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"Nazi" can be a 5-letter word...as in THE LYIN' KING. It can be a 6-letter word...as in "Miller". And it can be a 3-letter word...as in GOP.

The last company that I worked for employed many immigrants, mostly from Asia (China, India, Japan) but also from Europe (England, France, Germany, Scandinavia). During T-R-U-M-P 1.0 when DJT imposed his first travel ban (against primarily majority-Muslim countries), there was widespread consternation among coworkers in the USA on an H-1B visa -- even though most of them were not from travel-banned countries. During a business meeting, I felt compelled to apologize to my immigrant colleagues. I genuinely felt embarrassed by and ashamed of the lunatic president. One coworker, from China, expressed that he migrated to America because it was "The Land of Opportunity." He had particularly been impressed with and inspired by Barack Obama's "We are the change we seek" speech (Remember those good ol' days? Remember that dignity . . . that sanity?). After living in America, he was shocked and surprised by the degree of hostility and anger in America -- that many Americans were so unhappy and "so mad."

You're welcome, V., and I will try to abide by your suggestions here.. And I also appreciate the tolerance and patience you have shown so far, as moderator of this site. I only wish reddit and FB, for example, were also so... These days, my fav source of commentary and news, besides Commondreams.org, is Substack, not only for the many commenters, but also the seeming lack of moderation, which still seems to result in respectful and intelligent comment threads accompanying the posts. Whodu thought it, that maybe people can respectfully participate in social discussion, without the usual FB or reddit flaming and childish insults, etc.? Or it could be that the MAGA idiots just stay away from there, realizing they are just way too outnumbered and outgunned intellectually on Substack...

obviously. thank you Mac, i sincerely appreciate your contributions here. but as the only moderator i need to point out that your obsession with semantics is unproductive, and distracting to each subject they are injected in. There is a grand irony in that, although i know you wouldn't want to, if i needed someone to help as a moderator, you have the other skills necessary, but you'd be a buzz kill. also, as a reminder to everyone... there is a tendency in threads to veer into other topics i don't have the time to move posts around to more appropriate threads so, please this thread is about the nazi-like gestapo methods Americans are being subjected to PLEASE MODERATE YOURSELVES BY STAYING ON TOPIC and be as concise as possible the goal is to be a quick source of frank, organized, topic-based opinion that is hard to find via traditional sources

It's such a shame. The airwaves were covered with ads offering $50,000 hiring bonuses to come work for ICE. Bullies, thugs and criminals responded and were hired. They were poorly trained, then handed the authority to abuse American citizens without consequences.

I have zero doubt that many ICE goons are members of Oath Keepers, Proud Boys, and pardoned J6rs, which is why they don't want their identities known and won't show their faces..

Tim Walz just said it perfectly. Everything that is happening is no longer political difference it’s a moral one. There is no possible way you can watch the many versions of these shootings and believe the protesters are at fault. How the protesters are keeping this peaceful and controlled is beyond me but they are! This is how we can help. FULL SCRIPT for calling your senators in one image. Call 202-224-3121. Ask to be connected to each of your two senators (two calls total). Read this or a version of it (feel free to riff). They’re voting THIS WEEK. I’ve shown what this looks like in a reel on my page (if you need more guidance). Thanks in advance — and if you want more actionable info without rage bait, follow this account 🙏🏻 #usa #news #politics My name is [YOUR NAME] and I'm a(n) [YOUR STATE] resident. I'm calling to urge you to filibuster the upcoming Homeland Security appropriations bill. I'm sick of watching lawful citizens and noncitizens being arrested at their jobs, assaulted at peaceful protests, pulled out of their vehicles, blinded by munitions, and getting shot and killed. Senators like you need to filibuster this bill so that ICE doesn't get another penny. It already has $18.75 billion for 2026 - it doesn't need another $10 billion. My fellow [YOUR STATE'S RESIDENTS] and I will be watching your vote - and we will remember, I promise. My name again is [YOUR NAME] and my contact info is [YOUR PHONE NUMBER AND/ OR EMAIL]. My zip code is [YOUR ZIP CODE]. Thanks for listening and please do the right thing.

he's not paying. We are paying the "worst of the worst"

the immediate lying by the Prez, Noem, Bondi, Miller and his other mobster, N@tzi gang members are off the charts. Congress needs to make it's long overdue move NOW!

if this image is real, you'll be seeing a lot of it. to clarify. It doesn't even matter if the gun was accessible to the victim. It's presence is only relevant if he was threatening the agents with it. and even if he did, again, the question is, why was he shot 4 time???

