#authoritarianrule — Public Fediverse posts

When the Clouds Begin to Part: Reading the Signs of Democracy’s Renewal – January 13, 2026 – A DWD Editorial

The clouds may not be gone yet — but the signposts are visible.

When the Clouds Begin to Part: Reading the Signs of Democracy’s Renewal

Opinion • DrWeb’s Domain

For many Americans — and for millions around the world who have watched the United States as a democratic north star — the period since January 2025 has felt like standing inside a gathering storm. Institutions strained. Norms bent and some broken. Constitutional guardrails tested. Who truly expected the Supreme Court of the United States to roll over for Trump as it has? That is not right-wing. That is simply crazy. The noise has been relentless, the rhetoric exhausting, and the stakes unmistakably historic.

Yet history teaches something equally important: democratic collapse does not arrive all at once — and neither does democratic recovery.

Recovery begins with signs. Subtle at first. Then unmistakable.

If one listens closely beneath the thunder of daily crisis, it becomes clear: the clouds may be parting.

The First Signs: Institutions Remember Who They Are

One of the earliest and most hopeful indicators of democratic renewal is institutional memory reasserting itself.

Courts have continued to issue rulings that quietly but firmly reinforce constitutional boundaries. Career civil servants have refused unlawful directives. Inspectors General, auditors, election officials, and local administrators — the so-called “invisible infrastructure” of democracy — have held their posts. Many have done so under extraordinary pressure.

Democracy does not survive because of speeches. It survives because ordinary people inside extraordinary systems decide, again and again, to do their jobs.

That is happening.

Public Resistance Has Shifted from Outrage to Organization

Another critical sign: the public response has matured.

In 2017–2021, resistance was loud, emotional, and often reactive. In 2025–2026, it has become something more durable: structured, patient, legally grounded, and strategically national.

Voter registration is surging. Grassroots legal funds are multiplying. Journalists are collaborating across outlets and borders. State governments are coordinating constitutional defenses. Universities, bar associations, unions, faith groups, and veterans’ organizations are issuing joint statements rooted not in ideology but in constitutional principle.

This is what civic adulthood looks like.

Authoritarian Power Always Overreaches — and the Overreach Is Now Visible

History is unambiguous on this point: authoritarian atttempts collapse under the weight of their own ambition.

The more power attempts to centralize, the more resistance it creates — not just among citizens, but within the machinery of the state itself. Fractures are now visible inside political coalitions that once appeared unified. Economic confidence wavers when rule of law is threatened. International alliances grow cautious. Investors, courts, businesses, universities, and professional associations begin to hedge against instability.

Power that depends on fear is always fragile.

The World Is No Longer Standing on the Sidelines

Another hopeful signal: the global democratic community is no longer silent.

Foreign courts, human-rights bodies, election monitors, international media, and allied governments are actively documenting events inside the United States. This matters. It constrains excess. It preserves record. It establishes future accountability.

Democracy is no longer merely an American inheritance. It is now a shared global responsibility.

What Comes Next: The Great Recovery of Democracy, 2026

If the past year was about resistance, the coming year will be about reconstruction.

The Great Recovery of Democracy will not arrive through one election alone. It will unfold through a sequence:

• Legal clarification of constitutional limits
• Electoral realignment driven by turnout
• Institutional reforms reinforcing checks and balances
• A generational renewal of civic participation
• A recommitment to shared factual reality

This is how democracies heal — not by erasing conflict, but by re-anchoring legitimacy.

How We Will Know We Are Winning

We the People are winning when:

• The rule of law reasserts itself over political convenience
• Elections regain their authority as final arbiters
• Extremism begins to fracture from the inside
• Public trust inches upward
• Young Americans choose engagement over despair

Most of all, we will know we are winning when fear no longer drives the national conversation.

Looking Up Through the Clouds

The clouds have not yet vanished. But the sky is changing. Keep watching the skies!

And history shows: once democratic momentum returns, it moves with extraordinary force.

After 250 years, the American experiment has learned its hardest lesson once again — and it is remembering its purpose.

The road ahead is long.

But the signposts are now visible.

And they are pointing forward…

With Hope, DrWeb

About 500 #NationalGuard troops in LA are trained to accompany agents on immigration raids

Nearly 5,000 military personnel have been mobilized in the Los Angeles area in response to immigration raid protests. A commander says National Guard troops and Marines will protect #ICE agents and federal buildings, and will be allowed to 'temporarily' detain people.

By LOLITA C. BALDOR
Updated 7:41 PM EDT, June 11, 2025

WASHINGTON (AP) — "About 500 of the National Guard troops deployed to the Los Angeles protests have been trained to accompany agents on immigration operations, the commander in charge said Wednesday. And while some troops have already gone on such missions, he said it’s too early to say if that will continue even after the protests die down.

