Quote of the Day

The anger [displayed at the Winter Olympic Games] in Milan wasn’t just about [Vice President] JD Vance’s personality. It was about policy. It turns out there was significant local controversy regarding the presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Italy. The administration sent ICE agents to assist with security and the Italians did not take kindly to having our deportation force walking their streets. It sparked protests leading up to the Games.

It turns out that exporting your police state has consequences. The reaction reflects the broader strains in our relationship with Europe under this administration. They are tired of the trade tariffs and the foreign policy bullying. When Vance showed up as the face of that administration the crowd let him know exactly how they felt. They weren’t booing America. They were booing the specific brand of arrogance that Vance represents.

The funniest part of this whole saga is Donald Trump’s reaction. When reporters asked him about it he seemed genuinely confused. He said “That’s surprising because people like him.” Then he added “He doesn’t get booed in this country.” It is a window into the delusion they live in. Trump actually believes that Vance is popular because they only ever go to staged rallies where the crowd is vetted and the applause is guaranteed.

The truth is that JD Vance gets booed in this country all the time. He is historically unpopular. But in the U.S. they can filter the noise. They can ban the dissenters and curate the feed. In Italy they couldn’t control the microphone. They stepped out of their safe space and found out what the rest of the world actually thinks of them.

So don’t let them gaslight you. The video is real. The IOC confirmed it. The President is making excuses for it. JD Vance went to a party that was supposed to be about unity and he was the only guy nobody wanted to see.

– Brent Molnar
Excerpted from “The World Doesn’t Lie:
Why the IOC Just Confirmed Vance’s Humiliation”
via social media
February 7, 2026

Related Off-site Links:
JD Vance Booed at Winter Olympics Amid Anti-ICE Protests – Katie Herchenroeder (Mother Jones, January 7, 2026).
The World Heard JD Vance Being Booed at the Olympics. Except for Viewers in the U.S. – Bryan Armen Graham (The Guardian, January 7, 2026).
IOC Responds to Booing of JD Vance and Israeli Athletes at Winter Olympic Opening Ceremony – Flo Clifford (The Independent, January 7, 2026).

“We Intend to Defend Our Democracy”: The “No Kings” Protests of October 18, 2025

Earlier today I participated in one of a number of the planned “No Kings” protests that took place throughout the Twin Cities metro area.

The largest of these protests was in downtown Minneapolis (right) where an estimated 30,000 people gathered to send the message that they intend to defend democracy and the rule of law from the authoritarian rhetoric and actions of the Trump administration.

My friend Joseph and I attended a smaller protest of around 3,000 people in St. Paul, at the intersection of Randolph and Fairview Avenues (left).

The message of defending democracy against Trump’s increasingly dictitorial presidency was the same here as it was in Minneapolis and at each of the 2,600 “No Kings” protests that took place across the country and in every state. Indeed, with close to 7 million people nationwide attending today’s peaceful protests, it was the largest single-day of protest against tyranny in U.S. history.

Following are images that I took at today’s “No Kings” protest in St. Paul. They are accompanied by a number of excerpts from articles about “No Kings Day” 2.0. (For my post about the first “No Kings Day” in June, click here.)

[Today in Washington, D.C.] was awesome. We had hundreds of thousands of people on the street to protest Donald Trump’s authoritarianism. It was passionate, then it was joyful. There was a dance party on the steps of the Labor Department where people inflatable costumes. There were hysterical signs.

But there was a really clear message that we intend to defend our democracy by exercising our democratic rights. We’re not capitulating to Donald Trump and his authoritarianism, his effort to scare us into submission.

I think that Trump’s authoritarianism is getting worse and mobilizing more people, but I think his effort to intimidate is failing as well. And each time people turn out, each time people protest, each time people stand up, it makes it easier for the next set of people to do that. So we think that today, when all is said and done, it will have been the largest day of protest in American history.

All to defend our democracy, oppose the ICE raids, oppose the National Guard on our streets, oppose the illegal firings of federal employees, opposing the illegal shutdown of agencies. And more people want a government that works for us, not for Donald Trump and his oligarch friends.

. . . [P]eople are really worried about the fate of our country and understand that, in total, what Trump is trying to do is take away our democracy and replace it with authoritarian regime.

So some people may be more motivated by the pressure on universities or by the illegal abductions of immigrants or by the deployment of the National Guard, or by the shutdown of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that’s protecting us from financial fraudsters, or by the weaponization of the Department of Justice.

But everybody understands whatever the thing that gets them going, it’s all part of a bigger tapestry of this authoritarian agenda, and they’re ready, willing, and passionate about standing up to it.

– Robert Weissman
Quoted in “‘We Intend to Defend Our Democracy,’
Says ‘No Kings’ Protest Organizer”
PBS Newshour
October 18, 2025

Authoritarianism feeds on fear. The No Kings Day protests showed that fear can be broken. Peaceful demonstrations signal more than opposition; they reveal a widespread sense of being ignored. The No Kings Day protests make visible what millions already know: Republican representatives understand their constituents are being harmed by this administration and have chosen silence. They no longer hold town halls. They no longer answer questions. Instead, they parrot Trump, labeling the protest a “hate America” rally, and frame participants as radical leftists or terrorists. The message is unmistakable – this administration not only refuses to listen, it no longer cares what people think.

Our government rests on majority rule, compromise, and the slow, difficult work of consensus. Dictators reject all three. Force replaces deliberation; opponents become “enemies within.” The message this regime delivers is not through debate, but through deployment—troops in the streets, mass arrests, and intimidation dressed up as law and order. Consent has been replaced by fear – the new currency of governance. I live in a community that historically votes Republican. The so-called “enemy within” are our neighbors, many of them lifelong conservatives. Like me, they have learned that when the choice is between tyranny and constitutional freedom, partisanship disappears. That is what makes the No Kings Day protests so remarkable. Their message is clear and loud: we are not afraid and we will not be intimidated.

