Fascism trait #8:

Thus, by a continuous shifting of rhetorical focus, the enemies are at the same time too strong and too weak.
Ur-Fascism by Umberto Eco

He's Schrödinger's Brandon: Too strong and too weak at the same time. I wonder if there is an ideology that typically uses this tactic to define an opponent?

There is, and the answer is as clear as the nose on your fascist.

Face! I meant face. Stupid autocorrect.

Not sure if this is sarcastic, so for thise who don't know: It's a common tatic of fascists.

It's gotta be democracy because the Republicans are adamant they are defending it right?

Same as it ever was. The Nazis did the same thing with the groups they scapegoated, simultaneously an incompetent drain/liability and and a hyper-competent threat that cannot be ignored.

Critical thinking and reasoning must be taught, without that, people will follow their feelings anywhere, and those are easy to manipulate.

Starving public education into complete and utter ruins for half a century to cut rich sociopath's taxes, and the rise of tens of millions of proudly counterfactual, willfully ignorant nitwits as a political force is not a coincidence.

Garbage in (refusing to pay to educate kids to critically scrutinize the information they take in), garbage out (The United States of duhhhhhhhhhhh).

The followers must feel humiliated by the ostentatious wealth and force of their enemies. When I was a boy I was taught to think of Englishmen as the five-meal people. They ate more frequently than the poor but sober Italians. Jews are rich and help each other through a secret web of mutual assistance. However, the followers must be convinced that they can overwhelm the enemies. Thus, by a continuous shifting of rhetorical focus, the enemies are at the same time too strong and too weak. Fascist governments are condemned to lose wars because they are constitutionally incapable of objectively evaluating the force of the enemy.

Edit: I guess I can’t bold in a quoted passage, so here it is: Thus, by a continuous shifting of rhetorical focus, the enemies are at the same time too strong and too weak.

Umberto Eco

Ur Fascism

The majority of the USA is behind Ukraine, it's the magats that are being dumb russian puppets.

Yes. Every other thing is rage bait to distract you.

I worry that at this point if people haven't figured that out they're never going to

People forget that the point of the speech is right in the title. It's not about the health of the country or political ideals.

Once a year, the President delivers a speech on the stste of the union. It's about how divided the country is and whether or not that division is a threat to the nation.

If the country went full-fascist without a struggle that wouldn't threaten the Union. If the Republicans were voted out of existence and we became a socialist utopia that wouldn't threaten the union.

What is happening now, with one party increasingly refusing to work with the other side and intentionally breaking the systems that make government work? Yeah - that's a threat to the Union.

Which is wild because forklifts really can't go much faster than a brisk jogging pace. Not unless you strap a rocket to it. Coincidentally Rocket Propelled Forklift is my new band name

The qons have installed wheels on the goalposts long ago.

I laughed because I thought it was an Onion article at first glance. Holy shit.

"Too woke! More sleepy please"

Not complain, they will attack literally anything.

And if they ever run out of things to attack, they will create things to attack. Remember that recession that was going to happen?

That's why i stopped giving their words any weight. They'll complain no matter what, so fuck em

"Intelligible!"

"Knowledgeable!"

"Sane!"

"Capable of completing a thought!"

Their viewers aren't watching the raw state of the address. They're watching the sound bites, so the conservative media can sell it whatever way they want

honestly I hope he did take stimulants- by all accounts a river of lab grade amphetimines and benzodiazepines flowed through the trump whitehouse. gotta level the playing field

Why are people still even talking about his verbal missteps? I ignore anyone who rags on his stutter. He's got a legitimate medical condition, and he works hard in his speech therapy to talk as well as he does. It has nothing to do with his mental ability, as there are young people with the same issue.