How long before ICE or other members of Trump's Gestapo search my iPhone or my name plus Trump online before I am on my way to prison? By Hal M. Brown
The staff of MSNBC, prominent Democrats, and nasty judges will go first, then those like Thom Hartmann, then Sabrina Haake, and eventually they will get to me.
Above was the top entry on Thom Hartmann’s Facebook page (here) this morning. Note the title: Free Speech is Dead! Trump’s ICE Searches Phones for Any Criticism of the Presdient.”
Listen to what Thom had to say here.
There were 319 comments on the post when I saw this on Facebook. Below is the one I added:
Enlarge image below:
These two search engines prioritize different things I’ve posted online. I’d rather they put the most recent Substacks on the top of the page instead of what I post, sometimes, months ago on my mirror website halbrown.org. This is published on Google Blogger. On Google Search you don’t get to my first post from Substack until the first item on the second page. This is Make America Nasty and Mean from Jan. 17, 2025.
This is neither here nor there. I just include it to demonstrate how easy it would be to find my views about Trump if anyone wanted to do so.
Suffice to say I have been very public about my opposition to Trump and in my expessing that he is a dangerous to democracy malignant naricissist. I wrote about this going back to 2019 when I was a columnist for Capital Hill Blue (see my essays) and wrote columns like “Trump’s CPAC rant: Cornucopia for psychiatric diagnosis.” Before that, back in 2017, I joined Dr. John Gartner’s Duty to Warn group and signed the Change.org petition. It is well worth re-reading in view of what Trump has become eight years later.
There are many more nationally prominent anti-Trumpers than Thom Hartmann (see Wiki profile) so his arrest won't make as big a splash as a huge televised raid on MSNBC during prime time would. This is why he won’t be among the very first people to have his voice silenced by the Trump Gestapo come the escalating purge of dissenting voices. However, in the second or third wave he may be dragged away to some private prison way, way before people like me are. After all, in addition to lots of other media where Thom’s show is broadcast live, it is on Free Speech TV. Free speech will be illegal so a web search of that phase would eventually find him and all their other progressive broadcasters.
This is neither here nor there. Suffice to say I have been very public about my opposition to Trump and in my expessing that he is a dangerous to democracy malignant naricissist.
While the likes of Thom Hartmann (see Wiki profile) probably won’t be the first to have his voice silenced by the Trump Gestapo, come the purge he will be dragged away to some private prison way, way before people like me are. After all in addition to lots of other outlets which his show is broadcast live on something called Free Speech TV.
You can watch the above 2016 show here.
Down the list before they get to me they might get their handcuffs ready for other Substackers like my friend Sabrina Haake (The Haake Take) who has far more readers than I do and publishes on progressive websites like RawStory and Salon. (Come to think of it, I was quoted by Chauncey DeVega in Salon a few times: here and here, for example.)
Free speech, meaning saying anything in public or private, in opposition to Trump will be illegal. Getting caught could have dire consequenses. It won’t be free. It will come at price.
By the time they pull up to my house in their black SUVs I’ll be part of the fourth or fifth wave of purges which may be a year or two from now, that is unless someone turns me in sooner. No TV stations will cover my arrest though my neighbors may take a video of it this. It will be so common local TV stations won’t even cover my story.
I won’t be going through customs since I’m not going to reenter the country from overseas. However, it does give me pause since the next time I will be encountering federal authorities is at the airport when I will be flying for a vacation this summer.
Trump’s war against free speech is at the The First Battle of Bull Run phase (also known as the First Manassas). This was the first major battle of the American Civil War. The battle was a Confederate victory. It was followed by a disorganized post-battle retreat of the Union forces. (Wikipedia)
So far too many organizations are turning tail and running from Trump’s assault on free speech and freedom in general as they obey, sometimes in advance, his demands.
The Civil War lasted four years. World War II lasted six years.
I have no reason to hope that Trump and Trumpism will be defeated anytime in the forseeable future.
Recent:
What you discovered about yourself is the reason that I haven't left social media. Many of us have data trails the size of six-lane highways. It's far too late. I figure it's better to go down fighting with the flag flying.
AI is going to make their lives so easy to set up a hit list. Heck, you will be ranked whereto it'll eventually be added to our profiles like our credit rating. Your place in society and for services will depend on it.