03/13/24 03/13/24 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> we seem to be witnessing another example of ineffective almost comic american diplomacy, which is going to create worse conditions inside gaza and israel and possibly more deterioration in lebanon and this is only something that can

be done by american military and diplomatic shenanigans such as we are seeing now. amy: as northern gaza faces imminent famine, the united states says it has begun shipping parts to build a port off the coast of gaza to bring aid in even as it continues to send bombs to israel. meanwhile, israel is expanding its attacks on lebanon, striking -- amid growing concern about a regional escalation. we'll speak with rami khouri, a palestinian american journalist and fellow at the american university of beirut. we'll also speak with civil rights advocate and the author michelle alexander. she says only revolutionary love can save us now. >> refugee camps are bombed and killed with entire neighborhoods laid waste. when international law is treated like a night suggestion, we must -- naïve suggestion, we must speak.

amy: all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. following tuesday's primaries, president joe biden and former president donald trump appear set for a rematch in november after both candidates secured enough delegates to win their parties nomination. it will be the first presidential rematch in the united states since 1956. biden and trump both won races tuesday in georgia, mississippi, and washington state -- where over 7% of democratic voters chose "uncommitted" as part of an ongoing protest over biden's support for israel's assault on gaza. the european union's foreign policy chief has accused israel of using starvation as a weapon of war by blocking aid from entering gaza. josep borrell spoke on tuesday. >> humanitarian crisis, is not a natural disaster. it is not a flood or earthquake.

it is man-made. when we look for alternative ways of providing support by sea and air, we have to remind that we have to do it because the natural way of providing support through roads is being closed, artificially closed. and starvation is being used as a war. when we condemned this happening in ukraine, we have to use the same words for what is happening in gaza. amy: on tuesday, the world food program managed to deliver aid to gaza city for the first time in nearly one month. the agency said famine is imminent in northern gaza unless aid deliveries increase exponentially. meanwhile, on capitol hill, a group of senators led by bernie sanders, jeff merkley, and chris van hollen are calling on biden to cut off military aid to israel if it continues to block u.s. humanitarian aid from entering gaza. the senators cited the 1961 foreign assistance act, which

bars military aid to countries that restrict the transport or delivery of u.s. humanitarian assistance. earlier today, at least four palestinians were killed in an israeli airstrike on unrwa aid distribution office in rafah. health officials in gaza say israeli attacks killed another 80 people in the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll since october 7 to over 31,200, including more than 12,300 children. the u.n. relief agency unrwa says more children were killed in the first four months of israel's assault on gaza than in all other wars over the past four years combined. in the occupied west bank, israeli forces have killed at least four palestinians, including a 13-year-old boy as it carried out raids. according to health officials, at least 427 palestinians have been killed in the west bank by israeli forces and settlers

since october 7. israel is expanding attacks deep inside lebanon. earlier today, an israeli drone attacked a car in the city of tyre, killing at least one person. on tuesday, a pair of israeli airstrikes killed two and wounded nine in northeastern lebanon. israel also struck areas near the lebanese city of baalbek on monday. hezbollah responded by launching 100 rockets at northern israel on tuesday in what has been described as the heaviest barrage since the war in gaza began. we will have more on lebanon and gaza after headlines. kenya has announced it is halting plans to send 1000 police officers to haiti until a new government is in place. the announcement came hours after haiti's unelected prime minister ariel henry agreed to resign following an armed uprising against his rule. caribbean leaders, the u.s., and canada have proposed setting up a seven-member presidential panel that would appoint a new interim prime minister. u.s. state department spokesperson matthew miller

spoke on tuesday. >> under the terms of the agreement announced yesterday, we expect the members of the transitional council will be appointed in the next 24 to 48 hours and they will take the step to appoint an interim prime minister in the near future after that. amy: ukrainian drones have attacked three russian oil refineries as part of a major attack on critical russian infrastructure. russian forces said 58 ukrainian drones were shot down overnight. this comes as the biden administration has announced it will send a new $300 million weapons package to ukraine. meanwhile, russian president vladimir putin has said in a new interview that russia is ready to use nuclear weapons if its sovereignty is threatened. >> from the technical point of view, of course we are ready. the missiles are constantly combat ready. secondly, and this is accepted by everybody, our nuclear triad is more modern that any other triad.

