I almost get tired of saying this, but here we are again. Ad baculum (threats of force or intimidation) against the civil liberties of the people or the press are authoritarian. This is how democracies die.

Trump is a dangerous demagogue, not a president.
Trump uses ad baculum when he isn't getting his way. He can't persuade, so he threatens. It's a sign that he's losing (he is losing).
In other words, it seems like a show of force, but actually it's a show of weakness. If he was in a strong position (winning the election) he wouldn't threaten. He would persuade.
Ad baculum is a distraction technique ("ad" means "to" in Latin). Here Trump wants to re-route our attention/distract from whatever is trending on Twitter to his Biden opp, so he deploys the ad baculum. Now we attend to the threat or comply with his demands.

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More from @jenmercieca

29 Oct
Wow. Read @michaelkruse's great/terrifying 45 Self-Evident Truths About Donald Trump: politi.co/31SEu7j via @politico
Everyone read this. It distills Trump's essential qualities into 45 traits. Once you read it you'll realize that you can't give Trump any kind of opening to claim victory. He will claim victory anyway, even without an opening. When he loses he will still say that he won.
He will attack. He will threaten. He will sue. He will change the subject. He will lie. He will use conspiracy theory. He will use bluster. He will never stop declaring victory, even though he lost.

He'll do that for himself, and only for himself.
Read 12 tweets
28 Oct
I've started my Election Cake by soaking my dried cherries & apricots in dark rum + orange blossom water (added orange & lemon zests for funsies). @1lisameid did you decide to make one too?

afamilyfeast.com/hartford-elect…
One bonus with this cake is it asks for orange blossom water, which I happened to buy from our specialty market a while back and I had no idea what I'd do with it. Election Cake!
I've never made a yeasted cake before. Cake bread? A fruit bread? Whatever, this this is totes 18th century.
Read 4 tweets
27 Oct
2nd grade zoom report: teacher is currently teaching about racism and #BLM

in Texas.
Kids are repeating some racist & sexist garbage to their teacher. This teacher is telling those kids to go ask their parents where they got that information. She says it doesn't sound like they have good information & they should ask their parents for sources. In Texas.😂
My 7 yo is now very woke and demanding that Biden reform the police when he's elected. 🥰
Read 4 tweets
20 Oct
My students are reading Henry Giroux's 1992 essay, "Educational Leadership and the Crisis of Democratic Government."
I'm a pro-democracy educator.
Read 4 tweets
20 Oct
Just want to tweet out this great image of everyone laughing at @TheRickWilson's paralipsis (I'm not saying; I'm just saying) joke last night. Thank you again for having me on The Breakdown last night @ProjectLincoln! I'm going to thread Trump's strategies here for folks.
Trump uses three strategies to ingratiate himself with his followers: ad populum (appealing to the wisdom of Trump's people), paralipsis (I'm not saying; I'm just saying), and American Exceptionalism (America's unique role in the world, for Trump "winning").
Trump uses three strategies to divide himself & his followers from everyone else: ad baculum (threats of force/intimidation), ad hominem (attacking the person instead of their argument), and reification (treating people as objects).
Read 5 tweets
19 Oct
<whispers> guess who gets to chat with @TaraSetmayer and @TheRickWilson tonight?
It's their nightly show "The Breakdown," 8CT/9ET. It streams in all of the places.
I do hope that we do not have to breakdown anything related to "electoral simulations" @TaraSetmayer @TheRickWilson 😳 I will giggle, I swear.
Read 4 tweets

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