American Fascism

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, One Percenters, Trumpenstan May 11, 2020

The Chilling Truth: Trump Is Willing To Kill You & Your Family To Win Reelection

Trump needs just enough of an economic bounce by November to help him slither through the piles of corpses. By Les Leopold Common Dreams (5/7/20) President Trump has finally made public his fateful choice. He’s all in on reopening the economy even if it sends the virus death count into the millions. Actually he made that choice long ago. His logic is simple but cruel. Before the virus struck, his re-election hinged on taking credit for the robust economy he inherited. With unemployment at record lows he hoped to hang onto just enough votes in the key battle ground states…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Economic Injustice, History They Don't Want You To Know May 11, 2020

What’s Really Going On Behind All The Headlines, News Updates & Trump Tweet Storms

Now the oligarchy is striking back. Forget Trump. He is just their useful idiot du jour. By John Lemberger The Commoner Call (5/10/20) Trump is many ugly things. He is a serial liar, a sexual abuser of women, a swindler, a narcissist, grifter, and psychological chameleon capable of converting from a sociopath to a psychopath right before our eyes. But he is also a Libertarian of the worst kind — the Charles Koch kind — which means he will lie, cheat and steal to destroy our majority-democracy and replace it with minority-rule Libertarianism. The important battle right now in America…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, American Socialist Tradition, Democrats, History They Don't Want You To Know, One Percenters May 11, 2020

Secretive “Dark Money” PAC Organized Specifically To Prevent Sanders From Primary Wins

“After Sanders’ path to the presidential nomination became a near-impossibility, Big Tent Project’s activity dropped precipitously—further evidence that its major purpose was defeating a federal candidate.” By Brendan Fischer Common Dreams (5/7/20) Voters from across the political spectrum are concerned about the rise of secret spending in our elections and rightly so. Political transparency is a means to advance the principles of the First Amendment by encouraging the exchange of ideas needed for voters to make informed decisions. Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) against “The Big Tent Project” for illegally hiding the identity…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, History They Don't Want You To Know, M. Taylor Columns, Resist! May 11, 2020

WORKER STRIKES! The Only Tool Left To Resist Corporate Terrorism On American Families

By Mark L. Taylor The Commoner Call (5/11/20) One of the best new sources on the failing of the liberal elite and even many elected progressives will not be found on MSNBC or any of the big players in other perches in the mainstream corporate media. no, some of the best news and commentary is to be found on the Jimmy Dore Show, a daily independent, viewer-supported YouTube broadcast. A self-described “Jagoff Comedian”, Dore has a brash — and at times, yes, profane — ‘take-no-prisoners’ approach to the news honed by 30 years of being a night club entertainer…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, American Socialist Tradition, Economic Injustice, One Percenters, Resist! May 11, 2020

Capitalism And The Empty Illusion Of American Democracy

Neoconservative foreign policy— support for right-wing coups abroad, stealth wars and the consolidation of power in the U.S. presidency, are matched through neoliberal support for Wall Street and austerity programs. By Rob Urie Counterpunch (4/24/20) Something to consider while suffering through the daily barrage of fabulist blather from Donald Trump is that if the Democrats thought it would benefit their cause, they would be putting Joe Biden front and center to counter this pain. That they aren’t suggests that they understand exactly how politically tenuous Mr. Biden is. In turn, that Joe Biden is their choice suggests that all isn’t…

'Just-Us' System, ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Democrats, One Percenters, Rethuglicans May 7, 2020

The Elites Will Have Humanity For Us Only When They Are Forced To

“There is a moment in Henry Kissinger’s memoirs — do not buy the book — when Nixon and Kissinger are looking out at tens of thousands of anti-war protesters who have surrounded the White House. Nixon had placed empty city buses in front of the White House to keep the protesters back. He worried out loud that the crowd would break through the barricades and get him and Kissinger. And that is exactly where we want people in power to be. This is why, although he was not a liberal, Nixon was our last liberal president. He was scared…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Police State America, Rethuglicans May 7, 2020

