Thanks for joining us for the 6th Dispatch! Here's a tune to go along with your read. Donald Trump has been making headlines announcing his absolutely wild picks to lead his administration, but it’s all part of a much longer conservative battle that’s been going on for decades. Let’s talk about it!
Btw - Ray recently partnered with Ground News to offer 50% off of their Vantage Plan. Ground News is a handy app and website (also on the Directory) that collects news sources from across the political spectrum into one place so you can compare how a single story is being covered, or not covered, by any side. They also have some cool features for building media literacy, like showing reporting blindspots, media outlet owners, author reputability, and more. Check it out here!
Note: Be sure to join our Discord to connect more directly and get more regular updates.
Current Calls to Action
Why: HR 9495 is a bill that would give the President power to remove tax-exempt status from any non-profit they deem as “terrorist” supporting. This has huge consequences for any group organizing for a liberation, not just in Palestine but all over the world too. It has passed the House and now we must pressure the Senate to vote this bill down.
Why: Journalists are saying just as much with what they don’t cover as with what they do cover. By leaving out major atrocities committed by Israel, a distorted view of the truth is created that minimizes the genocide.
Why: Entertainment has a massive influence on the way people view the world. Captain America and Snow White are Disney's 2 biggest movies this year, so this is a chance for the world to send a clear message to Disney that we will not tolerate their complicity. They've pledged millions in donations to Israel, Captain America features the problematic Israeli character "Sabra," and Snow White is played by Gal Gadot, who has supported Israel's assault.
Why: We have recently partnered with Muslims Around The World project to raise funds to provide prosthetics to amputees in Gaza. Currently Gaza has the highest population of child amputees in the world and this program is a vital way to provide much-needed medical assistance after a life-altering injury. Our goal is to raise $20k by the new year!
Little Wins for The People
Why It Matters: Despite months of pressure to drop the case, the ICC has issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, along with Hamas commanders, for crimes against humanity. This is a moment many have been waiting for. It results in even greater international pressure and isolation for the US and Israel, while also limiting Netanyahu’s travel ability. Many countries, including Canada and the UK, have vowed to enforce the warrant if Netanyahu travels there.
Why it Matters: Many around the US are bracing themselves for Trump’s mass deportation plans. LA is one of the largest cities that have become “sanctuary cities,” places where local authorities will not comply with federal deportation orders. While this doesn’t guarantee deportations won’t happen, it does add a layer of defense.
Why it Matters: Nov 19-21, hundreds gathered in Niger’s capital, Niamey, for the Conference in Solidarity with the People of the Sahel. The 3-day conference brought together union leaders, activists, political leaders, and members of social movements from around the world to discuss the urgent struggles and aspirations of the people in the Sahel region and is an important milestone in Africa’a anti-imperial struggle.
“The really dangerous American fascists are not those who are hooked up directly or indirectly with the Axis. The FBI has its finger on those. The dangerous American fascist is the man who wants to do in the United States in an American way what Hitler did in Germany in a Prussian way. The American fascist would prefer not to use violence. His method is to poison the channels of public information.” –US Vice President Henry Wallace, 1944
Hidden History
Fascism's True Meaning
Many associate Benito Mussolini as the creator of Fascism because he was the founder of the Italian National Fascist Party and wrote The Doctrine of Fascism, which was the treatise of the ideology. In truth, he only wrote half of it. The other half was written by Giovanni Gentile, a prominent Italian idealist philosopher better known as the “Philosopher of Fascism.” His definition is a bit different than what we think of today, and arguably more resonant. He wrote:
Fascism should more appropriately be called corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power.
Today we rightly associate fascism with a dictatorial leader, ultra-nationalism, and the demonization of “the other.” But this part of fascism – the combination of corporate and state power – has been left out of the definition over time, even though it was crucial for Mussolini’s fascist vision of Italy.
Mussolini realized this vision in 1939, when he dissolved the Italian Parliament and replaced it with the the Chamber of the Fascist Corporations (Camera dei Fasci e delle Coproazioni). Instead of the delegates representing citizens, they represented various Italian trades and industries. Corporatism was key to Mussolini’s original conception of the fascist ideology.
