America Has Become a Fascist Country

 Alas that these evil days should be mine.

Theoden, King of Rohan, Lord of the Rings

Let's start with a definition of fascism:

Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement, characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy, subordination of individual interests for the perceived good of the nation or race, and strong regimentation of society and the economy.

Now let's consider a few things about Donald Trump:

• According to NPR, he has threatened to prosecute, imprison, or otherwise retaliate against his political enemies at least 100 times.
• He has called the press the enemy of the people and threatened them with losing their licenses or with prosecution or imprisonment.
• He has called his detractors "the enemy within" and suggested that the national guard or the military can be used against them.
• He has on many occasions suggested that his followers should use violence for political purposes, for example against people who protest at his rallies.
• He has promised to deport millions of people, including using camps to hold them. He has promised to deport people who are here legally and even US citizens.
• He has, more than once, said that he should get more than two terms as president, despite the constitution.
• He has lied incessantly about our elections, claiming that they are fraudulent, without any evidence, whenever they do not provide the results he wants. He has claimed many times that the only legitimate result is if he wins.
• He is, as one observer noted, the most famous liar in the world. He is the most well-documented liar in all of history.

Does all of this actually make him a fascist, according to the definition? I am no expert, and I don't really know. I do know though, that he is a monster, a man who should never be considered for any office and will never be considered for any office by even one sane, decent voter. Whether we can accurately apply the f-word label to him or not does not really matter. He is what he is, and that is a nightmare.

If Kamala Harris wins the election, if Trump is defeated one last time and never runs again, are we still a fascist country? The problem is, we are about to choose between fascism (or not-quite-fascism-but-disturbingly-close) and democracy, and we are not sure which will win. Our fellow Americans, our community members, our neighbors, our friends, our family members will choose a man who could not possibly be more clearly unfit for the presidency and who is openly fascist (or near-fascist) rather than choose a qualified alternative. Whether Donald Trump wins or loses a close election, we are a nation of millions of fascists. We have become the shithole country that Donald Trump spoke of, because we are a nation of too many truly despicable people.

When I was younger, I did not think it could happen here. It has happened here.

The only recovery I can see for us as a nation is if there is an enormous backlash against the MAGA party, if we come to a significant majority consensus that support for the current version of the Republican Party is a stain on our history, if we recognize that way too many Americans lost their way, abandoned any principles, set aside any sense of right and wrong, and need to acknowledge now that they followed a very wrong path.

It could happen. The model I always think of is the Jim Crow south, with black people segregated, kept from voting, sent to sub-standard schools, and openly discriminated against in myriad ways. In time, we dismantled that system, and it became generally accepted that we will not do that anymore. But until we accept that the current very close split between the crazies and the rest of us is a national disgrace, we are a nation of fascists, as hard to believe as that is.

American Discovery Trail: Iowa City, Iowa

Iowa City, Iowa

This week, we are close to Iowa City, Iowa, a town of 74,828 according to the Internet, and the fifth-largest town in Iowa. We are just over 50 miles into the state. From here, it is a straight shot west to Des Moines, but we will not go that way, instead heading north and then back south to get there, passing the most northern point of the American Discovery Trail on the way.

The Iowa trail is divided into six segments, and this first one, ending in Cedar Rapids, is 97 miles long, so I will still be working on segment one this time next week.

I have walked 1,645 miles so far, over 3.6 million steps. I started counting my steps every day rather than trying to filter out days that I was, for example, playing bridge all day, and as a result my steps per day have suffered, but keeping track is just more straightforward if I count them all.

I find myself feeling a bit more tired on my walks these days, sometimes even skipping an evening walk because I just do not feel like it. Maybe something is wrong and slowly dragging me down, maybe I am not sleeping well enough, maybe I am just getting older, but it seems like more of an effort than it was just a few years ago. I suppose that as I get older, I will have to push just a little harder to cover the same distances. For sure, bridge has changed things for now, as my primary focus is now pursuing bridge goals rather than walking goals, though most days I have time for both.

Loess Hills overlook in western Iowa, a bit north of where we will walk as we approach Nebraska.

