If you think this ends with L.A., you haven’t been paying attention. This is Portland 2.0 — but scaled up, and aimed at the soul of American democracy…
"... sending the National Guard into Los Angeles, especially when done over the objections of California’s governor and L.A.’s mayor, is a direct assault on one of the foundational principles of American democracy: local control."
This is nothing new...to Los Angeles. Smitty federalized TNG in 2020 and deployed them to L.A. and that was in the height of the Covid pandemic. Just as it is now, over the objections of Governor Newsom. He is simply rinsing, and repeating because he dislikes Newsome, he dislikes L.A. and he dislikes California.
Funny though, when the white boys overran the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, beat up federal officers (that retreated unlike they would were the violators Black), urinated on the desks of legislators, vandalized the place, erected gallows, called for the lynching of the Vice President (and others), took a crap in the halls and smeared the excrement on the walls (filthy bastards) he did nothing.
It's those pardoned convicts I find most terrifying. What I found particularly disturbing is what Lev Parnas said about them planning to infiltrate the June 14th protests where I plan on being. After being pardoned the head of the Proud Boys said that they were "regrouping." What I make of it to mean is that they will act as trump's personal militia. What will keep them from murdering people in broad daylight and have that deranged inhuman keep pardoning them?
Frightening. We are well stocked with canned food and water but what good is that going to do if what you say comes true. Those people do not have one iota of critical thinking....
But it's also Trump playing three card monte. Nothjing up his sleeve?
The real threat is unitary executive/marshal law for the rest of us. As I said elsewhere, his soft underbelly is he despirately needs the Big Beautiful bill.
Flash. 'GOP leaders cite L.A. immigration protests to push for quick passage of Trump's "big, beautiful bill""
Washington — The White House and Republican leaders in Congress are urging lawmakers to quickly get behind the centerpiece of President Trump's legislative agenda, saying the ongoing immigration protests in Los Angeles add urgency to the push to secure additional resources for border security.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said on X on Monday that the legislation, which addresses Mr. Trump's tax, energy and immigration priorities, "provides the ESSENTIAL funding needed to secure our nation[']s borders." Republicans call the legislation the "one big, beautiful bill."
"The lawlessness happening in LA is ANOTHER reason why we need to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill IMMEDIATELY," Johnson said, pledging that Congress will support Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who he said are "fighting to keep Americans safe against illegal aliens AND the radical left."
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt shared a similar message earlier Monday, saying the scenes unfolding in some areas of Los Angeles "prove that we desperately need more immigration enforcement personnel and resources."
"America must reverse the invasion unleashed by Joe Biden of millions of unvetted illegal aliens into our country," Leavitt said in a post on X. "That's why President Trump's One Big, Beautiful Bill funds at least one million annual removals and hires 10,000 new ICE personnel, 5,000 new customs officers, and 3,000 new Border Patrol agents."
CORRECTION: Smitty DID NOT "federalize" TNG in 2020 during the so-called "George Floyd" protests (quite the misnomer). Newsom did NOT file a lawsuit against Trump during the 2020 protests. He was, however, strong-armed by Trump and acquiesced under threat of federalization and consented. There is so much data to absorb that I got my knickers in a bunch. Never done that before and integrity is both critical and crucial at this most dangerous of times to me in terms of the dissemination of information. My apologies.
Heather Cox Richardson: Today, when reporters asked if he planned to send troops to L.A., Trump answered: “We’re gonna have troops everywhere. We’re not going to let this happen to our country. We’re not going to let our country be torn apart like it was under Biden.”
Joyce Vance: "It’s clear this administration wants the fight. They want the legal fight in court over presidential power and authority."
It's all a pretext. Trump's vulnerablility is defeat of his legislatiove agenda, i.e. the Big Beautiful bill. Makes you forget his tarriff BS. Makes you forget the theft. Makes you forget the Musk/Trump dichotomy. Makes you forget the cards played by Zelinsky last week. Makes you forget the accusations about grift. Makes you forget he's Putin's whore. Makes you forget he's nutsy koo koo.
Providing meat to his base and to firm up his legislative support.
Keep the eye on the prize.
Where I live, immigration is important because we have 3 Republican Cuban American House members who represent majority Dems. 50% of the population is Hispanic.
Here's the news today. A Miami Republican who co-founded the group Latinas for Trump is condemning President Donald Trump’s mass-deportation campaign and blasting recent immigration enforcement actions as harmful. “This is not what we voted for,” State Sen. Ileana Garcia said in a statement on Saturday. “I have always supported Trump, through thick and thin. However, this is unacceptable and inhumane.”
