Perilous Populism

We live in a time replete with constant reminders that having and maintaining a healthy democracy requires hard work, work predicated on knowledge, analysis and citizen involvement. Unfortunately, it is also a time when so many are living precarious lives, struggling to make ends meet; asking for more intelligent engagement is a very tall order indeed. Hence, the rise of populist politicians, those who count on a disconnected, disengaged and disaffected cadre of voters to put them and maintain them in power.

We see the most obvious manifestations in the U.S. under the fascist Trump, who is systematically stripping away protections from people even as they cheer him on. However, we can look much closer to home to see populism's pernicious perils. Both Canada and Ontario offer prime examples.

In a well-considered column, Althia Raj points out the hypocritical rage-farming (a mainstay of populism) here at home.

[W]e do have politicians seeking to sow seeds of division by presenting selective versions of the facts. The offences are not as egregious, but their purpose is similar: to get voters riled up, and to spread Trump-style grievance politics. 

Conservative House Leader Andrew Sheer went down that path on X, framing his legitimate criticism of government policy in provocative terms:

Scheer lambasts the Liberals for passing legislation (C-5, although he doesn’t name the bill) that allows Prime Minister Mark Carney to selectively apply laws — giving “himself the same power that dictators the world over” have, he says. 

Scheer compares the Liberal government to regimes in Russia, Venezuela and Equatorial Guinea, and raises concerns that selective application of laws will allow “powerful politicians (to) pick and choose which projects get approved, who gets the permit, and by extension, who makes the money. 

His hypocrisy is to be found in the fact that he and his party voted in favour of the bill.

He personally voted for it. This law that, he says, is so bad that it “expose(s) Canada’s political system to the possibility of corruption on a massive scale,” and “completely changes the nature of how our economy works,” is only law because Conservatives wanted this legislation to pass.

With the bill opposed by the other parties, the Conservatives could have played a constructive role ,

demand[ing] changes, amendments, more study. They had the power to dictate to the Liberals what they wanted to see in this bill. Instead, they fast-tracked its approval. 

This context is not part of Scheer’s video. Why not? Why is he trying to mislead the public about his own party’s sense of alarm over this law? 

Here in Ontario, the same populism is at work with Premier Doug Ford, still riding very high in the polls since the most recent election. With an almost childish provincial electorate, he is able to get away with the most egregiously bad legislation, the most recent his vow to end speed cameras designed to slow traffic in safety zones such as schools. In high populist dudgeon, he denounces the cameras (which, by the way, he allowed through legislation) as nothing more than cash grabs that go back into "general city coffers."

Both are absolute lies; all the cities I am aware of use the money for additional traffic and pedestrian safety measures, hardly the cash grab he denounces. As well, all of the statistics I have read show that they do work, evidenced by the declining number of speeding tickets issued on an annual basis. As well, this populist might want to reckon with the fact that this vow to end the cameras has resulted in strong backlash throughout the province. Both police agencies across the province and average citizens are expressing their outrage over a move that will surely result in more injuries and deaths of the innocent.

But truth never matters to people of such ilk until they reach a critical mass. As long as the polls show voters walking blinding, listening to provocative lies, nothing will change; indeed, they will likely get much, much worse.

Snowflakes In Amerika

The term snowflake has traditionally been used by the right to denigrate progressives; it is a pejorative suggesting that the left is too easily offended by things the right represents. However, during the tenure of Herr Trump's second presidency, it seems to be a more apt description of the right.

We now know how easily offended they have become; for example, anything less than a full-throated endorsement of the late Charlie Kirk sends them into paroxysms of indignation and rage. Indeed, that inability to tolerate any criticism or alternative view led to the removal of Jimmy Kimmel (now reinstated), threats of retaliation, firing of professors, etc. And, of course, Trump's thin skin is legendary, prompting him to go after those he feels have wronged him, i.e. criticized him in any manner.

The entire regime sings from the same hymn book. One of the more recent examples is to be found in the U.S. Ambassador to Canada, Pete Hoekstra, clutching his pearls over what he feels is an insufficient deference to and adulation of his benighted country by Canadians.

“I’m disappointed that I came to Canada, a Canada (where) it is very, very difficult to find Canadians who are passionate about the American-Canadian relationship,” said Hoekstra during a luncheon with the Halifax Chamber of Commerce.

