I do realize that we are in September, not October – and that Hallowe’en is still 52 days away. But today I am going to do my best to scare you – because the dangers are real. All of these are videos – one on YouTube and two on Substack – which means for the ones on Sunstack there is a Transcript – and for the one on YouTube you can generate one. So you don’t actually have to watch them. However, I personally find that tones of voice, facial expressions, and general body language add to the urgency, and I want to offer that to you, whether or not you choose to accept it. I also kept the two normal videos, so today we have ans all-video (except the cartoon) post.
This is the first one from Substack – specifically from “Confront the Hate” published by Phil Williams. It’s 47 minutes and 3 seconds. All of the scariness is right out in the open. Much of it is from the viewpoints of people who are actively fighting it – which is not easy.
This is the one from YouTube – specifically from The United Front Show, by Max Kuhn and Dr. David Benjamin (although Max has been appearing less and less often, and is not in this video at all). It runs 20 minutes and 25 seconds, which includes a sponsor message – but it is also divided into “chapters,” which makes it very easy for you to find and skip the ad. If you just look at the title, it would appear to be good news. But, as Dr. Benjamin stresses, Trump’s mental condition is one which will cause him to become more dangerous in real time as he loses power. And that should definitely scare you.
This second Substack video is from Joyce Vance’s “Civil Discourse,” and includes Ruth Ben Ghiat. While it too emphasizes the danger, it also presents possibilities for antidotes – for ourselves and for spreading to others. It runs 32 minutes and 54 seconds. Ruth is one of our top experts on autocracy and autocrats, and author of the book “Strongmen,” and Joyce is a lawyer and a professor of law, and author of the book “Giving Up Is Unforgiveable.”
Yesterday, I set my alarm because I needed to take in a grocery order. At least I got everything in and put away. But that did throw me a little off schedule – to the extent that I even have a schedule. But – today being the last day of Black History month, I think I simply must share something I learned today – from Wikipedia: “Errollyn Wallen CBE (born 10 April 1958)[1] is a Belize-born British composer and musician, who moved as a child with her family to London, England. Wallen was appointed Master of the King’s Music in 2024 by King Charles III, in his first appointment to the post. She is the first black woman to serve in the position, having in 1998 been the first black woman to have a work featured in the Proms.” Oh, and Andy Borowitz has Hillary’s complete opening statement – no joke – though he does joke some in the lead-in.
This from the Brennan Center is an abridged version of their report. The one thing I wanted to see which was not in the summary was which states do what. I found that information by clicking on the “Download Insight” button (Colorado was not the first to correct this, but was one of the first . No one took any action until just before the 2020 census.) The summary is probably comprehensive enough for most people.
A report from Pro Publica on the conditions at the Dilley concentration camp in Texas. The art of children is likely not as monetarily valued as the art seized from German Jews by the Nazis – but it is in its way no less important. How can one put a price on the tears of a child?
Yesterday, I got an email from No Kings via Move On (which is connected to Robert Reich) about their next demonstration scheduled for October 18. I’m pretty sure I already shared that date, but am repeating just in case. This (obviously) will be electoral politics related. And the climate related one, “Sun Day,” is still on for September 21st. I may not be able to go, but by golly, I can at least spread the word. Here’s the No Kings RSVP link. And yes, this is early. But they have a lot of events scheduled already, and they also have some training events scheduled
Thanks to the Mango Mussolini, everyone is scrambling for money these days. I suspect we should expect new paywalls where they have not previously been. Huff Post does not have a paywall, but they do have enough of a maze of asks that I archived this. You still need to scroll down – but that should be all. In view of the backlash just from a fine (two-term) President having brown skin, I think we need to take this seriously.
And this from The F* News was already under weigh before Charlie Kirk was assassinated. I do wish more people had paid attention. We did our best to warn them but so many did not believe us.
Another guest video – probably nothing you didn’t suspect, but it’s here now – it’s happening. At least it will all be out in the open – because discovery. Just under 12 minutes.
