Where is the outrage when Trump goes full Erdogan?

Plus...Side trips can be the most engaging part of any journey

Arresting political opponents amounts to fascism

When Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan arrested Istanbul Mayor and rival Ekrem İmamoğlu, mass protests erupted. But Erdoğan is hardly the only autocrat pulling that stunt.

“A major opposition leader and former prime minister of Chad was arrested early Friday, fueling fears of another crackdown on dissent in a country that has repeatedly used state power to silence critics,” the New York Times reported. Meanwhile, CNN reports: “Tanzania’s main opposition leader Tundu Lissu told his supporters to have no fear as he appeared in court on Monday for the first time since his arrest on charges that include treason.”

Domestic critics of these autocrats and the international community rightly condemn such blatant abuse of power. So why has the reaction to Donald Trump’s arrest of political opponents and judges not been greeted with equal outrage?

Trump has now set a clear pattern that no other president in modern times has tried, at least since the Red Scare. Judge Hannah Dugan was arrested on spurious charges of obstructing an ICE arrest. ICE agents arrested Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who accompanied members of Congress to investigate a detention center. When that frivolous, unjustified trespassing charge failed, the Trump minions lashed out and arrested Democratic Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.), who had engaged in her constitutional obligation to exercise oversight.

Democratic House leaders reacted with appropriate anger. “The criminal charge against Congresswoman LaMonica McIver is extreme, morally bankrupt and lacks any basis in law or fact,” they issued in a joint statement. “Members of Congress have a constitutional responsibility to conduct oversight of the executive branch wherever and whenever it is needed.” They added, “We are lawfully permitted to show up at any federal facility unannounced to conduct an inspection on behalf of the American people.” Rather than assault anyone, the congressional members “were themselves aggressively mistreated by illegally masked individuals.”

If the corporate media could tear themselves away from selling hysterical tell-all books and kvetching over who knew what about former President Joe Biden’s aging, they might report to the American people that the current president is acting no better than autocrats in Turkey, Chad, or Tanzania. Trump’s out-and-out thuggery, indistinguishable from dictators using state power to jail opponents, strikes at the heart of our democratic system. If we are to retain the rule of law, such conduct can never be countenanced.

The corporate media’s refusal to recognize and illuminate the scope of Trump’s tactics could not be more glaring. The story did not even make the front pages of the online New York Times, Washington Post, or Wall Street Journal on Tuesday. Republicans, who would have revealed a wave of fainting spells and cardiac arrests had Biden arrested a single Republican, remained mute, unsurprisingly.)

While Republicans cower and the billionaire media ignore the authoritarian menace, the American people cannot tolerate such lawlessness. The united pro-democracy community—including civil society organizations, judges, local and state leaders, and all people of conscience—should be peacefully marching and protesting political arrests, furiously contacting their elected representatives, and demanding that corporate media focus on the complete collapse of democratic norms. Surely, we can respond to Trump at least as strenuously as Turkey’s anti-Erdogan coalition did to its autocrat.

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Side trips

One of my travel “hacks” I shared with you has really proved worthwhile on this trip. By giving yourself adequate days in a larger city, you can cover sites of all sizes (e.g., the small but delightful modern art museums in Palma, Mallorca, and Valencia) while leaving time for day-trip adventures.

While staying in Palma, we decided to go out to the gorgeous mountain town of Valledemossa (famous for the visit of Frederic Chopin and George Sands) and the Sóller Valley. There was no affordable private tour that fit our plans, so we chose a group tour that got us from one place to the next but gave us adequate time to explore on our own.

After traveling by bus to Valledemossa (with helpful narration from the guide), we were delighted to find the “cell” (rented rooms, really) where Chopin and Sands stayed (complete with the piano shipped to him, music manuscripts, and other memorabilia), plus the attached palace-turned-monastery and lovely gardens. The view was spectacular.

We continued on a winding trek through the Tramuntana mountains, giving us spectacular views of the Mediterranean, quaint villages, and enormous estates. We found a pretty stop for lunch, visited the impressive church (where the organist was practicing!) of San Bartholomew, Patron Saint of Sóller, and spotted a lovely example of art nouveau grill work in the city square. A totally unexpected bonus: Small but first-rate Picasso and Miro galleries. A delightful open-air tram took us down the breathtaking port area for strolling, shopping, and (of course!) gelato. A short bus trip back to Palma gave us plenty of time for a late-closing museum.

Today, we did the other end of the side trip spectrum—navigating the public bus, and then taxi, to Pollentia. Palma has a beautiful, clean, modern bus station. The buses are super-comfortable, air-conditioned, and equipped with outlets to charge your electronics. We made it out to our destination: the Roman ruins. These were among the most complete and well-labeled outside Pompeii. Homes, a forum (with shops and temples), and a theater. The small museum has some marvelously preserved articles from the Roman and Muslim eras. A quick visit to the church and a trek around the walled city of Alcudia completed the day.

Some of the benefits of day trips such as these: You cover a lot of ground without driving, the travel between stops is part of the experience, and the perspective of “getting out of town,” plus discovering hidden gems along the way, never fail to enhance the entire experience.