By Mark W. Fowler

Notwithstanding the declarations of Kamala Harris, Tim Waltz, Rashida Tlaib, and others of their ilk, President Donald Trump is not a fascist. Hitler was a fascist. Mussolini was a fascist. According to Merriam-Webster, fascism is “a populist political philosophy, movement, or regime … that exalts nation and often race above the individual, that is associated with a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, and that is characterized by severe economic and social regimentation and by forcible suppression of opposition.” Hitler came to power by taking advantage of German resentment over the First World War and fostered maniacal hatred of the Jews in support of his notion of an Aryan nation. Mussolini came to power on a wave of Italian nationalism. Both men used violence and murder to suppress opposition. To claim Trump is a fascist is to grossly distort the term, ignore history, and inflame passions. It is absurd.

Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, and Matthew Dowd were recently released or suspended. Colbert because his show was losing millions of dollars a year, Kimmel for falsely claiming Charlie Kirks’s assassin was MAGA, and Dowd for claiming Kirk was engaged in hate speech and suggesting Charlie deserved it. Liberals, ever quick to sound a false alarm, blamed President Trump for each of these decisions, claiming the First Amendment was in danger. It is not. Indeed, it has no application at all in these issues. The First Amendment prohibits the government from limiting political speech. Specifically, Congress is forbidden from “abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.” It has no application at all to a private employer and employee. You may say whatever stupid, illogical, or hateful thing you wish, and your employer may fire you for it. Period. If you say something stupid, offensive, or obscene in a restaurant, they can throw you out. Of course, you can’t yell “Fire!” in a crowded theater, and you can’t say anything libelous. But if you claim, for example, that a vaccine is dangerous and ineffective, only Democrats will attempt to muzzle you. A government cannot have a Department of Misinformation for the purpose of policing speech. Traditionally, the remedy for stupid speech is … more speech.

In her memoirs, Kamala Harris has admitted to passing over Pete Buttigieg because he was gay, and Josh Shapiro because he was Jewish and preoccupied with what art he could decorate his office with. Doesn’t that make her a homophobe and anti-Semite, if not a Philistine?

Charlie Kirk, an evangelical Christian, patriot, father, and husband, was gunned down earlier this month. He was a leader of the conservative movement. He was not bigoted, ignorant, or xenophobic as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez claimed. He did not seek to disenfranchise anyone. There have been no riots, no murders, no property destroyed, no police stations besieged. On the other hand, when the darling of the Democrats, George Floyd, was killed, there were riots and billions of dollars of property damage, and several people were killed. We are not the same. One slight similarity should be mentioned. Leading Democrats had a public prayer session for Floyd. Thousands of citizens held a prayer vigil for Kirk. It’s quite likely that the two sets of prayers were received, shall we say, differently.

In the latest display of Democrat penchant for tolerance, inclusivity, and diversity, Mayor Abdullah Hussein Hammoud, the pro-Palestinian mayor of Dearborn Michigan, and a Muslim, told a Christian minister that he was not welcome in Dearborn and that if he left, Hammoud would hold a parade. Why? Because the Christian minister cited Scripture in objection to signage honoring a supporter of Hamas and Hezbollah. Diversity may not be a strength. Not in Dearborn, anyway.

California, ever the beacon of rationality in legislation, recently passed a law prohibiting law enforcement agents from wearing masks in the performance of official duties. Curiously, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, whose intellect is secondary only to her judgment regarding the timing of foreign trips during the wildfire season, opined that it might violate the First Amendment to ban wearing masks by protestors. Read that again. It is not presently against the law to wear a mask while protesting in California, but law enforcement may not wear masks while fighting protestors? Will Mexico consider buying California? Or just taking it back? Concerned citizens want to know.

Finally, the good people of New York City, the financial capital of the world, are considering electing a socialist mayor. H. L. Mencken said, “Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want and deserve to get it good and hard.”

Mark Fowler is a former attorney and board-certified physician. He can be reached at [email protected].