Trump’s newest presidential memoranda criminalizes critics of empire, capitalism, Christian nationalism, abuses by the state and those who fight racism and gender discrimination.
This a powerful message that needs to be shared with everyone that you know that still believes in democracy. Mr. Hedges is right. I've seen the directive, courtesy of Ken Klippenstein. Trump is going to try and go to war with the left here on the soil of the United States. We already know how he's going to do it. We've seen the beta versions played out in L.A. and D.C. Now maybe Portland, Oregon soon. Chicago was threatened, and so was Baltimore but the state and city officials have stood up to Trump, so far. Portland is standing up with a lawsuit to try and prevent a military incursion. Everyone is waiting to see how that's going to play out. Even if the federal courts say no, like the ninth circuit court did with regard to L.A., will Trump still try and make the soldiers go anyway?
Does the meeting this week with all of the generals and admirals from around the world have something to do with all of this? There are rumors that Hegseth is going to demand loyalty to Trump, instead of the constitution. There are rumors that say if any of them don't swear an allegiance to Trump, they'll be fired on the spot. The truth is, no one really knows why Hegseth is breaking all of the rules for opsec around the world to bring the general staff to Washington D.C. for a big pow wow in Arlington. They are expecting over 800 people, including their staff members. They most certainly are not going to have a big party to celebrate some milestone. If the rumors turn out to be true, how many of the general staff will bend the knee to Trump and break their oath? If any of these generals and admirals do swear fealty to the king, how would that transfer down through the chains of command? How many soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines would follow those orders?
All of this could be the spark that breaks the United States apart at the red and blue seams.
It’s not a question of red and blue. A lot of Democrats will bend the knee. We have already seen that happen. I remember reading a comment on Truth Dig several years ago by a woman who identified herself only as being from a Latin American country that had become a dictatorship. She said that many people never saw their chains. They didn’t notice them because they were content to live within smaller and smaller spheres of thought and action — of existence. That’s what terrifies me.
And that is why they all should go. We need a reset back to a fresh operating system. A clean slate to start over because the current government has expanded beyond it's confines and is encroaching places it shouldn't be in. Like a poisonous weed.
When WE do it, it's only in self-defense, maybe a response to outrageous provocation, at worst a measured and necessary pre-emptive strike.
When they do it, it's pure hate and aggression.
Thing is, they're right. And wrong. Both of them. Now that the limits on power are disappearing fast, each side has to do what it takes to destroy the other, lest the other side destroy them.
Yep, and we all know how that worked out. The British could give us a good lesson on that right about now. As Starmer's government continues to fall apart, so shall the Americans.
I didn't vote for Trump, and never have. However, it's a real turn off to define him in such extreme terms, where one would think he is the epitome of all that is wrong with this country. If I am not mistaken the proxy war in Ukraine that has killed hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians got underway during the Biden administration, and he like Trump is culpable, but much more so. Why ignore the influence of the Israeli lobby in the US? With their high degree of influence it should not have been left out of this anti-Trump rant which obscures their significant role in undermining our democracy. Of course Trump's wall and ICE always get a licking, but never a mention of Obama as the deporter and chief, no mention of a quarter of a century of wars that took out one middle eastern country after another leaving them in ruin, and both parties were complicit, and for the benefit of whom? All wars as well as the genocide going on now has furthered empowered the military industrial complex, and as Eisenhower said they are a threat to our democracy, and they are. How democratic did you think the democrats were during Trump's presidency, with their many lies, and the lie that a riot was an insurrection, where many were jailed unlawfully, etc, etc, etc.
Y'know, you "had" me until: "the lie that a riot (I assume you're referring to January 6) was an insurrection, where many were jailed unlawfully". One question: did you write that before or after you got off the plane from Moscow?
When the right questions how Russian trolls (and their counterparts in China and North Korea) affected the 2016 and 2024 elections—brainwashing the more feeble-minded among us—they need look no further than lines like the above, and others that indicate you're most likely an AI bot: the Israeli lobby having a "significant role in undermining our democracy" (perpetuating a genocide in Gaza, as AIPAC is doing, has little if anything to do with OUR democracy); Obama as "deporter and chief" (hard to believe a non-machine would have made that mistake: "deporter and chief" versus the correct "deporter-IN-chief"); and so on. All of which go miles to prove every one of Chris's points.
Tho I agree with much of what you said, I must disagree with your comment about the nazi lobby not running the us gov't. the nazis, and 'ppl' like elon husk, jeff beelzebub and mark fuckerburg are most certainly running the "united states" gov't. In addition to a WHOLE BUNCH of nazis, like the piece of shit in charge of paramount (disney, cbs--the ppl that tried to can Jimmy Kimmel) larry ellison
Money and power are the only things that matter. Morals? Values? Humanity? Get TF outta here...
Let me also ask you about the Supreme Court decision to turn corporations into people where they can corrupt our democracy with money and make their priorities more important then the electorate. Kind of makes our politicians corporate whores.
