Fascism watch thread/news and discussions

[weatheriscool]

[firestar464]

More about that from the Alliance for Retired Americans:

https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/e ... l-security

[weatheriscool]

[caltrek]

Can a Democracy Reverse a Slide Toward Authoritarianism?
by David Corn
First Appeared November 12, 2024

Introduction:

(Our Land) Prices went up during a post-pandemic recovery, and American voters elected a convicted felon and fascist who incited political violence as president. Okay, that may be a bit glib. But it’s clear that Donald Trump’s election is a giant step toward authoritarianism in the USA. He and his crew have openly talked about consolidating power in the Oval Office and targeting political foes with investigations and prosecutions. Trump aims to turn much of the federal bureaucracy into a corps of loyalists who pledge fealty to him, and he has raised the possibility of deploying the military against protesters and taking action against news outlets that expose his wrongdoing. And if he implements his plan for the mass deportation of 11 million or so undocumented immigrants, that will likely require police-state-like tactics. It’s a grim moment as the United States approaches the 250th anniversary of its founding.

Four years ago, when it appeared that Trump had a good chance of reelection, I wondered whether there were examples of other countries sliding toward authoritarianism but recovering before it was too late. There is a tremendous amount of research devoted to democracies descending into autocracies. The decline of democracy in Nazi Germany, of course, has been deeply studied. But have there been nations heading in that dark direction that put on the brakes and reversed course?

I found that two years earlier, University of Chicago professors Tom Ginsburg and Aziz Huq had had examined this question. In an article for the Journal of Democracy, they chronicled occasions when democracies suffered “substantial yet ‘non-fatal’ deterioration in the quality of democratic institutions and then experience[d] a rebound.” These “near misses,” they noted, “have received little or no attention in the new wave of scholarship on why democracies die (or survive).”

The article discusses “near misses” in Finland in the 1930s. Colombia in the 2000s, Sri Lanka in the 2010s, and recently Poland.

Read more here: https://link.motherjones.com/public/37434679

[wjfox]

[caltrek]

Trump Taps Election-Denying Ally Kari Lake to Run Voice of America
by Jake Johnson
December 12, 2024

Introduction:

(Common Dreams) President-elect Donald Trump said Wednesday that he has chosen Kari Lake, a far-right election denier and failed U.S. Senate candidate, to lead the federally funded international broadcast network Voice of America, a move that critics said underscores Trump's effort to transform government entities into vehicles to advance his own interests.

In a Truth Social post, Trump wrote that as director of VOA, Lake would "ensure that the American values of Freedom and Liberty are broadcast around the World FAIRLY and ACCURATELY, unlike the lies spread by the Fake News Media."

Lake, a former television news anchor in Arizona who has echoed Trump's insidious attacks on journalists, wrote in response to the president-elect's announcement that she was "honored" to be asked to lead VOA, which she characterized as "a vital international media outlet dedicated to advancing the interests of the United States by engaging directly with people across the globe and promoting democracy and truth." VOA, which is supposed to have editorial independence, has long faced criticism for its coverage and treatment of employees.

Additional extract:

It is not clear whether Trump will be able to easily install Lake as VOA director. The Washington Post noted that "under rules passed in 2020, the VOA director is appointed by a majority vote of a seven-member advisory board."

"Six members of the board are named by the president and require Senate consent, and the seventh member is the secretary of state," the Post explained.

Read more here: https://www.commondreams.org/news/kari ... of-america

caltrek’s comment: An individual that was at the forefront of pushing Trump’s Big Lie is now slated to head the Voice of America. As one who so readily embraces Trump’s lies, she will be positioned to do incalculable long-term damage to American legitimacy. She may also force an embrace of right-wing dictators and misleading coverage of center left governments. Another disastrous impact with long-term consequences.

[firestar464]

Judge rules Arkansas law allowing criminal charges against librarians is unconstitutional

https://apnews.com/article/arkansas-boo ... 3287bc0d2f

[firestar464]

Man accused of attacking TV reporter, saying ‘This is Trump’s America now’

https://apnews.com/article/tv-reporter- ... d50d50fcec

[Vakanai]

Man accused of attacking TV reporter, saying ‘This is Trump’s America now’

https://apnews.com/article/tv-reporter- ... d50d50fcec

I'm sadly afraid this is just a portent of hate crimes to come in "Trump's America."

