MAGA Fascism hits speed ramp...pt 2!

Continuing the previous post on the DeSantis-like rush to fascism, the following is just a partial list that I will add to for a while...a growing list of examples hitting the shit fan daily. 

Imagine if we didn't have Gov. Evers...we'd be here. 

1. John Oliver derails the DeSantis fascist train to authoritarianism, verbally of course. Must see...

The Don’t Say LGBTQ policies are part of a coordinated campaign by the DeSantis Administration. They are the epitome of the administration’s effort to wage culture wars against academic freedom, parental rights, and diversity, equity, and inclusion as part of a broader strategy to challenge the Governor’s former mentor Donald Trump for a presidential nomination. The Desantis Administration’s obsession with far-right Presidential primary voters are why we have seen one of the country’s largest state university systems subjected to a McCarthy-era witch hunt for equity and diversity programs and provision of transgender healthcare, sweeping censorship of books by Black and LGBTQ authors, doctors’ careers threatened for providing transgender Floridians life-saving healthcare, and even a complete far right take over of the New College of Florida. Florida stands in the midst of an unprecedented campaign of censorship and surveillance, targeting anyone who doesn’t share the increasingly extremist ideology of Governor Ron DeSantis.

2. Alaska State Rep. Eastman accidently discloses MAGAs cruel use of Children for Political Control: Like they really care. 

State Rep. David Eastman (R-Wasilla) faced criticism from ... the House Judiciary Committee, which featured a presentation from experts on adverse childhood experiences. In response to a statistic that listed the lifetime cost of fatal child abuse at $1.5 million per victim, Eastman referred to a counterargument that the death of abused children is “actually a benefit to society.”

“It can be argued, periodically, that [fatal child abuse is] actually a cost savings because that child is not going to need any of those government services that they might otherwise be entitled to receive and need based on growing up in this type of environment,” he said.

After his crazy comment featured below, another Representative came up with this doozy as a defense...: 

"One of the arguments for abortion has been that it’s better to terminate that child’s life before they become a burden to society.”

Noooo...not familiar with that one.

_________________________________________________________________________

3. MAGA's Abandon "Academic Freedom" for political takeover of Liberal Arts Colleges: We're all familiar with this...

DeSantis replaced six of the 13 members on the college’s board of trustees with conservative allies, including Christopher Rufo, who has fueled the fight against critical race theory.

...which predictably grew into this lunacy...

A similar plan didn't turn out well in Idaho...

Trustees backed by the Kootenai County GOP took over the governing majority of North Idaho College and denounced alleged liberal "indoctrination" by the faculty and vowed to root out "deep state" corruption in the school administration, but their leadership resulted in lawsuits from two of the past five school presidents and Moody's downgraded their debt over “significant governance and management dysfunction," reported the New York Times. GOP activists set their sights on the college after its diversity council issued a statement of support for social justice demonstrations after the police killing of George Floyd.

Former college president Rick MacLennan said the school was a warning to other institutions facing partisan attacks and hostile takeovers by Gov. Ron DeSantis and other Republican leaders.

NO KIDDING: DeSantis takes over State Education: H.B. 999 is “laden with unconstitutional provisions hostile to freedom of expression and academic freedom.”

4. DeSantis will Control Disney Content? He even bragged about this when he campaigned in California, where the original Disneyland is located. Jonathan Chait wrote:

Last fall, I attended the National Conservatism Conference, where the attendees laid out rather plainly their ambition to turn DeSantis into a model for a ruthless, illiberal party that would use the organs of the state to crush its enemies. Since those pieces appeared, DeSantis’s actions have made me more, not less, concerned.

While the board handles infrastructure and maintenance, DeSantis boasted that it could use its leverage to force Disney to stop “trying to inject woke ideology” on children.

“When you lose your way, you’ve got to have people that are going to tell you the truth,” DeSantis proclaimed. “But I think all of these board members very much would like to see the type of entertainment that all families can appreciate.”

