Tag Archives: Fascism

Donald Trump – America’s Mussolini

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I have finished reading a series of books that purport to explain what has been happening in the politics of the United States and the larger world. The books are:

Age of Revolutions: Progress and backlash from 1600 to the present (2024) by Fareed Zakaria

Fortress America: How We Embraced Fear and Abandoned Democracy (2020) by Elaine Tyler May

Autocracy, Inc.: The Dictators Who Want to Run the World (2024) by Anne Applebaum

And, finally, the most recent is one I have just begun: Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present (2021) by Ruth Ben-Ghiat. The book was published before Trump fully manifested as the malignant fascist that he has become, but it was after he had been elected the first time and gave his infamous “American Carnage” inaugural speech in 2017 that prompted former Republican President George W. Bush to exclaim: “That’s some weird sh*t.”

The compelling opening of Strongmen lies in the description of one “strongman” in particular, perhaps the model for those that would follow: Benito Mussolini. Ben-Ghiat writes:

The disaffection with conventional politics and politicians after a ruinous war created yearnings for a new kind of leader. The cults that rose up around Mussolini and Hitler in the early 1920s answered anxieties about the decline of male status, the waning of traditional religious authority, and the loss of moral clarity…. Out of the crucible of these years came the cults of victimhood that turned emotions like resentment and humiliation into positive elements of party platforms…. Mussolini prepared the script used by today’s authoritarians that casts the leader as a victim of his domestic enemies and of an international system that has cheated his country.

That is Trump’s and the Republican Party’s 2025 legislative and other agendas in a nutshell.

Aside from the parallels between Trump’s raison d’etre and Mussolini, one other thing caught my eye in the early going in Strongmen:

Two-thirds of dictators were removed by coups between 1950 and 2000.

Not all, of course; several remained in power for decades. Still, I was reminded of the line from Shakespeare’s Henry IV: “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.”  While the line generally is taken to refer to the burdens of leadership, I have also seen it as a reference to the risks that the leader faces from those who would take his power by force. In that sense, it suggests the leader had best be a light sleeper if he wants to survive.

In Trump’s case, however, I doubt that he is restless out of concern for his health. The fears and anxieties that must ravage his mind every night likely relate more to his insecurities and lust for more money and power.

That aside, the parallels between Mussolini’s messaging and Trump’s are unmistakable. They lend compelling weight to the proposition that Trump is a fascist with a fascist message. Those who seek ways to resist Trump and separate his cultish followers from him might do well to study Mussolini’s rise to power and eventual downfall.

A Group of Election Pundits Walked Into a Bar ….

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And they began to debate the Republican debate and, just like the real debate, they agreed on almost nothing of importance.

After reading several “expert” analyses of the debate, it’s clear the “experts” are as uncertain as the candidates. Not surprising, I suppose, given that this was the first debate and Trump, the most prominent criminal in American political history, decided to debate from another location where he could not be called to account for his endless lies, incompetence, and criminality.

Speaking of which, most of the Republican “contenders” did agree on one thing: if Trump wins the nomination, they’ll support him against Joe Biden. There is little doubt that if George Washington and Abraham Lincoln were to rise from their graves and run as a Democratic ticket, the Republican contenders would support Trump for president over them. Trump’s hold on these people tells you all you need to know about this collection of losers. They will say nothing to offend the MAGA crowd that, perfectly happy with a fascist criminal like Trump, will determine the Republican nomination. Even Mike Pence, who has “boldly” observed the obvious – that Trump had demanded he raise Trump’s ambition over the Constitution — raised his hand when asked if he would support Trump as the nominee.

Profiles in courage, these are not.

One of the more substantive treatments of the debate was produced by Vox.com, seen in full at https://tinyurl.com/2bw44t8y. The author noted that the early part of the debate was a simulacrum of a Republican-style debate from yesteryear in which issues like abortion bans (they all want to control women’s bodies and health decisions, the reality of climate change (they all agree with Trump that it’s a hoax), urban crime (we need more guns), K-12 education (education is for libtards – ban the books!), immigration (furriners, keep ‘em out), the Russia-Ukraine war (appease Putin with Ukraine’s territory – communism bad, Putin OK), and the rise of China (COVID, the gift that keeps on giving).

The Vox view was that an absent Donald Trump still won the debate. The moderators, despite their Fox “News” credentials, also came in as losers (they always lose control of “debates,” apparently even when Trump is absent–remarkable).

How any of these folks expect to win much support from the MAGA crowd, or indeed any remaining “Republicans,” if they’re not willing to say anything bad about the MAGA love child remains a complete mystery. Is this just some kind of “show” designed to fool people into thinking the Republican Party is legitimate and has real options in its ranks to the fascism promoted by Trump? It’s a mystery. Seriously, why bother going through the motions when anyone there with a plausible case to make (?) is terrified of speaking ill of the poll leader?

