Illiberalism
Fig. 1. Photograph by Joachim F. Thurn, August 1991, Bundesarchiv, B 145 Bild-F089030-0003, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE.
In view of Ishaan Tharoor’s latest column,[1] I am reorganizing the hierarchy for Gilead, placing it under Illiberalism. The distinction was always fuzzy and it’s just really all looking more and more like the same utterly vile thing to me.
The Israeli version claims authority via Judaism. The Turkish version claims authority via Islam. The Italian and Spanish versions claim authority via Roman Catholicism. The U.S. (Gilead) version claims authority mostly via evangelical Protestantism. It isn’t theocracy per se, but a nationalism that centers religion with race, as a governing principle, and that looks fascist.
Ishaan Tharoor, “A far-right European Union could be around the corner,” Washington Post, July 21, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com//world/2023/07/21/spain-election-vox-far-right-european-union/
Gilead
Competitive authoritarian regime project
Fig. 2. President Lyndon B. Johnson, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Clarence Mitchell during signing ceremony of the voting rights act. Yoichi Okamoto, August 6, 1965, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
Jane C. Timm, “Alabama GOP refuses to draw second Black district, despite Supreme Court order,” NBC News, July 21, 2023, https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/alabama-gop-refuses-draw-second-black-district-supreme-court-order-rcna94715
Donald Trump
Coup attempt
Fig. 1. “Jake Angeli (Qanon Shaman), seen holding a Qanon sign at the intersection of Bell Rd and 75th Ave in Peoria, Arizona, on 2020 October 15.” Photography by TheUnseen011101 [pseud.], October 15, 2020, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
Trial in the classified records case is to begin next May.[2] I’m looking for a defense that coordinates with the campaign.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump seems awfully desperate to stop the Georgia investigation.[3] Even if he wins, which I still think is flatly not happening[4] (though I am ignoring “No Labels”), he would not be able to pardon his way out of a state-level conviction.
Trump might be a devil, but it sure looks like he never shoulda gone to Georgia.
Holly Bailey, “Trump attorneys again push to block Georgia 2020 election investigation,” Washington Post, July 21, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/07/21/trump-georgia-investigation/
Sadie Gurman, “Judge Sets May 2024 Trial Date for Trump’s Documents Case,” Wall Street Journal, July 21, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/articles/judge-aileen-cannon-sets-may-2024-trial-date-for-trumps-documents-trial-eefddbae
I’ve previously noted that this society loves nothing more than to kick people when they are down. I’ve been on the receiving end of systemic brutality before. I’m seeing it again.
This (figure 4) is what’s happened to my income in recent months. But guess what? I no longer qualify for Medicaid.
Fig. 4. Estimated daily net income, mostly from Uber driving, since January 1, 2022, by author, as of July 20, 2023, but updated more or less daily. Does not include Social Security.
There’s no way I can pay for health insurance. It’s just completely out of the question. I can sign up for Medicare at the end of January; I have no idea how long it will take for that coverage to take effect. In the meantime, I still have a doctor and can transfer my prescriptions from Walgreens to a low-cost pharmacy.
In general, I’m in decent health, though I’m not aging as gracefully as I thought I would.
- [1]Ishaan Tharoor, “A far-right European Union could be around the corner,” Washington Post, July 21, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com//world/2023/07/21/spain-election-vox-far-right-european-union/↩
- [2]Sadie Gurman, “Judge Sets May 2024 Trial Date for Trump’s Documents Case,” Wall Street Journal, July 21, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/articles/judge-aileen-cannon-sets-may-2024-trial-date-for-trumps-documents-trial-eefddbae↩
- [3]Holly Bailey, “Trump attorneys again push to block Georgia 2020 election investigation,” Washington Post, July 21, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/07/21/trump-georgia-investigation/↩
- [4]David Benfell, “It should be obvious by now: Donald Trump and Doug Mastriano are not the future of the Republican Party,” Not Housebroken, June 17, 2023, https://disunitedstates.org/2023/03/26/it-should-be-obvious-by-now-donald-trump-and-doug-mastriano-are-not-the-future-of-the-republican-party/↩