Sunday, March 23, 2025

democracy and authoritarianism, credit to Michael Otto

This is from a history teacher, Michael Otto:

'I teach both American and international government. For years, I've been going over "case study" states, from mostly democratic (UK) to democratizing-but-corrupt (Mexico, Nigeria) to illiberal-authoritarian (Russia) to theocratic (Iran) to traditional authoritarian (China).

When it comes to the difference between democracy and authoritarianism, one thing Americans need to understand is that there's never one single moment where you become an authoritarian state; no leader will stand up and announce, "I am now a dictator."

Putin is the classic case study for gradual, effective subversion of democracy. Russia had been democratizing for about a decade when he took over in 2000, and now -even though Russia ostensibly still has the appearance of democracy: elections, separation of powers, federalism, and a constitution- none of that matters: Putin is in absolute control. And Putin is, coincidentally (?), the authoritarian most vocally admired by Donald Trump.

But how screwed are we? Well, as any first-year political science student can assert, there are ways -very simple, clear-cut, definitive ways- to tell when your democracy is in danger. Let's go over them, shall we?

1. You know you're drifting towards authoritarianism when...Your Legislative Branch cedes power to your President.

Montesquieu (and later Madison) envisioned the Legislative Branch as the primary work horse of government: It was made -in part- to check the President's excesses. It has far more powers than the President, it's more representative of the people than the President, and it was specifically given the abilities to restrain, overrule, or remove the President. In all of U.S. history, the legislature was never intended to be subservient to executive power. When a President's rule sidesteps legislative functions, and the Congress allows it, the balance of power is subverted.

For the record, Putin's rise initially faced resistance from his own legislative Duma -serving their constitutional function- until he cowed them, forcing out resistors and intimidating dissent, eventually rewriting the rules as to how they were elected to install loyalists exclusively.

Ask yourself: Has the U.S. Congress been ceding power to President Trump, diminishing in importance as the president's role grows?

2. You know you're drifting towards authoritarianism when...Corporatism becomes normalized. Corporatism is a political system whereby for-profit business groups (i.e. mass media and energy) become the most impactful partners in the government's policymaking process.

Authoritarians need industry leaders (and more importantly, their money) in order to spread their influence. Consequently, deals are made and favors traded (tax cuts in exchange for favorable reporting, for instance) that further enhance the power of the oligarchs and President over that of the people.

For the record, Putin allowed profiteering for oligarchs who would help him (the Rotenburgs: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-55872249 and Yuri Kovalchuk: https://www.forbes.com/profile/yuri-kovalchuk/?sh=39c42ed51aae
) and persecuted or jailed those who opposed him (Mikhail Borisovich Khodorkovsky).

Ask yourself: Has President Trump empowered corporations who aided him and diminished those who opposed him in order to gain more power?

3. You know you're drifting towards authoritarianism when...You begin to wonder if your President will obey the Constitution.

Rule of law is considered one of the four pillars of democracy, and the U.S. -despite its foibles- has a strong tradition of adherence to this concept. For many countries, the Constitution is just a piece of paper, altered on the fly when it suits the regime (example: every Chinese president before Xi Xinping had term limits; now -with a wave of the pen- he does not). If obeying the U.S. Constitution becomes a question rather than an expectation, that is not in the American tradition of democracy.

For the record, Putin regularly violates the civil liberties present within the Russian constitution: restricting protests, intimidating (or outright murdering journalists), and jailing political opponents.

Ask yourself: Have President Trump's actions ever threatened constitutional norms or the rule of law in pursuit of personal gain?

4. You know you're drifting towards authoritarianism when...Your President creates enemies for you to turn on, both internally and externally.

This is pretty much textbook fascism, frankly, but I'm shocked at how easily it's getting overlooked. Look, one cannot be a hero without a villain, and who is more easily vanquished than the vulnerable? If you can turn your citizenry onto a witch hunt against its own people, then that is a useful tool for power grabs in the name of "security." And if you can turn them against a foreign adversary, then that's even better: nothing promotes nationalism like warfare...especially easily won warfare.

For the record, in addition to turning the Russian population against their own state of Chechnya, Putin has demonized the LGBT population, recently making even symbolic support of them criminal ( https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/02/15/russia-first-convictions-under-lgbt-extremist-ruling ). And of course, there was always the expectation of an easy win against Ukraine, especially after the world just let them seize Crimea in 2014.