As noted in the USAToday report, https://tinyurl.com/34bt8suy, Vivek Ramaswamy, the other billionaire candidate (do we need another billionaire president??), called Trump “the best president of the 21st century.” One positive thought about Ramaswamy: if he became president, the aliens hanging out at Area 51 would break out and immediately head back into outer space, never to return to what will remain of Earth after its habitable phase ends at the hands of climate change (I know, I know, climate change is the Democrats new hoax – Trump said so and therefore it must be true, nothing to worry about, move along).

A clear example of what we could expect in the way of logical thinking from a President Ramaswamy may be found in this quote:

Your claim that Donald Trump is motivated by vengeance and grievance would be a lot more credible if your entire campaign were not based on vengeance and grievance against Donald Trump.

Think about that for a moment: Trump can’t be “motivated by vengeance and grievance” because their campaigns are based on “vengeance and grievance against him.”

But then, of course, the great moralist Mike Pence scolded the only woman on the stage regarding a national abortion ban by offering this beauty: “consensus is the opposite of leadership.” What he meant to say was “when I’m president, I won’t care what people think; I’ll tell you female hussies what to do and you’ll do it or else.”

All in all, it was a rough night for rationality. And history, as always in Republican circles, took a back seat to ideology. While there was minority support for continuing to help Ukraine resist Russian aggression, there was much sentiment for the old “America First” claptrap: appease Russia with a big piece of Ukraine and hope the Russian Bear’s appetite for conquest is sated. Isolationism in another wrapper. It has never worked but, hey, Republicans need to have something to say, so ….

What’s left of the Republican Party thus has only this to offer: a multiply-indicted criminal lunatic or one of a cast of confused, ignorant wannabes who haven’t got the courage of their, or anyone’s, convictions to challenge the lunatic. Elect one of these beauties and it’s game over.

Governor DeSantis – Herald for a Second Dark Age

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Way back when, a herald was a man (of course) who made public pronouncements, often on behalf of a king. He was the “bringer of news,” as it were. Also, way back when, we had the Dark Ages, a term apparently disfavored now, but still in use to signify a period of intellectual and cultural decay in the Middle Ages (roughly the 5th through 10th centuries). Then came the Renaissance and Scientific Revolutions leading to the Enlightenment, roughly the 17th & 18th Centuries, characterized as including,

a range of ideas centered on the value of human happiness, the pursuit of knowledge obtained by means of reason and the evidence of the senses, and ideals such as natural law, liberty, progress, toleration, fraternity, constitutional government, and separation of church and state.

Western Europe and the United States (born in 1789 with ratification of the Constitution) were in the ascendancy and eventually the U.S. became one of the world’s so-called superpowers. In the U.S. freedom of expression, intellectual disputation and many other forces of democracy and personal freedom flourished on and off, at least compared with what came before and what was going on in most other countries.

Democracy as practiced here and in most other countries that have it (not many) is a rough and tumble messy affair. Many people have disparate ideas about what constitutes the good life, moral behavior and just about everything else. But underlying all the chaos was, we have believed, the underlying agreement that it was ok to have disparate ideas as long as everyone was treated with some measure of tolerance and respect. It was, in short, okay to disagree.

And, to seal the deal, the U.S. Constitution makes clear in the very first Amendment after initial adoption that “freedom of speech” is among the five most prized freedoms we have in this country: (the full five are freedom of speech, press, petition, assembly, and religion).

The governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, nicknamed DeathSantis because his policies during the COVID pandemic almost certainly led to the unnecessary deaths of many thousands of Floridians, sees things differently now that he wants to be president of the United States. His path to glory lies through the delusional mass of Trump acolytes, and DeSantis is fine with catering to their every fear and bigotry if it paves his path to power.

Thus, we have the spectacle of DeSantis opposing the use of Advance Placement courses that cover topics he, on behalf of the STATE, finds objectionable. The topics in question? Well, of course, it was the new AP African American studies course.

The state education department, based on its view of preliminary documents, declared in January that the African American studies course “lacks educational value.”  [https://wapo.st/3nihZ92]

Of course, Florida’s governor doesn’t want Florida’s students to learn about African American history. He’d rather put Florida students at a competitive disadvantage against other states’ kids in the highly competitive arena of college education. Keep ‘em ignorant and in Florida. That’s the ticket.

But to prove it’s not just about bigotry, DeSantis suggested at a press conference that he had problems with allAP classes in Florida schools. These long-standing programs cover many subjects, including math, science, social sciences, humanities, languages and more. In fact, some AP courses were being offered a hundred years ago when I was in high school. Who knew what terrible consequences would result from having educated students, steeped in history and the rest?

