The myth of racial and moral purity: a treatise on fascism

The myth of racial and moral purity: a treatise on fascism

Tatiana Prophet
Humanity

By Tatiana Prophet
The word “fascism” has been used generously in the public square in the last few years – with many people accusing their political opponents of being “fascist” in their beliefs — usually because there is a perception or reality that they seek to impose those beliefs upon others.

What is the origin of the word “fascism”? It dates back to the Roman Empire, when those who enforced the law were portrayed in bas relief holding a bundle of sticks resembling a poster case, with an axe affixed to it. A fascio is a bundle, or “league.” The word predates Benito Mussolini even in modern Italy, as many groups including labor unions used the word to apply to a “league.”

Report: U.S Army has been training Ukrainians who moonlight as vigilantes

Report: U.S Army has been training Ukrainians who moonlight as vigilantes

Tatiana Prophet
Foreign Affairs

By Tatiana Prophet

According to a report published last September by the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies at George Washington University, since 2018 a paramilitary group with ties to Azov Battalion has taken to social media to publicly congratulate its members who were graduates of officer training with American, Canadian and other NATO armed forces at Ukraine’s National Academy of the Army in Yavoriv, western Ukraine (the same base which was reportedly bombed on March 13 of this year by Russian forces).

It’s hard to imagine how U.S. army officers could be training recruits with ties to violent paramilitary gangs; but in Ukraine, the military and the street gangs are often one and the same (see the absorption of Azov Battalion into the Ukraine National Guard). Further, it is highly unlikely that American and NATO officials encouraged such membership; those who commented for an academic report on the subject said they had expected Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence to screen recruits.

What is the value of human life?

What is the value of human life?

Tatiana Prophet
Public Safety

There is a very real hidden enemy that is thinking that the answer to that question is “zero.” Zero value to human life. As long as no one finds out about how they truly feel. And they are definitely racist, disgustingly racist. They fear and loathe anyone who is not like them.

How do they get away with it? They’re not willing to spend the money and require the efficiency needed to protect all law-abiding citizens, as well as some not-so-law-abiding, from execution in the streets and far too many shocking body-cam videos.

The truth: It's almost always in the fine print

The truth: It's almost always in the fine print

Tatiana Prophet
Politics

Not all of us remember Bush vs. Gore in the year 2000. But I do. We the People were confused that Gore conceded before we could get to the bottom of how the people actually voted in Florida. Back then, when Bush was inaugurated, there was a lot of grumbling by Us. We did not feel right about it. But we begrudgingly went along for “continuity of government.”

Twenty years later, and we are going through the same thing. The American people, on all sides, have a sense of unease as far as confidence in the process. So why aren’t our trusted media curious as to how the people actually voted? Better minds than me would know the answer.

But in the meantime, we observe that the court challenges are far from defeated, in spite of our trusted media’s voluminous headlines to the contrary.

The powerful think we're stupid. Let's show them we're not

The powerful think we're stupid. Let's show them we're not

Tatiana Prophet
Politics

Opinion by Tatiana Prophet

On Nov. 3, 2020, we witnessed manipulation in real time on the television screen.

First there were the early calls that candidates had won particular states, but really they were projections. And let’s hope they weren’t deliberate lies. A call should be definitive. It is not supposed to change. But the calls from various “decision desks” changed all evening, and all night.

Then there was the sudden pause in counting in crucial battleground states, then stonewalling, then a sudden jump in votes for Joe Biden.

We don’t have all the facts, but we do know when we’re being stonewalled, censored and controlled. What a coincidence that social media users are being herded by the tech companies into forbidden areas that are proven false by “fact checkers.” Well and good, but when the fact checkers are simply the same cast of characters, even a child could figure out that there’s a problem. Especially because the fact checks are a little like sawdust on the palate. Full of a definitive tone, but very little proof. And almost always, missing context.

The race to call the winner -- ends in no winner at all

The race to call the winner -- ends in no winner at all

Tatiana Prophet
Politics

Analysis by Tatiana Prophet

Excitement crackled early on Election Night in the United States, but by bedtime for many, the crackle turned to fizzle.

All were disappointed. Florida was way too close for either camp, and though President Trump pulled away from Biden, it appeared that media outlets were waiting till the very last ember of Democrat hope went out before calling the race for Trump.

