Tag Archives: fascism

Suppression of Free Speech in a Red County:

Everyday life. Welcome to ‘Merica.

This incident occurred in March 2026, Highlands Ranch, CO. The governing authority was the Highlands Ranch Metro District (Parks), located in Douglas County. Highlands Ranch is a suburban community southwest of Denver.

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Deep Inside Fascism:

My Personal Experience of How the First Amendment Died

I live in Highlands Ranch, Colorado in a county that is over 50% RED, and it shows. Our local neighborhood parks come under the jurisdiction of the Highlands Ranch Metro District. We have lived in this neighborhood for about seven years but have resided in Highlands Ranch for around twenty years.

In 2025, I was able to go our local park and chalk advertisements for No Kings 2 with nothing more than a few nasty comments from passersby. In January when Renee Good was murdered I chalked about that and was reported by a neighbor, a former friend. That incident brought Ranger M to my front door. At that time he told me that Highlands Ranch had no ordinance against chalking, and I was perfectly within my First Amendment rights. He said that he also expressed this to my neighbor who made the report.

But on that March 9th day, within three weeks of No Kings 3, I again wrote advertisements for that event and was accosted by a man in the park who didn’t want “my liberal shit” in the park. He and his large dog followed my husband and I around the park taking photos. Later that afternoon, we received yet another visit from Ranger M who left a Rules Violation Notice this time.

I was being cited for graffiti /vandalism, quote “writing with chalk- political statements.” This was under 18-9-117(1) Unlawful Conduct on Public Property. Research into the codes revealed that there was no such reference for anything like that. No chalking references. No graffiti under that section at all. Ranger M returned later that afternoon to explain the notice he left. I have him on videotape saying that he was in a meeting after the January incident where it was decided by higher ups that they didn’t “want” any more hate speech, religious, or political messages in chalk in the park. You can hear me say, “Well you may not want it but until you get an ordinance….” Later Ranger M goes on to try to intimidate me with the even more serious charge of criminal tampering.

(photo: from another chalking protest event)

Without an ordinance, the Highland Ranch Metro District has suppressed my right to engage in political, free speech. It is obvious they don’t want to deal with a few disgruntled MAGA neighbors and have decided that my rights are disposable. Highlands Ranch Metro District has decided the solution to this matter is to restrict my First Amendment rights because they are inconvenient. I have the violation notice, the codes in question, the videotape, and photos of the chalk.

To anyone with even a high school education, this is a clear case of the infringement of freedom of speech. I contacted multiple local media outlets both print and TV. Crickets. I was advised to reach out to a local county activism group. I did and even suggested we do a chalking event in our local parks to exercise our rights. Apparently, they are terrified of this proposition because their only response was to direct me to two supposed progressives on the Metro District Board. Those two individuals never even bothered to respond when I contacted them. So much for elected officials in the age of Trump. Lastly, I contacted my final bastion of hope. The ACLU.

In fact, the ACLU defended a case very similar to mine in 2018 in my own county (because apparently the suppression of First Amendment Rights in Douglas County is a pattern) involving a chalking incident and another free speech incident. In that case, the defendant was charged with criminal tampering. At that time, the ACLU successfully defended the case and won. But that was before the full onset of fascism and it’s not 2018 anymore.

So this is how the First Amendment died in 2026.

The First Amendment died when none of my neighbors, took up a piece of chalk and wrote something in support. Once upon a time in America, we believed in the maxim, “I may not agree with what you have to say but I’ll defend to my death your right to say it.”

The First Amendment died when Ranger M caved to his boss because he knew during our first encounter what was right and what it meant to be an American. Shame on him.

The First Amendment died when two levels of management were erroneously given power they should never be able to glimpse. They used that power to exploit and abuse an American right for expediency and because they did not have the backbone required to call themselves Americans. They capitulated to convenience and are one source of Donald Trump’s rot. They also knowingly sullied someone in their direct line of command. Shame on them.

The First Amendment died when the press became disinterested in the rights of the people. A press afraid of following certain kinds of stories for fear of blowback is not a free and fair press. The press no longer serves the public interest. No wonder no one watches or reads traditional media sources any longer.  

The First Amendment died when a special interest group with activism in its name refused to…act.

The First Amendment died when the champion of civil liberties, the well-funded ACLU, declines to weigh in on a case fraught with intimidation, and obvious abuse of rights.

