From the first speech

I’ve been to the US Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC. It is a grim place showing what fascism is and does. Their message is: It did happen. Therefore it can happen again. There is a poster inside with this text:

Early warning signs of FASCISM
Powerful and continuing nationalism
Disdain for human rights
Identification of enemies as a unifying cause
Supremacy of the military
Rampant sexism
Controlled mass media
Obsession with national security
Religion and government intertwined
Corporate power protected
Labor power suppressed
Disdain for intellectuals & the arts
Obsession with crime & punishment
Rampant cronyism & corruption
Fraudulent elections

Now go through this list and think about what has happened since the inauguration or maybe the election. Are we there yet? Go through the list again and note that every item has to do with enforced ranking of one group of humans over another.

If you have any doubts about the last item in the list I have three words: gerrymandering, voter ID. That’s legalized fraud.

There are still many who would deny this is happening, that this is the nasty guy’s goal. Melissa McEwen of Shakesville says when a despot tells you something, believe it. McEwen reviews the speech in which the nasty guy announced he is running for president back in June of 2015 and she points out all the things he is doing now that have roots in that first speech.

Yes, I’ve been quoting McEwen a lot lately. Her blog is about the only news source I read.



Think your protests fall on deaf ears? That they’re empty gestures? John Schieber tweeted a story to urge us to stay involved. It is from a friend working with the United Nations in Iraq. Yes, the locals hear the nastiness in the nasty guy’s travel ban. They also hear the chants of the protesters, the ones saying “refugees welcome.” And that carries a lot more meaning