– James Greenberg
Excerpted from “The No Kings Day Protests”
James’s Substack
October 19, 2025

Today, millions of Americans and their allies turned out across the United States and around the globe to demonstrate their commitment to American democracy and their opposition to a president and an administration apparently bent on replacing that democracy with a dictatorship.

Administration loyalists tried to claim the No Kings protests would be “hate America” rallies of “the pro-Hamas wing and Antifa people.” Texas governor Greg Abbott deployed the Texas National Guard ahead of the No Kings Day protests, warning that “[v]iolence and destruction will never be tolerated in Texas.”

In fact, protesters turned out waving American flags and wearing frog and unicorn and banana costumes and carrying homemade signs that demanded the release of the Epstein files and defended Lady Liberty. They laughed and danced and took selfies and sang. City police departments, including those of New York City, San Diego, and Washington, D.C., said they had made no protest-related arrests.

In Oakland, California, Mother Jones senior editor Michael Mechanic interviewed a man named Justin, asking him if, as a Black man, he had particular concerns about the actions of the Trump administration.

Justin answered: “You know . . . a lot of times I have a hopeless feeling, but . . . being out here today just reminds me about the beauty of America and American protests. And, you know, the fact that they tried to . . . stomp on this, step on this, you know, say it’s non-American, because that’s what I've been reading a lot about. No, this is the point of America right here: to be able to have this opportunity to protest. . . . [This] does not look like Antifa, Hamas, none of this stuff that they’re talking about. . . . [Y]ou know, this is the beauty of America.”

The No Kings demonstrations ran the gamut from hundreds of thousands of protesters in large, blue cities, to smaller crowds in small towns in Republican-dominated states. Together, they demonstrate that the administration’s claims to popularity are a lie. Such a high turnout means businesses and institutions that thought they must cater to the administration to appeal to a majority of Americans will be forced to recalculate. And the protests showed that Americans care fervently about democracy.

– Heather Cox Richardson
via social media
October 18, 2025

What happened on October 18 was a civic thunderclap. From Los Angeles to Philadelphia, from Atlanta to Seattle, Americans poured into streets, parks, bridges, and capitol steps under a single, simple banner: No Kings. Early tallies from organizers, municipal transit data, cell-mobility snapshots, and live aerial counts point to a turnout on the scale of the largest demonstrations in modern U.S. history. In city after city, the photos tell the same story: corridors of people, handmade signs, strollers and wheelchairs, clergy and veterans, students and seniors. It looked less like a rally than a referendum.

The most remarkable part was not the size. It was the discipline. Across hundreds of permitted marches and spontaneous gatherings, the overwhelming pattern was calm crowds, cooperative marshals, and largely routine interactions with local police. Volunteer de-escalators were everywhere. Medical tents, water stations, ADA escorts, “leave-no-trace” cleanups. In a political climate drenched in attempts to bait the public into televised chaos, millions refused the script.

Despite relentless efforts to frame the movement as dangerous, the arrest picture cut the other way. As of the first full sweep of police incident logs and verified media reports, there were no confirmed arrests of No Kings demonstrators for violence. The confirmed arrests tied to the day’s events were counter-protesters aligned with MAGA branding. In Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, a woman in a Trump shirt was arrested after allegedly brandishing a firearm near marchers. In downtown Cincinnati, police took a female counter-protester into custody after she allegedly grabbed and tried to rip away an American flag from an older participant. Both cases were processed without incident. Everywhere else, the tape shows chants, speeches, and people going home.

That outcome was not an accident. Organizers built for it. The “peace first” posture was baked into the trainings, route plans, communications, and on-the-ground logistics. Crowd briefings reminded people how to film safely, how to avoid provocations, and how to exit quickly if needed. Legal hotlines were staffed. Rally MCs repeated the same refrain: “We are here to be seen, not to be baited.” When an event refuses to supply the violence its opponents are praying for, the narrative starves.

– Brent Molnar
via social media
October 20, 2025

They called it the “No Kings” rally for a reason.
Because power isn’t sacred just because someone grabs it.
Because democracy isn’t self-sustaining.
Because deep down, we all know that freedom has to be guarded, especially from those who crave control.

Two thousand years ago, Jesus stood in the shadow of an empire that demanded loyalty to Caesar. He refused. He preached a way of love, equity, and liberation so threatening to those in charge that Rome hung him on a cross. Not because he was “too spiritual.” But because he was too political for the comfort of the powerful.

When people filled the streets on October 18 shouting “No Kings”, they weren’t just talking about one man, they were invoking a truth as old as faith itself: no human being is meant to wield godlike power over others.

Not Caesar.
Not any president.
Not any would-be strongman whose ego demands our submission.

History has seen this story before. Every empire insists it’s different. Every would-be ruler says “trust me.” And every time, ordinary people have to decide whether they’ll stay quiet or if they’ll stand up.

Authoritarianism doesn’t start with military boots and torches. It starts with fear. With apathy. With churches blessing cruelty because it’s wrapped in the flag. With leaders who treat compassion as weakness and dissent as disloyalty.

That’s why progressive Christians are speaking up: because our faith requires it. The same love that moved Jesus to challenge empire calls us to do the same today.

This is not about left or right. It’s about whether we still believe in “we the people.”
It’s about whether we’ll trade our neighbors’ freedom for the illusion of control.
It’s about whether we’ll let history repeat itself or write a different ending.

Love resists empire.
It’s done it before.
It’s doing it now.
And it’s not about to quit.

