If you’ve been on this site much you would know that I’m reading BOOKS all the time – books in the genre of “current events” or “politics” or history.  Right now I’m reading a very  good book by Madeline Albright that actually falls into all three categories: “Fascism, a warning.”  If you don’t know, Albright is a Jewish immigrant who’s father got his family out of Czechoslovakia during WW II just before Hitler’s invasion would have likely destroyed her family.  She has been a college professor since she retired from public service – her last job was Secretary of State during the Clinton administration.  In this book Albright gives the history of Fascism from Mussolini to the present day and, seemingly trying to be “polite,” tries to give the “warning” about what is happening in America under Trump.  She writes the book in a way to give the reader enough information to figure out what is potentially happening in America without coming out and calling Trump a Fascist.  Well, I haven’t been so polite.

I’ve also read “The Despot’s Apprentice” by Brian Klaas and he makes it clear that the Trump phenomenon is clearly following the “path” of other “despots” who’ve turned (mostly) fledgling “democracies” into fascist dictatorships.  As Trump makes his “philosophy” clearer by the day you can clearly see the parallels.  Just the other day, for example, he used an “executive order” designed to take rights away from federal workers who actually are part of unions which have negotiated (bargained) for workplace “rules.”  Of course, the right wing “echo chamber” – which is funded by the wealthy elite – is cheering this on because they’ve been fighting against union organizing since the 1930’s when our fathers and grandfathers (and now, great grandfathers) FOUGHT for the rights of workers to collectively BARGAIN.  This move is typical of a TYRANT who believes he gets to make the rules himself.   Sadly, in today’s America, there doesn’t appear to be the “push-back” there should be against this type of POWER GRAB.

Of course, Trump used the now too common strategy of quietly announcing this power grab late on a Friday, right before a holiday weekend – seemingly hoping to keep this out of the headlines – one more move by Trump that would fall into the “fascist” category via the definition of both Klaas and Albright.  If you’ve been paying attention – or NOT allowing yourself to get sucked in by the right wing “echo chamber” led by Trump TV (Fox “news”) – the actions by Trump which have “fascist” written all over them happen on a regular basis.  It’s so common that people – and journalists – are almost numbed by Trump’s ARROGANCE.

I wrote the other day how Trump – speaking of his arrogance and attitude that he’s the “decider” – forced the Commerce Department to negotiate a settlement with a Chinese Telecom that was using parts from American companies to construct their phones and then both using the phones for espionage in America and selling them to countries under American sanction.  Due to the companies violations of American law, the company had been blocked from purchasing parts from these American sources which, essentially, was going to shut it down.  Trump forced the change via the Commerce Department – which had “heads” in Washington – on “both sides of the isle” – “puzzled,” until a deal the Trump Organization made with China to finance one of their construction projects in Indonesia – bringing Trump MILLIONS – became public knowledge.  I think Trump just can’t help himself.  He was likely the head of a mafia type organization before becoming president (very possibly why he’s so worried about Robert Mueller’s investigation) and his fascist tendencies are apparently “in his bones.”

Sadly, the bulk of the republican party has willingly been supporting Trump and some of them have totally soiled their legacies with some of the embarrassing comments they’ve made in public.  One example that comes to mind was Orrin Hatch proclaiming Trump the greatest president ever after the tax scam was passed.  Of course, Hatch is in his 80’s, so maybe he was just having a delusional day – but, when all is said and done, those words could very well define him.  Republicans SHOULD be the ones speaking the LOUDEST about what Trump is “up to,” but, what they’re doing is proving me correct in all the posts I’ve made over the past 10 years lamenting their push to the “right” and how “we the people” NEED to make them part of America’s history – next to Benedict Arnold!

