Great piece! It is now clear to me, Trump is destroying everything he can so that he has a pretext for taking martial control. Our only choice is to submit, or to become more powerful than he through our collective will.
Great piece! It is now clear to me, Trump is destroying everything he can so that he has a pretext for taking martial control. Our only choice is to submit, or to become more powerful than he through our collective will.
HAPPILY MY HYPERBOLIC PREDICTIONS ABOUT POTENTIAL DANGER AT THE PORTLAND, OREGON DOWNTOWN HANDS OFF! RALLY/MARCH PROVED INCORRECT! HUGE TURNOUT, WARM COMMUNAL VIBE OF "ANGRY, PEACEFUL PEOPLE," AND NO VISIBLE POLICE PRESENCE. MEA CULPA! :)))тШоя╕П
(written 4/3) I have thought this since Trump won the first election. I do not mean to be hyperbolic, but I have this feeling that plunging us into world market chaos two days before the first national protest: Hands Off, on Saturday 4/5, is not coincidental. I live in Portland, OR and will be attending the downtown rally. I believe that TrumpтАЩs plan is to trigger seemingly intentional acts of violence by the protesters, that will тАЬjustifyтАЭ sending in the National Guard, or whatever policing forces, in selected cities, (Portland certainly one of them) that will allow Trump and Co. to enact Martial Law. I hope, of course, that I am embarrassingly wrong, and that the many, many millions who attend the peaceful protest rallies and marches suffer, at worst: blisters, sunburn, and perhaps mildly strained vocal cords. тШоя╕П.
What I describe below may amount to a distinction without a difference, but I donтАЩt believe traditional martial law is in the cards. Occupying the population centers of America in an effective way would require millions troops. Our experience in Iraq (IтАЩm a Vet) and our inability to pacify the Baghdad region, let alone the country, with 100k+ troops demonstrates the impossibility of the task.
However, an incredibly sophisticated police state is still likely and is already taking shape. Bear with me, and consider the following:
1) The legal infrastructure left over from the Patriot Act is largely still in place, codified in new legislation and policies adopted even at the local law enforcement level. If the administration designates you a тАЬthreatтАЭ (ie. Tesla vandals) you have no Constitutional protection. The message of CECOT in El Salvador is that an outsourced, international gulag is being put in place to hold such тАЬthreatsтАЭ.
2) T will likely invoke the Insurrection Act at some point, enabling federal troops to be used as domestic law enforcement in order to deter protest, crush civil unrest, and to militarize the border, including international ports of entry (airports, seaports). As we continue our isolationism and our empire contracts (barring a war with Iran or invasion of our neighbors) the troops will come home.
3) A Day 1 EO, 14159 тАЬProtecting the American People Against InvasionтАЭ establishes Homeland Security Task Forces (composed of federal, state, and local law enforcement) in every state. LE will be ubiquitous and likely plain clothed.
4) KP runs the FBI, and when the purges are complete and T has consolidated his power enough, we could see opposition party members removed. I believe they are aware of this and it would explain their deafening silence and largely performative (in)action. Interestingly, the closing opera music at the RNC last year was from the final scene of The Sum of All Fears. Watch the scene on YouTube then watch the closing of the RNC. It speaks volumes and was not a coincidence.
5) We may see the deputization of private military contractors and militia groups. This has already happened with EMтАЩs private security detail (Triple Canopy) and Erik Prince (founder of Blackwater that merged with Triple Canopy), has pitched the idea of using PMCs to assist with deportation operations. These companies are private armies, complete with combat units, intelligence branches and fleets of aircraft. And of course the Proud Boys and their ilk are still standing back, and standing by, having been legitimized and emboldened by Presidential pardons.
6) Total digital surveillance of the population is already happening, much of it outsourced in the form of surveillance capitalism, private data brokers, and private intelligence software like Pegasus, but programs like PRISM and whatever new systems the NSA are using are still active. AI will be used to identify and map out dissenters and undesirables (think AI powered DNA analysis/eugenics). As America continues to isolate itself from the world, these tools will increasingly be turned inward.
These are the ingredients for a totalitarian police state that fascists of the past could only dream of, and it is already taking shape by degrees. If we are plunged into a serious economic crisis, or any event that leads to mass civil unrest, it will likely come to maturity. We are in the early stages of the collapse of the greatest empire in history, expect the unprecedented.
That is what Trump and his fellow autocrats want. If every country is isolated, then consumers will not have alternatives. That makes it easier for each autocrat to control his own populace.
Eileen, I think you are quite likely right. Whether or not MAGA has every move mapped out, the intention is there: destroy the normal American institutions so that they can institute new, authoritarian ones.
I doubt heтАЩs even aware of the protests. Some of his people may be. But they view protesting Dems as something to laugh at. тАЬCry harder.тАЭ At least for now.
No. Trump really believes in this crackpot economics. It may be the only idea he really does believe in. He has been talking this crap since the 80s. Just back then it was Japan eating our lunch and stealing from us
It was delusional then and it is delusional now. I mean as in put in him a straight jacket and and give him a padded room and a lot of therapy. He is as mad as good old King George. And this country elected him!
Great piece! It is now clear to me, Trump is destroying everything he can so that he has a pretext for taking martial control. Our only choice is to submit, or to become more powerful than he through our collective will.