Bread and circusses work on MAGA, but I'd bet they don't on Congressional Republican politicians -- especially those in Dem majority districts.
Under the radar are people like Sen. Crapo -- R. Id., a Harvard graduate who comes from a rural state -- who are Trump's leaders in Congress. He would screw his own people for love of Trump.
Idaho lives and dies over potatoes. Idaho is the nation's top potato producer, accounting for approximately a third of the US potato crop. This production supports a large processing sector, agricultural businesses, and transportation industries. Approximately 20% of Idaho's potato crop is exported, largely to Canada.
Besides potatoes, I can't find recent info, but In fiscal year 2022, Idaho's total Medicaid spending was $3.6 billion. The federal government covered 79.9% of these costs, while the state paid the remaining 20.1%. In 2016, the total spending was $1.7 billion, with the federal government covering 71.3% and the state covering 28.7%. That may be as important as potatoes.
This is my line in the sand: If trump orders Marines from Camp Pendleton* onto the streets, will their commanding officers refuse to follow the obviously unlawful order? They will have a clear choice, to recognize the 80 year-old precedent that "I was following orders" is neither a legal nor a moral defense. And if they stand on principle, will trump do everything in his power to replace, and perhaps court-martial, them?
*Is Camp Pendleton where hundreds of Marines sit at sewing machines assembling conservatively tailored plaid garments? Or is the answer hidden beneath state secrecy laws?
He very well may lose in the courts but in this case the damage will have been done a long time before it gets there. Furthermore, if Trump is prepared to shred the Constitution it is perhaps overly optimistic to believe that the courts will not be "corrected" in its Marxist Communist, Fascist Socialist proclivities. The Nazis and the Soviet Union had their courts as well, as had virtually every other totalitarian government.
The president is a Hardcore Hooligan.. And a Commie Pinko Crackpot to boot. [Somewhere, Putin is whacking off.] Not to mention a draft-dodging coward.
He and S. Miller have never served in the Armed Forces, so they should Never Even Think about misusing our troops by violating the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act.
As for DoD's imposter: Hegseth, he's a gin-soaked drunkard, a wife-rapist [another man's], who should go back to babbling on FOX.
UPSA - United Police States of America. Jesus H. Christ!!
Oh yeah, then there's this: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the US has redirected specialized anti-drone weapons (20,000 of them) intended for Ukraine to the Middle East.
No one has the words; we just have to hope that our military leaders, unlike those of the National Guard, have the courage to disobey the unlawful orders that Trump is sure to issue.
Someone once told me here on Substack that our military leaders ‘ain’t goin to disobey’ their president’s orders because there are consequences for a direct disobedience built into the constitution, ( think).
Our tax dollars are being used to terrorize us and threaten us and to prevent us from our First Amendment rights. Be sure to mention that on signs, letters to the editor, and on social media. We are paying for this fascist revolution.
If Congressional Republicans put (what's left of) our democracy above, or even nearly on a par with their influence, cumfy jobs and/ deep pockets, they would have already acted to do so, but fear now rules the roost and we are all threatened; The MAGA and our questionable law enforcement and military ranks have all of the guns, but we still have our voices: not a very promising outlook.
Usurpation Proclamation. And while this weekend’s mobilization of two thousand National Guard troops in Los Angeles has alarmed many observers, I suspect we aren’t alarmed enough by this presidential order, which has implications far beyond this one action in one place.
Let’s take a look at it. It consists of only three paragraphs.
In the first paragraph, the president asserts that “numerous incidents of violence and disorder have recently occurred and threaten to continue” in response to the execution of federal immigration laws. And, “To the extent that protests or acts of violence directly inhibit the execution of the laws, they constitute a form of rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.”
'In light of these incidents and credible threats of continued violence, by the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby call into Federal service members and units of the National Guard under 10 U.S.C. 12406 to temporarily protect ICE and other United States Government personnel who are performing Federal functions, including the enforcement of Federal law, and to protect Federal property, at locations where protests against these functions are occurring or are likely to occur based on current threat assessments and planned operations.
If you look at 10 U.S.C. 12406, the authority Trump is invoking, it authorizes the president to call into federal service the National Guard when “the United States . . . is invaded or is in danger of invasion by a foreign nation, or when there is a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.” The president has claimed in the first paragraph that such a rebellion exists, and so directs the secretary of defense to mobilize at least 2,000 National Guard personnel for a duration of “60 days or at the discretion of the Secretary of Defense.”
