As it isn't an OFFICIAL state propaganda machine, the First Amendment makes that hard. But I'd think a new administration could find ways to criticize it or warn against it.
Hard given the First Amendment but an honest FCC Chair could apply some real pressure. As former MN Senator Al Franken had the right to tear them apart ("Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them" (2003), they have the right, within First Amendment limits, to be donkeys
An honest FCC and maybe FTC too? I think a huge problem has been the monopolization of the big media companies. These oligarchs are buying these corporations and basically control the information getting out and of course they are trying to get into the president's good graces. These huge mergers have got to stop! I don't know how they get away with it?
Absolutely yes, and maybe the FEC, too, so we might have fair(er) elections? And the SEC to crack down the the FTC and other regulatory agencies on insider trading. It seems that this is all out of the Project 2025 playbook and designed to create their USA by killing ours. 2026 may be the best hope we have to curtail it.
My greatest fear is that when the dems win the mid-terms, and even the 2028 election, they will not follow through and clean house of the major republican corruption. These indecent sycophants must go and be punished for their crimes. They will have placed the Country back DECADES by these elections, and it will take decades to correct the harm they have done!
Winning the midterms still means the veto power exists in 47. To really accomplish what you describe, they have to win at least the House (and far better if the Senate, too) in the midterms and then collect the Presidency in 2028. They only have 2 years before the 2030 midterms to get things done. I heard an idea yesterday with which I agree: Dems need to flood the zone and undo as much damage and advance as many correcting steps as they can in the first 100 days, with most of those in the first 30 days, before the GOP can react.
I remember being in Budapest a few years ago and remarked to my husband that there were no newsstands and newspapers like we have here. And then I thought they have no need for them as the government controls all the media. I remember the cold chill down my back and I actually felt sadness for these people. How little did I know we would be approaching their situation just a few years later!
I highly recommend reading this account of Orbán's dismantling of democracy, expertly written by a self-described Hungarian "housewife". This is the history of Orban's systematic destruction of democracy, that MAGA holds up as their "model" government. And how it collapsed! A lesson for us all...
This tracks very well with what we see here right down to candidates who win often being new on the political scene. It is not a coincidence our circumstances are so comparable to Hungary. First of all there is human nature to consider. Just as important is the way the so-called “conservative” GOP began looking to Orban for a template to destroy our institutions and gain power.
Credentials were withheld from major or ‘legacy’ news outlets. In 2023 when CPAC held a 2 day conference in Hungary, Orban was again a main speaker (standing ovations). Since at least 2021 he was being promoted by the likes of Tucker Carlson.
He is quoted as saying to “have our own media” is the key to political power. Some reporting noted that Orban held ‘side meetings’ to advise on strategies.
With all the obstacles that face us we can be glad that here the president & Congress cannot amend the Constitution on their own. Our judicial system is compromised but still functioning. There is reason to hope for change here too.
“We will suspend this channel’s news service,” Magyar said. “This isn’t about me; I’m not seeking revenge. Our people deserve journalism that reflects the truth.”
He promised to end “the factory of lies” and create “independent, impartial” news operations “together with the other parliamentary parties and professional organizations.”
An American reset will be similar to but not exactly like Hungary. I look to FDR and his New Deal Congress. Congress and the Executive branch must combine their separate powers and start by reinstating Civil Service professionalism, reinstate Congressional control over appropriations and war powers, etc. etc. However, what will kill this is allowing Republicans to undermine the effort from the sidelines as Trump did during the Biden administration.
As to the media situation, the FCC must be updated to meet the moment of unrestricted propaganda dominating political discourse. Reform is going to come about by defending and shoring up existing constitutional systems that work very well contingent on all politicians acting in good faith. There are structural frameworks which can make it more likely than not that we shore up democracy. We have to be able to articulate and get the public on board with the fact that Trump and his followers do not act in good faith. Nor do they have the best interest of American citizens in mind.
Therefore, Democrats in power must forcefully make the case for democracy and pursue their plan as if they were prosecutors making a case to the public. Which, is really what they are. And the examples cited in this article tell me that is what Magyar is doing. He is making a very public case against the theories and practices of the Orban gang.
