Authoritarianism

Montreal (Special to Informed Comment) – Anton Chekhov famously advised young playwrights that “If in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall, then in the following one it should be fired.” For the past twenty years Vladimir Putin—a deeply paranoid megalomaniac who has by now completely isolated himself from his own […]

Authoritarianism

The Disloyalty to the United States of Trump and the Republican National Committee

Scott Corey

Berkeley, Ca. (Special to Informed Comment) – On February 4, the Republican National Committee voted to censure two party members. The charge was that investigating the January 6 attack on Congress is, “persecuting individuals engaged in legitimate political discourse that had nothing to do with the attack.” RNC thereby asserts that only the rioters are […]

Authoritarianism

The Terrifying World of 2025: The Coming MAGA Cultural Revolution?

John Feffer

( Tomdispatch.com ) – I’ve just wrapped up my shift at BurgerBoy and I don’t have much time before the weekly self-criticism session at town hall. This hour with my diary is precious, especially when I have to make a big decision. Writing used to be my job, but it’s so much more difficult after […]

Authoritarianism

Why isn’t US Media Screaming that the Republican Party Is Now Openly Against Democracy?

Peter Certo

( Otherwords.org ) – If you’re the sort of person who follows the news, you’ve probably heard a good bit lately about podcaster Joe Rogan, Neil Young’s fight with Spotify, and maybe a little about Russia and Ukraine. All that’s good grist for the mill. But did you also hear former President Trump admit that […]

Authoritarianism

Beer Hall Putsch 2.0: Republican Nat’l Committee Channels their inner Hitler in defending Capitol Insurrectionists

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Republican National Committee’s censure of Representatives Liz Cheney (R-WY) and Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) slammed the two for “participating in a Democrat-led persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse” and of “utilizing their past professed political affiliation to mask Democrat abuse of prosecutorial power for partisan purposes.” The […]

Authoritarianism

Have Sinema and Manchin Tolled the death Knell of Free and Fair Elections for a Decade?

H. Scott Prosterman

Oakland, CA (Special to Informed Comment) – In this Brave New World of evolving lexicons, “gerrymandering,” a dirty word to begin with; has become a euphemism for “vote-rigging.” Lessons learned in high school Civics classes about the electoral and re-districting processes are now quaintly outdated, as Republican-dominated state houses do all they can to ensure […]

Authoritarianism

Facebook Hosted Surge of Misinformation and Insurrection Threats in Months Leading Up to Jan. 6 Attack, Records Show

ProPublica

By Craig Silverman, ProPublica, Craig Timberg, The Washington Post, Jeff Kao, ProPublica, and Jeremy B. Merrill, The Washington Post | – Co-published with The Washington Post The Insurrection The Effort to Overturn the Election ( ProPublica ) – Facebook groups swelled with at least 650,000 posts attacking the legitimacy of Joe Biden’s victory between Election […]

Authoritarianism

Selling Out Democracy: Corporations are again Backing Pols who Tried to Overthrow President Biden

OtherWords

By Kyle Herrig | – ( Otherwords.org) – One year ago, the foundation of our democracy was jeopardized in a full-blown coup attempt by seditionists egged on by former president Donald Trump. People died. Confederate flags were waved inside the Capitol. People with zip ties and weapons were ready to do harm or even kill […]

Authoritarianism

Kazakhstan must Cancel Order for Troops to Shoot Protesters ‘Without Warning’ (Human Rights Watch)

Human Rights Watch

Ensure National and Foreign Forces Respect Rights; Investigate Killings