I had a conversation with a couple of people who work at our local "Federal Law Enforcement Training Center" which is arguably the largest local employer and a source of pride locally. Funny thing, but when we cross the border from Canada, they see our passports and say, "Gee, I know where you live! I've been to Jekyll Island!" And we reply, "FLETC, right?" and they nod and wave us through, forgetting to search our camper - not that we have any contraband, other than perhaps a can of Canadian Maple Syrup.
Anyway, I was chatting with these folks at a bar and I asked them if they had any ICE trainees there and they rolled their eyes. "They are not sending their best," they replied, "or screening them very well."
"We screen them," he continued, "and more than a few had outstanding warrants!"
"So what did you do?"
"Oh, we called Glynn County PD and they picked them up, slapping the cuffs on them, right in the middle of class!"
If it wasn't so sad, it might even be funny. But I was not surprised at all. After all, the Nazi Brownshirts were formed from a collection of thugs and criminals, and allowed to run rampant on minorities and political enemies. People were detained and put in extra-judicial concentration camps for weeks or months at a time, before being let go. Yes, it was only until later that these camps became slave-labor and extermination camps. In the beginning, they were political detainee prisons.
History repeats itself, or as one wag once put it, it rhymes.
Of course, like clockwork, those on the far-right, the wanna-be fascists and neo-nazis will cry, "everythng is Hitler with you people! Give it a rest!" Irony is lost on them. They admire present-day dictators and fascists, from Russia to Europe and beyond, and even apologize for Hitler or claim the Holocaust was a hoax. But if you point out the parallels between their thinking and Nazism, well, you're the bad guy.
It's called arguing in bad faith and much of these online "arguments" are from overseas bot farms, either in Rusia itself (the infamous Russian Internet Research Agency) or paid bot-farms in third world countries, such as this one in Pakistan:
Well, at least our Russian friends have moved beyond cheap click-bait videos selling bottle cutters. I guess in Mother Russia, recycling old vodka bottles as drinking glasses is a thing. In America, we have Dollar Tree - a lot easier way to get cheap glassware!
It is no joke that we are descending into fascism - if in fact, we are not already there. The Hitler playbook is being followed word for word. This time around, instead of German industrialists backing Nazism, we have billionaire "tech bros" backing MAGA-ism. And instead of "Lebensraum" we talk of invading Greenland, Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, Cuba, and most of the Caribbean.
The parallels go even further. Hitler had his ill-fated "Beer Hall Putsch" and he and his cronies were prosecuted and jailed for it. Trump had his "J6" insurrection which jailed many of the perpetrators - except Trump of course. He was too much of a coward to show up in person, anyway.
The question remains, however, how much further we are prepared to take this historical re-enactment. The Communists in Germany in the 1930s got into street brawls with the Nazis, which created discontent among the rest of the population. Many Germans who were not Nazi supporters were willing to "go along" with Hitler being made supreme leader, if it meant peace and prosperity.
Of course, it did not. It lead to utter ruin and defeat within a few years.
Many are arguing that Trump is using ICE to provoke some sort of incident or series of incidents in order to justify martial law and cancelling of the 2026 and 2028 elections. And if they can't provoke an incident, they will fabricate one. Why ICE is in Minnesota, which has a small immigrant population and not in Texas or Florida - which have huge immigrant populations - is a good question. Oh, right. The latter are red States.
This is another aspect of fascism - and Republicans are quite open about this. The legal system and Presidential decrees are being used to "punish" blue States by denying TANF assistance and other forms of funding, for no other reason than retribution. All that talk of Biden "weaponizing" the DOJ turned out to be merely projection. Every accusation is a confession.
Perhaps we will pull back from the brink and moderate Republicans will team up with Democrats to rein in Presidential power and return much of it to Congress where it originated - back in the days when Congress governed instead of merely giving up and telling the President, "do whatever."
But even if we pull back from the brink, the damage has been done and it won't change back for decades, if ever. Our former allies in Europe are waking up to the realization that they may have to go it alone, in terms of national defense, as the US can no longer be counted on as a trusted ally, if an ally at all. Ironically, this may address one of the sticking points recent administrations have had with NATO - that the US is funding the bulk of European defense and NATO countries are not living up to their pledge of 2% of GDP for defense funding.
This also spells good news for India and China, as our former allies in Europe and elsewhere - and I think we can safely say they are now former - make trade deals with those countries, now that they are freed from the fetters of American dictates. America may go from being the world's largest trading partner to one of the least, much as we did when the Smoot-Hawley tariff act was enacted back in 1930. History is rhyming, once again.
Which brings us to recession - or even depression. It is no secret that the job market right now is in the tank. Company after company is announcing massive layoffs, claiming that "AI" will replace employees. Car sales are sagging and fast-food restaurants are offering dollar menu items, this time in the form of $5 meals, as consumers cut back on discretionary spending. With wages low, inflation high, and the cost of housing staggering, the average worker is feeling the squeeze. How much longer can this go on? Are we going to "rhyme" 2008 all over again?
Like I said, it rhymes, not repeats. Hitler came to power at the end of a major depression. A major depression may be the end of Trump, even if he is able to prop up the economy for a few more quarters by slashing interest rates with a new Fed chair. Low interest rates will lead to higher inflation, raising housing costs (a goal Trump has stated explicitly) which in turn will put the squeeze on the middle-class. Who will buy the $100,000 pickup trucks then?
I guess to me, what is so sad is that here in 2026 we are still dealing with holocaust deniers, fascist admirers, moon-landing deniers, flat-earthers, born-again Christians who don't follow Christ, and other forms of wishful thinking and personal delusion. Will human beings always be in this struggle? Will rational thinking always take a back seat to jingoism and too-good-to-be-true come-ons?
It is depressing, to me, that so many people have fought and died, over the Centuries, to get us where we are now - and all for nothing. We are still dumb as rocks and willing to follow the first snake-oil salesman to come down the pike.
Depressing thoughts, I know. But there you have it.