Yesterday, an email I received from a PAC supporting Social Security informed me that “Musk claimed that millions of dead people were collecting Social Security benefits, and that 40% of all phone calls to Social Security’s 800 number were scams. Musk’s DOGE implemented a new system to catch this fraud, and now, the results are in. Out of over 110,000 new claims made by phone, TWO were found to be likely fraudulent. That’s not 40%. That’s 0.0018%. What’s worse is, Musk’s system slowed down each of those new claims by about 25%.” I am not surprised, and neither are you. But it’s nice to have numbers. Also yesterday, the trailer about the documentary about Robert Reich was released. And finally, the Supreme Court said to the regime (to paraphrase The Contrarian) stop trying to circumvent the system and start following the law. Seven to two. We shall see.
I saw this elsewhere first, but Joyce Vance, as a former Federal prosecutor is more knowledgeable than the other article. They did go to the trouble of a grand jury, which I would have expected them to attempt to skip. I don’t actually think it’s a good sign.
This was also published elsewhere … but Harry Litman saw it in the Atlantic, so that (the archived version with no paywall) is what I am linking to. It’s by J. Michale Luttig, who is one of the last of the generation of Republicans who were wrong about economics but still had honor. We saw him testify to the January 6 committee, and we’ve seen him a few times since also. You won’t be able tolisten to it here if you prefer listening – if you subscrive to the Atlantic, you can listen to it there. I hope it reaxhes at least some of the audience for whom it is meant, which isn’t really us. But it’s factual and well written.
Yesterday, I was moving slowly for some hours, at which point I realized I had a mild headache and made myself a cup of coffee, which helped. But I’d like to have accomplished more.
Time for a post from The F* News again. Unfortunately, the title only expresses a wish, not a reality. I had better not start on a rant here, since I might have difficulty stopping.
Oh, what the heck, let’s make it a full rant day. Tomorrow is Sunday and I’ll find good news or die in the attempt. It’s hard to believe that there are people who did not see this coming. Or maybe they did, and are thrilled to see the actual destruction. I’m sure Putin is.
On Thursday, I received an email from Lona with a link to The Guardian, and a note that she observed I am in a wildfire danger zone (which is no surprise, considering how often over the past couple of decades I have had to reassure friends and family that a particular wildfire wasn’t anywhere close to endangering me, other than with smoke in the air, and that we can get from as far as Arizona. I was interested to see the map and noted that what we call the Front Range – the eastern slope of the Rockies at the foot of which Colorado turns into prairie and farmland, is the main corridor of wildfires here, but also not terribly surprised, as the Front Range is where all the cities are, lined up in a row, and I doubt there’s a natural disaster humans can’t manage to make worse. n The map is so useful I’m passing it on – y’all in the US (and I know not everyone is) know where you are on it, and may want to save a copy (or copies – besides wildfires, there are also maps for hurricanes, extreme heat, and drought.) drought.)
Yesterday, Ilhan Omar announced that she is proposing Articles of Impeachment for Hegseth, Waltz, and Ratcliffe over Signal-Gate. That was a scoop from Axios – I went to the site but what more they has was mostly possibiities and speculation. Of course, by today they may have more. Meanwhile (also from Axios), in the Senate, sixteen Dems led by Jacky Rosen have signed a letter proposing a massive investigation of the debacle. And at least one Republican Senator has called for an IG inspection (do we still have any IGs though?). Finally, in an unrelated piece of news, the Sundance Festival will be moving to Boulder, CO, in 2026. Colorado film junkies and residents of Boulder are over the moon.
Something that happened Wednesday and which y’all may have missed is I believe worthy of note. A Turkish PhD candidate on a student visa was essentially kidnapped off the street by DHS agents for an op-ed she published in the college newspaper last year. The F* News (an alum of that college), Wonkette, and Talking Points Memo all have the story, as does the Associated Press (which provided this video) but I haven’t seen it elsewhere yet. It’s hard to say whether we will see it elsewhere. “In [the United States] today, such things happen every minute.” The student’s name is Rumeysa Ozturk.
https://substack.com/home/post/p-159929854
Well, this didn’t take long. I wish the plaintiffs the best of luck – since they are representing the Constitution, and therefore us. I might also recommend a video conversation on Substack between Harry Litman and Malcolm Nance, mostly about the gravity of the situation, but also addressing the merits of potential remedies.