It was the opposite for Biden — even over at (newly reorganized) FOX News. By 4 pm Eastern, there was a tally showing Trump leading by 10 points in Virginia, of all states, at the same time that FOX News’ Bret Baier called the state for Biden.

In spite of the famous premature calls of elections past, such as Truman vs. Dewey and Bush vs. Gore, the overarching impression of the night was that early “calls” were A-OK!

Spygate: Leaky WaPo reporter drops book to spin Weiner laptop bungle

Spygate: Leaky WaPo reporter drops book to spin Weiner laptop bungle

Tatiana Prophet
Spying, National Security

By TATIANA PROPHET

Washington Post reporter Devlin Barrett knows his way around Washington’s spy agencies. He knows them so well, that he was the favorite avenue for the targeted leaks of FBI attorney Lisa Page and counterintelligence agent Peter Strzok, the lead agent on Crossfire Hurricane (the probe into Russian attempts to steal the 2016 presidential election).

It was Barrett who first identified Trump campaign adviser Carter Page as the target of a FISA warrant (Federal Intelligence Surveillance Act warrant) — after Lisa Page (no relation) arranged the leak by her own account, for a WaPo story in April 2017. The intent was to smear Carter Page and set the stage for the “insurance policy” that agent Strzok had referred to in his private texts with lawyer Page. It took three years for the public to learn that Carter Page had been a CIA asset all along, and that FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith altered an e-mail shared with the FISA court, to state that Page was not a CIA asset. Clinesmith pleaded guilty last month to altering an e-mail.

U.S. Elections: The Jig Is Up

U.S. Elections: The Jig Is Up

Tatiana Prophet
Politics

Opinion
By Tatiana Prophet

In my research over the last three and a half years, I have come to realize that every single one of our U.S. elections has been curated and managed by the tyrannical control freaks behind the scenes in our own country.

As the Democrats present their Trump impeachment case for the third day in the U.S. Senate, perhaps a look at the big picture is in order.

Think about it. The first evidence of election rigging that spilled out into the public eye was 1972. Deep Throat fed Woodward and Bernstein a curated evidence bento box, and eventually, the dirty tricks were swept away as an anomaly. That's the real reason Nixon resigned. He had to take the fall. Do you think political party matters? Look at what our commanders in chief do when they get into office.

Holy Toledo! Notes from a Trump rally

Holy Toledo! Notes from a Trump rally

Robert Crosby
Politics

By Robert J. Crosby

Those who waited hours (some days) in line for the Trump rally on Thursday, Jan. 9, in Toledo, Ohio, were cheerful, happy and having fun. Lots of chatter and discussion as the line crawled on.

Capitalists were everywhere, selling pizza, drinks and lots of Trump paraphernalia. Quite festive, despite the chilling wind.

This was more than just another decade

This was more than just another decade

Tatiana Prophet

This was the #metoo decade

By Tatiana Prophet

A change of mood is in the actual air. There’s a heaviness, a division; but there is also something else: hope. You may laugh. But this is not a Pollyanna proclamation.

The seminal event has already happened. And lucky for us, if we can figure out how to sustain and preserve life on this planet, the consequences of the exposure of America’s sexual predators will reverberate until well after the year 2100.

So perhaps we should call it the Me Too Century. Not that any one issue is that important. But because #MeToo affects our culture at its most profound levels, it can be seen as the catalyst for the biggest sea change since 1865.

Women not only have equal rights, we have equal application of those rights. No more non-disclosure agreements, no more cover-ups, no more excuses and nowhere to hide. This is a feminist’s wet dream, and we don’t even know it.

Who’s really in charge here?

Who’s really in charge here?

Tatiana Prophet
Foreign Affairs

By Tatiana Prophet

Sometimes you don’t want to know how the sausage is made, but you know you have to.

Some of us were undoubtedly unsettled at today’s Congressional hearing when we learned that European Union ambassador Gordon Sondland has never been a note taker. It makes perfect sense in any case that he would chafe at the refusal by the White House or State Department to provide him with his own official emails and texts to jog his memory — even if we might like to think that someone in that position would be extra conscientious.

Also unsettling: He half-smirked through the entire thing, almost like a hairless Prince Charles casually amused at his own casual approach to the job.

