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Beiträge, die mit authoritarianism getaggt sind


Trump is using the power of government to punish opponents. They’re struggling to respond

https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/30/politics/trump-punish-opponents/index.html

President Donald Trump is using the power of the federal government to intimidate or neuter potential sources of opposition to him: The legal establishment, academia and prominent cultural institutions, the media, the judiciary, the Democratic Party, Congress and independent government oversight.

#Trump #MAGA #authoritarianism #GOP #press


Today's my birthday, my 75th—impossibly old!—and I'm receiving this wonderful video of John Lithgow reading Timothy Snyder's twenty lessons in tyranny as a birthday gift. Which I now offer to readers here….

#tyranny #authoritarianism #dictatorship #Trump #Musk #Republicans #TimothySnyder
/1

https://snyder.substack.com/p/twenty-lessons-read-by-john-lithgow


#Trump takes aim at foreign-born college students, with 300 visas revoked

Some students have been picked up off the street by immigration agents and held in detention centers, sometimes a thousand miles away from their homes, with little warning

By Daniella Silva, Chloe Atkins, Julia Ainsley and Abigail Williams, March 27, 2025

"Secretary of State #MarcoRubio said Thursday the State Department has revoked 300 or more #StudentVisas, as the White House increasingly targets foreign-born students whose main transgression seems to be #activism.

"Rubio warned that the administration was looking out for 'these lunatics.' Around the country, #scholars have been picked up, in some cases by masked immigration agents, and held in #DetentionCenters, sometimes a thousand miles from their homes with little warning and often with few details about why they were being detained.

"'It might be more than 300 at this point. We do it every day. Every time I find one of these lunatics, I take away their visas,' Rubio said at a news conference in Guyana, where he was meeting with leaders.

"Many of those rounded up by Trump officials attended or were part of the pro-Palestinian movement that swept college campuses last year, and while the administration hasn’t said publicly why these students are being singled out over others, at least one sought by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement appeared on lists made by far-right pro-Israel groups as targets for deportation.

"And Trump allies, many in government again, telegraphed for months before he took office that they’d seek to deport students who openly advocated for Hamas or other U.S.-designated terrorist groups or after they participated in an unauthorized campus #protest and were suspended, expelled or jailed.

"The detentions are a signal of a broader effort by President Donald Trump to clamp down on the actions of legal permanent residents, student visa holders and others who live and work legally in the United States, one that threatens to undermine a fundamental American right to #FreeSpeech and to assemble, experts and advocates said."

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trump-administration-takes-aim-immigrant-students-rcna198346?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us
#USPol #ThoughtPolice #Authoritarianism #Orwellian #CharacteristicsOfFascism #Clampdown #SilencingDissent #CriminalizingDissent #CriminalizingActivism #RightToAssemble #FirstAmendment #USPol


Don't believe #Trump #propaganda.
Believe the evidence of your eyes and ears.

#jews #palestine #Israel #fascism #Authoritarianism

https://youtu.be/Jqof0Zl_0rs?si=DjQRm2_rOIFocnec


...

"Portugal said it has updated its travel advice for the U.S. to reflect tighter entry conditions and changes around gender recognition. The Portuguese foreign ministry confirmed the changes in a statement to Newsweek.

Portugal is now one of a growing number of European countries that have updated travel advice for the U.S. as America's stricter immigration and enforcement practices under President Donald Trump have caused global concern.

It comes following a number of U.S. border-entry incidents that have happened in recent weeks, including a French scientist being denied entry after border officials searched his phone and found messages that were critical of Trump, and U.K. tourist Becky Burke also being detained at border control."

https://www.newsweek.com/portugal-issues-travel-warning-us-2051891

#Portugal #USA #Trump #Authoritarianism


"If criminals fail to follow the law, does that mean the government shouldn’t follow the law either?