The Repubs have been out to eliminate public broadcasting for decades, finally got their wish... Gotta keep those peasants ignorant, and keep all media in the private sector, where it can be just as easily controlled and censored, in fact more so here in America, than by the government...

Overshadowed by the tragedy in Minneapolis and continued reporting on America's raid on Venezuela: the "death" of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. On January 5, the CPB board of directors voted to dissolve the 58-year-old nonprofit corporation. sic transit gloria Big BirdBoard vote dissolves defunded Corporation for Public Broadcasting The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 Do federal funding cuts spell the end for Big Bird and Cookie Monster? List of Public Broadcasting Systems Programs

The amount of people in this country trying to justify the murder of an innocent CIVILIAN is mind boggling. How have humans devolved into such mindless disgusting beings? The pro life crowd sure does love when actual living, breathing humans are killed. It’s almost as if “pro life” is short for “pro controlling a woman”. I’m ashamed of this country, I’m disgusted with people I’ve known my entire life being ok with this administration and everything they’re doing. We have a literal child rapist for a dictator and that’s not a hard no? I’m scared my children won’t have anything left in their future. What can we do? Tweeting and making tik toks isn’t doing anything. We need a modern day million man march in DC.

the lyin' king's new Federal Reserve pick is in the Epstein files that's how it works, and he learned it from Putin surround yourself with people who HAVE TO be loyal to you

I have little doubt of that. The corporate media were a big help to him in the last election cycle, and they wanted the Epstein files to remain buried, as far as exposing the guilty men. At the same time, the corporate media loves covering the uproar about the files, and the ratings it drives for them. The corporate media doesn't care at all about justice or helping justice be achieved, only about the public battles regarding justice.. As Lily Tomlin would say, you can never be cynical enough, when it comes to the corporate media or those with great power or money. Trust them only by their actions, not on their words..

Maybe more the latter than the former, but in the end, does it really matter? The bottom line is, I am part of a very small cultural minority in my state, even tho I'm a straight, white cis male. So in the end, I feel just as outnumbered and alienated, as I would if I were black or queer. BTW, Iowa is 97% white, racially, to give you an idea of how much of a minority I am, culturally rather than racially.. and that's without even getting into politics, where I am a socialist in a solid red state... In case you're wondering why I've stayed here my whole life, it's because it's where all my friends are and have been my whole adult life, and I'm not interested in moving somewhere else where I don't know a soul. It's not easy to make a whole new set of friends, even after you're retired, in a new state... and the cost of living is low.. I'm a music and cultural snob, and proud of it!

I'm writing from Minnesota, where everything feels under threat right now. I'm getting used to questioning every shared piece of information (worrying how it might later be used against me). Even writing this; there is worry. But my community is strong and getting stronger! We challenge ourselves to dream a sweet dream even though we are currently living in a nightmare. So the words shared above--ideals of a virtual space--are touching my heart. I hope and dream for these things too: may justice, equality, balance, and right relationship to all things prevail!

did we think this criminal, lyin' regime was going to go quietly into election 2026 knowing how awful they're perceived and what a democratic House and Senate would mean? this 2020 Georgia election heist of ballots it's about manufacturing a case that our election system cannot be trusted and should be cancelled!

I agree with recharging your brain and the need for it. And I do practice the solitude and quiet thing, as a way to calm down and recharge. But I've never really gotten into meditation, since it bores me and makes me sleepy. So instead, I just read and listen to music while I do it, as that seems to do the trick for me, same as meditation does for most folks. Whatever works for the individual, is all that matters... As for the Nov. 11th exchange between you and mac, I concur that he's a cool guy, even tho he would probably never admit to it or accept the compliment, lol... He's a loveable curmudgeon, same as me, I suppose... I can just hear him retorting back, " I don't have to take that from you!...."....

i tie-in to why the "doom scrolling" and other distractions drain your brain. It's battery needs to be plugged into source. https://www.facebook.com/share/v/17ZFfWwiJ4/

