In a stark escalation, Donald Trump has armed the National Guard members on the streets of Washington, DC. He’s also signed an executive order getting rid of cashless bail - putting poor people who are arrested at significant risk of being stuck in jail waiting months or longer for trials if they can’t afford outrageous cash bails. He then signed an executive order suggesting a one-year prison sentence for anyone who burns an American flag - in complete contradiction to the 1989 Supreme Court decision in Texas v. Johnson that determined flag burning is protected First Amendment speech.

And on Monday the 25th in the Oval Office, Trump said “A lot of people are saying, ‘maybe we need a dictator’... you send in troops, and instead of being praised they’re saying you’re trying to take over the republic. These people are sick.” The remarks also come as Trump looks to send federal troops to cities like Chicago, Baltimore, LA and elsewhere. We all have to take these expansions of the police state and attacks on civil liberties extremely seriously as he talks about dictatorship and crackdowns.

While these developments feel unprecedented, we have a lot to learn from anti-fascist, anti-dictatorship and civil rights struggles throughout U.S. and world history.

We also start this episode with a continuation of last week’s discussion on the inspiring things Rachel saw in China on her recent trip.

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