[jeffkrol]

Stage 1 is pretty well set in this country.. Stage 3 is part of the Patriot Act.....

But the real key to regime survival has been what RAND Corporation analyst James Quinlivan calls “coup-proofing.” In an influential 1999 study, Quinlivan itemized the basic safeguards for dictatorships. First: consolidate an inner core bound to the regime by “family, ethnic, and religious loyalties”—in essence, a mafia, with goodfellas in various guises protecting the big guy’s back (and their own; if he goes down, so do they). Second: create a parallel military devoted to regime protection, like Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, which does the Supreme Leader’s bidding while the remnants of the shah’s Army stand by. Third: maintain multiple secret police, security, and espionage services that spend much of their time keeping each other in check.

How Dictators Maintain Their Grip on Power - Newsweek

[Ratmagiclady]

Well, on #2, there's always the mercenary/ 'private security' companies like the formerly-known as Blackwater, and others. They've got some, well, interesting ties and a big chunk of all those no-bid contracts from Iraq to equip themselves and recruit, all on the public's tab...

[Wheatfield]

Is this going to be a scary-ass thread for us foreigners?

[Parallax]

Is this going to be a scary-ass thread for us foreigners?

Right words, Bill; wrong order. Allow me--------

"Is this going to be a thread for us scary-ass foreigners?"

[Ratmagiclady]

Who needs conspiracies when there's base motives, gamed systems, and reflexive denial (and projection) of the obvious?



Yeah, it's scary. But it's also no more likely to *work* than this kind of thing every really has.

I'd advise giving it a miss. We've all got better and more important things to be doing.

[jeffkrol]

Is this going to be a scary-ass thread for us foreigners?

Nope just Wisconsinites.. seems phase 2 could be the State police w/ the papa Fitzgerald as head of the state patrol (67yr old father of Walkers #1 enforcer)

[Nesster]

Luckily there's a ballot box / recall remedy for this Glenn Beckian scenario, and unlike with the real dictators, tear gas, rubber bullets and worse won't be used against citizens.

[jeffkrol]

Luckily there's a ballot box / recall remedy for this Glenn Beckian scenario, and unlike with the real dictators, tear gas, rubber bullets and worse won't be used against citizens.

Well since he wants "police powers" to sell infastructure Gov owned power plants) at any price to anyone and add fun laws like:
Wisconsin governor signs bill to make tax hike votes tougher | Reuters

The measure, which was proposed by the Republican governor, requires a two-thirds majority vote in the Senate and Assembly to raise income, sales or franchise tax rates instead of a simple majority vote.

The bill signing signaled that Walker was trying to get the state back to work despite massive protests against his plan to curb union bargaining rights of public employees to help eliminate a budget deficit.

"I went to work today, met with my cabinet, and signed legislation that will help government operate within its means," Walker said in a statement. "Wisconsinites can't turn to raising taxes to balance their own family budgets when times get tough. This bill will ensure that we don't kick the can down the road for a quick budget fix only to slap a long-term tax hike on the backs of Wisconsin taxpayers."

Wisconsin governor signs bill to make tax hike votes tougher | Reuters
Though he wants to "kick the can down the road on $165 million....

Under Walker's proposal, Wisconsin's general obligation bonds would be restructured and that would push debt service payments due by March 15 into future years to save the current state budget $165 million.

then cut.......

Walker also said that he would propose a new budget on Tuesday that cuts $1 billion to state aid for schools and local governments.

Wisconsin's Walker to absent Democrats: 24 hours to return | Reuters
Even a recall won't be fast enough.

[mikemike]

Its probably just a scam like most of the insurance that they try to sell.

When you actually do face a coup the insurance company will look for a way to cancel your coverage or deny your claim and if they do accept your claim you have to pay a huge deductible without a 100% guarantee that the mercenaries can suppress the coup. Then just wait to see how much they hike your premium next year after you filed a claim!!!

Its better to just save the premiums in a swiss bank account and run away and enjoy your retirement with the money you stole during your decades of oppression.

[Ratmagiclady]

I
When you actually do face a coup the insurance company will look for a way to cancel your coverage or deny your claim and if they do accept your claim you have to pay a huge deductible without a 100% guarantee that the mercenaries can suppress the coup. Then just wait to see how much they hike your premium next year after you filed a claim!!!

That'd be why the GOP wants to repeal what was left of healthcare 'reform.'

[jeffkrol]

Man we got a screwed up state........
Gov. Scott Walker's Secret Weapon: The Wisconsin Veto - Jordan Ellenberg - Politics - The Atlantic

What most people outside Wisconsin don't know is that our governor wields a veto power on appropriations bills so strong as to be frankly comic. It's not just a line-item veto; Walker has the power to veto individual phrases and words (PDF) -- like "not" -- from sentences. If the state Senate returns to session and passes a bill with time limits on Walker's favored provisions, he can strip out the new language and sign his own decompromised version into law. If that sounds crazy, keep in mind that until 2008 governors of Wisconsin could -- and did! -- veto multi-page sections of bills, leaving in place only eight or nine words spelling out a law the governor wanted to enact. And that, in turn, was a much-narrowed version of the so-called "Vanna White veto" power enjoyed by Wisconsin governors prior to 1990, when they could veto individual letters out of words and individual digits out of numbers.

[Ratmagiclady]

Man we got a screwed up state........
Gov. Scott Walker's Secret Weapon: The Wisconsin Veto - Jordan Ellenberg - Politics - The Atlantic

Do you think those pictured Praetorians would be more friendly if we offered them more dignified *hats?* Gods.

[jolepp]

Do you think those pictured Praetorians would be more friendly if we offered them more dignified *hats?* Gods.

[jeffkrol]

Let's see how it looks on our new "dear leader"