actually, only us and the americans have a triad. we have advanced much more than them. our triad and the whole nuclear element is more modern. amy: police in lithuania are investigating an attack on the former chief of staff of alexei navalny, the late russian opposition leader. on tuesday, leonid volkov was assaulted with a hammer and had tear gas sprayed in his eyes outside his home in vilnius, the capital of lithuania. the attack comes just weeks after navalny died in a russian arctic prison. leonid volkov spoke to reuters just hours before the attack on tuesday and directly accused putin of ordering navalny's killing. >> but in the moment, is very strong and impose normal damage. that is what we have seen the last years in ukraine and seen in the murder of a. we have no doubt it is putin's

personal order to kill him. amy: the attack occurred ahead of this weakens election in russia. calling on a protest at noon on sunday. special counsel robert hur testified before congress tuesday about his report on president biden's mishandling of classified documents. republican lawmakers criticized hur for not filing charges against the president while democrats accused him of unfairly maligning the president. in his report last month, hur described biden as a "well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory." democrats say a newly released transcript of hur's interview with biden shows the president's memory was far stronger than hur indicated. at one point during the interview, hur described biden's memory as photographic. democratic congressmember adam schiff criticized hur about his report. >> what you did right was deeply

presidential -- prejudicial. you must have understood the impact of your words. >> what you're suggesting is that i shaped, sanitized, omit portions of my reasoning for political reasons. >> know, i suggest you not shape -- >> that did not happen. amy: in news from capitol hill, the house is expected to vote today on a bill that could lead to a nationwide ban on the popular social media app tiktok, which is owned by the chinese company bytedance. the bill attempts to force bytedance to sell tiktok or be banned. backers of the bill claim tiktok poses a national security threat. on tuesday, a group of lawmakers spoke out against the legislation. this is congressmember maxwell alejandro frost. >> i am highly concerned about our data being collected and misused by both foreign

adversaries and also domestic companies. but this bill does not fix that problem. this bill does not fix it. amy: in other congressional news, republican representative ken buck of colorado has announced he is leaving congress at the end of next week in a move that will further erode the republican's slim majority in the house. florida's school teachers will be allowed to discuss sexual orientation and gender identity under the condition the topics are not a part of formal classroom instruction. the clarification came as part of a lawsuit settlement reached by florida's education officials and a group of lgbtq+ rights advocates and families. opponents of florida's don't say gay law had argued the measure's vague language sparked fear and confusion among educators and students, who were unsure if even sharing personal details about their lives, such as drawing a picture of their same-sex parents for a school project, would be a violation of the law. and the new york civil liberties union and palestine legal have filed a lawsuit against columbia

university for suspending two pro-palestine student groups, students for justice in palestine and jewish voice for peace. the groups were suspended last november after organizing peaceful protests against israel's occupation and war on gaza. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman in new york, joined by democracy now!'s juan gonzález in chicago. hi, juan. juan: hi, amy. welcome to all of our listeners and viewers across the country and around the world. amy: we begin today's show in lebanon, where israel is expanding its attacks for the third day in a row, with israeli warplanes striking deep in the country amid growing concern about a regional escalation. today an israeli drone struck a car outside the palestinian camp of rashidieh near the southern lebanese city of tyre, killing both passengers. this follows a pair of israeli airstrikes tuesday that killed two and wounded nine in northeastern lebanon.

