American Fascism

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Police State America July 11, 2019

‘This Is a Scandal’: Documents Show ICE & FBI Using Facial Recognition To Mine Millions Of Driver’s License Photos

“ICE is running facial recognition searches against millions of photos. You. Your family. Your friends. This is a major violation of privacy.” By Jake Johnson Common Dreams (7/7/19) A trove of public records obtained by privacy experts at Georgetown Law revealed that ICE and the FBI have used facial recognition technology to mine state driver’s license databases for information on millions of Americans without consent, a practice critics condemned as a “disturbing” breach of civil liberties. According to the Washington Post, which first reported on the documents late Sunday, “Thousands of facial-recognition requests, internal documents, and emails over the past five years… reveal…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, FEATURE, Police State America July 8, 2019

“Welcome back to the USA” — Though I’m A Journalist I Didn’t Fully Realize The Abusive Power Of U.S. Border Officials Until They Trounced On My Rights & Privacy

“Regardless of whether you have embarrassing information on your device, it’s about personal autonomy and living in a free society and not a police state.” By Seth Harp The Intercept (6/22/19) I SHOULD HAVE kept my mouth shut about the guacamole; that made things worse for me. Otherwise, what I’m about to describe could happen to any American who travels internationally. It happened 33,295 times last year. My work as a journalist has taken me to many foreign countries, including frequent trips to Mexico. On May 13, I was returning to the U.S. from Mexico City when, passing through immigration at…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Rethuglicans, War State America July 4, 2019

Trump & Republicans Desecrate July 4th National Holiday

Investigation Of Secret Border Patrol Group Launched As New Degrading Facebook Posts Surface A ProPublica story revealing demeaning posts directed at Latina lawmakers prompted widespread revulsion. By A.C. Thompson & Dara Lind ProPublica (7/1/19) The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency has opened an investigation into vulgar and misogynistic social media posts made by members of a secret Facebook group for current and former Border Patrol agents. On Monday, “U.S. Customs and Border Protection was made aware of disturbing social media activity hosted on a private Facebook group that may include a number of CBP employees,” said Matthew Klein, head…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, History They Don't Want You To Know, M. Taylor Columns, Police State America July 4, 2019

Corporate America’s Fascist Hustle: Marketing Hitler’s Mien Kampf With Clever Nazi Coding

Normalizing the abnormal By Mark L. Taylor The Commoner Call (7/4/19) In the early years leading to Adolph Hitler’s rise to power 1930’s corporate Germany looked upon the odd, babbling little man from Austria with dismissive shrugs or disdainful amusement. Surely, no one would ever take the man seriously. But as Hitler’s following of street thugs, unemployed, racists and social misfits grew and torch lit marauding street marches turned into more regimented affairs the German capitalists began to think perhaps Hitler could be massaged and manipulated to their ends. Corporate support, loans, gifts and larger and larger donations turned from…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Trumpenstan July 1, 2019

This Was The Week Trump Earned Being Compared To Hitler

It can happen here. It is happening. By Lucian K. Truscott IV Salon (6/29/19) The presidency of Donald Trump has been one horror after another — the endless lying, the coddling and worship of dictators, the rank incompetence and corruption of the people he has chosen to run government departments, the saber-rattling and about-facing with various enemies, the repeated attacks on voting rights and free speech and a free press, the countenancing of rank racism and white supremacy in Charlottesville and elsewhere, the personal corruption and grifting at his resorts and golf clubs, the reverence for a celebration of ignorance, the…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism July 1, 2019

Accessories To Evil: Corporate Dem Congressional Leaders Pander To Trump & Cave On Protections For Tortured Children At The Border

If Democrats don’t have the backs of children sleeping in cages, whose backs will they have? By Robert Reich Common Dreams (6/29/19) While attention has been focused on the Democratic debate—in which most contenders are pushing progressive policies—congressional Democrats have moved in the opposite direction. They caved on an emergency border supplemental appropriation that can now be used by Trump to make the border situation worse, not better. This is how it happened, folks. The House had been working on a $4.5 billion emergency border supplemental appropriation designed to respond to the inhumane conditions in migrant holding cells. The goal…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Police State America, Rethuglicans June 27, 2019

Border Patrol Blocking Americans From Donating Toothbrushes & Diapers For Imprisoned Children

