[2019] Order From Chaos: What does a Pride parade have to do with NATO? More than you might think.

Editor’s Note: The degree of respect for LGBTQ people has increasingly become a measure of democratic health in former Soviet states. If Russia were a place where Pride parades were allowed, its quarrels with the United States, and ours with it, would possibly diminish, writes James Kirchick. This article originally appeared in the Washington Post.

What does a Pride parade have to do with NATO? More than you might think.

Related:

Meet the true journalists: James Kirchick and Lawrence O’Donnell

*Disclaimer: The views expressed herein are solely those of the author and may or may not reflect those of Ms. Cat’s Chronicles.

Why Not Defund the Military?

Amidst all the talk about defunding the police, notice something important: No one talks about defunding the military. That’s because the military establishment is too powerful and has come to be accepted as a permanent feature in American life. Except for libertarians, everyone treats the military as their god.

Why Not Defund the Military?

Not sure if he’s correct about military capabilities but I can get behind defunding the military!

Ben Gvir demands death penalty for Palestinians as condition to join Netanyahu’s govt

On 15 November, far-right Israeli member of the Knesset (MK) Itamar Ben Gvir sought to implement the death penalty for Palestinians guilty of killing Israelis. He has set this as a condition for his faction to join former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government.

Ben Gvir demands death penalty for Palestinians as condition to join Netanyahu’s govt

No, There Is No ‘Purge Law’ In Illinois. Here Are The Facts About Ending Cash Bail

There is no “Purge Law” in Chicago—what there is, is a concerted effort to prevent landmark bail reform that’ll prevent countless Black and brown people from being held in jail without a trial for no other reason than they’re poor by spreading lies and copaganda to the public.

Video clip originally from Olayemi Olurin

Related:

No, There Is No ‘Purge Law’ In Illinois. Here Are The Facts About Ending Cash Bail

Viral TikToks and other social media posts are wrong about an Illinois law eliminating cash bail. Judges will still be able to detain people who pose a threat to the community or a flight risk.

The FBI’s Gestapo Tactics: Hallmarks of an Authoritarian Regime

August 22, 2022 – By John & Nisha Whitehead

“We want no Gestapo or Secret Police. FBI is tending in that direction.”—Harry Truman

With every passing day, the United States government borrows yet another leaf from Nazi Germany’s playbook: Secret police. Secret courts. Secret government agencies. Surveillance. Censorship. Intimidation. Harassment. Torture. Brutality. Widespread corruption. Entrapment. Indoctrination. Indefinite detention.

The FBI’s Gestapo Tactics: Hallmarks of an Authoritarian Regime

The Dangers of Praising Mike Pence and Liz Cheney

Republican enemies of Donald Trump are not your friend. In fact, they may represent an even more dangerous form of far-right politics, because they put a respectable veneer on theocracy, climate denial, and warmongering. Democrats need to stop praising horrible neoconservatives.

The Dangers of Praising Mike Pence and Liz Cheney
My reaction to Robert Reich’s suggestion!

I’d much prefer Rand Paul, if we were to have a right-winger as President! I don’t care for all of his economic policies but, at least, we might have less wars and legalized marijuana!

America, Meet Your New Dictator-in-Chief: The President’s Secret, Unchecked Powers

by John W. Whitehead & Nisha Whitehead | June 01, 2022

America, meet your new dictator-in-chief.

As the New York Times reports, “Newly disclosed documents have shed a crack of light on secret executive branch plans for apocalyptic scenarios—like the aftermath of a nuclear attack—when the president may activate wartime powers for national security emergencies.”< The problem, of course, is that we have become a nation in a permanent state of emergency. Power-hungry and lawless, the government has weaponized one national crisis after another in order to expand its powers and justify all manner of government tyranny in the so-called name of national security. The seeds of this present madness were sown almost two decades ago when George W. Bush stealthily issued two presidential directives that granted the president the power to unilaterally declare a national emergency, which is loosely defined as “any incident, regardless of location, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the U.S. population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government functions.

America, Meet Your New Dictator-in-Chief: The President’s Secret, Unchecked Powers

Missing Links/Links Behind Paywalls:

Secret Emergency Orders May Include Focus on Internet, New Files Show

Report: Military may have to quell domestic violence from economic collapse

Known Unknowns: Unconventional “Strategic Shocks” in Defense Strategy Development (PDF)

End the Imperial Presidency Before It’s Too Late

Too Much Presidential Power — We’ve Got to Address the ‘Unitary Executive’ Question