We are well into the establishment and solidification of fascism in the United States. Neighbors are turning in neighbors. Small, local power structures have been corrupted to enforce the MAGA agenda. When MAGA is made uncomfortable and they don’t want to see “liberal shit” in the neighborhood, they use the local power structure to make sure it does not occur there. I don’t need to wonder who would turn in Ann Frank in my neighborhood, I already know. It’s no longer a theoretical question. After that, the people in positions of authority swoop in and intimidate the hell out of people to suppress what used to be easily recognizable as basic American rights. Civics organizations, elected officials, and human rights organizations all bow out. Fascism lives and breathes in the neat, comfortable, covenanted neighborhoods where a new kind of conformity is now enforced. Welcome to ‘Merica. You can hear the jackboots echo.  

I suppose that’s what happened in Germany too.  

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CONCENTRATION CAMPS 3.0

While most of us were finishing our shopping, wrapping presents, or kicking back with a glass of eggnog, the Washington Post broke a story on Christmas Eve, let’s call it Concentration Camps 3.0.

Recall earlier in the year, we had the first renderings of Stephen Miller’s brainchild Concentration Camps 1.0 in which ICE planned to open formerly defunct prisons across the country to incarcerate detainees in the Trump administration’s mass deportation plan. Then in October, ICE pivoted to a soft-sided structure idea involving six states that would get huge facilities like Alligator Alcatraz and the Fort Bliss monstrosities. But that soon attracted Congressional attention necessitating a GAO report on how ICE does business and spends money (still not published, but one interview given in December by a GAO official was not flattering).

Articles circulated prior to the Washington Post report that ICE was eyeing warehouses along the border with Mexico as a final stop for detainees before deportation out of the US. And now, we have arrived at ICE’s new scheme, 3.0. Allegedly up to 80,000 detainees could be accommodated under this new part of ICE’s operation and the warehouse notion has apparently become the prevailing scheme. Under this plan, seven large scale warehouses will function as holding facilities presumably before final deportation. These mega structures will be capable of holding between 5000-10,000 people. The seven centers are:

  1. Hutchins, TX
  2. Baytown, TX
  3. Glendale, AZ
  4. Hammond, LA
  5. Social Circle, GA
  6. Kansas City, MO
  7. Stafford, VA

These seven deportation hubs will be fed by fifteen smaller warehouse detention facilities spread throughout the country. The smaller warehouses, sometimes referred to as “quick processing centers” will hold between 500 and 1500 people. ICE plans currently mention the following sites for the smaller warehouse structures:

  1. Los Fresnos, TX
  2. El Paso, TX
  3. San Antonio, TX
  4. Jefferson, GA
  5. Port Allen, LA
  6. Oklahoma City, OK
  7. Jupiter, FL
  8. Salt Lake City, UT
  9. Highland Park, MI
  10. Merrillville, IN
  11. Woodbury, MN
  12. Hagerstown, MD
  13. Tremont, PA
  14. Roxbury, NJ
  15. Merrimack, NH

Interestingly, the six states targeted in the soft-sided 2.0 plan will all receive a warehouse except for Kansas. Instead, Kansas City, Missouri becomes the chosen location. Also notice that Colorado has not been targeted in the warehouse scheme. Our closest warehouses would be in Salt Lake City and Kansas City.

We could speculate on why this structure is being advanced and there certainly is a case to be made that ICE’s plans are evolving due to real-world problems with existing soft-sided facilities and political resistance to the administration’s expansion of detention. It’s likely that the warehouse structure affords a kind of physical protection from the elements that soft-sided facilities did not. Contractors are also not tasked with the complete construction of building sites and whole buildings which can take years. But contractors will have to custom retrofit each site. And it appears that ICE is currently looking for a new set of contractors to do this work.  

Will ICE build Concentration Camps 3.0 or will we see another version come to pass? Who knows? It seems that versions 1.0 and 2.0 have been set aside in favor of the warehouse idea. Keeping in mind that ICE already has a detention system that currently holds a record 68,000 people, the introduction of this new plan could more than double their bed count.

We are fortunate that the news media has uncovered the places ICE has in mind for these warehouse sites. There are things we can do in Colorado to fight against this expansion. We can reach out to other activist and resistance organizations to build a national network in the fight against mass deportation. Offering resources and partnering in ongoing efforts can build strong alliances that over time successfully help defeat fascism.  

ICE plans to hold 80,000 immigrants in warehouses across the country – The Washington Post

Report: Over 80K migrants to be housed in ICE warehouses throughout US

My books can be found here:

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“So this is Christmas.

And what have you done?”

