We're There

 I don’t see how anyone with eyes can miss that we have arrived at a fully Fascist state of federal government. All the pieces keep piling up, and the conditions are getting checked off one by one.

Authoritarian rule. We see this in every aspect of TFG’s actions, from the obligatory adulation required of his cabinet meeting attendees, to the massive banners with his face on them, to placing toadies in leadership positions in the military, Justice Department, and even the Supreme Court, whose only required qualification is loyalty to him, to assuming control of even the entertainment venues like the Kennedy Center so none of his critics have a platform in town, and much more.

Extreme nationalism. We see the blatant “Christian” nationalism all over his immigration policies, namely, conducting large sweeps to round up all the brown people who speak with an accent and send them to foreign black sites for the kind of systematic torture we once used only on known terrorists. And while they SAID they were going after criminals, their actions have shown that breaking the law is a secondary concern compared to getting rid of foreigners. This also includes foreigners from allied countries who are here to spend money training Americans to work in the factory they are building. That project is now like those foreigners: gone. This administration revels in cutting off its nose to spite its face if it means they get to make their projected numbers of deportations.

Suppression of dissent. They just showed their hand in the last two weeks, didn’t they, with the demanded firing of Steven Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel. Additionally, there are lawsuits against the New York Times and other outlets that publish content displeasing to the Orange King. Now they’re coming for the comedians. There’s nothing fascists like less than being mocked. The mockers are still out there (for the time being). We’ll see how long it is before they start picking up the individuals rather than merely stealing their microphones. The death of Charlie Kirk thrust into the spotlight the raging double standard between when one of their guys kills someone and they mock the deceased, versus when one of their guys gets killed and they demand blind tribute. It’s truly staggering lack of self-awareness when they celebrate the hateful words of one of their heroes, but then, when an adversary merely quotes what their hero said, they get fired.

Also note that when what appears as “dissension” bubbles up from within, in the form of research studies that conclude something that makes you look bad, they don’t fix their actions; they change or bury the report.

This works with economic news as well as investigations into the world’s largest pedophile ring.

Glorification of violence. TFG has his own loyal army now, each soldier with no identity, no official orders, and no oversight. All they have to do is be loyal, instill fear, and kidnap some people from public streets, schools, churches, courthouses, and Home Depot parking lots, for delivery to dungeonesque holding sites. The private army is how he gets around the Posse Comitatus Act (wherein the US Military is forbidden to be used on American soil against its people). Meanwhile, on-air personnel for the favored State-Run Broadcasting company espouse the random execution of homeless people, which causes zero “official” backlash. The terror and violence are the point. It allows them to make even bolder moves with impunity. Many of us are against such Fascism. Not as many are willing to take a bullet to the head over it.

Scapegoating. This has always been a main part of the Republican Playbook. Whatever happens, they blame someone else. It’s Black people, or Muslims, Latinos, or gang-bangers, liberal professors, gay people, trans people, and most of all, Democrats. It’s never the fault of the white, male, conservative, even when the most damning of evidence is clear to see. A guy in a MAGA hat with a Trump sticker on his AR-15 and a “Fuck their Feelings” bumper sticker on his Ford F-350, with Fox News blasting from external speakers, could shoot up a parking lot filled with nuns, and Republicans would blame a gay classmate he had 15 years ago. That’s the Republican Way. Nothing is your fault; everything is your opponent’s fault. Repeat indefinitely.

There are also some hallmarks we’ve passed that weren’t on the first graphic, like:

Openly grifting. It’s hands-out for everyone on the team. Just like with the Mob, bring in any scam you can think of, as long as the Boss gets a taste.

And then the hand-picked lackey running Justice has no other priority than to do the president’s bidding, which is prosecuting anyone who ever made him look bad. It doesn’t matter if there’s ever been a crime committed or if there’s any evidence. What matters is getting the case in front of the public, preferably before a Trump-associated judge who will give the prosecution every advantage. Making life tough for one’s enemies makes others think twice before becoming one of them.

But only they get to receive such largesse.

They’re happy to dismiss a resolved suit when military veterans were due to receive compensation from the credit union that screwed them out of millions. Big corporations and their executives are the only ones allowed to receive such a windfall. The rest of us are merely here to be used as natural resources.

Secrecy

It’s ironic that their use of non-secure public chat applications is what keeps their evil machinations secret from the public.

Presidential administrations are required to keep records of all conversations, emails, and texts for the permanent historical record. That’s the last thing they want, so they use “disappearing” text apps so their words only appear temporarily, and there’s no record that can be used later to jam them up in court. And the only reason we even know about it is that they’re too stupid to use it properly. Remember when someone from the DoD (sorry, I mean the DoW) accidentally sent their battle plans to a reporter? That was a firestorm for about ten minutes. I’m sure they’re back to doing the same thing now, only someone probably had their teenage son set up a distribution list for them.

The Department of War has also just instituted a required oath from beat reporters that they swear they won’t report anything that’s not cleared by the brass for release, which means nothing useful whatsoever. Just the company line. That’s not how Freedom of the Press works. But they don’t care about the First Amendment outside of how they wave it overhead to cover their own calls to violence, and disregard it when a comedian gets under their skin.

So, to sum up:

Whatever you wish the Germans did in 1933, it’s time to do that here, now.

 

Completely Unrelated Note

Lastly, to pull out of this dive-bomb of a bummer post, let me wish a Happy 67^th Birthday to my forever Queen of Rock' n Roll, Joan Jett. I got to meet her several times, and she was always a real joy and super kind to her fans, even if she didn’t know what to do with the birthday card I handed her, moments before she took the stage in Cleveland.