It is worth pausing a moment to grasp the full breadth of what is going on here. First, DeSantis established the principle that he can and will use the power of the state to punish private firms that exercise their First Amendment right to criticize his positions. Now he is promising to continue exerting state power to pressure the firm to produce content that comports with his own ideological agenda.

5. LGBTQ Discrimination now Legal in Alaska: Quietly reversed...

It published new guidelines in 2021 saying Alaska’s LGBTQ protections now extended beyond the workplace to housing, government practices, finance and “public accommodation.” It updated the website ... a “sea change under Alaska law for LGBTQ+ individuals’ rights to be free from discrimination.”

But a year later, the commission quietly reversed that position. It deleted language from the state website promising equal protections for transgender and gay Alaskans against most categories of discrimination, and it began refusing to investigate complaints. Only employment-related complaints would now be accepted, and investigators dropped any non-employment LGBTQ civil rights cases they had been working on.

6. And because I think it needs to be said and repeated often:

7. Anyone hurt by Drag Shows? Drag Shows; normal, sometime outrageous, so what's the harm? As I've stated many times, I always go back to the original intent of Republican bills, because it exposes what they're thinking: 

Republican lawmakers are intensifying their ongoing, all-out assault on trans existence. More than 300 anti-LGBTQ+ bills were either passed or introduced in 2022, the majority taking aim at trans youth through health care bans, sports team restrictions, and bathroom bills, and removing Medicaid coverage for trans adults’ health care too. Meanwhile, drag performances, particularly family-friendly drag brunches and drag queen story hours at libraries, have become a focal point of histrionic Republican rhetoric and far-right militia attacks. With obsessive ferocity, the right is attempting to criminalize, harass, and legislate gender nonconformity out of existence. A bill moving at pace through the Arkansas legislature, for example, would constitute a ban on all trans adults using bathrooms in public.

8. Drag Show Legislative Circus: The best argument yet...

MAGA Fascism hits speed ramp...

Gov. Ron DeSantis' fascist movement is enough to depress anyone, especially when you realize there is no press coverage listing the legal challenges, wins, stays, and court actions giving us some thin shred of hope. 

DeSantis' agenda is blatantly racist and overtly bigoted, as it is authoritarian. Think about it, he's banning freedoms we already have with DeSantis' newly defined "real" freedoms. And MAGAs have already been told that liberals are the real fascists, so you can't argue that, says my MAGA friend in Milwaukee.    

Myth of Liberal Indoctrination: So, if there is a nationwide super majority of MAGAs, and Trump is really still president, wouldn't that prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that "liberal indoctrination" isn't real?

For the Kids: And then there's the grotesque political use of "children" to justify their authoritarian agenda. They pathetically use "protecting our children" for everything. Think about it, DeSantis has banned subjects and books that any kid's cell phone can access with a simple search. And kids at drag show brunches are there because their parents brought them. But sure, punish businesses under the iron fist of big government. 

DeSantis' Fascism and replacement Freedoms, let us Count the Ways Nationwide: Ironically, DeSantis has created the new "woke" in Florida. It can't be emphasized enough how fast this is rolling out: 

1. Defamation Lawsuits nationwide Chill Free Speech: 

House Bill 991 would also give Florida residents the right to sue others (both in the state or elsewhere in the U.S.) who describe their actions online as transphobic or homophobic, for sums as high as $35,000, and would not allow the truth to be used in defenses against such lawsuits ... a person suing another over being called out for their bigoted words online would only have to suggest that their commentary was reflective of their personal religious or (purportedly) scientific beliefs in order to be successful in their suit. The bill would allow Florida residents to sue anyone, not just other Floridians ... the bill’s author Republican Rep. Alex Andrade defended it, stating “This is not the government shutting down free speech. This is a private cause of action.” 

2. DeSantis' Academic Thought and Behavior Control:

All state colleges and universities must remove Women’s & Gender Studies from the list of available majors and minors. No major or minor can exist if it is deemed to be “derivative” from the “belief system” of “Critical Race Theory”

3. DeSantis School Book Ban Clears Shelves:

...but DeSantis asks, "Who are you going to believe, me or your lying eyes?"

