A Weaponized Bureaucracy: The Slow Erosion of American Democracy
How America Will Become Unamerican
By Dino Alonso
You know how we’ve been joking that fascism shows up in jackboots at midnight? Yeah. Forget that. It’s creeping in through spreadsheets and memos like “efficiency” plans and “cure” notices that land weeks after Election Day. I’ve watched it spread from North Carolina’s Supreme Court to the Pentagon, State Department, Education Dept, and CDC. We’re being carved out like a roast, one procedural ambush at a time, until nothing is left but bone. Here are just a few highlights:
1. Courts as the New Battlefield
Do you remember Justice Riggs’ win in North Carolina by 734 votes? I just wrote about it the other day (see: How Post-Election Lawsuits Are Throwing Out Legitimate Votes). Three recounts, iron-clad victory—and still a Trump-aligned judge insists on a months-late “cure” for military ballots over microscopic nitpicks of no credibility whatsoever. Pennsylvania, Michigan, Arizona: rinse and repeat. Lose at the ballot box? File suit, stall certification, plant seeds of doubt—then flip the outcome. It’s not a random thing; “it’s the Losers Guide to Foulplay.” Voters who filled out their ballots correctly now receive confusing notices demanding signatures on forms they didn’t even know existed. We can’t let this slide, and if we do, every tight race becomes provisional—and democracy gets diminished, one lawsuit at a time.
2. The Pentagon as Reality-TV
Imagine an enlisted comms guy leaking a fighter squadron’s strike data and getting sent to Leavenworth. Now meet Pete Hegseth, civilian SecDef, casually texting live war-plane schedules to his wife, brother, and personal lawyer. No consequences, no shame—as long as he passes his loyalty tests, he remains the man in charge who can’t keep a secret, even if it jeopardizes lives. The chain of command fails when classified strategy becomes gossip and career officers are purged for Fox-fueled sycophancy. Believe this 20-year veteran: everyone from Russia to Iran to Turkey is watching: the world’s most formerly effective military, reduced to a damn three ring circus.
3. Diplomacy on Life Support
Let’s see. Slice out 134 State Department offices, cut out 700 D.C. jobs, kill off human-rights and war-crimes bureaus—and call it “leaner and meaner.” Behind this endless ineffectual PR spin is a power grab: slash expertise, hide the scraps under political appointees, and watch America’s moral authority run down the toilet drain. Meanwhile, dictators cheer as our diplomats lose their teeth and America retreats into isolationism.
4. Schools and Clinics in the Crosshairs
Soft-autocracy math: N+O = P. P is for propaganda in schools. This week’s proposals to dismantle the Department of Education, slash the CDC’s chronic-disease and global-health budgets by 40%, and collapse NIH into a few crony-run fiefdoms aren’t austerity measures—they’re coups sliding in from the shadows. Educated citizens challenge authority; ignorant masses obey it (see how that works). Starve public schools and federal oversight, then hand the scraps to private “choice” operators, and you cultivate generations primed for patronage, not critical thought. Save our propeller heads!
5. The Blueprint of Authoritarianism
For all of you who didn’t know, tanks and censorship aren’t mandatory when you can neuter public institutions and drown citizens in legal fog. Germany’s Weimar Republic didn’t fall overnight; it slipped under “temporary measures” and compliant elites. Hungary didn’t outlaw dissent; it reassigned it. Today, every executive order, "reorg” memo, and post-election challenge stitches another seam in the shroud around our republic.
6. Yes. I’m Preaching Another Wake-Up Call
So, this isn't a spectator sport for those who need sports metaphors to pay attention. If we treat these moves as isolated incidents, we lose one department at a time until they are nothing but shells (or is that “shill”)? But it doesn’t have to be that way if we watchdog the administration. Remember the pattern of autocracy and take the following steps:
Stay Alert: Sign up for election board alerts. Volunteer as an observer. Share cure-notice tips with at-risk voters.
Defend Expertise: Push back on Title 42 caps that purge career scientists. Demand that experts, not propagandists, drive policy.
Lock Down Ballot Rules: Urge lawmakers to end cure processes before certification—no more cherry-picked disenfranchisement.
Build Local Firebreaks: Form small circles of trust—neighbors, teachers, vets—ready to verify facts, share alerts, and mobilize action.
Remember, democracy is not self-policing. It survives when enough of us refuse to hand our power to lawyers, loyalists, or lobbyists. The choice is stark and dark: shrug and scroll, or stand to the breach. I’d rather take my chances fighting than watching our republic crumble. This is where we draw the line—and where we have to fight for the very survival of what used to be the leader of the free world. Stand to!
If this piece helped clarify things for you, send it to one person.
Just one. That’s how we grow—one conscience at a time.
Further reading:
Against the Abyss: Tradition, Memory, and the Fight to Hold the Line Against Fascism
Source List
Adamcrai - Substack: Left Behind News Letter “Analysis: Why is Trump Trying to Dismantle the Education System?”
CNN – “Judge Orders ‘Cure’ Process for Overseas and Military Ballots in North Carolina Supreme Court Race,” April 2025
The Hill – “Post-Election Ballot-Challenge Lawsuits Spread to Pennsylvania and Michigan,” March 2025
The New York Times – “Trump Administration Proposes Dismantling Department of Education,” April 2025
Reuters – “Senator Rubio Unveils Major State Department Reorganization,” April 2025
The Washington Post – “Trump Budget Memo Calls for Deep Cuts to CDC and NIH,” April 2025
The New York Times – “Pentagon Chief Shares Live Strike Details in Private Messages,” March 2025
AP News – “Legal Observers Mobilize to Protect Ballots from Post-Election Purges”