#which obv was white supremacist. goes without saying.

[angelsaxis]

reading about israel's foreign policy essentially being "we can't afford to be morally picky about who we ally with" and them using that to justify supporting a genocidal regime in guatemala.

[courtreadsmostlyfiction]

Best books of 2019

I read 179 books in 2019 (and finished the 179th, The Handmaid’s Tale, on 12/31, so I can watch the series and read The Testaments). This is the most I’ve ever read in one year (in 2018, I read 173). I was sharing this update with my grandmother, and she asked me if my goal was to read as many books as possible. I thought about it for a bit, and it’s not but it is? I told her how I knew I only had so many books I’d get to read in a lifetime, and I probably think about that fact too much. I don’t want to read just for quantity’s sake, yet I know that I find some of the best books because I have an insatiable appetite for reading. Too many books, too little (life)time.

I also read instead of watching TV (generally), and love when I’m reading something that pulls me away from social media. I love reading when Grant is reading next to me (on the couch, in bed, across from me at a restaurant on an introvert date).

And last but not least, books have saved my life before many times, and making time for reading helps keep me sane. 

...now onto our program - my favorite books of the year! This year I also blogged more, if not *regularly*, so some of the books below were suggested before. If you got my Christmas card, some of these might not be surprises, either, since we had the fun idea of listing our family member’s favorite books. Some of mine are different, though, since I had to have that done in early December, and there was so much good reading time left in the year! I went on holiday break on the 17th and had saved a lot of good books for my vacation.

TOP ELEVEN (I wrote about all except the last three -- thanks December reading for those books that made this list! -- in previous posts, so will try to capture in one sentence why you might want to pick it up): 

Good Talk (graphic memoir) - I bought my copy at The Strand, and have bought at least 10 copies to give to friends who are parenting in the age of Trump.

(posting this pic to prove my point, even though I’ll likely get shit from Grant about our Amazon bill)

The Most Fun We Ever Had (literary fiction) - a book with a dysfunctional family (yes, please!) and a character who cusses a lot PLUS a ginkgo biloba tree.

Fleishman Is In Trouble (literary fiction) - I want to reread this, and I rarely reread things; a rare 5-star rating from me that made me think about how I participate in misogyny without even realizing it.

Speak No Evil (literary fiction) - a queer, black immigrant high schooler in DC grapples with his identity.

The Nickel Boys (literary fiction) - a fictionalized story of real history: a disciplinary school in Florida where black boys are sent (and often “disappear”); the ending had me crying. (Also on Obama’s list of his fave reads of 2019)

Red, White & Royal Blue (romance) - more romance with bi relationships and politics, please!

Educated (non-fiction, memoir) - it wasn’t what I expected at all, I couldn’t put it down, and ultimately I think it’s about surviving.

Heads of the Colored People (short stories) - stories (and usually I hate short stories) about black identity that I’m STILL thinking about.

Disappearing Earth (mystery) - this was on so many best of lists (including the NYTimes top TEN for the year), and the hard cover had been sitting on my shelf for two long. I had it first on my read-during-winter-break list. As soon as I read two pages, I was sucked in. Two young sisters disappear in Russia’s Far East, and then the story unfolds, told by the perspectives of folks directly and indirectly connected to the crime. 

All This Could Be Yours (literary fiction) - I requested this at the library before it even had a cover :) because I’m a Jami Attenberg fan. A dysfunctional family’s patriarch is dying, and his son and daughter are called to his bedside, where the whole family grapples with his life of crime and abuse.

Juliet Takes A Breath (YA) - Juliet (Nuyorican lesbian) gets a coveted internship with hippy, white feminist author, and white feminism rears it’s ugly head.

HONORABLE MENTIONS: 

Nothing To See Here (literary fiction) - one time, a guy in Chicago had a job at a newspaper where he was the Biblioracle and he would recommend books to folks who wrote in if you told him favorites and what you read recently. 1) I need that job! and 2) he recommended Kevin Wilson’s The Family Fang to me, and I loved it. I was excited to read this, and it felt like such a real representative of politics and friendship even though people literally burst into flames.