The purpose of due process is to make sure the government doesn’t punish innocent people. The way it works is that when the government makes an accusation against someone, that person is then allowed a court process where they can defend themselves. The purpose of this process is to make sure that the government can prove its case against someone before punishing them.
(...)
Of course, there are costs associated with court processes. Former President George W. Bush once acknowledged how liberal democracy can be inefficient: “If this were a dictatorship, this would be a heck of a lot easier. Just so long as I’m the dictator!”

But the cost of the government not being forced to prove its case before punishing people is that you end up punishing innocent people. There’s reporting out there that suggests the administration may be deporting people on the basis that they have football tattoos; the tattoos are alleged to be tied to the Venezuelan gang mentioned above.

Almost all Americans would say we don’t want violent criminals entering and residing in our country illegally. But did people really vote for Trump so that he would deport people based on mere suspicion without having to prove that the people being deported actually are violent criminals?"

https://www.theamericansaga.com/p/due-process-matters-because-we-dont

#USA #Trump #DueProcess #Deportations #Justice #RuleofLaw #Authoritarianism


"It's not too late to stop this train, although it gets more difficult with every day that goes by, every media outlet that rolls over and pays off, every law firm that grovels before Trump. The key — as it has been throughout history — is to mobilize public opinion...

History suggests that mobilizing 3.5% of the populace of a country is enough to produce change"
https://hartmannreport.com/p/she-stepped-onto-a-sidewalk-in-boston-a74

#Resist #Resistance #Trump #GOP #Fascism #Authoritarianism #Politics #USPol #USPolitics #News #US #USA
Text from article:
It's not too late to stop this train, although it gets more difficult with every day that goes by, every media outlet that rolls over and pays off, every law firm that grovels before Trump. The key — as it has been throughout history — is to mobilize public opinion and pressure politicians to act on behalf of traditional American values of freedom, liberty, and the rule of law.

History suggests that mobilizing 3.5% of the populace of a country is enough to produce change, although recent experience in Belarus and Israel suggests that may depend on how entrenched an authoritarian regime has become, particularly if their legitimacy is enhanced by an external attack (see Reichstag Fire, Moscow Theater, 10/7, and 9/11).

Nonetheless, there are things we can do right now:

— Support independent, progressive media.
— Show up for protests in your area.
— Post your opinions on social media.
— Share this and other like-minded newsletters.
— Reach out to your elected officials from the federal to state to local levels.
— Run for office yourself.
— Join your local Democratic Party and volunteer as a precinct committeeperson.
— Wake up everybody you know.


"This is how it begins.

Tuesday night, Tufts University PhD student #RumeysaOzturk was going out to a restaurant to meet friends when masked federal #ICE agents dressed in street clothes seized her off a public sidewalk and disappeared her. Her apparent crime was co-authoring an op-ed critical of #Trump & #Netanyahu."
- @ThomHartmann

https://hartmannreport.com/p/she-stepped-onto-a-sidewalk-in-boston-a74

#DonaldTrump #GOP #Fascism #Authoritarianism #Republicans #Politics #USPol #USPolitics #News #US #USA
Headline and photo with credit from The Hartman Report:
Daily Take
She Stepped Onto a Sidewalk in Boston — and Vanished Into Trump’s Shadow State

Masked ICE agents are now snatching dissidents off the streets like a scene from Stalin’s Russia. This isn’t speculative fiction. It’s happening right now, in America…

by Thom Hartmann
Mar 27, 2025

Photo: Video still showing ICE agents in plain clothes and with masks over their faces abducting Rumeysa Osturk.

Credit: Image from Wonkette


#DHS detains grad student who advocated for #Palestine and the "humanity of all people"

#RumeysaOzturk, a student at #TuftsUniversity, drew the attention of a pro-Israel group for co-authoring an op-ed

By Charles R. Davis
Published March 26, 2025 10:01AM Updated March 26, 2025 5:27PM (EDT)

"The Trump administration has detained a Tufts University graduate student exactly one year after she coauthored a plea for 'the equal dignity and #humanity of all people,' including Palestinians.