The Cowardly Right Wing Extremists Who Have No Idea What Patriotism Really Is

This is a man who punches down, not up, and who wants to have the power to decide whether his neighbors live or die. He is a bully and a coward. By Heather Cox Richardson Letters From An American (5/3/20) Jeff Kowalsky’s photograph of the “American Patriot Rally” at the Michigan statehouse on April 30 shows a large, bearded man, leaning forward, mouth open, screaming. Positioned between two police officers who are staring blankly ahead above their masks, he is focused on something they are preventing him from reaching: the legislature. His fury is palpable. The idea that such a…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Economic Injustice, One Percenters, Police State America April 30, 2020

Viral Injustice: How The Pandemic Is Unmasking The U.S Economic, Racist & Immigration Systems

America Unmasked By Jeremy Scahill Intercepted (4/29/20) THE U.S. HAS now surpassed a million confirmed Covid-19 cases and is nearing a death toll of 60,000. This week on Intercepted: While the statistics are grim, the harsh reality is how the Trump administration — as well as some governors and mayors — handled this crisis made the situation much more deadly than it should have been. New York Magazine writer Zak Cheney-Rice discusses how the economic, social, racial, and gender injustices that predate this pandemic have impacted the most vulnerable people in the United States. He also discusses Trump’s incompetence, Joe…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Economic Injustice, One Percenters April 27, 2020

Freeloading CEOs, Not The Unemployed, Are America’s True ‘moral hazard’

Many Republicans believe economic relief for those without jobs encourages slacking off. But it is grifting corporations that are bailed out again and again. By Robert Reich The Guardian (4/20/20) The coronavirus relief enacted by Congress is barely reaching Americans in need. This week, checks of up to $1,200 are being delivered through direct-deposit filings with the Internal Revenue Service. But low-income people who have not directly deposited their taxes won’t get them for weeks or months. Worse yet, the US treasury is allowing banks to seize payments to satisfy outstanding debts. Meanwhile, most of the promised $600 weekly extra unemployment benefits remain stuck in offices…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Democrats, Economic Injustice, One Percenters, Resist!, Rethuglicans April 27, 2020

‘I struck a nerve’: The Comedian Whose Rant Against Bipartisan Congressional Bailouts Of Corporations & Bilionaires Went Viral

“That video isn’t an act, that’s coming from the heart and soul. It resonated with working people because we have no voice in this country.” By Poppy Noor The Guardian (4/24/20) Vic DiBitetto is a performer, so he’s used to drawing in big crowd – but he didn’t quite expect that a recent video he made would be viewed over 10m times. The near five-minute rant about the government’s response to the coronavirus shows DiBitetto, a New Yorker, enunciating so much that spit flies around him in the car. His face is red and he barely finishes a sentence…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Economic Injustice, History They Don't Want You To Know, One Percenters April 27, 2020

Meet The Economist Behind The One Percent’s Stealthy Overthrow Of America

The Holy Grail was the Constitution: alter it and you could increase and secure the power of the wealthy in a way that no politician could ever challenge. By Lynn Parramore Institute For New Economic Thinking (5/30/18) Ask people to name the key minds that have shaped America’s burst of radical right-wing attacks on working conditions, consumer rights and public services, and they will typically mention figures like free market-champion Milton Friedman, libertarian guru Ayn Rand, and laissez-faire economists Friedrich Hayek and Ludwig von Mises. James McGill Buchanan is a name you will rarely hear unless you’ve taken several…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Economic Injustice, Rethuglicans April 23, 2020

