In a letter, the former aides wrote, “For the good of our country, our democracy, and our Constitution, we are asking you to listen closely and carefully to General Kelly’s warning.
John F. Kelly, Donald J. Trump’s longest-serving White House chief of staff, recently warned that Mr. Trump would rule like a dictator if he returned to the presidency. Credit...Doug Mills/The New York Times
By Tim Balk Oct. 25, 2024
Thirteen former Trump administration officials released an open letter on Friday amplifying warnings from John F. Kelly, Donald J. Trump’s longest-serving White House chief of staff, that the former president would rule like a dictator if he returned to office.
The former officials wrote that they were shocked but “not surprised” after Mr. Kelly, a former Marine general, told The New York Times .. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/22/us/politics/john-kelly-trump-fitness-character.html .. that Mr. Trump had said more than once that “Hitler did some good things” and had complained that U.S. generals were not sufficiently loyal to him.
“This is who Donald Trump is,” wrote the 13, all “lifelong Republicans,” according to the letter. “Donald Trump’s disdain for the American military and admiration for dictators like Hitler is rooted in his desire for absolute, unchecked power.”
The letter did not describe any of the former officials hearing Mr. Trump speaking glowingly of Hitler, the Nazi dictator who presided over the systematic slaughter of six million Jews and millions of others.
But the letter said its signers had “witnessed, up close and personal, how Donald Trump operates and what he is capable of.”
“The American people deserve a leader who won’t threaten to turn armed troops against them, won’t put his quest for power above their needs, and doesn’t idealize the likes of Adolf Hitler,” the letter said.
In his comments to The Times, Mr. Kelly described Mr. Trump’s appreciation of history as limited, and he recalled attempting to explain to the president why it was problematic to praise Hitler. Still, Mr. Kelly said, Mr. Trump continued to make positive comments about Hitler.
A spokesman for Mr. Trump’s campaign, Steven Cheung, accused Mr. Kelly of fabricating his account in a statement on Friday that also claimed that Mr. Kelly and the former Trump administration officials who signed the open letter were suffering from “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
In this year’s election, Mr. Trump has described Democrats, some by name, as the “enemy from within” and has contemplated deploying the National Guard to address the threat he claims they could pose.
The letter, organized on Wednesday after Mr. Kelly’s comments were published in The Times on Tuesday, was signed by several outspoken Harris supporters, including two who gave speeches at the Democratic National Convention: Stephanie Grisham, a former Trump White House press secretary, and Olivia Troye, who was an adviser to Mr. Trump’s vice president, Mike Pence.
Other signers included Anthony Scaramucci, who had a memorable 10-day run as communications director in the Trump White House; Brooke Vosburgh Alexander, who was a top aide in the Commerce Department; Alyssa Farah Griffin, who served as Mr. Pence’s press secretary; Mark Harvey and Peter Jennison, who worked on the National Security Council; Sarah Matthews, a former deputy White House press secretary; and Robert Riley, who was the U.S. ambassador to Micronesia.
Three former Homeland Security Department officials also signed the letter: Kevin Carroll, Elizabeth Neumann and Sofia Kinzinger, who is married to former Representative Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, one of the most vocal Republican opponents of Mr. Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
“For the good of our country, our democracy, and our Constitution, we are asking you to listen closely and carefully to General Kelly’s warning,” they wrote. See more on: 2024 Elections: News, Polls and Analysis, Republican Party, Democratic Party, Donald Trump, Adolf Hitler
A Point of View: The Cultural Appropriation of ‘Stay Woke’ and the Need for Redefining Contemporary Narratives
"The right’s fascism problem "Is this fascism? No. Could it become fascism? Yes""
Posted by Luiza Dreasher | Jul 20, 2023 | Point of View, Recent Posts | 0 Post Views: 935
Terms such as “woke,” “wokeness,” “stay woke,” and even “#staywoke” have become part of the mainstream vocabulary these days.
The dictionary defines “woke” as being alert to injustice in society, especially racism. To be “woke” in the Black community means that someone is informed, educated, and conscious of social injustice and racial inequality.
