Tony StarkDec 13, 2022

We are witnessing the beginning of American fascism. Right wing cons want a country where mass shootings happen regularly and guns are everywhere, but books about the Holocaust, slavery, LBGTQ people, and history are considered dangerous. A country circling the drain allows this.

Whatever culture war is necessary to invent in order to distract, dupe and deceive, the right wing will find. No need to pay for infrastructure, education and a safety net when you can whip this up.

A Fast-Growing Network of Conservative Groups Is Fueling a Surge in Book Bans-
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/12/books/book-bans-libraries.html?unlocked_article_code=ffVZIJZD7q-f0bgdRtXDMf_jKSO4o6ebQkgfeVvruArq64fDRf8ElIoos-LzzhtYxDN3WB90Rp2CTllCf8apI8ruEeM0rU_Omnab4CNeypvOrZOkJwqE7yEMwAQTJomLR-0_qGUT6kZSbSQWlYBELQ5PZSHVxWvuVHDmY5aqKm5wOg5JFxQ255E78kJltxPGzGFqjhlMRcX6XvqMnUX3HUlJ9ZknAY4q7k1ffD756QA9XylZddm9s3YE7lwHblZaqSJ0z7iTfMje13GfY5PXQgdqrcZ2hrv4nzn00qCNwuCrX3CSZ_w_OTGgaRQno4YK1JtJJYwvC__kVz6Z&smid=share-url

A Fast-Growing Network of Conservative Groups Is Fueling a Surge in Book Bans

Some groups are new, some are longstanding. Some are local, others national. Over the past two years, they have become vastly more organized, well funded, effective — and criticized.

The New York Times
Show threadAndyHDec 13, 2022

@TonyStark

We should've let the South secede.

Show threadLili Von ShtuppDec 15, 2022
@AndyHarrison @TonyStark that's not helpful.
Show threadTony Stark
@AndyHarrison @LiliVonShtupp Throwing sections of the country under the bus is definitely not helpful. I feel like I’ve said that so many times…
Dec 15, 2022 at 1:05pmWeb
Show threadLili Von ShtuppDec 15, 2022
@TonyStark @AndyHarrison thank you Tony. Not every southerner is an ignorant racist.
Show threadRoberto Da CostaDec 15, 2022
@TonyStark @AndyHarrison @LiliVonShtupp People try to do that to us in Florida all the time and we hate it. I’ve never voted for a Republican and don’t need told to just leave the US.
Show threadBenCisco 🇺🇸🎖️🖥️♦️Dec 15, 2022

@Sunspot @TonyStark @AndyHarrison @LiliVonShtupp Alabama resident here. Descendant of slaves. I find the "should have/ let's just let them secede" trope to be singularly useless.

Not to mention you can now find neo-Confederates across the entirety of the United States. Where exactly are YOU going to run?

Show threadRoberto Da CostaDec 15, 2022
@BenCisco @TonyStark @AndyHarrison @LiliVonShtupp Exactly. It’s a trope and insulting especially to people of color.
Show threadBenCisco 🇺🇸🎖️🖥️♦️Dec 15, 2022

@Sunspot @TonyStark @AndyHarrison @LiliVonShtupp Here's an example of what we're up against here - our new congressional district map, signed into law by Gov. Meemaw. District 7 is the only one rep'd by a Dem, and it was SHRUNK on purpose. Thank God @marcelias doesn't share your outlook on this!

Ed. Corrected 6 to 7

Show threadRoberto Da CostaDec 15, 2022
@BenCisco @TonyStark @AndyHarrison @LiliVonShtupp @marcelias That’s about as bad as DeSantis’ work.
Show threadUnprecedented 2023Dec 15, 2022
@BenCisco @Sunspot @TonyStark @AndyHarrison @LiliVonShtupp @marcelias Cheat to win is the only game they know.
Show threadAndyHDec 15, 2022

@Mallulady @BenCisco @Sunspot @TonyStark @LiliVonShtupp @marcelias

Also, RIGGING look at all the RED gerrymandered states.

NY's gerrymandering was stuck down, but TX, FL, AL, OH are A-OK.
NC is fighting to keep their extreme gerrymandering.