John Lennon’s lyrics come to mind every year at this time forcing a review of a year fast to be in the rear-view mirror. So much of 2025 has involved a total reorientation. The November election of 2024 sent me into a tailspin causing the scrapping of every single plan I had envisioned. But that happened to many of us, and I suspect a good lot of us are still trying to figure out where our lives are heading. Fast change with no time to adjust has become normal. We grab a headline here and there, try to grasp its significance, only to realize we missed something even bigger. About the time we’ve gotten hold of the new reality of yesterday’s events (or was that last week??), something else drops and we’re left struggling with those ramifications. The ground is never solid and the landscape never clear, still the clock ticks and the days move forward.

My reorientation this year pulled me into the world of activism. Protests, letter writing, research, networking, putting myself out there in ways that feel unfamiliar, and yet somehow undeniably right. Learning how to letter posters has never come in handier. Thank you, Mrs. Mattice from HS Art! I have a huge collection of signs from various protest events I attended this year.

The homeowners’ association weighed in on just one protest effort this week. It concerns the photo at the top of this blog. That five-by-five-foot banner hung over the third bay garage space drew a demand for removal. Apparently a disgruntled MAGA neighbor made a complaint. I’m glad it irritated someone because that means it’s getting noticed. That’s the point of protest. To push back, to challenge, to bring the unsaid into the world, ultimately to produce change.

A few of those unsaid (or not said enough) things:

Being undocumented is a civil offense not a criminal one. (MAGA just can’t get this in their heads!!)

The Trump administration is building a mass deportation system of historic proportions. Henchman Stephen Miller has masterminded this well-funded, racially motivated program to make America white again. To do this, ICE has become a lawless, battle-ready band of untrained thugs.

There are currently over 68,000 people in ICE detention (as of mid-Dec 2025, Guardian report). The administration has arrested more than 328,000 and deported nearly 327,000.

And Trump continues to lie about deporting “the worst of the worst.” Most of those detained have no criminal record. Of the 25% with a criminal charge, most involve minor offenses like traffic violations. In fact, there just aren’t enough criminals to round up to make Stephen Miller’s quotas. Therefore, ICE hits the streets going after anybody who happens to appear other than white, or speak a language other than English.

To facilitate mass deportation, and house record numbers of detainees, the administration is eyeing buying warehouses and fitting them out with makeshift shelter structures. Detention facilities have been the subject of many reports of human rights abuses including lack of edible food, potable water, overcrowding, lack of sanitation and lack of medical care. Already this year there have been 30 deaths in ICE detention, the single deadliest year in decades.

There’s a link at the bottom for an article that gives a good overview on where things stand. There’s no doubt I’ll be working on these issues in 2026. It’s my hope that sometime over the holidays, you’ll pause to think about those in detention. Think about those around you who are vulnerable or who have been made vulnerable by the actions of MAGA and this president. Consider ways you might be able to intercede. 2026 will continue to challenge us in ever more persistent and direct ways. I implore you to not shrink from responsibility but to shoulder it bravely and boldly.

“So this is Christmas. And what have you done?”

https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/trump-immigrant-detention

MY BOOKS:

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One Million Rising

One Million Rising: Session 1

Please devote 90 minutes to this important training session to understand how authoritarianism works and view a plan to counter it together.

So many have asked, “What can I do?” Here’s the answer!

From the YouTube Channel:

“Join us for the first One Million Rising coordinating call and training! Get oriented to making meaning of this moment and the role you can play in coordinated strategic action. This 3-part training will equip you with a coordinated national strategy to organize locally, host community gatherings, and build a force bigger than fear. Sign up, show up, and take action together. Access your Community Resistance Gathering Host Toolkit here – it has everything you’ll need to host a gathering!” https://docs.google.com/document/d/18… Make sure you’re signed up for our last two sessions in the One Million Rising series – we’ll cover everything else you need to know then! https://www.mobilize.us/nokings/event… Take the pledge to host a community resistance gathering! https://www.nokings.org/rise

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STAND UP! BE SEEN!

I spend a fair amount of time on social media and since the election, people have been asking, ‘what can we do?’ A lot of us acknowledge just how deeply we are into totalitarian rule and the undercurrents that flow on the socials often combine bewilderment with despair. In fact, if you aren’t feeling that from time to time, I’m wondering about you as a person.

To the extent that I can, I try to remind people to show up for the protests. Those non-violent protests where 3.5 percent of the population take to the streets ALWAYS leads to change.* But I always add— eventually. I recommend joining the ACLU and doing all their email campaigns. They make it easy, and they have had major wins. But what else???     