The term “stay woke” originated within African American communities .. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/woke-meaning-word-history-b1790787.html . It emerged as a call for Black people to be aware of and vigilant about social and political issues that have disproportionately affected marginalized communities, particularly in relation to racial injustice.
In more recent history, “stay woke” has been associated with the civil rights and Black Power movements of the 1960s and 1970s. It served as a reminder to remain actively engaged in understanding and challenging systemic racism, inequality, and social oppression.
The term gained renewed popularity in the 2010s with the emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement, which aimed to address police brutality and racial profiling. In fact, after the police killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014, “stay woke” was used as a rallying call against police brutality. During the Ferguson protests, #StayWoke was being used not only online but also in street signs and merchandising.
Brown’s death was shortly followed by the fatal police shootings of Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, George Floyd, and others — which continued the growing popularity of the phrase “stay woke” and its use in protest and activist circles for many years to come.
The Cultural Appropriation of ‘Stay Woke’
The term “stay woke” has, without a doubt, been subject to cultural appropriation by various groups.
Cultural appropriation refers to the adoption or borrowing of elements from a marginalized culture by members of a dominant or privileged culture, often without understanding or respecting the cultural context and significance. If you want to know more about the dangerous impact of cultural appropriation, read my article on The Inclusion Solution here.
In the case of “stay woke,” cultural appropriation occurred when individuals from outside the African American community started using the term without fully recognizing or appreciating its historical and cultural roots.
This appropriation has contributed to weakening the term’s original meaning and disconnecting it from the experiences of systemic racism and social injustice that it was originally intended to address. The term has been misused, misinterpreted, and distorted.
Veering Into Dangerous Territory
Until a few years ago “stay woke” meant being alert to racial injustice and discrimination. Yet in today’s fierce culture wars, the phrase is now more likely to be used as a weapon.
While the Black community has always used the term as a cry against racism and injustice, as the term hit the mainstream and started being used by those outside the Black community, it lost some of its original meaning.
In fact, the politicization of “stay woke” has given rise to debates and controversies, as the term has been co-opted, diluted, and misappropriated by different groups with varying agendas.
For some, the term today is an insult. These individuals have rejected the woke ideology and promised never to surrender to “the woke agenda.” In fact, the pressure against “wokeness” has led to the erasure of race-related content in education, the rejection of AP African American history courses in high schools, and college presidents have vowed against race-related content focusing on systems of oppression.
And that is not all. Schools have implemented policies limiting discussion and curriculum on race, systemic oppression, gender, and sexual orientation. Wokeness is now equated to cultural Marxism, which is accused of tearing the fabric of our society. Across the country, we are seeing hundreds of legislative efforts targeting LGBTQ+ identities and race in education.
In the article “What does woke mean and why are some conservatives using .. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/woke-conservatives/story?id=93051138 it?” Maurice Mitchell, Social Movement Strategist with Movement 4 Black Lives, argues that “because ‘woke’ is associated with Black people, it’s been a useful club for those who want to beat those seeking justice over the head with white grievance politics to win elections without deploying explicitly racist terms.” Nowadays, while some equate “to be woke” with being a social justice advocate, others see it as political correctness gone awry.
Some Food for Thought
“Stay woke” has expanded beyond its original context and has become more widely adopted as a catchphrase. The phrase demands we become more aware of the various social, political, and cultural issues impacting our society.
We need to be informed of the dominant narratives and become more conscious of power dynamics that may perpetuate injustice or inequality.
So, before using “stay woke” or any other related phrases, think of the following:
2. As the phrase was appropriated by other groups, it took on many different meanings. Some see “wokeness” as a religious experience, others connect it to Critical Race Theory and even DEI. In addition, depending on your political leaning, “stay woke” can carry a positive (i.e., we are fighting for social justice) or negative (i.e., it is dividing us) connotation. Yet, for others, it is part of their weaponized discourse.
3. If you are going to use it, do not use it in a vacuum. Make sure you are indeed standing for social justice and that you are actively working towards a more equitable society. This will require commitment, hard work, and dedication on your part.
Market Data 
Markets 
AI