Show threadLili Von ShtuppDec 15, 2022
@BenCisco @Sunspot @TonyStark @[email protected] @marcelias just like South Carolina except all our districts are gerrymandered, including Clyburn's.
Show threadBenCisco 🇺🇸🎖️🖥️♦️Dec 15, 2022
@LiliVonShtupp @Sunspot @TonyStark @marcelias Oh, make no mistake - so are ours. Rep. Sewell's district covers ten counties and parts of two others, even reaching into PART of my city.
Show threadOnceoday 🩺🕊🏕Dec 15, 2022
@BenCisco @Sunspot @TonyStark @AndyHarrison @LiliVonShtupp
Exactly. I'm here in chilly Idaho. There's no Confederate history here, yet Nazis and haters of all types are just as thick here as they are in Texas or Florida. This year, even more extremists were elected to state government.
Show threadJenna WrightDec 15, 2022
@Onceoday @BenCisco @Sunspot @TonyStark @AndyHarrison @LiliVonShtupp Florida, here. Our Governor traveled to other states the past 2 yrs collabing w/extreme RW garbage & recruiting residents for Fl. We’ve had a massive influx of new Republican residents, at Desantis’ & his comms team invite. We were a purple state. Btwn gerrymandering & recruiting new GOP voting residents, I think we got hit with a manufactured red wave. And you are right, hate/bigotry resides in all of our states.
Show threadBenCisco 🇺🇸🎖️🖥️♦️Dec 15, 2022
@JennaWright @Onceoday @Sunspot @TonyStark @AndyHarrison @LiliVonShtupp My greatest hope is that DeathSantis fails on a massive scale; him and TRE45ON annihilating each other is probably too much to ask for, but I'm asking anyway.
Show threadJenna WrightDec 15, 2022
@BenCisco @Onceoday @Sunspot @TonyStark @AndyHarrison @LiliVonShtupp My hope stands with your hope. May it be!
If we hope extra hard, maybe we’ll see both of them indicted, tried & in cuffs before they get the chance to go at each other.
Show threadAndyHDec 15, 2022

@JennaWright @Onceoday @BenCisco @Sunspot @TonyStark @LiliVonShtupp

After 27 years my next door conservative neighbors, not Trumpy, moved from Burbank, CA to St Augustine. Who knows if they survived the 2 hurricanes and how they're going to afford home owners insurance.

Show threadBenCisco 🇺🇸🎖️🖥️♦️Dec 15, 2022
@AndyHarrison @JennaWright @Onceoday @Sunspot @TonyStark @LiliVonShtupp OR if said insurance will even work.
Show threadJenna WrightDec 15, 2022
@BenCisco @AndyHarrison @Onceoday @Sunspot @TonyStark @LiliVonShtupp Right?! Yesterday, in a special session that the Guv called to “address” the Ins crisis, all amendments that tied Ins Exec salaries to rate reductions were voted down. The Bill passed & it gives gobs of taxpayer money to Ins Co’s via discounts on reinsurance & limits action by attorneys who sue Ins CO’s on behalf of homeowners & relieves Ins CO’s of paying homeowner’s attny’s fees, even when the Ins Co loses in court.
Show threadLili Von ShtuppDec 15, 2022
@JennaWright @BenCisco @[email protected] @Onceoday @Sunspot @TonyStark
Show threadUnprecedented 2023Dec 15, 2022
@BenCisco @Sunspot @TonyStark @AndyHarrison @LiliVonShtupp Hmm. Sad.
Show threadMaria HillDec 15, 2022

@BenCisco I've seen Confederate flags far north of the Mason-Dixon line. I don't care if you moved from somewhere else. You should be embarrassed to fly that anywhere.

@Sunspot @TonyStark @AndyHarrison @LiliVonShtupp

Show threadBenCisco 🇺🇸🎖️🖥️♦️Dec 15, 2022
@MariaHill @Sunspot @TonyStark @AndyHarrison @LiliVonShtupp Embarrassment is a quaint and outdated concept for them. They LIVE for our scorn - it feeds their victimhood.
Show threadLili Von ShtuppDec 15, 2022
@BenCisco @MariaHill @Sunspot @TonyStark @[email protected] While never realizing the Republican party has zero interest in making their lives better because they're not wealthy.
Show threadTeach Honest HistoryDec 15, 2022
@BenCisco @Sunspot @TonyStark @AndyHarrison @LiliVonShtupp Agree. It would have been catastrophic then, and it's literally impossible now.
Show threadAndyHDec 15, 2022

@TonyStark @LiliVonShtupp

How many times has California, the 4th largest economy in the world, been thrown under the bus?

Show threadPam RickelDec 15, 2022
@TonyStark @AndyHarrison @LiliVonShtupp
Hi! Working my ass off here in TX to fight for democracy. While I’m not happy with the draconian laws in my state, I would prefer to remain are part of the United States thank you.
Show threadTony StarkDec 15, 2022
@LiliVonShtupp @PamRickel @[email protected] Texas is a great place. I prefer you do, too.
Show threadDemocracy Awareness 🇺🇸♾Dec 16, 2022
@PamRickel @TonyStark @AndyHarrison @LiliVonShtupp Weird that Texas is possibly the most technologically advanced state for remote voting. https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/how-do-astronauts-vote-space
How Do Astronauts Vote From Space?

How do you cast your ballot when you are floating over 200 miles above your polling place? Thanks to a special electronic absentee ballot, astronauts are able to vote from space.

Show threadPam RickelDec 16, 2022
@libertycookies @TonyStark
It is. It’s also extremely gerrymandered & has been for over 2 decades.
Show threadThe North CoastDec 15, 2022
@[email protected] @LiliVonShtupp @TonyStark Ohio also agrees with you.