We’re already seeing clear evidence of why the tax scam was so important to them, and, to me at least, it’s embarrassing.  Sheldon Adelson is receiving a reported $680 MILLION windfall each year from the scam so, one of the first things he did was funnel $30 MILLION to the republican party – with the likelihood of MILLIONS more to come as we near the 2018 election.  Either democrats are completely SILENT on this, OR our “liberal media” is so enamored by Trump that he’s the ONLY thing they can talk about.  The tax scam SHOULD be part of the news on a regular basis – the DISGRACE of republicans passing a bill that takes OVER  a TRILLION dollars from the MIDDLE CLASS and funnels it to the top “1%” in order to keep BILLIONS coming back in return to their campaign “coffers” should be part of the NIGHTLY “news.”  “We the people” SHOULD be informed as to what is actually happening to this money.  But, we’re more focused on listening to every LIE that comes from the mouth of Trump.  And, Trump is smart enough to support this scam (of course, he’s also reaping MILLIONS from it each and every year) so that republicans will feel obliged to support his fascist behavior.  It’s disgusting and DANGEROUS.

Briefly, here’s a few more things that should be obvious to everyone paying attention that are “tendencies” of a fascist “leader.”  Trump is, virtually every day, attacking the “media.”  Of course, the attacks are focused on ANYONE who might call him out or disagree with him on ANYTHING.  He’s gone so far as to suggest he could repeal the license of media outlets that don’t report on him “favorably.”  He seems envious of “leaders” like Putin and Erdogan who simply jail reporters who report things they don’t like.  Trump is CONSTANTLY attacking the intelligence community and the Justice Department which is right out of the despot’s “playbook.”  Of course, what he really doesn’t like about our Justice Department and FBI is that they are investigating HIM and his campaign – which it’s appearing more and more likely each day was conspiring with foreigners to help him get elected.  Despite laws to the contrary, Trump appears to see nothing wrong with allowing foreigners to influence our elections.  The WORST part of this, to me, is that Trump is willing to DESTROY our Justice Department in order to save his own “skin.”

At one point, Trey Gowdy, one of the right wing republicans who appear to be enabling Trump, actually said to Trump:  “If you’re innocent, act like it.”  Well, of course, it doesn’t take a “brain surgeon” to realize Trump is NOT acting as if he’s innocent.  It appears to me that he’s looking at a “double barreled” shotgun – the Mueller probe and the investigation going on in the Southern District of New York “focused” on Michael Cohen.  I believe it’s very possible Trump’s greatest FEAR comes from the Cohen investigation which could uncover what seems to many to be the Trump organization being run as a mafia family.  Cohen has often been referred to as Trump’s “fixer.”  Silencing all the people (usually women, it appears) who have situations involving Trump he wants to hide from the public – like the issue with Stephanie Clifford AKA Stormy Daniels seems to have been one of Cohen’s top priorities.  Trump expects his surrogates (fixers) to simply make his transgressions “go away.”  Despots operate similarly to crime family bosses – which is why the Russian government, under Trump’s idol Vladimir Putin, is considered an organized crime syndicate – which Trump apparently wants to emulate.

And, of course, there’s one part of Trump’s resume that is TOTALLY our of the “depots handbook.”  Virtually all fascists who risen to power are RACISTS.  I’m not going to go to great length here to point out the “evidence” supporting the reality America’s so-called president is a RACIST – you can find it by “googling” Trump, racist.  It’s no secret – he based his campaign on maligning Mexicans, he called countries in Africa “Shithole countries, he refers to African American athletes who protest police brutality by taking a knee during the national anthem at NFL games as “sons of bitches,”  (and has suggested they shouldn’t even be in this country) and his history before campaigning for president was rife with racism – like leading the “birther” movement regarding President Obama.  Fascists are racists – and, Trump fits the “bill.”  What’s the saying, “If it walks like a duck………………………..?”

“We the people” will have the ability to do something about this in November of this year.  But, I can guarantee you it won’t be like the normal “mid term” elections.  Adelson has already thrown in $30 MILLION to help republicans and has pledged who knows how much more while the Koch brothers have pledged something in the neighborhood of $300 to $500 MILLION to support republicans running for Congress who are “true to the right wing message.”  The party of “FAMILY VALUES” has no interest in “family values.”  I don’t believe they ever have – they just use this premise to keep all the unsuspecting right wing “Christians” in line – the people who care about little beyond the abortion issue. (And, don’t get me wrong, MOST of these people are good working class people who had nothing to do with Charlottesville)  And, it’s true that one “success” for Trump, in their eyes, is the amount of right wing (corporatist – which they’re unaware of) judges who are going to be a bane on America for the next 20 or more years – republicans are pushing in “judges” who are as young as possible because they get “lifetime” appointments.