We should ask ourselves why, in a world so driven by capital, this part of the definition has been left out?
This is inspired by a longer article by Thom Hartmann that you can read here
The Right-Wing Battle Against Bureaucracy
Connecting the Dots
Donald Trump isn’t in the White House yet, but the world is already getting a peek into what his presidency will look like. As expected, his choices to lead the massive bureaucratic federal agencies he will oversee are a mix of sycophants, loyalists, TV personalities, and capitalists. It’s easy to think this is typical Trump behavior: surrounding himself with his clearly corrupt buddies. That’s absolutely true, but there’s more to it this time around.
Unlike Trump’s first presidency, many more extremely powerful and wealthy people wanted Trump to win, planned for it, then made a concerted effort to make that happen. Among this cohort are Silicon Valley billionaires like Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, whose direct support of the Trump campaign now earns them a mainline into the White House. Their goal, shared by many conservative capitalists, is to dismantle the massive bureaucracy of the federal government. To them it’s a battle for freedom from an oppressive state; to cut through the red tape that supposedly holds the American people down, but this has dangerous consequences for working class people around the world.
First, what exactly is bureaucracy? In the context of US government, it is the administrative layer that sits between Congress & the President and the general public. Here’s a good primer on how bureaucracy works in US government. Bureaucracy, rules, and regulations exist all around us at every level of society and are intended to serve an important role in protecting us from egregious, inhumane behavior.
Historically, the US had a relatively small number of bureaucratic agencies up until the 1930s. Rampant corruption and profit-seeking behavior, coupled with WW1, led to the Great Depression in 1929. At the beginning of the Great Depression, President Hoover tried to protect American businesses from foreign competition and passed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, which put tariffs on over 20,000 imports. Doing this actually made the Great Depression way worse, since many countries retaliated with their own tariffs on the US. The next President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, had a different approach: his plan, called the “New Deal,” promised to end the Great Depression by regulating industry, protecting consumers & workers, and putting guardrails on unchecked capitalism - sounds nice right?
Roosevelt had many ideas in his New Deal that would seem radical today, like extending the President’s powers to new heights. He passed the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933, that allowed him to appropriate $3.3 Billion to create the “Alphabet Agencies” who were in charge of carrying out his plans. Some agencies regulated competition and prices of specific industries, like the Civil Aeronautics Authority (now the FAA). Others created support for citizens, like the Works Progress Administration (in charge of hiring job seekers in public works projects) and the Social Security Administration (in charge of the USA social insurance program). Some agencies were created by Congress, but many were created with a simple executive order from Roosevelt.
This is what many call the birth of the “Administrative Presidency.” and it’s a pivotal moment in US history because it marks a major shift in government power dynamics. The various agencies of the bureaucracy are all under the President’s control. They can assign new heads, create new agencies, re-organize, or dismantle any of them as they see fit. Any legislation Congress passes must now pass through the bureaucracy to become actionable policies which gives the President more ways to enact their will, even if it goes against Congress.
Today, Conservatives and those on “the right” despise the bureaucracy. Since its expansion from the 1930s-1970s, there has been a targeted effort to retract what is perceived by capitalists as government overreach. To them, it would be best (aka in their best interest) if most government services, if not all, were controlled by private companies that could respond to “market demands.” Their arguments can be summed up as follows:
- The rules and regulations of the bureaucracy stifle innovation
- The most prosperous countries are those that have fewest regulations
- The government shouldn’t tell us what to do - the market decides all
They aren’t totally wrong. The Federal Register (the official USA rulebook) is 90,000+ pages long. Agencies, like OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Association) and EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), are perceived to impose huge costs on businessmen, even if they protect millions of human lives.
We must look at Trump’s actions today within the context of a long campaign to deregulate and privatize as much of the US government as possible. This battle started in the 1930s, saw breakthroughs with Reagan’s deregulation policies in the 1980s, and continues today with Trump. This also isn't specific to the United States either. A similar battle in the UK has been waged for decades against their National Health Service. What’s often missing from the conversation about deregulation is who pays the price. Ultimately, billionaires don’t pay the price when planes crash, chemical plants explode, or food is poisoned - we do.