While we undoubtedly grieve over Hoekstra's hurt feelings, we are not about to embrace him and his values.

 "When you kick the dog, you can't blame it for snarling back," said Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association and member of the prime minister's Canada-U.S. relations council.

"It's gaslighting 101," Volpe added. "You probably should get someone to tell him a little bit more about how to properly do Canada-U.S. diplomacy, but I'm not sure he'd listen." 

In an interview on Rosemary Barton Live that airs Sunday morning, Conservative House Leader Andrew Scheer said any time a foreign country slaps tariffs or raises the idea of annexation, "of course Canadians are going to react negatively to that."

One would think that would be obvious to everyone, but perhaps the American hubris and arrogance is so great they cannot conceive of anyone thinking ill of them.

Perhaps, too, the delicate Mr. Hoekstra should be shielded from this fact: Canadians are continuing to shun travel to the U.S.

That big reduction amounted to a 32.4 per cent drop in the number of Canadian-resident return trips from the United States in July. About 2.6 million trips meeting that criteria were made, Statistics Canada said. 

The animus toward the U.S. is widespread and deeply felt by Canadians. Consider these two letters from The Star:

Canadians are passionate, just not about the tire fire south of the border

U.S. ambassador to Canada disappointed by ‘anti-American’ rhetoric, ‘elbows up,’ Sept. 18

Pete Hoekstra, the U.S. ambassador to Canada, is disappointed we are not passionate about the American-Canadian relationship.

Is he not paying attention?

I believe Canadians are passionate about peace, order and good governance. And good governance means good for all citizens, not just those who agree with you. The majority of us still aspire to a more just, equitable and inclusive society. “Elbows up” is not just about tariffs. It’s also about values. We are not passionate about our relationship with Russia or China. Those countries and the U.S. can govern themselves however they see fit. That is their prerogative. But we don’t have to agree or like it.

I am passionate about our relationship with the U.S. and am very concerned. I am sure many other Canadians are as well. I am concerned their democracy is in trouble.

It disappoints me ambassador Hoekstra doesn’t seem to understand that.

Stan Spicker, Midland, Ont.

Ambassador not thrilled with Canada’s ‘elbows up’ attitude. Too bad

U.S. ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra doesn’t like the idea the Canadian elbow is in the eye of their economic interest . Tough!

Canada is not your 51st state and freedom of speech and ‘elbows up’ is a Canadian democratic right.

The U.S. ambassador may believe the unjust tariffs imposed on Canada are a goodwill gesture, and the fascist state of mind of the United States is something to which Canadians should acquiesce. But Canadians would be wise to remind him he is a guest here in this country and we don’t appreciate being lectured to by a foreign government who turns a blind eye to the genocide that is taking place in Gaza.

We as Canadians want a good relationship with our neighbour from the south, but we are well-educated adults and we are quite capable of conducting our affairs without joining United States or accepting their propaganda.

Elbows up is a slogan of importance and Mr. Ambassador should feel lucky it’s not the middle finger. 

Cran Campbell, Langley, B.C.

The sun is rapidly setting on the American empire, leaving its citizens in a darkness that seems to be both impenetrable and irreversible.

UPDATED: State Control: Limiting The Range Of Thought in Amerika

“Don't you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thought-crime literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it. Every concept that can ever be needed will be expressed by exactly one word, with its meaning rigidly defined and all its subsidiary meanings rubbed out and forgotten. . . . 

― George Orwell - Nineteen Eight-Four

Orwell wrote his seminal novel as a warning,  presenting a world of rigid control over thought, word and deed. With a little updating, it would seem to fit precisely the world of  fascist orthodoxy Donald Trump (or those behind him) is trying to impose on his Amerika - a domain without critical thought.

One needn't recount all the ways in which the suppression of thought, views and voices is being effected. There are, of course, his constant attacks on the universities, initially over so-called DEI initiatives and anti-semitism. Then came the demands for further, massive government control over them. Then there is the increasing militarization of America's cities, with the National Guard and ICE instilling fear in the populace; it is becoming common for masked officials to grab people off the street, out of their cars, ripped from their homes. Impeding any of this becomes a crime. Indeed, another literary icon anticipated such in one of his best-known works:

Someone must have been telling lies about Joseph K., for without having done anything wrong he was arrested one fine morning. 