– Rev. Dr. Mark Sandlin
via social media
October 20, 2025

Above and below: The two-sided sign I’ve now taken to both today’s “No Kings” protest and the first one on June 14. For my thoughts on the overall message of my sign, click here.

I wore my “Omar Fateh for Minneapolis Mayor” shirt to the “No Kings” event I attended today. The man himself took part in the march and rally in downtown Minneapolis (right and below).

For more about Omar’s campaign, one which (clearly) I support, click here, here and here.

Related Off-site Links:
“We the People Will Rule!”: Millions Turn Out for “No Kings” Protests Against Trump Tyranny – Brett Wilkins (Common Dreams, October 18, 2025).
Millions Across All 50 U.S. States March in “No Kings” Protests Against Trump – Rachel Leingang and Edward Helmore (The Guardian, October 18, 2025).
Protesters Decry Trump Administration Policies in “No Kings” Rallies Across the U.S. – NPR News (October 18, 2025).
Minneapolis “No Kings” Rally Draws Out Thousands Opposed to Trump Policies – MPR Newshour (October 18, 2025).

UPDATES: The Country Showed Up – Marianne Williamson (Transform, October 19, 2025).
Long Live “No Kings” – William Kristol, Andrew Egger, and Jim Swift (The Bulwark, October 20, 2025).
“No Kings” Protests Are Just Not Enough – John Ross and Nathan J. Robinson (Current Affairs, October 20, 2025).
Seven Million Turn Out for “No Kings” Protests Nationwide. Next Up, Massive Disruptions Backed by Unions? – Luis Feliz Leon (In These Times, October 20, 2025).
Troops on the Streets, a Polarized Country and Climbing Prices: Welcome to Trump’s “Golden Age” – Steven Greenhouse (The Guardian, October 20, 2025).
The “No Kings” Day Project Must Evolve From Protest to Civil Disobedience – Phil Wilson (Common Dreams, October 23, 2025).
Billionaires Support Groups Behind “No Kings,” But They Didn't Spend $300M to Fund Protests – Rae Deng (Snopes, October 24, 2025).
The “No Kings” Protests: An Affirmation of Democracy in the Face of Authoritarianism – Chloe Atkinson (Common Dreams, October 25, 2025).


See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• Thoughts on the Eve of “No Kings Day” 2.0
• “No Kings”? Absolutely. But Also “No Oligarchy”
• Bruce Fanger on Jesus’s Theology of No Kings
• “Protesting Is What Patriotism Looks Like in Public”: The “No Kings” Protests of June 14, 2025
• Norman Solomon: Quote of the Day – June 16, 2025

Images of the “No Kings” rally in St. Paul: Michael Bayly

Thoughts on the Eve of “No Kings Day” 2.0

I wholehearted agree with the following by Richard Moser.

In choosing “No Kings” as the frame for protest, the Democratic Party leadership, as represented by Indivisible or 50501, is committing an act of mass distraction. We do not face a monarchy, we face contemporary capitalism. The corporation has merged with the state and rules us with a heavy hand.

It’s the dictatorship of big money at home and global military supremacy abroad. These are precisely the conditions that have encouraged fascism. In fact, the “leaders” of No Kings are doing Trump a big fat favor by hiding the SYSTEM that created him. They cannot help doing so because the Democrats are a foundational part of that system.

We are duty-bound not to follow but to lead. Engage people as your courage and capacity permits.

I’ll be attending with friends the Minneapolis “No Kings” march tomorrow, and one way that I’ll be engaging with my fellow attendees is via the sign that I’ll be carrying.

It’s actually a two-sided sign and its message speaks to Moser’s observations above. I made this sign for the June 14 “No Kings” event in St. Paul, and at the time noted the following.

My message seeks to acknowledge and convey a deeper awareness of what’s being protested. Yes, Donald Trump has clear authoritarian tendencies and is taking actions that are undermining and dismantling the democratic and humanitarian institutions of the U.S. This needs to be highlighted, resisted, and stopped. For the vast majority of people, this will be their message tomorrow. I support this message. Yet at the same time, many of us don’t see Trump himself as the sole or even primary problem; we see him as a symptom – an undeniably extreme and terrible one – of a deeper reality which for decades has undermined and made a mockery of democracy in this country.

I’m referring to the corrupting influence of corporate money, of special profit-obsessed interests. I’m talking about the corporate capture of our political system; the rise and devastating influence of a corporate aristocracy, an oligarchy to which both major parties bow.

Although such subservience benefits these parties’ coffers, it has proven profoundly detrimental to the well-being of their constituents, the environment, and democracy.

In choosing to appease their corporate donors at the expense of the needs of the people, both parties can be said to be oligarchic; both parties comprise a corporatist/oligarchic duopoly, the policies of which created the economic conditions of profound inequality that make the authoritarian populism of Trump so appealing to so many.

The oligarchy we’re up against is every bit as anti-democratic and thus un-American as any king. Indeed, it’s sadly accurate to say that in the U.S. “money rules,” that “money is king.”

“King” Trump could keel over tomorrow, but the kingship of the oligarchy would remain. It’s this “money is king” reality that I’ll be highlighting and protesting at the “No Kings” rally.

Over the last few days, much has been said and written about tomorrow’s nationwide "No Kings" event. Following are some examples.

On the eve of our march, let’s speak plainly: this will not sway their hearts. Trump does not hear the cries of our cities. Troops already line our streets, and he vows to send more. They do not dread our voices – they have armored themselves against them.

So why rise?

Because some moments demand presence over triumph. The Germans convinced themselves resistance was useless, and their silence became complicity. Russians now kneel to Putin, persuaded that rebellion is a fool’s errand. We dare not drift into that same abyss.

