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Judi Morgan-Fuller's avatar

Hitler used some of the same methods to eliminate democracy in Germany in under 60 days. Is history not taught in schools in North Carolina?

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Gary Pudup's avatar

You may be interested in this article in The Atlantic.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/01/hitler-germany-constitution-authoritarianism/681233/

It relates how the Nazis used constitutional means to end the democracy in Germany.

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Judi Morgan-Fuller's avatar

Yes, I read it, and is indeed an excellent article. it should be required to be studied by every 10th and 11th grader in schools today. The Republicans in North Carolina are using their constitution to make their state a one-party state.

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Gary Pudup's avatar

I wonder what it says about a society that when one doesn't like the results they just change the rules. Does this also apply to us? Think of the pushback on the Electoral College when things don't go our way.

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Judi Morgan-Fuller's avatar

A society that changes the rules after the fact is a society that may not be as well educated as they should be. With regards to the Electoral College, that is something we should gotten rid of 100 years ago. Frankly, I doubt it was ever needed. Our constitution has many flaws and this is one of them.

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Gary Pudup's avatar

Changing the rules after the fact, yet isn't that what getting rid of the Electoral Collage would be? It was needed to keep states with large populations from overwhelming states with small populations. What voice would states such as Vermont, Idaho, Alaska have in an all out popular election? I'm not disagreeing with your assessment of what HRC has laid out. It's troubling that a party that isn't responding to the public needs simply wants to change the rules to win.

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Judi Morgan-Fuller's avatar

Changing anything about the Constitution is always going to be after the fact. However, at some point, some corrections need to be made. At this time with one party holding all the control over the 3 branches of our government may not be the wisest time to make those changes. Sometime in the future, we will have to bite the bullet hold a Conditional Convention, and write a new document that will hold up in the future.

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Gary Pudup's avatar

Point taken. Agreed a constitutional convention now would likely not go well. Thank you for your thoughts.

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Kate Cunningham's avatar

Thanks, I was just about to do the same. IтАЩll add that there is also an audio of the article.

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Russell John Netto's avatar

Daniel Swain, a UCLA climate scientist, was interviewed in the New Yorker yesterday and his comments are also enlightening.

https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/how-did-the-los-angeles-fires-get-so-out-of-control?

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Gary Pudup's avatar

Thanks for sending the link. Agreed, it's enlightening. I especially liked his reasoned answers that there is a confluence of factors at play. I'm pretty sure DEI is not one of them.

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Russell John Netto's avatar

It's important to remember in this context that the nazis never won a majority of the popular vote in Germany. Even in 1933, after they had effectively taken power and despite saturation coverage of their campaign, the arrest of many opposition politicians and Brownshirts and SS marching around intimidating people, they only won 43% of the vote. The Republicans have faced the same problem, which is why they gerrymander; and also why Trump lies about the scale of his election victory.

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Judi Morgan-Fuller's avatar

Russell,

Glad you brought up gerrymandering. It is another flaw we need to deal with in this country's politics and governance. A few states use a by-partisan council to decide on the boundaries of congressional districts. We do in my state and we have no problems. One has to wonder if gerrymandering had not been abused, would the man have won? Hmmm

Isn't this fun?

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