Gee whiz, I don't think Chris Hedges ever thinks/thought (or writes/wrote or says/said) anything remotely connected to the supremely corrupt court's ruling on citizen's united
No one needs your sarcasm and obviously you did not get my point, and maybe it was because you were born on January 6, as you say, the day of the so called insurrection.
Fran, you are correct in mentioning the role of corporations. Originally they were designed and organized as public works projects such as building canals and other infrastructure projects. Once the project was completed the corporation was dissolved. Later they were used as a private business model if they served the public good. If they failed in this aspect the state in which they were incorporated could revoke their right to do business. Ever wonder why Delaware is the go to state for incorporation? Revoking a corporation there is unheard of, kind of like having a Swiss bank account. Wealthy corporations buy and sell politicians and bureaucrats as a cost of doing business and even write off the expense. They have for quite a long time in order to obtain what’s best for them, not the public.
The robber barons’ trust were broken up in early 1900’s and replaced with corporations.
You have the mistaken impression that Chris Hedges has not spent his entire career speaking out about the corrupt "democrats," obama, clinton (both of them), holocaust harris, genocide joe, the nazi lobby, the military/ind complex etc. May I suggest (once again) that you do some reading up of Chris' books, endless articles, and watching of the countless talks (see youtube) he's given on the exact topics you note
You've commented before about taking exception to the nazi/hitler analogies Chris has made
I'm sick of these kind of Trump rants to bring home a message. Trump is an easy target and Hedges as well as others have used him to elucidate their perspective more then anyone else. He's a seller, so to speak, but many others, and many other issues contribute to the undermining of our democracy which go unmentioned, or are obscured by the focus on Trump. I remember these rants from Trump's first term in office, and many on the left, or so called left, loved to use Trump to elucidate their perspective. The left bought Russia-gate, hook, line and sinker and too often to justify their Trump hate, and it was nothing but a lie. Trump hate also turned a riot into an insurrection and many on the left were in full complicity with the democrats in that regard. I always was a registered democrat but no more.
I mostly agree Fran. Chris has no love for the Limousine Liberal Democrat Party Either. Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee. George Galloway said it best Republican or Democrat "2 Cheeks on the Same Ass End".
AIPAC with Christian Zionist Billionaire Supremacist's are Destroying Free Speech and Democracy. WORLD WIDE !
The Democrat Party was taken over by Dixiecrat wolves in sheeps clothing!
Law and Order Genocide Joe was all for segregated schools and the architect of the "3 Strikes legislation and Welfare Reform.
With Slick Will and Goldwater Girl Hillary !
Working Class Progressives, Blacks, Hispanics, Immigrants and White Americans Must Unite !
The Alternative is Orwells "Boot on a Human Face Forever"!
When did O'Brien say "FOREVER TWICE!" in "1984"? I don't remember that.
Interesting factoid: since Edmond O'Brien STARRED in the 1956 version of the film, they had to change the name of the O'Brien character in the book to "O'Connor"!
Thanks for the info. BTW, you misunderstood me (my fault): yes, the character’s name in the book was O’Brien. However, because the movie version, ironically enough, just happened to star EDMOND O’Brien, they couldn’t retain that name for the O’Brien character in the film, played by Michael Redgrave. So they changed it to O’Connor, to avoid confusion.
The 1984 version I watched. Richard Burton played the part of OBrien. I looked up Edmond O'Brien who is a great actor, who played Winston Smith. But I never watched the 1956 version that changed O'Brien's name to O'Connor.
Your theory about the purpose of this calling in of the top brass had not crossed my mind.
All the nightmare scenarios I've conjured...and still, your idea hit me broadside...
As Gary Kasparov, the brilliant Russian chess master and dissident, stated during the antichrist's 'beta' run in the WH, authoritarians do things others (read: normal human) cannot even conceive of.
addendum: my comment was not to suggest that you're not a normal human for coming up with your idea. Rather it was pointing up my failure of imagination...
They do like the other general staff did after Trump 1.0. They retire and go on the talk show and podcast circuit, unless Trump enforces speech restriction. Which he's trying to do right now.
No way dude! You get first dibs on the day for sure. Your assumption about referencing 'the peaceful tourist visit' at the capitol in my handle is correct
Bunch of effing morons. Yeah, get all the top brass in one place and oopsie! hegseth, the mental moron, accidentally includes satan himself in the signal directive telling the bigshots all to meet up at chuckie cheese at 321 main street in buttfuck kansas at 2pm this Tues. That way the bad guys will know where to drop their bomb and, goddamn them for looking at this oopsie! text (I'm rootin' for the bad guys!!!!)
