Fascism may be here

[billy.pilgrim]

https://open.substack.com/pub/thomhartm ... dium=email

This is more of a refresher course for most, but it reminds us that they set a goal in the 50s. From Kirk to Buckley to Nixon and to Powell they continued to gain strength in elected officials and the judiciary by installing rightwing judges and on to Trump and maybe DeSantis.

Why are we as Americans embracing fascism? It's through Fear.

Thom doesn't mention Fox, but fear has been their mainstay since day 1.

Anyway, it's a good short read.

[O Really]

Truly scary - it's good to be old.

[GoCubsGo]

https://open.substack.com/pub/thomhartm ... dium=email

This is more of a refresher course for most, but it reminds us that they set a goal in the 50s. From Kirk to Buckley to Nixon and to Powell they continued to gain strength in elected officials and the judiciary by installing rightwing judges and on to Trump and maybe DeSantis.

Why are we as Americans embracing fascism? It's through Fear.

Thom doesn't mention Fox, but fear has been their mainstay since day 1.

Anyway, it's a good short read.

Explains Archie.

[Vrede too]

https://open.substack.com/pub/thomhartm ... ce-fascism

This is more of a refresher course for most, but it reminds us that they set a goal in the 50s. From Kirk to Buckley to Nixon and to Powell they continued to gain strength in elected officials and the judiciary by installing rightwing judges and on to Trump and maybe DeSantis.

Why are we as Americans embracing fascism? It's through Fear.

Thom doesn't mention Fox, but fear has been their mainstay since day 1.

Anyway, it's a good short read.

Aren't you and Thom being a little overwrought?

Trump's plan for a 2nd term reportedly includes firing squads, hangings, and group executions

[billy.pilgrim]

"Ron DeSantis Says “Zero” Chance He’ll Back Down In Disney Battle; Wants “Woke” Judge In Mouse House Suit Tossed"


https://deadline.com/2023/05/ron-desant ... 235373648/

CJ and Fish
"And it's five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why,
Whoopee! we're all gonna die."

[Vrede too]

Truly scary - it's good to be old.

Truly scary - it sucks to be young in Fascist Florida.

Florida school bans elementary students from reading Amanda Gorman's 'The Hill We Climb' poem



Amanda Gorman slammed officials at a school in Miami-Dade County, Florida, on Tuesday for banning elementary students from reading "The Hill We Climb," the poem she famously recited at President Joe Biden's 2020 presidential inauguration.

The poem, which has been published as a short book, will now be accessible only to middle school students at the pre-K through eighth grade Bob Graham Education Center in Miami Lakes, Florida.

In an attempt to fight back, Gorman said her publisher – Penguin Random House – is joining PEN America and others in a lawsuit to challenge book restrictions.

"I'm gutted," the former and first-ever National Youth Poet Laureate wrote on Instagram about the Bob Graham Education Center's decision to ban her work from the students it serves. The decision was made after one parent complained, Gorman wrote.

"one parent complained"

She also took to Twitter, saying, "So they ban my book from young readers . . fail to specify what parts of my poetry they object to, refuse to read any reviews, and offer no alternatives. Unnecessary #bookbans like these are on the rise, and we must fight back."

Her tweet included a copy of a complaint form that states her book "is not educational" and contains "hate messages." The form, also tweeted by The Florida Freedom to Read Project, also says the complainant believes the purpose of the book is to "cause confusion and Indoctrinate students."

... "I wrote The Hill We Climb so that all young people could see themselves in a historical moment. I've received countless letters and videos from children inspired by The Hill We Climb to write their own poems," she wrote. "Robbing children of the chance to find their voices in literature is a violation of their right to free thought and free speech."

In her post, Gorman called on her followers to donate to PEN America "as they protect literature."

... "This legislation aims to preserve the rights of parents to make decisions about what materials their children are exposed to in school," Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said at the time.

It's resulted in countless complaints about materials in classrooms and school libraries and a growing number of challenges about items that have been removed or restricted.

Just last week, PEN America and publisher Penguin Random House announced they are trying to block book bans in a Florida Panhandle county.

Their federal lawsuit alleges the book bans in Escambia County public schools are unconstitutional....