on monday, israel struck areas near the lebanese city of baalbek. lebanon's hezbollah, which is an ally of hamas, responded by launching a barrage of over 100 rockets at northern israel on tuesday in what has been described as the heaviest attack since october 7. for more, we are joined by rami khouri, a palestinian american journalist and a senior public policy fellow at the american university of beirut. his most recent piece for al jazeera is headlined "watching the watchdogs: biden, u.s. media and arab-american political power." rami, welcome back. we want to talk about gaza in a minute, but let's begin with lebanon and what is happening with the attacks between israel and lebanon. if you can talk about the significance. are we talking about and escalation into regional war? what is happening on the border? >> we're definitely witnessing

and escalation that has been going on since the beginning of the current phase of fighting in gaza in early october. it has picked up a lot in the last two weeks. the israeli's have made it very clear in public statements openly they want to not destroy hezbollah, but reduce its power or neutralize it as a possible military force threaten them. they see hezbollah, correctly, very closely linked to iran and sees iran, i'm not so sure correctly, as a threat. the israelis get talking about we had to do something about hezbollah, putting willing to have a war which they expect the americans will come in and help them on just as the americans are helping them do the genocide in gaza and now the americans, oddly, are helping them do the

humanitarian food deliveries into gaza. the united states seems to be a kind of button that israel pushes when it needs assistance and some kind of dramatic, usually illegal and often ineffective action, it pushes the washington button and washington jumps up and says, "yes, sir, what can i do?" the israeli's expect the americans to help them knock down hezbollah's power. it is not clear this is easily done. the reason hezbollah is so strong is it forced israel in 2006, the last big war, forced it into a cease-fire and new rules of engagement. generally held, still kind of help now because it is tit-for-tat. you kill one of our men, we kill one of yours. but this is escalating now.

it is not clear if israel is ready to have a full-scale war. neither side i think will achieve very much other than massive destruction in both countries. i remain skeptical about a full-scale war, but i am expecting this level of tit-for-tat and even higher level of assassinations, maybe hitting some infrastructure here and there, i expect that to ramp up a little bit but not in all-out war. juan: but already the tit-for-tat, rami khouri, has led you considerable displacements. 90,000 people have been forced to flee southern lebanon. at the same time, about 80,000 israelis have been evacuated from the northern towns and villages by the israeli government. if a greater conflict was to break out, what would be the impact, in your assessment, throughout the middle east?

>> that is always difficult to predict. what we can predict and we see it now is that arab governments will not risk anything in terms of helping the palestinians or opposing the israelis. they will issue statements, do press conferences, send some aid , but they want risk anything strategic in confronting israel. while the majority of arab people are critical of israel, they are helpless. they have no power. these to be citizens now transformed into basically consumers. all they can do is by fried chicken and go to the movies. they have no power. arab citizens are powerless. they were neutered dings, politically. -- they are neutered beings politically. that is why the last 30 years,

to the rise of these very powerful actors in iraq and syria and a bunch of others. what we would expect to see is more military action by some of these nonstate very powerful actors against israel if there is an all-out war. and the arab countries asking for a cease-fire. the iranians are the big question mark. would they get involved in the direct confrontation with israel ? my suspicion is they probably would not want to do that because they know that will bring in the americans. some people argue, that is what they want. they want the americans to do another bullish military venture like vietnam, like afghanistan, like iraq. they would like the americans to do one more in iran. these are all speculative ideas.

nobody really knows. the only thing we know for sure is hezbollah and hamas and the houthis, they are ready to fight. whether this is a suicidal stupid policy is up for history to tell us. but what we have seen so far, they have been able to exchange fire with israel and the u.s. in some cases and wake up and do it again the next day. this is not something we should celebrate. the middle east is a cauldron of nonstop violence, putting what you mentioned, the huge amount of displaced civilians. this is painful to ordinary families. i witnessed it in lebanon and palestine and jordan and syria to see the refugees that have to run around -- it happened in iraq and kuwait and yemen, all over the place. we don't want to see another

round of this. but this is the inevitable consequence of allowing the arab-israeli conflict to expand for 100 years, for a century, with direct, explicit, ongoing, and expanding american and british aid and arms and local protection at the u.n. if you do that, this is what you're going to get. it is kind of insincere and rather immature for american officials, british officials to say, look, there's a danger for war. of course there is because your policies, combined with the policies of the israelis and some of the arabs, have brought us to this point. if you want to stop a future war , you address the underlying conditions. why is there no big war in afghanistan right now or vietnam? it is because the underlying conditions were removed and

