Tag: American fascism

  • Bob Dylan: License to Kill

    Bob Dylan: License to Kill

    Now, there’s a woman on my block
    She just sit there as the night grows still

    She say who gonna take away his license to kill?

    License to Kill

    Written by: Bob Dylan
    Man thinks ’cause he rules the earth he can do with it as he please
    And if things don’t change soon, he will
    Oh, man has invented his doom
    First step was touching the moon
    Now, there’s a woman on my block
    She just sit there as the night grows still
    She say who gonna take away his license to kill?
    Now, they take him and they teach him and they groom him for life
    And they set him on a path where he’s bound to get ill
    Then they bury him with stars
    Sell his body like they do used cars
    Now, there’s a woman on my block
    She just sit there facin’ the hill
    She say who gonna take away his license to kill?
    Now, he’s hell-bent for destruction, he’s afraid and confused
    And his brain has been mismanaged with great skill
    All he believes are his eyes
    And his eyes, they just tell him lies
    But there’s a woman on my block
    Sitting there in a cold chill
    She say who gonna take away his license to kill?
    Ya may be a noisemaker, spirit maker
    Heartbreaker, backbreaker
    Leave no stone unturned
    May be an actor in a plot
    That might be all that you got
    ’Til your error you clearly learn
    Now he worships at an altar of a stagnant pool
    And when he sees his reflection, he’s fulfilled
    Oh, man is opposed to fair play
    He wants it all and he wants it his way

    Now, there’s a woman on my block
    She just sit there as the night grows still
    She say who gonna take away his license to kill?

    Copyright © 1983 by Special Rider Music

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  • Who has betrayed the American people?

    Who has betrayed the American people?

    The Occupation of the United States by our Rogue Government

    The Great Betrayal and Trump’s imitation of Nazi Fascist Tactics.

    Editor’s Note: At the end of this article you will find a video of a System Update by Glenn Greenwald featuring his rebuttal of Stephen Miller, who drives much of Trump’s racist program. In addition, The Guardian has published information they have received of another Trump cohort, tech entrepreneur Peter Thiel, who cofounded PayPal and whose latest travesty is Palantir, a software that now works with the Department of War and with ICE in analyzing data, among other corporations and government agencies.

    THEIL LECTURES

    Over the past month, Peter Thiel has hosted a series of lectures philosophizing about who the antichrist could be and warning that Armageddon is coming. Illustration: Guardian Design/Getty Images

    ,  in San Francisco and  / The Guardian / October 10, 2025

    Here is text from talks given by Thiel who had barred reporters and anyone from recording or replicating his talks in any form of public information; the series of four talks attracted large audiences consisting of primarily young white males. The Guardian obtained the excerpts from an anonymous source. Here are Thiel’s influences:

    The Silicon Valley heavyweight drew on a wide swath of religious thinkers, including the French-American theorist René Girard, whom Thiel knew at Stanford University, and the Nazi jurist Carl Schmitt, whose work he said helped create the core of his own beliefs. He credited the English Catholic theologian John Henry Newman as the inspiration for his four-part series, saying: “Newman did four, so I’m doing four. I’m happy about it.”

    In the midst of his antichrist hype and meandering, he says:

    Then of course, the global financial architecture we discussed is not really run by shadowy international organizations, it’s basically American. And perhaps always a very important feature is the reserve currency status of the dollar, where it’s sort of the backstop for all the money. The petrodollar regime, there’s sort of crazy ways you have trade deficits, current account deficits, but then in all these ways, the money gets recycled into the US.

    This comment folds in with an offhand comment I heard the other day online about money laundering, Thiel is all over the place in theology; he basicallly sounds somewhat confused if not mad. But money (and how to make it) he understands. However, if the money does get recycled to the U.S. it goes to the corporations, gas and oil and war industries, to the billionaires, not to the common people or for the common good. And many Americans are beginning to understand this fact.

    IMITATION OF FASCIST TACTICS

    NEW ICE ARMY

    ICE

    • The most obvious tactic and strategy right now is ICE with unlimited power. ICE was created during Trump’s first term.
      • ICE stands for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a federal law enforcement agency within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) responsible for enforcing federal laws governing immigration, trade, and border security to promote national security and public safety. Created in 2003, ICE was formed by merging the U.S. Customs Service and the Immigration and Naturalization Service, giving it a broad range of civil and criminal authorities to address threats related to immigration and trade. (Definition: Google AI)
      • It sounds in bureaucratise like a good thing, whereas it is a deadly consolidation of law enforcement with intelligence and other government agencies. The power of their enforcement arm was enhanced by funding from the passing of the Big Beautiful (Ugly) budget biill this year and ICE police now roam the streets of our cities with impunity and cruelty, arresting and jailing immigrants and other “suspicious” people for deportation.
    • Needless to say, almost all of these arrests are of people of color. The ICE police are simply an imitation of Hitler’s SS/Gestapo:
      • The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany, infamous for its brutality and use of terror to suppress political opposition and persecute minority groups. During the Holocaust, the Gestapo arrested and persecuted countless individuals, using extreme violence and torture to enforce Nazi policies. (Definition: Google AI)
    • The consolidation of these agencies and their intertwining is documented by Unicorn Riot in a rather dense article rife with ancronyms of agencies. (‘ICE Army’ From National Guard, State, Local & College Police)
      • Soon after the article was published an incident proving their coordination and use occurred in south Minneapolis, an Hispanic center of the city, under the rubric of being a drug raid. No doubt there is a drug trade in the Twin Cities, but this “raid’ had the hallmarks of an excuse for ICE, whose officers were present, along with FBI and some anonymous law enforcement who refused to be identified, and local police, The community responded by turning out in large numbers to protest their presence.

    ICE-Led ‘Homeland Security Task Force’ Raid Draws Large Mobilization in Minneapolis: Feds Leverage Assistance from Minneapolis Police & Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office; Debut Action of New Task Force Shocks Lake Street Community; Anonymous Federal Police Identify as “The Others” on Nameplate.By Dan Feidt, Unicorn Riot /

    Interestjngly, the drug trade is also named by the Trump administration as the reason for the raids on speedboats off the coast of Venezuela in international waters, which is illegal by international law. In one such attack 11 people were killed. Speculation is that they were immigrants, not drug-trade criminals. If it was a boat smuggling drugs why were many people in it? If connected to drug smuggling there would only have most likely been two or three.

    Education

    • In regard to student protest Hitler’s action was swift and cruel. A group of students who were leafletting against Hitler called the White Rose were simply arrested and beheaded along with their faculty advisor.
    • Jewish professors under Hitler suddenly found themselves without a job with no good reason for their firing.
    • The destruction of academic freedom around Palestine/Gaza and the suppression and punishment of student protesters and their allies:
      Trump has singled out and attacked professors who support the students and who support academic freedom and are against the genocidal bombing of Gaza. He has attacked faculty and students on many campuses around the country, starting with Columbia and most recently the University of California in Berkeley.
    • Only Harvard has had the resources to challenge the Trump administration that has threated colleges and universities nationwide with withdrawal of federal funds unless they comply with the demanded actions. Currently their lawsuit is awaiting a ruling by a judge regarding an agreement reached. However, the government shutdown may hold back the decision.
    • In the case of Berkely Trump and his cohorts have gone even further, targeting 160 faculty and closing down the office that dealt with these issues of academic freedom.
    • Note: As of Oct. 4 2025 Gov.Gavin Newsom defended his intent to withhold state funds from any California university or college that signs on to Trump’s demands to essentially silence student and academics who support Palestine or question Trump’s education agenda that curtails free speech. This defense continues.
    • Education programs based on DEI are under attack:
      A concerted and multi-pronged attack on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts in education is underway in 2025, driven by political pressure, new federal policies, and state laws. This has led to the dismantling of DEI programs in hundreds of schools and a climate of intense scrutiny for institutions that maintain them. (Google AI)

    The Camps

    • The Trump administration’s camps that hold immigrants illegally, without due process of law, usually before deportation, are not quite as severe perhaps as gassing people to death in “showers” as Hitler did. But the conditions have proved to be terrible, with the Florida “Alligator Alcatraz” being an example of the worst with inadequate toilet facilities, no medical care, maggots in inadequate food, etc.
    • Many people have already been deported; some are holders of green cards and even U.S. citizens. Often they are shuffled into inadequate spaces to hold them under inadequate facilities. Some are deported back to countries they left as political refugees and fear for their lives, others are sent not to their countries of origin but to places where they have no history with the culture and may not even speak the language. Daily, hourly, people are grabbed from rhe street by the ICE police, sometimes with the aiding and abetting of local law enforcement.