2. Saturday, June 14, say “No Kings!” to Donald Trump.
There are already over 1,600 “No Kings!” events in the works, with more being added every day. All across the country, Americans will be taking to the streets in rejection of Donald Trump’s lust for power.
1. Newsom said he planned to file a lawsuit Monday against Trump in response to the deployment of the National Guard to confront immigration protesters who took to the streets in Los Angeles.
“Commandeering a state’s National Guard without consulting the Governor of that state is illegal and immoral,” Newsom, told MSNBC on Sunday.
2. Boycott. Protests aren't boycotts. News media is lazy and the parade is easy to cover.
3. I've been sayin' I'd protest the media, starting with Fox. Picket them. Sit in. Call out their lies. THAT would be news.
One thing Thom overlooked is that the peaceful ICE protests will not be peaceful. As in the past, Trump will send in his Gestapo militia goons undercover to attack police and vandalize the streets to ensure that protesters appear to be violent - thereby enabling calling it all insurrection. Too bad Congress did not learn a lesson from S. Korea. They squelched their fake insurrection.
It is clear that elected Republicans at all levels support, or are unwilling to resist, the fascism now overwhelming our once-democratic nation. Many of them know better, which makes their acquiescence unforgivable. Democratic “leadership” also knows better, which makes their relative silence equally unforgivable (Merrick Garland is their poster boy). We’re well past the “strongly worded letter” phase of resistance. We must throw the jokers out of our deck if we are to get on with a desperately needed national rebirth.
Yeah, that Merrick Garland. He and CJ Roberts facilitated the destruction of this democracy. We're beyond the 'tipping point' when government thugs can do this.
"This was not some fringe vigilante action. It was federal agents wielding brute force under cover of Trump’s executive order, agents whose silence spoke louder than any badge. The ACLU of Oregon called it an unconstitutional kidnapping; legal scholars said probable cause was nowhere to be found.
Yet Merrick Garland decided it wasn’t worth investigating or prosecuting. Let’s just move on. And so here we are." ~Hartmann
Our traitorous attorney general could have been taken out long ago by our previous president, who knew what he was doing, but in order to appear apolitical, did nothing to change or alter his course of inaction.
This is just the beginning. The real confrontation is going to be engineered on June 14th, peripheral to the man-baby's birthday and self-aggrandizement parade. It shocks me how easily police and troops just carry out whatever orders they are given. Rubber bullets and tear gas against fellow citizens doing nothing violent? Whatever you say, sir.
The Administration’s plan to escalate the peaceful protest in Los Angeles is in full swing. Militarized ICE agents attacking a macho-driven community is not wise. Nevertheless ICE was able to secure their areas with modest support from county and state Local Law Enforcement (LLE). No Federal assistance was requested; however, the Trump administration illegally mobilized and seconded the California National Guard. That was an inflammatory response fueled simultaneously with rabble-rousing malign words from xenophobic Steven Miller, racist militant Tom Homan, dog shooter Kristi Noem, and the drunk Pete Hegseth. They are all instigating turmoil and fanning the flames. If they had any peace-inducing ideas, they would STFU. I did not know where this protest will lead, but peace during protests is suggested. Stop with the rock throwing, please. Passionate is okay. I suggest just laying down in the streets. Big, heavy protestors should take a rest, as I explain. https://hotbuttons.substack.com/p/uninvited-trump-escalates-conflict?r=3m1bs
.....or better yet, don't show up at all, and give the NG anyone to hassle, beat, arrest or shoot; let it look like yet another Republican wld goose chase with no cause.
Impeachment is on TRump's mind. He mentioned it the other day.
Thank you for remembering the Heather Heyer murder. Her Mother said that she absolutely knew the danger and refused to let it intimidate her. She HAD to go. We each need to search our conscience and figure out how to participate.
As Thom said, it's not just the Guard---it's other military units and Homeland Security units. It will probably be mercenaries as well. Who knows how low they will go when they hire people to work the demonstrations and to CAUSE trouble.
That is why our numbers have to be overwhelming. That's why we must be peaceful. If you can, take one of the online courses about what to do if you are approached by them, detained, or arrested. Every village, town, and city that those troops come from must be in the streets with us. Believe. We've been in the streets, and sure as hell will be there on FLAG DAY!
"Who knows how low they will go when they hire people to work the demonstrations and to CAUSE trouble." I don't know it as a fact but I'd bet they already have.....