The Washington Post reports that more than 199,000 Florida students enrolled in AP classes in 2020-21. Some 366,000 AP tests were given in Florida in 2021, more than in any other state except Texas (527,000) and California (683,000). Florida’s students must think these courses are valuable.

But, no worries, the state government under DeSantis will straighten them out:

The state Department of Education contends that the class is “inexplicably contrary to Florida law.” A new education law championed by DeSantis requires lessons on race be taught in “an objective manner” and “not used to indoctrinate or persuade students to a particular point of view.” Some education advocates and teachers say the law is so broadly framed that it is having a chilling effect on the teaching of Black history.

The state Education Department, under the governor’s thumb, listed “concerns” in the curriculum, including topics covering “Intersectionality and Activism,” “Black Feminist Literary Theory” and “Black Queer Studies.”

“Now who would say that an important part of Black history is queer theory?” DeSantis said at a news conference this week. “That is somebody pushing an agenda on our kids.”

There are indications that the College Board is considering modifications to the AP curricula to mollify DeSantis. A Florida Department of Education spokesman was quoted to claim that “Critical Race Theory, Black Queer Studies, Intersectionality, and other topics … violate our law.” What law that is remains something of a mystery, but it seems clear that the current government of Florida wants to keep its students ignorant of subjects that are mainstream issues in America today. Ignorance, the saying claims, is bliss.

This article from January 2023 recounts much of the controversy. https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/01/25/desantis-african-american-studies-black-history/

Here are a collection of articles discussing the DeSantis fascist impact:

Florida teachers strip classroom shelves of books in response to DeSantis ban https://tinyurl.com/bderbwmk

Florida GOP Senate advances bill to revoke Disney’s special tax status https://tinyurl.com/mtn7xv8j

DeSantis takes on Disney in a culture war with national implications https://tinyurl.com/4f3m35j5

DeSantis signs bill requiring survey of Florida students, professors on their political views https://tinyurl.com/4fkm9tvu

‘Goes beyond ignorance’ Historians slam DeSantis’ claims about American slavery https://www.alternet.org/2022/09/ron-desantis-2658332899

OpinionBeware, DeSantis is as much a threat to America as Trump  https://tinyurl.com/5n8xb29y

DeSantis pushes to permanently ban Covid-19 mandates in Florida https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/18/politics/desantis-covid-policy-florida/index.html

Florida, Missouri tell Justice Department voting monitors to stay outside polling places https://tinyurl.com/zjxn2cj2

Disney World halts vaccine requirement for workers after Florida restricts employer mandates https://tinyurl.com/bs7a6fbk

University of Florida bars faculty members from testifying in voting rights lawsuit against DeSantis administration https://tinyurl.com/bdhncjus

Ron DeSantis Is Getting His Mask Advice From A Psychiatrist Pushing Ivermectin https://tinyurl.com/mr3mhsu4

In Florida, DeSantis cut jobless aid just as virus began terrifying new wave https://tinyurl.com/2mrd9vm4

In push against ‘indoctrination,’ DeSantis mandates surveys of Florida college students’ beliefs https://tinyurl.com/2eypzdp4

DeSantis says he will pardon Floridians charged with violating pandemic rules: ‘They’ve been treated poorly’ https://tinyurl.com/4rrfzy4b

YouTube removes video of DeSantis coronavirus roundtable https://tinyurl.com/2rnh4jak

Coronavirus ravaged Florida, as Ron DeSantis sidelined scientists and followed Trump https://tinyurl.com/2p977ps6

The College Board Strips Down Its A.P. Curriculum for African American Studies https://tinyurl.com/2kfsakw8

The essence of the DeSantis phenomenon is that he is trying to out-Trump Trump to siphon Trump’s most deranged supporters and get himself elected president. It’s a fool’s errand, but DeSantis is determined. In the process, Florida will be a place where ignorance is valued over knowledge and, ironically, “political correctness” right-wing style will become essential to electoral success. At least unless and until the people of Florida wake up to the reality of how their national standing is going to be undermined by the arrival of the new Dark Ages in their state.

Fascism in Florida – Come & Get Me

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Subtitle: Your papers, please.

Subtitle: “We must believe in the power and the strength of our words. Our words can change the world.” – Malala Yousafzai

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Florida Senator Jason Brodeur has introduced legislation (2023 SB 1316) to, among other things, require bloggers who are compensated in any way for articles “about” certain state officials (including the governor) to register with the state and file regular reports.

Brodeur is a Republican (I know, I had you at “Florida Senator”). Brodeur’s background can be read here: https://www.flsenate.gov/senators/s10/?Tab=Personal  He is not stupid, in the sense that he has earned a Master’s in Public Health from Dartmouth College. That can’t be easy. But, of course, we’ve learned that intelligence and high educational achievement do not necessarily produce rational or coherent politicians. See, e.g., Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz.

