Are we already living with fascism? Updated through 3/31/2025

 I received inquiries from European friends asking me what was going on in the America they once knew? Many of my friends and relatives live in countries in the Ukraine neighborhood. The fall of Ukraine to Russia or a giveaway by Trump is of serious concern and causes fear for their own futures.  One inquirer asked about the rule of law. Does America still have it?. I replied with blog links on those issues as of today, but I had another thought. I am beginning to feel like we are becoming a fascist country, and we are already experiencing some of it. Here is why. 

I have recently noted a greater sensitivity to what I am posting on the internet, fear that somehow jobs will be affected if commenters are seen as too lib or as contradicting Trump or could be accused of dis-agreeing.  That kind of fear was more like what I experienced in dictatorships.  In short, fear is causing a lot of self-editing to make sure what I write is mine or at least comes from some publicly published source that has credibility.  Some have even changed their Facebook names because they fear facing repercussions, which is scary to have to feel that way.  This already is no longer a free country. It is feeling like we are already in a country run by dictator who uses fear, threats, and revenge to control what people used to freely express. I will not be cowed or bowed, but I will be more careful to make sure I do not quote those who do not want to be quoted or who are living in that fear so long as I have access to a public platform.  

Dissent with Trump is not tolerated and is punished using the tools of law enforcement prosecution or being primaried.  Press and media daring to report facts and news contradicting Trump get denied access to the Oval Office or Airforce One.. Members of the Trump administration openly say that if the courts rule against them, they can ignore the orders with which they disagree. Or even Trump himself: No laws are broken if he saves the country. No wonder he can say it and get away with breaking criminal laws because the Supreme Court gave him immunity. Now, he thinks it applies to anything he does. The rule of law means the rule of Trump, or so it appears to him. 3/5/25: The Supreme Court, on a 5/4 vote, showed a "stunning" attempt to uphold the rule of law. In one of the first test cases to reach it, it ruled against the Trump administration on the issue of stopping USAID.  Next, will the Trump administration obey the ruling? Is this the new pattern, or was it a one-off?   https://mufticforumblog.blogspot.com/2025/03/whats-big-deal-about-rule-of-law.html

Even immigrants have some Constitutional rights. The Trump regime is making a mockery of the rights to free speech and due process, and going into court to argue against that.  In the meantime, visa and green card holders are being snatched off the streets without a hearing and presentation of facts and evidence to justify that they were breaking any laws or were a member of a terrorist organization. Welcome to fascism:  https://john-w-whitehead.medium.com/making-our-rights-disappear-the-authoritarian-war-on-due-process-cf0f45f9e0c6   

  Using a bogus claim, the US is at war with Venezuela in order to justify taking such deportation and prison in El Savado in the cover of night of the accused without due process is one issue. Another is snatching a grad student off the street because she wrote an article in a school newspaper in support of Hamas.  Was there any evidence they also had terrorist ties or committed crimes? We will never know if they are snatched and shipped or imprisoned without a hearing before a judge, which is the process to which they were entitled, called due process.

3/28.2025 Judge rules against the Trump regime using the excuse of a war to cover the lack of due process extended to alleged Venezuelan gang members. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-judge-extends-block-trump-use-wartime-law-deportations-2025-03-28/

Update 3/29/2025 Disney and ABC hit with FCC investigation over DEI policies | CNN Business     FCC chair opens investigation into PBS, NPR sponsorship practices

Donald Trump calls for MSNBC hosts to be fired after 'disgraceful' comments - Irish Star

Update 3/21/2025: Some hope, though. Trump has been on a crusade to "delicense" media he does not like, particularly MSNBC and CNN. He should be informed that cable networks are not licensed.However, attacking others like NPR and broadcasting networks should be expected. The new head of the FCC that does licenses was one of the writers of Project 2025 and that proposed a frightening course. Trump's FCC pick, Brendan Carr, wrote Project 2025's chapter on the agency. Here's what he wants. - CBS News  The media has been called the 4th estate because its power and control of media is part and parcel as one of the first steps a wannabe dictator uses to seize control of the other three "estates," the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Trump has whipped the legislative branch majority into submission, and he is trying to cow the judges by threatening "impeachment". That one is simply a bark with no bite since two-thirds of the Senate to convict an impeachment is such a supermajority that it is a non-starter. 