And that is the major lesson we must take here. It is time to play offense while playing by the rules. Because we aren't just trying to win this game, we have to also put the goal posts back where they belong.
There is one difference between the Hungarian voters and Americans. The corruption is just beginning to break through here to many people & not be seen as a distant issue — “they are all the same.” Americans are feeling the rising daily expenses, healthcare crunch & unaffordable housing while seeing the lavish spending at the WH & war(s).
In Hungary it had reached the point where the corruption was not distant but directly seen & felt in their daily lives.
• There was the matter of modernizing streetlights. Everyone had to use the same consultant (in business with Orban’s son-in-law) who would refer them to the same company (owned by Orban’s son-in-law). There is other reporting with drone footage showing that only some areas, spotty at best, ever get new streetlights. The others are dark. The EU froze funding for the project and Orban picked it up.
• EU delegates found “… that no matter what hotels they booked for these official visits, the Orbán government would somehow find a way to unbook them from the hotels where they wanted to stay and rebook them into one of the hotels owned by Tiborcz.” Tiborcz = Orban’s son-in-law.
Besides Fox we need to reform CBS. I think leadership in the Democratic Party should go to Hungary and meet with the Prime Minister. We are dealing with all the same problems that they are and need fixing.
We have a broken two party system. The leadership of the Democratic Party is not much better than the Republican Party. They may be more concerned with the everyday lives of people, but they are as entrenched in the leadership and political system as the Republicans. Would it kill the Democrats to select newer members of Congress to party posts? I’m sorry but Schumer, Jeffries, Hoyer and Durbin have been in charge long enough. Time to bring some new blood along.
Will enough eligible American voters register and vote? It all depended on voter turnout in 2024. We failed to defeat a felon, convicted of fraud and also indicted by two federal grand juries on charges of grave criminal misconduct against the U.S.
Hungarians turned out more than 75% of voters to defeat Orban. Americans certainly can defeat Trump and his minions, but will we? Make impeachment, conviction and removal from office viable again.
Our government couldn’t shut down MAGA media, change the constitution so easily, and get rid of Supreme Court puppets even if Democrats do crush it in the midterms and win the presidency back in 2028. But majority rule changes could happen to bring back sanity.
Supreme Court justices with terms that expire, or they can be impeached for enabling criminal behavior. Presidents should pass psych tests and have clean criminal records as a Minimum! The American people need to be able to bring law suits against the president and cabinet for crimes against humanity! Changes will come in the next few years. Rational behavior of elected and appointed officials, and sound judgment on behalf of the people must be foundational.
Since the Constitution provides no way to kick out justices without impeachment, I rather like the "court packing" plan FDR proposed. Congress CAN control the size of the court. FDR's plan didn't "add" justices, as in making the court permanently 11. Instead, it set an age at which justices could CHOOSE to retire. If they chose not to, THEN a new position would be added, bringing the court up to 10 (or more depending on number of elders). When the justices decided they WOULD retire, the court would revert to 9, with the new one already able to take the place of the retiring one.
In FDR's case, the Congress (and the voters) still liked the Supreme Court and so this didn't pass--not because it couldn't have, but because it was felt there was no need. The court didn't need a weatherman; it started approving New Deal statutes. Today, I'd guess support for the current court is near zero for voters.
There are other, better ways, including this one: “Staggered 18-year terms would bring regular turnover to the bench. The result would be a Court that better reflects prevailing public values.” Brennan Center For Justice; 20-Jun-23; https://tinyurl.com/rsz2v8n7
The problem is the life tenure. I'm not sure the regular/senior split would work; I don't know whether the constitution allows keeping them from a vote once senior. And if not, do we WANT someone who isn't actively involved in hearing oral argument, etc to be having a vote? I've skimmed the place you cited: it doesn't really answer that, just hopes. And of course, who would decide on the constitutionality of that statute?? The FDR idea, which the article does touch on, avoids that. No one HAS to leave, but may find him/herself suddenly in the minority. Otherwise, that piece is a good one.
It could be combined with making the court more like 11 than 9. THAT I'm quite sure Congress has power to do.