The River (literary fiction / mystery) - in Grant’s top 5 of the year, and one of my favorite Peter Heller books (which is saying something, since I loved The Dog Stars and Celine). Two high school boys go for a graduation trip in the boundary waters, and there’s a brushfire growing and possibly a woman missing.

The Chain (thriller) - I keep picking up thrillers that people swear are the next Gone Girl or even better, and nothing is. This didn’t make my top ten, but if you want a page turner with a twist and also think about the banality of evil and what you might or might not do, try this.

Royal Holiday (romance) - Jasmine Guillory is always on point! I couldn’t even save this for Christmas reading!* A personal stylist gets to go to England to style the Meghan Markle (shout out to Suits!) fictionalized equivalent, and her mom goes along and finds romance. 

Intercepted, Fumbled, Blitzed (romance series) - have you read all of Jasmine Guillory? Pick up Alexa Martin next! It’s funny and captures the nuance of being a football fan or former football fan; the book doesn’t deny how it exploits men of color or the traumatic brain injuries. 

They Called Us Enemy (graphic memoir) - I don’t think that I would have ever picked up a graphic memoir if I didn’t already love Mira Jacobs (see Good Talk, above) and George Takei (LOVE him on facebook) already. Now I might seek them out. It’s George’s story of the Japanese internment camps that America likes to not remember.

Slay (YA) - Q: Do you need a YA version of Ready Player One written by a black woman? A: YES! After all of the racism she experiences in gaming, a black high schooler creates a video game only for black folks. No one knows she’s the creator. When a young kid is killed supposedly due to the game, she faces being revealed and wonders what she created.

The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali (YA) - I couldn’t put this book down; it’s about a young, queer Muslim woman whose parents want to marry her off. It’s never the right time to come out, and when they find out unexpectedly, she’s sent off to Bangladesh.

Heaven, My Home (mystery) - The follow up to Bluebird, Bluebird, and just as wonderful. Black Texas Ranger Darren Matthews is back, and is tasked with finding a missing 9 year-old boy from a white supremacist family.

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed (non-fiction) - I asked my therapist if she had read this, but she hadn’t yet. She did tell me that she sees a therapist, though. Reading this (and hearing that) made me feel less alone and less crazy. It’s also pretty funny. (AND you know I don’t like non-fiction!!!)

What My Mother and I Don’t Talk About (non-fiction, essays) 

Southernmost (rural fiction) - did I just make up a genre? Yes! If you liked Plainsong or anything by Kent Haruf (and if you don’t know what I’m talking about, read that instead), I think you’d like this. A rural town, where a preacher decides not to turn his back on a gay couple, and then faces the consequences. I found it thoughtful, nuanced, and real. 

The View from Penthouse B (light fiction) - hmm, can’t stop making up genres! This is witty and well written, and I think is the book equivalent of a warm bath. I loved these sisters who end up living together in an NYC penthouse (the sister who owns it: separated from her scandal-ridden husband and lost her fortune in a Madoff-like ponzi scheme, and the sister who moves in is fairly recently widowed and everyone but her is ready for her to get over it).

Daisy Jones & The Six (historical fiction) - I think this was Grant’s favorite of the year, and it was definitely in the top 5. I loved it, too. It felt like the book version of Almost Famous.

American Spy (spy thriller) - it has so many things I’m looking for in a book all-in-one: excellent writing, fully developed characters, and moving plot. The premise is a black woman in U.S. intelligence during the Cold War, and the book grapples with racism and sexism and patriotism and family. So good!

To Night Owl from Dogfish (middle grade fiction) - I picked this up because Meg Wolitzer is one of the authors (wrote The Interestings) and because I’ve seen it on so many (non-middle grade) lists. It didn’t disappoint! Q: Do you need an LGBTQ Parent Trap-like book in your life (A: Yes, obvs). Pick this one up! I will try to read it with Ox in a year or so.

WHEW!

In 2020, I’m hoping for more 5 star reads (only five in 2019 - Good Talk, Fleishman Is In Trouble, Educated, Speak No Evil, Heads of the Colored People), more mysteries to make this list (bonus if it’s a new series [or new-to-me series] I can get lost in), and that I find the time to paint more book covers.