The Trump regime appears laying the groundwork to challenge the judiciary branch's ability to rule against Trump's interests and actions as the chief of the executive branch in the Venezuelan gang import case and he may find a hostile Supreme Court greeting him as Chief Justice Roberts was quick to respond on the threats of impeachment of the judge. He gave a strong rebuke immediately after Trump went on a rant. https://mufticforumblog.blogspot.com/2025/03/whats-big-deal-about-rule-of-law.html

 https://www.imdb.com/news/ni64407784/  

 Supreme Court rejects Trump’s request to keep billions in foreign aid frozen |

 CNN Politics  MUFTIC FORUM BLOG: What those who support the rule of law should fear the most updated

https://mufticforumblog.blogspot.com/2025/03/whats-big-deal-about-rule-of-law.html

Political control of his base is already complete. Those of his party in Congress get threatened and fear for their political lives if they raise an objection to Trump's policies. Trump's oligarchs will provide unlimited campaign funds against any dissenters. This past week, we saw that in full array as former hawks against Russia fell into line on Ukraine, contradicting years of past public statements. Now, social media provides the approved word of the day or the rationale for whatever policies Trump supports. Not one GOP voice in Congress  (may be one exception) now objects to Trump dumping Western alliances, voting with Russia in the UN,  and, as the Kremlin acknowledged, Trump is now aligned with Russia.  In his state-of-state address on 3/4/25, the GOP members applauded and rose as a body at his every pronouncement.  

 Mind control is halfway there as favorable polls of Trump only deviate a little from November 2024.  What is different from the fascist rulers and dictators of the past is how the message gets delivered. Once in communist or fascist countries, it was blaring slogans from loudspeakers, banners, and total control over TV and radio. Western press was not allowed. These days thought control is even more effective.  Algorithms ensure the faithful get the message, not just on TV but on all the newfangled outlets and social media, and other thoughts are steered away or not reported.  The voice of Trump is right there in their smartphones 24/7, and the chances of hearing what the "other side" is thinking are either rare or dismissed as political propaganda. MUFTIC FORUM BLOG: How stupid does Trump think Americans are?

 Born in 1938, I have seen much, including the fall of fascism and the Iron Curtain consolidating power, as a student in Berlin in 1958 as Kruschev threatened to close off Berlin, and another airlift was a possibility. I met my forever husband-to-be in Berlin in 1957-58s, a fellow student planning to become a refugee from a communist country. From him, I learned what it was like for ordinary people to live in a dictatorship. We were later able to make nearly annual trips to visit the family as that country liberalized. Still, even then, I had close-up and personal observations of how dictators operate, gain, and maintain their power.  I knew what it was like firsthand.

 Communist dictators and fascists have much in common, though their messages and ideology are different. The ones I witnessed used the same techniques, blaring loudspeakers and banners everywhere, and no free press was allowed. To succeed and survive, regardless if you had a bone to pick, you had to keep your mouth shut and keep your head down low. Someone was always listening and reporting on you. Dissent was not only not allowed, dissenters would be punished. Rule of law was not what was on paper or their "constitution" but how it was practiced, and the interpretation had to comply with the dear leader's or party functionaries' words du jour.  

Does any of this sound like what you are witnessing develop or where we are heading in our own country in 2025? It does to me. I am feeling deja vu all over again.

The GOP's attack on personal freedoms and Ron DeSantis is leading the charge

Update 8 11 2023  Consumers are rejecting the anti-woke...a warning to the corporate world: Consumers are rejecting the anti-woke movement to demand CEOs speak out on important social issues: ‘Today, you cannot say nothing’ (msn.com)

If we thought Trump was a threat to our personal freedoms,  DeSantis has just doubled down. DeSantis and Trump both hurt their election chances with their threats to democracy and their attacks on personal freedoms we have enjoyed.  Democracy was under threat by stop the steal lies and election deniers in 2020 and January 6 violence, and CPAC and others fawning over the strong leadership of foreign dictators like Putin and Viktor Orban of Hungary. In 2022, women, younger voters, and independents handed unexpected defeats to the GOP. reflecting, the end of Roe v Wade  That trend is not a one-off. recent polls show. Protection of democracy in 2024 it will take on a different sense of urgency when it is also linked to attacks on personal freedoms, especially important to women and younger voters. Particularly top of women's concerns is the inability of women to control their reproductive health care and the impact of this on family economics, as well as their safety from mass shootings.

