Overheating: America is Now a Fascist Nation

The American Gestapo murders a mom in Minneapolis with “absolute immunity.” Trump and oil executives pull us towards World War III. It has been one year since my beautiful Altadena burned.

As an experiment in putting into words the stupidity and cruelty of this fascist regime, I’m going to try journaling about stuff that grabs my attention and makes it hard for me to think. So, here goes. This is a fascism and climate journal, Overheating.

Renee Good was murdered three days ago, and the regime’s response has been unhinged. I’ve started feeling the queasy adrenaline-panic of the pit of fascism opening under us all again, a bodily sensation I first experienced last spring. This moment, like then, feels like a phase shift, a step closer to “summarily execute all dissidents and exterminate the scapegoat group,” or “full Nazi.”

Fascists are why humanity can’t have nice things. I remember when Mitch McConnell and the rest of the fool Republicans started opening this fascist Pandora’s box so their “side” could “win.” Well, we’re all on this planet together, there are no “sides” and this is not how anyone “wins.” I try to hold compassion for all beings. But at this moment, my compassion is focused on the innocent victims, especially Renee Good, her family, and her loved ones.

May there be accountability.

So, the two steps. First up: An ICE-Gestapo member named Jonathan Ross murdered a 37-year-old mother of three named Renee Good for no reason other than he could. I am horrified. Every human with a soul should be horrified. Here are some key facts.

It was not self-defense. There is extremely clear video evidence that Ross was never in danger. At 10:37 am ET on January 7, Ross fired three shots at point blank range, in cold blood, at Good’s face and head, killing her. He was recording video with his phone held in his other hand. Good’s last words to him were “That’s fine, dude, I’m not mad at you.” After Ross shoots Good, and before her vehicle crashes into the white parked car across the street a few seconds later, he says “f*cking bitch” under his breath.

Immediately after the shooting, none of the ICE-Gestapo present showed any urgency to go check on Good. One turns around and walks away. Ross holsters his gun and adjusts his mask.

The ICE-Gestapo delayed medical responders from helping Good. They prevented a doctor on the scene from assisting Good. The doctor says “Can I check a pulse? I’m a physician” and a brownshirt responds “I don’t care.” Witnesses reported that an ambulance was blocked by ICE vehicles, delaying a medical response by several minutes.

Trump and Noem lied in the most monstrous way. The previous facts are horrible, but this one is more important because it takes this tragic incident from the level of a single broken human to the level of systemic fascism on a national scale. Any non-fascist president would say, when faced with news like this, that it was a tragedy and that there would be accountability. However, about two hours after the shooting on Truth Social (a perfectly Orwellian name for the platform), Trump posted this series of lies:

The next morning at a news conference, Kristi Noem claimed that Good was using her car as a “weapon” in an “act of domestic terrorism,” and used the opportunity to attack political opponents. This is pure projection: Noem, ICE, and the fascist regime are the actual domestic terrorists.

In his novel 1984, George Orwell wrote: “The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”

Vance said that Jonathan Ross has “absolute immunity.” He said this before many salient facts were known. While “absolute immunity” isn’t a thing, the vice president’s statement reveals that this fascist regime has no interest in finding the truth or holding federal agents accountable in any way. If they kill people on the “other side,” be they US citizens, immigrants, moms, peaceful protestors, that’s great as far as this regime is concerned. This statement by Vance is a signal that more murder is coming.

Finally, the federal government is covering up the shooting. ICE agents fled the scene, altering evidence; and the next day, the FBI blocked the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension from accessing evidence. Fascists talk about “law and order” constantly, but use it only to justify their violence and elimination of civil rights.

The second step closer to full Nazi this week: a major escalation in imperial ambitions by the regime. This is a characteristic of historic fascist regimes, but it had not been well-developed by the Trump regime until this week.

First, the regime went into Venezuela and kidnapped Maduro and his wife, killing about 100 people. Venezuela has the largest oil reserve in the world, and Trump is working with Big Oil to take it:

Trump has also ramped up his rhetoric on Greenland all week. This culminated Friday at a meeting at the White House with oil executives, where Trump said the US is “going to do something [in Greenland] whether they like it or not.”

Here’s Trump speaking: “If we do not do it the easy way, we will do it the hard way. And by the way, I am a fan of Denmark too, I have to tell you, you know they’ve been very nice to me. I’m a big fan. But you know the fact they had a boat land there 500 years ago doesn’t mean they own the land. We’ve had lots of boats go there also. But we need that. We will be doing something with Greenland: the nice way, or the more difficult way.” Indigenous people would like a word.

Trump has also threatened Colombia, Cuba, and Mexico this week; and he just proposed an insanely huge increase to the US military budget in 2027, to $1.5 trillion, up from about $900 million in 2026.

It’s all coming so fast that it’s truly hard to keep track. But the upshot is that Trump appears to believe he has a right to take any country in the Western Hemisphere. This, of course, has been incredibly destabilizing to Nato, the UN, and the relatively stable world order that has existed my entire life up to this point. Now, our former allies see us as their enemy, and are preparing to defend themselves from us.

It feels like Trump, Miller, and the rest of the crew are pulling us all down a slope toward World War III with this moronic imperialism. After just a year in power.

A few more items from this week:

• Wednesday, January 7 was also the anniversary of Altadena burning down. That day, I drove through Altadena on my way from JPL to visit a friend. Part of me is still in grief, and maybe shock, even after a whole year. I think maybe the rest of my life will involve learning to be ok while a part of me is constantly in a state of grief, and shock. Because, unfortunately, climate impacts will get worse. I really wish we could come together, in peace, in order to stop burning fossil fuels and protect Earth’s marvelous but fragile habitability.