I think many think that it won't ever touch people like them...and if somehow it does, they will be able to escape -- I really doubt that countries will open their arms to Americans....they'll go as tourists and think they can stay....and they'll be deported like the folks who are being deported from America now...the horrors they standby and watch here will be visited upon them....I'm sure many want to do more than standby and watch -- but there are no leaders showing the way....those putting their safety on the line to protest and document are to be admired but there are too, too many that think somehow a savior is coming or that it'll all be ok after the midterms...and ain't it awful what's happening...but it's happening to them, not me --- their turn is coming.
handmaid's tale, 1984, and the turner diaries are quickly forming before our eyes. We are living through the hideous 'transition' between what we were and what we're becoming.
Sorta like in the movies, seeing all the mayhem in the news during the time the zombie apocalypse is getting underway. Yeah, we saw all the signs and did nothing till we either became zombies or our brains got eaten
Watching Trump these days, the explosive manic rampages and rhetoric, the extravagant escalating extremes of these memos and orders and occupation proclamations - I think he is on the verge of imploding. The problem following is the not-so-crazy Princes (Vance, Rubio...). This country is too big and too many states are standing up and resisting. And I'm not so sure the military is truly behind all this. ICE, on the other hand, are bluntly seen for what they are. If only all the activist groups, politicians, broadcasters and journalists, all people and communities wanting to fight this threatened takeover of our country had a unified union or vehicle/medium, organized more centralized movement for solidarity, and could actually find a consensus, a true Resistance Movement and real change could be born. There are plenty of individual pockets of warning and brilliant critiques of what's going on and what's coming, but I have heard little if any ideas or attempts to create a way to resist effectively, any realistic problem solving and a possible way forward, bringing us all together. There should be a new party, a new movement, for the people that can unite us. In this huge country full of brilliant thinkers, movers and shakers, nobody is offering anything believable. Solzynitchen (sorry...?!) said it, resist, fight, go down with it but do something. We can see what's happening, what we need is some one/party/group with a real plan or beginning to fight this.
Trump obviously hates this country, so his declaring war on us, one city at a time, doesn't come as a surprise. Like Mr. Ó Domhnaill, I'm curious about Tuesday's meeting of all of the country's top military brass in Arlington. Maybe Hegseth's going to prepare a battle plan for Portland. The fact that Trump can withdraw all of the top military from around the world is revealing, though, of the fact that we don't really have any enemies abroad.
I remember when we had a President who could take a joke (JFK) rather than one who is one.
Trump has no capacity/desire to be anything other than a narcissist on steroids and currently with his seemingly endless ability to manipulate the structures of governing to become an authoritarian regime, the rest of the "free" world looks on with a sense of dismay that so many ( Democrats, judiciary, military, media and the non-Maga mainstream) have enabled him in his quest for empire. Is the constitution actually worth the paper it's written on? When will "we the people" actually get off the couch and organise the general strike/s that is/are needed?
Since voting for elected officials is the mechanism to support democracy, when will Americans finally acknowledge that your voting system, now driven by the uber wealthy and the technocrats, is demonstrably a failure. The only way for democracy to flourish is to ensure that the citizens take voting seriously and know that the system works and is safe guarded and then they need to get off their backsides to vote.
Chris, your works (books, articles, videos, etc.) were vital resources in completion of my 2019 DMin studies, research, and dissertation 2016-19. They motivated me to revive the dormant dilettante activism of my 1968-72 undergraduate years and to engage with Roger Hallam's XR movement in 2019 on this side of the pond. Fits and starts in those efforts came and went until 2023 when his Revolution in the 21st Century (https://Rev21.earth) emerged, and I continue to serve with Roger in that movement in (what I call) the Hallam-Boardman activism ecosystem.
The clarity and strength of your convictions and the courage with which you uphold them continue to guide my journey through the wake of the rough beast omnicrisis of 21st century 4th Reich fascist oligarchy and warmongering corporatocracy you expose so nakedly in this piece, in faithful keeping with so many others from you that preceded it. 'Thank you' seems too small a thing to offer for all the insight I've gained through your prolific and trenchant works, but there it is anyway, profoundly heartfelt and in all sincerity.
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“Evil comes from a failure to think. It defies thought for as soon as thought tries to engage itself with evil and examine the premises and principles from which it originates, it is frustrated because it finds nothing there. That is the banality of evil.”
~~ Hannah Arendt ~~
"Not everything that is faced can be changed; but nothing can be changed until it is faced."
The Democrats should never have given up a single inch. Not on the WBush election; never on Supreme Court nominees. The 2025 Plan as others before it has been in plain sight for all to see. Trump and his enablers are taking us back not merely to the 19th Century, but to the 19th C Deep South.
I will assume that most commentors here know about the website: trackaipac.com I looked at it last week (for the first time) to see which of my state senators and representatives took AIPAC money. In this Blutopian State, all are Democrats and each one of them are on the AIPAC take - every last one of them. I contacted each of these 5-legislators and received one reply so far, from an otherwise excellent representative. I don't suppose AIPAC would expect any special treatment or favors from any of these elected officials. /s
M F ... very true but I think it goes deeper still...America {and Canada} was supposedly born (we are told in school) through/colonized by supposedly desperate people trying to escape religious persecution in Europe....!!! What an irony....!!... unless of course it was Europe getting rid of their religious nutcases that started it all....??