therefore there is some kind of normal situation. juan: you characterize hezbollah as a nonstate actor, but what about the relationship between hezbollah and the lebanese government? for those people not familiar with lebanese politics? >> hezbollah is stronger than the lebanese government militarily. no question about that. but they recognize their part of the lebanese government. they are in parliament, they had ministers in the government on and off. they are not an alien force, but they expanded and became strong because the lebanese government was unable to protect the south of lebanon in the 1960's and 1970's and 1980's when it increasingly came under threats from israel when the palestinians guerrillas set up shop at one point. because the lebanese government could not protect lebanon, hezbollah emerged organically as

the military force that both protects the south and protects all of lebanon in cahoots with others in the country. there are smaller leftist forces working with it. they have a very uneasy relationship because they are so powerful they can spark a war as has happened before between israel and hezbollah and the lebanese government can't do anything about it and the lebanese people suffer because the airport gets bombed, electricity is out. terrible things happen during war. the lebanese government is constantly trying to work out with hezbollah an understanding of how they can coexist, but this is pretty impossible to do. again, until you resolve the underlying arab-israeli conflict. once that is resolved, then there will be no need for hezbollah to have all these arms to protect lebanon from israeli

attacks because hezbollah is not going to go and try to destroy israel. it has been clear these groups are critical of israel, trash talk it, make these threats, but they also negotiate with it and make prisoner exchanges and they have made it clear if the palestinians reach an agreement with israel that is fair to both sides and the majority of palestinian people support it, they will go along with it. there's no question about that. we have to constantly take our gaze away from the awful, terrible things happening now where the potential for worse things to happen and look back on the central defining issue is this region. there are two issues. one is nonstop for military interventions and that foreign military intervention is expanding as we see now, especially with the americans and the russians and iranians and turks and others and

british. and the other is the arab-israeli conflict. these are the two biggest drivers of regional tension in warfare and instability. those have to be addressed. amy: let's talk about gaza. the european union's foreign policy chief has accused israel of using starvation as a weapon of war by blocking aid from entering gaza. the world food program managed to deliver aid to gaza city for the first time tuesday in three weeks, but the agency said famine is imminent in northern gaza unless aid deliveries increases exponentially. meanwhile, the united states says it has begun shipping parts to build a temporary port off the coast of gaza to increase aid. while still shipping bombs to israel to attack gaza. rami khouri, if you can comment on this and now morocco saying it has worked out a deal with israel. it is going to fly something like 40 tons of aid into tel aviv and then has secured a way

to transport that aid over land, through an israeli crossing, into gaza. >> they are all kinds of ideas being discussed about how do you reduce the suffering of the palestinians in gaza because of the israeli and a subtle attack, which is armed and funded by the united states. one of these ideas is to bring aid into israel and another is to come up from egypt and the others to have direct flights or ships coming into gaza. all of these are patchwork band-aids that don't really solve anything in the long run. i need is one attacked by any group and the israelis or hamas or freelance thugs could fire a rocket at one of these aid shipments and the whole thing would come to a halt. these are not serious sponsors.

the americans came up with the airdrop idea and then they came up with a floating pontoon dock. about the same time as the oscars took place in hollywood. this is not serious diplomacy or strategic stabilization of the middle east. this is sheer entertainment designed primarily to make americans feel better about themselves because they are aware they are involved deeply in the genocidal assault on gaza and they are aimed primarily to help the democratic party in the next presidential elections coming up in november because the democrats are facing serious pushback from a big coalition and arab americans, black americans, hispanics, labor unions, all kinds of people formed the core part of the democratic party traditionally and they're basically now

