One step away from total fascism
Most of the news coming out of America over the last seven years has left us horrified: mass shootings (as always), the dismantling of Roe V Wade, former President Trump’s incompetent handling of the pandemic, corruption in the Trump administration, acts of treason (again, with Trump involvement), the storming of Congress on Jan 6, 2021 … I could go on.
You’d think we’d be immune to it by now. Surely it couldn’t get any worse.
Guess what? It keeps getting worse. And surprise, surprise: There’s always a God-fearing, out of touch, stark raving mad, fascist-in-the-making Republican at the root of it.
Here are a handful of news items over the last couple of weeks that a perfect examples of fascism on the march.
1 Big, fascist brother is watching you. He wants to know if you’ve had an abortion.
“Police are prosecuting abortion seekers using their digital data – and Facebook and Google help them do it.
“As abortion bans across the nation are implemented and enforced, law enforcement is turning to social-media platforms to build cases to prosecute women seeking abortions or abortion-inducing medication – and online platforms like Google and Facebook are helping.
Through data collected by online pharmacies, social media posts, and user data requests from law enforcement for message and search logs, cases for prosecution can be built against women for seeking abortion – and it has been happening since before Roe was overturned.
This spring, a woman named Jessica Burgess and her daughter will stand trial in Nebraska after being accused of performing an illegal abortion – with a key piece of evidence provided by Meta, the parent company of Facebook. Prosecutors said Burgess helped her daughter find and take pills that would induce an abortion. The teenage Burgess also faces charges of illegally disposing of the fetal remains.”
2 Ron DeSantis – governor of Florida and 2024 presidential hopeful – doesn’t like the idea of people saying bad things about him so he’s doing what any fascist would do; he’ll fine you for it. Bloggers beware.
“Senate Bill 1316 is the latest entrant in Florida lawmakers’ ongoing fight with the First Amendment. If enacted, the legislation would require anyone other than a newspaper journalist who writes online about Florida’s government leaders – its governor, lieutenant governor, cabinet officer, or any member of the state legislature – to register with the state if they receive any “compensation” for the post. And they must do so within five days – and then file a monthly report with state regulators if they write about Florida officials that month. Those who violate the law risk up to $2,500 in fines per report.”
3 In South Carolina an abortion might see you receive the death penalty if the state’s lawmakers have their way:
“A bill currently in the statehouse could make the death penalty a possible punishment for women in South Carolina who undergo an abortion.
If passed, the bill would make getting an abortion equivalent to committing a homicide.”
Goodness me! Fancy a state being so scared about history being taught in schools.
5 This one scares the bejeezuz out of me. Imagine a mob of heavily armed drunk Texans being called upon to enforce the law:
“Texas House proposes state border unit, enlisting citizens to help with border operations.
A bill that would create a Texas Border Protection Unit, allow the governor to declare a migrant ‘invasion’ and let the new border unit enlist the help of citizens was introduced in the House late Friday.
House Bill 20, authored by Tyler GOP Rep. Matt Schaefer, one of the chamber’s most conservative members, is ‘a bold new approach to border security,’ Schaefer said in a written statement.
‘Enough is enough. If Biden won’t defend this country, we will,’ said Schaefer, referring to President Joe Biden.”
Excuse me for thinking that one might have horrible consequences.
You’re probably agreeing with me that some of the states in America are one step away from total fascism. Should someone like Ron DeSantis win the presidency in 2024 … then it’s goodbye to the Land of the Free. America no more.
6 Just one more to add to this list because it’s fun to knock anything to do with spoiled man-baby, Elon Musk:
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15 comments
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John Hanna -
Keitha Granville -
Caz -
Phil Pryor -
New England Cocky -
Roswell -
margcal -
Anne Naomi Byam -
Franks -
GL -
Steve Davis -
Terence Mills -
Kathryn -
Anne Naomi Byam -
Roswell
Return to home pageWatch for the LNP to try the same here with Sky backing
Thank goodness we removed the Fascists here before they had a chance to do any more damage.
Labor in power for at LEAST 20 years should see us back to decency once more.
The USA is its own worst enemy.
(never post anything personal on FB or Instagram or Twitter or anything like those. It never goes away)
Time for every woman in America opposed to these laws and who is a) not pregnant or b) has never had sex to order the abortion pill on line in a concerted campaign. That would give 🎭 thought police and authorities trawling Facebook and the net, something to do. You could the up the courts for months on end.
De Santis?? De Spicable. De Luded. De Ranged. De Bilitated. De Testable. De Fective. And He feels he is De (r) Fuhrer. Jah!!!
Why do I keep seeing too many similarities with the history of Germany between the wars? Perhaps allowing corporations to pay little/no taxation so that wealth fails to circulate properly with the whole community is the recipe for financial collapse ….. see ”Disastrous Harvest: Silicon Valley Bank and the Anit-Regulation Lobby” (AIMN 130323).
I put up this post to introduce you to the dangerous idiots back home.
I’m encouraged that you knew about them anyway.
That’s a bad thing, in a way. Their reputations extend past their shores.
So why are we allowing this country to be ensnared by the tentacles of the US military/industrial machine with its most awful government that is still getting worse?
We have no more brains or common sense that USAmericans have.
Every day is a day of further gobsmacked disbelief at the depths that country has sunk to. It is appalling – actually I don’t think there are adequate words to describe it.
A filthy country, and going down the gurgler by the minute.
The next time I hear someone say to me what a wonderful place America is to live, I will not be responsible for where my quickly clenched fist might land.
Hoping that some day very very soon, we can shake off the shackles that bind us, ( bind to a degree – I think a good % of Aussies are a wake up to the Yanks ). Under Labor that may well be able to be seen done.