• The government has so far released less than 1% of the Epstein files, despite a federal mandate for release by December 19 of last year.

• The regime has defunded day care and other programs for needy families in five blue states (California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota and New York).

• The regime put up an unhinged website at the official White House site honoring January 6 insurrectionists and spreading disinformation. You have to see it to believe it. It even has an image that shakes.

• The regime released AI-generated video of people in Venezuela celebrating the US military action. This is a harbinger.

• My dad now despises Trump. The main thing that changed his mind were the regime’s relentless attacks on science. My mom still supports Trump (despite being fully aware of the murder of Renee Good) makes all of this much harder for me. I hope your parents, if alive, are anti-fascist.

• How do people just keep doing capitalism like there’s no problem, no fascism and global overheating? I can’t really do it anymore, and I’m tired of beating myself up over it.

I believe we’ve crossed a bright line, and America is now a fascist nation. We have a fascist government with a massively funded and fully functioning Gestapo. I think it’s important to accept this, so as not to be paralyzed by the hope that it’s not as bad as it actually is.

Nonetheless, all is not lost. This is still a critical time to speak out, join together, protest, and resist in every way that we can. The decisive factor on whether or not America goes full Nazi will be whether resistance continues to grow, or shrinks away.

Below, for your reference, are the 20 lessons from Timothy Snyder’s book On Tyranny.

With rage and love,

Peter

1. Do not obey in advance. Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then offer themselves without being asked. A citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do.

2. Defend institutions. It is institutions that help us to preserve decency. They need our help as well. Do not speak of “our institutions” unless you make them yours by acting on their behalf. Institutions do not protect themselves. So choose an institution you care about and take its side.

3. Beware the one-party state. The parties that remade states and suppressed rivals were not omnipotent from the start. They exploited a historic moment to make political life impossible for their opponents. So support the multi-party system and defend the rules of democratic elections.

4. Take responsibility for the face of the world. The symbols of today enable the reality of tomorrow. Notice the swastikas and other signs of hate. Do not look away, and do not get used to them. Remove them yourself and set an example for others to do so.

5. Remember professional ethics. When political leaders set a negative example, professional commitments to just practice become important. It is hard to subvert a rule-of-law state without lawyers, or to hold show trials without judges. Authoritarians need obedient civil servants, and concentration camp directors seek businessmen interested in cheap labor.

6. Be wary of paramilitaries. When the men with guns who have always claimed to be against the system start wearing uniforms and marching around with torches and pictures of a Leader, the end is nigh. When the pro-leader paramilitary and the official police and military intermingle, the end has come. (My emphasis)

7. Be reflective if you must be armed. If you carry a weapon in public service, God bless you and keep you. But know that evils of the past involved policemen and soldiers finding themselves, one day, doing irregular things. Be ready to say no.

8. Stand out. Someone has to. It is easy to follow along. It can feel strange to do or say something different. But without that unease, there is no freedom. Remember Rosa Parks. The moment you set an example, the spell of the status quo is broken, and others will follow.

9. Be kind to our language. Avoid pronouncing the phrases everyone else does. Think up your own way of speaking, even if only to convey that thing you think everyone is saying. Make an effort to separate yourself from the internet. Read books.

10. Believe in truth. To abandon facts is to abandon freedom. If nothing is true, then no one can criticize power because there is no basis upon which to do so. If nothing is true, then all is spectacle. The biggest wallet pays for the most blinding lights.

11. Investigate. Figure things out for yourself. Spend more time with long articles. Subsidize investigative journalism by subscribing to print media. Realize that some of what is on the internet is there to harm you. Learn about sites that investigate propaganda campaigns (some of which come from abroad). Take responsibility for what you communicate to others.

12. Make eye contact and small talk. This is not just polite. It is part of being a citizen and a responsible member of society. It is also a way to stay in touch with your surroundings, break down social barriers, and understand whom you should and should not trust. If we enter a culture of denunciation, you will want to know the psychological landscape of your daily life.

13. Practice corporeal politics. Power wants your body softening in your chair and your emotions dissipating on the screen. Get outside. Put your body in unfamiliar places with unfamiliar people. Make new friends and march with them.

14. Establish a private life. Nastier rulers will use what they know about you to push you around. Scrub your computer of malware. Remember that email is skywriting. Consider using alternative forms of the Internet, or simply using it less. Have personal exchanges in person. For the same reason, resolve any legal trouble.

15. Contribute to good causes. Be active in organizations, political or not, that express your own view of life. Pick a charity or two and set up autopay.

16. Learn from peers in other countries. Keep up your friendships abroad, or make new friends abroad. The present difficulties in the United States are an element of a larger trend. And no country is going to find a solution by itself. Make sure you and your family have passports.

17. Listen for dangerous words. Be alert to the use of the words extremism and terrorism. Be alive to the fatal notions of emergency and exception. Be angry about the treacherous use of patriotic vocabulary.

18. Be calm when the unthinkable arrives. Modern tyranny is terror management. When the terrorist attack comes, remember that authoritarians exploit such events in order to consolidate power. Do not fall for it.

19. Be a patriot. Set a good example of what America means for the generations to come.

20. Be as courageous as you can. If none of us is prepared to die for freedom, then all of us will die under tyranny.