BONUS MEME

*Gah this meme is me, but this is my blog, so whatevs! Also a lot of these memes, too, which I hadn’t seen before!

[libertariansunitedagainstfa-blog]

Response to fascist provocation and entryism at ISFLC

This post is best viewed on WordPress. It is saved on archive.is and archive.org. Videos are on Vimeo.

Introduction

On February 18, 2017, a small group of crypto-fascists calling themselves The Hoppe Caucus [archive] brought Richard Spencer, an open white supremacist, to the International Students for Liberty Conference (ISFLC). The conference organizers did not allow him inside the conference itself, so the provocateurs put him in a bar at the hotel where the conference was held. They deceptively set up a makeshift sign saying that the event was Richard Spencer’s appearance at ISFLC. Shortly thereafter, they were confronted by conference attendees. After about 45 minutes, the fascists were expelled by the bar’s owner.

Although Spencer was ultimately removed, this show of force should cause concern to any anti-fascist or libertarian. Why do fascists feel emboldened enough to crash a libertarian conference? There are many reasons that we cannot exhaustively address, but one major factor is that libertarians are ignorant to the history and methods of fascism. Unfortunately, by and large, libertarians do not recognize the need to confront fascists when they show their faces in public. This — at best — neutrality has allowed for the proliferation of ideological racism and far-right elements within libertarian ranks. We aim to change that.

Spencer’s attempt to appropriate the auspices of a libertarian conference shouldn’t come as a surprise, and the caucus responsible should be understood as the tip of the iceberg. In this document we provide information on the people immediately responsible for the event. Expelling them from libertarian organizations is the starting point from which we can begin to secure an explicitly anti-fascist libertarianism. Many of the responsible parties have already been banned from Students for Liberty, but continue to operate unchallenged within a more conservative group also focused on organizing libertarian students called Young Americans for Liberty (YAL). We hope that this document will provide some of the tools and evidence that antifascists in both organizations and across the libertarian movement need to identify and resist fascist entryism.

A note to readers on the left: we use “libertarianism” here out of convenience to refer specifically to the movement popularly known by that name in the United States, but please understand that it is an ideologically diverse umbrella. We are ourselves individualist anarchists of various stripes. Despite what some disingenuous demagogues on both the right and left would claim, libertarianism is far from synonymous with fascism, and it would behoove other anti-fascists to recognize how critical it is that the libertarian movement not be ceded to fascists. The libertarian movement is large and fertile ground for radicalization and desperately needs help and solidarity. In fact, the movement is polarizing, with many members moving leftward. This leftward movement has been received hysterically by the few remaining reactionaries:

Lies and Violence

A common misconception among libertarians and liberals is that modern fascists are peaceful. Many take them at their (occasional) claims to support only voluntary means to achieve their decidedly non-libertarian ends. The logic goes that as long as they are polite, fascists should be accepted civilly and allowed to recruit. The events of ISFLC weekend expose the delusion of such an approach, both through the fascists’ words and their actions.

One of the lies continually promoted by the fascists is that The Hoppe Caucus had no intent of disrupting ISFLC and only invited Spencer in the interests of “free speech” (a very peculiar form of free speech that requires everyone to encourage fascists to speak in their hotel). In their own words [archive]:

The Hoppe Caucus hosted Richard Spencer at #ISFLC_ not because we were trying to start some kind of commotion, but rather an important dialogue. Hans-Hermann Hoppe invited him to his own Property and Freedom Society Conference several years ago for that very reason.

It’s clear from their own words — said off-the-cuff, not typed later to fit their narrative — that this is an outright lie. As Subervi so nicely puts it, they held the event in order to “trigger the fuck out of these faggot libertarians”:

Their denial of agreement with Spencer is selective at best:

Hans-Hermann Hoppe, for that matter, is a primary influence on crypto-fascists within the libertarian movement.  He is famous for his assertions, among others, that homosexuals are predisposed toward shortsightedness, and that a libertarian society would necessarily exclude non-white immigrants, queers and other non-traditionalist individuals as threats to its continued existence.  Fascists cite him when they wish to wrap immigration restrictions in libertarian language.  Spencer is not the first white supremacist that his Property and Freedom Society has hosted either.  His motivations for doing so are as transparent as those of the Caucus that bears his name.