HAPPILY MY HYPERBOLIC PREDICTIONS ABOUT POTENTIAL DANGER AT THE PORTLAND, OREGON DOWNTOWN HANDS OFF! RALLY/MARCH PROVED INCORRECT! HUGE TURNOUT, WARM COMMUNAL VIBE OF "ANGRY, PEACEFUL PEOPLE," AND NO VISIBLE POLICE PRESENCE. MEA CULPA! :)))тШоя╕П
(written 4/3) I have thought this since Trump won the first election. I do not mean to be hyperbolic, but I have this feeling that plunging us into world market chaos two days before the first national protest: Hands Off, on Saturday 4/5, is not coincidental. I live in Portland, OR and will be attending the downtown rally. I believe that TrumpтАЩs plan is to trigger seemingly intentional acts of violence by the protesters, that will тАЬjustifyтАЭ sending in the National Guard, or whatever policing forces, in selected cities, (Portland certainly one of them) that will allow Trump and Co. to enact Martial Law. I hope, of course, that I am embarrassingly wrong, and that the many, many millions who attend the peaceful protest rallies and marches suffer, at worst: blisters, sunburn, and perhaps mildly strained vocal cords. тШоя╕П.
What I describe below may amount to a distinction without a difference, but I donтАЩt believe traditional martial law is in the cards. Occupying the population centers of America in an effective way would require millions troops. Our experience in Iraq (IтАЩm a Vet) and our inability to pacify the Baghdad region, let alone the country, with 100k+ troops demonstrates the impossibility of the task.
However, an incredibly sophisticated police state is still likely and is already taking shape. Bear with me, and consider the following:
1) The legal infrastructure left over from the Patriot Act is largely still in place, codified in new legislation and policies adopted even at the local law enforcement level. If the administration designates you a тАЬthreatтАЭ (ie. Tesla vandals) you have no Constitutional protection. The message of CECOT in El Salvador is that an outsourced, international gulag is being put in place to hold such тАЬthreatsтАЭ.
2) T will likely invoke the Insurrection Act at some point, enabling federal troops to be used as domestic law enforcement in order to deter protest, crush civil unrest, and to militarize the border, including international ports of entry (airports, seaports). As we continue our isolationism and our empire contracts (barring a war with Iran or invasion of our neighbors) the troops will come home.
3) A Day 1 EO, 14159 тАЬProtecting the American People Against InvasionтАЭ establishes Homeland Security Task Forces (composed of federal, state, and local law enforcement) in every state. LE will be ubiquitous and likely plain clothed.
4) KP runs the FBI, and when the purges are complete and T has consolidated his power enough, we could see opposition party members removed. I believe they are aware of this and it would explain their deafening silence and largely performative (in)action. Interestingly, the closing opera music at the RNC last year was from the final scene of The Sum of All Fears. Watch the scene on YouTube then watch the closing of the RNC. It speaks volumes and was not a coincidence.
5) We may see the deputization of private military contractors and militia groups. This has already happened with EMтАЩs private security detail (Triple Canopy) and Erik Prince (founder of Blackwater that merged with Triple Canopy), has pitched the idea of using PMCs to assist with deportation operations. These companies are private armies, complete with combat units, intelligence branches and fleets of aircraft. And of course the Proud Boys and their ilk are still standing back, and standing by, having been legitimized and emboldened by Presidential pardons.
6) Total digital surveillance of the population is already happening, much of it outsourced in the form of surveillance capitalism, private data brokers, and private intelligence software like Pegasus, but programs like PRISM and whatever new systems the NSA are using are still active. AI will be used to identify and map out dissenters and undesirables (think AI powered DNA analysis/eugenics). As America continues to isolate itself from the world, these tools will increasingly be turned inward.
These are the ingredients for a totalitarian police state that fascists of the past could only dream of, and it is already taking shape by degrees. If we are plunged into a serious economic crisis, or any event that leads to mass civil unrest, it will likely come to maturity. We are in the early stages of the collapse of the greatest empire in history, expect the unprecedented.
ItтАЩs like weтАЩre being тАЬLocked inтАЭ to the country.
That is what Trump and his fellow autocrats want. If every country is isolated, then consumers will not have alternatives. That makes it easier for each autocrat to control his own populace.
Kim Jong Rump
Eileen, I think you are quite likely right. Whether or not MAGA has every move mapped out, the intention is there: destroy the normal American institutions so that they can institute new, authoritarian ones.
I doubt heтАЩs even aware of the protests. Some of his people may be. But they view protesting Dems as something to laugh at. тАЬCry harder.тАЭ At least for now.
No. Trump really believes in this crackpot economics. It may be the only idea he really does believe in. He has been talking this crap since the 80s. Just back then it was Japan eating our lunch and stealing from us
Trump's understanding of the economy is as sophisticated as that of the Underpants Gnomes:
https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:1200/1*oaJlY6rLTVKnCCwrjCItMA.jpeg
It was delusional then and it is delusional now. I mean as in put in him a straight jacket and and give him a padded room and a lot of therapy. He is as mad as good old King George. And this country elected him!
He is the reflection, historically and contemporarily, of the dark side/ the shadow side of America.
He is the reflection, historically and contemporarily, of the dark side of America.