Languishing in limbo

Languishing in limbo

Tatiana Prophet
Immigration

The U.S. spends millions annually to hold hearings for everyone seeking asylum. Yet out of the tens of thousands who come from Central America, less than 1 percent are eventually granted asylum.

ANALYSIS

By Tatiana Prophet

The Democrats need to figure out where to focus their ire. Why are immigration judges determining that so very few of these individuals deserve asylum?


Photo from Long Island Wins, a nonprofit communications organization that focuses on immigration issues on Long Island.

In the national anthem debate, what's missing is empathy

In the national anthem debate, what's missing is empathy

Tatiana Prophet
Military

By TATIANA PROPHET

When American soldiers killed in battle return home, they lie in state, draped in the flag of our country.

On this Memorial Day 2018, as every American honors our fallen soldiers and the ultimate sacrifice they made, we assign a certain intensity to the meaning of respect for the flag and peaceful protest.

Especially on this day, as we take a break from the punishing modern rush hour, and we hopefully sit for a moment with our thoughts, we are reminded of the division in our own house. I’m speaking of the proverbial house of our nation, and in many cases, our own families, laid bare by the seismic change that was the 2016 election.

Donald Trump has finally met his fast-talking match

Donald Trump has finally met his fast-talking match

Tatiana Prophet
Politics

And it's not Stormy Daniels

OPINION

She didn’t kill the night and she didn’t kill the tradition; what Michelle Wolf killed on Sunday night was the frustration of half the country.

Frustration that has formed a collective nightmare since November 8, 2016. Frustration for those who are appalled and horrified with each new day that a coarse, brutish business man with an ill-fitting suit is living in the White House and steering the ship of state. They are so appalled that they will not watch him speak, or speak his name. So the moniker 45 has been a way to cope, to deal with the daily effrontery of his predictable bravado, his juvenile nicknames, and his senior citizen tangents. Every word he has uttered toward or about a minority is evidence of his endemic racism, misogyny and superiority.

Behind white knuckles, Macron makes up his own mind

Behind white knuckles, Macron makes up his own mind

Tatiana Prophet
Foreign Affairs

By TATIANA PROPHET

In May, when Donald Trump first met Emmanuel Macron, how was their famous handshake so misinterpreted by the U.S. media? The centrist, rational, climate-aware young president was obviously not going to like Trump. Right? Well images from the past two days seem to undercut any impression of dislike between the two men.

After the white-knuckle handshake made headlines around the world, there was a quote from the young French president, oft buried in the avalanche of sinew and bone: "I saw a leader with strong opinions on a number of subjects, which I share in part — the fight against terrorism, the willingness to keep our place in the family of nations — and with whom I have disagreements that we spoke about very calmly," Macron said.

"I saw someone who listens and who is willing to work," he added.

Indeed, the headline most of us saw was: "Macron says handshake with Trump was 'not innocent.'"

Once again, the media is focusing on the superficial takeaways rather than the boring details of how two long-term allies find their way to consensus.

In fact, on Friday, Bastille Day, the headlines exploded with yet another prolonged handshake between the dynamic duo on their inarguably friendly visit for France's big day. "Shake Hands Like a Normal Person," commanded Esquire in a possibly first imperative headline for the mens magazine.

Scalise shooting: In baseball we trust

Scalise shooting: In baseball we trust

Tatiana Prophet
National Security

OPINION

By TATIANA PROPHET

In America, we don't get much closer to a common non-religious religion than baseball.

So on Wednesday morning when my niece told me to turn on the television, that some congressmen had been shot on the baseball field, there was a dream-like quality to the day's unfolding. It seems not only were our political leaders under physical attack, so was our favorite pastime.

By now, nearly everyone one has heard that 66-year-old James T. Hodgkinson, of Belleville, Ill., opened fire with a rifle at a baseball field in Alexandria, Va., early Wednesday morning on Republican members of Congress who were practicing for the game the next day.

Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.), the majority whip, was hit as well as four others. They are all being treated, with Scalise sustaining severe injuries. Scalise, incidentally, was a major player in the House passage of the American Health Care Act.

The players had gathered to practice for the Congressional Baseball Game for Charity, a tradition since 1909 designed to "solidify friendships on and off the field," according to organizers, which is still scheduled to take place.

Hodgkinson was shot and killed by officers who responded. If it hadn't been for Steve Scalise's security detail on account of his high position in the Republican House leadership, many might have died.

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