Trump is, on prime time, wiping his butt with the Constitution, and the media is, at most, acting surprised and impotent. They need to wake up before all "news" needs to be vetted by the Ministry of Truth — something likely to occur in the very immediate future. We the People? We'll all be out on the streets next Saturday to shout No More Kings! for 2 or 3 hours, at which time we'll go back home, pop a brewski, and feel good about ourselves and our courageous stand for freedom, the dignity of man, and the sacredness of our institutions, etc, etc.
I don't know how to do it but we need a general strike, something that lasts for days or weeks, something that is going to put ourselves in physical danger; otherwise, we will have lost what we have treasured for 250 years without standing shoulder-to-shoulder to prevent its rape.
In 1787, Jefferson wrote "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants". It's time.
Mr. Herreshoff, A general strike would bring the authoritarians to their knees. ALL the unions should be in the streets over the kidnapping and injuring of Mr. Huerta. One wonders: where are they?
All of us, myself included, are too comfortable to put ourselves on the line facing what is increasingly becoming a police state. Even if we acknowledge the price of our inaction — the loss of basic freedoms — we are unwilling to act. Unions are made up of individuals; if the individuals aren't willing to act, and most obviously are not, then the unions won't either. I believe that what we lack is an underlying political-philosophical structure to unify us but tragically there is no widespread and coherent vision, something more than just resisting the oppressors, some organizing principle that we are working for rather than working against the Trumpist agenda.
The not so secret 180 plan that the Project 2025 group has laid out is very quickly coming up to that 180 days. Remember it took Hitler about 60 days to impose his will on the people. this is administration is just dying to do that right now. We all know it.
I'm marching next Saturday here in very blue Santa Cruz, California for No Kings Day! I have to say that I am a little more than concerned, not enough to disuade me from going but since I sometimes need a cane (I'm 77!) I'm planning on bringing it. I guess that will be considered a weapon should I lift it to defend myself. Evidently only trump's people are allowed to defend themselves. If we do it we are violent insurrectionists. See how easily that fits the narrative!
He is just itching to get California under his control. I hope that we can continue to resist. My guess is that if he declares martial law or invokes the Insurrection Act that the markets will crash, especially the Bond market & he will use that just like Hitler used the Great Depression to his advantage. It's all available to learn in HISTORY! I hope that my crystal ball is seeing the wrong thing when I talk about this but every day it seems to get clearer & clearer, dammit anyway!
Trump has done so many outrageous things that we seem to be getting used to it. Perhaps that is part of his plan. Send Americans to a foreign country, incarcerate them, provide no legal rights or even visitors. Yeah, that worked. So now let's send federal troops to a major city, while the governor of that state protests. Let them pick up individuals, haul them off, provide no legal counsel, no hearing and ... let them go? send them to El Salvador? Who knows what the man who thinks he has absolute power will decide.
"For example, suspending the 2026 election. Yeah, that. Otherwise, Democrats might take the House and begin investigations of him that could lead to more prosecutions and convictions for his various crimes. And there’s no way he’s going to peacefully allow that."
I find it sadly amusing that Democrats (in the government and voters) just don't get this. There will never be a free, fair election in this country again, it's that simple.
"... sending the National Guard into Los Angeles, especially when done over the objections of California’s governor and L.A.’s mayor, is a direct assault on one of the foundational principles of American democracy: local control."
This is nothing new...to Los Angeles. Smitty federalized TNG in 2020 and deployed them to L.A. and that was in the height of the Covid pandemic. Just as it is now, over the objections of Governor Newsom. He is simply rinsing, and repeating because he dislikes Newsome, he dislikes L.A. and he dislikes California.
Funny though, when the white boys overran the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, beat up federal officers (that retreated unlike they would were the violators Black), urinated on the desks of legislators, vandalized the place, erected gallows, called for the lynching of the Vice President (and others), took a crap in the halls and smeared the excrement on the walls (filthy bastards) he did nothing.
Oh, except pardon those convicted.
It's those pardoned convicts I find most terrifying. What I found particularly disturbing is what Lev Parnas said about them planning to infiltrate the June 14th protests where I plan on being. After being pardoned the head of the Proud Boys said that they were "regrouping." What I make of it to mean is that they will act as trump's personal militia. What will keep them from murdering people in broad daylight and have that deranged inhuman keep pardoning them?
https://rohnkenyatta.substack.com/p/the-owl-of-minerva-only-flies-at
Frightening. We are well stocked with canned food and water but what good is that going to do if what you say comes true. Those people do not have one iota of critical thinking....
Yep.
