Mentality of ISIS and European/American Right Wing Nationalists - SAME. Violence & Fear

As I was watching the TV scenes of right wing Belgium nationalists -- who disrupted the Brussels memorial today -- it struck me. How similar it looked to a Donald Trump rally!

I am increasingly see similarities between the narrow ISIS mentality and right wing fascism. Each always has the same answer to disagreements:  resort to hate and violence. 

Consider this.  BOTH groups exclude everyone beyond their small group and mentality as "acceptable." I miss the old GOP that used to hate people from different country clubs. The hate has spread under the GOP of Cruz and Trump to nearly EVERYBODY--women, Hispanics, Black Lives Matter, Muslims, poor people, not to mention a black president who turned around the worst economy in over 70 years that he inherited. 

Another similarity.   Women are really disrespected by both ISIS and Trump.

Trump has called women "fat pigs" (WTF?); Mexicans are all "rapists" and only "some" (he assumes) are "good" people. (WTF is wrong with this guy?). He even mocked a disabled reporter, mimicking how he waves his hands (really a SICK thing to do Trump). 


It gets worse. The only other choice for the GOP nomination is a guy so hated by his cohorts in the U.S. Senate that Lindsay Graham once said "If someone shot Ted Cruz in the U.S. Senate and the jury was the U.S. Senate you would NOT get a conviction." 

Whoa!   That tells you how his fellow Republicans feel about Ted in the Senate. (Gov. Kasich is out of the game mathematically, needing over 100% of the reminder of the delegates to get a majority.)   

Cruz pretends to be religious while stabbing his "friend" Ben Carson in the back by claiming he was leaving the race right before a big state vote. Et Tu Brute?  This doesn't even take into account he cost us $24 billion shutting down the government over the "horrors" of people getting healthcare under Obamacare. (I met a lady on a flight who worked for the government at that time and they still had to go to work despite not being paid. That was bad enough but even lab research had to be destroyed because funding wasn't in play. It was nuts. Yet Congress reps like Cruz still got their checks during that shutdown.)

Ted Cruz "let's put police following all the Muslims" yet fails to see the irony that Hitler did that to Jews--guilty solely because of  religion.

 These men running for president debase what type of person should be considered "presidential."



The European right wing works just like Trump and Cruz. They didn't care that their acts disrespected fellow Belgians who had brought candles and flowers to the square  to quietly remember those killed. It was rude, loud and hateful.  They cared not about anyone beyond their small circle. That's the same problem with ISIS. They hate even other Muslims who are not like them.

I am done rewarding twits with poor manners and bad behavior. I am done with the indiscriminate killing by BOTH sides, be it Islamic radicals or right wing radicals. Don't forget American Tim McVeigh killed more Americans (168) in the bombing of the Oklahoma City Murrah federal building than anyone other than the 911 attacks.

I am so done with crude behavior by Mr. Trump and Mr. Cruz, the dirty tricks and promotion of violence and hate. That is not the just, law abiding America our founding fathers envisioned. That is not genuine reasoned, adult solutions for America. These men will make things worse, not better.

Neither Trump nor Cruz deserve a single vote of a true American. They have none of the values of our founding fathers, who would be horrified that candidates for president debate about their penis sizes and gossip about each others wife, while hating on vast majorities of good Americans; while offering no rational solutions that would make America No. 1.

We can do much better. For America's sake, we better.

Michael Fjetland
Author, Agenda for American Greatness

I Personally Witnessed How the GOP Went from Secular to "White Christians only" Party in last 15 years

I ran in GOP primaries 15 years ago, starting in 2000. So I have personally seen it from the inside versus what it is today.  I can also compare that to today's Democrats since I ran in the 2014 Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate.

My goal in 2000 was to get rid of Tom DeLay, an arrogant powerful tyrant and then Majority Whip (later Leader) who controlled my district at the time.  Since Democrats had been gerrymandered into only 1/3 of the vote in CD22, I did the one thing that would put the fear of god into him. I "primary-ed" DeLay. It was my best shot at winning when you are playing in a crooked casino.

I ran in his party's primary, meaning I would need a small number of votes to actually win.  In the process I got to meet a lot of Republicans in one of the most diverse counties in America, Ft. Bend.  There was even a "Republican Muslim" caucus. Many who called themselves "conservatives" stuck me as moderates - about 25% of the primary (because they were the votes I got).

So, unlike many people, I have personally witnessed the change in the Republican party since then, having "been there, done that."

And its shocking.

The GOP was conservative then, but it still had a secular vision.  No more.  The "Republican Muslim" caucus is not hiding under the table. The meetings are usually 98% whites. At a Trump rally whites even beat a black protester instead of merely escorting him out the door. Senator rubio said that between his god and the Constitution that his god would control!  That's pretty radical - and what it take sin a GOP primary these days. The more crazy stuff you say the better.

When I ran in the Democratic party primary in 2014, the meetings were a true mix of whites, hispanics, blacks, asians, muslims, gays, etc. It looked like the America I know from my many travels across this great country and around the world.

