Episode 74

74: Fascism in Today's America

Published on: 13th December, 2021

Fascism in Today's America - Abortion and Power

(00:00) Intro and T-Shirts

(03:26) Abortion rights at unprecedented risk. Christophe leads Joe and Sean in a discussion of the legal history of Roe v. Wade and SCOTUS jurisprudence. Judicial vs. legislative protection for the right to privacy which includes abortion and birth control. The viability standard. Republican hypocrisy on child care budgets, and cynicism about the abortion issue in general. A humanitarian analysis of the timing of legal abortion, and some of the bad arguments against it.

(37:51) Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Heath is the case that will likely result in overturning Roe. How many people will be impacted? Workarounds if Roe is overturned. Further discussion of the depth and scope and stakes of right wing attacks on women's and civil rights.

(55:53) Joe discusses the appropriateness of using the word "fascism." An exploration of the agenda of the new "National Conservative" wing of the Republican party that has become the inheritor of Trumpism, through the lens of an Atlantic article by traditional conservative David Brooks. Sean outlines the 14 defining characteristics of fascism, as they currently exist in modern America. Christophe commentary.

(01:13:00) Joe describes the objective measures of the global decline of democracy. The US is now officially a "flawed democracy."

(01:17:19) Wrapup and Outro

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Show notes:

How Other Nations Pay for Child Care. The U.S. Is an Outlier.

The Terrifying Future of the American Right

American democracy is tottering. It’s not clear Americans care.

Fourteen Defining Characteristics of Fascism

US score falls in Economist's annual Democracy Index

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