mrorel
mrorel
Things I Find Interesting
3K posts
What I love What I hate What I feel
Don't wanna be here? Send us removal request.
mrorel · 4 hours ago
Text
"When citizens must think twice about criticizing or opposing the government because they could credibly face government retribution, they no longer live in a full democracy."
—Steven Levitsky, Lucan Way and Daniel Ziblatt
Tumblr media
The three political scientists who wrote this opinion column maintain that we in the U.S. have already pretty much lost our democracy because Trump has been turning our nation into a "competitive autocracy."
I encourage people to read the entire column. The concept of "competitive autocracy" offers perhaps the best explanation I have heard of what is happening under the Trump administration. This is a gift 🎁 link, so there is no paywall. Below are some excerpts.
Tumblr media
How will Americans know when we have lost our democracy?
Authoritarianism is harder to recognize than it used to be. Most 21st-century autocrats are elected. Rather than violently suppress opposition like Castro or Pinochet, today’s autocrats convert public institutions into political weapons, using law enforcement, tax and regulatory agencies to punish opponents and bully the media and civil society onto the sidelines. We call this competitive authoritarianism — a system in which parties compete in elections but the systematic abuse of an incumbent’s power tilts the playing field against the opposition. It is how autocrats rule in contemporary Hungary, India, Serbia and Turkey and how Hugo Chávez ruled in Venezuela. [...] How, then, can we tell whether America has crossed the line into authoritarianism? We propose a simple metric: the cost of opposing the government. In democracies, citizens are not punished for peacefully opposing those in power. They need not worry about publishing critical opinions, supporting opposition candidates or engaging in peaceful protest because they know they will not suffer retribution from the government. In fact, the idea of legitimate opposition — that all citizens have a right to criticize, organize opposition to and seek to remove the government through elections — is a foundational principle of democracy.
Under authoritarianism, by contrast, opposition comes with a price. Citizens and organizations that run afoul of the government become targets of a range of punitive measures: Politicians may be investigated and prosecuted on baseless or petty charges, media outlets may be hit with frivolous defamation suits or adverse regulatory rulings, businesses may face tax audits or be denied critical contracts or licenses, universities and other civic institutions may lose essential funding or tax-exempt status, and journalists, activists and other critics may be harassed, threatened or physically attacked by government supporters.
When citizens must think twice about criticizing or opposing the government because they could credibly face government retribution, they no longer live in a full democracy.
By that measure, America has crossed the line into competitive authoritarianism. The Trump administration’s weaponization of government agencies and flurry of punitive actions against critics has raised the cost of opposition for a wide range of Americans.
[color emphasis added]
168 notes · View notes
mrorel · 4 hours ago
Text
Subspace
Tumblr media
97 notes · View notes
mrorel · 4 hours ago
Text
Not a bad use of the chocolate ... I won't eat but it's okay to bake with. And a little lead isn't going to hurt.
Tumblr media
47K notes · View notes
mrorel · 4 hours ago
Text
Asymmetrical
Tumblr media
Unknown model late 1950s
1K notes · View notes
mrorel · 4 hours ago
Text
That is the expression!
Tumblr media
67 notes · View notes
mrorel · 4 hours ago
Text
Tumblr media
2 notes · View notes
mrorel · 4 hours ago
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Dave Peters ( I miss him he passed away last Sept 2024 he used to help me all the time here on FB pages) SR-71 Pilot was recorded in his last and only interview that was released a few months ago :
Some of the highlights are: after the Vietnam War that they were only accepting one or two new SR-71 pilots a YEAR . Dave spent a lot of time waiting for the chance to be a pilot in the SR 71 .Dave waited for a year and a half while he took a staff job at Beale Air Force Base. Then Dave had to wait again when the RSO that was paired with him in ground school and the simulator washed out because he just couldn’t get his head the speed. 100 hours in the simulator before you could receive your first check out with an experienced RSO in the airplane the SR-71 After that he had to get 100 hours in the SR71 while. Only flying at most once a week which also took a long time before you could go operational (Mildenhall or Kadena)
Dave talks about the checklist for the pilots in the SR 71 is about 3 inches thick. It’s the only airplane that I know of Dave said that you could put the checklist together anyway that you wanted to. He believed that they were encouraging independent thinking .
The SR-71 tore down the 15000 feet long runway at Beale. I think the long wait was worth it as he felt like he was going to burn up the runway with a final departure of 210 knots acceleration of 400 kn 🔥
Dave talks about how he meets Kelly Johnson and test pilot Bill Parks with his RSO Bert Bether. They were able to spend the entire day with those two legends. What a gift.
Dave asked Kelly what is the dip in the wing that makes it look like a Klingon spaceship Kelly Johnson who designed the airplane said” I don’t know”😆 you can listen yourself to find out what the real answer was.
Linda Sheffield new article today May 5, 2025
@Habubrats71 via X
20 notes · View notes
mrorel · 4 hours ago
Text
Tumblr media
SR 71 #972 is taking off. The Blackbird burned 1,000 Pounds of fuel per minute. Although, When flying supersonic the amazing J 58 engines used less fuel. The fuel flow takeoff through initial climb to 25,000 was about 100,000 lbs per hour.
Linda Sheffield
@Habubrats71 via X
16 notes · View notes
mrorel · 4 hours ago
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
A) Anita Blond
72 notes · View notes
mrorel · 5 hours ago
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media
This is one of the very first Blackbirds TA 12 sitting outside naked, no black paint exposed to the elements. from one hand, I do hope that many people look at this beautiful airplane and ask questions. The titanium goose, was first flown in 1963 was the only pilot trainer for the CIA pilots.
Linda Sheffield
@Habubrats71 via X
17 notes · View notes
mrorel · 13 hours ago
Photo
No longer a half a gallon!
Tumblr media
Sealtest, 1953
120 notes · View notes
mrorel · 1 day ago
Text
I KNOW ... I know.
Tumblr media
Success.
And more success.
42 notes · View notes
mrorel · 1 day ago
Text
Tumblr media
372 notes · View notes
mrorel · 1 day ago
Text
Tumblr media
DEI does not mean lower standards.
You are thinking of white privilege.
65K notes · View notes
mrorel · 1 day ago
Text
It is immpressive. Just that the effort to build and maintain vs. the use ...
Tumblr media
33 notes · View notes
mrorel · 1 day ago
Text
Every day ...
Tumblr media
75 notes · View notes
mrorel · 1 day ago
Text
All too often!
Tumblr media
216 notes · View notes