But it's also Trump playing three card monte. Nothjing up his sleeve?
The real threat is unitary executive/marshal law for the rest of us. As I said elsewhere, his soft underbelly is he despirately needs the Big Beautiful bill.
Flash. 'GOP leaders cite L.A. immigration protests to push for quick passage of Trump's "big, beautiful bill""
Washington — The White House and Republican leaders in Congress are urging lawmakers to quickly get behind the centerpiece of President Trump's legislative agenda, saying the ongoing immigration protests in Los Angeles add urgency to the push to secure additional resources for border security.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said on X on Monday that the legislation, which addresses Mr. Trump's tax, energy and immigration priorities, "provides the ESSENTIAL funding needed to secure our nation[']s borders." Republicans call the legislation the "one big, beautiful bill."
"The lawlessness happening in LA is ANOTHER reason why we need to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill IMMEDIATELY," Johnson said, pledging that Congress will support Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who he said are "fighting to keep Americans safe against illegal aliens AND the radical left."
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt shared a similar message earlier Monday, saying the scenes unfolding in some areas of Los Angeles "prove that we desperately need more immigration enforcement personnel and resources."
"America must reverse the invasion unleashed by Joe Biden of millions of unvetted illegal aliens into our country," Leavitt said in a post on X. "That's why President Trump's One Big, Beautiful Bill funds at least one million annual removals and hires 10,000 new ICE personnel, 5,000 new customs officers, and 3,000 new Border Patrol agents."
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/republicans-los-angeles-protests-trump-big-beautiful-bill/
CORRECTION: Smitty DID NOT "federalize" TNG in 2020 during the so-called "George Floyd" protests (quite the misnomer). Newsom did NOT file a lawsuit against Trump during the 2020 protests. He was, however, strong-armed by Trump and acquiesced under threat of federalization and consented. There is so much data to absorb that I got my knickers in a bunch. Never done that before and integrity is both critical and crucial at this most dangerous of times to me in terms of the dissemination of information. My apologies.
You are forgiven.
Bless you as I can now R.I.P.
This is more distraction.
Heather Cox Richardson: Today, when reporters asked if he planned to send troops to L.A., Trump answered: “We’re gonna have troops everywhere. We’re not going to let this happen to our country. We’re not going to let our country be torn apart like it was under Biden.”
Joyce Vance: "It’s clear this administration wants the fight. They want the legal fight in court over presidential power and authority."
It's all a pretext. Trump's vulnerablility is defeat of his legislatiove agenda, i.e. the Big Beautiful bill. Makes you forget his tarriff BS. Makes you forget the theft. Makes you forget the Musk/Trump dichotomy. Makes you forget the cards played by Zelinsky last week. Makes you forget the accusations about grift. Makes you forget he's Putin's whore. Makes you forget he's nutsy koo koo.
Providing meat to his base and to firm up his legislative support.
Keep the eye on the prize.
Where I live, immigration is important because we have 3 Republican Cuban American House members who represent majority Dems. 50% of the population is Hispanic.
Here's the news today. A Miami Republican who co-founded the group Latinas for Trump is condemning President Donald Trump’s mass-deportation campaign and blasting recent immigration enforcement actions as harmful. “This is not what we voted for,” State Sen. Ileana Garcia said in a statement on Saturday. “I have always supported Trump, through thick and thin. However, this is unacceptable and inhumane.”
Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/immigration/article308111995.html#storylink=cpy
If we can get those 3 to oppose the Big Beautiful bill, we might be able to stop all this stuff.
We need the Republicans opposed to tariffs, Ukraine policy, grift, national security policy, etc to focus. In red states like NC, MO he's defunded FEMA. https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/josh-hawley-begs-trump-administration-fema-aid-missouri-1235343815/
We need Murkowski, Collins et al to stop it.
Bread and circusses work on MAGA, but I'd bet they don't on Congressional Republican politicians -- especially those in Dem majority districts.
Under the radar are people like Sen. Crapo -- R. Id., a Harvard graduate who comes from a rural state -- who are Trump's leaders in Congress. He would screw his own people for love of Trump.
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/06/09/the-stealth-senate-dealmaker-who-could-deliver-trumps-tax-cuts-00393250
Farmers face frozen jobs and heavier workloads under DOGE ‘efficiency’ budget
Billions in halted or canceled grants, gutted local offices, market turmoil and broken trust are at stake across the West.https://www.hcn.org/articles/farmers-face-frozen-jobs-and-heavier-workloads-under-doge-efficiency-budget/
Idaho lives and dies over potatoes. Idaho is the nation's top potato producer, accounting for approximately a third of the US potato crop. This production supports a large processing sector, agricultural businesses, and transportation industries. Approximately 20% of Idaho's potato crop is exported, largely to Canada.