4. Terminate Dept of Education: Pretty clear...

5. Banned History = Imbecilic Citizens: 

One should keep in mind the ignorance visited upon American students when the historical truth is hidden from them and let history be their guide. In the 1960s, the young white students of the “counter-culture” movement became angry when they learned about the poverty in what author Michael Harrington called, “The Other America.” The students, isolated in the new 1950s “vanilla suburbs” of endless whiteness, became “awoke” to Harrington’s description of poverty on the other side of the proverbial tracks. Coupled with the awokeness resulting from the glaring war in Vietnam and the King-led Civil Rights movement, this awoke generation demanded a relevant education system that would advance their minds.

6. Florida to Legalize Child Kidnapping, for their own good: 

7. Rename Our Nation's Schools: Plus, Trump's New Baby Boom Bonus: 

um..."Honour a Reichsdeutsche German mother for exceptional merit to the German nation. From 1939 until 1945 in three classes: bronze, silver, and gold, to Reichsdeutsche mothers who exhibited probity, exemplary motherhood, and who conceived and raised at least four or more children in the role of a parent.

8. Ban Internet Medical Information for Women: 

9. Death Penalty for Women who got Abortion: And they said they would never write such a law: 

The author of this bill, Rep. Rob Harris of Spartanburg (District 36), said "If we call it life and define it as life, then why should anyone, not just mothers, why should anybody be able to take that life? If it’s life it needs to be protected like any other life," said Harris.

10. A Felony for "Divisive Materials" in Schools: Define that...? Hard core porn in schools? Sure...

Sen. Spencer Deery, a Republican representing parts of Tippecanoe County who voted in favor of the bill, said "when I talk to our attorneys who write the law in the legislature, we're talking about hard-core pornography, which would lack literary value to minors. If you don't get that definition, the bill looks frightening."

11. DeSantis and Putin Blogger Registry: Seriously. No, bloggers are not like lobbyist! Nuts:

A Republican state senator in Florida would require bloggers who write about Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.), his Cabinet officers and members of the Florida legislature to register with the state.

Bloggers who receive compensation for a given online post about an elected state officer would have to register with the Florida Office of Legislative Services or the Commission on Ethics ... “the blogger must register with the appropriate office … within 5 days after the first 164 by the blogger which mentions an elected state officer,” reads the bill, introduced by Republican state Sen. Jason Brodeur.

If additional posts about elected state officers were to be posted, the blogger would have to file monthly reports detailing where, when and by whom the post was published, plus the amount of compensation received. Failure to file reports could lead to fines.

12. Gaetz demands Government be on MAGA side, or Defund the Nations Police? 

13. Bring Back Lynchings: You heard him...

WATCH: “You know lynching’s a hate crime now, right? How racist are you exactly, Paul?”

Rep. Paul Sherrell (R-Sparta) — who wants to change part of John Lewis Way to “Trump Blvd.” in Nashville — just said he wants to bring “hanging people from trees” back to Tennessee. pic.twitter.com/1NeU2sGRnW

— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) March 1, 2023

14. "Transgenderism must be eradicated from public life entirely." 

Just to be clear: This is not about perhaps complicated questions of parents and schools, or certain medical treatments for minors. Nor is this “mere” bigotry. This is eliminationism. Will any Republican politician or any prominent conservative in good standing denounce this? https://t.co/fO6wGZXBeJ

— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) March 4, 2023

Then there's this insane reaction...

15. Red State's push to Remove "Rogue" DA's they disagree with: 

Rachel #Maddow on Georgia GOP trying to save Trump, "This is dismantling the way the legal system works so it will no longer work against him....This is Republicans voting to give themselves the power to remove a prosecutor that acts in a way they don't like." pic.twitter.com/y8rZCegSDD

— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) March 7, 2023

DeSantis DeConstructs DeNation.

I don't usually devote much blogging time to out-of-state Republican lunacy, but Florida's Gov. Ron (dead-eyes) DeSantis, gearing up for a presidential run, and his Republican majority are just cranking out fantastical rights and restrictions no where seen in the Constitution. It's also a sign of fascism, but more on that later.