One of the libertarians in attendance at the conference, John Lindley, was actually attacked twice by someone who claims to be a peaceful “ethno-nationalist”:

Myself and others went in and immediately began disrupting the event. We called them bigots and Nazis and told them if they wanted to use violence they could start on us. It was our intention get them kicked out. The manager came over and said people need to quiet down. So the Hoppe people said “hey you guys, free speech” so that's when I said “oh why you might get kicked out? Good fuck you." So management came and we all dispersed which is when Spencer left. That night after the social I came back to the hotel. I confronted the hoppe caucus who were all sitting there drinking. I yelled and then debated for a bit but they weren't even good intellectually. (Obvs) I left to go to a room and had to come back. They confronted me about stealing beer and then Cesar [Subervi] grabbed me from behind. There was a scuffle and I punched him as we were pulled apart. This morning Rocco was on my feed and I let everyone know I was still there and not afraid of them. So I saw some of them and called them out and they walked by and then walked by Cesar because I had ran into one of the girls from the ancap group and we were talking. Anyway he turned around and came up and said "you don't just get to talk shit and walk away" and attacked me so I punched him and then we fought for about 30 seconds. We were pulled apart and then I left because we were told the cops were on the way. He tried to confront me again and I just walked away. I don't regret and would do it again. Anyone who would have the state control lives based on something as arbitrary as race then you are in no way a libertarian. You are a violent threat and you should expect people you want the state to marginalize to defend themselves. Giving fascists a platform is the same as being a fascist at this point. They are the ones who started this war but we will defend ourselves. And I will defend my friends and family because that's who is being threatened.

Lindley made us proud by resisting fascists on both fronts - words and fists. He gave Cesar Subervi a hell of a black eye, too.

This violence has, of course, been misrepresented [archive] by The Hoppe Caucus as an unprovoked attack by an anti-fascist “thug.” In the words of Jeffrey Tucker, fascists are liars. In the aftermath of the second fight, other students can be heard remarking that Subervi “fights with everybody.” In fact, his entire activist career seems to consist of instigating fights, getting his ass kicked [archive], and then running away [archive] crying [archive] that he was victimized [archive]. More on him below.

This group clearly intends to do physical harm, both immediately and in the future. For all his protestations that the ethnic cleansing he plans will be “peaceful,” when asked directly by a supporter, Spencer admits that it will not be:

The fantasy of a nonviolent white nationalism, put forward by Hans-Hermann Hoppe and his adherents in the Caucus, is so absurd a lie that even Mr. Peaceful Ethnic Cleansing will not play along with it.

Liberals and libertarians are often duped into this notion that we should wait to resist fascism until there are jackboots marching down the street and loading people into train cars. They don’t seem to recognize the connection between fascist organizing and fascist violence. But fascists make themselves perfectly clear. The far-right “libertarians” who invited Spencer admit as much:

The reference to helicopters is an allusion to Augusto Pinochet, a Chilean dictator who murdered dissenters by throwing them from helicopters. They clearly state their intent to commit acts of aggressive violence against those they disagree with as soon as they have obtained the means to do so, yet without a shred of self-awareness they conclude that leftists are the truly intolerant ones. Spencer, you might note, finds the whole idea hilarious.

Despite all of this, some go so far as to deny Richard Spencer is even racist at all, not just that he is a nonviolent racist (aka a unicorn). Belying that notion is this footage of Spencer making the incredible claim that it’s better for a white person to be destitute in a desolate white city in Wyoming than rich in the bustling and eventful Beijing, simply because Beijing has Chinese people.

People

This problem didn’t occur for no reason and it can’t be fixed without effort. As noted earlier, a great many of the instigators of this stunt continue to be welcomed into certain libertarian circles, and even perform leadership roles. Websites like The Liberty Conservative serve as de facto mouthpieces of fascist propaganda, whether wittingly or not. Prominent libertarian icons [archive] encourage the use of movement resources to promote fascist speakers.