PSST, Here’s The Plan: Save Capital & Let The People Die

Whether Americans know it or not, their government is not working for them. By Hamilton Nolan In These Times (4/6/20) Fantasize for a moment that we could set aside politics and operate based upon common sense. What would the federal government do to best mitigate the devastation that this pandemic will visit upon human beings? It would, first of all, provide free healthcare to everyone. It would distribute medical resources nationally based on the greatest need. Then, to protect people from the necessary economic deep freeze we are all in due to social distancing, the government would pursue measures…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Economic Injustice, Mike McCabe for Gov April 23, 2020

Mike McCabe: A Nation In Distress & Crippled By Corporatocracy

It all comes down to sovereignty—the question of who rules. By Mike McCabe Our Wisconsin Revolution (4/20/20) Our nation’s founders were racist, sexist, elitist and quite a few other ists. Some more than others. But they had something else in common. They hated being under the King of England’s thumb. At the time, monarchs were thought to have a divine right to rule, a mandate from heaven. To think otherwise was to deny providence. Rather than continuing to submit to royal decrees, the founders chose to deny providence. These slaveholding aristocrats did a radical, revolutionary, heretical thing. They redefined the…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Economic Injustice, History They Don't Want You To Know, One Percenters, Rethuglicans April 23, 2020

Circling The Drain: The Rich Wanted To Strangle A Tiny Government In A Bathtub To Avoid Taxes; Now It Turns Out We Need A Competent State

Right wing false economy: A “closed indefinitely” sign has literally been hung on the American economy. By Jim Hightower Other Words (4/15/20) Amazingly, America has become a nation of socialists, asking in dismay: “Where’s the government?” These are not born-again Bernie Sanders activists, but people of all political stripes (including previously apolitical multitudes) who are now clamoring for big government intervention in their lives. Nothing like a spreading coronavirus pandemic to bring home the need that all of us have — both as individuals and as a society — for an adequately funded, fully functioning, competent government capable of serving…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Economic Injustice, History They Don't Want You To Know, Progressive History April 20, 2020

“There is a crime here that goes beyond denunciation. “

“Men with hoses squirt kerosene on the oranges, and they are angry at the crime, angry at the people who have come to take the fruit. … There is a crime here that goes beyond denunciation. There is a sorrow here that weeping cannot symbolize. There is a failure here that topples all our success. … In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage.” — John Steinbeck, The Grapes Of Wrath (1939) ***** Wisconsin Dairy Industry Calls For Help As Farmers Forced To Dump Milk Amid COVID-19…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism April 20, 2020

Corporatocracy Virus: Head Of The Postal Workers Union Warns Our Public Postal Service Could Be Dead In Three Months

[Editor’s Note: Hmm, a handy way to kill off safer voting by mail? Surely Trump wouldn’t kill off our Postal Service for personal gain, right? Time for dems to kick some kind of real opposition into gear! — Mark L. Taylor] By Hamilton Nolan In These Times (4/16/20) Among the most prominent victims of the coronavirus financial crisis is the United States Postal Service, which could quite literally run out of money to operate if the federal government does not approve a rescue package for it soon. The Trump administration—which, like much of the GOP, has long advocated for cutbacks…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Economic Injustice, One Percenters April 16, 2020

Capitalizing On Death: The Plan Of The American Establishment Is To Save Capital & Let The People Die

We are told we’re a nation at war. In real wars, we have higher taxes on the rich. This time, we are giving investors a tax cut. By Hamilton Nolan In These Times (4/6/20) Fantasize for a moment that we could set aside politics and operate based upon common sense. What would the federal government do to best mitigate the devastation that this pandemic will visit upon human beings? It would, first of all, provide free healthcare to everyone. It would distribute medical resources nationally based on the greatest need. Then, to protect people from the necessary economic deep freeze…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism April 16, 2020