Let's start with the little known "spirit" right, that insinuates a meaning in sloppily written executive orders. Also, I don't think it's in the Constitution. 

1. Cruise Ship's supposed Vaccine Passport Illegal: A DeSantis executive order stops the private cruise ship industry from "discrimination against families with children who enjoy vacations." Can't. Make. This. Stuff. Up:

YahooNews: Several Republican-run states have enacted laws forbidding private businesses from requiring proof of vaccination. The reductio ad absurdum of this stance comes via Florida governor Ron DeSantis who said Thursday that Celebrity Cruise's requirement that 95 percent of all passengers over 16 be fully vaccinated "violates the spirit" of an executive order he issued barring "vaccine passports," as well as a state law that goes into effect July 1st (that) will "subject a fine of $5,000" for each customer asked to show vaccination status.

The CDC authority trumps DeSantis and requires that 95 percent of cruise ship passengers and 98 percent of crew members be fully vaccinated. DeSantis press secretary Christina Pushaw argued it's "discriminatory, unethical, and harmful for society" to require that cruise ship passengers be vaccinated.

Harmful for society? Because 59,202 COVID deaths nationwide isn't harmful?  

Running counter to the goal of a Republican utopia of open businesses and a thriving economy... 

Dr. Jay Wolfson, a public health and law professor at the University of South Florida, told WTSP 10 Tampa Bay. "They're not a Florida company. It really protects the economic viability of the cruise ship industry."

2. Stopping Social Media from banning Politicians, who are Victims of their own Dumb actions: In rapid succession, DeSantis also took the action below...Note: There seems to be some confusion over an available private business product and a consumers freedom and liberty to use or not use that product. 

First, you have to believe "Silicon Valley elites" were seeking to censor conservative political views.

"What we've been seeing across the U.S. is an effort to silence, intimidate and wipe out dissenting voices by the leftist media and big corporations," DeSantis said in a statement.

The laws justification is fabricated victimhood because...:

Research on social media has frequently shown the opposite: that conservative politicians and websites can be so effective on social media that they often dominate measures such as Facebook's ranking of top links. Facebook has also relaxed its rules so that conservative pages are not penalized for violations.

This is lawmaking based on paranoid fantasies of Republican legislators, and they're passing this on a nationwide scale. The real stuff? Well, that's just liberals playing  politics: 

Oddly, no word yet on challenging this monstrosity in the courts, but soon I hope. Note: Remember when Republicans opposed California's strict regulations on car emissions because it forced those same standards on other states simply by default. What about this? 

Carl Szabo, vice president and general counsel at NetChoice, a tech industry trade group, said the law may force platforms to carry posts that include violence or other harmful content.

"By forcing websites to host speech, this bill takes us closer to a state-run internet where the government can cherry-pick winners and losers," he said in a statement. The First Amendment prohibits the government from compelling or controlling speech on private websites, he added.

Matt Schruers, president of the Computer & Communications Industry Association, another trade group, said the law is "unconstitutional."

Fascism? It sure is. Wikipedia: 

Fascism is distinguished by an absence of coherent economic ideology and an absence of serious economic thinking. The decisions taken by fascist leaders cannot be explained within a logical economic framework, other than a general desire that the economy should help build a strong nation. As such, scholars argue that fascists had no economic ideology, but they did follow popular opinion, the interests of their donors . In general, fascist governments exercised control over private property, but they did not nationalize it. 

Just an experiment, I'm going to insert highlighted current events and pictures in the continuing definition below:

Fascist regimes generally came into existence in times of crisis (like the pandemic, BLM protests, insurrection), when economic elites, landowners and business owners feared that a revolution or uprising was imminent (the destruction of property during protests). Fascists allied themselves with the economic elites, promising to protect their social status (CEO compensation jumped 16 percent in pandemic) and to suppress any potential working class revolution. 

In exchange, the elites were asked to subordinate their interests... 

...to a broader nationalist project, thus fascist economic policies generally protect inequality and privilege while also featuring an important role for state intervention in the economy. 

Scary, I know.