Nazi Lite, in Texas and Florida

This is not a “what if.” This is what the states of Florida and Texas are doing, or trying to do.

On March 4, a federal court in Tallahassee ruled that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ executive order “designating the Council on American-Islamic Relations as a terror organization,” was unconstitutional. Courthouse News reported the ruling on March 5.

The stinging 30-page ruling from U.S. District Judge Mark E. Walker is worth quoting at length:

“The question before this Court is whether the Governor can, in a nonemergency situation, unilaterally designate one of the largest Muslim civil rights groups in America as a ‘terrorist organization’ and withhold government benefits from anyone providing material support or resources to the group. This Court finds he cannot. The First Amendment bars the Governor from continuing the troubling trend of using an executive office to make a political statement at the expense of others’ constitutional rights. The Governor’s decree coerces third parties, under threat of losing government benefits, to disassociate from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (‘CAIR’), thereby closing avenues of expression and suppressing CAIR’s protected speech. Once again, Florida chooses political posturing over the First Amendment.”

Notwithstanding the court’s admonishment about coercion “under threat of losing government benefits,” Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton have done just that.

They have effectively barred the Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA), which offer more than $10,000 per child in annual tuition vouchers to parents of students at religiously affiliated private schools — so long as they are not Muslim.

Not surprisingly, a parent of two children at an Islamic-based private school north of Houston sued Paxton in federal court on March 1, on constitutional grounds.

Also named as defendants are Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath and Acting Comptroller of Public Accounts Kelly Hancock.

Plaintiff Mehdi Cherkaoui, father of two children at a Qur’an Academy — and an attorney — says in his complaint: “As a direct result of this coordinated policy, not a single accredited Islamic private school has been approved to participate in TEFA — despite the approval of hundreds of other private schools statewide, including numerous Christian schools — effectively barring Muslim families like plaintiff’s from accessing over $20,000 per year in publicly funded educational benefits solely because of their religious faith and school choice."

The 30-page complaint adds: “Since TEFA’s inception, Defendants have systematically targeted Islamic schools for exclusion based on their religious identity, perceived ‘Islamic ties,’ and alleged connections to organizations Governor Abbott has designated as ‘foreign terrorist’ or ‘transnational criminal’ entities — even where those schools are fully accredited, satisfy all statutory eligibility criteria, and have no actual connection to terrorism or unlawful activity.”

For the record, CAIR, with whom I am acquainted, is on the record as opposing both Islamophobia and anti-Semitism.

What if Paxton and Abbott had barred Jewish private schools, or Catholic schools from the Texas voucher program? What if, citing events in Gaza and Iran, a lawmaker tried to brand the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) a terrorist organization? Can you imagine the reaction?

Jewish organizations have plenty of support in our country today, but I don’t see many Islamic support groups. Of the ones I have found, CAIR seems the most peaceful, honest, informed and straightforward.

De Santis’, Abbott’s and Paxton’s Crusades are rooted in thousand-year-old prejudices — ignorant, dishonest hatred of people they know nothing about, whose language they do not speak and whose holy books they never have read.

Even this supine, butt-kissing Supreme Court will toss these executive orders, when they arrive at that tawdry, contaminated bench. If they do not, then God help us all.

But that was never DeSantis’ and Abbott’s and Paxton’s point: whether the First Amendment was worth the parchment it was printed on.

The point was to punish innocent people and deny education to children, and grab a few headlines, none of which would say: White Christian Nationalists appeal to the mob.

Let us recall that barring Jews from practically everything was one of the first things Hitler did when he took power 93 years ago. And burning books. Thousands of books. While thousands cheered.

State and local governments in Florida and Texas already have taken the tawdry lead in banning books — not burning them, yet — but removing them from libraries, above all, school libraries.

Here is a severely edited list of books, and their authors, that already have been banned and removed from libraries in the United States. I call it Nazi Lite.

The Handmaid’s Tale: Margaret Atwood

The Confessions of Nat Turner: William Styron

Nevertheless, We Persisted: 48 Voices of Defiance, Strength, and Courage: Senator Amy Klobuchar

And Still I Rise: Black America Since MLK: Henry Louis Gates Jr.

Eyes on Target: Inside Stories From the Brotherhood of the US Navy SEALs: Scott McEwen

How to Be an Anti-Racist: Ibrahim X. Kendi

Aristotle and Dante discover the secrets of the universe: Benjamin Alire Saenz

The Cider House Rules: John Irving

The Legal Atlas of the United States: Julius Fast

We the students: Supreme Court cases for and about students: U.S. Representative Jamie Raskin

Those last two look dangerous. And isn’t Raskin a Democrat?