"Maj. Gen. Scott Sherman, speaking in an interview with The Associated Press and ABC, also warned that he expects the protest situation will escalate. 'We are expecting a ramp up,' he said, noting that protests across the nation are being planned and discussed now. 'I’m focused right here in LA, what’s going on right here. But you know, I think we’re, we’re very concerned.'

"Sherman, commander of Task Force 51 that is overseeing the more than 4,000 Guard troops and 700 #Marines deployed, initially said that National Guard troops had already temporarily detained some civilians. He later said he was incorrect, and that he had based his comments on photos and footage he had seen that turned out to not be a representation of Guard members in Los Angeles.

"He said that as of Wednesday, none of the troops has detained a protester. But he said they have gone through days of training and are prepared to do so if needed. Close to 2,000 of the Guard members have either been out protecting federal facilities or personnel already or are ready to move out, and the Marines will wrap up their training and are expected to be on the streets of Los Angeles as early as Thursday evening, Sherman said.

"The decision to have the soldiers provide security on the raids moves troops closer than ever before to carrying out law enforcement actions such as #deportations as President Donald Trump has promised as part of his immigration crackdown.

"#California Gov. #GavinNewsom has called the troop deployment a 'serious breach of state #sovereignty' and a #PowerGrab by Trump, and has gone to court to stop it. The president has cited a legal provision that allows him to mobilize federal service members when there is 'a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.'

"Under the Posse Comitatus Act, active-duty forces are prohibited by law from conducting law enforcement. Sherman said all of the Guard troops and Marines are going through several days of training on #CivilUnrest and #CrowdControl so they know exactly what they can and can’t do." [Um, yeah... Sure...]

Read more:
https://apnews.com/article/national-guard-immigration-raids-los-angeles-c9957a0d4ded48e40ce78efb0b7a8fbf

#PoliceAccontability #ACAB #NationalGuard #LAProtests #Resist #Resistance #ResistICE #ResistAuthoritarianism #USPol #PosseComitatus #StatesRights #Constitution #Authoritarianism #AuthoritarianRule #ResistFascism #USPol #Project2025

Congressional Analysis: #GOP Tax Gifts to #Rich Would Explode Deficit They Always Complain About

"This bill gives enormous additional tax cuts to wealthy people and corporations, spikes the deficit, and strips healthcare from millions of Americans," said one critic.

Jessica Corbett
May 13, 2025

Excerpt: " 'Reckless tax cuts for the top and new corporate loopholes appear to be the big features of this bill, and they're paid for by cutting our healthcare and making American communities more vulnerable to floods, fires, and storms,' she stressed. 'The revenue raisers—which don't stop this from being extremely expensive—seem to be about picking winners and losers, rather than passing rational, consistent policies.' "

https://www.commondreams.org/news/gop-reconciliation-package

#BigUglyBill #Environment #Ethics #TaxBreaksForTheRich #CorporatePolluters #AirIsLife
#WaterIsLife #LandIsLife
#TrumpHatesTheEnvironment
#TrumpHatesThePoor #Corporatocracy #CharacteristicsOfFascism
#SilencingDissent #USPol #HR9495 #StopHR9495 #TaxPackage #Authoritarianism #AuthoritarianRule
#FightForTheFuture

What’s in Trump’s big bill? Trillions in tax cuts, changes to Medicaid and more

By KEVIN FREKING and LISA MASCARO
Updated 8:21 PM EDT, May 13, 2025

WASHINGTON (AP) — "#Republicans in Congress are moving with rapid speed to advance President Donald Trump’s big bill of #TaxBreaks, #SpendingCuts and beefed-up border security funding as leaders work to enact many of his campaign promises.

"House committees have been laboring for months to draft the legislation, which Republicans have labeled 'THE ONE, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL,' a nod to Trump himself. Speaker Mike Johnson is pushing to approve the package and send it to the Senate by Memorial Day.

"Democrats say they will fight what House party leader #HakeemJeffries calls 'this extreme and toxic bill.' "
https://apnews.com/article/trump-tax-cuts-bill-medicaid-work-requirements-17cbde167f3b434e925a199c3253b8e1

#BigUglyBill #Environment #Ethics #StudentLoans #Medicaid #TaxBreaksForTheRich
#CorporatePolluters #AirIsLife
#WaterIsLife #LandIsLife
#MAGADeathCult #TrumpHatesTheEnvironment
#TrumpHatesThePoor
#AntiLife #Greenpeace
#Indivisible #FreePalestine
#CREW #PeaceAndJustice
#Corporatocracy #CharacteristicsOfFascism
#SilencingDissent
#USPol #HR9495 #StopHR9495
#TaxPackage #Authoritarianism
#AuthoritarianRule
#FightForTheFuture
#Section112209

This is what I sent to Maine Senators Susan Collins and Angus King...

