Gilead
Donald Trump
Coup attempt
Fig. 1. “Jake Angeli (Qanon Shaman), seen holding a Qanon sign at the intersection of Bell Rd and 75th Ave in Peoria, Arizona, on 2020 October 15.” Photography by TheUnseen011101 [pseud.], October 15, 2020, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
The [18-year] sentence [imposed on Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes] is the longest given to any of the hundreds of people found guilty of involvement in the pro-Trump riot [on June 6, 2021], and the first to include an enhanced penalty for terrorism. Judge Amit P. Mehta said it was merited by the role Rhodes, a leader in the armed anti-government movement for decades, played in convincing others they had the right to impose their political beliefs by force. . . .
[Judge Amit P.] Mehta on Thursday [May 25, 2023] also sentenced Kelly Meggs, a Florida car dealer and top deputy to Rhodes, to 12 years.
In a lengthy address to the court before the sentence was read, Rhodes, 58, did not dispute that he was a key figure in the right-wing firmament. He cast his conviction as part of a left-wing plot that included the Biden administration, the media and anti-fascist activists.[1]
Aruna Viswanatha, Sadie Gurman, and C. Ryan Barber, “Special Counsel Is Wrapping Up Trump Mar-a-Lago Probe,” Wall Street Journal, May 23, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/articles/special-counsel-is-wrapping-up-trump-mar-a-lago-probe-99cd2517
Isaac Arnsdorf, Josh Dawsey, and Adriana Usero, “The deepening radicalization of Donald J. Trump,” Washington Post, May 24, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/05/24/trump-language-policy-2024-race/
Devlin Barrett et al., “Trump workers moved Mar-a-Lago boxes a day before FBI came for documents,” Washington Post, May 25, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/05/25/trump-classified-documents-mar-a-lago/
Rachel Weiner, Tom Jackman, and Spencer S. Hsu, “Oath Keepers leader Rhodes gets 18 years for Jan. 6 seditious conspiracy,” Washington Post, May 25, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/05/25/oath-keepers-sentencing-seditious-conspiracy-jan6/
White Christian nationalism
Fig. 2. In terms of geographic area, Pennsylvania is very much a white Christian nationalist kind of place. Photograph by author, January 5, 2023.
One point of contention is about the definition of anti-Semitism: Does, as defenders of the Israeli occupation often suggest, anti-Zionism constitute anti-Semitism? The White House definition sidesteps the issue:
When Jews are targeted because of their beliefs or their identity, when Israel is singled out because of anti-Jewish hatred, that is antisemitism.[2]
It goes on to suggest that lessons learned in the fight against anti-Semitism might also be useful in the fight against Islamophobia.[3] I think that’s a win: For now, at least, the acknowledgment of the existence of the Palestinian people cannot be construed, as some Zionists would clearly prefer, as anti-Semitism.
White House, “U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism,” May 2023, https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/U.S.-National-Strategy-to-Counter-Antisemitism.pdf
Self-driving cars
Fig. 3. Photograph by Mark Doliner, August 1, 2012, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
Russ Mitchell, “Huge Tesla data leak reportedly reveals thousands of safety complaints. 4 things to know,” Los Angeles Times, May 26, 2023, https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2023-05-26/tesla-autopilot-alleged-data-breach-leak
Imperialism
Russia
Ukraine
Fig. 4. “Destroyed Russian military vehicles located on the main street Khreshchatyk are seen as part of the celebration of the Independence Day of Ukraine in Kyiv, August 24.” Photograph by Gleb Garanich for Reuters, August 24, 2022,[4] fair use.
Robyn Dixon, “Russians snitch on Russians who oppose war with Soviet-style denunciations,” Washington Post, May 27, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/05/27/russia-denunciations-arrests-informants-war/
- [1]Rachel Weiner, Tom Jackman, and Spencer S. Hsu, “Oath Keepers leader Rhodes gets 18 years for Jan. 6 seditious conspiracy,” Washington Post, May 25, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/05/25/oath-keepers-sentencing-seditious-conspiracy-jan6/↩
- [2]White House, “U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism,” May 2023, https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/U.S.-National-Strategy-to-Counter-Antisemitism.pdf, 9.↩
- [3]White House, “U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism,” May 2023, https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/U.S.-National-Strategy-to-Counter-Antisemitism.pdf, 9.↩
- [4]Reuters, “Ukraine puts destroyed Russian tanks on display in Kyiv,” August 25, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/news/picture/ukraine-puts-destroyed-russian-tanks-on-idUSRTSALV9Q↩