Let's assume it's not too late. Otherwise all the wailing among ourselves won't matter. So what do we need to know for a viable alternative?
1.) The history of how this happened. After '08, the Dems bailed out Wall St. while the millions who lost jobs, pensions, houses got nothing! It's no coincidence the Rust Belt became deaths of despair central. Neglect the majority, as the Ds have done for over 4 decades, and they either vote NO by not voting at all or take the only other choice. It's both an appalling lack of empathy and a losing political strategy to blame the economically desperate.
2.) What to do about it. Maybe the D elite will respond; if not, a 3rd party based in working America. However, organizing politically takes time and we may not have enough--we're facing political and ecological crises exacerbated by an economics not grounded in the real world. It also requires enormous effort at the grassroots level. Think about the old New Deal coalitions; they built from local connections. Start with being able to speak with (instead of talking down to) people who may not share enlightened elite speech patterns. How issues are framed makes a huge difference. Ds like Tim Walz, Zohran Mamdani, and Graham Platner are good examples.
3.) I urge everyone to read //OUTCLASSED (How the Left Lost the Working Class and How to Win Them Back)// by Joan C. Williams 2025. It's the best book on the subject I've ever read!!! And most important, it is indeed a practical "how to." I was a blue collar worker for over 28 years and this rings very true to me. Plus she's clear that doesn't mean ceding what we BIPOC and LGBTQ people have worked so hard for, either. It's both/and.
Chris, your writing often parallels what I feel, think and see about where we are. The depravity of their intentions vibe more crystal clear each day. This moment feels they're rapidly 'escalating' to crescendo... I tell myself 'keep eyes wide open" and ask my loved ones and others to do the same.
I read your book about American Fascists many years ago (mind-bending, investigative journalism for those who missed it!), and have observed since. Thank you, Chris. It is validating consolation that affirms my sanity - 'I'm not exaggerating. Yes, this is all real.' Your life and war reporting, travel, teaching, journalism gives this reader full-throttled, timely wisdom in these ugly times. I resist another day after I get some balm from you and the other thoughtful, inspirational thinkers, writers and visionaries day to day.
My heart breaks in new pieces as I bear witness to the hate, cruelty and barbaric inhumanity being inflicted on the most vulnerable, the easiest to sacrifice. I'm an ordinary older American woman that believes; No, I KNOW, I am accountable to join other Americans committed to RESIST the fascists and their promised Christian Nationalist theocracy. At the risk of sounding arrogant, I refuse to cower, live in fear, or surrender to their controverted stories: their alternate realities, lies, delusions, and autocratic actions and propaganda. I call BS when they falsely insist Our Founders intended a state religion. They assert they are "The Chosen Ones," endowed by divine intervention to assert power and control our thoughts, free will and actions, in other words, ALL aspect of our daily lives. Do what you can do, but do ALL you can do to non-violently RESIST their evil, dangerous crusade. NO KINGS Oct. 18.
?!note of levity... In "The Big Lebowski", The Dude says "This aggression will not stand, Man!" to Mr. Lebowski...after he sees George H.W. Bush say it on TV...
Hard to disagree. Like almost everything with Trump, he may not succeed, but you can almost guarantee he will try. If he's breathing in 2028, he's not leaving. The people in his immediate circle, though mostly batshit incompetent or simply vile, have no red line.
I wish you were wrong.
Exactly!
This a powerful message that needs to be shared with everyone that you know that still believes in democracy. Mr. Hedges is right. I've seen the directive, courtesy of Ken Klippenstein. Trump is going to try and go to war with the left here on the soil of the United States. We already know how he's going to do it. We've seen the beta versions played out in L.A. and D.C. Now maybe Portland, Oregon soon. Chicago was threatened, and so was Baltimore but the state and city officials have stood up to Trump, so far. Portland is standing up with a lawsuit to try and prevent a military incursion. Everyone is waiting to see how that's going to play out. Even if the federal courts say no, like the ninth circuit court did with regard to L.A., will Trump still try and make the soldiers go anyway?
Does the meeting this week with all of the generals and admirals from around the world have something to do with all of this? There are rumors that Hegseth is going to demand loyalty to Trump, instead of the constitution. There are rumors that say if any of them don't swear an allegiance to Trump, they'll be fired on the spot. The truth is, no one really knows why Hegseth is breaking all of the rules for opsec around the world to bring the general staff to Washington D.C. for a big pow wow in Arlington. They are expecting over 800 people, including their staff members. They most certainly are not going to have a big party to celebrate some milestone. If the rumors turn out to be true, how many of the general staff will bend the knee to Trump and break their oath? If any of these generals and admirals do swear fealty to the king, how would that transfer down through the chains of command? How many soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines would follow those orders?