Besides standing up to extreme expressions of fascism, like John Lindley et al. did at ISFLC, we have to stand up to casual ones. We can’t just condemn Richard Spencer, we have to condemn every helicopter meme and “All Lives Matter.” We can’t just yell at boneheads, we also have to pressure friends who keep silent as their organizations rot from the inside. There is a disturbing volume of collaborators in libertarian and libertarian-adjacent organizations, as evidenced by the number of Young Americans for Liberty members who espouse fascism. These people must be expelled and a firm standard of anti-oppression established. This is libertarianism, people! That comes from the word liberty!

To that end, this section documents what we know about the folks responsible for the Spencer trolling. Most of them are from either the Macomb Community College or Transylvania University chapter of Young Americans for Liberty. The information presented here was obtained easily from their web presence; most of them seem to think that fascism is a harmless game and have taken no precautions with their information.

Mitchell John Steffen

Born 07/1995 5010 Pebble Creek East, Apt. 5 Shelby Township, MI 48317-4899 mitchellsteffen711@gmail.com Facebook [archive] Twitter [archive] • old Twitter [archive] • older Twitter [archive] Instagram [archive] • old Instagram [archive] • older Instagram [archive] YouTube [archive] • old YouTube [archive] Ask.fm [archive, full screenshot] Vine [archive] Foursquare [archive] Snapchat: Mitchistall

Steffen lives with his parents and attends Macomb Community College, where he is a member [archive] of their YAL chapter [archive]. Steffen founded the Hoppe Caucus, according to an article in The Liberty Conservative [archive] and has even posted now-deleted pictures of himself to their Facebook page:

Before beginning his career as a fake libertarian, Steffen tried to become a professional violent nationalist:

After narrowly failing in this pursuit, Steffen created The Hoppe Caucus_. _Now, he spends his time posting fascist memes espousing violence:

Ironically, he is anti-libertarian on abortion on the basis of opposing all forms of murder, and seems to endorse police violence against black people:

In between all the fascism, he attends Hope Lutheran Church and finds time to run his campus’s libertarian group:

Cesar Alfonso Subervi

Born 11/24/1995 32 Blue Ridge St. Warrenton, VA 20186-2303 cesarpacmanjr@gmail.com Facebook [archive] Twitter [archive] Instagram [archive] iEmoji Feed [archive: page 1 • page 2 • page 3 • page 4 • page 5] SoundCloud [archive] MySpace [archive] “Millenial Patriots” (sic) YouTube [archive • video 1 • video 2] WordPress [archive]

Subervi lives with his parents and works as a conservative activist and professional antifa punching bag. His penchant for getting his ass kicked is ironic given his long history [archive] of athleticism [archive]. He is one of the few people on this list who has no documented involved in YAL, opting instead for the even further right Turning Point USA, where he is a member of the Latino Leadership Caucus [archive]. He enjoys driving slightly over the speed limit [archive], financially supporting other fake libertarians [archive], attending Warrenton Presbyterian Church, and making incredibly douchey YouTube videos. A few days after ISFLC, he showed up at CPAC [archive], once again as a Spencer toadie.

He has filed a public contract for a business [archive] at Calle Palo Hincado 177,  Zona Colonial., Santo Domingo., which is associated with the phone numbers 809-687-7607, 809-689-8366, and 809-617-2176. He once ran for president. Subervi’s old Facebook cover photo depicts Francisco Franco, Spain’s former fascist dictator, in a heroic light.

Shane Gregory Trejo

Born 11/1987 299 Lake Meadow Dr. Waterford, MI 48327 shanetrejo@ymail.com Facebook [archive] Instagram [archive] Reddit [archive: 01 • 02 • 03 • 04 • 05 • 06 • 07 • 08]

In 2011, Trejo attended Michigan State University. Trejo now lives with his mother and writes propaganda [archive] for his friends (pictured above with Steffen) in The Hoppe Caucus, along with a variety of other mostly right-wing publications. Trejo likes a large number of fascist Facebook pages [archive]. He used [archive] to be [archive] a juggalo [archive]?