Franz Kafka - The Trial

Beyond the obvious strongarm tactics, most recently we have witnessed very overt attempts to censor contrary opinions, especially ones that expose Trump for the duplicitous, hypocritical dictator he is. See, for example the lawsuits against the Wall Street Journal over its coverage of his sordid relationship with the late pedophile, Jeffrey Epstein. The New York Times has been targeted for its endorsement of Kamala Harris and its critical coverage of his mad machinations.

Unfortunately, corporate compliance has been extensive, with CBS, ABC, And Disney falling into line either through payoffs on meritless lawsuits or the termination of employees, as per Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmell. NPR and PBS are being defunded, and broadcast licences are being threatened. Even the 'progressive' MSNBC has bent the knee. But that is only the beginning. 

The murder of Charlie Kirk is offering up new opportunities for repression, all for the 'crime' of people practising their free speech rights.

Over thirty people across the country have been fired, put on leave, investigated or faced calls to resign because of social media posts criticizing Charlie Kirk or expressing schadenfreude about the conservative influencer's assassination earlier this week, according to an analysis by NPR.

 ...some GOP lawmakers and officials are signaling their readiness to punish people for their speech. Conservative activists are collecting and publicizing social media posts and profiles that they say "celebrated" his death and are calling for them to lose their jobs.

"If they have their picture on their profile, even without a name, download the picture and reverse image search it," posted right-wing influencer Joey Mannarino. "Cross-reference it with their LinkedIn profile and find their place of employment. Call the place of employment, leave Google reviews." 

So what is the endgame here? There are some obvious but superficial explanations for the current reign of repression and terror in Amerika. One is that Herr Trump is so malignantly narcissistic that he cannot brook any criticism. Such is always a hallmark of the cult of personality. However, to me it goes far beyond that and far beyond attempts of a malevolent Republican Party to stifle all opposition for mere political gain. The fascist state that America has become is bent on controlling not only what people say but also what they think.

My assertion, at first blush, may seem preposterous, and to be honest,  I initially considered that I might be overthinking things. Censorship and propaganda were easy in earlier times, when media were limited. But how, especially with the internet and social media, is it even possible to limit people's exposure to a diversity of voices and hence to the information needed to critically assess things?  The internet may be a toxic stew, but progressive voices still abound, especially on Bluesky (which I now use).

While I am not necessarily predicting success, the dark forces at work are doing their damndest. Justin Ling writes that back in 2022, Charlie Kirk was warning his followers to be wary of social media, and he and his fellow travellers concocted a plan.

They moved to alternative, conservative-friendly social media to start getting their message out. They prioritized real-world organizing. And they began plotting how they could bend the internet to their will.

Not even nine months into Trump’s return, this plan has worked even better than they could have imagined. Alternative social media is a hotbed of pro-Trump fervour, a right-wing youth movement is ascendent in America, and the big tech firms have volunteered to comply.

Given that people like Mark Zuckerberg (who, as Ling notes, "has publicly bent the knee to the Trump administration") and Elon Musk employ algorithms that favour rage (the more rage, the more clicks), it is easy to see how this might get even worse under a regime bent on suppression. As Ling notes, 

Trump exploited online grievances about censorship and deplatforming. He weaponized a steady stream of viral videos to claim that America’s cities had fallen to lawlessness. He elevated racist chatter about migrants to set the stage for mass deportations.

It doesn't end there.

On Monday, Vice President J.D. Vance occupied Kirk’s broadcast chair to memorialize his fallen friend and promise retribution. With his White House colleague Stephen Miller, he warned of a secret “pyramid” of media outlets, activists, and NGOs who had formed a dangerous underground terror network. Miller vowed “channel all of the anger that we have … to use every resource we have at the Department of Justice, Homeland Security, and throughout this government to identify, disrupt, dismantle, and destroy these networks.”

This has already begun online. Pro-Trump online activists have already compiled databases of those allegedly responsible for provoking or celebrating Kirk’s death, including journalists and academics in Canada. One Trump-friendly Congressman is floating an “immediate ban for life of every post or commenter that belittled the assassination of Charlie Kirk.” 