    Racism

    • As you can see the practice of racism is woven throughout the polices of the Trump administration and the Heritage Foundation’s project 2025 with blatant evidence of rampant racism. White supremacy reigns with all its fascist implications. The false idea of a superior race flashes in white neon in front of you every step of its fascist way. The dominance of the corporation typical of fascist governments is also obvious with attempts to privatize what should be government functions.
      • Shutting down DEI in corporations has been controversial. Target immedately stopped the DEI programs started under the Biden administation, resulting in a national boycott. COSCO on the other hand has vowed to keep its DEI program. Those are just two examples of many corporations. A list of those who ended their programs is here.   Many have been boycotted and have lost money; Target is a prime example.
      • Here is a list of companies who have defied the Trump administration around DEI.

    Some parallels that may not seem to be so obviously connected.

    Military Build-up

    • Hitler’s obvious build-up of the military led by the SS, also included conscription of the “common man” into the military and focus on building it as a fighting force. Along with building an army, sophisticated weapons were built and used while the rest of the world was behind Germany in their development at the beginning of Hitler’s invasions.
    • Trump and Co. have continued with their military build-up started in the his first term. It just gets worse and worse. Secretary of War (formerly Department of Defense before Trump renamed it) Hegseth called a gathering of U.S. military to a meeting that Trump spoke at, threatening more occupations of U.S. cities besides LA and DC that have strong antiwar movements with the excuse that they have high crime rates. Examples are Chicago and also DC whose crime rates have actually gone down recently. Such manipulation of the truth is a Trump trademark. He has now included Portland and threatened other cites of a blue stripe, that is, he is targeting cities that voted Democratic in the last election and not for Trump. Out and out revenge. Portland is the latest city to have troops sent in. All cities targeted are “blue,” dominated by the Democratic Party.

    Religion

    • The support of Trump and his agenda by the fundamentalist Christian church has been blatant. Hitler also had the support of a majority of Christian clergy and theologians in the Christian Lutheran Church in Germany. The pope, headquartered in Rome at the Vatican in Mussolini’s Italy, did not speak out against the Holocaust genocide.
    • One exception in Germany was Lutheran minister Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who spoke out and was even involved in an unsuccessful plot to kill Hitler that he was imprisoned for, and then executed as the liberating troops approached the camp where he was incarcerated. He wrote Letters and Papers from Prison and succeeded in smuggling the manuscript out of his prison. The book is now a classic and still read widely. This book, read in college in a history of religion class, was influential in my becoming an activist.

    Propaganda/Lies

    • In visiting the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. a number of years ago I was able to visit a special exhibit regarding the heavy use of propaganda against the Jewish people. There are, for example, copies of newspapers that accused Jewish people in grotesque caricature of starting wars they had nothing to do with and other crimes. Also there is a poster about disabled people rhat questions whether money should be spent in taking care of them.
    • Recent lying manipulations include after the shooting of Charlie Kirk when Trump immediately declared that the ‘left’ was responsible although statistics prove that actually more shootings are by right-wingers..
    • Another incidence was the signing of an executive order declaring Antifa a terrorist organization when Antifa is not even an organization. This move is considered a pre-warning that Trump and Co. will try to attack legitimate non-profit organizations that have said something they do not like; their attempt to sllence them is a violation of free speech.
    • The range and amount of propaganda and outright lies by Trump and the Trump administration increases every day. They are often covered or rather uncovered on alternative media such as System Update by Glenn Greenwald and many others. But they are not usually uncovered by the mainstream corporate media.

    The Media

    • Attacks on journalists have escalated, especially in and around Gaza. Many have died in their courage to reveal the truth of the genocide. Most are not western journalists but some are. Many are from Al Jazeera. Many are Palestinian. Some are independent. Numbers differ, but well over 200 have been killed according to the United Nations and others. An actual number is difficult to pin down because of different methodologies in counting.
    • The Western Mainstream Corporate Media, led by The New York Times and Washington Post, have basically been pro-Israel over the Palestine/Israel issue and conflict, especially since Oct. 7, 2023 when the initial attack by Hamas took place. Yet just recently—and at least in part  from UN Gaza rapporteur Francesca Albanese’s statement that Israel’s bombings constitute genocide — here have been some articles that are not as pro-Israel. She opened door for the governments of Western nations to formally condemn the bombings and recognize what Israel is doing as genocide although that has not stopped governments from arresting pro-Palestine protesters.
    • In a recent vote in the UN Security Council all voted against the genocide and for the Palestinians except the U.S.  When Netanyahu spoke to UN representives on his recent visit to the United States, they staged a walk-out; he spoke to a virtually empty chamber.
    • As you undoubtedly know a ceasefire and hostage exchange program is now taking place. But Israel still claims Gaza as theirs.
    • Ukraine
      • Trump continues to make deals, the only way he knows how to operate, but seems to get no place. Many see the conflict as just between Russia and Ukraine, others see it as a proxy war between the U.S and Russia and consider it part of the hegemony struggle for world domination. The U.S. losing its world domination, its imperialistic empire, which it is desperate to maintain; the struggle is playing out in part in Ukraine. Unfortunately, the current rogue rulers have escalated it into an even ‘hotter’ war with missiles going back and forth between Ukraine and Russia.
    • The U.S. mainstream corporate media remains for the most part a tool of the government and government policy.

    Art and Culture

    Hitler banned artists of all types from producing any work that criticized the Third Reich. That ban included paintings, poetry, fiction, dance…all the arts.

    A filmmaker named Leni Riefenstahl made two seminal films for Hitler:

    • In the 1930s, she directed the Nazi propaganda films Triumph of the Will (1935) and Olympia (1938), resulting in worldwide attention and acclaim. The films are widely considered two of the most effective and technically innovative propaganda films ever made.
    • Trump has followed in Hitler’s footsteps by taking over the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington DC and pushing to name it after himself. Trump and Co. have gone through the Center removing any art that is “woke” in their estimation.

    • In general Trump’s regime has frowned upon and is complicit in banning many artists and musicians such as Roger Waters of Pink Floyd fame — and winner of the World Beyond War 2025 Artistic War Abolisher Award — and also singer/songwriter David Rovics: They both have had cancellations on planned tours including in Europe; Rovics has had much of his music removed from the internet.

    Corporatism and Fascism  (Google AI)

    Corporatism is an economic and political system in which major interest groups, like labor unions and employer associations, are integrated into the government’s structure. Fascism, a radical, authoritarian political ideology, uses a specific type of corporatism as a central economic tool to exert control over the state and eliminate dissent. While corporatism can exist in other contexts, fascist corporatism is distinct in its use for totalitarian ends.

    Corporatism as a Concept

    • Ideological roots: Corporatism developed in the 19th century as a “third way” between laissez-faire capitalism and communism, advocating for class collaboration over class conflict.
    • Organizational structure: The theory organizes society into “corporations” or guilds based on economic sectors, like agriculture, industry, and professional services. These bodies are meant to represent the interests of their members and work with the government for the national good.
    • Wider application: Outside of fascism, corporatist models have been incorporated into other political systems, such as the social democracies of Nordic countries, where unions and employers negotiate with government mediation. 

