CARTOON: YOUR CHOICE IS SIMPLE -- Resist Or Submit
We are in a moment of crisis. Of perhaps terminal transition. People need to be on the streets, loudly and peacefully showing their opposition to the fascist wall encircling us.
Cartoon by Mark Taylor / DeMOCKracy.ink
The time for petty partisan squabbling, leftwing political litmus testing and sniffy woke virtue signaling is over. All of the purity divisiveness among the Democrats and on the left has led us to this point. It’s Trump’s biggest asset.
By Mark Taylor
DeMOCKracy.ink (6/13/25)
With violent, masked combat-equipped troopers on the streets, shady ICE deputization, illegal incarceration, disappearances and deportations of people — including children being treated for cancer — snatched from their homes and sent off to foreign concentration camps and ongoing support for and participation with Israel in an obscene genocide, it couldn’t be clearer: the United States is now a fully fascist state in service to a truly despicable cadre of billionaire sociopaths manipulating an irrelevant, bought-off Congress and oily orange-tinted windbag.
With last night’s unprovoked Israeli kick-off to war with Iran, ‘Zionist lobby babysitters’ will be working Congress today. Expect to see US arms, dollars — and soldiers — heading off soon to yet another disastrous Middle East war on behalf of Israel as the already-begun WW III accelerates. Things could easily go nuclear. Also expect the latest Israel war making to be goosed along by the dishonest corporate media and the excuse for even greater fascist crackdowns on civil rights here at home.
The Republic we were told we had is dead. Dead, gone-n’-done.
Even sitting members of the United States Senate are not immune from attack by Trump’s Gestapo corps goons, as Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) found out when pushed out of a press conference yesterday with Homeland ‘Security’ Sec. Kristi Noem, pushed onto the floor and handcuffed for having the audacity of trying to ask a question. I urge you to watch the video of the assault:
Padilla was elected by the people of California to the Senate. Kristi Noem was elected to nothing. But that doesn’t count in the new ‘Just-Us’ system. Notice how meek CNN deals so tepidly with the assault. But, hey, that’s how fascism works.
It’s here.
It’s now.
It’s the time to ACTIVELY protest and oppose American fascism.
Or meekly submit.
As the American fascist state spreads, we have — and are with every passing day — actively and obscenely desecrating the sacrifice and memory of our World War II dead.
Continuing to do what doesn’t work won’t work
Recently, I ran a promo for tomorrow’s ‘No Kings’ day of protest. Even though the protests are endorsed and supported by a broad coalition of local and national groups, I got a few comments dismissing it all as a front for the Democratic Party. The comments were the same as for an earlier post on the ‘Hands Off’ day of protests in early April. In both cases, there was legitimate criticism that organizers made no mention of the US/Israel genocide in Gaza. My reply to that was, “Then make a sign and bring Gaza to the protests.”
I wrote about my positive experience doing just that at a ‘Hands Off’ protest: BUILDING UNITY IN A TIME OF FASCISM: Bringing Gaza To 'Hands Off'.
(See the ‘No Kings’ protest link below.)
We are in a moment of crisis. Of perhaps terminal transition.
People need to be on the streets, loudly, boldly and peacefully showing their opposition to the fascist wall encircling us. Whatever the make-up of the ‘No Kings’ day organizers, there are going to be millions on the streets tomorrow protesting Trump’s fascism. Agree with them 100% or not, the organizers are effectively getting people out and protesting. No other group is operating at such scale. Our job is to build the ranks and volume of that and come together and protest as much as possible.
The time for petty partisan squabbling, leftwing political litmus testing and sniffy woke virtue signaling is over. All of the purity divisiveness among the Democrats and on the left has led us to the fascism we are in. It’s Trump’s biggest asset. Much of it, in fact, I believe has been — as with the 1960s peace movement — a pernicious, highly effective psy-op targeting and purposely designed to fragment the left.
It’s time to come together in the streets in unity against our common oppression. Or, we can all sit around and spend our evenings pontificating about and polishing our ideological purity, debating our pronouns and shunning those who aren’t a flawless ideological mirror of ourselves in the national concentration camp system being created.
Bring Gaza — and every other injustice — to your area ‘No Kings’ protest. Show up and speak out against fascism and for justice.
Resist
Persist
Don’t be complicit!