Ask yourself: Has President Trump encouraged us to turn on any of our fellow Americans...or created any new foreign enemies out of historic allies?

5. You know you're drifting towards authoritarianism when...Your President elevates loyalty to himself personally over that of the country as the most desirable characteristic of government agents and military personnel.

Consider: Though most cabinet members are rotated out when a new president enters, the vast majority of bureaucrats and soldiers (everyone from staff sergeants to park rangers) stay in place, keeping the machinery of government running, as their oath is to the Constitution, not a specific human being. Authoritarians see that as insufficient, replacing elements of the bureaucracy -especially military and law enforcement- who will criticize implementation -or refuse illegal execution- of presidential will.

For the record, one of Putin's first actions when becoming President was to put the FSB (their version of the FBI) under the direct control of the President (himself). Prior to that, there had been the detachment between law enforcement and political power expected and traditional to western democracies. From May 17, 2000 onward, they became a tool of his will, incrementally expanded in power and wielded against his enemies ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Security_Service ).

Ask yourself: Has President Trump appointed government agents -especially military and law enforcement agents- that have vocalized loyalty to him personally, as well as advocated for vengeance against his political enemies?

Sigh. I'm tired, but I could go on and on. There's a phrase that's been paraded lately: "Democracy dies in darkness." In my experience, that's not necessarily what's happening here. Despite the backslide in democratic qualities we're experiencing lately, the one we have in spades is transparency: Thanks to a vibrant media empire -as well as Trump's narcissistic self-promotion- we are constantly aware of the moves he is making to subvert the norms of our regime.

That said, as democracy dies in America, it won't be in darkness. It will be within our sight and with our permission.'

Friday, August 16, 2024

Great article re: women and others in tech, read it!

A great recommendation from a reader that I'd like to share with you!

…"I wanted to reach out to tell you how much I appreciate your site. 

While reading your page here: odellconnie.blogspot.com/2011/11/job-hunting-tips-for-tech-nerds-thanks.htmlI noticed that you were mentioning ncwit.org/, which is a site I like a lot.

Since we have the same common interest in women's empowerment and feminism, I wanted to share this helpful guide I found, about women in the hi-tech industry: https://www.websiteplanet.com/blog/the-empowering-guide-for-women-in-tech/

It gave me a lot of insight into the state of the women who work in the hi-tech area, also I found it of great help to promote women in tech and I think it would be a great resource to share with your readers, especially the female ones.



Sunday, June 2, 2024

Thanks to “the novel cure”, THE TEN BEST NOVELS TO CHEER YOU UP & FOR THE VERY BLUE

THE TEN BEST NOVELS TO CHEER YOU UP 
 
JONATHAN AMES Wake Up, Sir! 
 PATRICK DENNIS Auntie Mame. 
 Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle
Stop Café  FANNIE FLAGG 
STELLA GIBBONS Cold Comfort Farm  
NICK HORNBY Fever Pitch 
 GARY SHTEYNGART Absurdistan 
 HELEN SIMONSON Major Pettigrew's Last Stand. 
 DODIE SMITH I Capture the Castle 
 Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day WINIFRED WATSON 
 The Family Fang. KEVIN WILSON 

 THE TEN BEST NOVELS FOR THE VERY BLUE 

 Herzog.. SAUL BELLOW 
 Betty Blue. PHILIPPE DJIAN 
 The Unbearable Lightness of Being MILAN KUNDERA 
 The Bluest Eye TONI MORRISON 
 The Bell Jar... SYLVIA PLATH 
 Last Exit to Brooklyn HUBERT SELBY, JR.
By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept. ELIZABETH SMART 
 Some Hope. EDWARD ST. AUBYN 
 To the Lighthouse. VIRGINIA WOOLF 
 Revolutionary Road. RICHARD YATES

Tuesday, May 28, 2024

Fwd: Heisenberg and Schrodinger are on a road trip, when a cop pulls them over. The officer walks up and asks if they know how fast they’re going.



It's hard to explain puns to kleptomaniacs because they always take things literally.

Jean-Paul Sartre is sitting at a French cafe, revising his draft of Being and Nothingness. He says to the waitress, "I'd like a cup of coffee, please, with no cream." The waitress replies, "I'm sorry, Monsieur, but we're out of cream. How about with no milk?"