"Rumeysa Ozturk, a native of Turkey, was 'ambushed' late Tuesday outside her apartment, according to a statement that her attorney provided to The Boston Globe. Neighbors had seen agents in #UnmarkedCars monitoring her apartment for two days prior to the arrest, the outlet reported.

"'Her arrest comes after the #ProIsrael group #CanaryMission flagged Ozturk for having 'engaged in anti-Israel activism in March 2024.'"

Read more:
https://www.salon.com/2025/03/26/dhs-detains-grad-student-advocated-for-palestine-and-the-humanity-of-all-people/
#BostonMA #Orwellian #Authoritarianism #CharacteristicsOfFascism


The Contrarian announces it's adding to its team Ann Telnaes, who courageously resigned her position at Washington Post when editors censored her work to please Trump and his epigone Bezos. Telnaes launches her Contrarian work with a brilliant cartoon series about how autocrats — like Trump — always try to control the media.

#Trump #autocracy #authoritarianism #media

https://contrarian.substack.com/p/ann-telnaes-how-autocracies-take


Nobody home this morning at the United States Institute of Peace web site.

Sabotage masquerading as patriotism.

Exhibit #12,273,493

#uspol #usip #democracy #authoritarianism
USIP website blocked prevent online attack?


"If you accept that non-citizens have no right to due process, you are accepting that citizens have no right to due process. All the government has to do is claim that you are not a citizen; without due process you have no chance to prove the contrary."

~ Timothy Snyder

#Trump #ICE #immigrants #LawandOrder #fascism #authoritarianism

https://bsky.app/profile/timothysnyder.bsky.social/post/3ll5rxk57tk2t


#CharacteristicsOfFascism 14. #FraudulentElections
Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by #SmearCampaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control #voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.

#Trump signs order seeking to overhaul US elections, including requiring proof of #citizenship

By ALI SWENSON and CHRISTINA A. CASSIDY, March 25, 2025

NEW YORK (AP) — "President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed a sweeping executive action to overhaul elections in the U.S., including requiring documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections and demanding that all ballots be received by Election Day.

"The order says the U.S. has failed 'to enforce basic and necessary election protections' and calls on states to work with federal agencies to share voter lists and prosecute election crimes. It threatens to pull federal funding from states where election officials don’t comply."

Read more:
https://apnews.com/article/voting-elections-trump-executive-order-4e9edb53f47e61e241a43ceef8164022?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us
#Authoritarianism #BullyInChief
#ElectionBarriers #Fascism #Fascist #USPol


"Meet the new #authoritarianism boss. Same as the old #authoritarian boss."

"How DOGE isn't just tearing down institutions but also laying the groundwork for an experimental new kind of authoritarian rule."... a #Libertarians #techbros #Broligarchy

"The #DarkEnlightenment: The #TechOligarchy #Ideology Driving #DOGE’s Destruction"

https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2025/03/the-dark-enlightenment-the-tech-oligarch-ideology-driving-doges-destruction.html #Libertarianism= #Fascism pretending to have democratic goals, and many of you were indoctrinated to accept it via #HarryPotter books/moovees


“Surrendering to Authoritarianism”

by Chris Hedges in The Chris Hedges Report on Substack

“Liberal institutions, including universities, traditionally surrender without a fight to the dictates of autocrats. Ours are no exception”

https://open.substack.com/pub/chrishedges/p/surrendering-to-authoritarianism?r=27oltk&utm_medium=ios

#Press #US #Trump #Autocrats #Authoritarianism #Liberal #Surrender #Universities #Tyranny #Columbia #Harvard #Princeton #Yale #Indoctrination


“Surrendering to Authoritarianism”

by Chris Hedges in The Chris Hedges Report on Substack

“Liberal institutions, including universities, traditionally surrender without a fight to the dictates of autocrats. Ours are no exception”

https://open.substack.com/pub/chrishedges/p/surrendering-to-authoritarianism?r=27oltk&utm_medium=ios