We do not march for victory.

We march to keep our spirits unbroken.

We rise for love of country and of our true flag – not the idol they’ve drenched in venom, but the one we refuse to surrender: the banner of liberty, dissent, and the fierce right to refuse. That flag remains ours.

Win or perish, stand or shatter – silence is no option.

Let history etch this: we stood, unbowed.

– Bruce Fanger
via social media
October 17, 2023

You know Trump Republicans are worried when they slam a planned protest – more than a week before it occurs.

Last Friday, Speaker Mike Johnson described this coming Saturday’s No Kings rally as the “hate-America” rally that would draw “the pro-Hamas wing” and “the antifa people.”

I’m sure these phrases have been distributed to senior Republicans by the White House. They’re all delivering the same lines.

Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) claims Democrats are refusing to vote to fund the government “to score political points with the terrorist wing of their party, which is set to hold ... a hate-America rally” on Saturday.

So what is the White House worried about? Why are they trying to discredit the rally before it’s even occurred?

Because it’s likely to be even larger than the first No Kings rally – which was the largest demonstration against Trump since his return to the Oval Office.

And it will happen all over America, so it’s likely to generate a huge number of news clips on local television.

Trump’s power depends on maintaining the illusion that he’s all-powerful, and that most Americans (apart from those he and his lapdogs label “pro-Hamas,” “terrorists,” and “antifa”) adore him.

But that illusion is harder to maintain if a significant part of the population of every town and city is on the streets decrying him. The Emperor has no clothes.

Rather than it being a “hate-America” rally, Saturday’s rally is an opportunity for all of us who love America to express our determination that our nation’s ideals not be crushed by the Trump regime.

It’s a chance for us to publicly rededicate ourselves to democracy, the rule of law, equal protection under the law, and our rights to believe what we want, say what we want, and choose our leaders without fear of recrimination.

I urge you to participate.

– Robert Reich
via social media
October 15, 2023

The more MAGA tries to demonize this protest, the more people RSVP. That alone says everything about what’s at stake. If you’re attending a No Kings rally tomorrow, stay aware, stay peaceful, and look out for each other. Document everything, travel in pairs, and keep your phones charged. Movements built on truth and courage don’t need violence . . . they just need people who refuse to be silenced. Be careful out there tomorrow.

– Brent Molnar
via social media
October 17, 2023

There are those who are saying protest is somehow disloyal. That’s backwards. The shallow version of patriotism waves a flag without asking questions. The mature version changes the oil, checks the brakes, and makes sure the bus is safe for everybody – especially those who’ve been told to give up their seats for the “more deserving,” and head to the back (or get off entirely). "No Kings" is scheduled maintenance, not malice.

So, we bring our pride, our joy, our grief. We bring our voices and our ears. We bring our commitment to a democracy that protects the vulnerable first ... not last. Please understand, “No Kings” isn't a rejection of the nation’s promise but a recommitment to it. No idols in high office. No thrones in the living room. Just ordinary people choosing one another again.

That’s not hating America. That’s how you love it like a grown-up.

– Derek Penwell
via social media
October 17, 2023

And finally, here’s author and former Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson’s thoughts on “No Kings Day” 2.0 tomorrow.





Related Off-site Links:
Pro-Democracy Americans Gear Up for “No Kings” Day Nationwide – Brad Reed (Common Dreams, October 17, 2025).
Organizers of “No Kings” Protests Expect Millions of People to Join at Least 2,500 Rallies Nationwide – Democracy Now! (October 17, 2025).
Thousands Expected at Anti-Trump “No Kings” Rally in Downtown Minneapolis – Regina Medina (MPR News, October 17, 2025).
“No Kings” Rally Organizer: It’s “Quite Clear” Why Mike Johnson Is Attacking Our Protests – Jennifer Bendery and Arthur Delaney (The Huffington Post, October 17, 2025).
No to Kings, Yes to Democracy – Rob Okun (Common Dreams, October 16, 2025).
“No Kings” Protest Organizers Aren’t Afraid of Trump’s Court Jesters – Nikki McCann Ramirez (Rolling Stone, October 16, 2025).
Karoline Leavitt’s “Incredibly Dangerous” Rant About Democrats Draws Instant Backlash – Lee Moran (The Huffington Post, October 16, 2025).
Americans Are Fed Up with the Corrupt and Feckless Trump Administration – Edwin Eisendrath (Lincoln Square, October 15, 2025).


See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• “No Kings”? Absolutely. But Also “No Oligarchy”
• Bruce Fanger on Jesus’s Theology of No Kings
• “Protesting Is What Patriotism Looks Like in Public”: The “No Kings” Protests of June 14, 2025
• Norman Solomon: Quote of the Day – June 16, 2025
• Peter Bloom: Quote of the Day – June 10, 2025
• Ted Rall on What It Means to Be a Leftist in 2025
• Butch Ware on His Run for California Governor and the Wider Goal of Disrupting the Duopoly
• Eric Fernández: Quote of the Day – May 14, 2025
• Progressive Perspectives on Bernie Sanders’ “Fighting Oligarchy” Tour
• Why the Democratic Party Is Not Going to Save Us From Fascism
• An Opportunity for Organizing Against Duopoly
• Building Solidarity on the Left
• “It Is Our Responsibility to Make a Third Party Viable”
• “The Moment Is Ripe”: Butch Ware on Building a “True Oppositional Alternative” to the Duopoly
• Democrat Talk on the Eve of Trump’s Return
• Breaking the Mold: Why Progressives Should Push for Marianne Williamson to Lead the DNC
• Inauguration Day Thoughts
• The Green Party’s Jill Stein and Butch Ware Give Their First Post-Election Interview
• Progressive Perspectives on Where Democrats Went Wrong in the 2024 Election
• “A New Chapter of the Democratic Party Needs to Begin”
• What the Republican Party Now Stands For
• The Lamentable Legacy of the Biden Administration
• Jill Stein: “We Give Reasons for People to Come Out and Vote”
• We’re Witnessing a Liberal Meltdown Over Jill Stein
• Butch Ware: “You Can Actually Vote Your Conscience”
• Peter Bloom on the Unmasking of the “Democratic Charade”
• The “Green Smoothie” Option
• Green Party Vice Presidential Candidate Butch Ware in Minneapolis
• When Democrats Undermine Democracy
• Elise Labott on How Third Parties Can Revitalize Democracy
• Something to Think About – August 15, 2024
• Centrist/Corporatist Democrats Have Just Launched “Left Punching” Season
• “Americans Deserve Choices”: Jill Stein on Breaking Points – 4/30/24
• AOC Falls in Line
• The Cassandra of U.S. Politics on the “True State of the Union”
• Will Democrats Never Learn?
• “The Next Step Is a Green Step”: Cornel West Endorses Jill Stein (2016)
• Hope Over Fear: Voting Green