 From the comments on the GOP campaign trail I see it has become the "white 'Christians' only" party. The language is brutal even in "code" words which Trump uses openly. Its the same attitude. It's not Christian as I experienced it.  Basically the GOP primary voters have become an American version of ISIS -they are intolerant and hate anyone who is not in their religion.

Note that I said "primary voters" not all Republicans.  Because in my "tilting at windmills" run against DeLay I did discover a lot of moderate, kind, caring, truly nice people. They voted for me, many sight unseen. That stunned me, and gave me new awareness of the reality.

But the party has changed in dangerous and crude ways that threaten not only what America is about, but its own future existence.

Like ISIS, who is hating everyone who doesn't believe as they do--even attacking (and killing) more Muslims than anyone, the GOP is doing the same intolerant thing in a world with dozens of religions, a world that is 5% white. (They also make it worse by blaming the poor while giving more special breaks to the 1%.) So its pretty ignorant and not even strategically smart. It gets votes from bigots based on fear. Its Fox phony news and right wing commentators flood the airwaves with false facts. That makes for stupid decisions.

I wrote about what I saw then in a chapter entitled "Predicting 911 and Running Against the Hammer" in "Better Times Ahead April Fool."

The only party that reflects America's diversity and human values of openness of all people regardless of race, sex, religion is today's Democratic Party.  We really need the GOP to go back to the likes of a George HW Bush instead of today's Cruz's and Trumps.

We need a real Agenda for American Greatness, which has been updated to 2015 at the link.

Mocking Disabled, Touting Voodoo Economics 3.0, Failing Geography and 911 Facts, Trump and GOP candidates Lack Qualifications for President

Apparently Mr. Trump mocked a disabled reporter at a recent campaign event.  Before that he encouraged white guys who beat up a black protester at another rally. I am wondering if they will all be wearing brown shirts or white robes at the next event.  Whites only separatists are as ignorant as ISIS separatists in this inescapably multi-cultural world. And no, Muslims in New Jersey did NOT cheer when 911 occurred.

It isn't just Trump. If it was, this would easily be solved – just dump him. But the rest of the GOP candidates do the same thing but only in dog whistles and code words. The current Republican presidential candidates don’t convey actual facts and truth about how Obama turned around the worst economy in 70 years without their help. They don’t talk about their party vowed to sabotage him before he had a chance to have his first cup of coffee in the oval office. They put our economy on a reef and didn’t even want to help the new Captain fix it.

It goes way beyond these jokes of candidates, who may have a lot of money but lack the geography skills of a 5^th grader. They are not a decent role model to be an American President. 

If only it were presidential candidates who spoke so disrespectfully. I see this conduct in comments ALL the time - people mocking those of a different color or religion or sex.  I see experts mocked by people who can’t even spell. It’s bizarre.

You can mock me because I am a progressive. But you don’t have the right to mock someone who has had a disabling disease -- or is a woman wanting equal pay for equal work, or a young black man filled with bullet holes, or a Muslim family fleeing barrel bombs and thugs.

(Global) American values rest on treating people with (1) RESPECT.  Treat others the way you want to be treated. It’s always worked for me in the 50 plus countries that I have worked in.

It’s a world of many religions and colors. Get over it thinking everyone has to confirm to your narrow world view. Not everyone eats meat and potatoes and not everybody goes to church on Sunday. That mentality led to Catholics shooting protestants (remember Northern Ireland?), and Christians burning innocent people they deemed witches and killing Muslims in the Crusades. It led to ISIS killing fellow Muslims.  ISIS is only the latest version of intolerance; but they don’t have a monopoly on it. All reflect the same extremist intolerance behind the world’s violence today.

In this presidential campaign we have witnessed presidential candidates leading in the polls with zero political experience look lost trying to figure out one country from another.  They speak of Christian values while touting their opposition to medical care for the poor.  They preach the opposite of what Jesus spoke of in the bible I read.  Instead of being the Good Samarian helping the injured man in the ditch, they are too busy hurrying by saying “I’ll pray for you” while they take another bag full of special deals to the 1% get special deals the average American lying in the ditch doesn’t.

Disrespect is all around us. The Donald just does it louder and without codes like his equally disrespectful co-candidates.  They hope their talking points covers up the fact that none of them have laid out a vision beyond more voodoo economics guaranteed to yield more trillion dollar deficits.

Why anyone would consider them serious candidates is beyond stupid. Having negotiated globally and predicted 911 on TV during the first Gulf War, I haven’t seen them come close to being honest and truthful with the American public about our course ahead. Hell, I have a better plan than they do. Anyone thinking of voting for them really needs to get out of town and see the world because they have no clue! Lol

When candidates for president start showing ALL groups respect and present a real global strategy for American success, then we can consider them something more than just Class C Clowns. Even then, they still need more than voodoo economics to offer. We have seen that play before. It gave us this $17 Trillion debt…

Michael Fjetland

Author, Better Times Ahead April Fool

Agenda for American Greatness

Www.BetterTimesAheadAprilFool.com