All of this could be the spark that breaks the United States apart at the red and blue seams.
It’s not a question of red and blue. A lot of Democrats will bend the knee. We have already seen that happen. I remember reading a comment on Truth Dig several years ago by a woman who identified herself only as being from a Latin American country that had become a dictatorship. She said that many people never saw their chains. They didn’t notice them because they were content to live within smaller and smaller spheres of thought and action — of existence. That’s what terrifies me.
Yeah, thanks Nancy....you "took the words straight out of my mouth" as they say.
Trump does many things Team D would like done but cannot be seen in public to support.
And that is why they all should go. We need a reset back to a fresh operating system. A clean slate to start over because the current government has expanded beyond it's confines and is encroaching places it shouldn't be in. Like a poisonous weed.
When WE do it, it's only in self-defense, maybe a response to outrageous provocation, at worst a measured and necessary pre-emptive strike.
When they do it, it's pure hate and aggression.
Thing is, they're right. And wrong. Both of them. Now that the limits on power are disappearing fast, each side has to do what it takes to destroy the other, lest the other side destroy them.
And that's how it ends.
What we are seeing now is not the end of the Roman Empire, but the end of the Roman Republic and its transformation into an empire.
Yep, and we all know how that worked out. The British could give us a good lesson on that right about now. As Starmer's government continues to fall apart, so shall the Americans.
What I see is the end of the American empire and the beginning of its dark age.
I didn't vote for Trump, and never have. However, it's a real turn off to define him in such extreme terms, where one would think he is the epitome of all that is wrong with this country. If I am not mistaken the proxy war in Ukraine that has killed hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians got underway during the Biden administration, and he like Trump is culpable, but much more so. Why ignore the influence of the Israeli lobby in the US? With their high degree of influence it should not have been left out of this anti-Trump rant which obscures their significant role in undermining our democracy. Of course Trump's wall and ICE always get a licking, but never a mention of Obama as the deporter and chief, no mention of a quarter of a century of wars that took out one middle eastern country after another leaving them in ruin, and both parties were complicit, and for the benefit of whom? All wars as well as the genocide going on now has furthered empowered the military industrial complex, and as Eisenhower said they are a threat to our democracy, and they are. How democratic did you think the democrats were during Trump's presidency, with their many lies, and the lie that a riot was an insurrection, where many were jailed unlawfully, etc, etc, etc.
Y'know, you "had" me until: "the lie that a riot (I assume you're referring to January 6) was an insurrection, where many were jailed unlawfully". One question: did you write that before or after you got off the plane from Moscow?
When the right questions how Russian trolls (and their counterparts in China and North Korea) affected the 2016 and 2024 elections—brainwashing the more feeble-minded among us—they need look no further than lines like the above, and others that indicate you're most likely an AI bot: the Israeli lobby having a "significant role in undermining our democracy" (perpetuating a genocide in Gaza, as AIPAC is doing, has little if anything to do with OUR democracy); Obama as "deporter and chief" (hard to believe a non-machine would have made that mistake: "deporter and chief" versus the correct "deporter-IN-chief"); and so on. All of which go miles to prove every one of Chris's points.
Tho I agree with much of what you said, I must disagree with your comment about the nazi lobby not running the us gov't. the nazis, and 'ppl' like elon husk, jeff beelzebub and mark fuckerburg are most certainly running the "united states" gov't. In addition to a WHOLE BUNCH of nazis, like the piece of shit in charge of paramount (disney, cbs--the ppl that tried to can Jimmy Kimmel) larry ellison
Money and power are the only things that matter. Morals? Values? Humanity? Get TF outta here...
I think I made myself quite clear, but if you choose to play, find someone else,
You need a reset.
Oh, I see you made your point, or no doubt think you did. Good Grief!
Let me also ask you about the Supreme Court decision to turn corporations into people where they can corrupt our democracy with money and make their priorities more important then the electorate. Kind of makes our politicians corporate whores.
Gee whiz, I don't think Chris Hedges ever thinks/thought (or writes/wrote or says/said) anything remotely connected to the supremely corrupt court's ruling on citizen's united
You should bring it to his attn
No one needs your sarcasm and obviously you did not get my point, and maybe it was because you were born on January 6, as you say, the day of the so called insurrection.
Fran, you are correct in mentioning the role of corporations. Originally they were designed and organized as public works projects such as building canals and other infrastructure projects. Once the project was completed the corporation was dissolved. Later they were used as a private business model if they served the public good. If they failed in this aspect the state in which they were incorporated could revoke their right to do business. Ever wonder why Delaware is the go to state for incorporation? Revoking a corporation there is unheard of, kind of like having a Swiss bank account. Wealthy corporations buy and sell politicians and bureaucrats as a cost of doing business and even write off the expense. They have for quite a long time in order to obtain what’s best for them, not the public.