Well, here’s the pitch— I want you to imagine a different world. One that takes courage. One where you put yourself on the line. One where you’re willing to stand out and stand up. Ready??

I’m asking you to fly the RESIST flag at your house. Why? Why will this make a difference?

Because we need to take the fight against fascism into every neighborhood in America. We need to empower all those sleepy individuals who up until now knew that what they were seeing was wrong but felt too alone or too scared to speak up. We must be that first wave to act to empower others. To do the next right thing. As we look out across America, the real patriots are the resistors, not the false flyers of American flags who hide behind a history that never existed. Can you also fly the American flag? Yes! But only if you pair it with the resistance flag or banner.

Imagine that world where all of us stand together. Imagine a world where we push back against totalitarian rule and all its trampling of American freedoms. You want to know what you can do today? Get your flag up! Become a role model for your community. Be the change.

Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.

Helen Keller

*https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08HB7JTHM?

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NO KINGS DAY Protest: June 14, 2025

In light of what’s going on in LA and everything else, we need everyone on the streets for this march. Find your local march (by zip code) at https://www.nokings.org

Check out the downloadable artwork under Art then Posters.

BTW- Everyone needs to watch the use of language in media/government sources now. Especially, note if “riot” replaces “protest”. It is a common ploy by fascism to weaponize language to escalate tensions and then call for “law and order”.

They also have great resources like trainings here:

https://www.nokings.org/trainings

Safety & De-escalation: June 8th, 4PM Zoom

Disappeared in America: June 9, 8PM Zoom

Remember self-care as we carry on this fight!

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Good Trouble

Registration is required for the June 14th military parade in DC. Maximum of 2 tickets per cellphone # (you will be required to verify the phone # with a code they send). Easy process, it took me less than 2 minutes. It would be interesting to know what happens, if say people in large numbers requested tickets and then didn’t show up. His orange majesty might rage- or huff and puff….

https://events.america250.org/events/250th-anniversary-of-the-us-army-grand-military-parade-and-celebration

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A Stitch in Time

Life in this Mad World

I’m one of those people who believe that forewarned is forearmed. That anxiety and worry is often set aside if we have a plan. In fact, the mere act of planning involves us in a positive process that assures that we are not frozen in a time of crisis. But I’ve also come to understand that my way of seeing the world is not necessarily the only way. There are some of us right now who are already tuning out, going to ground. Some can’t stand to think about next steps. For those of you of that ilk, we part ways here. Reading on is not for the faint-hearted.

OK, let’s talk about what happens if Trump enacts the Insurrection Act.

Last weekend the Hands Off! protests brought an estimated 5 million Americans (approximately 2% of the population) flooding into the streets protesting a whole host of violations to fundamental rights, the destruction of the government, infrastructure, the obliteration of the economy, and many other things. These were peaceful protests and remarkable feats.

A looming deadline of April 20th is approaching when a joint report from the Secretaries of Defense and Homeland Security is due concerning the safety on the southern border. They are tasked to specifically address whether the Insurrection Act of 1807 should be invoked. Note that April 20th is Easter AND Hitler’s birthday. The next nationwide day of protest is the day before (April 19th). Some think that if Trump gets the recommendation to invoke this act, he will likely do it either on or about this date. This would allow him to use the military at the border and potentially in blue “sanctuary” cities. While the Insurrection Act has been used at times by Presidents, its use is reviewed by the courts only in retrospect.

photo: AramiFeraxa

THE FALSE FLAG EVENT:

What may be even more concerning is that with mass demonstrations becoming more and more popular, Trump may choose to create a false flag crisis that conveniently leads to martial law. This could be easily done if he calls up groups like the Alt-Right, Neo-Nazis, Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, right wing militias, and others. Some believe that Trump is just waiting to deploy these troops against peaceful demonstrators in order to provoke a violent clash that would lead to a call for martial law to reestablish order. After Charlottesville and January 6th, it’s hard to dismiss the idea. Many people seem to think Trump has waited this long to invoke the act because he needed to have his people in key positions to get the job done. His cabinet was seated, and his minions are now in place.

THE PLAYBOOK:

Of course, causing the violence that requires the full use of martial law ultimately is how democracy falls. It doesn’t happen in one day, but it does happen quickly. There is a playbook by which totalitarian rulers have historically accomplished this goal and if we are going to stop America falling, we have to recognize the pattern.