‘Intercepted’ — The Failed State Of America

The fact that politicians don’t feel sort of the hot breath of popular discontent down their neck, or at least it’s not as pressing for them, I think, is one major reason why the government fails us so systematically. By Jeremy Scahill Intercepted (4/10/20) BERNIE SANDERS HAS suspended his campaign for the Democratic nomination for president, as the country continues to be rocked by Covid-19 cases and hospitals are struggling to obtain basic supplies. The U.S. has seen almost 20 million unemployment claims in just the past few weeks while new data is revealing that Covid-19 is killing African Americans disproportionately in…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Documentaries, Economic Injustice, History They Don't Want You To Know, One Percenters, Police State America, Rethuglicans, Ron "RoJo" Johnson, Surveillance State, Trumpenstan April 13, 2020

Want To Understand What Is Going On In America Right Now? Then Understand The ‘Shock Doctrine’

Intercepted: Mehdi Hasan & Naomi Klein Review Mounting Cost Of Pro-Corporate Coronavirus ‘Shock Doctrine’ Capitalism Intercepted (4/7/20) The Intercept’s Mehdi Hasan speaks with Senior Correspondent Naomi Klein about coronavirus capitalism and the selective use of emergency measures to offload risks onto workers and families, while the people who are relatively more secure get no-strings-attached bailouts. Link To 33-Minute Video (Commoner Call cartoon by Mark L.Taylor, 2020. Open source and free for non-derivative use with link to www.thecommonercall.org ) ***** The ‘Shock Doctrine’ Documentary By Naomi Klein The Shock Doctrine is Canadian author and social activist Naomi Klein’s companion piece to…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Democrats, History They Don't Want You To Know, Police State America April 9, 2020

The Democratic Party Better Harness The Legitimate Rage Of Americans. Otherwise, The Right Will Use It With Horrifying Results

If the Democrats refuse to harness the legitimate rage of Americans and direct it at those responsible for our predicament, the right will make this anger its own and will win. By Jon Schwarz The Intercept (4/5/20) THE POLITICAL POSSIBILITIES of this moment are different than anything we have ever experienced. We possess a once in a lifetime opportunity to make the United States a more humane country. But if we fail to seize it, we will face mortal danger from the right. That’s not hyperbole. The anger of Americans, once they figure out what’s being done to them right now,…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Health Care April 6, 2020

RUMBLE With MICHAEL MOORE Podcast Episode 62 EMERGENCY PODCAST SYSTEM – He’s Gonna Get Us KllIed

Rumble With Michael Moore (4/4/20) The military was used to steal our taxpayer-funded strategic reserve medical supplies and turn them over to private corporations to sell off to the highest bidder here … and overseas. ***** “FEMA just ordered another 100,000 body bags. They need a million. They might need two million … or more. History is full of people who just stood by and did nothing. Sometimes, because they were paralyzed by fear. Sometimes, because they just didn’t believe they could make a difference. And sometimes, they just didn’t have a clue as to what to do. This is…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Police State America April 2, 2020

Glenn Greenwald On The Slippery Balance Between Authoritarianism & Freedom At A Time Of Pandemic

How much freedom are we willing to trade away for a sense of safety? The Rising (4/1/20) Co-founding editor of The Intercept Glenn Greenwald, shares why he and other staunch advocates for civil liberties are more open to government surveillance during the coronavirus pandemic. Link To 13+-Minute Video (Commoner Call photo by Mark L. Taylor, 2020. Open source and free for non-derivative use with link toe www.thecommonercall.org )

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, History They Don't Want You To Know April 2, 2020

The Kind Of Capitalism That Has Infected The US Is The Most Evil On Earth

“It’s cheaper to dig mass graves than field hospitals. The kind of capitalism that has infected the US is the most evil on earth. If it is not profitable to save lives,it simply will not get done. Lot of good this multi-trillion dollar war machine is doing us now, huh? We could have spent all that on healthcare, infrastructure, and community resilience. Nope, but we’ve got enough artillery to kill the world 20 times over. The government is not going to help us, not now, not tomorrow, not after this. They’re going to save their own asses, and their rich…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Economic Injustice, Rethuglicans, Trumpenstan March 30, 2020