Exactly. How much longer are we supposed to wait? We're already in practically full fascism, so we have nothing to lose at this point, same as most people were during the Great Depression, when most Americans had nothing to lose, economically, by voting for a democratic socialist, FDR, who was a Democrat. And you know what else? That also was the greatest, most successful time for union organizing in our country's history, because workers finally realized they had nothing to lose by joining unions, since they otherwise were already being treated as slaves working for poverty wages, and often in dangerous jobs that were fatal or at least ruining their long term health. Terrible times are exactly when to take political risks and swing for the fences, because that seems to be the only times that Americans wake up and realize that they have nothing to gain or even hold onto, by supporting the status quo... And the Dem Party has more than proven, since the 1990s, that they aren't to be trusted with our civil liberties, endless wars of choice, or our side of the class war, as they constantly are Repub lite on everything but identity politics and culture war stuff. When it comes to power, and who it's used for and who it's used against, they have not been on our side, only that of the rich and corporations. And that's never going to change... The last progressive candidate we've had for prez, from the Dems, was McGovern in 1972. Since then, the polling consistently shows that the public is way ahead of the major parties on the issues, as far as wanting progressive policies, but the Dems always go back to pointing out that 1972 landslide loss to Nixon, as proof that a progressive can't win that office. It's dishonest and terribly outdated and self-serving, when you look at the polling on issues, that is separated from party labels. And that's because the voters don't trust the Dems to actually fight for progressive policies, and rightly so. So that's why the support for progressive policies is so much higher among the public than their political support for Dems..

This is the kind of nonviolent protest that I think is effective and that I can totally get behind. Minnesotans strike to protest ICE surge in state: ‘No work, no school, no shopping

Agreed, it's esp. futile to do those sorts of protests, when you're fighting fascists who have no conscience and, at least nowadays, a public that also has lost most or all of their conscience, compassion, empathy for others, and even their humanity. The protests of the 60s were probably more effective than they would be now, because back then, the public had more of a conscience, more capacity for outrage, more engagement in politics and hope for positive change. Nowadays, way too many people see politics as simply entertainment or background noise that really doesn't matter to them anymore.. In the 60s, most mass media was family-owned, more local and independent, as well as balanced between left and right, so the reporting was more fair and balanced. Also, the leaders were more people with consciences, who more often acted in good faith in dealing with conflicts and problems. Those days are long gone... Nowadays, the right makes heroes out of people who hurt others, like Kyle Rittenhouse, while the left mainly creates martyrs, out of people like Renee Good, who get killed or hurt. So guess which side most of the public sees as strong and worthy of admiration, rather than seen as weak and masochistic? Comes back to what you said about Patton, most people will go with admiring the person who kills their enemies, than who sacrifices for some abstract principle...

My problem with nonviolent protest is that it seems, to me, to be masochistic and self-sacrificing. Mario Savio metaphorically urged his audience to "put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus." Me, I would have incited listeners to "stop the machine by putting the bodies of the machine owners upon the gears, levers, and all the apparatus." I don't get protesters who try to fight the system or change the status quo by going on hunger strikes or immolating themselves. WT . . .?! How is killing yourself going to persuade The Powers That Be to See the Light, change their ways, and do The Right Thing? If I'm fighting a Kamikaze pilot or an Islamic martyr willing to give his life because his reward for doing so will be 72 virgins, I'd be inclined to say, "Thank you for helping!" and wonder "Which side are you on, Skippy?" I'm with "Old Blood and Guts" (George S. Patton): make the other b-a-s-t-a-r-d (y'know, the enemy) die!

no. well, actually, it does work pretty well on myself

Food for Thought" ’Liberal’ is a dirty word here [University of California, Berkeley]. Liberalism is a trap. It’s the impotence of having principles that make you opposed to something and other principles that keep you from doing anything about it." -- Activist Jack Weinberg * Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee

I remember watching Mario's speech being covered on TV, when I was a child... There comes a time when you have to realize the people in power have no conscience and are not operating in good faith, and are not going to change their ways. So the only choice left is to fight the machine or submit.. If you look up Mario's history after that speech, he paid a large price for his activism later on, harassment and survelliance from the feds, etc..

Apropos to our discussion about protest: Civil Disobedience, debated on the January 18, 2026 broadcast of Philoso?hy Talk. "There is a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can't take part. You can't even passively take part. And you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus -- and you've got to make it stop! And you've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it, that unless you're free, the machine will be prevented from working at all!" -- Activist Mario Savio

I must admit that I still hate both of them, despite some of MTG's recent stands, and I too would love to see a cage match between her and THE LYIN' KING, would remind me of the Two Tribes music video from Frankie Goes To Hollywood, back in the 80s, which had imitators of Reagan and Chernenko boxing in a ring.. You're a funny guy, mac. I like your style, even if I am a irredeemable carnivore, lol...

It's this type of dialectical retort that keeps me coming back to nBP.