The school's move is the latest in a slew of efforts to remove literature that addresses racial and social justice and material involving sexual content from classrooms nationwide. On Friday, the U.S. Education Department said it had investigated a Georgia school district over concerns that its process for removing books may have created a "hostile environment" for students.

GO PEN, Joe and Sec Miguel Cardona GO!

Amanda Gorman
Wiki: The Hill We Climb
READ: Transcript of Amanda Gorman’s inaugural poem *** Caution, severe risk of indoctrination.

Fwiw:
Bob Graham Education Center Student Diversity
Hispanic 93.5%
African American 2.7%
White 2.6%
Asian 1.1%
Multiracial 0.1%

Saving grace: Unless teachers were assigning the poem I guarantee that more Bob Graham elementary students are now reading it than ever would have on their own.

Hey billy.pilgrim and O Really, how was Bob Graham as a Gov and then US Sen?

[O Really]

Graham was OK. Did some good work in education and environmental issues. Didn't embarrass anybody.

But then, practically any politician from 70's-80's-90's would be better than the bunch we have now.

[Vrede too]

Graham was OK. Did some good work in education and environmental issues. Didn't embarrass anybody.

But then, practically any politician from 70's-80's-90's would be better than the bunch we have now.

Thanks. Floridians aren't the same, either. Surprise surprise:

Florida mother behind ban on Amanda Gorman poem has Proud Boys links
Social media posts picture Daily Salinas at Proud Boys events and show she posted antisemitic content online



Christofascists . Lots lots more at both the article and tweet links.

[billy.pilgrim]

And what do you get when you open your borders to a bunch of anti-socialists who lost their elite status in Cuba? Racist assholes.

[Vrede too]

And what do you get when you open your borders to a bunch of anti-socialists who lost their elite status in Cuba? Racist assholes.

The same thing you get with a homegrown anti-socialist racist asshole?

DeSantis appears to back (racist, antisemitic, christofascist) woman who led Amanda Gorman poem school ban

[Whack9]

Anti fascist video from the late '40s

Ron Desantis in the youtube comments: Woke!

(Not really but probably)

[Vrede too]

Anti fascist video from the late '40s

Ron Desantis in the youtube comments: Woke!

(Not really but probably)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8K6-cEAJZlE

Lots of comments saying how well it holds up today 76 years later, including with its race and class analysis as the red scare was intensifying. I'm watching AGT at the moment, but I'll watch the entire vid later after seeing all of the raves.

Then, yes really:

There's a former President, his supporters and a Governor in Florida who wouldn't appreciate this being shown in public schools. This film should be required in all schools.

"You see - we human beings are not born with prejudices. Always, they are made for us. Made by someone who wants something. Remember that when you hear this kind of talk. Somebody is going to get something out of it; and it isn't going to be you."

Damn.

I wrote a paper in high school, early 2000s, about how Hitler and Mussolini subverted their governments to take power. I closed the essay out with a paragraph about it makes one think how we could lose our democracy in America. My teacher wrote underneath, "That can never happen in America, we have checks and balances!" with a smiley face. I'm pretty sure she didn't read the paper, I think she just checked to see if we wrote the citations correctly and used at least 3 different books and one newspaper article. Pretty sure she told us everything on the internet is made up too.

Maybe the smiley face was sarcastic. After all, Cheney was de facto POTUS.

Imagine how disappointed people in the 1940s would be if we went back and told them that this kind of film is still needed in the 2020s.

[Vrede too]

https://open.substack.com/pub/thomhartm ... ce-fascism

This is more of a refresher course for most, but it reminds us that they set a goal in the 50s. From Kirk to Buckley to Nixon and to Powell they continued to gain strength in elected officials and the judiciary by installing rightwing judges and on to Trump and maybe DeSantis.

Why are we as Americans embracing fascism? It's through Fear.

Thom doesn't mention Fox, but fear has been their mainstay since day 1.

Anyway, it's a good short read.

US thinkers are using the word more and more often, without exaggeration.

Maybe US mainstream media should begin using the term ‘fascism’
Robert Reich
My tweet about Ron DeSantis provoked outrage in rightwing media – perhaps it hit the nerve of the fascism now taking root in the Republican party?