    Corporatism within Fascism

    • State control: In practice, fascist corporatism became a tool for state domination rather than genuine negotiation between interest groups. The “corporate state” in Benito Mussolini’s Italy, for example, was designed to reflect the dictator’s will, not the adjusted interests of economic groups.
    • Suppression of labor: In the fascist model, the state destroyed independent labor movements and outlawed strikes, ensuring that organized workers could not challenge the regime. The government created its own controlled “unions” with appointed, not elected, leaders, which served to benefit major business owners.
    • National interest over individual: The core principle was that the national interest superseded the interests of individuals and social classes. Workers and employers were compelled to collaborate under state supervision to maximize economic output for the nation.
    • State-business partnerships: While private property was allowed, the state exerted significant control over the economy through a managed partnership with business. This included subsidizing preferred companies and directing investment toward national priorities like militarization and self-sufficiency (autarky). As historian Gaetano Salvemini noted, profits were privatized while losses were socialized, with the state bailing out failing companies. 

    Key differences between generic and fascist corporatism:

    Feature  Generic Corporatism Fascist Corporatism
    Class relations Aims for collaboration between labor and capital through genuine negotiation, sometimes with government mediation. Eliminates class conflict by force, imposing cooperation under state control, and suppressing independent labor movements.
    State’s role Mediates between organized interest groups to facilitate policy and promote stability. Serves as the ultimate authority, dictating terms and controlling the corporate bodies to enforce the will of the ruling party or leader.
    Decision-making Involves formal mechanisms for negotiation between unions, employers, and state officials. Reflects the will of the dictator, with negotiation being a facade for state-imposed policies.
    Goals Promotes social harmony, stability, and manages economic outcomes within a broader political framework. Subordinates all economic activity to the overarching political goals of the state, such as nationalism, militarism, and autarky.

    Hitler abolished unions in 1933. He was able to simply abolish them.

    • Early on Trump attacked unions and was met with strong resistance from established unions as discussed in The Unraveling of the New Deal  Part 2 on Wings of Change. More recently unions have actively  joined in opposing the rise of fascism under the Trump administration:  (Google AI)
      • As of late 2025, labor unions are actively engaged in resisting the rise of far-right authoritarianism and the policies of corporate elites and their political allies. While the labor movement is a key force in this fight, there is an ongoing debate about whether its efforts are aggressive enough, especially concerning direct challenges to potential fascist threats in the United States.

    POSTAL WORKERS Letter carriers across the country rally to stop the Trump administration from stripping the U.S. Postal Service of its independence and possibly privatizing it. Photo by: Jim West/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

    Union actions and challenges in 2025:  (Google AI)

    • Targeting specific policies: Unions are taking legal and public action against specific policies and political figures they see as anti-democratic and anti-worker. For example, the AFL-CIO is challenging actions by the Trump administration that have stripped collective bargaining rights from federal workers and threatened to illegally fire them during government shutdowns. The AFL-CIO has also publicly opposed Project 2025, a conservative policy roadmap, on the grounds that it would harm workers.
    • Promoting democracy: Unions are advocating for a “Third Reconstruction,” a political realignment that would empower a multiracial democratic movement from below. This effort aims to counter authoritarianism with a proactive vision for a more just economy and robust democracy.
    • Internal divisions and debates: Not all parts of the labor movement are unified on how to confront the threat. Some union leaders have been hesitant to explicitly name the threat of fascism, prompting concern from more militant voices within the movement. Publications like the World Socialist Web Site have criticized some union leadership for inaction, calling for a grassroots rebellion against the established union apparatus.
    • Increasing organizing efforts: Despite low union density in the United States, labor organizing is on the rise, particularly in states with stronger protections for collective bargaining. Unions are organizing in new areas and mobilizing workers to fight for better wages and conditions. This increased activity is often seen as a direct way to build worker power and resist anti-democratic forces.
    • Strong public support: Public approval for labor unions remains high, a factor that strengthens their position in fighting back against corporate and political opposition. This public backing provides a strong foundation for unions’ political and organizing efforts.
    • International perspective: Global organizations, such as the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), also explicitly condemn the rise of authoritarianism and far-right movements, seeing them as direct threats to workers’ rights and democracy. The ITUC’s 2025 Global Rights Index documented a worsening global crisis for workers’ rights fueled by these trends. 

    Acknowledging historical context:

    • The labor movement has a history of opposing fascist and authoritarian regimes. The AFL-CIO passed resolutions in 2017 to condemn and oppose fascism and white supremacist groups, stating there is no moral equivalence between those who fight fascism and those who promote hate. These efforts continue to guide the movement’s stance, but the current political climate poses renewed challenges. 

    Some Previous Tactics by the Trump Administration

    One of several of Donald Trump’s weapons of distraction because the people, including some of his followers, want the Epstein papers released to reveal Epstein’s sick cult exploiting young women as sex objects — blatant sexual abuse — is calling Obama a traitor. Without going into detail about Obama’s presidency, which had high and low points, I hope most people have realized the absurdity of this charge. He then arranged a meeting with Putin in Alaska which came to nothing among other attempts to distract from the possible release of the Epstein papers,

    Because of course the real traitor of the American people is Donald Trump and his administration, and they have taken much of Congress along with them and the Supreme Court.

    The Big Beautiful [Ugly] budget bill that has passed is proof positive that they do not care a bit about the American people, and in Trump’s case only about his millionaire and billionaire buddies. The others in his administration are in it for Money. Power, and Greed. He is the real traitor to American values and to the people of America, slashing aid of all kinds right and left, raising the cost of everything, especially food and housing, essentials for living. And then Medicaid and Medicare. Even Social Security is threatened.

    Many of the proposed changes will not take place until after the mid-term elections so those people who are not informed, many of his followers, will not know what hit them. Even if the Democrats are able to take back the House there’s still the Senate to deal with.

    A lot of what got Trump elected was the fact that so many Americans disagree with further funding of Israel’s genocide in Gaza, but Congress, especially the Senate, is immovable and has “sold the country down the river” regarding funding and arms for Israel. Anti-genocide activists did not vote for Trump but also not for Kamala Harris representing the Democratic Party. The Democrats don’t seem to understand that it lost them the election or if they do still insist on keeping their pro-Zionist stance.

    In many ways the same goes for Ukraine. It’s a proxy war with Russia with the Ukranian people who are suffering the most. Many have died, and yet the war continues. The U.S. wants resources that are in Ukraine, or what’s left of it. It is not just the wheat that fed much of the world, it is evidently mineral resources as well. Congress under Biden approved money and weapons consistently for Ukraine. So he is not off the hook either. And that is a problem for all peace people.

    Francesca Albanese, the UN rapporteur for Gaza, has courageously spoken out about how the war economy is controlling the government. She has come under attack of course by Trump and Co. I would include the gas and oil industry; these two corporate giants, the war/arms industry and gas and oil, are symbiotic: The gas and oil industry with their fossil fuel — and the corporations that practice fracking — and also the financial institutions that support them, who provide the fuel to the war economy that supplies the polluting jet planes that are used at the 877 U.S. bases around the world. That is just a portion of the pollution the U.S. military causes worldwide. It is a well-established tenet of fascism, and is updated and discussed in detail in Henry Giroux’s book American Nightmare. 

    Definition of fascism and government-directed economy: Fascist governments create a “corporate state” in which the economy is managed collectively by state officials, employers, and workers. In practice, however, the state holds the dominant role, dictating policies and subordinating private enterprise to its agenda. (Google AI)

    So who is the real traitor? It is a trick we have seen before but not at this level. During demonstrations the police would attack demonstrators and then say that the demonstrators had attacked them when they resisted arrest..

    I don’t like saying that the American people are the victims. Yet in spite of demonstrations and protests of all kinds we have been unable to stop Trump and the fascist authoritarianism based on military might instead of the use of diplomacy, for a start.

