The Belmarsh Tribunal, Free Assange, hosted by Democracy Now!

What is at stake: To all people of conscience an exhortation to act: "We will not be silent." Expert witnesses from the U.S. and Europe speak to what amounts to the "framing" of Julian Assange, how his case progressed as Trump filed the indictments, then to the hearings, and to how all of this will affect free speech if Assange is extradited and found guilty in a U.S. court for publishing the truth about American drones' "collateral damage" in the murder of civilians. Mike Pompeo characterized WikiLeaks (a publisher!) as an "enemy espionage organization" for the release of condemning CIA data. And the global rise of fascism begins with targeting and discrediting journalists. Freedom of the press and the right of people to know what their government is doing as well as the rights of journalists and their publishers of all viewpoints to publish the truth is threatened, but Biden foolishly pushes forward to extradite Assange instead of freeing him, although journalist and human rights organizations as well as heads of state worldwide have spoken up for Assange, press freedom, and the people's right to the truth.

Chris Hedges: Fascism Comes to America

Eighty million eligible voters did not vote in the last presidential election, no doubt because they did not expect much to change in their lives whoever was in office. And they were probably right.

Trump Town Hall: Is CNN Normalizing Fascism?

Before fascism can fully seize power in a nation, it must first be accepted by the people as a “patriotic” system of governance, representing the will of the majority of the nation. This is why fascists always scapegoat minorities first — delighting the privileged caste — before they acquire enough power to subjugate the entire nation itself.

Chris Hedges: America’s Theater of the Absurd

Governance exists. But it is not seen. It is certainly not democratic. It is done by the armies of lobbyists and corporate executives, from the fossil fuel industry, the arms industry, the pharmaceutical industry and Wall Street. Governance happens in secret.

Henry Giroux: The U.S. Is Descending Into a Crisis of Overt Fascism. There’s Still a Way Out.

What we are witnessing in the United States is not merely a threat to democracy, but a modernized and dangerous expression of right-wing extremism that is a prelude to a full-blown version of fascist politics. One crucial starting point for mass resistance is articulated by Paul Morrow, who, referencing Hannah Arendt, argues that authoritarian societies do “everything possible to uncouple beliefs from action, conviction from action.”

Bob Garfield: Oh, Can’t It?

Ignorance. A vacuum of understanding, whether from native stupidity or arrogant disregard, of the underlying issues, the functions of government, the lessons of history, the trustworthiness of information and the evaluation of evidence.

The Never-Ending Impact of a Forgotten Blitzkrieg Against the American Left

...the classic definition of socialism is public ownership of the means of production, an agenda item not on any imaginable American political horizon. In another sense, though, the charge is historically accurate because, both here and abroad, significant advances in health and welfare have often been spearheaded by socialist parties.

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