Ron DeSantis thanks then attacks heckler who called him a fascist
Florida governor and Republican presidential candidate cheered by South Carolina campaign trail audience

... The heckler, a woman, shouted: “What about the parents’ rights to healthcare, to their kids’ healthcare? You’re a fucking fascist.” ...

Hero.

... Last August, the Guardian columnist and Berkeley professor Robert Reich asked: “Is it useful to characterise DeSantis’s combination of homophobia, transphobia, racism and misogyny, along with his efforts to control the public schools and universities and to intimidate the private sector (eg, Disney), as redolent of fascism?

“America’s mainstream media is by now comfortable talking and writing about ‘authoritarianism’. Maybe it should also begin using the term ‘fascism’, where appropriate.”

On Friday night, the Florida congressman Maxwell Frost took a direct approach to the question. Joining the band Paramore onstage in Washington DC, the 26-year-old shouted: “Fuck Ron DeSantis! Fuck fascism!”

Hero!

Tom Huckin: Is Ron DeSantis a fascist?
Checking 14 characteristics of fascism against the Florida governor’s actions after his recent visit to Utah.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis came to Utah last month and delivered the keynote address at the Utah Republican Party organizing convention in Orem (Utah Valley University). He was greeted as a hero by some 2,500 delegates in attendance. At the same time, he was jeered by some 100 students outside, many of whom accused him of being a fascist.

Heroes.

... In sum, what we are witnessing in today’s polarized politics does indeed include fascism, embodied and promoted by DeSantis and others on the far right. Those student protesters at UVU had it right.

[billy.pilgrim]

Calling rightwingers fascists is in direct violation of our current double standards policy.
All demorats are full fledged socialists and communists. Republicans are Patriots.

[neoplacebo]

Calling rightwingers fascists is in direct violation of our current double standards policy.
All demorats are full fledged socialists and communists. Republicans are Patriots.

I came across this not long ago and decided to write it down: "When stupidity is considered patriotism, it is unsafe to be intelligent." Isaac Asimov

[Vrede too]

Calling rightwingers fascists is in direct violation of our current double standards policy.
All demorats are full fledged socialists and communists. Republicans are Patriots.

My bad.

"Patriot" DerSantis is at it again:

Second plane carrying migrants lands in California, with officials blaming Florida

... Documents carried by the migrants appear to show that the weekend flight was arranged through the Florida Division of Emergency Management and that it was part of the state's program to relocate migrants, mostly from Texas, to other states, California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta said.

The contractor for the program is Vertol Systems Co., which coordinated similar flights that took dozens of Venezuelan asylum seekers from San Antonio to Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts last year, he said....

"This is Gov. DeSantis, this is his baby, this is his project, his fingerprints are all over it," Bonta said. "The governor signed it, the Legislature approved to fund it in the budget, and they hired Vertol Systems Co., a vendor, to carry out the work."

He added: "It's DeSantis being exactly who he is and advertising to the world that he is petty, little ... and full of political stunts that hurt, harm and abuse and exploit people to try and get cheap political points. It's wrong."

... California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, said in a statement on Saturday that he and Bonta, also a Democrat, met on Saturday with more than 12 of the migrants. Newsom added that his office and the California Department of Justice were working together “to investigate the circumstances around who paid for the group’s travel and whether the individuals orchestrating this trip misled anyone with false promises or have violated any criminal laws, including kidnapping.”

Good on Newsom for taking a direct and personal interest.

... Bonta's office is investigating, he confirmed. He said his office would be "evaluating potential criminal or civil action against those who transported or arranged for the transport of these vulnerable immigrants."

Bonta said Sunday the migrants — most of them from Venezuela — told officials that they were promised jobs and that someone would assist them in finding work. Instead, the group was dropped off at the Catholic diocese. When someone at the diocese opened the door, two men said they would return but instead drove off, leaving the group of migrants behind, Bonta said.

"They never intended to help them find a job but told them that they would do that so they could get on the plane and sign their documents and be transported to Sacramento," Bonta said. "They completely exploited, abused and manipulated these folks who were vulnerable and were hoping and dreaming of a job and told they would be helped finding that job only to be abandoned."