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@ Margcal — We sadly have to remain somehow in the race in terms of military wherewithal, but we have I believe other irons in the fire, with perhaps the foresight to somewhat ease ourselves away from that U.S mob over there. Stand to be corrected but I think communication has resumed with France over military weaponry assistance to us.
And …. we have many more brains and common sense than the rabid mob in the U.S. could ever have. Just need to hang on to the current government to make sure that it continues. Give it back to the Liberals and we immediately begin to fall back into brainless nincompoops – or at least too many do – their voters / followers..
Who do you think is telling us what to do now,its certainly no government here,just puppets following their masters
It’s pretty much a given that the costs of this bullshit will blow out by billions and many extra years before we even see the first sub.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/new-fleet-of-eight-nuclear-submarines-to-be-built-in-australia-in-368-billion-deal-20230314-p5crt9.html
Unfortunately, the problem is not restricted to Republican USA, as this quote shows – “Fancy a state being so scared about history being taught in schools.”
We have exactly the same problem here in Australia, with the reactionary history wars, the backlash against Bruce Pascoe’s Dark Emu, Howard’s attempt to rewrite history as taught in schools etc.
The problem of creeping fascism is a product of the dominant political culture of the day. And the dominant political culture is the cult of individualism.
What do the first 5 outlined problems in the article have in common ? They are examples of authoritarianism. Of using the legal system to enforce a narrow view.
Authoritarianism is an inevitable consequence of a system in which individual rights hold sway. Such a system must be authoritarian to prevent the system splintering as self-interested individuals go their own way, and contribute nothing.
The commitment to individualism can be seen in this from the LNP – “Encouragement of individual initiative and private enterprise as the dynamic force of progress.”
And in this from the Libs – “In short, we simply believe in individual freedom and free enterprise;…”
That quote from the LNP is a denial of human history, which shows how delusional they are, but that’s beside the point. The point is that individualism leads to authoritarianism.
Don’t fight the symptoms – fight the cause.
Of course there is a paradox here – a system based on individualism should be supporting the rights of individuals to abortion for example. This does not refute my argument. Any system can be corrupted, and a system based on individualism is no exception to that; quite the opposite.
I don’t know if you have been following the Gary Lineker issue in the UK ? The former England football captain was suspended by his employer the BBC from his job as presenter of the popular Match of the Day after tweeting criticism of the UK government’s Stop the Boats strategy.
It all comes down to the vexed question of an employee’s right to speak out with a personal opinion which may be contrary to a government policy – all the more so when the employer is a national broadcaster under the thumb of the government of the day.
Barrister Geoffrey Robertson recalls a pertinent point in an article in the SMH :
Outside the BBC offices at Broadcasting House in London there is a statue of a former BBC employee, George Orwell on which there is an inscription of Orwell’s observation : “If liberty means anything at all it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.”
Good one, George !
https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/there-s-a-statue-of-george-orwell-outside-the-bbc-they-should-heed-his-advice-20230313-p5crje.html
Anne Naomi Byam, the ONLY people who truly believe that third-rate America is the “best place in the world in which to live” are Americans insular enough, deluded enough and naive enough to buy into all the patriotic bullsh*t that is forced down the throats of gullible Americans on a daily basis! The truth is that EVERY country in the world – outside of the good old USA – KNOWS that America is NOT – and has never been – the greatest nation on earth in which to live. The fact is that America’s ridiculous lax gun laws make it an incredibly dangerous place in which to live having the second highest rate of gun-related homicide in the world (next to Mexico) disqualifies it as being, in any way, the “best” nation on earth.
The truth is that the huge majority of nations around the world including Australia, New Zealand, every country in Scandinavia and Canada have a much higher standard of living and a far better quality of life for the huge majority of their citizens. According to the list below, Australia is listed as the ninth best country in the world in which to live HOWEVER most Australians truly believe that, due to our outstanding weather, beautiful beaches and exceptionally high quality of life, we should be placed at #1. I have travelled widely right around and throughout the world and have lived and travelled throughout America (including Alaska and Hawaii) and can tell you, from experience, that Australia is, indeed, right up there as being one of the best nations on earth. Great weather, being fortunate enough to live in a happy, truly egalitarian society, having some of the most beautiful, lively and exciting cities on earth where it is still relatively safe to walk the streets at night, world class restaurants and entertainment, fabulous food, one of the world’s highest rates of home ownership, pristine islands, gorgeous national parks and green spaces where it is still possible to “get away from it all” and, undeniably, the best beaches on earth – what’s not to like?
There are so many good reasons why Australians and New Zealanders regard ourselves as “the lucky countries” and being so distant from America and all the wars and worsening mayhem in the northern hemisphere, is just a few of them!
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/rankings/quality-of-life
Kathryn – thanks for the input and I am glad we agree on everything to do with the awful mob who call themselves “exceptional” and keep beating their patriotic drums and exposing themselves to the world as the idiots ( very big %-age ) they are.
Good comment about the guns – that is such a ludicrous not to mention, dangerous situation.
I have travelled extensively through the U.S. of A. and have seen much more than I wanted to, in terms of poverty, aggression, self-aggrandizement ( I was given sooo many lectures on how great and knowledgeable they all are and how lucky I was to be shown or to be in their marvellous country !! ) and other nasties I came across.
Geographically, geologically, visually – the flora and fauna, it actually is a beautiful country, but sadly so often besmirched by the people who inhabit her.
He’s freakin’ dangerous.
“A new Florida bill criminalizes not just undocumented Floridians but anyone who associates with them.
Around 772,000 Florida workers, students, and community members are undocumented. And Governor Ron DeSantis wants to make it a felony for anyone to have them in their home or even give them a ride.”
https://newrepublic.com/post/171137/ron-desantis-florida-bill-felony-undocumented-person-home-car