MAGA has all but declared war on democratic America, and now the United States of America is an occupied nation. Occupied by its own government under the first fascist dictator in American history.

I know I've said, ad nauseam, that I've been trying to live as a pacifist. I don't wish anyone hurt, let alone dead. I wholeheartedly believe that talking things out and reaching a compromise everyone can live with is the best way to handle disputes.

I don't know if America can live that ethos.

I've finally been forced to come to the conclusion that sometimes the only thing an evil, sociopathic, power-hungry, thin-skinned, dementia ridden old man and his zealots understand and respect is force.

Violence isn't coming.

It's already here.

Just ask Rene Good and Alex Pretti... oh, wait, you can't.

If there are real (free) Americans left to write it, history will remember that the 2nd Civil War started in Minnesota.

One of the big problems in America is that the far right has spent the last 60+ years building on the remnants of Civil War anger and pushing a very large percentage of working-class white people into fearing and hating everyone and everything that's different. When the fascist right, the Christian right, and the billionaire donor class came together in the late 70s, the writing was on the wall for anyone who was willing to look.

The Right has a plan, and they've been executing it since the Richard Nixon era. They've been playing the long game while the Left has been throwing water balloons at the tree across the street.

The chipping away of citizen rights began with the Supreme Court's Buckley v. Valeo decision, which allowed corporate money into politics.

That continued into the disaster that was the Reagan administration. Where the unions were broken, the mental hospitals were shut down (displacing thousands to the streets), and the rich received the largest tax cuts in American history (at the time).

Then we had the Democratic soft-glove authoritarianism crawl through the Clinton admin. Not to mention the horrors of the Clinton crime bill.

I think it's fair that 9/11 broke America's will, and the W Administration dragged us into two unwinnable wars and spread hate and fear across the country like a nightmare blanket.

And let's not forget the Patriot Act.

I have to be honest. I still believe we had a chance to right the ship under Obama, but GOP/Tea Party viciousness and the continuing far-right plan, led by groups like Fox News, Focus on the Family, The Heritage Foundation, and The Koch Network (among dozens of others), along with Democratic weakness, sank that ship instead. In retrospect, Obama was our last hope. But racism, primarily pushed by Donald Trump and his hate cadre, killed any chance of recovery.

By 2015, America was primed for a man like Trump.

Four years of Trump, four years of Biden, and Trump's return to power. Combined with a House, Senate, and Supreme Court under his thumb, resulted in a perfect storm of hate, fear, authoritarianism, and here we are.

I have one question for my fellow Americans.

What are we going to do to fix this mess WE MADE of the land of the brave and home of the free?

ADDENDUM:

I just realized I have another question.

Where are all of my "I need all of my guns to protect America from the government!" peeps at?

*crickets*

Oh yeah, that's right, a whole lot of you are cool with all of this. So many of you have rushed to join ICE and CBP. You don't want to protect America. You want to be the bullies and thugs patrolling our streets and hassling anyone who isn't white.

You want to be the ones pulling the trigger,

Fake ass patriots.

Pathetic.

EDIT: For the record, I'm pro-2nd Amendment (every socialist should be). I'm ONLY talking about the ones who would rather be part of this administration's jackbooted Gestapo, than stand up for the country and its citizens.

- Josh (01-26-2026)

January 27, 2026

And yet I need to add another addendum.

Let's call it addendum numeral dos.

I know it sounds pedantic, but there's a significant difference between people who support the 2nd amendment and the psychos who open carry assault rifles into Dunkin' Donuts to intimidate people. There are responsible gun owners, and there are irresponsible gun owners.

You know who I'm talking about. The guys who have FOX News on 24/7, they wear a paramilitary kit everywhere they go and always have their AF-15 (or insert other long gun) on a strap so they can wear it cross-body. The ones who have American, Confederate, and Trump flags (and the occasional Gadsden flag) mounted on poles in front of their houses and sometimes their trucks. That they don't see the irony of the grouping is sadly ironic.

Moving on.

Allow me to expand a bit more. Just because one is pro-2A doesn't mean they consider guns the final answer to all of life's problems. A sensible pro-2A citizen is responsible. They know not to leave their weapons out and unattended. They more often than not take gun-safety lessons. If they have children, they teach them that a gun is deadly and never to be played with. They also teach them gun safety, preferably via a professional. They never flash their weapon. Unless they tell someone, nobody should be able to tell that a responsible gun owner is armed.

But yeah, I Digress.

Let's get back to my original point.

Irresponsible gun owners have seemed to be silent on the shootings in Minneapolis. The ones who have screamed the longest and loudest about needing to overthrow the evil Federal Government for decades (always when a Dem is in charge for some unknown reason) are suddenly very quiet. It seems they are okay with the government's new stance that if you have a legal weapon and are protesting the actions of ICE t's your fault you were killed. The same people who participated in the January 6th insurrection.

They are the hands of our fascist government.

I hope this helps clarify my views on the Second Amendment.

Thank you for attending my motivational lecture.

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