Fascism’s rebirth and insidious spread in Italy is the result of a political process that has progressively whitewashed extremism, assisted by the confluence of recent historical factors: By the early 1990s, new generations had grown disconnected from the country’s history of resistance against fascism, as partisans and victims of racial laws aged and died. The fall of the USSR and the dissolution of the Italian communist party also meant a drop in funding to some of the country’s main anti-fascist educational organizations.
More importantly, something happened in the right at the same time. Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a professor of Italian history at New York University, calls it the rise of “fuppies,” or fascist yuppies. “Fuppies” were typically members of, or politically aligned with, Alleanza Nazionale (AN), a rightwing party that publicly rejected antisemitism and other fascist principles, such as violence.
The danger of “fuppies”

“Fuppies” used articulate, tolerant language and showed respect for democratic institutions. Founded in 1994, AN was led by Gianfranco Fini, who entered politics with the belief that deposed fascist dictator Benito Mussolini was “the greatest statesman of the 1900s,” the Fuppies positioned themselves as modern, successful conservatives. The party’s newspaper, Il Secolo d’Italia, describes AN as aiming to (Italian) move “from the ghetto to the governing right, become ‘presentable,’ scrap nostalgias, acquire moderates who are no longer scared of neofascism.

And honestly, I’m kind of laughing at this point myself, because as the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency under Barack Obama — fired after the briefest tenure by any head of that agency ever held by any person — of course Obama authorized Flynn to talk to whoever he needed to speak to in the confines of his position.

But that position ended in 2014.

The meetings that the “senior WH official,” who is assumed to be Jared Kushner, is referencing here were authorized specifically during the Trump transition. And if the testimony that Flynn gives in exchange for the guilty plea he entered Friday turns out as everyone expects, it will likely be that very “senior WH official” who is implicated as the one who authorized the relevant meetings with Kislyak.

SHEPARD SMITH (HOST): We know that four of the people within the president's realm have either been indicted or have pleaded guilty. We -- what we don't understand yet is the degree to which the president was involved, if at all. Is Flynn the answer to that, as their new star witness, at least for the day?

JOHN BUSSEY: We don't know, but he's getting almost a pass on a number of charges.

SMITH: It's an incredible deal.

BUSSEY: Yeah, he's getting a great deal.

SHEP: There was a long list.

BUSSEY: Long list of possibilities, and remember, the FBI is looking at collusion with Russia over the election, and possible subsequent obstruction of justice. We don't know yet which way this is headed.

SHEP: That this is a ruse, that this is fake news, is a lie.

BUSSEY: I think that Michael Flynn pleading guilty to this charge today explicitly gives an answer to that question, it's not fake news.

An animated high-concept adventure series featuring Barack Obama and Joe Biden as time travelers in search of a better future has brought production company Titmouse and Conan O’Brien on board as executive producers.

Barry & Joe: The Animated Series’ is in development, described as a “bromantic comedy” by creator Adam Reid. The project was jump-started by more than $100,000 in pledges from liberal die-hards via Kickstarter since its August launch.

Speaking with publisher Steve Forbes, Fox Business News host Lou Dobbs took offense that ex-President Barack Obama criticized President Donald Trump while on an overseas trip.

The former president advised the current occupant of the White House to “Think before you speak, think before you tweet,” which offended the Fox host who claimed Obama “Doesn’t matter anymore.”

“I think U.S. Marshals should follow him, and any time he wants to go follow the President like he is, and behave…” a sputtering Dobbs said before changing directions. “I mean, this is just bad manners. It’s boorish and it’s absurd and he doesn’t realize how foolish he looks.”

Trump’s response seems to have been to revert to his mainstay–throwing red meat to the base. That’s the only conclusion you can draw when word got out that he had one of his sons send out a fundraising email that accused his foes of hating America.

Trump’s second son, Eric, penned a message to his father’s campaign email list bearing the subject line “America Haters.” CNN’s Jim Acosta got a copy.

The email claimed that Democrats were hellbent on stopping “the America First agenda,” and were getting “increasingly panicked” as his father continues to win.

“They want to wake up tomorrow and say we are slipping, and that America no longer stands behind President Trump. They are dead wrong.”