#Press #US #Trump #Autocrats #Authoritarianism #Liberal #Surrender #Universities Tyranny #Columbia #Harvard #Princeton #Yale #Indoctrination


"Sanders, who is attracting a lot of people who did not support him in 2016 and 2020 to his rallies, is building a different kind of politics. He has refined his argument to focus on oligarchy, the group of superrich who are running the United States. And a newer generation of politicians are recognizing in that argument something that makes sense. There are conflicting messages, notably the New York Times’ Ezra Klein and The Atlantic’s Derek Thompson launching a campaign around the concept of Abundance, which I’ll touch on soon. But the possibility of sharpening policy tools to bring our oligarchs back into our democracy and match them with a political coalition is there.

And in that sense, I am thankful to Paul Weiss and Brad Karp. In this dangerous moment, the Democratic corporate establishment, by capitulating so obviously to Trump in return for corporate money, has just ripped out the heart that ran the Clinton, Obama, and much of the toxic parts of the Biden administrations. And they did so at the only moment in the last two decades during which normal Democrats are looking for someone to blame for their own party’s fecklessness. And who better to blame than the would-be Kamala Harris staff, a pack of Google and private equity defense lawyers - and Chuck Schumer’s brother - who, when the chips were down, bent the knee to Trump?"

https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/monopoly-round-up-the-democrats-corporate

#USA #Trump #Authoritarianism #BigLaw #Lobbying #Bernie


The British state goes on - regardless of the people

The Metropolitan Police will permanently put up live facial recognition cameras in south London, as part of a pilot project that may see the scheme extended across the capital.

It makes no difference as to what people think or want or the effective of the technology. Or even what Parliament has accepted (wot you mean is has been debated? 🤔)

http://archive.today/2025.03.23-183929/https://www.thetimes.com/uk/london/article/croydon-to-get-uks-first-permanent-facial-recognition-cameras-0b6hhxhc7 (archive)

#Privacy #Policing #UkPolitics #Authoritarianism #BritishState
Photo: a sign indicating that live face recognition is on - no matter what anyone asks for


Definitions mean a lot

’His [Jacob Israël de Haan, an Orthodox Jewish queer poet and lawyer ] steadfast opposition to mainstream Zionism made de Haan a controversial figure, drawing the ire of Zionist leadership. On 30 June 1924, de Haan was assassinated by a member of the Zionist organization Haganah.’

Zionists have that way with bullets

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2025/mar/23/antisemitism-redefinition-jewish-safety-christian-nationalism-democracy

#Racism #Zionism #Consolidation #Authoritarianism


Per Ben Wittes: Fundraiser for U.S. international media workers (i.e., Voice of America, et al.) affected by Presidents Trump-Musk shutdown of U.S. Agency for Global Media. #VOA #USAGM #journalism #coup #authoritarianism #fundraiser https://secure.givelively.org/donate/usagm-employee-association/support-for-us-international-media-workers


i want to hope that something good comes out of this but I doubt it, #authoritarianism is a jail

mf mutes Voice of America, makes space for Russian and Chinese influence

#media
https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20250319-trump-mutes-voice-of-america-rfe-rl-makes-space-for-russian-and-chinese-influence


As #Trump accelerates his #authoritarianism, #USPol could lose #democracy status, says global watchdog.

It refers to ongoing events in the U.S. as unprecedented, mentioning Trump #pardoning 1,500 #criminals who supported him; #firing independent agency #watchdogs without process; #purging apolitical #police and #military brass; #ignoring #laws; and his unilaterally deleting federal programs, and even a whole organization, created by U.S. Congress

#auspol #RussianAsset

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/trump-democracy-report-1.7486317


"In the #tech bro world #ElonMusk comes from, the definition of "freedom" is that rich people get to treat everyone else however they like, without that pesky #government coming in to protect people's #safety, autonomy or civil #rights. As Duran explained in his newsletter, "These cities will be controlled entirely by tech #billionaires and #corporations, operating outside of #US laws.""
https://www.salon.com/2025/03/17/the-dystopian-freedom-cities-dream-fueling-elon-musks-destruction/