MSNBC’s Mika Scorches Trump Over Sex Assault Denials: ‘What type of woman would you rape?’ ***** “For God’s sake, they’re kids, man.” By Alex Samuels Texas Tribune (6/24/19) On Sunday, Austin Savage and five of his friends huddled into an SUV and went to an El Paso Target, loading up on diapers, wipes, soaps and toys. About $340 later, the group headed to a Border Patrol facility holding migrant children in nearby Clint with the goal of donating their goods. Savage said he and his friends had read an article from The New York Times detailing chaos, sickness and filth in the overcrowded…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism June 27, 2019

The Insanity Of Right Wing Domestic Terror Groups Holding Oregon Govt. Hostage Is A Glimpse Of Our Very Dark Future

“Something is building in our politics.” [Editor’s Note: this is a huge story with massive implication. The democratic governor should have gone ahead with the legislative session, even if it meant calling out the National Guard. What happened here was a coup d’é·tat. Fascism is building in the country and the dithering opposition party doesn’t fully appreciate the threat. — Mark L. Taylor] By Charles Pierce Esquire (6/24/19) n these times, everything looks like an ill omen. The capitol is crowded with crows. But it is not an exaggeration to say that if you’re not following the ongoing insanity in Oregon,…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, History They Don't Want You To Know, Police State America June 27, 2019

Salt Lake Tribune Editorial: Yes, We Do Have Concentration Camps

Salt Lake Tribune, Editorial Board (6/23/19) Yes, we do have concentration camps. They are not work camps. They are not death camps. At least, not on purpose. Our government is not building massive gas chambers and industrial crematoria. It is not conducting sick medical experiments on members of an unfavored class. But that does not mean that the places into which we are herding tens of thousands of migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers are not properly called concentration camps. Because that is precisely what they are. When some in the public eye dare to tell that truth, as the media-savvy Rep….

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, FEATURE, Police State America, Trumpenstan, War State America June 24, 2019

Concentrate Real Hard On This, America: Here Is Why They Are Called ‘Concentration Camps’

MSNBC news host Lawrence O’Donnell does an excellent job of running down the shameful history of concentration camps in the United States, supposed home of the free. Link to 5-Minute Video (Commoner Call illustration by Mark L. Taylor, 2019. Open source and free for non-derivative use with link to www.thecommonercall.org ) ***** How Trump Administration’s Border Camps Fit Right Into The History Of Concentration Camps When it comes to this kind of detention, even when a government isn’t plotting a genocide, shocking numbers of people can still end up hurt—or dead. By Andrea Pitzer GQ (6/18/19) In February 2018, U.S….

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Police State America, Trumpenstan, War State America June 24, 2019

Monsterous: ‘Just-Us’ Dept. Lawyer Argues Migrant Children In Concentration Camps Don’t Need Soap, Toothbrushes, Beds Or Blankets

“You’re really going to stand up and tell us that being able to sleep isn’t a question of safe and sanitary conditions?’” –– U.S. Circuit Judge Marsha Berzon By David Badash New Civil Rights Movement (6/20/19) The Trump administration’s Justice Dept. lawyers say migrant children detained in federal concentration camps do not need soap or toothbrushes despite a settlement agreement that requires the U.S. Government to keep them in “safe and sanitary” facilities. The DOJ also argues that the children, detained in the Southern border camps, can continue to sleep on cold concrete floors in overcrowded cells without being in violation…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Democrats June 24, 2019

In The Face Of Trump’s Accelerating Fascist Coup, Dems Are Cowards

“History will indeed judge the Democrats for this.” “The Democrats are hiding. They are cowards. They do not seem to know how to fight or when to fight. If these Democrats are so weak that they are not willing to stand up and defend the Constitution, why would anyone believe in them? Do they think anyone’s going to believe in them? It’s appalling. “History will indeed judge the Democrats for this. And why are they behaving this way? Because they’re looking at polls which say a majority of people don’t want impeachment? Guess what? The majority of Americans didn’t want…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Rethuglicans, Trumpenstan, War State America June 20, 2019

Concentration Camp Expert Backs AOC Concentration Camp Statement : ‘Same Thing’ Happening At Southern Border

“If that makes you uncomfortable, fight the camps ― not the nomenclature.” — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez By Hayley Miller HuffPost (6/19/19) Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-N.Y.) controversial comments likening U.S. immigrant detention centers at the southern border to “concentration camps” aren’t inaccurate, a concentration camp expert and author said Tuesday. Andrea Pitzer, who literally wrote the book on the global history of concentration camps, defended the freshman lawmaker against Republican backlash during an appearance Tuesday on MSNBC’s “All In With Chris Hayes.” What the U.S. is doing at the U.S.-Mexico border today by detaining hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants and children “fits…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism June 20, 2019

