"Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition." Truer words were never spoken than those of Cardinal Ximinez in Monty Python's Life of Brian.

More of the quote: "Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition. Our chief weapon is surprise. Surprise and fear...fear and surprise...surprise and fear..."

What does this have to do with politics in America? The fear is palpable already. What's next is the surprise when what shouldn't be possible in America, suddenly becomes reality. Listen to this podcast episode to understand that it's much later than you think it is in the battle for the soul of our nation. Surprised? Afraid? Exactly.

A lot of our recent episodes have been kind of dark. We don’t want to alarm you, but…here are a few things that Trump and/or the GOP have said that you want to probably want to ignore if you’re feeling out of your depths:

• Muslims are to be ejected from the country, including students.

• Anyone who speaks against his highness will be expelled from this country.

• Pretty women can stay, but they can’t cross state lines if pregnant.

Shoot migrants in the legs, or build an alligator moat. Remember when the truth of what Trump was saying in the oval office came out? In the book The Room Where It Happened, John Bolton shocked the world with his reveal that Trump actually was considering using the federal government to shoot migrants in the legs (as stated). We reeled from the idea of the alligator moat, that one human being would consider doing that to another. Donald Trump’s got nothing on Greg Abbott.

The Republicans want to impeach Biden so badly that they kicked someone out of their “Freedom Caucus.” Here’s the deal: there are no high crimes or misdemeanors of which Biden is guilty to our awareness (and we definitely pay attention). These are prerequisites for an impeachment of a president. They argue that Biden's border policies (which, I remind you, mostly is extending the policies of Donald Trump) are allowing dangerous people to enter the US. They say this despite the fact that more migrants have been turned away under Biden than Donald Trump—which I’m officially against, but generally, Republicans go all gushy for.

Up 22 points in the polls against DeSantis, Trump is still a problem. he might be going to prison, but is that going to stop him? Is there anything in the law that might impact that?

But it doesn’t matter. Trump is sending his acolytes to New York to, I’m sure, “peacefully protest.” And, by the way, he didn’t have sex with Stormy Daniels anyway, even though he already said he did. But you know what? Some folks are ready to believe anything that will vindicate their fearless leader, however much of a lie it is. If he actully is going to be arrested on Tuesday, we at Right and Freedom are all for it. Listen to our previous episodes, and you’ll see that we former Marines tend to have a problem with people who have no respect for our Constitution.

Back in November of 2022, after Brazil’s election when Bolsonaro lost, the newspapers in America marveled and openly discussed what the United States might learn from Brazil’s electoral process. Sure, Bolsonaro made a bunch of untrue claims that he hadn’t actually lost (just like another would-be-dictator we all know), but it hadn’t led to the systemic denial of the election. In fact, an election board specifically for monitoring election outcomes dismissed a lawsuit claiming fraud and fined the plaintiff something like four million dollars.

Fast-forward to 2023, and almost two years to the day after our attempted insurrection here in the United States, Brasilia has had their own coup attempt. It turns out that the celebrations of stability and peaceful transfer of power were premature. The capital was stormed and vandalized, and the aftermath is still being felt. And, wouldn’t you know it, while all this was going on, where was Bolsonaro? Florida. We’ll let you draw your own conclusions about that.

Suffice it to say that Bolsonaro knew Trump, and took a page from his playbook. In other words, as we discuss, the United States is successfully exporting its political unrest. Presented still another way: our ugly is catching on. What will we do about that? Well, from the looks of it, not much.

The big lie has been an established part of history for generations. We know it, talk about it, but we don’t know what it really means. Hitler used it in a very manipulative way by maligning the news sources of the day and instilling distrust between the population and the news media (sound familiar?). Trump is doing the same thing with the press and with the latest problems he has discussing the election or anything that frankly annoys him. By himself, he’s not dangerous. But throw in reputable sources — or sources deemed reputable by many — Clarence Thomas and Ginni Thomas. How do you fight against the big lie? With education. Guess what’s also happening right now?

77% of Texas teachers in Texas want to quit. It’s not just Texas. The culture wars are real and are having a devastating impact across the nation down into the PTA rooms. As they are lying to your face, America, the Trump party is also systematically dismantling the tools you need to keep common conversation and shared knowledge flowing. Education is power, and we need to understand that as a community and give it the priority it deserves.