He wrote a terrible article [archive] linking libertarianism with the alt-right. Discussing the article on Reddit, he acknowledged Richard Spencer is a nazi [archive]:

Trejo spends much of his time on Reddit being a racist, misogynist dick:

Theodore “TJ” Joseph Roberts

Born 02/23/1998 2271 Teal Briar Ln. Apt. 208 Burlington, KY 41005-8386 Facebook [archive] Twitter [archive] • old Twitter [archive] Instagram [archive]

Roberts is a core member of The Hoppe Caucus and can be seen at the beginning of video footage of the Spencer event introducing himself and shaking hands. He is president [archive] of the Transylvania University chapter [archive] of Young Americans for Liberty and serves as YAL’s Kentucky state chair — a paid outreach position. In his photo above, he poses with the president of YAL, Cliff Maloney Jr.

Roberts is a former Students for Liberty campus coordinator who resigned [archive] in the wake of his attempt to bring fascist entryist Augustus Sol Invictus to ISFLC.

Roberts is on the editorial board [archive] for another far-right organization called The Revolutionary Conservative — alongside his pal Auggie. When The Hoppe Caucus attempted to raise funds for the Invictus stunt, donations were directed to The Revolutionary Conservative.

Evidently, after the plans for Invictus fell through, The Hoppe Caucus settled on Richard Spencer as the next best fascist.

Roberts also writes [archive] for perhaps the largest website working to promote fascist entryism into libertarianism, Liberty Hangout. An ardent Christian and opponent of abortion rights [archive], he attends 7 Hills Church. His internet presence makes his ideological commitments very clear.

Joel Thomas

Born 07/1991 41310 Dogwood Dr. Sterling Heights, MI 48313-4425 (586) 628-0471 thomas-8-91@outlook.com timesaversolutions2016@gmail.com Facebook [archive]

Thomas is the former vice president of the Macomb Community College YAL. Despite professing an ardent libertarianism, he helped bring Spencer to ISFLC.

His misguided approach to free speech may not be entirely malicious, but it is actively dangerous.

Taylor James Ragg

Born 09/25/1995 70 Nicholson Boulevard Harlan, KY 40831-7131 tjragg18@transy.edu Facebook [archive] Instagram [archive] YouTube [archive]

Ragg previous attended Eastern Kentucky University, but currently attends Transylvania University, where he is a member of Young Americans for Liberty [archive]. He attended Trump’s inauguration. He can be seen sitting next to Richard Spencer for the duration of the event, staying silent until eventually making finger quotes and talking about free speech.

Carlo Angelo Maiale

22300 Thomson St. Clinton Township, MI 48035-4914 maialecarlo@yahoo.com Facebook [archive] Twitter [archive] Instagram [archive]

Maiale is yet another member [archive] of the Macomb Community College YAL. His degree of involvement with the Spencer stunt is unknown; however, he can be seen wearing a red Trump hat, is friends with the rest of The Hoppe Caucus, and hails from one of the two YAL chapters who are primarily responsible.

Harry Albert Turkington IV

Facebook [archive]

Turkington is a YAL member and former SFL campus coordinator.

He attends University of Wisconsin-Green Bay where he is a member of Sigma Beta Delta [archive] and serves as grand treasurer for the Upsilon-Eta chapter of the Kappa Sigma fraternity. He is another entry whose degree of involvement is unknown. His Facebook likes [archive] are full of fascist pages and he can be seen wearing a red Trump hat at the Spencer event.

James Maier

Facebook [archive]

Maier can be seen in a photo posted to The Hoppe Caucus’s Facebook page with Steffen and Trejo. He also has a history of posting Facebook comments suggesting fascist sympathies. That said, he reportedly strenuously denies any involvement with the Spencer event or connection to the perpetrators and claims to have had a change of heart; multiple sources say he spent the weekend attempting to distance himself from his Hoppe Caucus roommates. There is a dearth of evidence implicating him relative to the other list entries. We include him here in the interest of transparency and as proof that people can change.

If you have any tips on further fascist attempts to co-opt libertarianism, please email libertyantifa@protonmail.com.