Brodeur is a very busy guy – he has nine committee assignments. But he’s not too busy to propose a law that must have been copped from a first-year law school exam question: “draft a law that violates the First Amendment in at least ten ways.”

Brodeur’s brainchild legislation applies to bloggers who receive “anything of value” for posting blog pieces “about” Florida political leaders. “Blogger” means “any person as defined in s. 1.01(3) that submits a blog post to a blog which is subsequently published.”  If the “anything of value” is not currency, then the term means the fair market value of the item or service received. The triggering action includes that the blogger has received or “will receive” compensation and thus requires registration even if the blogger has only been promised something of value, whether or not it is actually received later.

I have questions. First, what is “anything” in “anything of value?” Are “likes” posted in response to the blog post “anything of value?”  How about readers’ reposts on other blogs? What if someone just sends me money as a “reward” for my bold reporting of the truth about Florida politicians? So many questions.

I could not find “s.1.01(3)” that the bill says contains the definition of “blogger.” Search and Advanced Search of Florida statutes turned up no documents. Search of the proposed bill for the definition – same, nada. But you can get there by additive analysis of the key operative language.

Missing, however, is any geographic limitation, leaving the question whether the bill’s authors intend it to apply to bloggers everywhere. I can’t wait. I’m going to send this post to the bill’s author and ask if I’m in violation. Come for me. Please. Pulleeesee come for me. I’ll be visiting Florida in a few weeks, so if you guys hurry, you can make me a violator while I ‘m there. While there, I plan to publish another blog post entitled, Governor DeathSantis – Herald for the Second Dark Age. I can reasonably guarantee that Hiz Honor, the Govnah isn’t going to like it.

Back to the merits. The Brodeur bill requires bloggers whose post is “about” an “elected state officer” or “mentions an elected state officer” to register with the state within five (5) days after the posting. An “elected state officer” includes the “Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, a Cabinet officer, or any member of the Legislature.” Once registered, the blogger must file monthly reports, unless the blogger does not have “a blog post” on a blog during a given month. Presumably, “a blog post” refers to only those that “mention” an “elected state officer” in some way, but this is unclear.

No time limit for the reports can be found in the bill so presumably the filing requirement continues in perpetuity unless the blogger stops blogging about “elected state officers.” That, of course, is the point, isn’t it? To use the power of the state to suppress criticism of elected politicians.

But wait, there is more. The bill states exactly what must be reported:

  • The individual or entity that compensated the blogger for the blog post.
  • The amount of compensation, rounded to the nearest $10 increment, received from the individual or entity, regardless of how the compensation is structured.
  • If the compensation is for a series of blog posts or for a defined period, the blogger must disclose the total amount to be received upon the first blog post being published. Thereafter, the monthly report must disclose the actual date(s) of additional compensation received for the series of posts.
  • The date of publication of each post.
  • The website and website address where the blog post can be found.

Late reports are subject to fines of $25 per day late subject to a maximum of $2,500 per report. Fines are paid into trust funds created by Florida law to fund the administration of lobbyist registrations, including salaries and other expenses and to pay expenses incurred by, for example, the state legislature in “providing services to lobbyists.” The state legislature provides “services to lobbyists?” What?

Thus, the underlying concept of this legislation is that blog posts “about,” say, a legislator are by legislative fiat, lobbying and are to be treated as such for purpose of fining late-filed reports. This is so even if the blog post is in no way related to attempts to influence legislation. A blog post “about” a state legislator might be an exposé of asserted corruption by the legislator, but if the blogger doesn’t file the report on time, her fines are to be paid into the legislative fund for managing lobbying registrations and the cost of services for lobbyists.

Brodeur was quoted in an interview claiming that people who write about the legislature are indistinguishable from lobbyists who talk to legislators. What? Do lobbyists in Florida openly criticize the legislators whose favor they’re seeking? Not likely. People who write critically about legislators (for present purposes, “bloggers”) are in no way similar to lobbyists who try to curry favor with legislators to get (or prevent) legislation.

Even Newt Gingrich has labeled this legislation “insane” and an “embarrassment.” Yes, it’s true. Even the Newtster thinks this legislation is nuts. He urged its withdrawal. https://bit.ly/3ZPeXYc Not likely. Your papers, please.

I will not waste more time on this nonsense. The notion that a state government can compel a compensated person (“anything of value”) who writes “about” the Governor or a legislator of the state to register and file reports is so blatantly a violation of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that detailed analysis is unnecessary. Recall that Florida is among the leading states banning books about various aspects of American history that politicians don’t want anyone to read. If the Republicans in Florida have their way, the state will have justly earned renaming to Gilead.

Stay tuned for publication of Governor DeathSantis – Herald for the Second Dark Age. I will never register nor pay a dime in fines to Florida so ….