Brent Molnar on the the Silencing of Jimmy Kimmel: “This Is What Fascism Looks Like in Practice”

As much as I love watching the comedy Abbott Elementary, I’ll be canceling my subscription to Hulu . . . and to Disney+ (which means no more rewatching of Andor). 😢

Why am I doing this? Because when entertainment conglomerates like Disney (which operates the ABC television network and the Hulu and Disney+ streaming services) are complicit in governmental attempts to suppress free speech, they should not be supported. As Brent Molnar writes: This is what happens when the state and corporate power merge to enforce one political line and erase dissent. . . . This is fascism."

Money talks. And it’s the only thing these companies listen and respond to. So please consider joining with me and many others in boycotting these companies and services.

Following is Molnar’s most recent commentary, one in which he describes the recent events that have led to a growing number of people “pulling [their] viewership and dollars away from ABC, Disney, Nexstar, and any advertiser that props up this silencing.”

_________________

There are moments when the curtain pulls back and you see the machinery of power in all its naked form. This week was one of those moments. Jimmy Kimmel did what late night hosts have always done. He cracked a monologue, skewered hypocrisy, and pointed out the absurdity of how the right has turned the murder of Charlie Kirk into a loyalty test. Within hours, his show was gone. Suspended. Pulled not because of low ratings, not because of scandal, but because powerful people did not like what he said. This is authoritarianism.

ABC announced the indefinite suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live! after pressure from affiliates and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The trigger was his criticism of the MAGA grief machine. He pointed out the grotesque spectacle of forcing a nation to perform mourning on command, while ignoring victims who are inconvenient to the narrative. He compared it to the staged grief of North Korea. And for that, he was yanked off the air.

The right erupted in outrage, demanding punishment, while the FCC’s Brendan Carr dangled the threat of license consequences. Nexstar, one of the largest station groups in the country, refused to air Kimmel’s show. That was the death knell. ABC folded, not because of principle, but because power demanded it. The result is chilling.

Let us be clear about what happened. A comedian pointed out a double standard. The government threatened regulatory retaliation. Corporate affiliates caved. The network silenced him. That sequence is not democracy. That sequence is fascism. It is what happens when the state and corporate power merge to enforce one political line and erase dissent.

The argument will be made that Kimmel was “insensitive.” That his jokes were “too soon.” That broadcasters have to be “responsible.” But responsibility is not what this is about. If it were, Fox hosts who spread lies that fueled insurrections would be gone. If it were, commentators who cheer for book bans and call immigrants “vermin” would not still be on prime time. The difference is not standards. The difference is whose speech serves power, and whose speech challenges it.

Free speech does not only mean the right to whisper in your living room. It means the right to challenge the narratives of those in power. Kimmel did that, and the machinery of politics and media made an example of him. To send a message not just to him, but to every other broadcaster: cross this line and you are next.

This is what fascism looks like in practice. Not always jackboots at your door, but the slow narrowing of the public square until only state-approved voices remain. It is the fusion of government pressure, corporate cowardice, and political intimidation. It is the chilling effect where comedians, journalists, and citizens alike learn to self-censor out of fear that speaking truth to power will cost them their platform, their livelihood, or their safety.

The stakes are bigger than Jimmy Kimmel. They are about whether dissent is allowed to breathe in America. If an FCC chair can publicly threaten a network over content and force them to silence a late-night comedian, what will happen to independent journalists? To dissident podcasters? To critics without the protection of Disney’s lawyers? The answer is simple. They will be crushed.

And this is not just about one night’s jokes. It is about the trajectory of a regime that increasingly treats criticism as treason, satire as crime, and disagreement as disloyalty. When authoritarian governments rise, they do not begin with mass arrests. They begin with silencing the voices that make people laugh, think, and question. They begin by erasing the entertainers who puncture propaganda. Because if you can control what people laugh at, you can control what they fear.

Jimmy Kimmel may come back. Or he may not. But the lesson has already been taught. The line has been drawn. Speak against the regime’s martyrs, and you will pay. That is the playbook. That is fascism, American-style.

The response must be louder than their censorship. Because silence is the point. They want us quiet, intimidated, atomized. We cannot let that stand. Share the stories. Support independent outlets. Back the creators and journalists who will not bend. And never let the absurdity of this moment be normalized. A country where comedians cannot tell jokes is a country already in collapse.