    What characterizes Trump? A huge ego that is insatiable for starters. His rudeness. His attacks on anyone who even just disagrees with him. Lies, lies, lies. Denial. And no accountability. His racism is blatant and ugly. His fostering of hate, a legacy from his first term, continues in spades. He’s a misogenist, whether or not he participated in the Epstein cult. There really is not much to admire. I just don’t see the attraction but I know many are swayed by this con man. He can sound so sincere when he is lying through his teeth.

    As far as religion is concerned, I certainly cannot see him as a Christian, although many seem to think he is. I do not know what Kool-aid they are drinking, above even his lack of moral fiber he lacks compassion: He clearly does not even know the meaning of the word.

    So maybe, finally, in the Epstein scandal he has met his Waterloo. He may also be under pressure from other officials who are included in those papers about Epstein’s cult. And there are also many photos of Trump with Epstein circulating online.

    In the meantime many more countries. some that are U.S. allies, are joining in recognizing the Palestinian state or have stated that they will.

    Trump, with the brains of Stephen Miller in charge of racist policied, also continues his fight in the colleges against pro-Palestinian protesters and the academics who support them, many of whom like Columbia, are capitulating to his threats so they receive federal funds.

    This is a clip from our show SYSTEM UPDATE, now airing every weeknight at 7pm ET on Rumble. You can watch the full episode for FREE here: https://rumble.com/v6wwl7s-system-upd…

    How will we stop Trump and his fascist regime? How wll we convince well-meaning people who believe his lies that Trump is not saving America but is destroying U.S.?

    Millions have turned out for the NO KING protests called by Indivisible. Daily we have demonstrations, bannerings, protests, workshops and conferences, organized and attended by many people in the U.S., and they represent many different segments of our society and culture. All that is good.

    But the wheels of justice move slowly. Progress is there but slower than we might like, even with the whole world engaged with not just thousands but millions turning out in countries around the world to protest the genocide in Gaza/Palestine often in defiance of their governments, using their people power. “The game is afoot.” And it is not just about the crime that is the genocide being committed by Israel with U.S. support. It is about Decolonization, Demilitarism and instead Human Rights and governments that represent the people..

    Paul Theil links the efforts to save the planet with CO2 and methane (fossil fuel and fracking) to the “antichrist” he talks about when of course the opposite is true. He attacks Greta Thunberg because of her activism to save the planet.

    Such thinking does not contain any truth. “That way madness lies,” to quote Shakespeare’s King Lear. Words and the things they represent get turned around and twisted in this world as it is now, with a need to see through to truths and reality instead of an upside down, inside out world. Language and how it is spoken and written plays a large role in our perceptions and thoughts.

    As activists we continue to gather and act in our communities, to collaborate with each other. To act, no matter which activist path we choose, keeps us sane. So far we have stayed along the path of nonviolence although challenged constantly by police and other authorities, many who do not honor nonviolence.

    We will continue and I think strive to break the barriers that divide us from those who are often our relatives, neighbors, friends and sometimes share a church or religion with us but are still taken in by those who would destroy the good things in our heritage. Yes, there are plenty of actione that are not good, especially around the history of racism in the U.S.A. and of exploitation of workers and oppression of women. But those who argue that shoving the bad things and banning the books and stories that tell of them under a blanket of white supremacy will make America great again are of course wrong. Knowing the truth is not always easy. Learning from our mistakes is I think the cliche but true. If we do not know our mistakes how can we learn from them.

    A first step is acceptance of the new demographics of a large population of people of color who are not different from you and me in their hopes and dreams and how they lead their lives as good people, imperfect as we all are.

    In one job I had the research I was doing led to me an understanding that  Hispanic peoples, at least in south and central America, had a much stronger sense of community and the importance of community lnstead of the individualism our western culture idolizes. Perhaps we can learn, are learning, from them the value of community. Something I think the Black culture in America also has.

    We go forward with nonviolence and critique, truth-telling and collaboration and continued activism in the cradles of communities of love and hope.

    Since this article was published Trump has orchestrated a ceasefire in Gaza/Palestine and a release of prisoners by both Hamas and Israel, one of his “deals.” But as welcome as this ceasefire and also influx finally of food into the starving in Gaza, the future of Palestine is not clear. While many support a two-state solution there is no guarantee that that will happen. Others support a one-state solution. In the ceasefire there is no provision for Palestine’s future. Some of Netanyahu’s govenment officials have stated that the bombing may resume. Even though the ceasefire is working thus far no concrete provisions or conditions have been proposed as to what Palestine will becomd assuming the ceasefire holds.

    At practically the same time of the ceasefire Israel attacked the food for Gaza flotilla of about 50 ships in international waters, which is illegal, and took hundreds of hostages, who were then subject to beatings and other abuse before being released. Such treatment of prisoners is unconsionable. While Trump is taking credit for the ceasefire, the recent pressure on Israel that includes the walk-out refusal to listen to Netanyahu’s speech in the UN. a number of countries, especially in Europe, supporting Palestine in agreeing that what Israel has done is genocide, the massive pro-Palestine demonstrations worldwide, along with the ICC court accusation of Israel of committing genocide.

    In this critical time hearing the voices of truth is all the more important although censorship and attacks on truth-tellers are common. Support Wings of Change as we bring you important articles and journalism beyond the mainstream corporate media on the Wings of Change website and Rise Up Times on social media  Access is alway free, but if you would like to help:
    A donation of $25 or whatever you can donate will bring you articles and opinions from independent websites, writers, and journalists as well as a blog with the opinions and creative contributions by myself and others. 

     “In the end,” Henry Giroux says, “there is no democracy without informed citizens, no justice without a language critical of injustice, and no change without a broad-based movement of collective resistance.”

    Rise Up Times is entirely reader supported.

    Thank you!

    Sue Ann Martinson

     

     

  • Robert Reich on the Government Shutdown and Ralph Nader on the Democratic Party with Chris Hedges

    Robert Reich on the Government Shutdown and Ralph Nader on the Democratic Party with Chris Hedges

    Reich explains the stakes and how we got there. . . Nader decries the impotence of the Democrats and why. . .

    Why This Is Not a Normal Government Shutdown

     

    Why the Democrats WON’T Save Us…

    In this critical time in hearing the voices of truth is all the more important although censorship and attacks on truth-tellers are common. Support WingsofChange.me as we bring you important articles and journalism beyond the mainstream corporate media on the Wings of Change website and Rise Up Times on social media  Access is alway free, but if you would like to help:
    A donation of $25 or whatever you can donate will bring you articles and opinions from independent websites, writers, and journalists as well as a blog with the opinions and creative contributions by myself and others. 

    Rise Up Times is entirely reader supported.

    Sue Ann Martinson, Writer, Editor Wings of Change

  • “Time to Cut Ties with Israel”: U.N. Expert Francesca Albanese on Gaza Hospital Bombing

    “Time to Cut Ties with Israel”: U.N. Expert Francesca Albanese on Gaza Hospital Bombing

    “There has been a tolerance of Israel’s impunity for decades,” says Albanese. “However, the United States is the single most important factor of crisis in the United Nations.”

    Israel’s war on Gaza is the deadliest conflict for journalists in recorded history. In an attack on Nasser Hospital in Gaza Monday, Israel killed five more journalists in addition to over a dozen others. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed the hospital attack was a “tragic mishap,” but just hours later, Israeli forces killed a sixth journalist. “There is a pattern of targeting and killing journalists that lets us think that there is an intention,” says Francesca Albanese, U.N. special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory.

    As countries prepare for the U.N. General Assembly, Albanese notes the complicity of Western states in the genocide in Gaza, particularly the United States. “There has been a tolerance of Israel’s impunity for decades,” says Albanese. “However, the United States is the single most important factor of crisis in the United Nations.”

    Note: Video also included below: “Chicago Leaders Prepare to Face the Dictator Head On” Below the Chicago video is the full transcript of Franceca Albanese’s intertiew video with Amy Goodman of Democracy Now!