Besides potatoes, I can't find recent info, but In fiscal year 2022, Idaho's total Medicaid spending was $3.6 billion. The federal government covered 79.9% of these costs, while the state paid the remaining 20.1%. In 2016, the total spending was $1.7 billion, with the federal government covering 71.3% and the state covering 28.7%. That may be as important as potatoes.
The state of Idaho would be a major loser...hospitals will close. The governor is a MAGAT but maybe he can intercede. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brad_Little
These are people who need to be pressured. Pressure Boise!
Same goes for every other rural state.
And lots and lots of sugar beets.
This is my line in the sand: If trump orders Marines from Camp Pendleton* onto the streets, will their commanding officers refuse to follow the obviously unlawful order? They will have a clear choice, to recognize the 80 year-old precedent that "I was following orders" is neither a legal nor a moral defense. And if they stand on principle, will trump do everything in his power to replace, and perhaps court-martial, them?
*Is Camp Pendleton where hundreds of Marines sit at sewing machines assembling conservatively tailored plaid garments? Or is the answer hidden beneath state secrecy laws?
Posse Comitatus Act. Won't use active duty military until a declaration of marshal law.
When has he appeared encumbered by an actual law?
This is a guy who USUALLY loses in court. He's had to pay fines, make restitution, lost properties, etc. He's Mr. Bluster.
He very well may lose in the courts but in this case the damage will have been done a long time before it gets there. Furthermore, if Trump is prepared to shred the Constitution it is perhaps overly optimistic to believe that the courts will not be "corrected" in its Marxist Communist, Fascist Socialist proclivities. The Nazis and the Soviet Union had their courts as well, as had virtually every other totalitarian government.
The president is a Hardcore Hooligan.. And a Commie Pinko Crackpot to boot. [Somewhere, Putin is whacking off.] Not to mention a draft-dodging coward.
He and S. Miller have never served in the Armed Forces, so they should Never Even Think about misusing our troops by violating the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act.
As for DoD's imposter: Hegseth, he's a gin-soaked drunkard, a wife-rapist [another man's], who should go back to babbling on FOX.
UPSA - United Police States of America. Jesus H. Christ!!
Oh yeah, then there's this: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the US has redirected specialized anti-drone weapons (20,000 of them) intended for Ukraine to the Middle East.
I ain't got the words.
No one has the words; we just have to hope that our military leaders, unlike those of the National Guard, have the courage to disobey the unlawful orders that Trump is sure to issue.
Someone once told me here on Substack that our military leaders ‘ain’t goin to disobey’ their president’s orders because there are consequences for a direct disobedience built into the constitution, ( think).
Our tax dollars are being used to terrorize us and threaten us and to prevent us from our First Amendment rights. Be sure to mention that on signs, letters to the editor, and on social media. We are paying for this fascist revolution.
To Congressional Republicans.
If Congressional Republicans put (what's left of) our democracy above, or even nearly on a par with their influence, cumfy jobs and/ deep pockets, they would have already acted to do so, but fear now rules the roost and we are all threatened; The MAGA and our questionable law enforcement and military ranks have all of the guns, but we still have our voices: not a very promising outlook.
We only need a few. They will not switch parties. But about 20 represent majority Democratic districts.
There also may be a few who respect the oath of office.....
I was hoping that Don Bacon would lead......
More importantly and urgently is this, A copy and paste from https://www.thebulwark.com/p/its-always-darkest-before-it-goes-pitch-black-los-angeles-national-guard-troops-deportation-protests?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=87281&post_id=165541096&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=9q8rt&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
Usurpation Proclamation. And while this weekend’s mobilization of two thousand National Guard troops in Los Angeles has alarmed many observers, I suspect we aren’t alarmed enough by this presidential order, which has implications far beyond this one action in one place.
Let’s take a look at it. It consists of only three paragraphs.
In the first paragraph, the president asserts that “numerous incidents of violence and disorder have recently occurred and threaten to continue” in response to the execution of federal immigration laws. And, “To the extent that protests or acts of violence directly inhibit the execution of the laws, they constitute a form of rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.”
'In light of these incidents and credible threats of continued violence, by the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby call into Federal service members and units of the National Guard under 10 U.S.C. 12406 to temporarily protect ICE and other United States Government personnel who are performing Federal functions, including the enforcement of Federal law, and to protect Federal property, at locations where protests against these functions are occurring or are likely to occur based on current threat assessments and planned operations.