The robber barons’ trust were broken up in early 1900’s and replaced with corporations.
Same business model, different name.
Thanks for that info, and for referencing the robber barons, because I think I will revisit them.
You have the mistaken impression that Chris Hedges has not spent his entire career speaking out about the corrupt "democrats," obama, clinton (both of them), holocaust harris, genocide joe, the nazi lobby, the military/ind complex etc. May I suggest (once again) that you do some reading up of Chris' books, endless articles, and watching of the countless talks (see youtube) he's given on the exact topics you note
You've commented before about taking exception to the nazi/hitler analogies Chris has made
Prove him wrong
I'm sick of these kind of Trump rants to bring home a message. Trump is an easy target and Hedges as well as others have used him to elucidate their perspective more then anyone else. He's a seller, so to speak, but many others, and many other issues contribute to the undermining of our democracy which go unmentioned, or are obscured by the focus on Trump. I remember these rants from Trump's first term in office, and many on the left, or so called left, loved to use Trump to elucidate their perspective. The left bought Russia-gate, hook, line and sinker and too often to justify their Trump hate, and it was nothing but a lie. Trump hate also turned a riot into an insurrection and many on the left were in full complicity with the democrats in that regard. I always was a registered democrat but no more.
I mostly agree Fran. Chris has no love for the Limousine Liberal Democrat Party Either. Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee. George Galloway said it best Republican or Democrat "2 Cheeks on the Same Ass End".
AIPAC with Christian Zionist Billionaire Supremacist's are Destroying Free Speech and Democracy. WORLD WIDE !
The Democrat Party was taken over by Dixiecrat wolves in sheeps clothing!
Law and Order Genocide Joe was all for segregated schools and the architect of the "3 Strikes legislation and Welfare Reform.
With Slick Will and Goldwater Girl Hillary !
Working Class Progressives, Blacks, Hispanics, Immigrants and White Americans Must Unite !
The Alternative is Orwells "Boot on a Human Face Forever"!
And remember O'Brien said FOREVER TWICE !
United We Stand Divided We Fall !
I appreciate your overall perspective, which is what I want!
When did O'Brien say "FOREVER TWICE!" in "1984"? I don't remember that.
Interesting factoid: since Edmond O'Brien STARRED in the 1956 version of the film, they had to change the name of the O'Brien character in the book to "O'Connor"!
Orwell's Book was written in 1948. OBrien is the name he chose.
the exact quote from O'Brien in 1984
"If you want a picture of the future, Imagine a Boot Stamping on a human face Forever. And remember I said Forever !"
Thanks for the info. BTW, you misunderstood me (my fault): yes, the character’s name in the book was O’Brien. However, because the movie version, ironically enough, just happened to star EDMOND O’Brien, they couldn’t retain that name for the O’Brien character in the film, played by Michael Redgrave. So they changed it to O’Connor, to avoid confusion.
The 1984 version I watched. Richard Burton played the part of OBrien. I looked up Edmond O'Brien who is a great actor, who played Winston Smith. But I never watched the 1956 version that changed O'Brien's name to O'Connor.
I will check it out !
Well said, sir.
P.S. 'beta version'
Your theory about the purpose of this calling in of the top brass had not crossed my mind.
All the nightmare scenarios I've conjured...and still, your idea hit me broadside...
As Gary Kasparov, the brilliant Russian chess master and dissident, stated during the antichrist's 'beta' run in the WH, authoritarians do things others (read: normal human) cannot even conceive of.
addendum: my comment was not to suggest that you're not a normal human for coming up with your idea. Rather it was pointing up my failure of imagination...
What happens to those fired? There's a lot of military knowledge in those officer's heads. What do they do about that?
That's been keeping me awake lately.
They do like the other general staff did after Trump 1.0. They retire and go on the talk show and podcast circuit, unless Trump enforces speech restriction. Which he's trying to do right now.
'beta versions'
NICE!
Were you really born on Jan. 6, or are you just referencing the riot/insurrection?
The reason I ask is: I was, in fact, born on Jan. 6, in Detroit.
No way dude! You get first dibs on the day for sure. Your assumption about referencing 'the peaceful tourist visit' at the capitol in my handle is correct
Aside: I have ppl in MI :)
Bunch of effing morons. Yeah, get all the top brass in one place and oopsie! hegseth, the mental moron, accidentally includes satan himself in the signal directive telling the bigshots all to meet up at chuckie cheese at 321 main street in buttfuck kansas at 2pm this Tues. That way the bad guys will know where to drop their bomb and, goddamn them for looking at this oopsie! text (I'm rootin' for the bad guys!!!!)
ifamericansknew.org. &
hr.radio.net
ifamericansknew.org.
hrradio.net.
