Another State Goes Fascist

There was yet another school shooting two Mondays ago, at a Christian school in Nashville, TN. Three little kids and three adults were shot and killed by yet another rampaging person trying to murder as many people as possible. The police responded quickly, thankfully, and killed the shooter.

And what was the response of Rethuglican lawmakers in Washington? Crickets.

But some of the Rethug legislators in TN did say something, mostly having to do with a cowardly it sure was horrible but "we're not gonna fix it." Cowardly because they all depend on their campaign contributions from the National Rifle Association. I knew nobody was going to do anything productive. The best the Rethugs could offer was more hypocritical and useless “thoughts and prayers”.

Something very encouraging happened the other day. Thousands of young people, the Gen Z folk, walked out of their high schools and colleges and began to march. They were joined by other supportive adults but these were mostly the young.

I was so proud of them. They reminded me of my generation once upon a time. It was a time when we Boomers were young, had enough of Establishment ways, and took to the streets. Gen Z were on a march to save their lives. They’d had enough of Rethuglican excuses and deflections and denials. Now they wanted action. They were amazing.

They flooded the capitol building, where most of the legislators there just brushed right by them. There was one State Assemblyman that did agree to meet with them and why he did, I couldn’t begin to guess. He was the most useless Rethuglican spokesman ever. All he did was ask the young people to show him which firearm they’d be most comfortable being shot with. What the fuck was that?

Three legislators inside interrupted the session briefly to support the protestors and they were promptly kicked out. The angry Rethug majority threatened to expel them permanently. They voted to do so and then truly showed their racist colors! Two of the legislators were young Black men. The other was a middle-aged white woman. Two were expelled; one was not. Guess who. If you guessed only the Black guys were expelled, you’d be spot on.

They were initially accused of instigating an insurrection ala January 6^th. Then I guess the charge was disorderly behavior. But still: why was the white woman spared?

So, does the Tennessee state government reject the First Amendment? Or is it only when it’s the minority objecting to the majority’s way of doing things?

And while we’re talking about disruptive behavior, why do we still have traitors and legislators who engaged in treasonous behavior still service in the nation’s House and Senate?

This is in-your-face-we-don’t-give-a-fuck-how-it-looks fascism, racism, suppression, and repression going on right out in the open for everyone to see.

Rev. Barber might ask: “What are we going to do with this?”

Our votes aren’t enough. People need to be speaking up and pulling a Howard Beale: “I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore.” We need to get into “good trouble” like the Tennessee Three. We need to be joining with other organizations that are fighting fascism and the attacks on democracy. We need to start paying attention to what’s happening around us.

I felt better this morning and into the afternoon when I began reading and hearing about the pushback going on over what happened to the two Black legislators. I’ve been reading articles today in which the Tennessee Assembly is condemned for an illegal action in violation of the Constitution’s First Amendment.

One of the expelled legislators is from the Nashville area and their city council is moving to reinstate Mr. Jones to his seat. They are outraged by what happened.

Mr. Pearson is from the Memphis area and there’s no word on what will happen with that council. He should be reinstated too.

I will not set foot in any fascist state. Increasingly more and more red states like Florida, Texas, North Carolina, and now Tennessee are going on my do-not-go-there list.

We are having issues with spreading fascism because once the Rethugs began to realize they weren’t going to be able to steal elections by crying they’d been cheated of a win, they began stacking the school boards, township councils, city councils, and state legislators with ultra-right wing conservative and/or evangelical MAGA QAnoners. Now we have these people trying to run democracy into the ground.

I got an email from an organization called Run for Something. They are encouraging that WE start running for these positions too. I thought about Rev. Barber again. “What are we going to do with this?” I thought about what I could do. I saw that there would be a position on my district’s school board, and I decided I would run for it.

We must DO something.

Other worthy articles I read yesterday and today:

Dan Rather

Alternet

Truthout

Huff-Post

Raw Story 

Before It's Too Late

 I was looking at different sources to see how many people read books. By people, I mean teenagers to adults. I was thinking that perhaps there are too many complacent people in the country, ignoring the spreading fascism because they don’t read enough and don’t believe we could have such a thing in the United States. It turns out that the stats haven’t changed too much and that the average person reads at least one book a year.

To me, that’s shockingly low because I’ve been a bookworm all my life. People lead busy lives as adults, though, and many don’t have much time to sit down and read a book. Perhaps kids and adults would prefer to play video games or check out their social media. Maybe instead of wondering how much people read, I should wonder WHAT they are reading. They sure don't seem to be learning a damn thing about history.

The recent news has me shaking my head.