Increasing the number of Justices would work and it really nothing more than a logistical problem to have a retiring Justice participate in oral argument and when they occur, the Court’s deliberations. “There is no question that the U.S. Supreme Court must have term limits, a mandatory retirement age, or both. The only question is how to accomplish it. Recent versions of Supreme Court reform call for justices to take “senior status” after 18 years of active service. Under this proposal, justices would serve in an active capacity for that time period, after which they would assume senior status. Senior justices would not leave judicial service entirely, but rather take on new duties, such as deciding original jurisdiction cases, hearing cases on circuit courts as needed, or filling in for recused justices.”
Article III Section I (ratified in 1788) provides that: “The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services, a Compensation, which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office.” Congress saw gaps and jumped in the next year with The Judiciary Act of 1789. The structure and number of Justices has varied ever since.
Sources:
The Constitution Allows for Term-Limited Supreme Court Justices; by Nancy Gertner, a retired United States district judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts; The Brennan Center for Justice; 19-Dec-24
Because it is not so easy to change the Constitution MAGA can’t do it as Orban did. Amendments to the Constitution are needed to add requirements or limits on the Courts and presidents. I suspect “tests” and “clean criminal records” would hand more tools to abuse the system to a future corrupt president.
We have Justices who engaged in corruption. That would be enough to bring impeachment.
Don’t give up too soon. Virginia joins a national effort to ensure only popular vote winners become president; NPR; 14-Apr-26; https://tinyurl.com/26a32jua
The Senators can’t be electors so I guess you mean the formula for the number of electors. I guarantee you after the changes in Hungary’s constitution, their constitution with the 2/3 majority of Orban’s made it much more complicated and difficult for the opposition to win. Although we complain about how difficult it is to amend the US Constitution, it has kept the Orange Menace from being able to change it.
Problems that appear to be similar cannot necessarily be resolved in the same ways.
Since WW II, Hungary’s government has been a roller coaster ride for its citizens:
1945-1948. The Independent Smallholders' Party nationalized Hungary’s infrastructure.
1947-1949. Matyas Rakosi, a Russian puppet, established a communist dictatorship.
1949-1956. Hungary became a repressive Stalinist dictatorship; rights were truncated.
1956. The failed Hungarian uprising was crushed by the Soviet Army.
1956-1988. “Ghoulash Communism”: János Kádár; less repression, better life quality
1989-1990. Transition to democracy following the fall of the Berlin wall.
1990-2010. Parliamentary (alternating L/R center governments); joined NATO in 1999
2010-2026. Orbán Era
The US does not have this 80 year history of repression. The extended yolk from which Hungarians freed themselves (a WIP) differs historically from the decade of increasing authoritarianism the US is experiencing. Lessons may be learned and maps may be drawn from their experience, but we have to find our own way out of our dark forest.
I would say that at minimum, three things would need to happen before the U.S. could even begin to undertake reforms like Hungary's.
Rump would have to be prevented from subverting/canceling the election.
Dems would have to turn out in numbers sufficient to guarantee unassailable majorities in both Houses.
Dems would have to throw out their "no looking in the rearview mirror" M.O. once and for all. That is, they'd have to grow spines and actually commit to investigating and prosecuting all the Rump lackeys. Then they'd have to do the heavy lifting of making genuine changes to help people, not just tinker around the edges.
It's going to be a brutal uphill slop but f the Hungrian people can do it?
America surely can
But
We must STOP
GOP Billionaires from taking over all Media & always controlling the narrative
We must get the VOTE out in numbers to big to steal
When. only 36% of US voted in 2024?
Trump, Musk, Thiel & their fellow FASCISTS once agin installed a corrupt, incompetent & malicious group of people whose only qualifications was loyalty to Trump, not US!
As I said above, we have good reason to doubt any percentages associated with the 2024 election.
There was widespread vote caging; secret purging of voter rolls to the tune of tens of thousands of votes (voters didn't know until they arrived at the polls); provisional ballots tossed because reasons; mail-in ballots tossed on questionable technicalities; rules changed after early voting had begun; and other GOP dirty tricks, including Musk's interference. Mark Elias has said that if every legal ballot had been counted, Harris would have won.
Bottom line, we just don't know for sure what really happened.
Maybe there is a use for AI in news. A running commentary on the truthiness of the speaker. Opinions would be OK, but "misleading" statements would not. Ah well. When the Public wants to be fooled, they will be fooled. By a Fool.