So a potent formula has been put in place: suppression of voices, both academic and lay, the imposition of terror in the streets, the opening of snitch lines,  the policing of dissident voices on the internet, the threats of dismissal and incarceration. Will the voices of dissent diminish or dry up? I hope not. With less access to unbiased or progressive sources, will people feel increasingly wary and isolated and less inclined to assess things critically? Will they decide that speaking out and thought crime are not worth the risk? 

There are many ways this could turn out. As always, it will be the people of the United States who decide their own fate.

UPDATE: Defense Secretary Pete hegseth has ordained all information from his department must be vetted first, or the press will be locked out.

Reporters will now need express approval from the department in order to publish any information gathered at the Pentagon, and are forbidden from accessing most of the building without an escort.

And this letter from The Star effectively bookends my post:

Why Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension looks like a step along the path to American autocracy, Sept. 18

I never watch Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show on ABC. I’m also a centrist, not a liberal or conservative. Still, I’ve been disturbed by U.S. President Donald Trump’s attacks against liberals and journalists. It reminds me too much of the Nazis’ playbook, which saw the Third Reich take control of the press after Adolf Hitler’s ascension to power. To me, this situation with Kimmel is simply history repeating itself.

Alan Pellettier, Toronto

A Pariah State

With so many terrible things transpiring in today's world, it is often hard to feel any hope. Wars and injustices abound, and we are met daily with images of death, destruction and mutilation. The average person likely feels powerless to do anything about it. Indeed, often, as a temporary balm, we embrace the distractions provided by the machinations of the fascist nation we share a common border with. But distractions can take us only so far.

Other parts of the world, however, are not so easily and eagerly diverted. The good news, if we can call it that, is that internationally, thanks to the genocide they are conducting, Israel is feeling increasingly isolated.

Is it approaching a "South Africa moment", when a combination of political pressure, economic, sporting and cultural boycotts helped to force Pretoria to abandon apartheid?

Two former prime ministers, Ehud Barak and Ehud Olmert, have already accused Netanyahu of turning Israel into an international pariah. 

Thanks to a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court, the number of countries Netanyahu can travel to without the risk of being arrested has shrunk dramatically. 

At the UN, several countries, including Britain, France, Australia, Belgium and Canada, [the latter has confirmed it will do so later this month] have said they are planning to recognise Palestine as a state next week.

Increasingly, nations are finding it very hard to ignore the daily slaughter by Israel of Gazan men, women and children.

... more and more European governments are showing their displeasure in ways that go beyond mere statements.

At the start of the month, Belgium announced a series of sanctions, including a ban on imports from illegal Jewish settlements in the West Bank, a review of procurement policies with Israeli companies and restrictions on consular assistance to Belgians living in settlements.

Other countries, including Britain and France, had already taken similar steps.

A week after Belgium's move, Spain announced its own measures, turning an existing de facto arms embargo into law, announcing a partial import ban, barring entry to Spanish territory for anyone involved in genocide or war crimes in Gaza, and prohibiting Israel-bound ships and aircraft carrying weapons from docking at Spanish ports or entering its airspace.

And additional measures ensure that Israel has or is becoming a pariah nation. 

In August, Norway's vast $2tn (1.7tn euros; £1.6tn) sovereign wealth fund announced it would start divesting from companies listed in Israel. By the middle of the month, 23 companies had been removed and finance minister Jens Stoltenberg said more could follow. 

Meanwhile, the EU, Israel's largest trading partner, plans to sanction far-right ministers and partly suspend trade elements of its association agreement with Israel.

The EU is being called upon to take stern measures as well.

... 314 former European diplomats and officials wrote to von der Leyen and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas calling for tougher measures, including a full suspension of the [trade] association agreement.

Drawing comparisons with the sanctions that broke the back of South Africa's apartheid in the 90s, former diplomat Ilan Baruch believes strong sanctions are the only way to curb Israel's madness. He

resigned from the diplomatic service in 2011, saying he was no longer able to defend Israel's occupation. Since retiring, he's been a vocal critic of the government and supporter of a two-state solution. 

He believes recent sanctions are necessary, saying: "That's how South Africa was pushed to its knees."