If you want to hit back in a way they will actually feel, the most direct step is to boycott the companies tied to this censorship. That means pulling your viewership and dollars away from ABC, Disney, Nexstar, and any advertiser that props up this silencing. Do not give them your time, your clicks, or your money. Cancel subscriptions, change your streaming habits, and tell their sponsors exactly why. These corporations believe they can silence dissent without cost. Let’s prove them wrong. Economic pressure is one of the last levers ordinary people still hold, and it works best when we use it together.

– Brent Molnar
via Brent Molnar: Voice of Reason
September 18, 2025

Related Off-site Links:
“Red Alert Moment” for Free Speech as ABC Cowers to Trump FCC and Cancels Kimmel – Julia Conley (Common Dreams, September 18, 2025).
Stephen Colbert Defends Jimmy Kimmel: “This Is Blatant Censorship” By An “Autocrat” – Scoop Harrison (Consequence, September 18, 2025).
Democracy Needs a Fearless Press and Vice Versa – Trump Is Killing Both – Robert Reich (Common Dreams, September 18, 2025).
Rep. Ro Khanna Moves to Subpoena FCC Chair Carr Over Effort to “Shred the First Amendment” – Brad Reed (Common Dreams, September 18, 2025).
Trump Threatens to Strip Broadcast Licenses for Networks Giving Him “Bad Press,” Ramping Up His “Campaign of Censorship and Control” – Stephen Prager (Common Dreams, September 18, 2025).
Political Violence and the State of Free Speech in America – Eddie S. Glaude Jr. (via YouTube, September 16, 2025).

UPDATES: Calls to Boycott Disney Explode After ABC Submits to FCC Threats by Ousting Jimmy Kimmel – Philip Allen Lacovara (Common Dreams, September 19, 2025).
Censoring Jimmy Kimmel Is Not The Biggest Threat To The First Amendment – But This Is – Jason Pramas (Common Dreams, September 19, 2025).
Will U.S. Democracy Survive? This Is a Threshold Moment – Thom Hartmann (Common Dreams, September 19, 2025).
Trump Expands “Authoritarian” Free Speech Crackdown, Calls Negative Media “Illegal”: An Interview with Jameel Jaffer – Democracy Now! (September 22, 2025).
Jimmy Kimmel and the FCC – John Oliver (Last Week Tonight, September 22. 2025).
Disney Restores Jimmy Kimmel’s Show Following Backlash in Major Blow to Trump Regime – Mike Figueredo (The Humanist Report, September 22, 2025).
ABC Reverses Kimmel Decision, and the Reason Is Clear – David Doel (The Rational National, September 22, 2025).


See also the following chronologically-ordered Wild Reed posts:
• Marisa Kabas: “We’re Witnessing a Coup By an Unelected Billionaire Propped Up By a Felonious President”
• Timothy Snyder on Resisting the Oligarchs’ “Logic of Destruction”
• “This Is Essentially Viktor Orbán’s Playbook”
• “An Extremely Clever Ruse” by and for the Rich: Owen Jones on Elon Musk’s Coup
• “To Be a Rib in This Body of Our Country”
• Quote of the Day – February 21, 2025
• Ralph Nader: “We’re Heading Into the Most Serious Crisis in American History. There’s No Comparison”
• Why the Democratic Party Is Not Going to Save Us From Fascism
• “This Is How Democracy Unravels”
• Jason Stanley on How Fascism Works
• James Greenberg on Trumpism: “The Tactics Are Unmistakable”
• Tony Pentimalli on Trump’s “Death Warrant for Democracy”
• “This Is What Fascism Looks Like”
• Peter Bloom: Quote of the Day – June 10, 2025
• “Protesting Is What Patriotism Looks Like in Public”: The “No Kings” Protests of June 14, 2025
• “No Kings”? Absolutely. But Also “No Oligarchy”
• Marianne Williamson: Quote of the Day – June 20, 2025
• Rep. Ro Khanna: Quote of the Day – June 24, 2025
• “This Is Fascism”
• The Declaration of Resistance
• The Choice Before Us
• Marianne Williamson: Quote of the Day – July 26, 2025
• How Democrats Can Start Winning Again
• Brent Molnar on the MAGA Cult and Its Intentions
• James Greenberg: “The Choices We Make Matter”
• Brent Molnar on the “Cold War in Our Own House”
• Khalil Gibran Muhammad on Donald Trump’s Militarization of Law Enforcement
• Jason Duchin: “It’s Here, and We Are Sleepwalking Through It”
• Marianne Williamson: “We’re Moving Into Totalitarianism”
• Garrett Graff: “America Tips Into Fascism”
• Bowing to an Idol
• Marianne Williamson on the Need for “Radical Love” in Responding to Trump’s Dismantling of Democracy

Brent Molnar on the “Cold War in Our Own House”

Let’s dispense with the euphemisms. This is not dysfunction. This is not polarization. This is not a rough patch between parties who still fundamentally believe in a shared project. No. We are at war – quietly, bureaucratically, legally. Not with bullets, not yet. But with lines on maps, with edicts signed in backrooms, with judges installed for the express purpose of gutting democracy under the illusion of process. It’s a cold war in our own house. A legal civil war. And the fuse is already lit.

On August 4th, Governor Greg Abbott escalated. He crossed a line we’ve seen coming for years but prayed would hold. With smug glee, he announced that any Democratic legislator who fails to appear for a surprise session would have their seat declared vacant. Not censured. Not penalized. Vacated. This wasn’t governance. This was a purge – designed to manufacture a quorum for an emergency redistricting effort that would slice at least five new Republican congressional seats out of thin air. Not earned. Not voted on. Just . . . drawn.

