American Torture Is Back With A Vengeance
All these years later, after the darkest days of the war on terror, everything old is new again.
by Bob Cesca
WASHINGTON, DC – Donald Trump is a special kind of monster. His fascist authoritarianism emerges not from an understanding of what either fascism or authoritarianism actually means, but from a basic, instinctive, dumb-guy understanding of the fictitious political worldview perpetuated by the far-right entertainment complex and his own toxic masculinity. But make no mistake, he’s not a president in the constitutional, democratic definition of the word. He’s America’s first fascist dictator and should only ever be referred to by those terms.
If a MAGA assassin, indoctrinated by tax-exempt megachurches and the aforementioned entertainment complex, began to systematically murder journalists and news anchors, there’s at least a 70 percent chance Donald would pardon the assassin. Sure, he might not. But for the first time ever, there’s a chance. That more than likely chance illustrates the difference between a normal president and a dictator.
So, no, we’ve never been here before. But if we strip away the despotism and the daily abuses of power, there are several familiar underlying themes from past Republican administrations that continue on today: tax cuts and other giveaways for the super rich, and military interventionism in the Middle East. This week, however, there’s another similarity to past Republican administrations.
More evidence has emerged that immigrants who were disappeared to the CECOT prison in El Salvador are being tortured there, not unlike the notorious American-run prison at Abu Ghraib, 20 years ago.
Attorneys for Kilmar Abrego Garcia filed additional papers with Judge Paula Xinis’ U.S. district court in Maryland this week in a case against the Trump government that began back in March. In the documents, Abrego Garcia’s lawyers detailed their client’s firsthand account of how he was tortured while in custody of the prison, specifically:
“[He] was subjected to severe mistreatment upon arrival at CECOT, including but not limited to severe beatings, severe sleep deprivation, inadequate nutrition, and psychological torture…”
“Abrego Garcia and 20 other Salvadorans were forced to kneel from approximately 9:00 PM to 6:00 AM, with guards striking anyone who fell from exhaustion. During this time, Plaintiff Abrego Garcia was denied bathroom access and soiled himself…”
If you recall your recent history, “stress positions” are torn directly from the Abu Ghraib playbook.
There was also psychological torture:
“While at CECOT, prison officials repeatedly told Plaintiff Abrego Garcia that they would transfer him to the cells containing gang members who, they assured him, would "tear" him apart.”
“Abrego Garcia repeatedly observed prisoners in nearby cells who he understood to be gang members violently harm each other with no intervention… Screams from nearby cells would similarly ring out throughout the night without any response from prison guards…”
Way too many Americans, encouraged by Republican leadership to be their worst selves, might read this and cruelly kneejerk into the familiar response, But they’re evil-doers so they deserve it. It’s important to remind these morally bankrupt, unamerican people that Abrego Garcia hadn’t been convicted of any crimes and was denied his constitutional right to due process by Donald Trump’s Department of Justice.
In fact, of the 238 people who Donald, Kristi Noem, Tom Homan, and Stephen Miller disappeared to the CECOT torture prison, 75 percent did not have criminal records, according to CBS News.
This roster of innocent people includes Andry Hernandez Romero, a gay make-up artist whose status is currently unknown many months after his heartbreaking story made national news. Andry fled to the United States – through a legal border crossing in San Diego, I might add – to escape sexual persecution in Venezuela. But the United States, the alleged “shining city on a hill,” also persecuted this man, unconstitutionally shipping him off to be tortured and perhaps murdered in one of the cruelest places on Earth.
All these years later, after the darkest days of the war on terror, everything old is new again.
I don’t relish putting the Trump Crisis in these terms, but Donald and his gestapo aren’t the only guilty parties here. The Americans who condoned this, whether actively by voting for this avowed dictator, or passively by staying home and not voting, depriving us all of a sane and reasonable president, are also responsible. In a democracy, our leadership is decided by the will of the people, and a plurality of our fellow citizens decided that this is what they wanted. The blood and torture and anguish is on their hands, too. And I hope one of these days there will be a reckoning. Shame on them all.
But in the meantime, at least groceries and rents are cheaper, an old man is out of office, and Gaza is saved.
Oh wait. Never mind.
Read an excerpt from the latest for Banter Members:
Ok, I Kind of Respect....Elon Musk?
I hate that I’m even writing this.
by Ben Cohen
Before you grab the pitchforks, hear me out. I’ve written extensively about the insidious effect Elon Musk has had on American politics. I hold him more accountable than anyone else for getting Trump re-elected in 2024 through one of the most toxic mass psyops in human history.
Musk weaponized Twitter to rehabilitate Trump image in the wake of the Jan. 6th riots, and he spent hours every day spreading disgusting right wing conspiracy theories and dangerous disinformation. He radicalized millions of Americans through his rabid fear mongering about child mutilating, open border loving, libtards in the Deep State, and he sold Trump as the singular solution.
Musk’s early role in Trump’s administration was equally toxic. His ‘DOGE’ project decimated the federal government, caused pain and suffering to hundreds of thousands of workers, and killed upwards of 300,000 people (most of them children) by destroying USaid. DOGE basically achieved nothing other than misery for Americans and the rest of the world, and probably ended up costing taxpayers almost as much as it saved.
So I am no fan of Elon Musk. I think he is a malevolent man-child who deserves to have his businesses wrecked and be deported back to South Africa.
That being said, I can’t help but have a begrudging level of respect for the man in light of his recent actions. Let me explain.
MAGA Liz Cheney? Sort of.
I disagree with Liz Cheney on almost every issue you could imagine. I’m pro-choice, believe in gun control, opposed social security privatization, don’t want to repeal Obamacare, and believe the Iraq war was a colossal mistake. But Liz Cheney believes — like most Republicans — that Donald Trump is an existential threat to American democracy. But unlike her spineless colleagues, Cheney had the courage to stand by her convictions and incinerated her political career to publicly oppose Trump…
This is an excerpt from today’s Members Only post. To continue reading, get 50% off a Banter Membership and go here:
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nothing good has come of this presidency.