GET OUT TO PROTEST & MARCH TOMORROW!!!
thefire.org
Chris Hedges: American Concentration Camps
The goal of any concentration camp system is to destroy all individual traits, to mold people into fearful, docile, obedient masses. The first camps are training grounds for prison guards and ICE agents. They master the brutal techniques designed to infantilize inmates, an infantilization that soon warps the wider society.
The Chris Hedges Report (6/10/25)
Once a regime starts to send people to concentration camps — including those in El Salvador — it creates a system of detention that eschews due process and disappears citizens into black holes.
Link to story and 12-minute video
“First they come for the immigrants. Then they come for the activists on foreign student visas on college campuses. Then they come for green card holders. Next are the U.S. citizens who fight Israeli genocide or the creeping fascism. Then they come for you. Not because you broke the law. But because the monstrous machine of terror needs a constant supply of victims to sustain itself.”
— Chris Hedges
Many Natl. Guard Troops & Marines Deeply Troubled By Illegal LA Deployment: ‘Morale is not great’
Several service members told advocacy groups they felt like pawns in a political game and assignment was unnecessary
[Editor’s Note: Notice the cowardly response of the Marines and National Guard when asked to comment on dissension within the ranks. — M. Taylor]
By Andre Gumbel
The Guardian (6/12/25)
California national guards troops and marines deployed to Los Angeles to help restore order after days of protest against the Trump administration have told friends and family members they are deeply unhappy about the assignment and worry their only meaningful role will be as pawns in a political battle they do not want to join.
Three different advocacy organisations representing military families said they had heard from dozens of affected service members who expressed discomfort about being drawn into a domestic policing operation outside their normal field of operations. The groups said they have heard no countervailing opinions.
“Domestic law enforcement and the military are entirely separate functions, manned by separate people who have been given separate training, who come from different cultures. As military families, we rely implicitly on that separation being honored and remaining clear.”
— Sarah Streyder of the Secure Families Initiative, which represents the interests of military spouses, children and veterans.
“The sentiment across the board right now is that deploying military force against our own communities isn’t the kind of national security we signed up for,” said Sarah Streyder of the Secure Families Initiative, which represents the interests of military spouses, children and veterans.
“Families are scared not just for their loved ones’ safety, although that’s a big concern, but also for what their service is being used to justify.”
Chris Purdy of the Chamberlain Network, whose stated mission is to “mobilize and empower veterans to protect democracy”, said he had heard similar things from half a dozen national guard members. “Morale is not great, is the quote I keep hearing,” he said.
The marines and the California national guard did not respond to invitations to comment. …
At Least 17 Texas National Guardsman Died Patrolling Southern Border, Including Seven Suicides — Orders were issued. Soldiers were told to pack up and get mission ready. They were mobilized to the U.S.-Mexico border. For all of them, their lives and professions were paused. But for some of them, their sacrifices were greater. Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott launched Operation Lone Star in March 2021. It has been at the heart of his effort to deter illegal immigration, and it has received support from President-elect Donald Trump and other conservative leaders. However, since the mission began, at least 17 Texas National Guardsmen have died from various causes. The deaths include at least seven suicides. two accidental shootings, and two motor vehicle accidents. One guardsman drowned while attempting to save migrants who were crossing the Rio Grande. … Link to story
One Sign Sums Up America’s Fundamental Hypocrisy…
Perverse Humor In Trump’s Fascist AmeriKKKa
Yes, chuckle and be a good Nazi collaborator!!!
'What People Have Feared': ICE Impersonator Zip-Tied Woman & Stole $1,000
"Any criminal can now put on a mask, say he is from ICE, and conduct any crime," one group warned.
By Jessica Corbett
Common Dreams (6/10/25)
"This is what people have feared."
That was how American Immigration Council senior fellow Aaron Reichlin-Melnick responded on social media Monday to reporting that a man impersonating a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent zip-tied a woman working as a cashier at a cash-only auto repair shop in Philadelphia and stole around $1,000 on Sunday afternoon.
The incident comes as Republican U.S. President Donald Trump tries to deliver on his campaign promise of mass deportations, sparking protests, including in Los Angeles, where Trump has deployed Marines and federalized the California National Guard—a move the state's Democratic governor and attorney general are challenging in court.