    “We Must Defeat Fascism”: Chicago Alderman on Trump’s Threat to Deploy Troops to City

    Transcript for Francesca Albanese

    This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

    AMY GOODMAN: Human rights and press freedom groups are denouncing Israel’s attack on Nasser Hospital in Gaza Monday that killed at least 21 journalists — that killed at least 21 people, including five journalists. According to eyewitnesses, Israel carried out a double-tap strike on the hospital. In the initial strike, a drone hit Hussam al-Masri, a cameraman who worked for Reuters. Then another strike, minutes later, hit journalists and rescue workers who were responding to the initial strike.

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed the hospital attack was a, quote, “tragic mishap.” But just hours later, Israeli forces killed a sixth journalist, Hassan Douhan, a well-known editor at Al-Hayat Al-Jadida. He was killed when an Israeli tank shelled a tent sheltering displaced people in Khan Younis.

    Over the past 23 months, Israel has barred all foreign journalists from reporting inside Gaza, while systematically killing Palestinian journalists. According to one count, Israel has killed least 245 journalists. On Monday, Thibaut Bruttin, the director general of Reporters Without Borders, denounced Israel’s attack on journalists.

    THIBAUT BRUTTIN: When and where is it going to end? Are we going to let the Israel Defense Forces continue the repeated killing of journalists? There is international law. There are guarantees that should be granted to journalists covering conflicts. And none of that seems to be applying. So, we need to be very clear about the fact that none of the journalists that are allegedly terrorists are terrorists. They are professional journalists working for legacy professional media, like, for example, Reuters or, for example, AP.

    AMY GOODMAN: In other news from Gaza, three more Palestinians have starved to death, bringing the total to at least 303.

    We’re joined right now by Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory. She’s joining us from Tunis, Tunisia.

    Welcome back to Democracy Now!, Francesca Albanese. Can you start off by responding to the killing of the, at this point, in the last day, six journalists, five of them in a double-tap strike on Nasser Hospital?

    FRANCESCA ALBANESE: Thank you, Amy. Yeah, of course.

    Look, in a situation of conflicts, targeting or killing journalists is unlawful. Journalists, like doctors and medical personnel and rescues, all those who have been killed in this attack, are civilians, so killing them is unlawful. They are protected under international humanitarian law.

    However, here, it’s not an isolated incident. Journalists have been killed in such high numbers. Some say 200 have been documented. Al Jazeera speaks of 270 journalists killed. So there is a pattern of targeting and killing journalists, that let us think that there is an intention behind it. There is a widespread and systematic attack against them, like there is a systematic and widespread attack against civilians. And this might qualify as also as a crime against humanity in and of itself.

    However, however, I want to remind everyone that we are on the 688th day of the assault against Gaza, which an increasing consensus denounces as genocidal. And there is famine, and there is this complete destruction of landscapes in Gaza. So, the question is: What are member states waiting exactly to intervene and stop this carnage?

    JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, Francesca Albanese, you have said that there have to be response. You’ve called for sanctions against Israel. Could you talk about how those might work, especially, as you mentioned, the fact that state governments are not taking any action?

    FRANCESCA ALBANESE: Oh, absolutely. Look, I would like people to understand this in the broader context of international law. No later than last year, the International Court of Justice has confirmed that Israel’s presence in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem is unlawful, must be dismantled totally and unconditionally. And the General Assembly has also given Israel a very generous deadline of one year to do so, which will expire in a month from now. In the face of this, member states have an obligation not to aid and assist in any possible ways a state like Israel in maintaining the situation created by Israel’s unlawful presence. So, while it is abhorrent that they are not stopping Israel, this delay increases their level of responsibility, their violation of international law, and possibly their complicity with the crimes that Israel is committing.

    This is why my recommendations are for member states who do not want to incur in this legal — in their legal responsibilities, and also out of humanity, to break the siege. Member states who have a port in the Mediterranean Sea must absolutely send their navies, under their national flag, with humanitarian aid and doctors, with food and baby formula, because 500,000 people, according to the United Nations, are close to — are really close to starvation. But also, as we see the Sumud Flotilla, so ordinary citizens jumping on boats and trying to do what member states are not doing, I feel that it’s totally immoral and irresponsible to let individuals like this take this risk, when it’s a state obligation to break the siege.

    But also, it’s time to cut ties with Israel, to cut trade, because this is also what the ICJ has reminded member states they need to take all steps to prevent trade and investment relations that are assisting in the maintenance of Israel’s unlawful presence. And we must recall that while Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, it’s also advancing, as it was said in the beginning, annexation at an incredible, incredible speed. So there is no way out of this other than a firm, robust action from member states.

    JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And I wanted to ask you — the Trump administration, instead of heeding your calls as the special rapporteur, have instead imposed sanctions on you, supposedly claiming that your naming of dozens of companies that are profiting from the Israeli occupation and genocide in Gaza. And Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, quote, “Albanese’s campaign of political and economic warfare against the United States and Israel will no longer be tolerated.” Your response to these kinds of words from leaders of the United States?

    FRANCESCA ALBANESE: Well, first of all, as a non-American, but as someone who has lived in the United States, I wonder how American people understand this, because, of course, it’s a violation of the First Amendment, right? I mean, I’ve just done my job, which is a pro bono job. I’ve been requested by the United Nations to investigate and report on the most prominent violations of international law that occur in the occupied Palestinian territory. And I’ve simply stated facts, according due process to businesses, saying there is an economy of the occupation, and this is the reason why Israel has profited and has allowed private entities, arms manufacturers, even banks, pension funds, universities, really, to help and profit — to help it and profit from Israel’s maintenance of the unlawful occupation. Now, this occupation has also turned into genocidal over the past 688 days, and I’ve denounced it. I’ve said, “How come that Israelis were becoming — many Israelis were becoming poorer and poorer, and Israeli stocks exchange kept on going up?”

    Because of that, I’ve been sanctioned, which is something unprecedented, that no states in 80 years of life of the United Nations have ever attempted, had ever dared, because it’s absolute — it’s a violation of international law, of the U.N. Charter, of the Convention on Privileges and Immunities. And still, the United Nations — the United States maintains a sanction, which are now entering the second month. It’s abominable. And this is the situation. But you understand, against a person who has just written a report, I have been called a threat to global economy. It’s clear that I’ve hit a nerve, but this is not the way to react to this.

    AMY GOODMAN: I want to turn to the last story that the Reuters cameraman Hussam al-Masri filmed before he was killed by Israel on Monday at Nasser Hospital. On Saturday, just two days before, al-Masri shot this interview with Hikmat Fojo, a Palestinian woman whose relatives were killed in another Israeli strike.

    HIKMAT FOJO: [translated] While they were sleeping, they were hit by missiles. While they were sleeping, an entire family was lost. And he was praying. He was praying. He was praying. His children were gone. Two were martyred. They were born after 10 years of waiting. One was sleeping. And the woman’s hands and legs, but, God willing, it’s all right. God willing, it doesn’t matter. If my nephew’s hand remains amputated, it doesn’t matter, but may he stay alive, O Lord.

    AMY GOODMAN: So, that was the — one of the last pieces of video that the Palestinian journalist, the Reuters journalist Hussam al-Masri filmed before he was killed Monday in that double-tap strike. He had — apparently was setting up a live stream at the fourth-floor balcony, which journalists used, when he was hit. So, now I want to go to Reuters reporter Steve Holland, who questioned President Trump about this in the Oval Office.

    STEVE HOLLAND: If we could get your reaction, sir? The Israelis bombed a hospital in Gaza, that killed 20 people, including five journalists. Are you —

    PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: When did this happen?

    STEVE HOLLAND: This happened overnight today.

    PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I didn’t know that.

    STEVE HOLLAND: Any reaction to this? Are you going to talk to Prime Minister —

    PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Well, I’m not happy about it. I don’t want to see it. At the same time, we have to end that whole nightmare. I’m the one that got the hostages out. I got them out, all of them.