DeSantis has moved from advocating banning women's control over their reproductive lives,  don't say gay, and hearing and learning nothing that looks like"woke", to putting it into law so it is now enforced by government action. His state has now gone ban crazy.  The pushback effort to ban the banners has just begun in upcoming local and state elections. DeSantis has also embraced poison pills that very likely ensure he will be the loser if he ever makes it to the general presidential election. Nearly every one of the recent bills he signs addressing cultural issues poll very unpopular outside of Florida., especially for women. The extreme 6-week abortion ban is a loser for DeSantis' hopes and his own self-administered poison pill. Nearly 60% of women polled nationally say they will vote against a candidate that supports such bans in spite of the condition of the economy and inflation.. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/03/08/poll-women-struggling-dread-burnout/11413303002/#Economy%20Concerns%20and%20Financial%20Struggles. 

 That he brags he is a strong effective leader makes him more frightening to those who oppose him because he uses the government to suppress personal rights they once enjoyed, and he makes his right-wing cultural issues enforced by the government in Florida. For those who object, what weapons still left to push back are (quoting Obama), don't get mad, vote  (up and down the ballot), and court constitutional challenges.  The First and 14th Amendment-based lawsuits are just being filed since freedom of speech and anti-discrimination are at issue.

 DeSantis may think the only group he needs to  control are Republican registered primary voters for president, but Florida is no template for much of the rest of the United States. that he needs to support him to become president.  Even if he defeats Trump in the primary.  DeSantis' legislative wins in Florida and support for these codified cultural issues are potential poison political pills in a national contest.  Polls show his agenda is unpopular., from  book banning to  don't say gay, 6-week extreme abortion ban, ensuring he would be near certain loser in the nationwide presidential run if 2022 midterm GOP losses are any indication. With his fight with Mickey Mouse because Disney refused to agree to his don't say gay edicts, he has shown a willingness to use governmental power to force a private business to bow down to his government-enforced cultural edicts. This is as big an anti-business posture as one could imagine.  Disney countered by withdrawing billions of additional investment and jobs in Florida

Talk about governmental overreach and "autocracy"; DeSantis is on steriods. He may not be a narcissistic sociopathic demagogue scoff-law like Trump, but the baggage of his actions in Florida on cultural wars will make him a very likely loser in a nationwide election. His extreme positions on these issues that poll unpopular in swing states and suburban women are on the very visible public records in both his state's legislative success and public pronouncements. This means it will be impossible for him to appeal to independents and women by moderating his dire on-the-record positions should he survive the primary.   I can see the opposition political ads being formulated now.   

 In 2024 not only are personal freedoms at stake but so is a democracy, regardless if the GOP candidate is Trump or Desantis.   Biden had begun the theme of democracy's connection to personal freedoms,   He is on to something and others are beginning to make the connection, too. Not only are businesses' ability to object to government policy under threat of retribution by a control freak-led governor going national but so are women in particular.    It is not just about the freedom for women to control their reproductive health, it is about much more. It includes threats caused by lax gun laws against the lives of their children in schools, and erosion of their own parental control of what their children are taught or permitted to read,  or about health care decisions endangering their own health, family financial stability, and gender-affirming care of their children.  

Democrat Donna Deegan flips the Jacksonville mayor's office in a major upset (nbcnews.com)

Florida school district sued for violating first amendment rights with book bans | Florida | The Guardian

Disney DeSantis Dispute On Dont Say Gay - Bing News

https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/meetthepressblog/new-voter-study-outlines-3-trends-powered-dems-2022-help-biden-2024-rcna84955

This poll was taken before the "chaos at the border' did not materialize as predicted with the end of title 42 and Biden has shown a policy of even stricter enforcement of existing laws and improvements of application methods.  Biden maintains edge over Trump in 2024 US election -Reuters/Ipsos poll | Reuters

Here is what I wrote last month regarding the threat to freedom and democracy by Trump second term,   I am reprinting it here.  

From my April blog postings:

April 24: Biden just did it: For better communication, what do you call authoritarianism in a few words? Biden just did it. .... Joe Biden confirms 2024 re-election bid in video announcement - Bing video    He put democracy on the ballot as an implied contrast with the dark, anti-democratic Trump. He defined what democracy is in terms of personal freedoms and then showed how he was protecting them now and in the future.  It is a context into which so many issues fit, women's choice, voter suppression, a priority of the middle-class well-being, of student debt, Ukraine, and more.

