Fascism watch thread/news and discussions

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‘An Egregious Abuse of Power’: Trump Orders Troops to Portland, Oregon; OKs ‘Full Force’
By Olivia Rosanne
September 27, 2025

Introduction:

(Common Dreams) In his latest attempt to turn the US military on an American city, President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he was sending troops to Portland, Oregon and had authorized them to use “Full Force, if necessary.”

“At the request of Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, I am directing Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to provide all necessary Troops to protect War ravaged Portland, and any of our ICE Facilities under siege from attack by Antifa, and other domestic terrorists,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Trump’s announcement follows his deployment of the National Guard in Los Angeles and Washington, DC, as well as his threats to send the military to Chicago and Memphis. These deployments have been widely condemned and legally challenged as a massive overreach of executive authority.

Portland and Oregon leaders were no less vehement in their opposition to Trump’s order for their city.

“President Trump has directed ‘all necessary Troops’ to Portland, Oregon. The number of necessary troops is zero, in Portland and any other American city,” Portland Mayor Keith Wilson said in a statement on Saturday. “Our nation has a long memory for acts of oppression, and the president will not find lawlessness or violence here unless he plans to perpetrate it.”

Read more here: https://www.commondreams.org/news/trum ... ortland

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I have got a bad feeling about this:

Hegseth Summoned Hundreds of Generals to DC
By Kathryn Wilkens
September 26, 2025

Introduction:

(Mediaite) Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered hundreds of the military’s highest-ranking leaders to gather next week at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, for what the Pentagon is billing as a lecture on “warrior ethos.”

According to reporting by The Washington Post, the summons, delivered with little notice, applies to every one-star general and admiral in command positions, along with their senior enlisted counterparts.

Attendance, officials were told, is mandatory; exceptions will be rare and require sign-off from top brass. The meeting is set for September 30, the final day of the government’s fiscal year.

Pentagon officials have released few details about the event beyond confirming that Hegseth intends to address the assembled commanders. His team has framed it as the first in a series of short, themed talks: this one on “warrior ethos,” with future sessions on the defense industrial base and deterrence planned in the months ahead, multiple sources told the Post.

Read more here: https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/th ... report/

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YouTube to pay $24.5 million to settle Trump lawsuit

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/compani ... r-AA1NxLd5

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Trump defends using troops to police U.S. cities in address to military leaders
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national ... ting-live/

https://archive.ph/0RnGQ

President Donald Trump on Tuesday defended the administration’s use of the military to police U.S. cities, decrying “the enemy within” and citing presidents early in the country’s history who “used the armed forces to keep domestic order and peace.” His comments came during an address to hundreds of senior U.S. military officers during an extraordinary meeting that has placed many of the Pentagon’s top generals and admirals in one room. Earlier, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pledged to fix “decades of decay” in the military, which he blamed on “foolish and reckless politicians.” The gathering, at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia, was ordered by Hegseth last week and required some top military officers across the globe to fly thousands of miles on short notice to attend.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national ... HKBSLT4DUE

President Donald Trump wrapped his speech to military leaders at Quantico after about an hour and 10 minutes — remarks that characteristically veered from topic to topic. While he spoke at times about military strength, he also addressed his love of tariffs, for example, and repeatedly praised the work of firefighters.

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Here is Bloomberg's take on Trumps speech to the top military brass.


Trump Tells Military Brass U.S. Faces ‘Invasion From Within’
By Josh Wingrove, Natalia Drozdiak and Courtney McBride
September 30, 2025

Introduction:

(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump told top military brass that the US is fighting an “invasion from within,” as he used a highly unusual gathering of officers stationed around the world to deliver a largely political speech that highlighted border security and rooting out “woke” culture.
“After spending trillions of dollars defending the borders of foreign countries, with your help, we’re defending the borders of our country,” Trump said on Tuesday at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia.

“It’s the enemy from within, and we have to handle it before it gets out of control,” he added.

Aside from teasing “major reforms” to defense acquisition processes and foreign military sales, Trump’s remarks largely drew on familiar themes. He repeated claims of resolving seven wars, criticized the “corrupt” media, and pledged to root out political correctness — sounding more like a rally than a traditional address by the commander-in-chief to his top military leaders.

Trump said he was ready to fire officials who he doesn’t like, echoing his Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth, who was originally slated to be the sole keynote speaker at the event.

Read more here: https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/ ... 3&ei=60

caltrek comment: Here we see a further scapegoating of the problems of the U.S. on immigrants. Also targeted is the so-called "woke" culture and "political correctness." Trump is clearly waging a campaign against any sort of affirmative action or recognition of the impact of past practices of discrimination against various groups. This is based on a zero-sum mentality in which efforts to benefit one group must necessarily be to the detriment of another group. This ignores the idea that greater equality and fairness can benefit everybody.

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US Justice Department sues Minnesota over sanctuary policies

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/us-ju ... r-AA1Nypvy

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Judge finds Trump admin. unconstitutionally targeted pro-Palestinian students

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/judge ... r-AA1NBZH7

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Man detained by feds at Broadview ICE facility deported, family says

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/man-d ... r-AA1NBPwX

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US judge disqualifies Nevada prosecutor from four cases in blow to Trump

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics ... r-AA1NCWyq

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ADL deletes ‘Glossary of Extremism and Hate’ amid flurry of right-wing criticism

https://www.jta.org/2025/10/01/united-s ... -criticism

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US-born citizen sues after twice being arrested by immigration agents

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/us-bo ... r-AA1NGOKn

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Justice Department fires prosecutor falsely tied to Comey case in social media post

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics ... r-AA1NHrxN

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Female vets fire back at Hegseth over claims of lowered military standards

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/femal ... r-AA1NGCXU

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We Must Fight Like Hell Against Trump’s Authoritarianism
By Bernie Sanders
October 2, 2025

Introduction:

(Common Dreams) Make no mistakes about it, we are living in dangerous and unprecedented times as we combat Trump‘s oligarchy, authoritarianism, kleptocracy, and his horrific attacks against working families.

We have more income and wealth inequality than we’ve ever had; we have more corporate control of the media than we’ve ever had; we have more billionaire money buying elections than we’ve ever had.

We have a major housing and educational crisis, people are going to the grocery store and can’t afford the food their families need, and we have a health care system that is completely broken.

Meanwhile, we have a president who is a pathological liar, who has little regard for the rule of law, who is suing media outlets that criticize him, threatening to jail his political opponents and talking about the military invading U.S. cities as practice.

And on Tuesday night, as you know, the government shut down because—for the first time in modern history—Donald Trump and the Republican Party are approaching a budget conversation that requires 60 votes with a take it or leave it approach.

Read more here: https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/w ... arianism

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Apple removes ICE tracking apps after Trump administration says they threaten officers

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/apple ... r-AA1NNVoD

Live-streaming journalist deported to El Salvador after months in ICE custody

https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/03/media/ma ... l-salvador

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