The Lewis and Clark interpretive center at Sioux City Iowa. This site is also on the western edge of Iowa, also north of where we will walk and not far from Loess Hills. In my quest to visit all 50 states, I want to have one place that I can say I went to in each state. For Iowa, this is the place. We took the boys there in about 2003 on a long vacation that followed the Lewis and Clark expedition route backward, starting at the Washington Coast. Lewis and Clark followed the Missouri River for most of their trek, and at Sioux City, the river marks the boundary between Iowa and Nebraska.

The Debate Goes On...

 

The debate continues, and Donald Trump continues to disqualify himself over and over.

Trump is pressed about watching the January 6 riot unfold.

"I had nothing to do with that other than they asked me to make a speech."

Donald Trump had nothing to do with the January 6 attack on the Capitol. In what universe is this?

And before he is finished answering the question:

"Why are we allowing these millions of people to come through on the southern border?" This is mention number six of people coming into the country. The answer to every question.

Next question is about Trump saying several times recently that he lost the 2020 election, after denying it for 3.5 years.

"I said that?"

Are you now acknowledging that you lost in 2020?

"No, I don't acknowledge that at all."

But you did say that.

"I said that sarcastically."

Oh bullshit. This has become a go-to Republican line for when Trump says something that does not go over well. Just being sarcastic. He is never being sarcastic. He doesn't really do sarcasm. This is just him saying "Oh, I take that back."

"A lot of these illegal immigrants coming in, they're trying to get them to vote."

Lie.

...60 cases in front of judges...

"They said we didn't have standing. A technicality."

Lie.

Harris points out that world leaders laugh at Donald Trump, and that US military leaders call him a disgrace, goading him again, and Trump pointed to a leader who supports him:

Viktor Orban.

From Wikipedia: "Since 2010 Orban has undermined democracy, weakened judicial independence, and curtailed press freedom." This is the guy you point to as a supporter? A guy who turned his democratic country into an autocracy? This is sick.

Talking about Joe Biden: "And you know what? I'll give you a little secret. He hates her [Harris.] He can't stand her."

And how does Donald know this? Did Joe confide in him? Or is this more bullshit, made up out of thin air? What an idiot.

Next question is about Israel.

"She hates Israel."

What an idiot.

"If she's president, I believe that Israel will not exist within two years from now."

What an idiot.

"At the same time in her own way she hates the Arab population..."

What an idiot.

A question about Ukraine.

Most of this answer is at least coherent, blabbing about how if he were president this never would have happened, and if he is re-elected, he will solve the problem in a day.

This is a common theme behind Trump's "policies." He doesn't talk about what he will do, just about how great the result will be.

"But we have a president that doesn't know he's alive."

What an idiot. And it's who doesn't know.

About Putin: "He's got nuclear weapons. Nobody ever thinks about that."

Everyone thinks about that, you dolt.

"She's worse than Biden. In my opinion, I think he's the worst president in the history of our country."

Donald Trump speaks like a child. Everything is the best, the worst, the most incredible. He can't think of any other way to express himself.

Next question refers to the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Harris goads him about negotiating with the Taliban and inviting them to Camp David.

"But I got involved. And Abdul is the head of the Taliban. He is still the head of the Taliban."

The head of the Taliban is not and never was named Abdul. What an embarrassing mistake! Especially when you are trying to question the mental abilities of the president and vice-president.

"...the worst withdrawal and in my opinion the most embarrassing moment in the history of our country."

Right, you pathetic simpleton.

There is more. We should be able to cover it in one more post.

American Discovery Trail: Iowa

Centennial Bridge, Rock Island, Illinois

This week, we crossed the Centennial Bridge over the Mississippi River, from Rock Island, Illinois to Davenport, Iowa. We also passed 1,600 miles, which means we are very close to one third of the way to the California Coast, so this is progress.

The trek across Iowa on the American Discovery Trail is 512 miles, which should take just over 100 days, so that will take me into next year. The path winds back and forth, reaching the northernmost point of the entire trail, but then turning back and exiting the state a little south of where we came in, crossing into Omaha, Nebraska.

According to the ADT website, approximately 90 percent of Iowa is farmland, and more corn and beans are grown in Iowa than in any other state, so I may just post a lot of pictures of corn (which is more photogenic than beans) as I cross the state.

One of the first places I encountered in Iowa is Wildcat Den State Park. This picture is the Pine Creek Grist Mill, built in 1848.