‘Joints Will Be Separated’: Revealing Gruesome New Details Of Khashoggi Murder, UN Report Says ‘Inconceivable’ Trump Pal Crown Prince Not Involved

By Jake Johnson Common Dreams (6/19/19) In a thorough and damning report on the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggireleased Wednesday, United Nations special rapporteur Agnes Callamard found that Khashoggi was “the victim of a brutal and premeditated killing” that was likely orchestrated by top officials in the Saudi government, including Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. “Evidence points to the 15-person mission to execute Mr. Khashoggi requiring significant government coordination, resources, and finances,” Callamard wrote. “Every expert consulted finds it inconceivable that an operation of this scale could be implemented without the crown prince being aware, at a minimum, that some sort…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Police State America June 17, 2019

‘Tonks’, Guats’ & ‘Subhuman Shit’: Texts Of Border Patrol Agent On Trail Reveal Agency’s Toxic Culture

“Tonk” is defined by agents as “the sound heard when a ‘wetback’ is hit over the head with a flashlight.” By Tim Dickinson Rolling Stone (6/13/19) In the days before he allegedly struck a 23-year-old undocumented Guatemalan man with a government-issued Ford F-150, Border Patrol agent Matthew Bowen sent a text to a fellow agent. In the exchange, which federal prosecutors now claim offers “insight into his view of the aliens he apprehends,” Bowen railed against unauthorized migrants who’d thrown rocks at a colleague as “mindless murdering savages” and “disgusting subhuman shit unworthy of being kindling for a fire.” The…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Your Brain On Politics June 17, 2019

Murdering The Language: When Assassination Is Called Something Other Than Assassination

“Over the decades, killing a leader or prominent person under the rubric of covert action has been called many things by those who plan and oversee operations but never assassination, because assassination is illegal. Killing a leader or prominent person at the behest of the president is legal under Title 50 of the U.S. Code. “President Dwight Eisenhower’s advisors discussed “eliminating’ foreign leaders, and they set up a Health Alteration Committee to “neutralize” or “disable” certain people. They spoke in riddles to uphold the construct of plausible deniability. Congress later found President John F. Kennedy’s advisors formalized killing and called it…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Police State America June 13, 2019

At A Time Of Fascist Governmental Cruelty The Humanitarians Are Targeted

‘Sea Rescues Have Been Criminalized’ As Heroic German Boat Captain Faces 20 Years In Prison For Saving Refugees “That she faces 20 years in jail in 2019 for saving refugees lost at sea, indicts the EU for hypocrisy and abetting crimes against humanity for allowing Italy to conduct a show trial.” By Eoin Higgins Common Dreams (6/11/19) A German boat captain faces a long and costly trial in Italy for charges targeting her humanitarian efforts on behalf of refugees. Captain Pia Klemp, 35, told Basler Zeitung on June 7 that her upcoming trial in Italy for years of efforts with the civilian lifeboat “Iuventa”…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Police State America June 10, 2019

One Nation Under The Microscope: How ICE & Other DHS Agencies Mine Social Media In The Name Of National Security

By Rachel Levinson-Waldman The Hill (5/29/19) In June 2018, more than 400,000 people protested the Trump administration’s policy of separating families at the border. The following month saw a host of demonstrations in New York City on issues including racism and xenophobia, the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the National Rifle Association. Given the ease of connecting online, it is unsurprising that many of these events got an organizing boost on social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter. A recent spate of articles did bring a surprise, however: the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been watching online too. Congress should demand…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Media Hits & Misses, Trumpenstan June 10, 2019

Trump’s Accusations Of The ‘Lying Press’ Has Roots Going Right Back To Hitler’s Technique Of The “Big Lie”

Donald Trump’s attacks on “the enemy of the people” aren’t random outbursts. By Richard E. Frankel Salon (6/9/19) At an election rally in Cleveland in October 2016, two supporters of Donald Trump were captured on video shouting, “Lügenpresse!” What was going on? Why would people who are looking to Trump to “Make America Great Again,” be shouting a German word at one of his events? And what did it mean? The “lying press” — an idea at the heart not only of Trump’s campaign and presidency, but of his entire worldview. The news media, Trump complains, treats him unfairly. It does not report…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Deep State, Economic Injustice, One Percenters, Rethuglicans June 6, 2019