If you look at 10 U.S.C. 12406, the authority Trump is invoking, it authorizes the president to call into federal service the National Guard when “the United States . . . is invaded or is in danger of invasion by a foreign nation, or when there is a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.” The president has claimed in the first paragraph that such a rebellion exists, and so directs the secretary of defense to mobilize at least 2,000 National Guard personnel for a duration of “60 days or at the discretion of the Secretary of Defense.”
1. The courthouse will be open at 9: am pst.
2. Saturday, June 14, say “No Kings!” to Donald Trump.
There are already over 1,600 “No Kings!” events in the works, with more being added every day. All across the country, Americans will be taking to the streets in rejection of Donald Trump’s lust for power.
https://www.mobilize.us/nokings/?utm_source=publiccitizen&org_ids=42198
I am looking for a national boycott, especially by the corporate media, of Trump's Red Square parade on June 14th.
I do not expect to see one, rather I expect the news media to slobber all over itself, like it does with the Macy's parade.
1. Newsom said he planned to file a lawsuit Monday against Trump in response to the deployment of the National Guard to confront immigration protesters who took to the streets in Los Angeles.
“Commandeering a state’s National Guard without consulting the Governor of that state is illegal and immoral,” Newsom, told MSNBC on Sunday.
2. Boycott. Protests aren't boycotts. News media is lazy and the parade is easy to cover.
3. I've been sayin' I'd protest the media, starting with Fox. Picket them. Sit in. Call out their lies. THAT would be news.
I saw that live last night on MSNBC, Gavin said his lawyers were working on a petition.
One thing Thom overlooked is that the peaceful ICE protests will not be peaceful. As in the past, Trump will send in his Gestapo militia goons undercover to attack police and vandalize the streets to ensure that protesters appear to be violent - thereby enabling calling it all insurrection. Too bad Congress did not learn a lesson from S. Korea. They squelched their fake insurrection.
It is clear that elected Republicans at all levels support, or are unwilling to resist, the fascism now overwhelming our once-democratic nation. Many of them know better, which makes their acquiescence unforgivable. Democratic “leadership” also knows better, which makes their relative silence equally unforgivable (Merrick Garland is their poster boy). We’re well past the “strongly worded letter” phase of resistance. We must throw the jokers out of our deck if we are to get on with a desperately needed national rebirth.
Yeah, that Merrick Garland. He and CJ Roberts facilitated the destruction of this democracy. We're beyond the 'tipping point' when government thugs can do this.
"This was not some fringe vigilante action. It was federal agents wielding brute force under cover of Trump’s executive order, agents whose silence spoke louder than any badge. The ACLU of Oregon called it an unconstitutional kidnapping; legal scholars said probable cause was nowhere to be found.
Yet Merrick Garland decided it wasn’t worth investigating or prosecuting. Let’s just move on. And so here we are." ~Hartmann
Our traitorous attorney general could have been taken out long ago by our previous president, who knew what he was doing, but in order to appear apolitical, did nothing to change or alter his course of inaction.
This is just the beginning. The real confrontation is going to be engineered on June 14th, peripheral to the man-baby's birthday and self-aggrandizement parade. It shocks me how easily police and troops just carry out whatever orders they are given. Rubber bullets and tear gas against fellow citizens doing nothing violent? Whatever you say, sir.
The REAL battle is in the senate.
I remember wondering this during demonstrations against Vietnam War back in ‘70’s
The Administration’s plan to escalate the peaceful protest in Los Angeles is in full swing. Militarized ICE agents attacking a macho-driven community is not wise. Nevertheless ICE was able to secure their areas with modest support from county and state Local Law Enforcement (LLE). No Federal assistance was requested; however, the Trump administration illegally mobilized and seconded the California National Guard. That was an inflammatory response fueled simultaneously with rabble-rousing malign words from xenophobic Steven Miller, racist militant Tom Homan, dog shooter Kristi Noem, and the drunk Pete Hegseth. They are all instigating turmoil and fanning the flames. If they had any peace-inducing ideas, they would STFU. I did not know where this protest will lead, but peace during protests is suggested. Stop with the rock throwing, please. Passionate is okay. I suggest just laying down in the streets. Big, heavy protestors should take a rest, as I explain. https://hotbuttons.substack.com/p/uninvited-trump-escalates-conflict?r=3m1bs
.....or better yet, don't show up at all, and give the NG anyone to hassle, beat, arrest or shoot; let it look like yet another Republican wld goose chase with no cause.