I think many think that it won't ever touch people like them...and if somehow it does, they will be able to escape -- I really doubt that countries will open their arms to Americans....they'll go as tourists and think they can stay....and they'll be deported like the folks who are being deported from America now...the horrors they standby and watch here will be visited upon them....I'm sure many want to do more than standby and watch -- but there are no leaders showing the way....those putting their safety on the line to protest and document are to be admired but there are too, too many that think somehow a savior is coming or that it'll all be ok after the midterms...and ain't it awful what's happening...but it's happening to them, not me --- their turn is coming.
Just more proof that the US is now a nation in irreversible decline.
The United States is simply dropping the pretense of being anything other than an empire.
And pulling back the curtain to reveal the torture chamber in the basement
Handmaid's Tale here we come.
handmaid's tale, 1984, and the turner diaries are quickly forming before our eyes. We are living through the hideous 'transition' between what we were and what we're becoming.
Sorta like in the movies, seeing all the mayhem in the news during the time the zombie apocalypse is getting underway. Yeah, we saw all the signs and did nothing till we either became zombies or our brains got eaten
Watching Trump these days, the explosive manic rampages and rhetoric, the extravagant escalating extremes of these memos and orders and occupation proclamations - I think he is on the verge of imploding. The problem following is the not-so-crazy Princes (Vance, Rubio...). This country is too big and too many states are standing up and resisting. And I'm not so sure the military is truly behind all this. ICE, on the other hand, are bluntly seen for what they are. If only all the activist groups, politicians, broadcasters and journalists, all people and communities wanting to fight this threatened takeover of our country had a unified union or vehicle/medium, organized more centralized movement for solidarity, and could actually find a consensus, a true Resistance Movement and real change could be born. There are plenty of individual pockets of warning and brilliant critiques of what's going on and what's coming, but I have heard little if any ideas or attempts to create a way to resist effectively, any realistic problem solving and a possible way forward, bringing us all together. There should be a new party, a new movement, for the people that can unite us. In this huge country full of brilliant thinkers, movers and shakers, nobody is offering anything believable. Solzynitchen (sorry...?!) said it, resist, fight, go down with it but do something. We can see what's happening, what we need is some one/party/group with a real plan or beginning to fight this.
Thank you, Mr. Hedges.
Trump obviously hates this country, so his declaring war on us, one city at a time, doesn't come as a surprise. Like Mr. Ó Domhnaill, I'm curious about Tuesday's meeting of all of the country's top military brass in Arlington. Maybe Hegseth's going to prepare a battle plan for Portland. The fact that Trump can withdraw all of the top military from around the world is revealing, though, of the fact that we don't really have any enemies abroad.
I remember when we had a President who could take a joke (JFK) rather than one who is one.
Trump has no capacity/desire to be anything other than a narcissist on steroids and currently with his seemingly endless ability to manipulate the structures of governing to become an authoritarian regime, the rest of the "free" world looks on with a sense of dismay that so many ( Democrats, judiciary, military, media and the non-Maga mainstream) have enabled him in his quest for empire. Is the constitution actually worth the paper it's written on? When will "we the people" actually get off the couch and organise the general strike/s that is/are needed?
Since voting for elected officials is the mechanism to support democracy, when will Americans finally acknowledge that your voting system, now driven by the uber wealthy and the technocrats, is demonstrably a failure. The only way for democracy to flourish is to ensure that the citizens take voting seriously and know that the system works and is safe guarded and then they need to get off their backsides to vote.
I'm as much unsettled as curious. I can't see a good outcome of this.
SNAP!!
Chris, your works (books, articles, videos, etc.) were vital resources in completion of my 2019 DMin studies, research, and dissertation 2016-19. They motivated me to revive the dormant dilettante activism of my 1968-72 undergraduate years and to engage with Roger Hallam's XR movement in 2019 on this side of the pond. Fits and starts in those efforts came and went until 2023 when his Revolution in the 21st Century (https://Rev21.earth) emerged, and I continue to serve with Roger in that movement in (what I call) the Hallam-Boardman activism ecosystem.
The clarity and strength of your convictions and the courage with which you uphold them continue to guide my journey through the wake of the rough beast omnicrisis of 21st century 4th Reich fascist oligarchy and warmongering corporatocracy you expose so nakedly in this piece, in faithful keeping with so many others from you that preceded it. 'Thank you' seems too small a thing to offer for all the insight I've gained through your prolific and trenchant works, but there it is anyway, profoundly heartfelt and in all sincerity.
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“Evil comes from a failure to think. It defies thought for as soon as thought tries to engage itself with evil and examine the premises and principles from which it originates, it is frustrated because it finds nothing there. That is the banality of evil.”
~~ Hannah Arendt ~~
"Not everything that is faced can be changed; but nothing can be changed until it is faced."
~~ James Baldwin ~~
Excellent column
The Democrats should never have given up a single inch. Not on the WBush election; never on Supreme Court nominees. The 2025 Plan as others before it has been in plain sight for all to see. Trump and his enablers are taking us back not merely to the 19th Century, but to the 19th C Deep South.
