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Culture War Roundup for the week of November 17, 2025

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Trump is calling for the arrest and trial of six Democrat lawmakers who posted a video telling the intelligence community not to follow unlawful orders,. The video claims that the current administration is threatening democracy and the constitution, and that the military "must refuse illegal orders."

Trump also apparently had another post that just said, "SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH."

This is the first time I have genuinely increased the probability of a real civil war breaking out, this is an absolutely terrifying escalation by both sides. While the Democrats were hinting extremely obviously that the military / intelligence community should basically pull off a coup, I also think that Trump hinting back that they should be executed is way beyond the pale.

Hopefully we're still in nothing ever happens land? I for one do not want to live through a civil war.

Maybe I’ve been watching too much Vaush, but this is a pretty weak-sauce video from the Democrats. Why are they still appealing to people’s consciences? It’s pretty clear that isn’t a viable strategy for stopping this stuff. The baseline UCMJ statute of limitations is 5 years. Why not come out and say, “if you obey an unlawful order, we will remember and we will prosecute you.” Show that you take it seriously. Put your own liberty on the line before asking someone else to do it for you.

An entire party of massive pussies. Maybe they’re losing because it feels emasculating to vote for them.

It’s pretty clear that isn’t a viable strategy for stopping this stuff.

They aren't trying to stop this stuff, they're campaigning for the midterms.

Yeah, that's what is so tiresome about it. It's not really about appealing to the military, whom they probably think are a bunch of ignorant white rednecks, but to signal to their own side that they are La Résistance, vote for us in the upcoming elections, we take all your concerns seriously because look, we're repeating your talking points.

I was somewhat amused that in that glowfic quoted in a different post on here because of course, naturellement, ICE are Le Ebil. Le big grand monstrous eeeeevuuuulll. Not a bunch of guys doing their jobs in a government department, nope, Big Evil. That is the attitude amongst the Bay Area Rationalist glowfic writers who are going to vote straight Democrat in the midterms, and that's the constituency this kind of video is appealing to: the military are being forced to follow illegal orders by the evil moustache-twirlers in power, and if they don't raise their consciousness enough to realise this is what is going on, well you and your views about the boots on the ground grunts have been proven to be justified.