Bonta said the migrants are receiving legal aid services as some of them have immigration court dates in the coming days. Some of the court dates are as far as New York and Chicago.

"They're nowhere near Sacramento," he said....

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg called for an investigation into the latest incident in a Saturday statement.

“Human trafficking is not only despicable; it's a felony. … Whoever is behind this must answer the following: Is there anything more cruel than using scared human beings to score cheap political points?” he said....

Lock "Patriot" DerSantis up!

[billy.pilgrim]

Calling rightwingers fascists is in direct violation of our current double standards policy.
All demorats are full fledged socialists and communists. Republicans are Patriots.

My bad.

"Patriot" DerSantis is at it again:

Second plane carrying migrants lands in California, with officials blaming Florida

... Documents carried by the migrants appear to show that the weekend flight was arranged through the Florida Division of Emergency Management and that it was part of the state's program to relocate migrants, mostly from Texas, to other states, California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta said.

The contractor for the program is Vertol Systems Co., which coordinated similar flights that took dozens of Venezuelan asylum seekers from San Antonio to Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts last year, he said....

"This is Gov. DeSantis, this is his baby, this is his project, his fingerprints are all over it," Bonta said. "The governor signed it, the Legislature approved to fund it in the budget, and they hired Vertol Systems Co., a vendor, to carry out the work."

He added: "It's DeSantis being exactly who he is and advertising to the world that he is petty, little ... and full of political stunts that hurt, harm and abuse and exploit people to try and get cheap political points. It's wrong."

... California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, said in a statement on Saturday that he and Bonta, also a Democrat, met on Saturday with more than 12 of the migrants. Newsom added that his office and the California Department of Justice were working together “to investigate the circumstances around who paid for the group’s travel and whether the individuals orchestrating this trip misled anyone with false promises or have violated any criminal laws, including kidnapping.”

Good on Newsom for taking a direct and personal interest.

... Bonta's office is investigating, he confirmed. He said his office would be "evaluating potential criminal or civil action against those who transported or arranged for the transport of these vulnerable immigrants."

Bonta said Sunday the migrants — most of them from Venezuela — told officials that they were promised jobs and that someone would assist them in finding work. Instead, the group was dropped off at the Catholic diocese. When someone at the diocese opened the door, two men said they would return but instead drove off, leaving the group of migrants behind, Bonta said.

"They never intended to help them find a job but told them that they would do that so they could get on the plane and sign their documents and be transported to Sacramento," Bonta said. "They completely exploited, abused and manipulated these folks who were vulnerable and were hoping and dreaming of a job and told they would be helped finding that job only to be abandoned."

Bonta said the migrants are receiving legal aid services as some of them have immigration court dates in the coming days. Some of the court dates are as far as New York and Chicago.

"They're nowhere near Sacramento," he said....

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg called for an investigation into the latest incident in a Saturday statement.

“Human trafficking is not only despicable; it's a felony. … Whoever is behind this must answer the following: Is there anything more cruel than using scared human beings to score cheap political points?” he said....

Lock "Patriot" DerSantis up!

Yet nothing happened DeSantis after the earlier trick.

Way to go merrick

[Vrede too]

Calling rightwingers fascists is in direct violation of our current double standards policy.
All demorats are full fledged socialists and communists. Republicans are Patriots.

New title - Fascist DerSantis, Psychologist:

DeSantis kicks off feud over College Board's AP psych class

[Vrede too]

"Ron DeSantis Says “Zero” Chance He’ll Back Down In Disney Battle; Wants “Woke” Judge In Mouse House Suit Tossed"


https://deadline.com/2023/05/ron-desant ... 235373648/

CJ and Fish
"And it's five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why,
Whoopee! we're all gonna die."

A new song, just as joyous:


Welcome to DeSantis! - A Randy Rainbow Song Parody


It's been awhile since the YT algorithm took me back to Randy. I haven't subscribed.

[billy.pilgrim]

Florida’s Supreme Court was 4-3 liberal when DeSantis took office
Within the 1st month it changed to 6-1 conservative
Now 5 of the 6 conservatives were picked by DeSantis

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics ... eme-court/