I hear you, mac. Offline and IRL, I'm not physically aggressive at all. But in person, if someone is not armed and there are plenty of witnesses, I will not back down from a verbal argument with someone who is 🍆>🐱ing with me and being an 🧻hole to me. Because if they decide to escalate it to a physical fight in front of plenty of witnesses, and are unarmed, I am going to let them take the first shot, and then fight back with everything I have, in self defense. And if I lose, I lose, but I will also press charges against them and go after them all I can to sue them for my injuries.. And so far, nobody has been willing to back up their mouth with that sort of physical aggression towards me, because after they've mouthed off enough to me for a couple minutes, I simply tell them I'm done putting up with their mouth, and if they aren't going to hit me, then I'm walking away, knowing I've won the verbal argument already.. In other words, I share your motto, of dying on my feet, before I will live on my knees, or bend my knee to bullies or assholes..

Much as I agree with the rest of your comment, mac, I wouldn't recommend inciting road rage with an obvious MAGA type, like your asteriked comment suggests, unless you have a firearm in your vehicle, and are prepared to use it in a shootout with said MAGA motorist. Because nowadays you just have to assume that everyone out on the roads and streets is armed and willing and ready to use said firearms in a road rage conflict..

Cap'n, you keep using "should" in your rebuttal, which, for me , makes your argument academic. Step outside your ivory tower and put on some sunglasses because the light that you are going toward is blinding you to How the World Really Is. What people should do is very different from what people do, will do, or want to do. All people should eat a "balanced diet" of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, proteins, and chocolate chip cookies . . . okay, maybe not that last one. But do they? All people should drive with their hands at "ten and two," not "gun it" at a yellow light, and keep one car length for every 10 mph behind the car in front of them*. But do they? All people should "do unto others." But do they? Say you ". . . TOGETHER thing is the key. we can accomplish anything together . . . we have the power." Meanwhile on Red Planet MAGA, your polar opposite 3.V ("Come over to The Dark Side") is saying the same thing to RPM citizens. So the battle is a numbers game. Can more of "us" band together than more of "them" band together? Way I see it, We might have more pitchforks. But They own the pitchfork plants and have bigger, better, and heavier pitchforks. "What is it the thing that ordinary Americans can do to prevent authoritarianism?" "Americans have to be engaged"* Unless the car ahead of you has a "T-R-U-M-P 2028" bumper sticker. Then you zoom in 'n ride up on the driver's MAGA @$$ while flipping the bird and making faces at the mofo.

Say that to Holocaust survivors and their progeny. Yo, Guru V.3, I gave your response a "thumb's up" because I applaud your passion and (seemingly) indomitable idealism. Just a "Heads up!" and FYI, the light that you're going to might be an oncoming train. Meanwhile Back on Planet EarthAs they used to say on Top 40 radio: And the hits just keep on comin'! How T-R-U-M-P Can Keep the House without Winning the Midterms What he said.

I can't speak for you, but I can for myself, and I am part of the left, ineffectual, marginalized, and tiny as it is in the US. But don't ever confuse the left with the Dem Party, as the Dem Party hates the left and it's the corrupt Dem Party that sold out undoc immigrants during THE LYIN' KING's first term, not the left. It's an important distinction.. And I think we can both agree that the Dem Party paved the way for THE LYIN' KING's two terms, by shafting Bernie and instead both election cycles running corporate centrist candidates, whose main selling point was them not being THE LYIN' KING, rather than campaign platforms that actually addressed the grievances and problems of ordinary Americans.. You might even say, that the Dem Party campaigns like they don't really care about winning elections, only about defeating progressives and enjoying their continued perks and privileges as the minority party in DC... Opposing the Repubs only on culture war issues just isn't cutting it anymore, not with most voters..

. . . and look what happened to Martin Luther King, Jr. . . . and Mahatma Gandhi . . . and Jesus Christ, to list but a few promoters of nonviolence and peaceful protest. Of course, King's contemporary activist Malcolm X (who advocated self-defense "by whatever means necessary" and who called MLK a "chump") was also murdered. Assassination has the same outcome for radicals pacifist and militant. Far be it from me to diss pacifism and peace activism. But extreme threats call for extreme measures. If anyone reading this does not believe that America is currently in the throes of political, autocratic, nationalist, and totalitarian extremism . . . Well, whatever you're smoking, drinking, snorting, or popping, I hope that you have enough for everybody. I'm no fan of General George S. Patton. But in these extremist times, I think that attention must be paid, by doves, to his famous reminder to American troops: "I want you to remember that no b-a-s-t-a-r-d ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor, dumb b-a-s-t-a-r-d die for his country." By all means, give peace a chance. But there'll be a skyful of pork when marching alone . . . when sign-carrying alone . . . when editorializing alone . . . when petitioning alone . . . when preaching alone . . . when screaming "SHAME!" at a murderer alone . . . or all those nonviolent protests combined overcome and defeat tyranny. Suggested ReadingNonviolence and Black Self-Defense The Problem with Pacifism: How Pacifism Can Lead to Genocide and Why One Should Fight to Combat Evil