No Greater Love Hath Trump Than To Lay Down Your Measly, Trashy Little, Unimportant Life For His Re-Election

Our fearful leader’s latest gambit is to blame everyone else as he desperately tries to squirm his way to November’s election. By Richard Wolffe The Guardian (3/25/20) Donald Trump isn’t much of a doctor or scientist. He isn’t much of a diplomat or general. His leadership skills match his business skills. There’s a reason his companies went bankrupt so many times. But he might just be a pioneer with this idea of letting people die for the sake of the country. Only a once-in-a-century leader has the guts to say out loud what the worst among us are really thinking: everyone…

'Just-Us' System, ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism March 23, 2020

Letters From America: Trump’s Justice Dept. Using Crisis To Target Citizen Rights

This pandemic, and the accompanying economic downturn, are a turning point. By Heather Cox Richardson Letters From America (3/21/20) Today’s big news came from Politico writer Betsy Woodruff Swan, who broke the story that the Department of Justice has quietly asked Congress for dramatic new powers during emergencies… emergencies like the coronavirus pandemic. She has reviewed documents from the DOJ asking Congress to give top judges the power to pause court proceedings during emergencies. This would include “any statutes or rules of procedure otherwise affecting pre-arrest, post-arrest, pre-trial, trial, and post-trial procedures in criminal and juvenile proceedings and all civil process and…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Rethuglicans March 19, 2020

Jerry Falwell Jr. Spilled The Beans On Conservatism — And We Should Thank Him For It

Rev. Falwell told us without knowing he was telling us that conservatism in theory is authoritarianism in practice. By John Stoehr The Editorial Board I suppose we owe Jerry Falwell Jr. a debt of gratitude. I’m serious. Falwell is the son of the late Jerry Falwell, the man most responsible for bringing fundamentalist Christianity out of the political wilderness during Ronald Reagan’s presidency. Junior, along with Franklin Graham, himself a scion of a religious dynasty, is perhaps the president’s greatest champion among white evangelical Christians. He appeared on “Fox & Friends” yesterday. Among other things, he accused Donald Trump’s enemies, including…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, FEATURE March 19, 2020

‘We Know This Script’: Naomi Klein Warns Of ‘Coronavirus Capitalism’ In New Video Detailing Battle Before Us

“We know what Trump’s plan is: a pandemic shock doctrine… But the end of this story hasn’t been written yet.” By Jessica Corbett The Intercept (3/17/20) In a new video from The Intercept, author and activist Naomi Klein explains how the Trump administration and other governments across the globe are “exploiting” the coronavirus outbreak “to push for no-strings-attached corporate bailouts and regulatory rollbacks,” and urges working people worldwide to resist such efforts and demand real support from political leaders during the ongoing crisis. Klein, author of the 2007 book The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism, notes that President Donald Trump has pushed for a payroll tax…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, American Socialist Tradition, Economic Injustice, FEATURE March 16, 2020

A Stinking Mess: Toilet Paper Wars And The Shithouse Of Capitalism

Looking out for number one, so you can continue to do your number twos in peace. By Simon Spring Common Dreams (3/15/20) The run on toilet paper has brought the failings of capitalism front and center to the bathroom of every house across Australia, a trend that has now spread to other countries. We are witnessing, in real-time and with stunning consequence, the stone-cold fact that markets are an ineffective mediator of resources, prone to the worst vagaries of herd mentality. Perceived impending shortages of toilet paper owing to the spread of COVID-19 set off widespread panic. We might be…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Rethuglicans March 12, 2020

Lies, Damn Lies & The Greater Threat Of ‘Post-Truth’ America

Even if all politicians lie, I believe that post-truth foreshadows something more sinister. By Lee McIntyre The Conversation (11/19/18) Most politicians lie. Or do they? Even if we could find some isolated example of a politician who was scrupulously honest – former President Jimmy Carter, perhaps – the question is how to think about the rest of them. And if most politicians lie, then why are some Americans so hard on President Donald Trump? According to The Washington Post, Trump has told 6,420 lies so far in his presidency. In the seven weeks leading up to the midterms, his rate increased to 30 per…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism March 9, 2020