I certainly hope so. I thought our fellow citizens would have learned from 1.0 what a terrible idea it would be to vote for him again. He’s destroying our democracy not to mention his wacky cabinet members it’s like a farce.
The craving for power which characterizes the governing class in every nation is hostile to any limitation of the national sovereignty. This political power-hunger is wont to batten on the activities of another group, whose aspirations are on purely mercenary, economic lines. I have specially in mind that small but determined group, active in every nation, composed of individuals who, indifferent to social considerations and restraints, regard warfare, the manufacture and sale of arms, simply as an occasion to advance their personal interests and enlarge their personal authority.
[H]ow is it possible for this small clique to bend the will of the majority, who stand to lose and suffer by a state of war, to the service of their ambitions? … An obvious answer to this question would seem to be that the minority, the ruling class at present, has the schools and press, usually the Church as well, under its thumb. This enables it to organize and sway the emotions of the masses, and make its tool of them. Only one answer is possible. Because man has within him a lust for hatred and destruction. In normal times this passion exists in a latent state, it emerges only in unusual circumstances; but it is a comparatively easy task to call it into play and raise it to the power of a collective psychosis.
I would love to get Fox noise off cable television. I believe it would help change the division in America.
Yup
As it isn't an OFFICIAL state propaganda machine, the First Amendment makes that hard. But I'd think a new administration could find ways to criticize it or warn against it.
Hard given the First Amendment but an honest FCC Chair could apply some real pressure. As former MN Senator Al Franken had the right to tear them apart ("Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them" (2003), they have the right, within First Amendment limits, to be donkeys
An honest FCC and maybe FTC too? I think a huge problem has been the monopolization of the big media companies. These oligarchs are buying these corporations and basically control the information getting out and of course they are trying to get into the president's good graces. These huge mergers have got to stop! I don't know how they get away with it?
Absolutely yes, and maybe the FEC, too, so we might have fair(er) elections? And the SEC to crack down the the FTC and other regulatory agencies on insider trading. It seems that this is all out of the Project 2025 playbook and designed to create their USA by killing ours. 2026 may be the best hope we have to curtail it.
My greatest fear is that when the dems win the mid-terms, and even the 2028 election, they will not follow through and clean house of the major republican corruption. These indecent sycophants must go and be punished for their crimes. They will have placed the Country back DECADES by these elections, and it will take decades to correct the harm they have done!
Winning the midterms still means the veto power exists in 47. To really accomplish what you describe, they have to win at least the House (and far better if the Senate, too) in the midterms and then collect the Presidency in 2028. They only have 2 years before the 2030 midterms to get things done. I heard an idea yesterday with which I agree: Dems need to flood the zone and undo as much damage and advance as many correcting steps as they can in the first 100 days, with most of those in the first 30 days, before the GOP can react.
I remember being in Budapest a few years ago and remarked to my husband that there were no newsstands and newspapers like we have here. And then I thought they have no need for them as the government controls all the media. I remember the cold chill down my back and I actually felt sadness for these people. How little did I know we would be approaching their situation just a few years later!
I highly recommend reading this account of Orbán's dismantling of democracy, expertly written by a self-described Hungarian "housewife". This is the history of Orban's systematic destruction of democracy, that MAGA holds up as their "model" government. And how it collapsed! A lesson for us all...
https://razkaca.substack.com/p/i-lived-in-orbans-hungary-this-is?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=2rctb
This tracks very well with what we see here right down to candidates who win often being new on the political scene. It is not a coincidence our circumstances are so comparable to Hungary. First of all there is human nature to consider. Just as important is the way the so-called “conservative” GOP began looking to Orban for a template to destroy our institutions and gain power.
In 2022 Orban was a favorite of the US rightwing as it looked to spread its one wing even further. CPAC welcomed Orban in Dallas at its annual conference. He gave the opening speech. https://www.npr.org/2022/08/04/1115541985/why-hungarys-authoritative-leader-is-drawing-conservative-crowds-in-the-u-s
Credentials were withheld from major or ‘legacy’ news outlets. In 2023 when CPAC held a 2 day conference in Hungary, Orban was again a main speaker (standing ovations). Since at least 2021 he was being promoted by the likes of Tucker Carlson.