"Expect many, many more stories like this. The Trump administration is a criminal enterprise, emboldening street crimes and white collar crimes."
"He kept saying he is immigration officer," the 50-year-old cashier in Philadelphia, a legal U.S. resident who is from the Dominican Republic, toldFox 29's Steve Keeley. Showing the journalist her bruises, she said that the man tied her arms behind her back, and "every time I tried to turn around to look at his face, he twisted me around roughly."
Although the shop is next to the Philadelphia Police 15th District, it took over two hours before the victim could connect with law enforcement. Police said in a Tuesday statement that the man, who escaped in a white Ford cargo van with red dashes around the middle, remains at large.
Police released surveillance photos of the van and the man, described as a white male in a "black baseball cap with U.S. flag on the front, black sunglasses, black long sleeve shirt, wearing gloves, black tactical vest with 'Security Enforcement Agent,' and dark green cargo pants."
In response to Keeley's social media posts about the robbery, journalist Ryan Grim said early Tuesday that "this type of crime is now possible because ICE agents insist on going around like masked thugs."
Author and Philadelphia native Robert A. Karl warned: "Expect many, many more stories like this. The Trump administration is a criminal enterprise, emboldening street crimes and white collar crimes."
The social media account of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party in Minnesota's Senate District 45 similarly said: "Any criminal can now put on a mask, say he is from ICE, and conduct any crime (including kidnapping and rape) and people are expected to just stand aside? Actual law enforcement DOES NOT conceal their identity and act like street thugs while doing their job. This must stop!"
Common Dreams work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Protester Delivers Dose Of Reality To ICE Gestapo Goons — “THEY DON’T GIVE A F*CK ABOUT YOU!”
“If you're in the army. If you're a person with a gun that has power that is blessed by the state, you better rethink your decisions. I don't want you 30 years from now to look back and go, "What the f*ck have I done? Did I participate in the absolute destruction of the country that I love?” Because right now, I see a lot of following orders and not a lot of speaking up. I see not a lot of people joining the right side of history. And make no mistake about it, there is a right side of history and we know who's on it and it certainly ain't the people — the thugs with the guns — who are enforcing illegal order after illegal order from a fascist in cognitive decline who wants nothing more than to cancel the next election and declare himself president for life.”
Secular Talk (6/11/25)
8-minute video
75 ‘DIET MAGA’ DEMOCRATS VOTE TO THANK TRUMP’S ICE GESTAPO! 9-minute video
Did We Wait Too Long To Stop Trump? History's Shocking Lesson On Resistance & Fascism
“The reason Trump is doing all these things is because it's not really about undocumented aliens or deportations. this is all fascism theater designed specifically and intentionally to get us ready to accept what's next. First they turn their guns and their violations of cultural and legal norms on the weakest and most misunderstood or even hated people in a society.”
The Thom Hartmann Program (6/11/25)
Will we wait to act until Trump's repression is unstoppable like Germany did in 1934?
9-minute video
TOMORROW! Join A ‘No Kings Day’ Protest June 14th!
On June 14—Flag Day—Donald Trump wants tanks in the street and a made-for-TV display of dominance for his birthday. A spectacle meant to look like strength. But real power isn’t staged in Washington. It rises up everywhere else.
No Kings is a nationwide day of defiance. From city blocks to small towns, from courthouse steps to community parks, we’re taking action to reject authoritarianism—and show the world what democracy really looks like.
We’re not gathering to feed his ego. We’re building a movement that leaves him behind.
The flag doesn’t belong to Donald Trump. It belongs to us. We’re not watching history happen. We’re making it.
On June 14th, we’re showing up everywhere he isn’t—to say no thrones, no crowns, no kings.
Check Out The ‘No Kings’ Website For TOMORROW’S June 14th Action Locations, Trainings & Other Information: nokings.org
Jewish Scholar Norman Finkelstein Delivers Harsh Reality Check For Israelis
My first thought when i heard the Battalion shipped to L.A. was from WA State was~ There are a LOT of Immigrant Farm Labor Workers & Families in WA. Those soldiers went to school and grew up with them❗️
SO GLAD to hear they realize UnCONSTITUTIONAL Orders when they hear them.
There may be HOPE for HUMANITY, yet!
This is bad and looks like getting worse. I feel for you all who live there.
Good luck organising against the fascist tide.