A Group of Agents Rose Through The Ranks To Lead The Border Patrol. They’re Leaving It In Crisis & Chaos

They leave corruption, misconduct and a toxic culture in their wake. By Melissa del Bosque ProPublica (2/10/20) On a Saturday evening in late September, Deputy Chief Scott Luck gathered with family and friends in the crystal-chandeliered ballroom of the Trump National Golf Club, nestled along the shores of the Potomac River in Virginia, to celebrate his retirement after 33 years in the U.S. Border Patrol. The party was adorned with a who’s who in Border Patrol leadership, past and present. There was the unmistakable figure of Luck’s boss, Chief Carla Provost, tall and broad with her trademark fringe of brown bangs,…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, History They Don't Want You To Know March 5, 2020

Complete Collapse Of The Existing Institutions Of A Civil Society

[Editor’s Note: German historian and journalist Volker Ullrich’s amazing 2016 biography of Adolf Hitler is`a stunning account of the rise of Nazism in 1930’s Wiemar Germany, which exposes extremely disturbing parallels to what is happening in the United States now with Trump and the complete transformation of the Republican party into cultism. The Commoner Call will be running short excerpts from the book that have particular resonance to today’s political climate. It is essential to grasp the true, dark nature of the transformation we are seeing in our political climate. — Mark L. Taylor] ***** “It was astonishing not just…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Police State America March 2, 2020

“You Will Never See Your Child Again” — Physician Report Documents The Persistent Psychological Effects Of Family Separation

Asylum narratives documented instances of four parents who were taunted and mocked by immigration authorities when asking for the whereabouts of their children. By Hajar Habbach, MA, Kathryn Hampton, MSt, & Ranit Mishori, MD, MHS Physicians For Human Rights (2/25/20) Executive Summary The Trump administration’s crackdown on asylum seekers has included the brutal intimidation tactics of family separation and family detention. These policies have profound health implications for migrant adults and children and violate basic human rights, including the right to be free from torture and enforced disappearance. A new Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) investigation, based on psychological evaluations of asylum-seeking…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Democrats, Rethuglicans March 2, 2020

Bipartisan Charlatans & Hypocrites: Let’s Look At Who Really Loves Dictators & Tyrants

By Mehdi Hasan The Intercept (2/27/20) Bernie Sanders’s critics, including his top rivals for the Democratic nomination, want you to believe that Sanders is a communist with a soft spot for Fidel Castro — that he loves dictators and tyrants. The Intercept’s Mehdi Hasan argues that, in fact, Joe Biden and Michael Bloomberg are the ones who’ve long cozied up to autocrats, while Sanders is the only candidate who has given an entire speech about fighting authoritarianism and tyranny around the world. Link to 5+-Minute Video (Commoner Call carton by Mark L. Taylor, 2018. Open source and free for non-derivative…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism March 2, 2020

How Fascism Works: The Nature Of Fascism, Truth & Donald Trump

Our weapons are our high ideals of liberty and equality, and we have to fight to keep those American ideals. By Sean Illing Vox (12/15/18) “Fascism” is a word that gets tossed around pretty loosely these days, usually as an epithet to discredit someone else’s politics. One consequence is that no one really knows what the term means anymore. Liberals see fascism as the culmination of conservative thinking: an authoritarian, nationalist, and racist system of government organized around corporate power. For conservatives, fascism is totalitarianism masquerading as the nanny state. A new book by Yale philosopher Jason Stanley is the latest attempt…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, History They Don't Want You To Know, Trumpenstan March 2, 2020