Florida’s governor Death Santis wants bloggers to register with the state if they’re going to write about him. He also wants reporters to not only register but turn over their material after covering one of his appearances. He wants to know the political views of professors at the college level. Now these are chilling ideas for anyone who has bothered to read what was happening in Germany in the early 1930s. This same governor has further restricted a woman’s right to make choices about her own health.  This same governor has made it harder for minorities to vote. This same governor has terrorized school teachers and districts into removing books from their shelves for fear of being charged with a felony. Does this sound like a book burning without the fire? This same governor had a “don’t say gay” law and an “anti-woke” law passed. That’s not even half of what he’s been up to. He’s a truly scary guy.

But where are the protesters? Why aren’t legislators speaking up about it? Understandably (I guess) half of our legislators side with the repressive fascist but why are there crickets from the other side? Why aren’t they speaking out?

When there was no outcry, fascism began spreading like wildfire. States seemed to be competing to see who could come up with the cruelest and most outrageous violation of a person’s rights. Texas and North Carolina would like to sentence a woman to death for having an abortion. And still … crickets?

Do the citizens and legislators choose not to speak up because they think: oh, that’s just crazy stuff? It’ll never happen here.

Oh yes, it could. Our democracy is still in danger. There are still folks who’d like nothing better than to overturn it and bring on authoritarian theocracies. At that point, it’s too late to say, “Hey, we didn’t want this.”

Today is the anniversary of Bloody Sunday in Selma, Alabama. It took place on March 7, 1965. There was a one-day mention of it on Sunday, but I haven’t seen anything about it since. Is its history too ancient? I’ll bet young people didn’t learn about it in their history classes and maybe it wouldn’t even be legal to teach it in half the states today. White supremacists and christian nationalists want to bring us back to the Jim Crow era or worse. Isn’t there some nut down in FL (where else?) who wants to make the Democratic party illegal?

Recently CPAC held its weekend-long convention in Oxon Hill, Maryland. And Michael Knowle said, “transgenderism must be erased.” Erased. If you erase transgenderism, you’re erasing people. If you erase people, isn’t that just a nice way of saying genocide? After all, the Nazis didn’t start by exterminating Jewish people. They started with “undesirables”. And when no one said anything, then they moved on to the increasingly inhumane treatment of the Jewish population.

There is too much rubbernecking going on. Everyone who disagrees with fascism, Nazism, oppression, suppression, racism, bigotry, and misogyny should be doing something. Boycott. Write letters. March. Sit in. United, peaceful protesting.  The time for that is now, not when it’s too late.

WTAF 2023 (2022 upgrade)

 Ah, so much going on and my poor old brain is feeling feeble and exhausted. What shall I write about? The fact that Rev. Dr. Martin Luther’s King’s words are being twisted by the Rethuglicans? The controversy over the statue honoring Rev. King and his wife Coretta Scott King, showing their hands only and not their heads? How about illiberalism and christian nationalism, which is running rampant throughout half our country? Book banning? The Rethuglican plot to gut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid? God, no wonder my brain feels feeble today.

There’s something else too: despite three years of taking necessary precautions, Covid is residing in the house. We’re vaxxed, boostered, and careful to wear masks when we’re out but indoors somewhere. We avoid people without masks. Yet, somehow, that sneaky virus crept into our house. So far, I’m the only one testing negative but I feel sick. My husband and son are both ill, both positive, but their cases seem “mild”. I say mild because we haven’t had to go to Urgent Care or the ER.  Still, they are both miserable. I’m the caretaker, making sure they are fed, taking Paxlovid (hubby), vitamins and OTC products to treat their symptoms.

Regarding the Rethuglicans, twisting Dr. King’s words to suit their agendas: it’s been going on with that party forever. Intelligent, open-minded people will see through it for what it is. The sheeple won’t understand that Dr. King’s words do not reflect things as they are NOW. We still have racial and social injustices. That’s what Dr. King’s messages were about. What to do about it? The thinking open-minded people in red states and districts need to VOTE these evil legislators the fuck OUT.

The statue? I was a little taken aback at first, but I looked at it a while and realized it was beautiful. The clasped hands show the deep love Dr. King and Mrs. King had for each other. What a way to honor their memory.

What is really aggravating me today is book banning, defunding libraries, and Gov Death Santis’ recent rejection of APA Black history in high schools. What the actual fuck! Half of our country’s legislators and too many voters have learned NOTHING about history because they’ve banned the true teaching of it.

Critical Race Theory (CRT) is not taught in any elementary, middle, or high school in this country. Yet the Rethuglicans keep howling about it. Governor Death-Santis proudly proclaims that CRT comes to Florida to die. His latest action was despicable. So, the College Board recommended adding an Advanced Placement (AP) class on African American History to high school curriculums in which the students earn college credit for passing the course.

The reason? It’s against the law in Florida! This is going to be another What the Actual Fuck Journal, dated 2023.  Against the law to learn facts about African American history? Meanwhile, there are other cultural AP classes offered that passed the litmus test. There’s been outrage, of course, about all this but he doesn’t care.