Werner Heisenberg, Kurt Gödel, and Noam Chomsky walk into a bar. Heisenberg turns to the other two and says, "Clearly this is a joke, but how can we figure out if it's funny or not?" Gödel replies, "We can't know that because we're inside the joke." Chomsky says, "Of course it's funny. You're just telling it wrong."

Heisenberg and Schrodinger are on a road trip, when a cop pulls them over. The officer walks up and asks if they know how fast they're going. Heisenberg replies that they do not, but know with high precision where they are. The cop thinks that's weird, and begins to search the vehicle. He opens the trunk and asks, "did you know you've got a dead cat in the trunk?" Schrodinger says, "well, *now* we do."

 What's the contour integral around western Europe? Zero, all the poles are in eastern Europe


Thursday, October 12, 2023

DEMONSTRATING VULNERABILITY, thanks to MattNorman.con

I think this is good advice for nerdy women also, including myself…


8 PRACTICAL STEPS FOR DEMONSTRATING VULNERABILITY (ESPECIALLY FOR MEN)

January 18, 2017

In her TED Talk, The power of vulnerability(the fourth most-watched in the series, with 28 million views and counting), Brene Brown discusses research showing that we build connections, contentment and credibility when we "show up as we really are."

And "as we really are" is wounded—vulnerable.

wounded2

Maybe not right at this moment. Perhaps you don't characterize your struggles as hurts. Maybe, like me, you've been conditioned to believe that you should always appear strong.

It's difficult for me to acknowledge when I hurt. In fact, whether it was my athletic coaches telling me to play through the pain or my friends regularly competing for who was coolest and toughest, boys in the culture where I grew up were socialized to eschew pain.

All this means that Brene Brown, leadership consultants and marriage and family therapists who advocate vulnerability have placed many people, notably men, into a difficult situation.

Do something contrary to everything I was socialized and modeled to do my entire life?

Many men are like the guy I ate lunch with last month. When the topic of vulnerability came up, he said, "My wife says she wants me to be more vulnerable, but I don't even know how!"

Here are some ideas on how to be vulnerable, even if vulnerability isn't your natural thing:

  1. Accept that you have issues…on the inside. Consider your addiction, avoidance, rushing, distraction, preoccupation or sleeplessness. That's where you might find your vulnerability.
  2. Develop emotional vocabulary.Vulnerability is most appropriately characterized through emotive words. When we talk about relational vulnerability, we're talking about wounds of the heart and mind – like anxiety, fear, sadness, or shame.
  3. Discern safe people and places.Not every situation or person is appropriate for revealing your vulnerability. But there are probably more appropriate situations and people than you might think. Disclosure of vulnerability is often less risky than you might worry it would be. In fact, you'll likely discover that acknowledging your vulnerability will be viewed as an act of strength and courage.
  4. Describe what's happening on the inside. It's tempting to just talk about the externalities around vulnerability. Rather than saying, "We are behind budget, and my boss is really being a jerk about it," you might say, "I'm feeling concerned about our budget status. It's making me feel insecure about our team's progress. It's also hard for me to talk with my boss about it."
  5. Impress people with how you share, not what you share. Another temptation is to say things that we think might make others think more of us. I've never been impressed, for example, when someone tells me in a job interview that a weakness they have is "caring too much" or "working too hard." I'm much more impressed when someone admits something faulty about themselves, but they do it in a way that is honest, curious and courageous. I think, "That's someone I can work with."
  6. Commit to regular practice. Even when things seem to be firing on all cylinders, if I'm honest, I'm feeling mixed. I may be feeling distracted, proud or worried that the momentum won't continue. I'm a human being. I always have vulnerabilities. I try to bring vulnerability into work presentations, one-on-one meetings with colleagues and even with clients. The more I practice showing up as I really am, the more fluent I become.
  7. Self-affirm who you are. Voicing vulnerabilities is not self-condemnation, self-pity or self-effacing. It's the opposite. It's a declaration of courage and humanity. And you need to remind yourself of that. Everyone has vulnerability. Everyone. It's the strong, the self-aware and the honest who can tell people about it.
  8. Make space for reciprocation. You give a great gift to your family, your organization and your community when you not only show vulnerability but also support vulnerability. This means showing up as you really are…and then shutting up so others can show up, too. It means listening, asking, caring and avoiding the temptations to fix or rescue. Vulnerability is relational.

How vulnerable are you? What difference would it make if you showed up more often as you really are?