thumbing their noses at biden and saying, look, we don't play this gamemore where you just make promises and continue genocidal policies. the significance is it is not just arab americans as typically happens with a few exceptions like you and a few others, that media and most of the u.s. and europe talk about the arab americans are complaining and muslims americans. it is much wider than that. they don't like to see their money and their guns and government supporting what has now been called a plausible genocide by the highest court of the world will stop -- world. american citizens don't feel comfortable being associated with this kind of criminality. but for the government to respond with theatrics and cartoonlike efforts to show how effective their technology is and what amazing things we can

do, this is not serious. the americans have not really thought out all the implications of this shipping by air or pontoon, bridges, boats, whatever -- distribution of the food. unrwa is the most efficient food distributor in gaza and the u.s. is trying to destroy unrwa because israel asked it to end israel pushes the red button when it needs american criminal assistance and the americans tend to respond most of the time. the americans defunding unrwa is a criminal activity that has massive implications of the well-being and even survival of palestinians in gaza and many other refugee camps around the region. if the u.s. is serious about helping reduce civilian suffering in gaza, it has very simple quick ways to do it which is to lay down the law with the israelis and say, look, we're

not going to remain complicit in this genocide of yours. you have to stop obstructing the delivery of food and medicine and other things into gaza or else we're going to stop the delivery of arms and funds and diplomatic protection at the u.n. this is a tough position for the u.s. it has taken seller positions in the past, but you have to have resolve and serious analysis in the white house and you have to have a wellspring of decency and ethical behavior -- all three of which are now missing from the white house policy and foreign policy in the middle east. juan: rami khouri, this bizarre plan for a temporary pier, given the fact it would take as much as two months to prepare, isn't that effectively the united

states recognizing this war, this genocidal war is going to go on much longer than the american public expected? >> absolutely. this is exactly the point i am trying to make. the united states and great britain are explicitly, openly, even enthusiastically supporting the plausible genocide that israel is carrying out. this is one of the great mysteries of modern time. why would two countries like the u.s. and u.k., which boast about their commitment to democracy and human rights and equality and all these good things, why would they be so emphatic and consistent in supporting this? they don't have a problem with 30,000 palestinians killed and hundreds of thousands injured. they clearly don't have a problem with it. their words mean nothing.

their actions speak volumes about what they truly feel in their hearts. the people of these countries are much better than that. but the u.s. and u.k. and a few other countries are all out supporting israel and they have been since 1917 when england issued a declaration. that is why we say had to look at historical context. in 1917, the united kingdom issued a declaration to a small young zionist movement in europe say we support the creation of a jewish homeland in palestine. palestine was 95% arab. there was a small jewish community that always existed there and should exist there, but it was 95% arab. but saying there should be a palestinian homeland in the center of manhattan. it is not right. you can't take someone else's land and create euro country.

since 1917, the zionist movement in the state of israel, supported by the u.s. and u.k. and others, has enthusiastically pushed through the plant to diminish the number of palestinians living in palestine so you could have a jewish state, which is the government policy now of this government in israel. it has failed because the number of palestinians between the historic palestine from the jordan river to the mediterranean sea, which includes israel and some occupied territories, there are more palestinians now than israelis. so not only is the israeli plan cruel and criminal, it is also ineffective. united states, pursuing its amateurish, comic, entertainment-based, cartoonlike foreign policy to support this, knowing it is going to fail.

the airdrops is a best example. the poor people killed by the food package that fell on them and killed them. this is unbelievable united states would carry out these kinds of policies. the pontoon bridges is another one. there are so many ramifications of that that have been discussed were explored in terms of what does it mean in terms of re-creating israeli direct security control mechanisms in gaza to protect the food and allow it to be distributed. who is going to distribute it? it is just going to create new mechanisms which already are starting to take shape now of lawless, gang-like behavior among starving, desperate palestinians. this is human nature. anyone who is starving and desperate is going to create gangs to go get the food and distribute it. this is exactly what is happening. this is what the israelis want.

