken?
And if so, what makes *those* truth claims so dangerous?
Great essay from David Moscrop on why we must use the terms that tell the truth we are facing — Moscrop focuses on fascist, authoritarian, genocide, and coup — rather than shy away because the terms have been so overused as to cause no impact when used again or because they are flung around so loosely, including in an Orwellian black-is-white mode by the likes of Trump (his and Musk’s opponents are apparently fascists and Zelenskyy is apparently is a dictator) and Putin (Ukraine apparently has committed genocide and Zelenskyy apparently heads a Nazi government).
The partner to David’s argument about words is that we must not shy away from discussing historical analogies and lesson. In this piece I discuss why the subjugation of the rule of law in the specific form of the Fuehrer Principle in Germany has distinct relevance for understanding the moves Trump is making and should help us see why we need to focus on a despot principle (into which category the Hitler leader principle falls, but which category is wider than it) as operating without assuming people will fully get this when other words are used that describe distinct aspects of Trump and Musk’s conduct (like its fascism). https://open.substack.com/pub/craigmartinscott/p/from-trumps-napoleonic-spasm-on-truth?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web We need to name fascism at work and we need also to drill down and name despotism at work. When the two come together, a like word Tim Snyder and Robert Reich use — “tyranny” — then becomes more powerful as it can be unbundled into both dimensions. All the more important, when there is a tendency to use “tyranny” south of the border as no different from despot or dictator when tyranny is best reserved for the despot or dictator that governs in cruel, inhumane and oppressive ways (with fascism being one obvious specific form of cruelty and oppression, with discrimination and violence being characteristic added layers).
After those salutes from the Pres Podium here's another true N-word for you: Nazi. Elon Musk is a Nazi. Trump hired a Nazi and that makes him a Nazi. There are almost twice as many Nazi supporters in the US as there are Canadians alive today. Nazi. You may have to say it a few times for it to sink in.
Sorry to quibble, but folks have started using the word “genocide” for all casualties of war. For instance, it is used to describe the deaths of civilians and soldiers in Ukraine. As far as the removal and relocation of nearly 2 million Gazans (which is an insane plan!) this is also not genocide. The Palestinian people will still be a people no matter where they live.
The terms “authoritarian,” “fascist,” “genocide,” have been used to describe the Conservative Winston Churchill. Yes, those words have meaning but are thrown out as labels of disqualification, when it would be better to express ones dissatisfaction in more articulate terms.
I have much respect for Winston Churchill.
Indeed, words matter. But what we are seeing is exactly, by definition, ethnic cleansing. And that’s bad enough for us to be outraged. It is not, by definition, genicide. As much as I agree that we should be using the right words to describe what’s going on, you then completely lost me by purposefully using the wrong words simply for hyperbole.