If Trump and the republicans are going to be stopped it will take a democratic party which realizes what’s going on and understands this is a “war” for the heart and soul of America.  I’ve listened to disenchanted “moderate” republicans who want to side with democrats cautioning the democratic party about shifting too far “left.”  To me, that’s the message that will lead to more of the same – tepidness on the part of “progressives” that will accomplish little and lead to, ultimately, just a different version of Trump.  This – meaning the modern day – republican party needs to be voted out of existence as a major force in American politics.  They are attempting to “turn back the clock” to the days of the robber barons – and, the reality is some of the “robber barons” were quite content with the Nazi’s of 1930’s Germany.

There was a lot of blood shed to create the gains for middle class Americans during the “New Deal” and the couple of decades that followed – before Ronald Reagan put into play the plans of the so-called Powell memo – designed to turn America into a corporatist state.  Which is the foundational meaning of fascism – a corporate/government partnership.  It’s time for “we the people” to realize what’s actually happening to our government.  People have watched it deteriorate – under republican administrations – since Reagan took the oath of office.  Republicans have adopted the “Big Lie Theory” of Joseph Goebbels – the chief Nazi propagandist – because it works.  That’s why you hear Trump claiming “witch hunt” (and other LIES) over and over and over an over and…………. you get the idea.  After Trump has repeated the “witch hunt” LIE often enough, most of his “base” actually believes it’s true.  He’s preparing them to disbelieve any findings coming from Mueller – because, other than Mueller, it’s Trump who knows the TRUTH.  If there was nothing there, Trump would be encouraging Mueller to find out what the Russians were up to so we could STOP them.  As it is, Trump is virtually encouraging the Russians to continue their bad behavior – it will be helpful to keep Trump in office!  If Trump wins, America loses.  That’s exactly what Vladimir Putin wants!

One other thing despots can be counted on is the ability to LIE.  And, Trump may not have anyone who’s a peer in this category.  He LIES with impunity and when called on it, he just keeps LYING.  And, it seems as if that’s the one requirement of his subordinates – the willingness to LIE under any circumstances.  Rudy Giuliani, in his desperate quest to be relevant again, has been busy on Trump TV casting LIE after LIE in his effort to be Trump’s “defense attorney.”  In the process, it appears to me Giuliani is just giving Mueller more “fodder” to support the case that Trump is OBSTRUCTING justice.  (I believe there are several others who could be vulnerable to the same charge – including republican members of the House.  To me, if you’re trying to BLOCK an investigation, you’re OBSTRUCTING it – hence, for example, Devin Nunes seems vulnerable to charges from my perspective – along with Mike Pense and others)  The point is, as you look back on history, one thing in common to all TYRANTS who’ve formed FASCIST governments is the willingness to LIE about anything..  To do what, in the words of Kellyanne Conway, is create “alternative facts.”

The bottom line is – and, obviously, I’m not as polite as Madeline Albright, the FACTS indicate that the so-called president of the United States is a FASCIST.  This isn’t a wild charge as was thrown routinely at President Obama by the “Tea Party” – a group that grew out of the backlash that “we the people” would elect a president who’s father was a Kenyan.  (Trump led that racist outrage)  The “charge” that Trump is a FASCIST is backed up by FACTS.  I’ve laid MANY of them out here and “we the people” and our so-called “liberal media” need to be calling it what it is.  At this point, the solution is for every American of voting age to commit they’re going to vote.  And, while I’ve always been an independent (before Reagan, I actually considered myself a “conservative”) it is incumbent on “we the people” MORE than ever before to vote for DEMOCRATS.  What we’re doing if making a clear statement to the WORLD that “we the people” are rejecting FASCISM.  And, if we’re fortunate, maybe we’ll end up with a Congress that has the courage to begin doing what’s right for our nation.