case closed

yes, there are more nuances. and another detail i missed of the first shot is that he could clearly see her spinning the wheel to the right, away from him i don't believe there is any legal relevance to all the other information coming in now, about what she did or didn't do beforehand and what their conversation was. The 2nd and 3rd bullets were 1st degree murder.

Oh, I do indeed agree with Malcolm X. Power only understands, respects, and heeds power. The violent only understand, respect, and heed violence. My father would growl at my siblings and me when he got tired of hearing us crying, "Stop that crying or I'll give you something to cry about" (a horrible thing to say to a child . . . or anyone, for that matter). The current administration is always crying about the "radical left" and the threat that leftists are to America. To which I growl, "Stop that crying or we'll give you something to cry about!" Hit it, Panthers! Revolution has come Off the pigs! Time to pick up the gun Off the pigs!

I think you're right. As Malcom X said long ago, " America respects violence, it was founded on violence. I think it's the only thing it respects". Whether you agree with that or not, it's clear that violence, or at least physical force, is the only thing that fascists like THE LYIN' KING and his supporters and cronies respect... And yes, I remember that couple, and it made me think it's not a bad idea for peaceful protestors to have a couple of armed guards or security people at their protests, at least if there are no cops on duty around them to be able to protect them against nuts like that couple..

you can watch 100 hours of news on the guilt or innocence of the "officer" in the upcoming weeks/months or "believe me now" instead of later though we all know she was fleeing from violent thugs licensed by a mob boss if he shot once, he would not be found guilty because, though shooting was still unnecessary (too late to stop the car) he could not see the turn of the wheels away from him, which we could see. so...he'd be able to claim self-defense but he did not shoot once as the car pulled away, the alleged lone shooter fired the two fatal shots from the left cement road the car went forward, and right forward...and right it would have taken a "magic car" to both hit him AND escape! understand?

The Repub Party these days, not just THE LYIN' KING, are utterly shameless, and they also usually suffer no consequences for their behavior, so of course as long as that continues, the general public will also mostly choose to go in that same direction, as far as behavior. The same applies to the ultra rich and corporations, also shameless, and rarely suffering consequences for their behavior and actions. More shaming and more equal justice and fair equal treatment under the law, is the only way any of this changes. Even elections will not change the behavior of the Repubs in politics, I fear, as they have decided they can always just cheat their way to winning elections, no matter what the voters want, if elections are even held in the future... My fear of either civil war or permanent dictatorship, without any real future elections, gets worse every day... It's starting to look like civil war may be our only way out of this, but I know our side is never going to agree to wage one against the right wingers.. The other way to overthrow them is general strikes, but those also are never going to happen, because too many working age Americans have their healthcare tied to their jobs, and are living paycheck to paycheck, so boycotts against the worst corporations are probably our best bet for fighting back against our corrupt govt.. Attack their financial backers, and put the pressure on them that way...

the U.S. Congress didn't know or approve. The oil industry was told before-hand. And Russia was apparently told so they could evacuate personnel. and another thing, why does our media use the term, NARCO-TERRORISM instead of alleged drug traffickers? And why aren't they calling our oil industry controlled government's actions PETRO-TERRORISM!

he rants about ending 7 wars, yet he bombed 7 countries in one year.

remember last year when he promised American oil industry executives "a great deal" if they donated a billion dollars to his campaign?

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1FnmDq6KQd/

everything's newer here. cleaner. clear skies people are polite so, no i don't miss the narrow, congested streets, old houses. clouds --what my father called, the "rat race" that eventually stopped his heart but i went back 15 years ago in september like a salmon returning to it's place of birth there was something in the nature -- air, trees, wildlife, proximity to the ocean that was familiar and comforting and the people do seem more real and upfront to me more revealing flaws and all

it's more that i know me. and recognize a similar part in you. we all share the same key ingredients with a different mix. your recipe just calls for a little more salt than mine. i also know that you've got a story to tell. i look forward to hearing it one of these days

How is it that you know me so well after such a brief time? 😉