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Nazis, Fascists, and Oligarchs Must be Defeated

By VVAW National Office

Well, here we are. The dystopia we warned against is forming before our very eyes. Even the most cynical amongst us is shocked.

There is a method to the seeming madness of destruction. The architects of this mayhem are making damn sure that the MAGA and DOGE operatives achieve their core goals of dismantling any means for challenges based on laws, constitutional or not. Yes, they—the 1%—intend to rule by executive (royal) order beyond the reach of any law.

Trump and Musk are the carnival barkers in this New Oligarchy, although they are dangerous as hell themselves. The dancing devils and evil clowns that seem to be the authors of this mayhem are aptly employed to distract attention from the real predators.

The 1% membership behind this coup was exposed in the "billionaires row" at the inauguration and in Trump's Cabinet appointments. The big-name billionaires at the inauguration hold a collective wealth of $1.35 trillion. Trump's Cabinet appointments of a succession of billionaires only belabor the point. This is an outright seizure of the US government by the wealthiest on the planet.

The goals seem to be the destruction of federal agencies and the people that enforce any protections based on safety, health and welfare, workers' rights, and equal opportunity, as well as the diversion of funding for these agencies. Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, the Veterans Administration, and the Post Office are just some areas being weakened in preparation for their looting via privatization. We could have expected legislators to stand up to these actions, but Congress is ceding its power. How long before DOGE determines these federal workers aren't needed?

Musk and DOGE are cutting thousands of jobs at the VA, illegally terminating probationary employees, many of whom are vets recently promoted. The atmosphere of terror is causing a heavy burden of stress on employees and patients alike. The firings and cuts have nothing to do with efficiency and better service to veterans. On the contrary, they are meant to divert VA funding into areas more lucrative for the 1% and to reduce the VA system to chaos—in preparation for a fire sale to the oligarchy. For more details on this con job and outright piracy, see other articles in this paper.

In addition, and not to be ignored, the military is being decimated. We are witnessing the disruption and destruction of the military command structure, weakening, confusing, and outright crippling it in preparation for its takeover and redeployment as a tool and profit center of the oligarchy, much as in Russia. This military neutering and chaos is also an outright gift to Putin, who can look forward to a much smoother conquest of Eastern Europe.

Trump aligning the US with Russia makes a kind of perverted sense. We've done our share of unprovoked invasions, taking other countries' resources and forcing regime changes. Trump just isn't making any attempts at disguising the greed behind the usual excuses of "saving" some part of the population or "defending" democracy.

When did the US attitude toward Nazis and fascists shift? Are people fooled when the Sieg Heiling goons try to deny their love of the Nazi past? When is it ever appropriate for a soon-to-be powerful government functionary to give a Nazi salute while lauding his master at an inauguration ball?

This election was not a sweeping victory. To quote Gil Scott-Heron about the Reagan election, "Mandate, my ass!" Trump won by less than 1.5% of those voting, around 2.2 million votes. The slim margin of victory still shows the vast number of eligible voters in our country who are disenfranchised and alienated from the political process. 36% of the US voting population did not vote. That's close to 90 million who sat out the election.

The current administration is the most right-wing in our memory and possibly the most right-wing in the history of the country. But we can't call Trump's Executive Orders and the actions of Musk and DOGE "conservative." Where exactly are the "good government" conservatives?

We must remember that this administration is a mess. With fanatics and billionaires in charge, the Trump administration is sowing destruction. Their incompetence could also lead to its eventual downfall. With each blunder, Trump's poll numbers plummet. It won't take long for those non-billionaires who voted for him to realize that his actions are not in their interest.

The looming question is whether these polls or elections will be relevant. Why would this crew of thieves, con artists, and fanatics chance another election when they are already ruling by executive order?

What Trump and his cronies really want is to morph the US into profitable fiefdoms run by a gang of oligarchs, with the most rabid dogs as leaders. Hopefully, soon, many will realize that Trump and crew have just used hate and xenophobia to cover for their looting of the country for their own and global capital's benefit.