[wjfox]

A worrying trend...

UK going the same way as USA in future decades?

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One in five Britons aged 18-45 prefer unelected leaders to democracy, poll finds

Sun 12 Jan 2025 18.00 GMT

One in five generation Z and millennial Britons prefer strong leaders without elections to democracy, and voters overall are feeling downbeat about politics, a report has found.

The polling, due to be published next week as part of the FGS Global Radar report, found that overall 14% of people agreed with the statement: “The best system for running a country effectively is a strong leader who doesn’t have to bother with elections,” rather than the alternative: “The best system for running a country effectively is democracy.”

That rose to 21% of people aged between 18 and 45, who answered that the best system was a strong leader without elections. In contrast, only 8% of people over 55 preferred that system to democracy.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... poll-finds

[firestar464]

Hopefully the horrors of Trump's America will become such a deterrent to people in other countries that this trend gets reversed.

[caltrek]

Yesterday, confirmation hearings were held concerning the appointment of Pete Hegseth to the position of Secretary of Defense.

Hegseth Hedges on Questions About Deploying Military Against Protesters
by Hayes Brown
January 14, 2025

Extract form MSNBC coverage:

(MSNBC) Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, brought up Trump’s 2020 suggestion to then-Defense Secretary Mark Esper that protesters gathered in Washington’s Lafayette Square could be shot in the leg.

Esper refused, leading Hirono to ask Hegseth if he would comply if given the same order. Hegseth waffled some about how he was there with a National Guard unit that day and saw 50 Secret Service agents injured before Hirono cut him off.

“That sounds to me like you will comply, you will shoot protesters in the leg,” she declared before moving on.

That’s exactly what it sounds like to me too if he’s unwilling to answer, “No, I will not order American forces to fire on unarmed American civilians.”

Read more here: https://www.msnbc.com/news/live-blog/p ... na187033

[wjfox]

[firestar464]

They going after the indigenous people now

https://www.salon.com/2025/01/23/exclud ... enship-in/
https://azmirror.com/2025/01/24/reports ... l-leaders/

[wjfox]

[firestar464]

More on that by Reuters:

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump- ... 025-01-29/

[wjfox]

More than half of Gen Z wants UK to become a dictatorship, survey claims

28 January 2025

The majority of young people in the UK are in favour of turning the country into a dictatorship, according to the results of a new survey that say Gen Z are simultaneously the “most authoritarian and liberal generation”.

More than half (52 per cent) of Gen Z – those aged between 13 and 27 – think the UK would be a better place if a strong leader “who does not have to bother with parliament and elections” was in charge.

A third of Gen Z also believed that “the UK would be a be a better place if the army was in charge”, according to the research carried out by polling company Craft for Channel 4.

Alex Mahon, CEO of Channel 4, said the results of the survey exposed some “deeply worrying issues”.

“There is clear evidence of disengagement from democracy – fuelled by the online pied pipers who wilfully subvert truths – and a growing gender divide that should concern us all,” she said.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/h ... 86927.html

[caltrek]

Border Deployment to Insurrection Act: Trump’s Illegal Military Plans
by Michael Prysner
January 31, 2025

Introduction:

(Counterpunch) The current deployment of soldiers and Marines to the US-Mexico border is illegal and immoral. The looming possibility of Trump invoking the Insurrection Act, in an attempt to paper it over, actually raises more danger of unconstitutional orders.

We have just spent 20 years being used as cannon fodder for hapless debacles in Iraq and Afghanistan. Today, soldiers and Marines are being used as propaganda fodder for the oldest Commander-in-Chief ever, taking office with the worst approval rating in modern history.

Conventional, active-duty units from the 82nd Airborne Division and the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force have been the first to the border under US Northern Command. Units from nine different Army bases have been sent so far (including my old unit, the 10th Mountain). The Air Force and Coast Guard are involved as well. Armored infantry fighting vehicles are expected to arrive soon.

Soldiers and Marines have been prohibited from posting anything on social media about the operation or face punishment under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, while official NorthCom socials glamorize the deployment.

For nearly 150 years, the use of federal troops to enforce domestic law without authorization from Congress has been banned under the Posse Comitatus Act.

Read more here: https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/01/3 ... ry-plans

[firestar464]

NYT- Proud Boys Lose Control of Their Name to a Black Church They Vandalized

https://archive.ph/OKf7Y

[wjfox]