But I won’t subject my Swiss husband to a USA visit. Last time we were there (for my mom’s funeral), he stepped out of an Upland South Walmart to decompress from culture shock/sensory overload only to find the guy standing next to him openly carrying a semi-automatic rifle and eyeing him with that “You ain’t from around here, are you?” look. And that’s just *one* shock.

And heartsick at what we are seeing.

But two+ things can be true at once: empathy for Americans *and* reluctance to subject oneself to human rights violations. We’ve been together for 26+ years. He knows.

I once visited China many years ago when it was under very strict communist military rule.
I felt so sorry for the downtrodden and starving chinese.
And terrified the police would come after our American group.

Yes we totally toed the line.
The police were everywhere.

I had my camera confiscated and also was yelled at and pushed by the soldiers
because I sat down near a fountain. Chinese were not allowed to sit down in public or at the airport.

And this was the Chinese giving Americans special consideration.

But it seems we’re on that path.

No one will stop them.

The Chinese soldiers/police were totally out of control all the time.

The Chinese pimple were terrified, very thin, gray colored skin and old clothing.
Scared of everything. They kept their eyes down and scurried everywhere.

The American emails were examined every day.
Everything confiscated the police didn't like.
Hassled and put in our place.

We were never so glad to leave a country in our lives.

ETA: In our wildest dreams we never thought this would be the USA one day.

I’m so past feeling embarrassed—that was during Bush and Trump 1. Now it’s full-on mourning, empathy, and a kind of cultural and anticipatory survivor’s guilt that’s only about me in these very few respects. Many people are suffering and I expect that to only get worse if we don’t manage to change course.

Don't feel guilty about being far away.
Many of us would get out of the US if we could do so.

Yes I think it is going to get much worse before it gets better.

Our critics aren't falling out of windows, yet.

Hillary, Bill, Obama, etc

Sickening abuse of power.

Not sure about Bill.

I’m convinced.

Destroyed.

The message is clear to everyone.
Never ever speak out against evil.

into custody?

if in fact this one isn’t sealed, is by registering a PACER account, which I’m not curious enough at this point to do, as I hope we’ll learn more from the media.

The Daily Mail is reporting that the raid is related to allegations that Bolton used a private e-mail server to send sensitive documents to his family.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15027039/amp/FBI-raid-John-Bolton-classified-documents-investigation.html

The NY Attorney General would be at the top of my list. The DOJ have been taking selfies outside of her apartment. Leitia James is her name isn't it?

to act against those they *really* hate, like Presidents Obama, Biden, and Clinton, SCOTUS Justices Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson, et al, so they’re plucking lower-hanging “fruit.” Because they’re essentially gutless, tyranny will continue to trickle down, with the most vulnerable targeted first.