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DISPATCHES FROM THE CULTURE WARS — FEBRUARY 10, 2026  
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February 10, 2026
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_ The man who mapped the ultra right _

Chip Berlet, 1949-2026, The Progressive

 

* It’s Not Just Epstein
* Western Wars and Police States
* Workers are Furious with ICE
* Gullah Geechee Referendum
* Libraries Stomp MAGA in Texas Special Election
* Personhood for the Colorado River
* Tenants Boycott Real Estate Giant
* She Quit Over Employers Enabling Fascism
* Resistance Theater
* The Man Who Mapped the Ultra Right

 

It’s Not Just Epstein
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By Carole Cadwalladr, _How to Survive the Broligarchy_

Obsessive, pervasive sexual interest in teenage girls – and to some
degree, boys – is threaded insistently through our culture. We just
choose to ignore it. We redact it. It’s a darkness that we cover
with more darkness. Are we going to reckon with that? _Can we?_

WESTERN WARS AND POLICE STATES
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By Joseph Massad, _Middle East Eye_

Since the 11 September 2001 attacks and the passage of the repressive
Patriot Act, the US and the so-called liberal democracies of Western
Europe, which followed suit with their own repressive laws, have
expanded their already significant policing powers over their own
populations, while broadening the justifications for their imperialist
wars around the globe.

WORKERS ARE FURIOUS WITH ICE

• THE SHADOW NETWORK
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  By Tim Sullivan, _Associated Press_

• UNIONS SAY “ICE OUT!”
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  By Alexandra Bradbury, _Labor Notes_

• THE NONVIOLENT PLAYBOOK
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  By Oliver Kaplan, _The Conversation_ 

GULLAH GEECHEE REFERENDUM
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By Timothy Pratt, _The Guardian_

Sapelo Island off the coast of southern Georgia is home to the Gullah
Geechee people, descendants of enslaved west Africans who worked on
cotton, indigo and rice plantations from North Carolina to Florida.
Outsiders building large vacation houses was what was at stake in
McIntosh county, where Sapelo is located – the second citizen
referendum on a county plan or policy in Georgia history.

LIBRARIES STOMP MAGA IN TEXAS SPECIAL ELECTION
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By Amanda Marcotte, _Salon_

It’s rare that a local race can feel like an earthquake on the
national political stage, but that’s exactly what happened when
Democrat Taylor Rehmet defeated Republican Leigh Wambsganss in a
special election for the Texas state senate. It seems Rehmet won in
part because suburban Fort Worth has long been on the frontline in the
culture war over book banning.

PERSONHOOD FOR THE COLORADO RIVER
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By John Ahniwanika Schertow, _Intercontinental Cry_

The Colorado River Indian Tribes took a key step in Indigenous
environmental law by designating the Colorado River — the life
source for millions across the Southwest — as a “living being”
with legal rights under tribal law. The move reflects both a cultural
worldview and a strategic tool to protect dwindling water supplies
amid prolonged drought and growing demand.

TENANTS BOYCOTT REAL ESTATE GIANT
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By Louis Henry, _People’s World_

Over the last year, tenant unions in Southeast Connecticut have gone
public, demanding that their landlord, Alpha Capital Funds, come to
the table to negotiate fair leases and address tenant needs. Tenant
Union representatives from New London and East Lyme assembled
alongside their working-class allies to announce the boycott and to
explain why this next stage of struggle is necessary. 

SHE QUIT OVER EMPLOYERS ENABLING FASCISM
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By Stephanie Kirchgaessner, _The Guardian_

When Laura Wittmann decided to resign from Uline, the giant office
supply company owned by two of the biggest donors to Donald Trump’s
2024 election and other Maga Republicans, she did not hold back. “As
America descends rapidly into fascism,” Wittmann wrote in a two-page
company-wide email, “I can no longer work to grow the personal
fortunes of people who helped make it so.”

RESISTANCE THEATER
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By Mallory Carra, _The Guardian_

Artists, writers and theater groups across the country are creating
work in response to the Trump administration’s attacks on arts and
their communities. Today, many cities have theaters that host
community-based Theater of the Oppressed workshops, using Augusto
Boal’s teachings to analyze social issues and encourage activism.

THE MAN WHO MAPPED THE ULTRA RIGHT
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By Eleanor J. Bader_, The Progressive_

MODERATOR’S NOTE: Chip Berlet, who taught the movement how to
understand the American right, died on January 30, 2026. This portrait
from 2022 explains why he will be missed and has served as a teacher
and resource for so many.

* Jeffrey Epstein
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* war
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* police state
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* Immigration and Customs Enforcement
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* workers
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* Gullah
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* Georgia
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* texas
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* Taylor Rehmet
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* book bans
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* Colorado River
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* Colorado River Indian Tribes
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* tenants
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* (13643)
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* Alpha Capital Funds
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* Boycott
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* Laura Wittmann
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* Uline
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* theater
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* resistance
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* Chip Berlet
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