For months, rational and thoughtful people have been warning us.  They have looked at the statements from and actions of the Trump campaign and transition team and warned us about a creeping authoritarianism. Others were less restrained- telling us to look at history. They told us to look at the Weimer Republic. The internet pushed back- said something glib about “Godwin’s Law.”

But the thing is, they were right.

As President Trump threatens the press, disseminates outright falsehoods, purges information from government websites, shuts down avenues for dissent, silences critics within the government, threatens businesses that don’t comply with his wishes and hints at martial law in a major US city, we must admit that these are not just “troubling signs.”

Years later, if the world survives, historians will write about the sweeping changes that Trump brought in his first week in office and the ease with which he dismantled our democracy.

It’s time to admit that what we are seeing is not “canaries in the coal mine” – the mine is collapsing and filling with gas. (There are about 100 dead canaries up above us from the campaign season).

These are NOT warning signs. This is it people. It’s not “troubling’ or “worrisome.” It’s here. It’s a clear and PRESENT danger. The revolution already started. And we’re losing.