    AMY GOODMAN: That was President Trump. Francesca Albanese, can you talk about the responsibility of the United States? And tell us more about the mechanisms at the U.N., since it’s very clear they block any kind of action at the U.N. Security Council.

    FRANCESCA ALBANESE: Yeah, as I said, there are clear indication, clear instructions from International Court of Justice on how to deal with the situation. The only lawful thing that Israel can do in the occupied Palestinian territory is to withdraw, withdraw the troops, dismantle the settlements, stop exploiting Palestinian resources.

    In the face of this, any aid, any support, any exchange of commerce, military intelligence and others from the United States or others is a breach of the obligation not to render aid and assistance in maintaining the situation. However, on top of this, there are proceedings for genocide pending before the International Court of Justice, which trigger an obligation to prevent, which, as a minimum, as the ICJ has said in the case of Nicaragua v. Germany, entails the ban on transfer of weapons to a country, to a state which is committing violations of international humanitarian law, meaning even war crimes. You know, we don’t even need to go and bother the Genocide Convention. So, yet again, another layer of responsibility of the United States.

    And then there are proceedings against Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity, including starvation. Because of this, even if the United States is not a party to the ICC, it should be respectful of international law, international criminal law. And instead of giving — of receiving the ICC-wanted Netanyahu as if he was really a war hero, as is being defined, the United States should facilitate justice and accountability. Instead, they are waging a war against the ICC itself, not just me. All the judges of the ICC have been sanctioned, and so the prosecutor of the court. So, this is the situation.

    Of course, there are complicities on the side of this administration, and, in my opinion, even in the — on the previous one. But this is something that belongs to the American people. It’s the American people that need to, or the American — the American political landscape that needs to, take action on this.

    JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, Francesca Albanese, I wanted to ask you — in a few weeks, the U.N. — the annual meeting of the U.N. General Assembly will take place. Leaders from all over the world will come and give speeches to the U.N. General Assembly. Do you think this is a defining moment for the United Nations as an institution in its inability of the member states or the unwillingness of the member states to stop a genocide that the entire world has been witnessing now for —

    FRANCESCA ALBANESE: Yeah.

    JUAN GONZÁLEZ: — two years?

    FRANCESCA ALBANESE: Yeah, I will take the opportunity to also answer the other part of Amy’s question, which I dropped, but it’s — yeah, I think that it’s a — it’s an historical moment, the one we live in, and it’s a defining one. We will not get out of this genocide with the same pretense of innocence that we had when we entered. The crimes of Israel against the Palestinians were already 56-plus years old when the assault against Gaza on the terrible — after the terrible day that October 7 was — and there is no question about that. So, there have been a tolerance of Israel’s impunity for decades.

    However, the United States is the single most important factor of crisis in the United Nations system at the moment, because the United Nations are clearly paralyzed in the face of a crisis which is political, legal and humanitarian, and the United States have contributed to that paralysis by also — for example, what are the mechanisms to impose sanctions or to dispose of coercive or noncoercive measures against Israel within the U.N. would be through the Security Council, and the United States have firmly and steadily sheltered Israel from most important instances of accountability. A rare exception is the 2016 Security Council resolution that recognized the illegality of the settlements under international law.

    So, it’s a catch-22 situation. But at the same time, I want to remind everyone that the international community is constituted by 193 member states, and the other 191, that does not — are not part of the Gaza genocide as much as Israel in the United States, should do the utmost not only to stop the genocide, but also to salvage what remains of the multilateral system, because so far it has protected — I wouldn’t say all of us, but most of us, especially in the West. And it seems that we are really giving it for granted. But we will miss human rights very much when we don’t have them anymore.

    AMY GOODMAN: Francesca Albanese, the International Criminal Court has said it deplores new U.S. sanctions on its judges and prosecutors. Last week, the U.S. State Department announced new sanctions on two judges and two prosecutors in the ICC for engaging in efforts to prosecute U.S. and Israeli citizens. The ICC statement said, “These sanctions are a flagrant attack against the independence of an impartial judicial institution which operates under the mandate from 125 States Parties from all regions. They constitute also an affront against the Court’s States Parties, the rules-based international order and, above all, millions of innocent victims across the world.” I’m wondering if you can comment on this latest development, the sanctions against the ICC prosecutors and judges, and also your own situation. You are the U.N. special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory, and the U.S. has sanctioned you. And if you can talk exactly about what that means?

    FRANCESCA ALBANESE: Look, the sanctions are very heavy and, frankly, an awful, awful instrument, when targeting, when directed at people whose job and whose efforts are in the — in the pursuit of justice and accountability. So, look at the absurdity of using an instrument, which is meant to protect U.S., U.S. interests and U.S. citizens, being used to punish people who are trying to stop and make account — make people responsible for crimes accountable. Where is the harm to the U.S. citizens? What is harmed — and this is why I often say these sanctions are a sign of fragility of those who use it — who use them. I mean, they are — what’s the harm that is done to the American interest, other than to the illegality that is denounced?

    Yes, the special rapporteur has put on notice 48 businesses. And what? Why didn’t they defend themselves? Why didn’t they interact with me, most of them, surely the American companies? Why did they went to complain to the American administration, who put me on notice not to continue this investigation already made? Again, look, I come from a place which has been plagued by Mafia-style logics, techniques, and I’m fully familiar with this way of behaving. And this kind of threats win only if they meet fear. But the people, united, must resist this. And this is why I’m not going to step back, and I’m not going to stop my work.

    AMY GOODMAN: And I wanted to ask a final question about the West Bank. As we went air, I think something like 24 people have been injured in Ramallah in an Israeli military raid. This is not Gaza. This is Ramallah. At the same time, you have the far-right ministers talking about starting to annex the West Bank this week. What does this mean?

    FRANCESCA ALBANESE: Yeah.

    AMY GOODMAN: And what role does the U.N. have in this?

    FRANCESCA ALBANESE: Yes, two things. First, when we say this is not Gaza, last week, the Israeli newspaper +972/Local Call issued a report based on a leaked document by the Israeli army, which admitted that only one of six of the people killed in Gaza were Hamas combatants. And I want to — I want to underscore that Israel’s definition of “combatant” is much broader than what is, in fact, afforded by international law. So, it confirms and actually aggravates the accusations of the U.N., independent experts and others that the death toll has steadily been 70 — at least 70% women and children, and therefore civilians. So, they are saying that, in fact, 80%-plus of the death toll in Gaza is made of civilians.

    The situation is not different from the West Bank, where Israel is advancing its ethnic cleansing agenda through annexation. This is not new. In February 2023, the coalition government passed an agreement that basically transferred to Bezalel Smotrich, so the minister of finance, control over large swathes of the West Bank. This was yet another act of annexation, but formalizing what Israel has been doing for 57 years, creating settlements, which are war crime, in occupied territories for Israeli Jews only that were on — were on stolen land and were resulting in forcibly — dispossession and forcible displacement of Palestinians. Of course, today, this has reached abysmal proportion, because there is — there is even that veneer of respect of international humanitarian law has gone. There are settlers and soldiers ravaging the West Bank, and the Jordan Valley is unprotected, other than from by a few Israeli activists who go there night and day and try to protect shepherds and pastoralist communities.

    But, look, the situation is abominable, abominable. And now the state of Palestine has requested an intervention from the international community. Some presidents, like some authorities, like the Irish president, has called for a military intervention. And I understand that everything must pass up, in accordance with international law, through the Security Council. And at the same time, because Israel has no sovereignty whatsoever over Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, it’s about time that a protection — the deployment of a protection presence is considered, because there is no other way to stop what Israel is doing.

    AMY GOODMAN: Francesca Albanese, we want to thank you for being with us, U.N. special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory. We were hoping to reach a doctor at Nasser Hospital, but could not reach him today.