Law & Disorder: Why Corporatism Will Dominate US Policy For Decades To Come

Democracy in jeopardy By John Atcheson Common Dreams (5/26/19) Remember when Republicans ran on a law and order platform? Well, nowadays, we’ve got a President – in fact an entire Party — at war with the idea of the rule of law in general, and any constraints on corporations in particular. Democrats console themselves with the idea that this can all be righted in the next election. Vote Trump out, retain the majority in the House, and win the Senate. Problem solved. Except it isn’t. McConnell and Trump are doing everything they can to hand over the Judiciary — lock, stock and…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Rethuglicans, Trumpenstan June 6, 2019

Coming To Grips With The Reality Of Who Trump Really Is

New Economic Thinking (10/4/16) The media has failed ask basic questions about the economic thinking — and business record — of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, says Pulitzer-prize-winning journalist David Cay Johnston, author of The Making of Donald Trump. The economic vision that’s being offered on the campaign trail has been crafted with Trump’s peerless salesmanship. Johnston’s book relies on extensive reporting of interviews, public statements, court records and financial statements to build an argument that Trump’s vision is based on what he believes voters want to hear, but has little relationship to his own — or America’s — reality….

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, History They Don't Want You To Know, Police State America June 3, 2019

Over 200 Allegations Of Abuse Of Migrant Children; Only 1 Case Of Homeland Security Disciplining Someone

Children reported being punched, shocked with Tasers, and denied food and medicine. Many described being bludgeoned with flashlights. By A.C. Thompson ProPublica (5/31/19) From 2009 to 2014, at least 214 complaints were filed against federal agents for abusing or mistreating migrant children. According to the Department of Homeland Security’s records, only one employee was disciplined as a result of a complaint. The department’s records, which have alarmed advocates for migrants given the more aggressive approach to the treatment of minors at the border under the current administration, emerged as part of a federal lawsuit seeking the release of the names…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Economic Injustice, History They Don't Want You To Know, One Percenters June 3, 2019

A Stunning Parallel To The Fall Of Rome: How Our Tottering Republic Could Die In The Age Of Trump

He is our nation’s Augustus Caesar, the killer of a republic and the herald of a corrupt and collapsing empire. By Thom Hartmann Independent Media Institute (5/20/19) The American republic could die, just like Rome. Wavering for some time on the verge of becoming a complete oligarchy, America is on the verge of flipping from a democratic republic to a strongman or autocratic form of government, something that’s happened to dozens of democracies in the past few decades, but never before here. It’s possible we won’t recover from it. The death of a republic is different from the death…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Media Hits & Misses, Police State America, Surveillance State June 3, 2019

A ‘Crossroads Moment’ — Why Julian Assange Must Never Be Extradited

“The 18-count indictment is an authoritarian’s dream.” By Matt Taibbi Rolling Stone (5/31/19) WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange today sits in the Belmarsh High Security prison in southeast London. Not just for his sake but for everyone’s, we now have to hope he’s never moved from there to America. The United States filed charges against Assange early last month. The case seemed to have been designed to assuage fears that speech freedoms or the press were being targeted. That specific offense was “computer hacking conspiracy” from back in 2010. The “crime” was absurdly thin, a claim that Assange agreed (but failed, apparently) to try…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Right Wing Religion May 30, 2019

‘This Is A Battle To The Death’: Self-Declared Prophet & Christian Author Says Trump Will Soon Execute His Political Enemies

By Kyle Mantyla Right Wing Watch (5/24/19) Dave Hayes, a self-declared prophet, Christian author, and online activist who is better known as the “Praying Medic,” streamed a video on Periscope last night in which he declared that President Trump’s political enemies—including Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and other supposed members of the “deep state”—will soon be swept up in mass arrests, tried, and executed for treason. Hayes is one of the leading proponents of the QAnon conspiracy theory, and his videos promoting and explaining QAnon’s cryptic postings have racked up hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube. “I’m here to tell you,” he said, “these people are going to face…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Democrats, M. Taylor Columns, Media Hits & Misses, Trumpenstan May 30, 2019

Matt Taibbi “Insane Clown President”

“The arc of the sort of failure of our business has really steepened in the last year or so. As news consumers people should pay more and more attention to independent media and alternative media, and worry more and more about the commercial media going forward.” By Mark L. Taylor The Commoner Call (5/30/19) Now well into Year III of the deadly serious non-stop, mind and soul-numbing Donald Trump National Freakshow it is hard to recall just how stunning his 2016 victory was. Right up to election eve every one was sure Hillary Clinton would wipe Trump off the map….