Don’t show up n DC is the June 14 plan.
Impeachment is on TRump's mind. He mentioned it the other day.
Thank you for remembering the Heather Heyer murder. Her Mother said that she absolutely knew the danger and refused to let it intimidate her. She HAD to go. We each need to search our conscience and figure out how to participate.
As Thom said, it's not just the Guard---it's other military units and Homeland Security units. It will probably be mercenaries as well. Who knows how low they will go when they hire people to work the demonstrations and to CAUSE trouble.
That is why our numbers have to be overwhelming. That's why we must be peaceful. If you can, take one of the online courses about what to do if you are approached by them, detained, or arrested. Every village, town, and city that those troops come from must be in the streets with us. Believe. We've been in the streets, and sure as hell will be there on FLAG DAY!
You got it. A few Republican House votes can start the ball rolling. https://jerryweiss.substack.com/
"Who knows how low they will go when they hire people to work the demonstrations and to CAUSE trouble." I don't know it as a fact but I'd bet they already have.....
https://theimmigrationhub.org/press/erik-prince-wants-to-build-trumps-deportation-camps-and-deploy-a-vigilante-army-to-separate-families-and-congress-might-pay-for-it/
Trump is, on prime time, wiping his butt with the Constitution, and the media is, at most, acting surprised and impotent. They need to wake up before all "news" needs to be vetted by the Ministry of Truth — something likely to occur in the very immediate future. We the People? We'll all be out on the streets next Saturday to shout No More Kings! for 2 or 3 hours, at which time we'll go back home, pop a brewski, and feel good about ourselves and our courageous stand for freedom, the dignity of man, and the sacredness of our institutions, etc, etc.
I don't know how to do it but we need a general strike, something that lasts for days or weeks, something that is going to put ourselves in physical danger; otherwise, we will have lost what we have treasured for 250 years without standing shoulder-to-shoulder to prevent its rape.
In 1787, Jefferson wrote "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants". It's time.
Mr. Herreshoff, A general strike would bring the authoritarians to their knees. ALL the unions should be in the streets over the kidnapping and injuring of Mr. Huerta. One wonders: where are they?
Afraid.
All of us, myself included, are too comfortable to put ourselves on the line facing what is increasingly becoming a police state. Even if we acknowledge the price of our inaction — the loss of basic freedoms — we are unwilling to act. Unions are made up of individuals; if the individuals aren't willing to act, and most obviously are not, then the unions won't either. I believe that what we lack is an underlying political-philosophical structure to unify us but tragically there is no widespread and coherent vision, something more than just resisting the oppressors, some organizing principle that we are working for rather than working against the Trumpist agenda.
The not so secret 180 plan that the Project 2025 group has laid out is very quickly coming up to that 180 days. Remember it took Hitler about 60 days to impose his will on the people. this is administration is just dying to do that right now. We all know it.
I'm marching next Saturday here in very blue Santa Cruz, California for No Kings Day! I have to say that I am a little more than concerned, not enough to disuade me from going but since I sometimes need a cane (I'm 77!) I'm planning on bringing it. I guess that will be considered a weapon should I lift it to defend myself. Evidently only trump's people are allowed to defend themselves. If we do it we are violent insurrectionists. See how easily that fits the narrative!
He is just itching to get California under his control. I hope that we can continue to resist. My guess is that if he declares martial law or invokes the Insurrection Act that the markets will crash, especially the Bond market & he will use that just like Hitler used the Great Depression to his advantage. It's all available to learn in HISTORY! I hope that my crystal ball is seeing the wrong thing when I talk about this but every day it seems to get clearer & clearer, dammit anyway!
Trump has done so many outrageous things that we seem to be getting used to it. Perhaps that is part of his plan. Send Americans to a foreign country, incarcerate them, provide no legal rights or even visitors. Yeah, that worked. So now let's send federal troops to a major city, while the governor of that state protests. Let them pick up individuals, haul them off, provide no legal counsel, no hearing and ... let them go? send them to El Salvador? Who knows what the man who thinks he has absolute power will decide.
"For example, suspending the 2026 election. Yeah, that. Otherwise, Democrats might take the House and begin investigations of him that could lead to more prosecutions and convictions for his various crimes. And there’s no way he’s going to peacefully allow that."
I find it sadly amusing that Democrats (in the government and voters) just don't get this. There will never be a free, fair election in this country again, it's that simple.
What Dems don't? Baloney.