American Fuhrer: Delusionary, Dictatorial Donald Trump Is Drunk On Power

What is most troubling are the silences of the countervailing forces that Americans have a right to rely on to fight Trump the tyrant. By Ralph Nader Common Dreams (2/29/20) Delusionary, dictatorial Donald Trump is drunk on power. Trump’s monarchical and lawless actions are a clear and present subversion of our Republic and its Constitution. As soon as the impeachment trial ended and Trump was acquitted by the Senate’s supine Republican courtiers (except for Senator Mitt Romney), vengeance flooded Trump’s fevered mind. Ignoring warnings from his advisors, Trump is lashing out in all directions, unleashing torrents of foul-mouthed tweets. Note…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Media Hits & Misses March 2, 2020

ON CONTACT: Outcome Of Julian Assange Extradition Case Could Provide News Blackout Of Govt. Crimes

Psychological torture, faulty evidence, abusive treatment, isolated in courtroom glass cage and kept from attorneys. By Chris Hedges On Contact / RT America (2/29/20) On the show this week Chris Hedges talks to Joe Lauria, editor of Consortium News, about his coverage of US prosecutors in London attempting to extradite Julian Assange to the United States to face trial for allegations of espionage. Link To 28-Minute Video

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, History They Don't Want You To Know, Media Hits & Misses February 27, 2020

The New York Times’ First Article In 1922 On Hitler’s Rise Should Be A Lesson For Today’ Media

[Editor’s Note: As we have often seen, the American media has been unprepared to deal with the crass cruelty and danger of the Trump administration. By repeatedly pulling punches and using euphemisms like “misstatement” to describe Trump’s “lies” they have too often padded the sharp edges of Trumps reality. This excellent story shows how such journalistic timidity puts all of us at risk. — Mark L. Taylor] By Zack Beauchamp Vox (3/3/16) On November 21, 1922, the New York Times published its very first article about Adolf Hitler. It’s an incredible read — especially its assertion that “Hitler’s anti-Semitism was not…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Democrats, M. Taylor Columns February 24, 2020

Worshiping Bloomberg: The False Savior Of Wall Street & The Corporate Dems

As was true in FDR’s first campaign back in 1933, this is not the time for fear and half-measures. By Mark L. Taylor The Commoner Call (2/24/20) Weird times bring forth weird players. For example, there is the failed, bankruptcy-bouncing, scamming real estate hustler and off-and-on Democrat who jumps from reality television to become the Republican president of the United States. Now, in the midst of the Democratic primary scrum for the 2020 presidential election a long-time, hardcore Wall Street Republican renounces all but his name to campaign for the party’s nomination. And nobody can deny that Facebook is one…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, History They Don't Want You To Know, Resist! February 24, 2020

Historian Timothy Snyder Evaluates Whether Or Not The U.S. Is Sliding Towards Tyranny

Amanpour & Company (2/18/20) President Trump has just announced the sentence commutation of former Illinois Governor Rob Blagojevich, a move that arrives just days after the DOJ overruled a harsher prison sentence for Roger Stone. Given the increased White House involvement in judicial matters, Yale University’s Timothy Snyder, a historian and author who has devoted much of his career to understanding the rise of tyranny in different parts of the world, sits down with Ana Cabrera to discuss his concerns about a worrying trend taking root in the U.S. Link To 20-Minute Video

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, FEATURE, Media Hits & Misses, Police State America, Surveillance State February 20, 2020

The Classic Faustian Bargain Of New Intrusive Age Of Surveillance Capitalism

“The real psychological truth is this: If you’ve got nothing to hide, you are nothing.” ― Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism ***** What happens to our pics on social media and what does that have to do with the persecution of the Uighars in China? (Scrape, scrape, scrape…) What is Pokémon Go really about? (Talk about child abuse.) Who was really behind Google Earth? (One shouldn’t be too surprised.) How much info do they really have about us? (Waaaay more than we volunteer.) Can there be a hidden microphone in your new home security system that isn’t revealed in the…