Of course, the outlier in all of this is Amerika, which continues its unflinching support of what has become a rogue nation.  A good part of that comes from its historical support for what was once a nation that fought valiantly for its survival. Today, I suspect it goes beyond that, given Herr Trump's admiration for leaders who employ strongarm tactics. 

One can only hope that in their next election, israel will deprive Netanyahu of that status so that he will finally, in much overdue fashion, face real justice.

 

"Behold. The Festering Carcass Of American Rot"

In this blog, I am always happy to cite writers whose insights are worthy of note. My sources of those writers are many, and sometimes arise from the recommendations of others. My good friend John, also a man of deep insights (I'm truly blessed with such companions, including Steve and Dom), alerted me to Oliver Kornetzke. The writer offers a searing, withering portrait of the man the Amerikans have twice chosen to lead them to their doom:

“Behold. The festering carcass of American rot shoved into an ill-fitting suit: the sleaze of a conman, the cowardice of a draft dodger, the gluttony of a parasite, the racism of a Klansman, the sexism of a back-alley creep, the ignorance of a bar-stool drunk, and the greed of a hedge-fund ghoul - all spray-painted orange and paraded like a prize hog at a county fair. Not a president. Not even a man. Just the diseased distillation of everything this country swears it isn't but always has been - arrogance dressed up as exceptionalism, stupidity passed off as common sense, cruelty sold as toughness, greed exalted as ambition, and corruption worshipped like gospel. It is America's shadow made flesh, a rotting pumpkin idol proving that when a nation kneels before money, power, and spite, it doesn't just lose its soul - it shits out this bloated obscenity and calls it a leader.”

Kornetzke gave additional analysis of Trump and his gang of barbarians in an essay he originally wrote in April. 

What’s happening in this country isn’t just cruel—it’s methodical, strategic, and deeply familiar to anyone who’s studied or survived under regimes built on repression and rot.

 We’re watching a script play out—one that was written in the blood and bureaucracy of Putin’s Russia, refined in the dungeons of Chechnya, perfected through decades of oligarchic decay, secret police intimidation, and mafia-state theatrics. And now it’s being re-staged here in America, rebranded with flags and lapel pins and the tired language of “law and order.”

The Trump regime—this carnival of third-rate strongmen, grifters, sycophants, and sadists—isn’t innovating anything. It’s copying. It’s importing the authoritarian model wholesale. They’ve read the Putin playbook, dog-eared the best parts, and now they’re running it in real time. And the cruelty? That’s not a flaw in the system. That is the system.

Because cruelty serves a dual purpose: it distracts and it paralyzes. It shocks the conscience just long enough to make you forget about the theft happening in broad daylight. It freezes resistance by making you wonder who’s next. It’s not just about dehumanizing the target—it’s about disarming the observer. You see a 52-year-old seamstress abducted by masked agents in broad daylight, and your mind stops. That’s the point. While you’re frozen, they’re looting the vault. 

Just as the Nazis had their terror squads, so does Trump.

That’s what ICE is now—a terror squad designed not just to punish the “other,” but to frighten the rest into submission. They don’t need to knock on your door. They just need you to see what happens when they knock on hers. They want you disoriented, enraged, heartbroken, and above all—silent.

Kornetzke has not abandoned all hope, however, and predicts the Trump regime will ultimately fail.

...you can only keep people paralyzed for so long. Fear calcifies. Shock fades. And eventually, rage focuses.

 Rage, yes—but don’t retreat. Pay attention. Speak out. If something feels wrong, say it’s wrong. Refuse to play along with their language, their framing, their euphemisms. They are not “removing undocumented immigrants.” They are disappearing people. They are not “restoring law and order.” They are weaponizing the state.

Remembering our collective humanity can also be a potent antidote to tyranny: 

...there will ... be courage. And solidarity. And moments that remind us exactly why we fight.

Because we don’t do it for the flag. We don’t do it for politicians. We do it for every seamstress dragged from her car. Every family torn apart. Every dissident silenced. Every protestor jailed. We do it to honor the civil rights marchers, the freedom riders, the Stonewall rebels, the water protectors, the labor organizers—the defiant, the bold, the brave. 