One more article on Signal-Gate, this one from Robert Hubbell. Except it’s not so much about Signal-Gate as it is about messaging, and what we can learn about messaging from Republicans, even though handicapped by our need to stick to the truth. We might at least consider replacing “But her emails” with “But his Signals.”
I don’t suppose Robert Reich says anything in here that we don’t already know. But I like lists. They tend to put raw data into an order, making it easier to digest and easier to discuss as well.
Experts in autocracies have pointed out that it is, unfortunately, easy to slip into normalizing the tyrant, hence it is important to hang on to outrage. These incidents which seem to call for the efforts of the Greek Furies (Erinyes) to come and deal with them will, I hope, help with that. As a reminder, though no one really knows how many there were supposed to be, the three names we have are Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone. These roughly translate as “unceasing,” “grudging,” and “vengeful destruction.”
I think we were all a bit shaken by the revelations of a planned violent coup in Germany, and the arrests which hve forestalled it for now (though more arrests are expected) – though probably by different details. And that’s partly why I wanted to share this article – because it gives us a chance to share insights on what stood out to us about the story. I note in passing that their movenent includes the German word for “citizen” (which like ours derives from the word for city), and the people inthis movement seem to share some unheallthy attitudes with our self-styled “sovereign citizens.”
==============================================================
What is the Reichsbürger movement accused of trying to overthrow the German government?
Police have arrested 25 people accused of planning to overthrow the German government in a series of raids across the country.
The group is accused of trying to instate Heinrich XIII – a descendant of German royalty – as their leader. Among those arrested were members of the Reichsbürger (which translates as citizens of the Reich), a disparate movement of groups and individuals, including some with extreme-right views.
Reichsbürger adherents have been stopped from attempting violent action before, but this latest incident and its alleged members have caused greater concern.
A former member of the German parliament, who was also a judge until shortly after her arrest, was among the group. Birgit Malsack-Winkemann was a parliamentary deputy for the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), but left the party in 2021.
Several former soldiers were also arrested in connection with the coup plot. This is a cause for great concern for law enforcement, as such ties give possibly dangerous extremists access to weapons and trained individuals.
Earlier in 2022, Heinrich XIII was reported in the German press as being close to the Reichsbürger scene and a believer of conspiracy theories, prompting his family, the House of Reuss, to publicly distance themselves from him.
He does not, however, have a high profile, apart from a 2019 speech at the WorldWebForum conference in Switzerland, which contained an antisemitic and historical revisionist message. The involvement of an aristocrat speaks to the monarchist motivations of some Reichsbürger, who wish to reinstate a Kaiser as head of state.
What do the Reichsbürger believe?
The Reichsbürger do not have a centralised structure but are estimated to have at least 21,000 supporters. Their key belief is that the current German state (the Bundesrepublik or Federal Republic), its institutions and democratically elected representatives are not legitimate.
Supporters of the movement refuse to adhere to state authority, such as by paying taxes. They became notorious in the early years of the pandemic for refusing to comply with COVID-19 restrictions.
Some adherents to the movement consider that official German passports and ID cards are illegitimate. While some prefer to use an official certificate of citizenship (called a gelber Schein or yellow certificate), others manufacture their own illegal passports and driver’s licenses. These will often include former German states as places of birth, such as the kingdoms of Bavaria or Prussia. In 2021, a German civil servant was removed from office after he applied for a passport with the Kingdom of Bavaria listed as his birth state.
Members of the group generally believe that some previous version of the German state is in fact the legitimate form – though there is some inconsistency as to which.
Some supporters believe Germany’s true form existed between 1871 and 1918, when the German Reich was established following unification and before the first world war. Others cite the constitution of the interwar Weimar Republic as that of the true Germany. And others still focus on 1937 to demonstrate what they perceive as the legitimate boundaries of German territory, which then included the former Kingdom of Prussia, now Poland and Russia, but not Austria, which was annexed in 1938.
