Authoritarianism

South Africa ‘Ungovernable’ after a former President was Jailed; Do Trump and Trumpism pose a similar danger to U.S.?

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – After former South African President Jacob Zuma went to jail over corruption and contempt of court charges last week, his followers began a concerted attempt to disrupt the country. His lieutenants had threatened to make the country ungovernable if he was sent to jail, according to the BBC. Zuma refused […]

Authoritarianism

The Ugly Truth: The Republican Party is trying to Outlaw Democracy

Jim Hightower

( Otherwords.org ) – Ralph Waldo Emerson told of a dinner guest who went on and on about the virtue of honesty, offering his own life as a model of perfect rectitude. “The louder he talked of his honor,” said Emerson, “the faster we counted our spoons.” That’s my reaction to the cacophony of phony […]

Authoritarianism

How Florida’s Political “Survey” of Universities threatens Freedom of Speech

Jill Richardson

( Otherwords.org ) – Florida officials say they want to promote “intellectual freedom” — by using political surveys to target university funding. By Jill Richardson | June 30, 2021 The state of Florida just passed a law that — to put it mildly — grossly violates academic freedom. Under the new bill, recently signed by […]

Authoritarianism

Top 6 Things Trump should be Indicted for aside from Cheating on Taxes

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) The Trump organization was indicted by a New York grand jury on Wednesday and the indictment is unsealed today, according to Shayna Jacobs, Josh Dawsey, David A. Fahrenthold and Jonathan O’Connell at WaPo. The Trump Org.’s CFO, Allen Weisselberg, was also indicted. Trump himself is not named, but the trial could […]

Authoritarianism

Jim Crow and “Lost Cause” 2.0: Trump’s Big Lie and GOP Plot to Suppress the Vote

Dan Dinello

Chicago (Special to Informed Comment) – Big Lie propaganda, that the 2020 election was stolen, rewrites history and fuels the current Republican war on democracy. Similarly, Confederate Lost Cause propaganda incited a wave of anti-democratic laws and rewrote the history of the Civil War by asserting that slavery did not cause the War and that […]

Authoritarianism

Flynn calls for Myanmar-Style Military Junta in U.S. – If he were Black, Brown or Muslim he’d be in Guantánamo

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Donie O’Sullivan at CNN reports that disgraced former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn called for a military coup, like the one in Myanmar, in the United States. He was speaking at a conference in Dallas on Saturday attended by QAnon and Big Lie election conspiracy theorists. O’Sullivan reports that a […]

Authoritarianism

Fascism’s Global Spread is Real — As Real as the Spread of COVID-19

Foreign Policy in Focus

By Walden Bello | – ( Foreign Policy in Focus) – In the world’s largest democracies, far-right movements that embrace violence, reject democracy, and target the vulnerable are on the rise. By Walden Bello | May 5, 2021 The global spread of fascism is real, as real as the spread of COVID-19, and you better […]

Authoritarianism

Chickens coming home to Roost: Liz Cheney’s Father Pioneered the GOP Big Lie and Authoritarian Tactics in Iraq War

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Rep. Liz Cheney has emerged as a voice for truth-telling in Trump’s Republican Party, standing up to the Big Lie that Trump won the 2020 election and denouncing her fellow representatives who sought to prevent the certification of Joe Biden’s victory and who thus helped provoke the Capitol Insurgency. Cheney […]