The Democrats are fucking pathetic - they refuse to consider any criticism and will attack anyone who does - this is why and how WE got here.
Not to mention their constant espousal of lesser-evilism. "Vote Blue no matter who*!"
*unless, of course, it is Mamdani or anyone else who would upset the status quo.
I will assume that most commentors here know about the website: trackaipac.com I looked at it last week (for the first time) to see which of my state senators and representatives took AIPAC money. In this Blutopian State, all are Democrats and each one of them are on the AIPAC take - every last one of them. I contacted each of these 5-legislators and received one reply so far, from an otherwise excellent representative. I don't suppose AIPAC would expect any special treatment or favors from any of these elected officials. /s
DITTO!!!!!!
M F ... very true but I think it goes deeper still...America {and Canada} was supposedly born (we are told in school) through/colonized by supposedly desperate people trying to escape religious persecution in Europe....!!! What an irony....!!... unless of course it was Europe getting rid of their religious nutcases that started it all....??
Well said!!
irony and hypocrisy are dead: the antichrist 'president' and his cadre of trolls, ogres, and orcs killed them
Do you still believe that we have a two party system?
We have Coke. We have Pepsi. And both brands have the same boards of directors.
Coke and Pepsi. Yankees or Mets. Tweedledee and Tweedledum.
Let's assume it's not too late. Otherwise all the wailing among ourselves won't matter. So what do we need to know for a viable alternative?
1.) The history of how this happened. After '08, the Dems bailed out Wall St. while the millions who lost jobs, pensions, houses got nothing! It's no coincidence the Rust Belt became deaths of despair central. Neglect the majority, as the Ds have done for over 4 decades, and they either vote NO by not voting at all or take the only other choice. It's both an appalling lack of empathy and a losing political strategy to blame the economically desperate.
2.) What to do about it. Maybe the D elite will respond; if not, a 3rd party based in working America. However, organizing politically takes time and we may not have enough--we're facing political and ecological crises exacerbated by an economics not grounded in the real world. It also requires enormous effort at the grassroots level. Think about the old New Deal coalitions; they built from local connections. Start with being able to speak with (instead of talking down to) people who may not share enlightened elite speech patterns. How issues are framed makes a huge difference. Ds like Tim Walz, Zohran Mamdani, and Graham Platner are good examples.
3.) I urge everyone to read //OUTCLASSED (How the Left Lost the Working Class and How to Win Them Back)// by Joan C. Williams 2025. It's the best book on the subject I've ever read!!! And most important, it is indeed a practical "how to." I was a blue collar worker for over 28 years and this rings very true to me. Plus she's clear that doesn't mean ceding what we BIPOC and LGBTQ people have worked so hard for, either. It's both/and.
Thanks for calling it, Chris....please take care, eh!!!
Chris, your writing often parallels what I feel, think and see about where we are. The depravity of their intentions vibe more crystal clear each day. This moment feels they're rapidly 'escalating' to crescendo... I tell myself 'keep eyes wide open" and ask my loved ones and others to do the same.
I read your book about American Fascists many years ago (mind-bending, investigative journalism for those who missed it!), and have observed since. Thank you, Chris. It is validating consolation that affirms my sanity - 'I'm not exaggerating. Yes, this is all real.' Your life and war reporting, travel, teaching, journalism gives this reader full-throttled, timely wisdom in these ugly times. I resist another day after I get some balm from you and the other thoughtful, inspirational thinkers, writers and visionaries day to day.
My heart breaks in new pieces as I bear witness to the hate, cruelty and barbaric inhumanity being inflicted on the most vulnerable, the easiest to sacrifice. I'm an ordinary older American woman that believes; No, I KNOW, I am accountable to join other Americans committed to RESIST the fascists and their promised Christian Nationalist theocracy. At the risk of sounding arrogant, I refuse to cower, live in fear, or surrender to their controverted stories: their alternate realities, lies, delusions, and autocratic actions and propaganda. I call BS when they falsely insist Our Founders intended a state religion. They assert they are "The Chosen Ones," endowed by divine intervention to assert power and control our thoughts, free will and actions, in other words, ALL aspect of our daily lives. Do what you can do, but do ALL you can do to non-violently RESIST their evil, dangerous crusade. NO KINGS Oct. 18.
?!note of levity... In "The Big Lebowski", The Dude says "This aggression will not stand, Man!" to Mr. Lebowski...after he sees George H.W. Bush say it on TV...
I wonder what all the people who accused me of being an alarmist and hysterical think now?
Now they will hear you more clearly…
Hard to disagree. Like almost everything with Trump, he may not succeed, but you can almost guarantee he will try. If he's breathing in 2028, he's not leaving. The people in his immediate circle, though mostly batshit incompetent or simply vile, have no red line.
can't say we haven't been warned ...
France produced Voltaire, in Russia Solzhenitsyn, and now in America, Chis Hedges.