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Attacks on the FBI by Donald Trump supporters, including several very prominent politicians, reveal that the anger on the right has finally begun to consume the flamethrowers themselves.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich compared the FBI to "wolves," relentlessly hunting down ordinary Americans, and went on to liken agents to the Stasi, the former East German secret police known for their brutality.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy was ready to investigate, indict, and put on trial the Attorney General of the United States for doing his job.

Ive seen enough. The Department of Justice has reached an intolerable state of weaponized politicization, McCarthy said. When Republicans take back the House, we will conduct immediate oversight of this department, follow the facts, and leave no stone unturned. Attorney General Garland, preserve your documents and clear your calendar. (Sounds like McCarthy has already declared guilt without trial.)

All sense of rational thinking and care and consideration of the great work of the Justice Department and the FBI in keeping America safe in recent years has disappeared. Instead, the right invents endless enemies and has now attacked another American institution that has firmly sought to ensure law and order rules since 1908.

Has the FBI made mistakes? Certainly, especially during the reign of Herbert Hoover, but overall they deserve their reputation for getting the job done.

The FBI is not perfect, but calling for arrests and investigations of agents is a bridge way too far and reveals the true intent of the GOP is no longer just about winning elections but to do so by whatever means necessary.

Irish American roots in the FBI run long and deep. There is a long tradition of Irish conservative Catholic culture among its agents, a source of pride to many.

Irish Americans face a choice as to whether they support the legitimate actions of the FBI, or if they seek an anarchist solution where FBI agents and other government workers could be fired and/or tried at will.

The FBI are the latest ones who are being violently attacked for doing their job and securing vital documents from Mar-a-Lago, Trump's winter residence.

For some nefarious reason, Trump had spirited the top secret documents out of the White House to his home. It is perfectly within the purview of the National Archives to seek and return possession of such documents which contain highly sensitive material.

The FBI went ahead and did its job, securing the documents. The response on the right was literal shots fired at an FBI office and vicious attacks from politicians and reporters alike.

The overall impact is that Trump has cleared his way back into the good graces of the right-wing machine and banished all his rivals for now anyway.

The notion of right-wing Americans venting hate and fury at the FBI would have been unthinkable a few years ago but it seems now we live in unthinkable times. The fact is, the ignorant army of the right is trying to end American democracy.

*This column first appeared in the August 24 edition of the weekly Irish Voice newspaper, sister publication to IrishCentral.

The rest is here:
Attacks on FBI by Trump supporters are a threat to democracy - IrishCentral

InThe Buzz Cut, we bring you a round-up of news you wish wasnt news.

Countrys Pillars of Democracy Found to Be Made of Lego as Adult Men Play With Press Freedom

Archeologists have revisited the monoliths holding our nation in place for a closer look. In a shocking revelation, it appears that there was nothing to see there. The historical site of the pillars of democracy was found to have been ransacked, leaving nothing behind. The current state of the ancient remains is unknown. Some believe, however, that theyve been converted into playthings for some important men seeking momentary relief from high-powered business decisions. Indeed, this week saw one such man spending some quality time honing his creativity with some toy bricks that looked suspiciously like one of the missing pillars. Some note that it was a smart business decision for someone with an eye for real estate, seizing upon the lucrative fourth estate along the way was only inevitable. The conversion of the pillar into blocks to play with, then, will help the visionary man build the much talked about development model that takes the country forward.

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High EQ Man Compares Career Lows to Terminal Illness

They say that suffering defeat humbles a person, and they could not have been more right. A man speaking about his career bravely opened up about what the low points felt like. In a video where, by all accounts, he appeared to be in good physical health, the actor said that not being successful in the movies felt like skin cancer. While the average person fortunate enough not to have skin cancer can only imagine such a fate, this empath is the rare one among us who can actually feel it. Researchers of terminal illness were shocked to discover that the pain from surmountable setbacks in life was, in fact, comparable to that of a long-drawn, life-altering illness. And yet, the man has shown it is possible to compare the two if one is multifaceted enough in their worldview, like he is. In this case, the multiple facets involved are two entire points on an emotional intelligence scale.

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Right Wing Actor Takes Unexpected Anti-national Turn by Dredging Up Beef With Award Show

An actor known for her unflinching support for religious majoritarianism has arrived at a crossroads; she must make a choice. On the one hand say, the right hand there is her love for and desire to protect cows; on the other, there is tempting beef to pick up with an award function. Having chosen to go left, in this case, choosing the beef, the actor became an unlikely candidate for joining the anti-national gang. She chose to sue the award show over nominating her for an award. Nearly everyone, including the beef, is confused over the debacle one that may prove to cost her. I always loved her, but her decision to indulge in unnecessary beef makes me question her beliefs, said one former fan. The consequences of the sudden turn are yet to be seen.