    Coming up, we go to Chicago as local and state officials push back against President Trump’s threat to send in the National Guard. We’ll also look at Trump’s new executive orders ending so-called cashless bail. Stay with us.

    [break]

    AMY GOODMAN: The late folk singer-songwriter Michael Hurley performing “What’s Buggin’ You Baby?” at our Democracy Now! studio.

    The original content of this program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Please attribute legal copies of this work to democracynow.org. Some of the work(s) that this program incorporates, however, may be separately licensed. For further information or additional permissions, contact us.

    In this critical time in our country hearing the voices of truth and engaging in honest discussion for critical issues is all the more important while censorship (and outright lies) along with attacks on truth-tellers are common. Support the WingsofChange.me website and Rise Up Times on social media as we to bring you important articles and journalism beyond the mainstream corporate media. Access is alway free, but if you would like to help:
    Wings of Change FeatherWhatever you are able donate will bring you articles and opinions from independent websites, writers, and journalists as well as a blog with the opinions and creative contributions.

    One place to begin is with reason and truth, and how fundamental they are to creating critically engaged citizens and communities. 

    —Henry A. Giroux

  • American Nightmare: Facing the Challenge of Fascism, by Henry A. Giroux

    American Nightmare: Facing the Challenge of Fascism, by Henry A. Giroux

    We are witnessing the imminent emergence of new forms of resistance willing to support broad-based struggles intent on producing ongoing forms of nonviolent resistance at all levels of society. 

    —Henry A. Giroux

    AMERICAN NIGHTMARE
    Facing the Challenge of Fascism. Photo by Roger Ballen

    In “Staring into the Authoritarian Abyss,” the introduction to his book American Nightmare: Facing the Challenge of Fascism, Henry A. Giroux wrote the following:

    Under the economic, religious, and political extremists Trump has been installing in positions of power, intolerance and militarization will intensify. Financial capital will be deregulated in order to be free to engage in behavior that puts the American public and the planet in danger. Institutions that embody the common good, such as public schools, will be defunded or privatized, and as a culture of greed and selfishness reaches new heights, there will be a further retreat from civil literacy and a growing abandonment by the state of any allegiance to the public interest. The free-market mentality that gained prominence under the presidency of Ronald Regan will advance under Trump and will continue to drive politics, destroy many social protections, further privilege the wealthy, and deregulate economic activity.[1]

    Published in 2018, the analysis in American Nightmare could have been created yesterday. Giroux goes on to explain Trump’s tax reform bill of his first term which bears more than a passing resemblance to the Big Beautiful [Ugly] Bill recently passed by Congress. He explains that the bill:

    largely favors the ultra-rich and and major corporations and would eventually leave 83 million middle-class and poor families paying more in taxes. Moreover, the increase in the deficit caused by these tax cuts enables the Republicans to wage and justify a major assault on the welfare state and its chief social provisions, such as social security, Medicare, and Medicaid. And what other rationale is there for Trump’s war on the environment, evident not only in his withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement but also in his opening up billions of acres of land on both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts for oil drilling? This is beyond shameful. It constitutes an act of war on the planet and the health of millions of adults and children.[2]

    This pro-corporate fascism will make all human activities, practices, and institutions subject to market principles and commercialization. In other words, “there will be no place for morality and no place for compassion. Principles of equality, egalitarianism, and meritocracy however frail, are no longer espoused by the major political parties.”[3] The result is a morally bankrupt government of and by corporations that denigrates and ignores the people, the common ‘man’: the workers, the working class, whether they be black, brown, red or white, and whether they are recent arrivals or their ancestors were immigrants decades ago. Some were forced to come to these shores, especially as Black slaves, others have come of their own free will. We are, from the Mayflower on, a nation of immigrants. The native indigenous peoples were of course already in the Americas; in the U.S. they are most often called Native Americans.

    What do we do to challenge this fascism that is overtaking our country?

    Giroux says “One place to begin is with reason and truth, and how fundamental they are to creating critically engaged citizens and communities.”

    Both reason and truth are under attack and it is essential to create “social formations within authoritarian societies to advance social justice, egalitarianism, political tolerance, cultural diversity, and vibrant democracy-centered communities.”[4]

    Giroux calls these communities “democracies in exile.” These groups are resistant to Trumpian fascist politics and “are grounded in community building, economic justice, and a discourse of critique, hope, social justice, and self-reflection,” a concept he explains and illustrates throughout the book in the process of his detailed analysis.

    Since 2018 when this book was published many such communities have flourished. At the national level the Poor People’s Campaign led by Liz Theoharis and William Barber is a re-establishing of Martin Luther King’s Poor People’s Campaign after his death.

    Local communities have been building their own groups, often as social structures, to support action around a particular issue whether it be housing, food scarcity, immigration and deportation, blatant racism and DEI, widespread poverty, voting rights and defending Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and SNAP (food for low income families and many elders, who need this source  to eat.)

    Peace and justice groups are anti-militarism. Since this book was written they have taken on the issue of genocide in Gaza/Palestine and opposed Israel’s cruelty with the bombing and now starvation and genocide of Gazans. Support with constant demonstrations and actions critical of U.S. aid to Israel has spread worldwide where millions have marched against their governments’ support of Israel. Peace and justice groups that have for many years opposed Israeli apartheid in Israel/Palestine and supported equality in Israel/Palestine have activly opposed Israel’s Zionism, They have been accused, along with the many who have joined them, of antisemitism but are actually anti-Zionist not antisemitic, Zionism being an imperialistic political system created in the late 19th century and not to be confused with the ancient religion of Judaism.

    Professor George Yancy, Professor of Philosophy at Emory Univeresity who wrote the Foreword to Giroux’s book about the American nightmare, fittingly ends his commentary with a quote from the poet James Baldwin:

    People who shut their eyes to reality simply invite their own destruction, and anyone who insists on remaining in a state of innocence long after that innocence is dead turns himself [sic] into a monster.[5]

    Some thoughts about this book from Sue Ann Martinson —

    What I have always liked about Giroux’s thinking and writing is the way he makes the connections between often seemingly disparate facts and actions and this book is no exception. In the case of Trump, Giroux weaves what appear to be isolated attacks and outrageous statements into a tapestry that shows what often may be easily dismissed as simple nonsense but instead show greater purpose: He holds these lies, deceits, and vagaries as a system that melds together with greater intent and purpose and takes Trump out of the level of con man and baffoon into the realm of an authoritarian dictator who is power and greed crazy and into a totalitarian and fascistic state held together by the concept of White Supremacy.[6]

    Giroux shows how before Trump the seeds of totalitarianism and fascism were already deep in the soil of 20th century America from earlier centuries and how Trump is both the messenger and tool of unearthing them. He is now bringing them to fruition in this his second term.

    Fascistic programs that were foreshadowed in his first presidential term are now being carried out as Trump’s authoritarianism has rapidly deteriorated into cruelty.

    This book is long, and I have read only part of it so far. It is also scholarly and dense. Full of fascinating and illuminating detail and references to other scholars, it is well-documented. I am going to fast forward to the last chapter and conclusion of the book. I will finish reading it because it contains so much information, discussion and many insights that are relevant to now and to our future. I encourage others to read it as well.

    Foreshadowing the Present

    Professor George Yancy entitled his Foreword “Facing the Challenges: the Urgency of Now.” It echos the urgency in the title of Martin Luther King’s book Why We Can’t Wait.

