The FBI is circulating a memo stating that armed “protestors” are planning to target all 50 state capitols and the Capitol in Washington, D.C. during the period Jan. 16 – 20th leading up to the inauguration. Some of the online chatter talks of ‘storming’ these buildings. Make no mistake about it, this will not be a protest. This will be a follow up to the coup attempt from January 6th. Hitler had his ‘brown shirts’. Mussolini had his ‘black shirts’. And now Trump has his MAGA supporters. We know how things worked out in Germany and Italy. Everyone needs to understand how perilously close we are to falling into that abyss. I’m sure there are many who will think that’s hyperbole but after the events last week at the Capitol, I don’t know how anyone can believe that. Heather Cox Richardson’s post last night gives an excellent summary of where we are so I’m just going to defer to her this morning. The link is below.1
It’s bad enough that Trump has politicized virtually every aspect of American life during the last four years but his installation of Trump loyalist, Michael Pack, at the US Agency for Global Media, the parent organization of Voice of America, seems to be turning VOA into just another state sponsored propaganda organization. “ VOA’s charter states that the agency will “be accurate, objective, and comprehensive” and that it “will represent America, not any single segment of American society, and will therefore present a balanced and comprehensive projection of significant American thought and institutions.”2 VOA’s journalists are supposed to be isolated from political influence and meddling. That appears to no longer be the case.
“Pack, who took charge as CEO in June and is under investigation by the DC attorney general, made sweeping charges of bias against VOA employees, and conducted what some staffers called a pro-Trump “purge.”
Pack’s actions drew scrutiny from lawmakers from both sides of the aisle and legal actions from affected individuals. In one notable First Amendment case last month, a federal judge ruled that Pack and his team are forbidden from interfering in the newsroom.
And just last month, the federal watchdog Office of Special Counsel found what it dubbed “a substantial likelihood of wrongdoing” at the agency, and directed Pack to order an investigation.”2
If the independence of VOA is taken away and it becomes an organization that is unable to broadcast any information that is critical of the US, then it will lose all credibility around the world. One of the hallmarks of the United States has always been a free press that is able to criticize the workings of the government. This is just another thing that has taken place in the Trump administration that most people are totally unaware of, probably think is no big deal, but is yet another step on the way to authoritarianism. America’s reputation abroad has already been badly damaged. Politicization of VOA can only worsen that.
The politicization of everything is hitting much closer to home here in Montana. The Republicans swept the political ‘table’ last November so we now have a state government dominated by Republicans from the governor on down. We are one week into the new state legislation session and a bill has already been sponsored and emerged from committee with a vote of 12 – 7 along party lines to allow firearms to be carried on college campuses! Think about that. With all of the problems and issues facing Montana, the Republican-led legislature seems to think that a critical issue is to allow students and faculty to carry firearms ON CAMPUS!
Having taught on the MSU campus last year (and I would have this year had it not been for COVID) I can’t even fathom why someone thinks it’s a good idea to have some subset of students and faculty carrying loaded firearms into classrooms. As an instructor, I’m sure I’d be up at the whiteboard looking out at my class and wondering which of my students is armed. On the flip side, how many students are going to be comfortable sitting in a classroom wondering if any of their classmates, or even their instructor, are ‘packing.’ This is just absurd. I just keep shaking my head and asking myself, “What the hell is going on in this country?”
Governor Gianforte has stated that he intends to repeal the current mask mandate that is in place to help combat the spread of COVID that is ravaging the country. He states that he believes Montanans will ‘do the right thing.’ That has worked out well so far – Montana has one of the highest drunk driving and fatality rates in the country! No doubt, this will work out equally as well. However, the Republican-led legislature doesn’t appear to think Gianforte is moving fast enough, so they are apparently intending to pass legislation repealing the mask mandate. This is in contravention of the advice from every credible health care professional in the world. I fear that this is only the beginning of decisions that will adversely affect this beautiful place now that Montana has gone from being ‘purple’ to being bright red. Welcome to Big Sky Country – the “Last Best Place” – until it isn’t anymore.
Things are getting real scary! The Republican motto now is “my rights, up yours.” To be a civilized country is to recognize and respect others rights. The Trump pseudo-Christians aren’t even aware of their own rules in the Bible that says to treat others as you would want to be treated. Unfortunately, this Trump admiration society is hard to cure. According to Scientific American, narcissistic symbiosis and shared psychosis. Narcissistic symbiosis refers to the developmental wounds that make the leader-follower relationship magnetically attractive. The leader, hungry for adulation to compensate for an inner lack of self-worth, projects grandiose omnipotence—while the followers, rendered needy by societal stress or developmental injury, yearn for a parental figure. When such wounded individuals are given positions of power, they arouse similar pathology in the population that creates a “lock and key” relationship. Trump is their father and they are his children and family bonds are hard to break.