While guest hosting The Last Word on Friday, MSNBC's Ali Velshi offered up a passionate, if not deranged opening monologue where he asked viewers if they knew they still lived in America and declared the First Amendment dead. Velshi began, "Look around. Take a moment. Process this. This is the United States of America. Did you know that? Sounds like a silly question, but I mean it. I'm asking whether you know this is America because little by little over the last three and a half years this country has changed." If, however, you do believe that it is in fact a silly question, that is just because you're not as informed as to how democracy dies as Velshi, "Have you noticed it is not the same America we once knew? Well, if you haven't, that's part of the point. That’s how democracy starts to slip into authoritarianism. It doesn't happen all at once."     Velshi then argued that politicians of a previous age cared about noble ideas, but then President Trump came along: But at some point you start to realize that the values of the country that you know and love have been replaced with more sinister ideals by the people in charge. And you realize those sinister ideals are designed to keep those in power in power. It is not about you or us. It is about them. And anything that goes against those sinister ideals, no matter how central they are to the founding of this country gets tossed aside. Rules fail, norms change, institutions begin to crumble. This isn't some futuristic dystopian novel about America. This is America in 2020. As part of this dystopian reality, Velshi alleged, "The Constitution of the United States protects the freedom of free speech and assembly and protest. But not in Portland, Oregon, tonight. Armed federal agents are patrolling the streets of Portland. Federal forces wearing camouflage and military gear as if they were at war, using tear gas on demonstrators." Apparently in Velshi's America, ransacking a federal courthouse is protected First Amendment speech.  Velshi's rant would go on for an additional seven minutes where he also claimed that since the death of George Floyd, no city has seen anarchy, that the feds are criminalizing speech, quoted Madeleine Albright to allege that Trump is a fascist, and that by raising concerns of violence, Trump is using the same rhetorical tactics that were used to justify the beating of John Lewis. This segment was sponsored by Progressive. It's always fascinating when an insurance company subsidizes a segment rationalizing destruction of property.  Here is a transcript: MSNBC The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell 10:01 PM ET ALI VELSHI: Look around. Take a moment. Process this. This is the United States of America. Did you know that? Sounds like a silly question, but I mean it. I'm asking whether you know this is America because little by little over the last three and a half years this country has changed. Have you noticed it is not the same America we once knew? Well, if you haven't, that's part of the point. That’s how democracy starts to slip into authoritarianism. It doesn't happen all at once.  But at some point you start to realize that the values of the country that you know and love have been replaced with more sinister ideals by the people in charge. And you realize those sinister ideals are designed to keep those in power in power. It is not about you or us. It is about them. And anything that goes against those sinister ideals, no matter how central they are to the founding of this country gets tossed aside. Rules fail, norms change, institutions begin to crumble. This isn't some futuristic dystopian novel about America. This is America in 2020. America is in crisis. Our democracy is under attack. The historic social unrest, the recession, the ever-raging pandemic is bringing those sinister ideals into sharper relief than we ever could have imagined. The Constitution of the United States protects the freedom of free speech and assembly and protest. But not in Portland, Oregon, tonight. Armed federal agents are patrolling the streets of Portland.  Federal forces wearing camouflage and military gear as if they were at war, using tear gas on demonstrators. According to a lawsuit filed by Oregon's Attorney General last week, federal agents, quote, “have been using unmarked vehicles to drive around downtown Portland, detain protesters and place them into the officers unmarked vehicles.” And breaking just now, a federal judge has denied a request by the Oregon Attorney General's office for an order that would have required federal law enforcement officers in Portland to identify themselves when making arrests and would place limits on the detention and arrest of protesters. It is one of several lawsuits challenging the Trump Administration's deployment of federal officers. But the deployment itself is only part of the problem. Since when do we tear gas peaceful protesters in America or shove them into vans? It is not the actions. It's not just the actions. It is the justification for them. Listen to how the president of the United States described the situation in Portland.