    Giroux’s title for his last chapter is “Toward a Politics of Ungovernability.” He prefaces the chapter with a quote from James Baldwin: “In this country we are menaced−intolerably menaced−by a lack of vision. . . .”  Giroux begins the chapter with a reference to MLK’s famous Riverside speech where King:

     …spoke eloquently about what it meant to use nonviolent direct action as part of a broader struggle to connect racism, militarism, and war. His call to address a “society gone mad on war” and the need to “address the fierce urgency of now” was rooted in an intersectional politics. one that recognized a comprehensive view of oppression, struggle, and politics itself. Racism, poverty, and disposability could not be abstracted from the issue of militarism and how those modes of oppression informed each other.[7]

    Restoring Historical Memory

    Giroux also emphasizes the need for historical memory. How American history is taught is a major target of the Trump administration as they attempt to bury any history that does not support white supremacy. The point is to not include the attempted genocide of native peoples and the treatment of Blacks in American history and of others as well that we used to call ‘minorities.’ Their truths contradict the idealized America the Trumpites have invented that has the appearance of the clean slate that MAGA wishes to impose.[8]

    This erasure of memory also includes the banning of books that is taking place in many states. Most of these books are about people of color and about LGBTQIA+ people. Many are classics and award-winning books.

    DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion)  is another program that is under attack. Trump has asked corporations to drop DEI guidelines in their workplaces and organizational guidelines. Many corporations have agreed, such as Target who dropped the program and is being boycotted, but others such as Costco have resisted and kept the DEI policies.

    Shutting Down American Style Authoritarianism

    “A successful resistance struggle must be comprehensive and at the same time embrace a vision that is unified, democratic, and equitable,” [9] says Giroux: A tall order. One that is “both political and pedagogical.” (Pedagogy refers to teaching, methods and strategies used in education.). Grioux calls for “democracy in exile” a concept that he defines in the book’s Conclusion but that infuses his commentary made throughout the book.

    We need a new vision that refuses to equate capitalism and democracy, normalize greed and excessive competition and accept self-interest as the highest form of motivation. We need a language, vision, and understanding of power to enable the conditions in which education is linked to social change and the capacity to promote human agency through the registers of cooperation, compassion, care, love, equality, and respect for difference.” [10]

    Resistance

    Right now in L.A., a city under siege because of the high-handed arrest and deportation of especially immigrants of hispanic origin by ICE that has of course met the resistance of many people. Trump has called out California’s national guard although he is unauthorized to do so and has then sent troops to L.A. as the people of L.A. continue to resist with national support. “Democracy in Exile” organizing is taking place as documented by Amy Goodman’s Democracy Now! on August 11, 2025. On the one hand attorney generals nationwide met regarding L.A. to discuss their existing legal actions and their determination to plan more. These attorney generals may be considered a’”community’ in that they share the common thread of their work and in this case of shared vision.

    On the other hand, on the ground in L.A. a group called Union del Bario from its smaller base organized many collaborative organizations. Recently they were able to film a young woman getting arrested by ICE. Eventually they got her released with a call-in that was local in L.A. but also went out nationally. Over 500 people responded.

    This type of organizing, “a resurgent act of witnessing and moral outrage [that] will grow and provide the basis for a new kind of politics, a fierce wind of resistance, and a struggle too powerful to be defeated,” what Giroux calls “democracy in exile,” is able to take many forms by many seemingly unrelated groups of people.

    The two examples juxtaposed on Democracy Now! are, although quite different, valid forms of resistance and are also collaborative within their scopes of influence. And now, in 2025, such collaborative community groups of many backgrounds are forming and growing in both local and national forms with an overall goal of restoring a functioning democracy. International groups are also challenging and influencing governments worldwide, especially in regard to the genocide in Gaza/Palestine.

    Yet another recent example is the Miccosukee tribe in Florida. They have won a temporary lawsuit to halt construction of “Allegator Alcatraz,” a federal ‘concentration camp’ to hold deportees, on the grounds that no environmental impact statement (EIS), as required by federal law, has been conducted and that their tribal lands are threatened. Their tribal cultural center was recently burned to the ground:

    The tribe is concerned about the facility’s potential impact on their ancestral lands, sacred sites, traditional hunting grounds, and other areas of cultural significance. They also fear environmental degradation, including potential pollution of water resources and impacts on endangered species like the Florida panther. 

    Radical Democracy

    Those who believe in a radical democracy must find a way to make this nation ungovernable by the powers that currently claim governing authority. Small-scale defiance and local actions are important, but there is a more urgent need to mobilize through a comprehensive vision and politics that is capable of generating massive teach-ins all over the United States so as to enable a  collective struggle aimed at producing powerful events such as a nationwide boycott, sit-ins, and a general strike in order to bring the country to a halt. The promise of such resistance must be rooted in the creation of a new political movement of democratic socialists, one whose power is grounded in the organization of novel political organizations, unions, educators, workers, young people, religious groups and others who constitute a progressive base.”[11]

    Conclusion
    Democracy in Exile

    “The concept of democracy in exile is grounded in community building, economic justice, and a discourse of critique, hope, social justice and self-reflection.”[12]

    Ever the educator, Giroux asks, “What role could a resuscitated critical education play in challenging the deadly neoliberal claim that all problems are individual when the roots of such problems lie in larger systemic forces?”

    He also asks what role universities might play. Sadly, many universities have capitulated to restrictions of free speech around genocide in Gaza/Palestine as Trump blackmails them by threatening to withhold federal funding necessary for research and other programs and insists they punish students and faculty who decry the genocide.

    Giroux calls upon leaders of the past for inspiration; often they sre Black because their resistance to white supremacy and oppression in the U.S. was/is bold and fearless. He quotes Frederick Douglas:

    It is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, the earthquake. The  feeling of the nation must be quickened; the conscience of the nation must be roused; the propriety of the nation must be startled; the hypocracy of the nation must be exposed; and the crimes against God and man must be proclaimed and denounced.

    Giroux continues: “The political oppression of our times requires that we work together to redefine politics and challenge the pro-corporate two-party system.”

    As a warning, he has included the words of James Baldwin’s letter to Angela Davis:

    Some of us, white [red, yellow] and black, know how great a price has already been paid to bring into existence a new consciousness, a new people, an unprecedented nation. If we know and do nothing, we are worse than the murderers hired in our name. If we know then we must fight for your life as though it were our own−which it is−and render impassable with our bodies the corridor to the gas chamber. For, if they take you in the morning, they will be coming for us in the night.

     “In the end,” Giroux says, “there is no democracy without informed citizens, no justice without a language critical of injustice, and no change without a broad-based movement of collective resistance.”[13]

    It is possible to see if you open your eyes that Trump and his cohorts and the Trump administration with their fascist authoritarianism are trying to destroy the paths to informed citizens, to the use of language for truth to expose hypocrisy and lies and replace them with justice, and to the formation of a broad-based collaborative movement of collective resistance. They continue their attacks on Social Security (now to be called a Federal Benefit program even though every bit of money received has been earned by recipients in their working years), Medicare, Medicaid and SNAP (money for food) as well as cultural organizations like the Smithsonian where they are demanding that any artwork that is negative about Trump and the Trump administration be removed.

    Now nationwide. and also to some extent worldwide. we are in the throes of resistance and creation, refusing to accept authoritarian fascist government with the creation of broad-based collective resistance.ß

    Henry A. Giroux is a renowned American and Canadian scholar, cultural critic, and public intellectual, widely recognized as a founding theorist of critical pedagogy in the United States. He is known for his work in public pedagogy, cultural studies, youth studies, higher education, and media studies. He currently holds the McMaster University Chair for Scholarship in the Public Interest and is the Paulo Freire Distinguished Scholar in Critical Pedagogy.

    Sue Ann Martinson is the editor and publisher of Wings of Change.

    Notes

    [1] Henry A, Giroux, American Nightmare: Facing the Challenge of Fascism  (San Francisco: City Lights Books, 2018) p,40

    [2] Ibid. p. 41

    [3] Ibid. p.35

    [4] Ibid, p.33

    [5] Ibid, p.22

    [6] Ibid. p. 27

    [7] Ibid. p. 287

    [8] Ibid .pp. 291-92

    [9] Ibid. pp. 297-99

    [10] Ibid. pp. 303-04

    [11] Ibid.

    [12] Ibid. p. 310

    [13] Ibid. pp. 321-23