The next Biden task should be to link the issue of personal freedoms to the economy and economic well-being of those who benefit from personal freedoms.  The two easiest, of course, are women's rights to control their reproductive schedules and health in the abortion issue. Women cannot go to work if they are always"barefoot and pregnant" and earn the money they need to help maintain their family's standard of living.   It is particularly difficult when women earn less than men for the same work and doubly difficult if racism interjects the ability to earn equal pay.  Equal rights have serious economic implications. Voter suppression speaks to the loss of political power, which cripples the rights of access for those who need public policies to give them a leg up.  Student debt is the millstone around my flock of grandkids' necks setting back for years their ability to be able to have the freedom and independence to support their families.   Preservation of democracy is what Ukraine is all about, theirs and ours. It is in a way a far lower-cost proxy war than what a full confrontation with Russia would cost us in the Baltics and Poland as we protect our own national security interests.  Yes, gas prices are high, but a stitch in time saves nine. 

From my April 21, 2023 posting: So what is this "democracy" for which so many died? What is "freedom" we claim to want and protect? The American style of democracy means that those who are not the majority still have rights that give them hope they can eventually be the majority, too. Diversity is the real enemy of wannabe tyrants, especially if those in the minority still have rights, the rule of law still rules,  and the ability to be heard remains in place. That is good news for the US. Those who are in the minority still have rights since the rule of laws protecting them is upheld by the judicial system.  It also bodes ill for a vocal minority that supports policies that are wildly unpopular but is attempting to force the majority to accept them, such as extreme anti-abortion laws and ignoring gun safety measures. 

 It seems unbelievable we need to make the case for democracy in order to contrast it with the anti-democracy alternatives.  However, in every generation, the case for democracy needs to be dusted off and rephrased because so many have forgotten how it benefits them. Even with its failures to live up to the idealism of our founders, we can still strive for this more perfect union so long as small d democracy survives.

My own case for democracy is based on the reason for the American Revolution and the ability to be free to pursue life and happiness in a country treated with consideration and fairness even those they oppose. This is the way to live in a stable, tranquil society with the hope staying alive the future can be better. So long as that hope lives, so will democracy. 

Did you ever see a mermaid and was she white?

" This is in response to a posting on another restricted to members facebook site from a complaint about Disney's newest little mermaid release, in which the mermaid is depicted as an African American.  The writer complained and groused that Disney must be marketing to the "woke" crowd.   The new name calling by the MAGA crowd of those who are to the left of MAGA  is "woke".  Here is my comment:

"Disney has worldwide distribution to countries that are not European. I doubt seriously they are expecting white American racists to pay for the view. Respect and marketing are also Disney drivers. They also know pre-elementary school kids are more color blind than those older than them and they will still enjoy the fairy tale, no matter the skin color of the character. The younger generation, my grandchildren, are not put off by any of this racial stuff that disturbs their elders because they were born and raised in an integrated, post-Jim Crow era and household. That is not true of so many who only respect messages delivered by those of their same race. Racism has always been and still is a factor in marketing. But to consider with disgust those white people who are "woke" only reflects your own racial biases. White .people should only respect those of their own race? Disney once had a cartoon called Song of the South that portrayed happy black people in the Jim Crow era. In retrospect, the traditions that the movie portrayed are now seen as racist stereotypes seen through the eyes of white creators. The Lion King rectified much by taking the traditions back to African roots, increasing respect for universal values within African traditions. . Hamilton, the play, shocked many white folks, not because of the words and messages, which were historically correct and patriotic, but because it was done in black rap tradition and black actors played some white historical characters. That was the purpose of the writers. Their point is universal messages like those in Hamilton have merit in themselves and are respected by all races regardless of what race portrays the characters. Black cinderellas and mermaids are based on characters that are in the realm of fairy tales. Did you ever see a mermaid, and if so, was she white? Christ was not white but middle eastern. He was real, His existence was documented in the era by those who were literate, but to white evangelical and Catholic Christians, He is portrayed as European with blue eyes. Target marketing? It is not considered strange by them to be racially incorrect. Funny how that all plays out. "

What Did Jesus Look Like? Here's What The Evidence Says (allthatsinteresting.com)