— “In opening comments, CPAC chairman Matt Schlapp said that CPAC in the U.S. had decided to "go Hungarian" in their approach to the media, deciding for themselves "who is a journalist and who is not a journalist" when determining which outlets to allow into their events. — https://www.politico.com/newsletters/politico-influence/2026/04/14/cpac-lands-in-new-hungarian-pms-crosshairs-00871675
He is quoted as saying to “have our own media” is the key to political power. Some reporting noted that Orban held ‘side meetings’ to advise on strategies.
With all the obstacles that face us we can be glad that here the president & Congress cannot amend the Constitution on their own. Our judicial system is compromised but still functioning. There is reason to hope for change here too.
Yes
All things are possible under the sun
Uplifting to read this!
We need this kind of leadership.
We must cultivate the will.
Hungary shows us this is possible.
Excerpt:
“We will suspend this channel’s news service,” Magyar said. “This isn’t about me; I’m not seeking revenge. Our people deserve journalism that reflects the truth.”
He promised to end “the factory of lies” and create “independent, impartial” news operations “together with the other parliamentary parties and professional organizations.”
….
Thank you for your work and this article- helpful
An American reset will be similar to but not exactly like Hungary. I look to FDR and his New Deal Congress. Congress and the Executive branch must combine their separate powers and start by reinstating Civil Service professionalism, reinstate Congressional control over appropriations and war powers, etc. etc. However, what will kill this is allowing Republicans to undermine the effort from the sidelines as Trump did during the Biden administration.
As to the media situation, the FCC must be updated to meet the moment of unrestricted propaganda dominating political discourse. Reform is going to come about by defending and shoring up existing constitutional systems that work very well contingent on all politicians acting in good faith. There are structural frameworks which can make it more likely than not that we shore up democracy. We have to be able to articulate and get the public on board with the fact that Trump and his followers do not act in good faith. Nor do they have the best interest of American citizens in mind.
Therefore, Democrats in power must forcefully make the case for democracy and pursue their plan as if they were prosecutors making a case to the public. Which, is really what they are. And the examples cited in this article tell me that is what Magyar is doing. He is making a very public case against the theories and practices of the Orban gang.
And that is the major lesson we must take here. It is time to play offense while playing by the rules. Because we aren't just trying to win this game, we have to also put the goal posts back where they belong.
There is one difference between the Hungarian voters and Americans. The corruption is just beginning to break through here to many people & not be seen as a distant issue — “they are all the same.” Americans are feeling the rising daily expenses, healthcare crunch & unaffordable housing while seeing the lavish spending at the WH & war(s).
In Hungary it had reached the point where the corruption was not distant but directly seen & felt in their daily lives.
• There was the matter of modernizing streetlights. Everyone had to use the same consultant (in business with Orban’s son-in-law) who would refer them to the same company (owned by Orban’s son-in-law). There is other reporting with drone footage showing that only some areas, spotty at best, ever get new streetlights. The others are dark. The EU froze funding for the project and Orban picked it up.
• EU delegates found “… that no matter what hotels they booked for these official visits, the Orbán government would somehow find a way to unbook them from the hotels where they wanted to stay and rebook them into one of the hotels owned by Tiborcz.” Tiborcz = Orban’s son-in-law.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/hungary-prototype-trump-autocratic-power-205144205.html
• Perhaps worst of all is/was the bribery which extended to healthcare - called “gratuities”. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1570837/
Irecently read th
Besides Fox we need to reform CBS. I think leadership in the Democratic Party should go to Hungary and meet with the Prime Minister. We are dealing with all the same problems that they are and need fixing.
We have a broken two party system. The leadership of the Democratic Party is not much better than the Republican Party. They may be more concerned with the everyday lives of people, but they are as entrenched in the leadership and political system as the Republicans. Would it kill the Democrats to select newer members of Congress to party posts? I’m sorry but Schumer, Jeffries, Hoyer and Durbin have been in charge long enough. Time to bring some new blood along.
Hoyer and Durbin are leaving the Senate.
Jeffries has been the House minority leader for 3 yrs.
