Jeff Jarvis
I asked Der Spiegel to share this important interview with Robert Kagan in English. @bredow made it happen. This is how American media should be talking:
"We Are Watching a Country Fall Under Dictatorship Almost Without Resistance"
https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/u-s-historian-robert-kagan-we-are-watching-a-country-fall-under-dictatorship-almost-without-resistance-a-d262290b-cca0-4c2f-945d-2ef3b64c574f?sara_ref=re-so-app-sh
U.S. Historian Robert Kagan: "We Are Watching a Country Fall Under Dictatorship Almost Without Resistance"

The Cold War? Child's play compared to what lies ahead, according to U.S. historian Robert Kagan. Trump, he says, is leading the world into the most dangerous era since 1945.

DER SPIEGEL
Feb 20 at 8:22pmWeb
Show threadJeff JarvisFeb 20
Sorry that there's a paywall on this. I was hoping Der Spiegel would share it openly.
Show threadJoachim Heistinger 🌶️Feb 20
@jeffjarvis 👀 https://archive.is/kEcyB
Show threadf*cking b*tch clubFeb 20
@carbon_compound @jeffjarvis thank you for posting this link
Show threadLeela TorresFeb 20
@carbon_compound @jeffjarvis
Don't let archive.is .ph or .today run Javascript. It use it for DDoS against a Finish blogger because of a private grunge
https://www.heise.de/en/news/Archive-today-Operator-uses-users-for-DDoS-attack-11171455.html
Archive.today: Operator uses users for DDoS attack

The operator of Archive.today is unknowingly using visitors to their site for a DDoS attack. A Finnish blogger is affected.

heise online
Show threadCannedTunaFeb 21
@LeelaTorres @carbon_compound @jeffjarvis wow! https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/02/wikipedia-bans-archive-today-after-site-executed-ddos-and-altered-web-captures/
Wikipedia blacklists Archive.today, starts removing 695,000 archive links

If DDoSing a blog wasn't bad enough, archive site also tampered with web snapshots.

Ars Technica
Show threadferricoxideFeb 20
@jeffjarvis

When I clicked, there was no paywall (if you don't count the "let us advertise at you" type button)?
Show threadStephen RusboldtFeb 21
@ferricoxide
When I selected "let us advertise at you", It wanted me to download a IOS or Android App. That doesn't work for me, I am on a Windows laptop.
Show threadJoachim Heistinger 🌶️Feb 20
ping @benroyce
Show threadᴮᵉⁿ ᴿᵒʸᶜᵉVOTE IN THE PRIMARIESFeb 21

@carbon_compound

yup

Show threadoscarfalconFeb 20

@jeffjarvis @bredow

The word "almost" in that sentence should be removed, because it is falling without resistance.

Show threadskuaFeb 21

@oscarfalcon @jeffjarvis @bredow

Your claim leaves out all the resistance - are you not joining up?

https://thewhitepages.net/p/seven-reasons-why-hosting-a-silly

Seven reasons why hosting a silly little potluck (or game night, or porch hang, or book club, or group hike) is essential to defeating fascism

Honestly, I don't think we'll win if you don't

The White Pages
Show threadsortius Feb 20
@jeffjarvis @bredow this is what I've been screaming for months. Resistance isn't pithy signs and frog suits
Show threadferricoxideFeb 20
@jeffjarvis @bredow

It's not that people like me don't want to resist, it's that, outside of "go commit random acts of mayhem", what can we do that meaningfully stops it? I, and at least those I've broached the subject with, are all pretty much resigned to "when they come for us, try to make them pay for it in as much blood as we can". Given the power of the state, that's probably a lot less blood of the state's representatives than our individual own.
Show threadByrnensorg🇮🇪🇺🇦🇵🇸🇬🇱🇩🇰Feb 20
@ferricoxide @jeffjarvis @bredow That's the point Kagan made in a nutshell, the public are pretty much resigned to wait till they come for them, instead of organising, finding exploiting weak points, arming up, creating security zones, generally preparing for civil war on the streets if need be, instead apathy and resignation reign. Learn from countries that successfully resisted the might of the US in the past and build on that.
Show threadferricoxideFeb 21
@byrnensorg @jeffjarvis @bredow