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Media Hits & Misses, Police State America, Rethuglicans, Trumpenstan, War State America May 27, 2019

‘This Is About Attacking Journalism,’ Warn Press Freedom Defenders As Trump DOJ Hits Assange With New Espionage Charges

The Editor By Jessica Corbett Common Dreams (5/21/19) In an unprecedented move that journalists and press freedom defenders denounced as “the most significant and terrifying threat to the First Amendment in the 21st century,” the Trump Justice Department announced Thursday that a federal grand jury charged WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange with 17 new counts of violating the Espionage Act. “This is about attacking journalism and the public’s right to information about war crimes done in their name with their dollars,” The Intercept‘s Jeremy Scahill said in a series of tweets. “This is about retaliation for publishing evidence of U.S. war crimes and other crimes by…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Right Wing Religion May 27, 2019

Read The GOP’s Secret Talking Points Defending Alabama’s Forced Pregnancy Law

The republicans speak! By Daniel Newhauser VICE News (5/23/19) WASHINGTON — In the days since Alabama’s passage of the most restrictive abortion law in the nation, national Republicans have tried to distance themselves from its most controversial provisions that would outlaw abortion even in the case of rape or incest. Now, there are clear signs that is changing. Secret talking points obtained by VICE News show national Republicans are preparing to defend the law, which has not yet taken effect, but will almost certainly be struck down by the courts. The law, which only allows abortions if a pregnancy poses a…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, FEATURE, History They Don't Want You To Know, War State America May 27, 2019

Author Annie Jacobsen: Inside The CIA’s World Of Secret Wars In Our Name

No longer interested in peace. Preparing for the next war. [Editor’s Note: This is an essential interview for all American citizens to watch, to learn what is being done in our name and how the architecture for corporate forever wars is being welded into place. A sobering account of national insecurity. — Mark L. Taylor] Commonwealth Club (5/22/19) Annie Jacobsen is a Pulitzer Prize finalist and investigative journalist whose work revolves around government secrets. She has published books on a range of topics, including what really goes on inside Area 51; Operation Paperclip, which brought Nazi scientists to America; and…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, History They Don't Want You To Know, War State America May 27, 2019

Falling Into Line: The Liberal Establishment Embrace Of War

America is incapable of understanding or respecting foreigners’ instinct for self-rule. By Matt Taibbi Rolling Stone (5/16/19) The United States has just suspended flights to Venezuela. Per the New York Times: CARACAS — The United States banned all air transport with Venezuela on Wednesday over security concerns, further isolating the troubled South American nation… A disinterested historian — Herodotus raised from the dead — would see this as just the latest volley in a siege tale. America has been trying for ages to topple the regime of President Nicholas Maduro, after trying for years to do the same to his…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism May 23, 2019

Think It Can’t It Happen Here? It Already Is

By Laura Flanders Common Dreams (5/20/19) Can it happen here? Absolutely it can. Even in a liberal bastion. A few weeks ago, a handful of white supremacists marched into a bookstore in Washington D.C., temporarily disrupting a talk by Jonathan Metzl, the author of Dying of Whiteness: How the Politics of Racial Resentment is Killing America’s Heartland. To put this in context, this was in Politics and Prose, in hip DuPont Circle, during an Antiracist Book Festival, on the same day that a 19-year-old white supremacist shot up a California synagogue, killing one person and injuring three others. Around…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Economic Injustice, History They Don't Want You To Know May 23, 2019

How Much Longer Will We Tolerate A Government By And For The Wealthy Few?

It is utterly farcical to call the United States government democratic. By Nathan Robinson The Guardian (5/20/19) The core democratic principle is that people should have a meaningful say in political decisions that affect their lives. In Alabama, we’ve just seen what the opposite of democracy looks like: 25 white male Republicans in the state senate were able to ban almost all abortion in the state. The consequences of that decision fall exclusively on women, who will be forced to carry all pregnancies to term if the law comes into effect. And, as has happened in other countries with abortion bans, poor women will…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Police State America May 23, 2019

Whistleblower & Investigation Reveals Widespread Use Of Abusive Solitary Confinement In Refugee Detentions

“This is a practice that exposes detainees to real psychological and physiological harm.” By Spencer Woodman, Maryam Saleh, Hannah Rappleye & Karrie Kehoe International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (5/20/19) DULCE RIVERA LIVED for the one hour a day she was allowed outside, to pace alone on a patch of concrete encased in metal fencing. They called it “the yard,” but it was really a metal cage. Still, it was far better than the misery she endured the other 23 hours a day, locked alone in a cell with no one to talk to and nothing to distract her from her increasingly dark thoughts. Rivera, a 36-year-old transgender…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Health Care, Right Wing Religion May 20, 2019