Will enough eligible American voters register and vote? It all depended on voter turnout in 2024. We failed to defeat a felon, convicted of fraud and also indicted by two federal grand juries on charges of grave criminal misconduct against the U.S.
Hungarians turned out more than 75% of voters to defeat Orban. Americans certainly can defeat Trump and his minions, but will we? Make impeachment, conviction and removal from office viable again.
Our government couldn’t shut down MAGA media, change the constitution so easily, and get rid of Supreme Court puppets even if Democrats do crush it in the midterms and win the presidency back in 2028. But majority rule changes could happen to bring back sanity.
Supreme Court justices with terms that expire, or they can be impeached for enabling criminal behavior. Presidents should pass psych tests and have clean criminal records as a Minimum! The American people need to be able to bring law suits against the president and cabinet for crimes against humanity! Changes will come in the next few years. Rational behavior of elected and appointed officials, and sound judgment on behalf of the people must be foundational.
Since the Constitution provides no way to kick out justices without impeachment, I rather like the "court packing" plan FDR proposed. Congress CAN control the size of the court. FDR's plan didn't "add" justices, as in making the court permanently 11. Instead, it set an age at which justices could CHOOSE to retire. If they chose not to, THEN a new position would be added, bringing the court up to 10 (or more depending on number of elders). When the justices decided they WOULD retire, the court would revert to 9, with the new one already able to take the place of the retiring one.
In FDR's case, the Congress (and the voters) still liked the Supreme Court and so this didn't pass--not because it couldn't have, but because it was felt there was no need. The court didn't need a weatherman; it started approving New Deal statutes. Today, I'd guess support for the current court is near zero for voters.
There are other, better ways, including this one: “Staggered 18-year terms would bring regular turnover to the bench. The result would be a Court that better reflects prevailing public values.” Brennan Center For Justice; 20-Jun-23; https://tinyurl.com/rsz2v8n7
The problem is the life tenure. I'm not sure the regular/senior split would work; I don't know whether the constitution allows keeping them from a vote once senior. And if not, do we WANT someone who isn't actively involved in hearing oral argument, etc to be having a vote? I've skimmed the place you cited: it doesn't really answer that, just hopes. And of course, who would decide on the constitutionality of that statute?? The FDR idea, which the article does touch on, avoids that. No one HAS to leave, but may find him/herself suddenly in the minority. Otherwise, that piece is a good one.
It could be combined with making the court more like 11 than 9. THAT I'm quite sure Congress has power to do.
Increasing the number of Justices would work and it really nothing more than a logistical problem to have a retiring Justice participate in oral argument and when they occur, the Court’s deliberations. “There is no question that the U.S. Supreme Court must have term limits, a mandatory retirement age, or both. The only question is how to accomplish it. Recent versions of Supreme Court reform call for justices to take “senior status” after 18 years of active service. Under this proposal, justices would serve in an active capacity for that time period, after which they would assume senior status. Senior justices would not leave judicial service entirely, but rather take on new duties, such as deciding original jurisdiction cases, hearing cases on circuit courts as needed, or filling in for recused justices.”
Article III Section I (ratified in 1788) provides that: “The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services, a Compensation, which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office.” Congress saw gaps and jumped in the next year with The Judiciary Act of 1789. The structure and number of Justices has varied ever since.
Sources:
The Constitution Allows for Term-Limited Supreme Court Justices; by Nancy Gertner, a retired United States district judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts; The Brennan Center for Justice; 19-Dec-24
The Judiciary Act of 1789; Supreme Court Historical Society; https://tinyurl.com/55bf45p8
Because it is not so easy to change the Constitution MAGA can’t do it as Orban did. Amendments to the Constitution are needed to add requirements or limits on the Courts and presidents. I suspect “tests” and “clean criminal records” would hand more tools to abuse the system to a future corrupt president.
We have Justices who engaged in corruption. That would be enough to bring impeachment.
The US is constitutionally incapable of effecting any such radical cleansing of corruption. Electoral College, two senators per state etc.
Don’t give up too soon. Virginia joins a national effort to ensure only popular vote winners become president; NPR; 14-Apr-26; https://tinyurl.com/26a32jua
The Senators can’t be electors so I guess you mean the formula for the number of electors. I guarantee you after the changes in Hungary’s constitution, their constitution with the 2/3 majority of Orban’s made it much more complicated and difficult for the opposition to win. Although we complain about how difficult it is to amend the US Constitution, it has kept the Orange Menace from being able to change it.