Peter Thiel, main sponsor of VP-elect, JD Vance, once said, “I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible.” It’s important to note the type of “freedom” that ruling class people talk about is very different from the people’s definition of freedom. It’s not the freedom for a working class person to control their own means of work, destiny, or livelihoods; it’s the freedom for capitalists to operate with impunity at the expense of all life. Thiel and those close to him have dark visions for the future - a techno-fascist world where society is split up into thousands of privately controlled fiefdoms they call a “Patchwork society”.
The pursuit for privatization is in full motion. Dr. Oz, Trump’s nominee to lead the Center for Medicare & Medicaid, openly calls for the privatization of it. Linda McMahon, nominated for Education Secretary, also openly calls for privatizing US education. There are promises of de-regulation (or pro-business regulation) from nearly all of Trump’s appointees. We can view this as a form of weaponized incompetence on a massive scale. When regulations (or lack thereof) start to fail and break down, it makes a strong case for privatization. This, in fact, is actually the true meaning of fascism Benito Mussolini originally envisioned as we discussed earlier.
So what can we do as citizens? Resist, resist, resist. Bureaucracy might not save us, but it does provide a helpful protective layer. When regulations fail, it’s up to all of us to protect each other as best we possibly can. Otherwise, we risk falling into a much much darker collective future. Have you assembled your core pod that you can rely on? Have you looked up mutual aid initiatives in your local area? Do you know your neighbors? Even being in digital community to share information, resources and companionship can be hugely helpful. Check the Resources section below for more on building community during these times.
The People's Dictionary: Inverted Totalitarianism
A system where economic powers like corporations exert subtle but substantial power over a system that superficially seems democratic. Over time, this theory predicts a sense of powerlessness and political apathy, continuing a slide away from political egalitarianism.
Sheldon Wolin coined the term in 2003 to describe what he saw as the emerging form of government of the United States. He uses the term "inverted totalitarianism" to draw attention to the totalitarian aspects of such a system, while the term inverted helps to portray the many differences with classical totalitarianism.
📗 Learn More
Artists Confronting Inequalities
The Art Table Studio is an art-class co-op initiative led by Tiffany Pierce, a NYC-based artist, designer and educator on a mission to help parents explore different approaches to art and education.
Pierce noticed the negative effects a high-pressure public school had on her child’s confidence and wanted to create a local art space that promoted creative-thinking and explored more personalized approaches to education. We are particularly inspired by Pierce’s tenacity and creativity in getting the initiative off the ground.
Without any startup funds, Pierce began the initiative out of her home for local families. Together with other parents, they collaboratively hired a teacher for 4 days a week to begin creating a more inviting learning environment for their children. Eventually she partnered with a local cafe with a clever idea: allow Pierce to host her classes rent-free, on the condition that the parents all spend at least $10 at the cafe. The shop got to enjoy increased business, parents got a 10% discount, and Pierce got to host the classes rent-free. The next big idea for her project? A community art bus, so she could hold classes around the city.
Education doesn’t have to be taught in a conventional way to be effective and Pierce’s initiative reminds us that we don’t need to wait for permission to start to make a difference in our communities. With a bit of determination, grit, and community support, we can begin the shape the world we want to see.
Resources & Tools
- Freedge | A global fridge finder to help you find free food.
- Fallen Fruit | A global collaborative food foraging map to help you find local, fresh, free food.
- Free Repair Cafe | Free global community-led repair cafes + website sharing online repair guides & tips for all types of broken items.
- My Turn | Community-managed equipment & tool lending library with items like bikes, home development tools, camera and AV equipment, and more.
- How to Start a Community Garden: A Comprehensive Guide
- How to Build Your Own Care Pod | Learn about the care framework, pod-mapping, and how to create your own.
- Yarrow Collective | Free online non-carceral mental health support groups.
For more resources, View the Full Directory
Submit a Resource | Request a Resource
Elisa & Ray
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About Little Wins
Little Wins is a Los Angeles-based creative studio using the power of visual design & storytelling to raise our collective consciousness, connect communities across cultures and classes, and motivate others to improve our world. We do this because we want to see a more engaged, liberated, and regenerative world where all people have access to the knowledge and tools needed to thrive.
