My brother was furious with me when he found I had chucked them out. "They" were a cheap, ceramic Nativity set, the bottom of each piece stamped with "Made in Occupied Japan." It was the era of general McArthur when Japan was struggling to rebuild, in constant danger of famine. Japan didn't regain its sovereignty until 1952.
Today there's another sort of occupation underway. This time America, or rather the Trump administration, is occupying American states, sending unidentified agents in combat gear onto the streets of Portland, Oregon in defiance of the wishes of the mayor and governor. But I said states, plural. That's because it seems Oregon is just a prelude.
Trump is now dispatching another brigade, this time to quell protests on the streets of Chicago. Trump says he might do the same to other unruly states controlled by Democratic mayors and governors.
“I’m going to do something — that, I can tell you,” Mr. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “Because we’re not going to let New York and Chicago and Philadelphia and Detroit and Baltimore and all of these — Oakland is a mess. We’re not going to let this happen in our country. All run by liberal Democrats.”
The president portrayed the nation’s cities as out of control. “Look at what’s going on — all run by Democrats, all run by very liberal Democrats. All run, really, by radical left,” Mr. Trump said. He added: “If Biden got in, that would be true for the country. The whole country would go to hell. And we’re not going to let it go to hell.”Just because Trump "aced" a dementia test, even if he took it himself, doesn't mean he's very bright. But he is bright enough to know that, trailing Biden in the polls and the Covid spread worsening, he can still manufacture a crisis to try to lure back rightwingers who have lost heart in his administration. He's going to give them what they want, a war on Democrats.
These "little green men" aren't being dispatched to secure federal government buildings and installations. They're taking to the streets to provoke a reaction, to incite violence, to give Trump an excuse to turn this into an electoral civil war.
This is not about enforcing law and order. These guys aren't cops. They're not even trained in population control. They're foot soldiers, far more akin to Brown Shirts of an earlier era. Trump is declaring war on America.
6 comments:
The moms in Portland as well as the naked lady refuse to play into Trump's delirium. They stand there , not reacting , as unconfident sadistic bullies attack them with clubs, pepper balls and spray and tear gas. The women look brave and the Trumpy thugs look foolish.
The bravery and intelligence of the protesters in Portland is making Trump and his thugs weak and ineffective. More please.
I'm convinced Trump dispatched these thugs for no purpose other than to provoke a violent response that he could then leverage to bolster his support. Sort of like that nasty radio station across the Polish border gambit.
Will the locals in Chicago, Detroit or Pittsburgh be as restrained?
99 years ago, a battle was fought that is largely ignored by popular history: the Battle of Blair Mountain. I wonder sometimes just how close the circumstances are these days down south if something similar should happen? I shouldn't blame protesters if they resort to self-defence from threat of armed federal troops. People have gone to battle against the KKK and the Pinkertons. What's another government proto-fascist agency in the light of history? America's been here before; prior to and after the Civil War, and during the labour movement during the late 1800's/early 1900's.
However, as Toni Morrison already stated, "What struck me most about those who rioted was how long they waited. The restraint they showed. Not the spontaneity, the restraint. They waited and waited for justice. And it didn't come. No one talks about that."
And the number of forced evictions and the loss of employment with little aid from the federal and state governments.
The loss of life from Covid-19.
It's all adding up to the burden of the already beleaguered republic. How much more can it hold before stress fractures begin breaking entirely?
It seems it's merely a month away from collapse without federal intervention. However, the intervention Trump is doing—unidentified federal agents arresting protesters—is the wrong sort.
What government agencies need to be doing is prepping for starvation. They should be ensuring that large crowds of people don't go hungry for any length of time, cause that's when the shit hits the fan in this sort of atmosphere.
There probably are federal agencies prepping, but it's going to be haphazard, and should there be a food shortage, it'll probably become highly politicized, much as Trump politicized and crippled the government's ability to react to Covid-19.
And the worst part is, any food shortage would be artificial. America will always produce more food than it's capable of consuming. But because many of the huge agro-financial corporations will be unable to profit on this food, they'll dump it rather than sell it at a loss.
Well, this is a worst case scenario, but it feels like it becomes more likely the longer Trump and Congress and the Senate do nothing.
The US government has become about as useless as the French monarchy and parliament in the mid to late 1780's.
We were witness to the collapse of the USSR empire. The likelihood of being witness to the collapse of the American empire grows more likely by the week.
"He's going to give them what they want, a war on Democrats"
I think you mean a war on democracy?
Not to worry .... Nancy Pesoli is rattling her jewelry
The upside to this is that whilst the Americans fight among themselves they leave the rest of the world alone.
TB
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