Read more:
The Buzz Cut: Country's Pillars of Democracy Found to Be Made of Lego as Adult Men Play With Press Freedom - The Swaddle

Opinion: research finds that civil society strategies are needed to help prevent any future far right growth in Ireland

By Barry Cannon and Joseph Munnelly, Maynooth University

While the far right has been rising electorally in Europe over the last 40 years, Ireland has been an exception to this trend, with little or no organised far right presence in our democratic institutions. Nevertheless, the far right was visibly present at demonstrations in this country against Covid 19 public health measures, alerting us to the possibility that this Irish situation could change quite quickly as it has done in Spain and Portugal.

The STOPFARRIGHT project was inspired by our concern at the possible rise of the far right in Ireland. We felt it important to find out how the groups most affected by far right discourse and actions such as migrants, ethnic and sexual minorities, feminists and anti-far right groups - could counter this.

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From RT Radio 1's Brainstorm, what's behind the emergence of the far right in Irish politics?

We wanted to know how much of a threat they thought the far right is to Irish democracy, and about the extent and effectiveness of state, political party and civil society counter-strategising against it. The project also sought to facilitate information exchange between Irish, European and international civil society groups and academics on the theme through a series of five webinars.

Our research found that NGOs and community groups among the affected populations mentioned above, think the far right is an important threat to Irish democracy, although not an immediate one. However, this could change quite quickly, they warn, and Irish society should prepare itself for this possibility.

The experience of many of these groups underline the seriousness of such advice. A total of 130 groups were identified and contacted, online surveys sent to them and follow up interviews requested from those who indicated a willingness to be interviewed. We received 42 responses to the survey, around a 31% response rate, with seven follow up interviews being carried out. All research took place online.

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From RT Radio 1's Today with Claire Byrne, broadcaster and film-maker Paul Mason on the rise of the far right in Europe

Our study found that almost 67% of respondent organisations have had staff or clients experiencing threats or violence from the far right. All respondents (100%) reported online harassment or threats, while 75% reported verbal harassment or threats, 50% physical and close to 40% property damage. Finally, the overwhelming majority (80%) felt that such attacks had increased in the last five years.

When asked about the states attitude to the far right, most participants feel that it is too tolerant of the latter and its discourse. They recommend a more pro-active policy from the state on the issue, becoming much less tolerant of intolerant speech, by, for example, putting stronger controls on social media companies, which they consider the main means such intolerance is spread.

Participants also thought the state should support education and dialogue among the general population, to help prevent hateful and exclusive attitudes and that it should pay more attention to the conditions behind individuals being attracted to far right ideas, such as inequality, austerity, and poor access to housing and health, themes which the far right piggy back on to gain attention and support.

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From RT Radio 1's Drivetime, UCC international terrorism specialist Dr Natasha Dromey on the emergence of the far right in Ireland

Participants in the project also feel that non-far right political parties should exclude far right parties from their interactions and show active opposition to those parties and their policies. Non-far right parties should demonstrate values of inclusion, respect and equality, be proactive in denouncing and reprimanding any political group that stir division and propagate misinformation and steadfast in challenging the various forms of hate and discrimination when they appear. Additionally, these political parties should lead by example, upholding moral and political standards and principles which are antithetical to the far right.

The groups surveyed also provide examples of strategies they use to help counter-act the far right, which we term demarcation and confrontation. Demarcation is when an organisation clearly demonstrates how their values fundamentally differ from those of the far right, including in some cases banning far right individuals from membership.

Political parties should lead by example, upholding moral and political standards and principles which are antithetical to the far right

Confrontation means mounting demonstrations, working more closely with the authorities to fight against hate crime, and getting truthful information out to the public to counteract far right misinformation and disinformation. Some groups also monitor far right activity and collaborate with their colleagues in other organisations to prevent attacks from the far right. More work, has to be done, however, especially to ensure that social media companies are more effective in policing hate crimes online.

In general, participants argue that the most effective way to counter the far right is to have a national strategy which has bottom up, community involvement, placing education and awareness building at its centre. This includes strategies to tackle those inequalities which leave marginalised communities vulnerable to far right exploitation, and finely balances the rights of freedom of expression and freedom from threatening behaviours.