they what the palestinians to act in this manner, therefore, the israelis can say, look, these are animals, these palestinians. they want to drive them out. there is another fear also if unrwa is not allowed to continue its activities, the distribution process will end up being in the politicized -- will end up being politicized or criminalized. this is also not a very good idea. amy: rami khouri, thank you so much for being with us, palestinian american journalist and a senior public policy fellow at the american university of beirut. joining us today from new york. when we come back, we speak with civil rights advocate and author michelle alexander. back in 20 seconds. ♪ [music break]

amy: "everything must change" by nina simone. the song includes the words the young become the old and mysteries do unfold for that's the way of time no one, and nothing stays unchanged these are words quoted by our next guest.

this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. with juan gonzalez. subreddits advocate michelle alexander has a new piece in the nation headlined "only revolutionary love can save us now." she begins -- "this moment feels different. something new is in the air. of course, everything is always changing. impermanence is the way of life. philosophers, theologians, and poets have reminded us for centuries that the only constant is change." michelle alexander joins us now, best-selling author of the best-selling book "the new jim crow: mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness." it is great to have you back with us. looks like you for having me. i was happy to be here. amy: if you can talk about what gives you hope right now even as you write about what is

happening in gaza, as you talk about what is happening with issues of police brutality and mass incarceration through the united states, talk about movements and your references to dr. king. >> what gives me hope right now is that despite everything, revolutionary love is bursting and blossoming in all kinds of places and spaces. years of relentless and patient organizing and deep learning about each other's histories and struggles led to a moment when black activists are showing up at protest organized by jewish students who are raising their voices in solidarity with palestinians who are suffering occupation and annihilation in gaza. this is due to connections that have been made over the course of years between liberation struggles on the streets of

ferguson and those occurring in palestine. and these small acts of revolutionary love our leading to movements, our building movements that just might help last change -- help us change everything. we see this in community's everywhere where people are connecting dots between climate change and racial and gender injustice, we see it in movements for clean water and food and we see people are making connections between liberation struggles here at home and those occurring around the world, as well as connections between the violence of policing and incarceration and the violence of militarism and the relentless assault on gaza. people are turning towards really, sing form -- promising forms of movement building, and credible acts of courage in this

moment. speaking of popular truths. that gives me hope even in a time when there is so much reason for fear and anxiety that can be paralyzing. juan: shall, you also raised in your article that all of this is happening right now in the midst of a presidential election here in the united states. what do you see at the impact of the policy of the biden administration in terms of, especially in terms of gaza and the genocide there, and what the impact may be on the results of our election? >> well, you know, tens of thousands of people have been killed in gaza in just a few months with our bombs.

mass murder funded by our government, aided and abetted by our military, paid for a large part by our tax dollars. while we have been told that our government that we are not witnessing genocide, i and millions of people around the world have watched as videos have traveled around the globe, we have watched as mothers have pulled body parts of their dead children out of rubble and people have had their limbs amputated without anesthesia because hospitals have been destroyed so there's no medicine, including pain medication, to be found. we have watched as people facing starvation have been shot at by israeli soldiers as they approach vehicles carrying aid. the biden administration seems to be surprised that people who are not palestinians care as

deeply as we do. i think if the democratic party and the biden administration is serious about winning this next election, they must not only insist upon a cease-fire, but end the aid for the military support and the bombs and must invest and ensure the people who are starving and who are suffering their get the aid that they need to survive. we must end the occupation of palestine and commit to the thriving of all of the people

who have been subjected to relentless war and occupation for decades now. yeah, i do think it is an important issue in this election year. as i point out in the piece, there are many, many things that are weighing on the minds and hearts of the american people right now. it is the mass killing in gaza. more than 10,000 children, the destruction of hospitals, churches, mosques, museums, nearly all of the basic infrastructure. it is the memory of the killings that occurred on october 7, average that many continue to carry with deep fear and grief.