Fighting the good fight has never been easy. As a teacher, I always tried to instill, through literature, the power of integrity and demonstrate that courage, resistance and truth, while they often appear to exist in only small pockets against seemingly insurmountable power, ensure that we retain our humanity.

 

 

The Truth About Charlie Kirk

Unfortunately, the lionization of the late racist Charlie Kirk is not confined to the Benighted States of Amerika. To the Conservatives of Canada, Charlie Kirk is a martyr to free speech, a man who spoke fearlessly his 'truth'. Shamefully, after the disgraceful speech by Rachel Thomas, the Liberals joined in on the ovation:

Thankfully, Pastor Howard John Wesley fearlessly spoke the truth about the deceased. He said, "how you die does not redeem how you live."

Guess who will be labelled an enemy of the state and b the recipient of death threats? Hint: it won't be the white Conservative lass.

But I Thought Amerika Loves Free Speech.

Just a follow up on my previous post, which tried to take to task the arrant hypocrisy of Amerikans who trumpet free speech but become virulently opposed to it when their sensibilities are offended.

Apostles of the deceased right-wing emblem are warning Americans to get in line and mourn Charlie Kirk properly or be prepared for severe consequences.

At least 15 people have been fired or suspended from their jobs after discussing the killing online, according to a Reuters tally based on interviews, public statements and local press reports. The total includes journalists, academic workers and teachers. On Friday, a junior Nasdaq employee was fired over her posts related to Kirk.

Others have been subjected to torrents of online abuse or seen their offices flooded with calls demanding they be fired, part of a surge in right-wing rage that has followed the killing.

Some Republicans want to go further still and have proposed deporting Kirk's critics from the United States, suing them into penury or banning them from social media for life.

The hypocrisy of this right-wing pearl-clutching is rather breathtaking, but hardly surprising.

Republicans' anger at those disrespecting Kirk's legacy contrasts with the mockery some of the same figures – including Kirk – directed at past victims of political violence.

For example, when former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband Paul was clubbed over the head by a hammer-wielding conspiracy theorist during a break-in at their San Francisco home shortly before the 2022 midterm elections, Higgins posted a photo making fun of the attack. He later deleted the post.

Trump's whisperer Laura Loomer suggested that

Paul Pelosi and his assailant were lovers, calling the brutal assault on the octogenarian a “booty call gone wrong.” Speaking to a television audience a few days after the attack, a grinning Kirk called for the intruder to be sprung from jail.

And, of course, there was the deafening silence when Democrats were murdered. Herr Trump, who has been quite vocal about Kirk's killing, had nothing good or constructive to say when the other team was falling victim to violence last June. In fact, he politicized those deaths for his own advantage.

Democratic State Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark were killed along with their dog, and State Sen. John Hoffman, a Democrat, and his wife, Yvette, were shot and wounded.

 Following the Minnesota shooting, Trump called the incident "absolutely terrible," however, he slammed Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, and did not call him.

"I think he's a terrible governor. I think he's a grossly incompetent person. But I may, I may call him, I may call other people too," he told ABC News' Rachel Scott on June 15. 

"Why would I call him? I could call and say, 'Hi, how you doing?' Uh, the guy doesn't have a clue. He's a mess. I could be nice and call, but why waste time?" Trump told reporters on June 17.

Yet those disrespecting Kirk's memory and legacy are being ferreted out, a myriad of punishments awaiting them.

The campaign to fire Kirk’s critics has not slowed. Calls to run people out of jobs have flooded across X. A newly registered site, "Expose Charlie's Murderers," has 41 names of people it alleged were “supporting political violence online” and claims to be working on a backlog of more than 20,000 submissions. 

And Canadians, within Canada, are not exempt from this surge of outrage.

 A University of Toronto professor whose social-media post after the assassination of American political activist Charlie Kirk was criticized by Ontario’s Minister of Colleges and Universities is now on leave, according to the university.

Ruth Marshall, an associate professor in religious studies and politics, has been placed on administrative leave, the University of Toronto’s faculty association confirmed Friday.

An account on X, apparently connected to Prof. Marshall, posted Wednesday afternoon that “shooting is honestly too good for so many of you,” using a profanity and describing the subjects as “fascist.” 

While obviously her remarks were intemperate, it is disturbing to see a Canadian institution devoted to free speech overreacting thus. 