Problems that appear to be similar cannot necessarily be resolved in the same ways.
Since WW II, Hungary’s government has been a roller coaster ride for its citizens:
1945-1948. The Independent Smallholders' Party nationalized Hungary’s infrastructure.
1947-1949. Matyas Rakosi, a Russian puppet, established a communist dictatorship.
1949-1956. Hungary became a repressive Stalinist dictatorship; rights were truncated.
1956. The failed Hungarian uprising was crushed by the Soviet Army.
1956-1988. “Ghoulash Communism”: János Kádár; less repression, better life quality
1989-1990. Transition to democracy following the fall of the Berlin wall.
1990-2010. Parliamentary (alternating L/R center governments); joined NATO in 1999
2010-2026. Orbán Era
The US does not have this 80 year history of repression. The extended yolk from which Hungarians freed themselves (a WIP) differs historically from the decade of increasing authoritarianism the US is experiencing. Lessons may be learned and maps may be drawn from their experience, but we have to find our own way out of our dark forest.
I would say that at minimum, three things would need to happen before the U.S. could even begin to undertake reforms like Hungary's.
Rump would have to be prevented from subverting/canceling the election.
Dems would have to turn out in numbers sufficient to guarantee unassailable majorities in both Houses.
Dems would have to throw out their "no looking in the rearview mirror" M.O. once and for all. That is, they'd have to grow spines and actually commit to investigating and prosecuting all the Rump lackeys. Then they'd have to do the heavy lifting of making genuine changes to help people, not just tinker around the edges.
It's going to be a brutal uphill slop but f the Hungrian people can do it?
America surely can
But
We must STOP
GOP Billionaires from taking over all Media & always controlling the narrative
We must get the VOTE out in numbers to big to steal
When. only 36% of US voted in 2024?
Trump, Musk, Thiel & their fellow FASCISTS once agin installed a corrupt, incompetent & malicious group of people whose only qualifications was loyalty to Trump, not US!
As I said above, we have good reason to doubt any percentages associated with the 2024 election.
There was widespread vote caging; secret purging of voter rolls to the tune of tens of thousands of votes (voters didn't know until they arrived at the polls); provisional ballots tossed because reasons; mail-in ballots tossed on questionable technicalities; rules changed after early voting had begun; and other GOP dirty tricks, including Musk's interference. Mark Elias has said that if every legal ballot had been counted, Harris would have won.
Bottom line, we just don't know for sure what really happened.
We need to counteract citizens united as quickly as we can. Otherwise every effort will be undermined.
Maybe there is a use for AI in news. A running commentary on the truthiness of the speaker. Opinions would be OK, but "misleading" statements would not. Ah well. When the Public wants to be fooled, they will be fooled. By a Fool.
I certainly hope so. I thought our fellow citizens would have learned from 1.0 what a terrible idea it would be to vote for him again. He’s destroying our democracy not to mention his wacky cabinet members it’s like a farce.
A letter from Albert Einstein to Sigmund Freud; 30 July, 1932; https://tinyurl.com/ynvdjr6v
The craving for power which characterizes the governing class in every nation is hostile to any limitation of the national sovereignty. This political power-hunger is wont to batten on the activities of another group, whose aspirations are on purely mercenary, economic lines. I have specially in mind that small but determined group, active in every nation, composed of individuals who, indifferent to social considerations and restraints, regard warfare, the manufacture and sale of arms, simply as an occasion to advance their personal interests and enlarge their personal authority.
[H]ow is it possible for this small clique to bend the will of the majority, who stand to lose and suffer by a state of war, to the service of their ambitions? … An obvious answer to this question would seem to be that the minority, the ruling class at present, has the schools and press, usually the Church as well, under its thumb. This enables it to organize and sway the emotions of the masses, and make its tool of them. Only one answer is possible. Because man has within him a lust for hatred and destruction. In normal times this passion exists in a latent state, it emerges only in unusual circumstances; but it is a comparatively easy task to call it into play and raise it to the power of a collective psychosis.