Trump has doubled down on his Orwellian statements. Appointing Musk to lead a non-governmental department (DOGE), denying he's in charge but still backing all the tactics he uses. Spreading lies like Russia didn't start the war, insisting it was Ukraine's fault for trying to manage its own affairs. The insulting of Volodymyr Zelenskyy like a schoolyard bully. Also, spewing the BS that Palestinians will benefit from the US remaking their land into a Western-style resort. Urban renewal always benefits the poor and powerless, don't you know?

We hoped our waning years could be spent securing our legacy for future generations. Instead, we get a fresh shit sandwich every day. Oftentimes, more than one. This is not the revolution many of us imagined and hoped for many years ago. The destruction of our government is appalling. The transformation into an oligarchy is happening before our very eyes. The rampant destruction of our current government structure, with a madman-led oligarchy emerging from the ruins, is almost beyond belief.

Many of our parents and relations fought against Nazis and fascists in their attempts at European domination decades ago. We followed suit, fighting the junior Nazis of the 1970s and 1980s who attempted to sow hate on the streets of the US. Now we find Nazis and their enablers in the highest offices and cabinet positions in the US government. They intend to dismantle all the progress many of us and previous generations fought for. No matter how imperfect, many of these programs were put in place by the struggles of the people demanding better of their government. We expected big government to be there for us as we were for it. By leaving power up to individual states and municipalities, Trump's Project 2025 dream team is making it more difficult for people to direct their demands to institutions that affect all. They dilute our power by making us fight on multiple fronts. The only winners in all of this are the lawyers and the Rich.

How did we get here? Those who voted for the lies of the Republican party were primarily responsible. Everyone should have known better with the failure of Trump's first term in office and his increasingly unhinged behavior during the 2024 election. The Democrats covering up Biden's decline and not forcing him to step aside sooner was also a huge factor. Now, they are trying to place the blame on the Progressive left. The Democrats marginalized progressive and radical change and slavishly let their rich masters move the center further and further to the right.

We have not even begun to see how damaging the crippling of our government will be. We are probably witnessing an exponential cascade of transgenerational damage. The outlawing of protest, especially those who speak out for Palestinian justice, is chilling and aimed at crushing future youth resistance. We must remind ourselves that the ruling class has never been shy about using force against resistance—now they have little to fear from the law or the "opposition" party.

What can we do? Arm ourselves with knowledge, and don't be swayed by the algorithms of the rightward-enabling/moving tech companies. Share information. Share our experiences with relatives, friends, and acquaintances who have drunk the Kool-Aid. Organize at all levels to survive and fight against these oppressive forces. Organize information exchanges. Organize trees—phone/text trees to spread warnings and information. Utilize every avenue we have.

We must encourage the Democrats to resist compromise and cease bootlicking the right. The Republicans thwarted the Dems for years when they were in the minority. Do not let the Dems be accommodationists. Pressure them to be the resistance. Support those progressive Dems fighting to take power from the Dem old guard, who are busy placating the fascist regime. Call. Write. E-mail, including writing and/or calling elected officials, even Trump! Join protests if you are able. Support organizations resisting and helping those being hit the hardest. Every dollar or volunteer hour does count.

Many unions are leading the protests against VA cuts. We can support them, spread the word, and, if possible, attend the rallies.

Organizing and resistance do pay off. During a recent interview, Donald Trump's "border czar," Tom Homan, made a big admission. He complained that the residents of Chicago were making it too hard for ICE to enact Trump's mass deportation plans. "Chicago, very well educated," Homan whined. "They've been educated how to defy ICE, on how to hide from ICE. They call it 'Know Your Rights.' I call it how to escape from ICE."

Will this be enough? Maybe. But inaction will certainly lead to defeat. This battle won't be won until power truly rests with the people. We must ensure the lessons of our struggle and legacy survive to guide future generations.

Thanks to Jeff Danziger and Billy Curmano for their cartoons.Thanks to Chuck Theusch, Paul Goyette, Dave Kettenhofen, Claudia Krich, John Brennan, Ngan Nguyen, Kim Loftness, John Conroy, and others for contributing photos.

VETERAN STAFF
Jeff Machota
Bill Branson
Joe Miller