Fascism

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Some developments:

• Trump still doesn't condemn white supremacists or any proud boys (he claims not to know them like he claimed not to know David Duke a couple of years ago), surprise, surprise..
  
• Those proud boys take Trumps "Stand down and stand by" as an order and a recruiting tool. Add to that Trumps exhortation that the elections are rigged and calling on his people to go to the polling boots and you have, at the minimum, voter intimidation. 
  
• A DHS threat assessment report that was supposed to come out in the spring (summer at the latest) covering internal and external threats pointed to white supremacists and Russian interference as the biggest security threats. A whistleblower already argued that Ken Cuccinelli interfered to get that language to change and drafts have shown altered language (see below), and now the report simply doesn't come out..
  
• Texas Governor is making one ballot drop-off site per county available, a blatant act of voter suppression (see below), as for instance there is now just a single place for the whole of Houston (good luck if you don't have a car..).
  

All three drafts state that white supremacist extremists are the deadliest threat. However, the placement and language about white supremacy in three versions of the DHS draft documents differ slightly. The earliest available version of the "State of the Homeland Threat Assessment 2020" drafts reads: "We judge that ideologically-motivated lone offenders and small groups will pose the greatest terrorist threat to the Homeland through 2021, with white supremacist extremists presenting the most lethal threat."

White supremacy is 'most lethal threat' to the US, DHS draft assessment says - CNNPolitics

On Thursday, Abbott backtracked on his earlier order and issued a new executive order only allowing counties to offer voters a single place to return their ballots. Abbott’s order also said officials had to let official poll-watchers inspect the process. Abbott’s order quickly drew outcry and accusations of voter suppression. Texas already severely limits mail-in voting to those who are 65 and older, or who meet a select few other requirements. The state has aggressively opposed a slew of lawsuits seeking to ease those restrictions amid the pandemic. Texas has seen massive growth among Hispanic and other minority voters in recent years, and many of the restrictions in place are seen as a blatant effort to preserve white political power. Harris county clerk Chris Hollins said the new proclamation issued by Abbott “will result in widespread confusion and voter suppression”. “Multiple drop-off locations have been advertised for weeks,” Hollins said in a statement. “Our office is more than willing to accommodate poll watchers at mail ballot drop-off locations. But to force hundreds of thousands of seniors and voters with disabilities to use a single drop-off location in a county that stretches over nearly 2,000 sq miles is prejudicial and dangerous.” Abbott’s Thursday order is the latest in a series of moves Republicans across the country have made to limit how Americans can return their mail-in ballots.

Outrage as Texas governor orders closure of multiple ballot drop-off sites | US news | The Guardian