As the sole earner for a household with a disabled spouse and working in a field where getting put on a watch-list means becoming unemployed (and, thanks to the US health-insurance system, losing access to expensive, life-sustaining medical care) "waiting" (and preparing) is pretty much my only option.
Show threadByrnensorg🇮🇪🇺🇦🇵🇸🇬🇱🇩🇰Feb 22
@ferricoxide @jeffjarvis @bredow I don't wish to sound flippant or idealistic but have you thought of relocating to another country, at least on a short term basis. From the picture we get in Europe, the U.S. is not going to change direction any time soon. You might be able to contact a relative, or even find remote work to allow you to work from any location. You may want to consolidate your assets, assuming you haven't done so already. Don't let the bastards grind you down.
Show threadferricoxideFeb 23
@byrnensorg @jeffjarvis @bredow

Heh... Yeah. As things have been transpiring. definitely something I've had at back of mind. I've watched more than a a few "places that are easiest to expatriate to" (no place is easy, especially if you're not single and free of other concerns) and "details you need to account for" types of videos, yes. Unfortunately, while we have savings, they're in retirement accounts, rendering them effectively untouchable for another decade. All other assets are even more illiquid.
Show threadByrnensorg🇮🇪🇺🇦🇵🇸🇬🇱🇩🇰Feb 23
@ferricoxide @jeffjarvis @bredow I'd have a look at those $1 Italian homes that were in the news recently. Now the stipulation is you have to put about $20,000 of work in it to bring it up to standard but if you had any Italian relatives so much the better, once there, they have a better health system. Something to consider.
Show threadferricoxideFeb 23
@byrnensorg @jeffjarvis @bredow

No Itailian relatives. Closest I have to recent non-US relatives would be arrivals in the second half of 1800s from Germany and Scotland. For Germany, would need at least one of my grandparents to have been German-born.
Show threadLord HeeHaw IIFeb 20
@jeffjarvis @bredow I'm sure your intentions were good, but the Spiegel im English isn't really playing the game, keeping what must be the larger part of the article behind a paywall. Even if the 'Obelus' isn't much, asking Americans to pay in Euros will not produce a broad readership.
Show threadTatteredFeb 20
@jeffjarvis @bredow “Almost without resistance”.
Show threadverbalprimateFeb 20

@jeffjarvis @bredow

You can also hear Kagan talking to gross on Fresh Air. This discussion was chilling. https://www.npr.org/2026/02/04/nx-s1-5699388/is-the-u-s-heading-into-a-dictatorship

Show threadJames Trickle uPFeb 21
@verbalprimate @jeffjarvis @bredow Thanks for sharing that, and yay, no paywall like Der Spiegel.
Show threadJonas 🇩🇰 🇬🇱Feb 20
@jeffjarvis @bredow Project 2025. Another way to say 1984. Or USSR.
Show threadRobin BartonFeb 20
@jeffjarvis @bredow Trump knows he is doomed if he loses power so losing power is not something he will accept. His opponents are still clinging to the idea that the old rules will still work but those useless incantations have little use in the Brave New America
Show threadGaladFeb 20
@jeffjarvis @bredow It's so very nice to hear from someone who understands what is happening more than most... The commentary on Minneapolis isn't even close to the full picture, but this is one of the more honest takes I've heard in a while. It still amazes me that Europe is in so much denial.
Show threadFrancisca SinnFeb 20
@jeffjarvis @bredow Thank you.
Show threadNfinitywaltzFeb 21
@jeffjarvis @bredow There is resistance... there is definitely resistance.
Show threadSara HjelmFeb 21
@jeffjarvis @bredow
https://mastodon.social/@sarahjelm/116105821384639959
Show threadJames Trickle uPFeb 21
@jeffjarvis @bredow PayPal so... meh. Find better sources.
Show threaddiesUndDasMitTassen 🇺🇦Feb 21
@jeffjarvis @bredow
A large crowd cheers and welcomes it frenetically, yet one has always wondered how something like this can happen, why people does not rise up and simply defend itself against evil.
Show threadSu_GFeb 21

@jeffjarvis
Resonates, Kagan to the
Europeans: “Don't treat Trump as "daddy.” That gives him support in the U.S. When he's threatened with tariffs, when the treasury bill market collapses or the Dow Jones falls 800 points, then Trump backs off. The market is the only thing that interests him, because he and his rich buddies have a lot of money parked there.”

#USPol #markets #EUPol

@bredow

Show threadswggrkllr3rdFeb 21
@jeffjarvis @bredow https://mastodon.world/@swggrkllr3rd/116108298995632174
Show threadᛋᛁᚵᛁᛋᛘᚢᚾᛑ ᚾᛁᚾᛃᛅFeb 27
@jeffjarvis I wonder if this actually is the normal when going from "democracy" to dictatorship? Nazi Germany being the obvious other example. But maybe also the Bolshevik coup after the Februari revolution? And of course Putin...