Death Santis wrote a letter rejecting AP African American History and added this sentence: “In the future, should College Board be willing to come back to the table with lawful, historically accurate content, FDOE will always be willing to reopen the discussion.” I bet that means white bread history with WASP sauce.

I feel sorry for the parents and students in FL who care about getting a complete education. I feel sorry for the teachers who are being bullied and terrorized with restrictive rules about what they can and cannot discuss in the classroom.

I think to myself: why would anyone want to live there? I understand being “stuck” because of the economy, the job, the family but …. I also think to myself I would drop it all for the sake of my kids. I would rather we sleep in a car in a free state instead of a fascist state. I was reading another article about situations like this; that it’s not so much about CRT but about illiberalism.  Anti-liberal thinking is spreading across the country.

Another topic that touched my hot button is book banning. Once again, this is about the fear of learning that others exist: other colors, other religions, other genders, other sexualities. I have read most of the banned books and the reasons given are so shallow. We're dumbing down our nation. But even more insidious, the Rethuglicans are quietly going around defunding libraries. That's scary.

Can you tell I am not a fan of the Rethuglicans? This is my use of what used to be the GOP. Now they are made up of GQP thugs. If there are any R's that don't hold with what the Rethugs are doing, they are sitting with their hands over their mouths, quaking. And if someone has the courage to speak against the thugs, they are ostracized (Sen. Romney), cast out (Rep. Cheney) or forced into retirement to save the lives of their families (Rep. Kinzinger).

I started reading a book called The Last Train.by Peter Bradley. He learned not too long ago that his grandparents were exterminated in a Nazi concentration camp and that his father barely escaped with his life. I read the introduction and my understanding is that Bradley meant to keep the family history quiet but recent events (guess who and what) brought him to the decision that he had to tell the story. History is repeating itself right now.

There is still so much to write about but today I have to conclude with the inevitability of our unwanted guest, Covid.  Now all of us have it. Thanks, tRump. You screwed it up.

Casablanca and Defending Democracy

 

Casablanca and Defending Democracy

My This Day in History newsletter provides me with dates that were significant for one reason or another. Yesterday’s featured the debut of the film Casablanca on November 26, 1942. It is a love story but, more importantly, it takes place while World War II was raging around the world. Even though it is an 80-year-old movie, it is my most favorite movie of all time not just because of the romance between Rick and Ilsa but because of the bravery shown by people living in an occupied country.

Casablanca is in Morocco and was occupied by the Nazis. There was a Vichy French presence in the country, but they usually gave in to Nazi rules. Rick ran an international club frequented by Nazis, Vichy, citizens of Casablanca and refugees desperate to escape the country to places of freedom. Rick’s former lover Ilsa and her husband Laszlo are two of those seeking to flee. Rick’s conflict was whether to help them escape. If you have seen this impressive movie, you know the outcome.

Living under a Nazi regime is terrifying and life threatening and, yet there was a time during the movie when people stood up for freedom. This is one of the most moving scenes I have ever seen:

The clear message is yes, we reject Nazism’s oppression and horrors.

I think about how things are and the threat to our own democracy.

Even before tRumpism and January 6, 2021, there have been forces moving on the ultra-conservative right-wing politicians and voters to reject democracy. They prefer fascism, offering discrimination and oppression of people of color, different religions, different gender identities, and, more generally, the middle and lower classes.

We could have lost our democracy on January 6, when tRumper violent militias stormed the Capitol. They dragged along with them tRump supporters that originally meant to just protest but got caught up in the destruction and violence at the Capitol. Thankfully, Capitol police helped legislators, staff, and reporters escape the insurrectionists.

That did not stop the insidious movement of those who would overturn democracy. They populated local governments and school boards with their followers. These people managed to have laws passed restricting the right to vote, our ultimate expression of freedom and choice. TFG appointed his loyal followers to the judiciary, and we began to see fundamental rights overturned and in danger of being overturned.

Despite that, we can save our democracy. Our recent midterm reminds me of that heroic scene from Casablanca. We did not have a huge win, but we prevented the tRumper election deniers from a big win that would allow them control of both legislative houses. It cannot end with the midterm victories though. I am sure the tRumpers and GQP are busily working. n their Plan B, so we have to keep fighting.

Our young people, those of Gen Z, significantly helped us save democracy. All of us must join with Gen Z to continue to protect our freedom.

 

Election Day Eve

 

I was thinking I should write something about the election tomorrow. My thoughts are coming and going at a hundred miles per hour. Sometimes I feel worried and very anxious, and then I think about the huge number of people—especially young people and women—who have already come out and cast their ballots.  Early in-person voting ended or will be ending and those who haven’t voted yet or mailed/deposited in a designated drop box will have to vote in person.