#Musk #Coup #Corruption #Fascism #Authoritarianism #Trump #GOP #Politics #News #USA
Text from article(edited for length):
By design, the details of how "freedom cities" would be established are laden with legalese... In practice, the plan is straightforward. Advocates want the federal government to set aside land to build cities exempt from federal and state laws. Instead, the cities would function as mini-dictatorships, where the CEO of each town runs everything, and the people who live and work there are subject to the boss's whims. It would be like being an employee of a controlling company, except you don't clock out at the end of the day or have a life — or rights — outside of what the boss allows you. 

"These are going to be cities without democracy," journalist Gil Duran told Wired. He's spent years documenting how the Silicon Valley elite — along with politicians like Vice President JD Vance — have pushed the idea that democracy should be ended and replaced with governments run by all-powerful businessmen. "These are going to be cities where the owners of the city, the corporations, the billionaires have all the power and everyone else has no power." In the tech bro world Elon Musk comes from, the definition of "freedom" is that rich people get to treat everyone else however they like, without that pesky government coming in to protect people's safety, autonomy or civil rights. As Duran explained in his newsletter, "These cities will be controlled entirely by tech billionaires and corporations, operating outside of U.S. laws."


"On their first attempt to enter the Institute for Peace, the DOGE staff were accompanied by FBI agents. On the second attempt, DOGE was reportedly accompanied by US Marshals and—after a call to the DC police—were assisted by the DC Metropolitan police."

#Musk #Trump #DOGE #purges #fascism #authoritarianism #diversity #DEI #USIP
/5


"Rachel Maddow reported on Monday evening about two disturbing instances in which DOGE hackers effectively forced their way into government agencies with the help of armed escorts. In the latest instance, the US Institute for Peace—an independent agency created by Congress—resisted the efforts of DOGE staff to enter the building."

~ Robert B. Hubbell

#Musk #Trump #DOGE #purges #fascism #authoritarianism #diversity #DEI #USIP
/4

https://roberthubbell.substack.com/p/yes-we-still-have-a-constitutional


"The U.S. Institute for Peace announced Monday that despite being independent of the executive branch and controlling its own building and the land it sits on, their objections to members of Elon Musk's DOGE team trespassing in their building were overridden by D.C. police. That came after an earlier confrontation in which DOGE was accompanied by the FBI."

~ Will Sommer

#Musk #Trump #DOGE #purges #fascism #authoritarianism #diversity #DEI #USIP
/3

https://www.thebulwark.com/p/maga-brocasters-grow-suspicious-of-the-jews-joe-rogan-theo-von-antisemitism


"With apparent help from the FBI and DC police, DOGE took over the independent U.S. Institute of Peace on Monday in a surreal scene that spilled out onto city sidewalks."

~ David Kurtz

#Musk #Trump #DOGE #purges #fascism #authoritarianism #diversity #DEI #USIP
/2

https://morningmemo.talkingpointsmemo.com/p/showdown-between-trump-and-the-courts


"The U.S. Institute for Peace announced Monday that despite being independent of the executive branch and controlling its own building and the land it sits on, their objections to members of Elon Musk's DOGE team trespassing in their building were overridden by D.C. police. That came after an earlier confrontation in which DOGE was accompanied by the FBI."

~ Rachel Maddow

#Musk #Trump #DOGE #purges #fascism #authoritarianism #diversity #DEI #USIP
/1

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/independent-agency-ceo-doge-has-broken-into-our-building-234654789971


#Appeasement Is Failing: Why Fighting Back Against #Trump Is The Only Option

If there’s any lesson so far in Trump’s second term, it’s that playing nice isn’t just bad optics — it’s a losing strategy.