And one wonders what the consequences will be for the European Union, whose members refused to support a minute of silence for the fallen Kirk. 

... the refusal of Katarina Barley, a vice-president of the chamber, to let some MEPs hold a minute of silence for Charlie Kirk has sparked uproar among many conservative MEPs, including inside the European People’s party. 

Surely such disrespect will not go without consequences by the Amerikan arbiters of all that is holy and sacred.

The message is clear. Some lives matter more than others. In the fraught and roiling political landscape of Trump's Amerika, that means Republican lives will always trump Democratic ones. 

What Being A Patriot Now Means In Amerika

Well, in light of the murder of right-wing emblem Charlie Kirk, Trump's Amerika is enjoying a shot in the arm (no pun intended). That free-speech loving country is now being encouraged to report all free speech about Kirk's death if it doesn't accord with the official narrative of the slain right-wing leader as a secular saint.

America will take action against foreigners who “glorify violence” or otherwise “make light” of the shooting death of right-wing media personality Charlie Kirk, a Trump official said on X Thursday, as he encouraged people to report violators to the government in order to “protect the American people.”

U.S. deputy secretary of state Christopher Landau wrote that such people are not welcome in the United States, and that he has instructed consular officials to take “appropriate action” against those who “praise” or “rationalize” the shooter’s actions.

Good Amerikans, never ones to be asleep at the switch, are readily heeding the call:

In the hours after Landau’s post asking for reports about foreigners making light of Kirk’s death, he received almost 4,000 responses, including from users who posted screenshots from the personal social media accounts, including photos, of people that users claimed had “sided with America’s enemies,” as one widely-shared response put it. 

Trump whisperer Laura Loomer is also getting in on the 'patriotic' action, claiming

 on X that she’d gotten a government employee fired after publicly posting screenshots of his social media accounts, one of which included a post of him calling Kirk a “literal racist.” The “Libs of TikTok” X account has posted photos of several dozen people, including teachers, government employees and even a reality TV show contestant, it claims have celebrated Kirk’s death. Self-described political strategist Joey Mannarino posted on X that he’d been “reporting people to their jobs all day.” 

As I predicted in yesterday's post, a new era of repression and terror is beginning, and the Benighted States is becoming an even more dangerous place than it has already been under the second Trump regime.

Calling for action against those who express controversial opinions is “striking and dangerous,” said Amarnath Amarasingam, an associate professor who studies conspiracy theories and online communities at Queen’s University, in an email.  

Landau “is basically crowdsourcing surveillance and turning social media users into informants for state power,” he wrote. “This opens the door for abuse, with people mass-reporting foreigners whose politics they dislike, knowing it might jeopardize their visas.”

One needn't be an ardent student of history to understand that the current Amerikan trajectory mimics that of Nazi Germany.  This small snippet serves as a potent reminder, however:

To make up for a lack of staff, the Gestapo decided the vast majority of the population were loyal to the regime. It ruthlessly targeted its resources against groups within German society defined as political opponents, most notably, communists and socialists, religious dissidents, Jews, and a much broader group of ‘racial’ enemies, including long-term criminals, prostitutes, homosexuals, Gypsies, juvenile gangs and the long-term unemployed. 

'Loyal' Amerikans would likely dismiss such parallels as the hysterical rantings of "the radical left." In their hubris and profound ignorance of the world and history beyond their borders, they would undoubtedly claim that their persecution of unpopular views is entirely different and in defence of God and country. 

Hmm, I do believe that is exactly what the Nazis claimed to be doing as well.

 

They Are Contemptible

As I have written before, there seems to be no bottom to the depths to which Republicans in general, and one in particular, will descend. In the aftermath of the killing of right-wing star Charlie Kirk, this is what Trump, fulminating with righteous hypocrisy, had to say:

You don't need me to discuss the implication of his speech, but it certainly sounds like, in politicizing Kirk's killing (something Republicans always accuse Dems of during after school shootings), Trump intends to bring a new reign of terror and repression upon Amerika, especially with regard to free speech, political and media opposition to his agenda, etc. 

And his fury seems quite partisan. As the NYT observes, 

Mr. Trump made no mention of attacks on Democrats, including Melissa Hortman, the former Democratic speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives, who was killed in June.