but there is also fears of the threats to our democracy, to the very idea of diversity and inclusion. and there is the threat of climate change. 2023 was the hottest year on record and it seems we may have already passed a critical tipping point and yet the five biggest oil companies last year raked in record profits, nearly $200 billion in profits, more than the economic delta of most countries. if all that was not enough, we keep alerting more and more that -- learning more and more that ai just might destroy humanity. i find people often ask to me as i speak about issues related to climate change and the war in gaza and the threats related to the rise of technology, what does any of this have to do with mass incarceration or police

violence, causes most pressing and important to me for much of my life and what i always say is these issues have everything to do with mass incarceration. these are existential crises that we face because we have persisted in treating people and all of creation as exploitable and disposable, unworthy of our care and concern. we are lost in the delusion that we can solve problems or do justice or achieve peace and security simply by locking people up, throwing away the key, destroying their lives and families, getting rid of them, declaring wars on them, worse on drugs, -- wars on drugs, wars on gaza. that is why keep returning to the speech martin luther king gave at the end of his life, where he condemned the vietnam

war and was immediately canceled. that is why i peace in the nation is ultimately about. amy: we want to end and get your final comment on his speech that he gave at new york's riverside church opposing the war in vietnam a year to the day before he was assassinated. this is dr. king speaking about why he opposed the war in vietnam. >> as i have walked, i told him all the top cocktails this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. and rifles would not solve their problems. i've tried to offer them my deepest compassion while maintaining my conviction that social change comes most meaningfully through nonviolent action. they ask, what about vietnam? they ask if her own nation

wasn't using massive doses of violence to solve its problems, to bring about the changes it wanted, their questions hit home and i knew i could never again raise my voice against the violence of the oppressed in the ghettos without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today, my own government. amy: dr. king, after which you point out in the piece, michelle, that he was canceled from the major papers "the new york times" to "the washington post," attacked for his opposition to war. >> yes, that is absolutely right. it is difficult to overstate the political risk he was taking in that moment. our nation had been at war with vietnam for two years. 10,000 american troops had already been killed. the war had it is yes to

bipartisan support within the political establishment. anyone who dared to criticize the war ruffin label to communist and subjected to backlash. many of his friends and allies told him not to speak out against the war. they said he would jeopardize the very fragile and brand-new gains the civil rights movement. he said, those people, those voices did not understand the depth of his moral commitment but they also had no real understanding of the nature of the world in which they lived. and he said basic morality demands we speak for the week, the voiceless, the victims of our own nation -- especially the children, including those our nation calls enemy -- for they are no less our brothers and sisters. he condemned the moral bankruptcy of a nation that does not hesitate to invest in bombs and warfare around the world but

can't ever seem to find the dullest to eradicate poverty at home. for me, what makes king's speech essential in this moment, he was arguing in that speech that if we as a nation do not awaken from our collective delusions, we are doomed. he said we must rapidly shift from a being oriented society to a person oriented society. he said machines and computers, property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, materialism, bloods risen will never be conquered. if we fail to awaken, we are doomed. he was right. talking about climate change, ai , mass deportation, mass incarceration, the wars in gaza or the wars cash he is right.

if we don't turn away from the corrupting forces of capitalism, militarism and a racism, and embrace the truly revolutionary love for all people and all creation, we are doomed. toward the end of the speech at riverside, he said there is such a thing as being too late. he said over the bleached bones and jumbled residue of numerous civilizations are written the pathetic words "too late." yet his message was not a hopeless one. he was calling us to embrace a revolutionary movement, one that was grounded in the ethic of love. as long as we refuse to embrace love in our struggles for liberation, we will not be able to create a culture of conversion where there is a mass turning away from an ethic of

domination. that ultimately is what revolutionary love is all about and why i believe it is the only thing that can save us now. amy: michelle alexander, thank you so much for joining us. civil rights advocate, author of the best-selling book "the new jim crow: mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness." we will link to your piece in the nation headlined "only revolutionary love can save us now." when we come back, donald trump meets with hungary's authoritarian prime minister viktor orbán at mar-a-lago last weekend. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: "rannan" by the palestinian oud musician and composer clarissa bitar. this is democracy now! i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. it is official, following tuesday's primaries, president joe biden former president donald trump appears set for a rematch in november after both candidates secured enough delegates to win their parties nomination. this past weekend, donald trump hosted hungary's prime minister viktor orbán at mar-a-lago. juan and i spoke yesterday with hungarian green activist. but first, let's go to president trump praising orbán at mar-a-lago. trumka there is nobody better, smarter than the door bond.