"Justin Hansford, a Howard Law professor and founder of the Thurgood Marshall Civil Rights Center, argued that #capitulation had only emboldened Trump. 'The more that they cave in, the more damage that gets done,' said Hansford."

by Jessica Washington, March 15 2025

"Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., capitulated to President Donald Trump and the GOP over the budget this week, sacrificing one of Democrats’ last pieces of leverage as Trump bulldozes the federal government and jails activists. Schumer defended voting yes on the GOP budget that would neuter the legislative branch, arguing that he had no choice but to give in or face a government shutdown. He’s not the first to make that kind of decision.

"Leaders of businesses, universities, and nations across the globe face the same question: Should they fight Trump, or hope that by giving him what he wants he’ll somehow do less harm?

"Far too often, these leaders have chosen appeasement over #resistance — and, in return, gotten nothing."

Read more:
https://theintercept.com/2025/03/15/appeasing-trump-doesnt-work/

Archived version:
https://archive.ph/j1U1P
#ResistFascism #ResistTrump #Authoritarianism #CorporateFascism #CharacteristicsOfFascism #USPol


Oof.

Public historian Tad Stoermer on the brutal truth that there is NO normal to go back to, and there is no point at which Power decides it has reached its bottom.

It's worth a look, even if it is on TikTok.

#ResistanceHistory #Authoritarianism

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT2bg9F3S/


That #authoritarianism long preexisted this incident. See https://kafeneio.social/@heretical_i/114163311951448767 for some 1960s thought policing attempts by a historically fascist US government, when donny was still a teen.


"Trump's disappearing of Mahmoud Khalil should be a warning for us all. If Trump has his way, Kahlil will be just the first of many. …

This episode is the latest in what the left warned would be Trump’s anti-democratic crusade were he to be re-elected. What New York Times columnist Michelle Goldberg calls the 'Greatest Threat to Free Speech Since the Red Scare.'”

~ Todd Beeton

#Trump #MahmoudKhalil #FreeSpeech #authoritarianism

https://thinkbigpicture.substack.com/p/mahmoud-kahlil-trump-detention


The Future of Democracy in America: A Conversation with The Atlantic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NdUuZJSLDU

#authoritarianism #Trump #politics #TrumpMindSet #Resistance


Columbia University, the epicenter of a number of issues, has conferenced their journalism students to tell them that if they are not US citizens, they should not publish anything likely to anger Trump, Russia, Israel, or the techbros, saying “Nobody can protect you.” They’ve been told to blank their social media of anything that might offend.

And yes, outrage is warranted, but Columbia has in its toolbox some of the brightest legal graduates and professors. If they don’t think they can lawyer up enough to stop this illegal curtailing of speech, the problem is a lot bigger than many people realize. Not the least of which is that other countries are dictating what people can say on American soil.

On one hand, the dean is trying to protect his students, on the other hand, never obey in advance.

(Archive link because NYT) https://archive.ph/zHMoo

#columbia #freespeech #authoritarianism #aipac #gaza #lebanon #palestine
Students who were not U.S. citizens should avoid publishing work on Gaza, Ukraine and protests related to their former classmate’s arrest, urged Stuart Karle, a First Amendment lawyer and adjunct professor. With about two months to go before graduation, their academic accomplishments — or even their freedom — could be at risk if they attracted the ire of the Trump administration.

“If you have a social media page, make sure it is not filled with commentary on the Middle East,” he told the gathering in Pulitzer Hall. When a Palestinian student objected, the journalism school’s dean, Jelani Cobb, was more direct about the school’s inability to defend international students from federal prosecution.

“Nobody can protect you,” Mr. Cobb said. “These are dangerous times.”


As Parker Molloy reports, highly regarded Washingon Post columnist Ruth Marcus resigned today, stating,

"With immense sadness I am writing to let you know that I have resigned from The Washington Post, in an email sent this morning to Jeff Bezos and Will Lewis and pasted below."

#WashingtonPost #RuthMarcus #FreeSpeech #media #JeffBezos #billionaires #EconomicElites #Trump #authoritarianism
/1

https://www.readtpa.com/p/another-dark-day-at-the-bezos-post