“FASCISM IN AMERICA

Two More Steps in the Fascist Takeover Of America

Democratic principles die in real time

Future flags image by the author.

The Fascists have patience. They are well aware that the populace will not tolerate a sudden implementation of their agenda. So driven by the knowledge that there is no room for questioning their mythological worldview, they relentlessly handicap and destroy democratic principles as the sleepy populace barely notices.

Activist Judges, Oh My!

“Activist judges! They’re ruining America. They should be impeached! And those former presidents who appointed them should be jailed!” — From compiled Facebook postings of unlike-minded friends.

The role of the judiciary and therefore judges is to interpret the law. We poor humans are limited by language. The Congress writes statutes to create boundaries of behavior. However, since language is rarely as precise as we might like, there must be interpretation when the party of the second part indicates the party of the first part has transgressed.

It is the job of the federal courts to interpret federal laws and the Constitution. When it is believed an error has been made, recourse is provided by the appeals process. It is a methodical, if drawn-out, process that provides everyone with a voice.

Fascists find due process intolerable. Their desire to bolster their welfare at the expense of others often runs contrary to the findings of the courts. Hence they do all they can to attack and discredit any judge who might find against their desires.

These public servants are labeled as “activist judges” by the propaganda arms of the fascists. Their actions are impugned as being driven by a political agenda rather than valid interpretations of law. “They should be impeached!”

But the veiled notion goes much further. These judges should be canceled, erased, eradicated. Until the time when the further rise of the fascists makes these actions practical (and inevitable), non-compliant judges need to be harassed and intimidated using mob tactics.

An example of this harassment is ongoing in the form of “pizza doxxing.” Pizzas are being delivered to the homes of federal judges in the middle of the night. In particular, pizzas are being delivered to the home of U.S. District Judge Esther Salas with the recipient listed as her deceased son, who was killed in 2020 by a gunman targeting her.

The message is clear. “We know where you live. Live in fear if you dare to interpret laws in any way contrary to the fascist agenda.”

Make no mistake. Decrying “Activist Judges” is a key step in undermining and reducing the power of the judiciary. Fascist leaders and minions are free to disregard the “corrupt” decrees of the federal judiciary. The goal is to eliminate the checks that balance the power of the executive branch.

Criminalizing Legal Immigrants

Yurily Zinovyev has lived in the US for 25 years. He recently went to his routine bi-annual immigration check-in and was detained by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and sent to a facility in Batavia, NY.

Mr. Zinovyev has worked and paid taxes in Glens Falls, NY, violating no laws during his tenure in the U.S. He went to his check-in as required by law. Incarceration fails all tests for justification.

ICE has unlawfully detained a long-term immigrant who has been a law-abiding and productive member of society. Why? To make legal immigrants fearful of going to their check-ins which may result in incarceration and deportation. And when they fail to go to their check-ins, they become criminals.

It’s a self-fulfilling tactic designed to provide “justification” for eliminating immigrants from the country regardless of legal status. It creates easy pickins for Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents looking to enhance numbers for arbitrary quotas.

ICE has difficulty locating the real criminal immigrants in the shadowy underworld of our cities, so they grab anyone they can to bolster their “catch.” People like Yurily Zinovyev are not the ones harming citizens and the country. They often do jobs no citizen would take, and provide scarce services (such as translation, like Yurily) that improve the welfare of Americans.

But once again, make no mistake. Arbitrarily detaining legal immigrants has a purpose beyond reaching politically motivated quotas. The deeper motive is to provoke confrontations such as that in Los Angeles so that military forces can be brought to bear in service of law and order. At present, these forces are being invoked to quell the demonstrations of immigrants and those who support them.

It is quite likely that once deployed, it will be much easier to call for the military to quell future disturbances. Immigrants? Citizens? There is no distinction if there is any violence. Or even to prevent violence. And the fascists are certain that any protest against their policies and actions will lead to violence.

Our current issues are only the beginning.