he is fantastic. he does a great job. he is not a controversial leader. he says this is the way it is going to be. get lost. amy: to talk more, we spoke tuesday with gabor scheiring, visiting fellow at the center for european studies at harvard university and assistant professor at georgetown university in qatar. green party member of parliament in hungary from 2010-2014. his new piece "i watched , hungary's democracy dissolve into authoritarianism as a member of parliament -- and i see troubling parallels in trumpism and its appeal to workers." i asked him to elaborate on what happened in hungary and the parallels he sees here in the united states. >> as the title suggests, there are quite a few parallels between the united states and hungary. what happened in hungary is basically now the country is the

first authoritarian regime -- first in the european union. this democratic backbiting happened under viktor orbán's leadership who was elected in 2010 to lead the country, which is the same year i was elected to the hungarian parliament. back then we had really high hopes to fix the country, economy, and move toward sustainability. we had detailed policy plans. but within a few years, it became clear that viktor orbán had other plans. as he said, he was building a liberal state and negotiating policy proposals to the opposition was not part of the big picture. so he basically gradually acquired independent institutions. he stuffed the courts with his

loyalists so any misconduct by those in power remained hidden. he has built a nationwide conservative media network that resembles the conservative begin network in the u.s. but is even more centralized. he is also used the state to kind of pressure investors -- media investors to fall in line. we have seen examples while trump was in power, pressuring media investors to fall in line with his narratives and cover him favorably. so these things are both happening -- hungary is much more advanced in this process of democratic backsliding but there are certainly which--

juan: gabor scheiring. how was it orbán is able to exercise this increased power? what was the role of the opposition party or any checks and balances? how exactly did he do it? >> within a few years, it turns out basically the opposition was -- we see sidelining the usual democratic mechanisms. he had his own policy team outside the ministry, outside the government machinery. so there was often very little time to discuss his proposals. sometimes had to stay late into early in the morning because he introduced something just the day before and then we had to prepare and go for a debate and then there was voting just the next day.

he used the parliament is basically a stump and machine from early on. but there are other institutional aspects like i mentioned, the media system is crucial. the court system, controlling it is crucial. the courts are the last elements where you can still find some independence but orbán has been working quite heavily to conquer that part as well. and crucially, the prosecution is an important part of it. the prosecution's office makes sure whenever there might be anything that is against the law corruption-wise people affiliated with the government that that stays hidden. but they can also rewrite the law and they do that. they have done that. they increasingly are not going against the law because the law favors them.

another element is gerrymandering and rewriting districts. this is something from the u.s. but he also changed the electoral system in a way that favors -- basically, this boils down to subverting democracy from the inside without violence. and that is what makes this really a big challenge. this is what these strongmen are doing around the world. they don't use the military anymore to subvert democracy, but they do this from the inside gradually. and i think this is what is inspiring also for donald trump and for other one of the authoritarian populist leaders because it gives them like a playbook of how to the

democratic field in a way that makes the job of the opposition and any independent institutions to check them. difficult. amy: gabor scheiring, visiting fellow at the center for european studies at harvard university and assistant professor at georgetown university in qatar. he was a green member of the hungarian parliament from 2010-2014. we spoke came about his new piece headlined "i watched hungary's democracy dissolve into authoritarianism as a member of parliament -- and i see troubling parallels in trumpism and its appeal to workers." to see the whole interview we do with gabor scheiring, you can go to democracynow.org. tomorrow, thursday, we will speak with mehdi hassan who left

msnbc after his show was canceled. one of the most prominent muslim voices in american television. in october, a news outlet reported msnbc had reduced the roles of hasan two other muslim broadcasters on the network. that does it for our show. coming up next month, i will be speaking at a 75 anniversary celebration in berkeley. i can't wait to see everyone there in person on april 6. go to democracynow.org for details. [captioning made possible by democracy now!]