It Can't Happen Here

“This may be the tipping point toward authoritarianism.” — Ty Cobb, attorney, CNN

Donald Trump is angry, which is never good news. The Kirk assassination, the ICE shooting in Dallas, his failed move against Kimmel, the widely ridiculed escalator incident at the UN, the unprecedented indictment of a former FBI director, and a pending government shutdown are just a few of the factors that may combine to propel him to take further radical action very soon.

But what?

It may become clear next week. The mysterious gathering of military leaders and the plan for a new round of mass layoffs portend something. What is it? Perhaps yet another declaration of a national emergency?

Trump has already shown he has an itchy finger in such matters. Now he’s bluntly warning that mythical “radical left wing” that “bad things” are going to happen to them.

In TrumpSpeak, “left wing” means anyone who opposes him. That’s why his inability to shut down Jimmy Kimmel (so far) is particularly galling.

“Trump could double down on his attacks against the media and other perceived opponents,” notes Business Insider. 

So yes, the indictment of James Comey is a very bad sign —and an extremely dangerous one.

This may be the beginning of the end of the rule of law, which is to say, the death of democracy. 

HEADLINES:

• Former FBI Director James Comey indicted days after Trump demanded his DOJ move ‘now’ to prosecute enemies (ABC)

• Team Retribution (Mark Fiore)

• Hegseth is said to summon top U.S. military leaders from around the globe to Virginia. (NYT)

• Hegseth orders rare, urgent meeting of hundreds of generals, admirals (WP)

• White House to agencies: Prepare mass firing plans for a potential shutdown (Politico)

• Trump: “Bad things happen” when Democrats provoke the right (Axios)

• It’s Watergate, Every Day (Bulwark)

• Ukraine’s Plan to Starve the Russian War Machine (Atlantic)

• Amazon will refund $1.5 billion to Prime subscribers in $2.5 billion FTC settlement (WP)

• Justice Dept. Official Pushes Prosecutors to Investigate George Soros’s Foundation (NYT)

• Jimmy Kimmel showed the one line Corporate America can’t cross (Business Insider)

• Jimmy Kimmel’s ratings bonanza continues (CNN)

• Trump is raving mad about “very sinister events” he endured at the U.N. General Assembly, including an escalator that broke down and faulty teleprompters. His administration says the Secret Service is investigating these heinous acts as intentional. [HuffPost]

• China, world’s largest carbon polluting nation, announces new climate goal to cut emissions (AP)

• At Global Climate Summit This Week, U.S. Isolation Was on Full Display (NYT)

• Why the brain hangs on to some memories but lets others fade (WP)

• How should AI be used in Berkeley schools? (Berkeleyside)

• Is Life a Form of Computation? (MIT)

• How to stop AI’s “lethal trifecta” (Economist)

• Trump To Travel With Own Escalator Following U.N. Embarrassment (The Onion)