Jesus, where do I begin
I used to warn my friends that when the 60's are replayed it will be far worse.
Last night after dinner I sat with my other half catching up on things via the TV. It didn’t take long to overload on all the violence going on so we turned to the Rachael Maddow show. That we were not prepared for what we heard would be an understatement!
It has become commonplace to hear our president trash talk anything and everyone, and to make ridiculous claims to powers he does not legally have, but last night was a “real doozy”. Calling (threatening) the use of the military for civilian policing ( not legal, Posse Comitatus Act as of June 18, 1878), then, on a phone call, telling governors to crack down on flag burning as a form of protest (which, by the way, is an affirmed right by the first amendment and in the March 01, 1989 Supreme court decision Texas vs. Gregory Lee Johnson) and then calling them “weak”. Image how “weak” one must be to be a governor at any time, but particularly now!
Here is a link to the Posse Comatatus Act https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posse_Comitatus_Act
Then, in more comments from this phone call, he states that “I would think that if a state wanted to try and pass a law not allowing you to burn flags with a certain punishment ― strong punishment ― I think the United States government would be backing you up all the way,” Trump said.
Noting that the Supreme Court ruling that has upheld flag-burning as constitutionally protected speech, he claimed his appointments of Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch to the high court could lead to a different outcome if the issue were brought up again.
He said that “I think the states should pass something. It’s what a lot of people want,”. “And we have a different court and I think it’s time to review that,” he said. Here is the link so you can hear it all for yourself.
When you add up all that this man has done on so many fronts and then use a historic view, it is eerily akin to the rise of fascist leaders and authoritarian coups. No wonder this has been mentioned so often in so many peoples’ writing.
So here we are. Last night right before the 7 pm curfew in DC, the police “kettle in” completely peaceful protesters and begin tear gassing and flash bang grenading them. With nowhere to run/leave, many people opened their homes to protesters letting them in to avoid arrest. Then Trump goes to St. John’s church in Lafayette square and taints it with his presence with a Bible for a photo op. No questions answer to the press, just his smiling face telling us in a completely Nixon-esk manner stating that he is “your law and order president” and calling for 10 year sentences for protesting! Then off he goes back to his bunker under the white house.
As I said at the beginning of this “rant”, I just don’t know where to start, or stop for that matter. For a few years now I have told people that we have been under a billionaire's coup for decades, starting soon after the infamous Lewis F. Powell Jr’s memo was written and sent to his friend Eugene B. Sydnor Jr. This set of a cascade of events, like the Coors, Olin, Bradley, Scaife, Koch brothers beginning to fund Alec (1972), the Heritage Foundation (1983), and the list goes on. All of this leading us to the Citizens United decision.
Here is a link to the Powell memo https://www.prwatch.org/news/2011/08/10984/lewis-powell-memo-corporate-blueprint-dominate-democracy
This one includes the full text of the memo https://reclaimdemocracy.org/powell_memo_lewis/
Now, some are expecting him to use the 1807 Insurrection Act, last used in 1992 during the Rodney King riots in LA. Here follows a link to the Insurrection Act. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insurrection_Act
If anybody has a solution for all this, I’m listening.