The question in my mind is how the Democrats will respond to this. My suspicion, given their spinelessness, is that they will condemn the violence but be very wary of criticizing Trump's speech, their shrinking political fortunes uppermost in their mind. 

In other words, there will likely be no one to oppose what is to come.

No More 'Good Guys'?

When we look at the world today, it is undeniable that the most powerful countries are led by evil men. Russia's Putin, Amerika's Trump and China's Xi  JinPing readily come to mind, as does Benjamin Netanyahu leading the nuclear State of Israel. And I think it would be to declare the obvious that none of the aforementioned care about their people, except as means to certain ends.

While we expect authoritarian rulers to see their people as fodder, I have never really had a sense until now of a specific war being waged against the people of the U.S. by its government. To be sure, almost all American governments have cruelly abused their poor, their disenfranchised, their minorities. And of course that demographic has always provided the bulk of fodder in all of Amerika's post-WW11 military misadventures. However, one could almost have believed the abuse was rooted in the American disdain for the downtrodden (see the American Dream) as well as its historically racist nature.

However, to me it now appears that a wider battle is being waged by Amerika against its general population,  a kind of social eugenics, in which a wide swath of a credulous population will be gradually eliminated, While it might seem a conspiratorial thought, there is evidence to support my odd thesis.

Consider, for example the changes at the National Institutes of Health, led by the unhinged Bobby Kennedy Jr. Unqualified ethically, morally, intellectually or temperamentally, Kennedy, with the tacit permission of Trump, is doing his damndest to undermine the health of Americans. Claiming he wants to make America healthy again, he has systematically cut all manner of research grants.

Between late February and early April 2025, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) executed an unprecedented wave of grant terminations, impacting a total of 694 active grants. 

The broad distribution of terminated grants demonstrates a systemic reshaping of NIH’s research portfolio. Nearly every institute experienced cutbacks, but the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) bore a disproportionate share of the reductions, accounting for 30% of the total funding loss. This notable concentration of cuts suggests targeted policy shifts or budgetary realignments that may adversely affect ongoing efforts to address persistent health disparities among minority populations.

Then, of course, there is Kennedy's broad undermining of confidence in vaccinations, recently claiming, for example, that healthy people have no need of vaccines. It is a position that led to him being excoriated this past week during a senate hearing over his tenure thus far:

The Senate’s second-highest ranking Republican, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY)—a physician—delivered a blistering rebuke of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., accusing him of advancing vaccine policies that undermine public health. Republican Senator Bill Cassidy—also a physician—also harshly questioned the HHS chief.

“Secretary Kennedy, in your confirmation hearings, you promised to uphold the highest standards for vaccines,” Senator  Barrasso began. “Since then, I’ve grown deeply concerned.”

"The public has seen measles outbreaks, leadership with the National Institutes of Health questioning the use of mRNA vaccines, the recently confirmed director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention fired. Americans don’t know who to rely on,” Barrasso exclaimed.

How many more will die or become permanently disabled because the NIHS is led by a lunatic?

And that lunacy is filtering down to the state level. Florida, under the banner of freedom for all, has made a decision.

Florida will move to end all vaccine mandates in the state, Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo announced Wednesday.

The move would make Florida the first state to end a longstanding – and constitutionally upheld – practice of requiring certain vaccines for school students.

The state health department will immediately move to end all non-statutory mandates in the state, Ladapo said at a news conference. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who was also at the event, said state lawmakers would then look into developing a legislative package to end any remaining mandates.

Ladapo [a Black man] said that every vaccine mandate “is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery.”

Now, there is much more evidence I could adduce to support my contention, but let's cut to the chase. Who benefits if there is a substantial die-off of Americans? It is the real movers and shakers of society, the powerful elite, who neither respect nor need "the masses" and really don't care for the 'burden' of taxation to take care of them. With large numbers ultimately eliminated, that burden will be much reduced.

You might quite legitimately ask, "But what if substantial numbers of MAGATS perish? Who will vote for Trump or his successor if not the credulous? To that I can only say such a question is predicated on the belief that meaningful elections will continue in Amerika. That is an assumption I am not, at this point, prepared to grant you.