One vision of the ‘true’ Germany amongst this extremist group dates back to before the first world war. Wikipedia, CC BY-SA
A uniting belief among the Reichsbürger is that the current German state lacks sovereignty. They think the western allies (France, the UK and US) supposedly retained control after their occupation of West Germany ended in 1955. Therefore, some believe that the current German state is a puppet regime which does not support the interests of the German people.
They sometimes refer to it as Deutschland GmbH (Limited), implying it has no power over itself and exists only to enrich its controllers. The name BRD GmbH is also used, referring to the abbreviated name for post-war West Germany.
Revisionist history and antisemitism
The focus on historical revisionism and erasure of German sovereignty can encourage a conception of Germany as a blameless country with uncomplicated pride. By focusing on pre-war borders and overlooking post-war history, the Reichsbürger can ignore Germany’s defeat in the second world war, as well as its process of coming to terms with its Nazi and colonial past, notably the Holocaust and the 1904 Herero and Nama genocide in Namibia. The removal of these dark moments in German history enables the movement’s supporters to focus on their own perceived victimisation as subjects of a German state which they do not recognise.
A similar revisionism is common in the wider German far right, notably some members of the populist AfD party. Repudiation of the Holocaust’s importance and an emphasis on “positive” moments in German history encourages Holocaust relativisation and antisemitism.
However, unlike the AfD, which has adapted its rhetoric to fit into the political mainstream, some Reichsbürger followers entirely disregard current German laws banning Holocaust denial and the dissemination of Nazi propaganda. The group is linked to overt antisemitism and the spread of antisemitic conspiracy theories about the power of “high finance” as well as outright Holocaust denial. In March 2020, German police seized neo-Nazi propaganda during raids on the homes of some Reichsbürger members.
However, the historical revisionism can confuse the picture. Although many of its adherents are antisemitic and glorify the colonial past, the Reichsbürger is not specifically defined as a group of right-wing extremists. In truth, only a small portion of the movement can be defined as such.
At its core, right-wing extremism is largely defined as anti-democratic. While many Reichsbürger refuse to endorse the legitimacy of Germany’s current democratic state, the lack of unified vision within the movement makes it unclear which system would be preferable, the constitutional monarchy of Kaiser Wilhelm II, the democratic experiment of Weimar Germany or the dictatorship of Nazi Germany. However, in the case of the most recent plot, the key role of Heinrich XIII implies that the goal was the restitution of a constitutional monarchy in the style of Kaiser Wilhelm II’s regime.
Growing threat?
Some Reichsbürger followers are evidently beginning to engage in political violence. The latest arrests follow multiple other incidents. In 2016, a police officer was killed during a raid on a member of the movement’s illegal collection of weapons. In August 2020, members of the Reichsbürger attempted to enter the German parliament as part of a protest against COVID-19 restrictions.
The presence of former military figures and a former parliamentarian among the most recently arrested group suggest the Reichsbürger are not without potential influence. The AfD has long denied any links to the movement, but has been shifting further and further to the right in recent years. In 2019, the German interior ministry reported that it had identified some isolated connections between the Reichsbürger and the AfD.
The Reichsbürger could be viewed as a fringe group but their ideas clearly appeal to some enough to convince them a coup is a worthwhile undertaking. And links to more influential organisations would make them more dangerous – which is why this matter has been taken so seriously by the authorities.
============================================================== Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone, particularly in the light of MAGAt officials in way too many states who appear to think that everything in the way of relations will all be just lovely if we just don’t talk about them, many of us have looked to Germany as an example of a nation which responsibly required study of the Holocaust, and took responsibility, if not for the horror, at least for trying to prevent its occurrence. As someone who has looked to Germany in that way, my first reaction was not exactly disappointment – it was more like, “Good God, if doing the right things doesn’t succeed in diminishing, or even helping to contend with, the ugliness that thrives in people’s hearts, then what will?!” Is there even an answer at all? Help us to brainstorm – not that we can come up with a solution, but perhaps we can at least learn something.
-en.png){kind=link}