What Does A Post-Roe America Look Like? As Anti-Choice Laws Multiply, Many Already Are Living In It

Democracy Now! (5/17/19) Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer issued what many considered a dire warning from the bench this week, implying that Roe v. Wade — the landmark ruling that recognizes the constitutional right to an abortion — is in danger. He wrote the comments in a dissent for an unrelated case in which the court voted to overturn a 40 year-old precedent. Breyer wrote “Today’s decision can only cause one to wonder which cases the Court will overrule next.” We speak to journalist Robin Marty about what a post-Roe America would look like, and how many people are already…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism May 20, 2019

The GOP Is On The Road To Mass Lockups Of Women Who Have Miscarriages

The Republican Party’s attack on women’s reproductive rights has put the nation on a terrifying path. By Thom Hartman Independent Media Institute (5/17/19) The GOP’s Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice is on its way. During Mike Pence’s first year as governor of Indiana, his state put a young woman in prison for having a miscarriage, alleging that she’d taken an abortion-causing drug. Purvi Patel didn’t have a trace of such a drug in her system, but Pence’s state sentenced her to 20 years in prison anyway. Just a few years earlier, Indiana had also held Bei Bei Shuai for 435…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Police State America, War State America May 20, 2019

‘Unfathomable Evil Recognizing Unfathomable Evil’ — Trump’s Possible Pardons Of American War Criminals Provoke Outrage

“Who pardons war criminals? DICTATORS. What is the signal you give by doing this? No amount of violence whether at home or abroad will be punished; no one will be held accountable.” — Jodi Jacobson, New York Times [Editor’s Note: Make special note of the words “whether at home or abroad” in the above quote. Make no mistake, Trump is paving the ground for violent suppression of political opponents here at home. The fascists are elegraphing their plans openly. — Mark L. Taylor] By Jessica Corbett Common Dreams (5/18/19) Progressives, human rights advocates, and journalists responded with outrage on…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, History They Don't Want You To Know May 20, 2019

Chris Hedges “Fascism in the Age of Trump”

Empires in decay embrace an almost willful suicide blinded by their hubris and, unable to face the reality of their diminishing power, they retreat into a fantasy world where hard and unpleasant facts no longer intrude. Media Sanctuary (12/1/17) Journalist, author and war correspondent Chris Hedges spoke at The Sanctuary for Independent Media in Troy NY on November 10, 2017 on fascism and empire in the age of Trump. Link to 1-Hour and 14-Minute Video

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Trumpenstan May 16, 2019

George Orwell & Why The Time To Stop Trump Is NOW!

“To see what is in front of one’s nose needs a constant struggle.” — George Orwell By David Goldfischer History News Network (5/21/19) As evidence of Hitler’s intentions crystalized in the 1930’s, many politicians who recognized the danger continued to vote against vital defense expenditures. George Orwell, reflecting on that and other cases of “ignoring facts which are obvious and unalterable,” concluded: “To see what is in front of one’s nose needs a constant struggle.” Until Germany invaded Poland in 1939, there was room for wishful thinking regarding Hitler’s plans. Current defenders of the American Republic, by contrast, confront the “obvious and…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism May 16, 2019

Just Another Now Routine Story About A Good Samaritan Getting Arrested For Aiding A Sick Migrant

Truly, in Trump’s nasty America, no good deed goes unpunished. By Samantha Grasso Splinter (5/10/19) The Trump administration is doing everything in its power to hurt immigrants, both citizens and undocumented, leaving even the most well-intentioned of volunteers at risk for retribution. One of those Good Samaritans, Teresa Todd, was arrested in February when she attempted to aid a Salvadoran family fleeing gang violence, the New York Times reported on Friday. Todd, the city attorney of Marfa, TX, and the county attorney of Jeff Davis County, was driving home when a young man flagged her down off the side of the highway to…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, History They Don't Want You To Know May 16, 2019

Life, Fate & Active Collaborators

“And it was not merely tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands, but hundreds of millions of people who were the obedient witnesses of this slaughter of the innocent. Nor were they merely obedient witnesses: when ordered to, they gave their support to this slaughter, voting in favour of it amid a hubbub of voices. There was something unexpected in their degree of obedience… The extreme violence of the totalitarian social systems proved able to paralyse the human spirit throughout whole continents.” — Vasily Grossman, Life and Fate (1960)