Dear Senator Collins / King, I beg you to vote "no" on Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill." The passing of this will hurt many Mainers, and could impact Maine non-profits (Section 112209). Many Mainers are already struggling to pay their bills, and putting more of a burden on them, while giving tax breaks to the rich is unfair to working and disabled Mainers. Thank you.

#HR9495 #BigBeautifulBill #BigUglyTaxBill #ToxicBill #Environment #Ethics #AirIsLife #WaterIsLife #LandIsLife #TrumpHatesTheEnvironment
#TrumpHatesThePoor #CorporatePolluters #Corporatocracy
#CharacteristicsOfFascism
#SilencingDissent #USPol
#HR9495 #TaxPackage
#Authoritarianism #AuthoritarianRule #StopHR9495 #FightForTheFuture
#Section112209

House Republicans look to help Trump strip tax-exempt status of nonprofits he says support terrorism

By ALEXA ST. JOHN and MATTHEW DALY
Updated 1:37 PM EDT, May 13, 2025

WASHINGTON (AP) — "A proposal by Republicans in Congress would allow President Donald Trump’s administration to remove the tax-exempt status of nonprofits that it says support #terrorism, creating what some #nonprofits say is an arbitrary standard to financially punish #charities that advocate for issues that don’t align with his agenda.

"Unusual language added Monday to a reconciliation bill from the House Ways and Means Committee — the tax-writing committee — would allow for terminating the tax-exempt status of groups the administration deems 'terrorist supporting organizations.' The language mirrors a bill from the last Congress that passed in the House but did not pass the Senate.

"The definition and criteria for determining whether or how an organization supports terrorism are unclear. The bill also targets nonprofits in other ways, echoing complaints by Trump, who has called the tax-exempt status a 'privilege' that has been 'abused.' Trump has threatened to revoke tax-exempt status for groups that don’t abide by his directives or agree with his views."

[...]

"Michelle Roos, executive director of the Environmental Protection Network, which represents hundreds of former scientists and regulators, said last month 'we all pay the price' when charitable organizations are silenced based on politics.

"For example, the move to revoke #TaxExempt status could choke off funding for groups that urge greater action to promote clean air, water and land, work to help communities most affected by industrial pollution and advocate for projects and policies to combat #ClimateChange — among other issues.

" 'It threatens the rights, health, and future of every community,' Roos said in a statement.

Last month, Trump said he could target environmental groups and the ethics watchdog organization Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington."

Read more:
https://apnews.com/article/congress-nonprofits-tax-exempt-terrorism-trump-f9f5cfad4ea64c0745313a0b8a84fccf

#Environment #Ethics #AirIsLife #WaterIsLife #LandIsLife #MAGADeathCult #TrumpHatesTheEnvironment #TrumpHatesThePoor #AntiLife #Greenpeace #Indivisible #FreePalestine #CREW #PeaceAndJustice #CorporatePolluters #Corporatocracy #CharacteristicsOfFascism #SilencingDissent #USPol #HR9495 #TaxPackage #Authoritarianism #AuthoritarianRule #StopHR9495 #FightForTheFuture #Section112209

#MayorBaraka of #NewarkNJ, arrested at #immigration #DetentionCenter he has been #protesting

By JAKE OFFENHARTZ and CLAUDIA LAUER
Updated 7:00 PM EDT, May 9, 2025

"Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested Friday at a federal immigration detention center where he has been protesting its opening this week, a federal prosecutor said.

"Alina Habba, interim U.S. attorney for New Jersey, said on the social platform X that Baraka committed trespass and ignored warnings from #HomelandSecurity personnel to leave #DelaneyHall, a detention facility run by private prison operator #GeoGroup.

[...]

"Video shows the mayor standing on the public side of the gate

"In video of the altercation shared with The Associated Press, a federal official in a jacket with the logo of the Homeland Security Investigations can be heard telling Baraka he could not join a tour of the facility because 'you are not a congress member.'

"Baraka then left the secure area, rejoining protesters on the public side of the gate. Video showed him speaking through the gate to a man in a suit, who said: 'They’re talking about coming back to arrest you.'

" 'I’m not on their property. They can’t come out on the street and arrest me,' Baraka replied."

https://apnews.com/article/immigration-protest-ice-newark-mayor-arrested-5a2b3fefd7da563c48d2f85831cf2194

#Resist #ResistICE #NewJerseyResists #ICESucks #PrivatePrisons #PrivatePrison #IllegalDetention #Fascism #ResistFascism #AuthoritarianRule #Authoritarianism