You can listen to an interview with the author on the podcast “Scheer Intelligence.” https://www.kcrw.com/culture/shows/scheer-intelligence
Tag Archives: dissent
Something is Different: Fight or Get Out of the Way
Rachael Maddow said tonight that she feels there is something different going on; that a corner has been turned. I feel the same way although I can’t explain why.
I have watched many Trump rallies, all the way through and taken notes, but tonight, I watched a murderous thug of a moron scream lies at other morons who were wildly cheering the lies he was screaming at them. The man, the moron, has been allowed to displace 160,000 human beings and provoke the murder of countless men and women who used to be our allies.
This must be the way it felt in Germany to stand and watch and listen to obscenity, unbelievable obscenity being swallowed whole by people who could be your neighbors. It must be what it was like watching lunacy gathering steam, plowing ahead, taking over.
It is like being in an earthquake. The thing you depend on, the ground, is moving underneath you and you are completely disoriented. In this case, the thing that I value and depend on most in the world, logic, reason, truth is moving underneath me. The culture is being taken over by lies and deception, sham truth, blatant illogic and the people who have assumed authority are saying “get used to it.”
Sinclair Lewis wrote a novel entitled “It Can’t Happen Here.” Well, it is happening here, but the Democratic leadership is saying: “It’s not happening here.” “We must be prayerful.” “It’s not happening here.” They keep repeating it over and over thinking that it will become the truth if they say it enough times.
They abide by the norms, act with politeness, come to work every day (when they are not on recess) raise money, admonish the Trump administration, chat up donors, help fellow Republicans get unqualified judges appointed to the courts because their fellow Republicans helped them. They talk about a return to normalcy when normalcy is what go us here. It is mass delusion.
The leadership of the Democratic Party, the corporate media, and the moneyed elite want to pretend this country has not been taken over by a Russian asset and his enablers who are involved in varying degrees with an international crime syndicate and allied with a radical religious quest for power.
People like Bill Barr and Mitch McConnell have been waiting for, planning for a Donald Trump for decades. They have their man and they are not going to give up. They have cast their lot with Trump and they will tear the country apart to maintain and expand their power.
Meanwhile, nice people, good people, like Joyce Vance will continue to tell everyone that our institutions will hold, that dedicated professionals in government will assure that justice vanquishes all.
The time to be nice is over. Those who don’t want to fight, who don’t understand that it is essential to fight, need to get out of the way.
Peaceful Protest
Mother Jones
Republicans All Over the Country Are Pushing These Anti-Protest Bills to Silence Peaceful Dissent
The proposals could criminalize the non-violent demonstrations that have grown since Trump was elected.
| Mon Mar. 6, 2017 10:51 AM EST
As citizens unhappy about the Trump administration look to build on the momentum of the historic Women’s March with additional public expressions of outrage, Republicans across the country are quietly introducing legislation aimed at limiting and even criminalizing peaceful demonstrations.
According to a recent count from the American Civil Liberties Union [1], at least 17 states have proposed such anti-protest bills, many of which include language ostensibly aimed at improving measures such as public safety. But upon closer analysis, these bills all appear to share the intended goal of suppressing First Amendment rights by making peaceful dissent a crime with the threat of jail time and hefty fines.
Look no further than Minnesota for a prime example. Republican lawmakers there are advancing legislation [2] to punish protesters who block highways and airport access. While the bill’s proponents insist it will protect highway safety, critics argue that the measure instead overwhelmingly targets people participating in demonstrations by saddling them with steep fines, all while having hardly any effect on furthering roadway safety.
The legislative move to suppress protests comes amid angry town halls [3] that have erupted across the country, where thousands of constituents have railed against Republican lawmakers for their reluctance to speak out against the Trump administration, their ill-conceived plans to dismantle Obamacare, and more. Trump notably accused former president Barack Obama of being “behind” [4] the ongoing protests.