In some states, that can be a scary experience.  There’s already been reports of vigilantes geared up and carrying weapons showing up at drop boxes in Arizona to “make sure everything is done right.” The first response was to restrict these vigilantes from carrying their weapons etc., which was appealed and then a seniors group filed for a restraining order. A federal judge, Michael T. Liburdi denied the request.  He didn’t think armed vigilantes constituted a threat to voters dropping their ballots into drop boxes.  Great decision.

Every day, someone in the Rethuglican party says or does something that is increasingly disgusting, misleading, deflecting, inciting, or outright declaring the fascist policies they want to institute if they regain control of Congress. Important swing states are Pennsylvania, Florida, Georgia, Wisconsin, and Nevada.  Michigan could go either way. Even our own representative, Andy Kim, has gone from basically no-contest to toss-up.  A lot of it is because of Rethuglican gerrymandering. How they got away with that is a puzzle to me.

Rethuglicans have been very clever at placing their followers into positions of authority on school boards, as election agents and secretaries of state.  Red governors and red secretaries of state could throw out or contest votes that go against them.

Then there’s the violence that just sickens me. A twisted tRumper broke into Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s house.  He didn’t find her there and, instead, brutally attacked her husband, Paul Pelosi, with a hammer.  Instead of condemning the act or sympathizing with the Pelosis, Rethuglican legislators chose to mock and joke at what happened.  I only saw messages condemning the violence from Senator McConnell and Rep. Kinzinger.  There were just crickets from everyone else.  Where is the morality?  Have these MAGAs flat out sold their souls to tRumpism?

I knew that members of the January 6^th committee had to have protection and also needed protection for their families.  I knew that other people were being threatened either because they wouldn’t fall in line with tRumpism or to scare them to the point they wouldn’t speak out against what MAGAs were doing.  Now MAGAs target the families. 

When Paul Pelosi was attacked so brutally and Rethug legislators chose to either mock or keep lips zipped tight, I felt like my mind was blown.  I remember a time when the R’s and D’s would work together to find common ground in spite of their differences.  What’s happening now is absolutely horrifying.  How do you begin to connect with soulless people like that?  The ones who object but are too afraid to speak up are complicit too.  By not condemning what MAGAs are doing, these cowards are supporting the violence, the outright lies, manipulation, and terror tactics employed by their party.

Some of them claim to be “Christian” nationalists but they aren’t at all.  It makes me so mad to see them proclaiming to follow the teachings of Christ…but are doing the exact opposite.  The awful policies they want to instate are anti-Christian.  Jesus wouldn’t approve.  Obviously, these “Christian” nationalists aren’t reading the New Testament.

And what is this nonsense about the United States being a Christian country? It’s not and never was intended to be.  Obviously these MAGAs also haven’t read any of the quotes by John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, or even Ronald Reagan.

John Adams said: “As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion,—as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquility, of Mussulmen [Muslims],—and as the said States never entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mahometan [Mohammedan] nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.”

Thomas Jefferson said: ““If, therefore, from the settlement of the Saxons, to the introduction of Christianity among them, that system of religion could not be a part of the common law, because they were not yet Christians; and if, having their laws from that period to the close of the common law, we are able to find among them no such act of adoption; we may safely affirm (though contradicted by all the judges and writers on earth) that Christianity neither is, nor ever was, a part of the common law.”

And this from former President Ronald Reagan, a Repub hero: “We establish no religion in this country, church and state are, and must remain separate.”

In this country, people practice many different religions.  How dare the MAGAs think they can force us all into one?  That’s really scary.

MAGAs are against anything that would serve people, including social security, Medicare, Medicaid, reproductive rights, the right to love and marry whomever you want, and to blatantly discriminate against people of color, different religions, and different sexuality and gender identity.  What they propose to do is absolutely brutal to the already badly damaged middle class.

Why do people vote against their own best interests?  It continues to boggle my mind.

I don’t even know what point I’m trying to make. That’s how frazzled I feel and how fired up my brain continues to be, protesting against all this evil.  I write and post and tweet but it doesn’t seem like I’m heard.  I do feel engaged and positive when I phone or text bank. I am connecting directly with voters and I feel as if I’m doing something useful and helpful.

Tomorrow is Election Day. If we voters really love the US and the Constitution, then we’ll all make sure to vote blue.  I already did.  I’m praying for good news when all the results are counted.

Here are newsletters where I get trustworthy information:

Voter Intimidation by Dan Rather

Political Violence by Dan Rather

Dispatches From A Collapsing Nation

An Unsettled Time by Dan Rather

Musk, Trump, and the Demeaning of America by Robert Reich

Tsunami of Truth by Michael Moore, the latest in an ongoing series