The motive is not hidden. The GOP is preparing for a catastrophe in 2026. Their coalition is collapsing under the weight of its own contradictions, and rather than build a broader base, they’re rigging the battlefield. Five extra seats – procured with a pen, not a vote – could mean the difference between minority status and absolute control of the House. And from there? The plan is plain: manufacture deadlock in 2028, throw the election to the House, and coronate a president by fiat. Maybe even Trump himself. It’s not conspiracy theory. It’s strategy, and they’re announcing it out loud.

And they’re not alone. In response, blue states are sharpening their own blades. Governors in California, Illinois, Washington, and New York have declared their intention to redraw their maps as a counterstrike. They’re no longer pretending this is a shared country. They’re drawing their own lines – not just on paper, but in the ground. We’ve now entered the phase where both sides are actively seizing power through procedural warfare. This isn’t brinksmanship. It’s the opening volley of a new kind of civil conflict.

There will be no Fort Sumter this time. No clear battlefield. Instead, there will be standoffs between federal agents and state troopers. Budget refusals. Competing court rulings. Commanders who ignore orders from “illegitimate” presidents. And as Trump purges the military of anyone not sufficiently loyal, the idea of a unified national defense force becomes laughable. He’s not staffing a government. He’s assembling warlords. And we are supposed to wait and hope this somehow returns to normal?

Let’s stop pretending we’re in a democracy. The GOP has already said, flat out, that they’ll reject the next Democratic win. No ambiguity. No pretense. They’ve broadcast their plan: win the House with rigged maps, create a disputed presidential election, and install their choice by congressional vote. That’s not the loss of democracy. That is democracy’s replacement. And if the courts uphold it – if the Supreme Court smiles and nods and signs the death certificate – then the Constitution becomes nothing more than a prop in a crime scene photo.

So what happens then? What happens when California refuses to recognize a president who was “elected” by an illegitimate House majority? What happens when New York withholds federal taxes? When blue states band together and declare the compact broken? Don’t scoff. The only thing keeping this country stitched together is the will to be united. That will is gone. And once it’s acknowledged – once the mask slips – we don’t go back. We can’t.

The split won’t be clean. It won’t be two nations. It will be dozens of factions: states, cities, counties, military units, militias, digital enclaves. A hundred flags. A thousand claims to legitimacy. And in that chaos, someone will rise – a younger, sharper strongman who offers peace through obedience. He’ll wear Trump’s ideology with a new face, and we’ll be so desperate to stop the bleeding, we’ll crown him king. That’s how republics fall. Not from war – but from the desire to end it.

And here’s the final, brutal truth: they’ve misjudged the left. They think we’re weak because we believe in empathy. Because we respect law. Because we want a world where nobody has to live in fear. But that doesn’t mean we won’t fight. We’ve stood against fascism before – and if the day comes, we’ll stand again. We may lose. We may fracture. But history will not forget who struck first. Or who gave everything trying to hold the line.

– Brent Molnar
via Brent Molnar: Voice of Reason
August 7, 2025

Related Off-site Links:
Is America’s Democracy on the Brink of Collapse? – Alasdair Black (The AIM Network, August 9, 2025).
Tyrant Trump’s Worst Crimes, Dangers, and Destructions Are Yet to Come – Ralph Nader (Common Dreams, August 9, 2025).
Donald J. Trump Is the Leading Threat to U.S. Election Integrity – Michael Waldman (Common Dreams, August 8, 2025).
Is the United States Falling Apart? – Helen Reynolds (The AIM Network, August 8, 2025).
The Trump Administration Wants to Turn U.S. Cities Into Occupied Territory – Jesse MacKinnon (Common Dreams, August 7, 2025).
It’s Up to We the People to Save a Flailing America From Spiritual Death – William J. Astore (Common Dreams, August 5, 2025).
The Rule of Law Is Dead in the U.S. – Elie Mystal (The Nation, July 30, 2025).
What Won't Democrats Fight? – Jonathan V. Last (The Bulwark, July 30, 2025).
American Politics Are in Trouble – James Zogby (Common Dreams, July 28, 2025).
Trump’s Supreme Court Enablers Will Face History’s Verdict – Philip Allen Lacovara (The Bulwark, July 28, 2025).
“The Orban Playbook”: Trump Assault on Media Matters Seen as Dire Warning to Other Critics – Brad Reed (Common Dreams, July 25, 2025).
Trump’s Gravestones, Carved by Reality Denial – Steven Day (Common Dreams, July 24, 2025).
The Fascists Are Trying to Break You, Good People. Don’t Let Them – John Pavlovitz (The Beautiful Mess, July 17, 2025).
“We Are in the Midst of the Creation of a Police State”: Rep. Ilhan Omar on Trump’s Authoritarianism – Democracy Now! (June 13, 2025).
The War on Terror Comes Home: Learning the Dark Lessons of Trump’s First 50 Days – Karen J. Greenberg (Salon, March 30, 2025).

UPDATE: Time for Democrats to Get Off Their Asses – Robert Reich (Common Dreams, August 15, 2025).