CREATE THE SITUATION & MANIPULATE THE POPULACE:

As the initial violence kicks off, it’s likely that we will see other escalations to follow. Simple crowd control at an event or two would hardly get Americans behind the idea of giving up freedoms (and that’s what this administration is after). So, we should expect things like “terrorist” bombings, targeted assassinations, and other high-profile acts of violence that shock us. All of these events would be used to manipulate the public to call for law and order. The media will then be flooded with images of rioting, cities burning, all kinds of out-of-control behavior, much- if not all of this, will be orchestrated by the right. If done correctly by the playbook, Trump will appear to be a hero answering the growing cries of citizens to reestablish order. Trump will be only too happy to step in and assume total control. He has no plan to ever cede that control back.

photo: Martin Falbisoner

At this point, Trump can now mobilize and order troops into major American cities where his opposition is the greatest. These people are vilified as the enemy and are rebranded seditionists, traitors, and the woke mob. Good Americans are now asked to grab their guns and defend ‘Merica. Trump uses the militias that have been reformed after being freed from the Jan. 6th incarcerations. That way any military professionals who balk at using force against their own people can be sidestepped. Now citizens (largely from the right) have been cast into roles of helping the police or keeping order.

ELIMINATE OPPOSITION:

What follows next is likely to be the arrest of high-profile opposition. We should expect that journalists, Democratic officials, activists, academics, and anyone who has publicly taken on Trump or his policies publicly to be arrested. The media will cover all aspects of this round up of those people now made criminal under this administration. Democratic governors may become a special target because removing them removes all resistance at a state level. This would allow Trump the freedom to do what he wants in each and every state. To solidify control, military and law enforcement are then made to take loyalty oaths.

As the cities are locked down, the military and National Guard might be used to establish firm control. Curfews, lockdowns, and checkpoints would be created to maintain order. Militarized presence on the streets defines a new normal. Highways to Canada and Mexico are strictly patrolled by Trumpian forces. Red states are especially enthusiastic to answer the call to man checkpoints and identify traitors, seditionists, and anyone they deem a threat to Trump. Recall the move to open Guantanamo Bay, the 106 ICE detention centers, and various for-profit prisons to retain illegals? That “system” is now used to house the thousands of American citizens deemed traitorous under the Insurrection Act. And still there isn’t enough room. Texas comes through with “open air” jails (tent cities) scattered throughout the state.

photo: Jesse Collins

CONTROL THE MESSAGING:

While all this is under way, the press comes under increasing pressure. The administration needs total control of the messaging to silence dissent. We should expect to see journalists and media heads threatened with legal action, blackmailing, and pressure to comply. The social media that Trump controls (X, Truth Social, etc.) will become increasingly loud in an attempt to drown out any contrary opinions. Some social media will go dark. Some media will cave to the pressure. We enter the police state where monitoring of everyone’s communication becomes routine. Trump exploits his friendships with tech giants to conduct surveillance on all Americans to root out dissent. Arrests are made when people express non-Trumpian ideas. Incentives are created to have Americans report on each other’s behavior.

CLOSE THE BORDERS:

Borders close. No one, especially anyone who opposes the dictator is leaving. Passports are revoked. No-fly lists are created and enforced. Apprehensions at the borders and airports are commonplace. ICE and DHS arrest political enemies. Many are lost or have disappeared.

END FREE ELECTIONS:

The 2026 election is postponed due to national security concerns. This is a pretext to do away with democratic elections forever. By 2028, the first rigged American election (similar to a Russian election) takes place. The 250-year American democratic experiment has died. Americans live under totalitarian rule.

Although I’ve laid this out as a linear plan, it’s likely that many events would be overlapping, and other parts may occur even earlier than I outline. Some steps may be invisible to us, at least for a while. Might it not happen at all? Of course! But remember, they have a plan in Project 2025 and Trump and his bunch have been making remarkable progress checking off all those tasks that he supposedly knew nothing about. Well, Ellis- this just sounds crazy! Yeah, I know!! But this is the same bunch that engineered Jan. 6th. Who thought that would happen? Who thought Trump would be elected? Who thought all the insurrectionists from Jan. 6th would be pardoned? Let’s not say- who thought they’d end democracy?

I am indebted to Angela Woodward and others for their keen insight and understanding of these times we live in.

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An article about the Insurrection Act, Wargaming a What-if, the likelihood it might happen, what we might be able to do:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/what-to-do-if-the-insurrection-act-is-invoked/ar-AA1ClFSA?ocid=BingNewsVerp

The Project 2025 Tracker: https://www.project2025.observer/

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