Within this, policies are needed to help strengthen democratic civil society including advocacy, training and funding for civil society organisations to help carry out such work. This, according to our research participants, is the best way to stop the far right entering our institutions and infecting our national discourse with hateful language and ideas.

The STOPFARRIGHT project is funded by the Irish Research Council's New Foundations Programme, and is in association with Crosscare's Migrant Project

Dr Barry Cannon is a Lecturer and Assistant Professor in the Sociology Department at Maynooth University. Joseph Munnelly is research assistant at the STOPFARRIGHT project at Maynooth University and a PhD student at the Centre for Humanitarian Action at UCD.

The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RT

Excerpt from:
Are the far right a threat to Irish democracy? - RTE.ie

1. Opinion | When It Comes to Eating Away at Democracy, Trump Is a Winner  The New York Times
2. American Democracy Was Never Designed to Be Democratic  The New Yorker
3. There's a Huge Divide Among Democrats Over How Hard to Campaign for Democracy  POLITICO
4. Democrats don't 'care' about democracy as 'voting issue': Politico magazine  Fox News
5. Readers sound off on democracy, Fauci's retirement and shoplifters  New York Daily News
6. View Full Coverage on Google News

Original post:
Opinion | When It Comes to Eating Away at Democracy, Trump Is a Winner - The New York Times

Voters appear to be increasingly concerned about the integrity of democracy. According to an NBC News poll Sunday, Americans now rank threats to democracy as the most important issue facing the country higher, even, than the cost of living and the economy, which was just months ago top of mind. The shift may in part be explained by a slight inflationary cool-down, which has seen gas prices dip below four dollars per gallon, where prices were in March. But more than that, the poll seems to speak to a growing recognition, by the American public, that the GOP's sweeping assault on the country's election system has put democracy itself on the ballot.

Politically, for Joe Biden and the Democrats, the news is not all bad, Democratic pollster Jeff Horwitt, who conducted the survey with Republican pollster Bill McInturff, told NBC News.

The Democrats still have an uphill battle to win: The presidents approval ratings are up, but remain in the low 40s; his party has notched a number of legislative wins in recent weeks, but voters as a whole remain pessimistic about the direction of the country; and while the GOP may be running a bunch of dangerous weirdos this fall, it still enjoys a historical advantage in off-year elections that tend to serve as a referendum on the party in power. There are also some caveats in the NBC News poll: For one, Republicans and Democrats may have different definitions of what constitutes threats to democracy. Are they Donald Trump's bogus claims of election fraud, which are Republican orthodoxy at this point? Or is it, say, the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago, which Trump has sought to convince his supporters was politically motivated assault that could only take place in broken" country? Another caveat: Threats to democracy ranked higher than cost of living and jobs/economy individually but combined, those economic concerns may still be the biggest consideration for voters this cycle. All of this is to say that Democrats shouldnt get cocky; theyre going to have to fight to keep the House and Senate. Heading into Labor Day, the political dynamics could be worse for Democrats, as Horwitt explained. But they also need to get a lot better and fast.

Still, there are a few reasons to be optimistic. Notably, the poll revealed that most Americans believe the various investigations into Trump's alleged improprieties should remain underway. The poll also bore out a narrowing enthusiasm gap between Democrats and Republicans. Not six months ago, Republicans held a 17-point advantage over Democrats when it comes to voter interest in the midterms. But in the poll released Sunday, that lead had shrunk to two points, with 68 percent of Republicans expressing high interest in the November election compared to 66 percent of Democrats.

The most significant change over that timespan, of course, was the Supreme Courts Dobbs decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade, clearing the way for abortion to be immediately outlawed or dramatically scaled back in half the country. For many voters, Roe's rescission laid bare the dangers of minoritarian rule by the GOP. "You dont have to agree with abortion to want to honor peoples rights, as one voter told NBC News. (Abortion itself, it should be noted, ranked seventh among voters in the polls.)

Democrats have also built more momentum of late with a series of legislative victories, including the landmark Inflation Reduction Act, whose passage was more expeditious than usual, as Politico notes, because Republicans were too busy defending Trump against potential Espionage Act and obstruction charges related to the raid. Republicans do still hold a small advantage in NBC News poll: Among registered voters, 47 percent said they prefer GOP control of Capitol Hill while 45 percent preferred the Democrats. But that Republican advantage could evaporate if voters continue to grow concerned about the party's radical agenda as Democrats rally Americans around a better alternative.

Read more here:
The Future of Democracy Is Now at the Top of Midterm Voters' Minds - Vanity Fair