See also the following chronologically-ordered Wild Reed posts:
• Marisa Kabas: “We’re Witnessing a Coup By an Unelected Billionaire Propped Up By a Felonious President”
• Timothy Snyder on Resisting the Oligarchs’ “Logic of Destruction”
• “This Is Essentially Viktor Orbán’s Playbook”
• “An Extremely Clever Ruse” by and for the Rich: Owen Jones on Elon Musk’s Coup
• “To Be a Rib in This Body of Our Country”
• Quote of the Day – February 21, 2025
• Ralph Nader: “We’re Heading Into the Most Serious Crisis in American History. There’s No Comparison”
• Why the Democratic Party Is Not Going to Save Us From Fascism
• “This Is How Democracy Unravels”
• Jason Stanley on How Fascism Works
• James Greenberg on Trumpism: “The Tactics Are Unmistakable”
• Tony Pentimalli on Trump’s “Death Warrant for Democracy”
• “This Is What Fascism Looks Like”
• Peter Bloom: Quote of the Day – June 10, 2025
• “Protesting Is What Patriotism Looks Like in Public”: The “No Kings” Protests of June 14, 2025
• “No Kings”? Absolutely. But Also “No Oligarchy”
• Marianne Williamson: Quote of the Day – June 20, 2025
• Rep. Ro Khanna: Quote of the Day – June 24, 2025
• “This Is Fascism”
• The Declaration of Resistance
• The Choice Before Us
• Marianne Williamson: Quote of the Day – July 26, 2025
• How Democrats Can Start Winning Again
• Brent Molnar on the MAGA Cult and Its Intentions
• James Greenberg: “The Choices We Make Matter”

Brent Molnar on the MAGA Cult and Its Intentions

The modern Republican Party – now fully metastasized into the MAGA cult – has made its intentions known. They aren’t here to share power. They aren’t here to govern. They’re here to burn the system down, salt the earth, and erase anyone who stands in the way. And if you think that sounds extreme, remember: they are the ones saying it out loud. Every day. On stages. In Congress. From the Oval Office.

They talk about “getting rid of Democrats” like it’s a casual policy shift. They celebrate when protestors and congress people are shot. They cheer when schools ban books and punish teachers. They strip voters from rolls and brag about suppressing the youth vote. This isn’t politics. This is exterminationism wrapped in a flag. They’re not looking to win debates – they’re looking to erase opposition entirely.

Well, we’re not going anywhere. We’re the ones who built the safety nets. Who expanded the vote. Who fought for labor rights, civil rights, and bodily autonomy. They want to take credit for the country’s greatness while cutting out the very people who made that greatness possible. But this democracy isn’t theirs to monopolize – and we sure as hell won’t surrender it to a mob of fascist cosplay artists in red hats.

So if they want to make it a fight, let’s stop pretending we’re still playing the same game. They’ve spent years stacking the courts, rigging the maps, and poisoning the discourse. And every time we try to meet them with compromise, they meet us with contempt. Every olive branch is met with a torch. Every handshake with a sucker punch.

They say we’re the enemy. Fine. Then let’s act like it. Let’s treat them not as colleagues across the aisle, but as the greatest internal threat to democracy in modern American history. Because that’s what they are. This is not a difference of opinion – it’s a difference of intent. We want a future. They want control. We want liberty and justice. They want theocracy and rule by billionaires.

Our system has never been perfect. But it’s survived 250 years because people fought to improve it, not destroy it. And now, in the face of a party that openly calls for its opponents to be jailed, silenced, or exiled, we have to stop asking how to coexist – and start asking how to win. Decisively. Permanently.

Because when one side is screaming “get rid of them,” and the other side is still asking, “how do we reach across the aisle?” – you already know who’s losing.

– Brent Molnar
via Brent Molnar: Voice of Reason
July 30, 2025

Related Off-site Links:
What Won't Democrats Fight? – Jonathan V. Last (The Bulwark, July 30, 2025).
American Politics Are in Trouble – James Zogby (Common Dreams, July 28, 2025).
Trump’s Supreme Court Enablers Will Face History’s Verdict – Philip Allen Lacovara (The Bulwark, July 28, 2025).
“The Orban Playbook”: Trump Assault on Media Matters Seen as Dire Warning to Other Critics – Brad Reed (Common Dreams, July 25, 2025).
Trump’s Gravestones, Carved by Reality Denial – Steven Day (Common Dreams, July 24, 2025).
Democrats Are Preparing a Deliberately Incomplete 2024 Election Autopsy – Naomi LaChance (Rolling Stone, July 19, 2025).
“We Are in the Midst of the Creation of a Police State”: Rep. Ilhan Omar on Trump’s Authoritarianism – Democracy Now! (June 13, 2025).
The War on Terror Comes Home: Learning the Dark Lessons of Trump’s First 50 Days – Karen J. Greenberg (Salon, March 30, 2025).


See also the following chronologically-ordered Wild Reed posts:
• Marisa Kabas: “We’re Witnessing a Coup By an Unelected Billionaire Propped Up By a Felonious President”
• Timothy Snyder on Resisting the Oligarchs’ “Logic of Destruction”
• “This Is Essentially Viktor Orbán’s Playbook”
• “An Extremely Clever Ruse” by and for the Rich: Owen Jones on Elon Musk’s Coup
• “To Be a Rib in This Body of Our Country”
• Quote of the Day – February 21, 2025
• Ralph Nader: “We’re Heading Into the Most Serious Crisis in American History. There’s No Comparison”
• Why the Democratic Party Is Not Going to Save Us From Fascism
• “This Is How Democracy Unravels”
• Jason Stanley on How Fascism Works
• James Greenberg on Trumpism: “The Tactics Are Unmistakable”
• Tony Pentimalli on Trump’s “Death Warrant for Democracy”
• “This Is What Fascism Looks Like”
• Peter Bloom: Quote of the Day – June 10, 2025
• “Protesting Is What Patriotism Looks Like in Public”: The “No Kings” Protests of June 14, 2025
• “No Kings”? Absolutely. But Also “No Oligarchy”
• Marianne Williamson: Quote of the Day – June 20, 2025
• Rep. Ro Khanna: Quote of the Day – June 24, 2025
• “This Is Fascism”
• The Declaration of Resistance
• The Choice Before Us
• Marianne Williamson: Quote of the Day – July 26, 2025
• How Democrats Can Start Winning Again

Image: Workers from Service Employees International Union protest the proposed Republican Medicaid cuts near the U.S. Capitol building on June 23, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)