Still Not Awake
This alarm can't have a snooze button
In my past installment I sounded an alarm over the line Felon47 stepped over when he ordered US Marines deployed to ostensibly “protect Federal property”. I remain hugely disappointed in the lack of large scale outrage by this act. There are many reasons for both my alarm and disappointment.
It is illegal. Posse comitatus says so. Okay, technically the Marines are specifically covered by section 10, but it is the principle that matters.
Both can be superseded by invoking the Insurrection Act. Not only is that law poorly written and vague, allowing far too much leeway for interpretation, but it gives oversize power to the executive
They know this and I can’t decide whether it is better or worse that they haven’t even invoked it to justify their actions. Maybe they saw no need because of their view that they can do whatever they like, legal or not. My guess is that they assume a California judge will rule against them so they didn’t bother. Either way it just adds to the unlawful nature of the move.
Marines are not trained for this and it is not their job. Fort Pendleton trains troops for military readiness, as in combat, and the division stationed there is famous for being hard core - or hard “corps” if you like. These are Marines for fuck’s sake. You know. Semper fi, do or die, gung ho, gung ho! Jarheads with advanced arms prepared to go to war. War.
The very idea that these troops are being deployed against US citizens exercising their First Amendment rights is terrifying. Which is, of course, the point.
As predicted, LA is only the beginning. Governor Sycophant, sorry, Abbot, of Texas has sent in his Guard for what has been exclusively reported as peaceful demonstrations in San Antonio. I’m sure Lord Dampnut appreciates him taking that off his hands.
But let’s back up one step. The National Guard was sent in first. This was legal, if highly irregular. POTUS is supposed to go through the governor of whatever state he plans to order in troops and there are still significant restrictions as to when it can happen and what they are allowed to do. (In case you haven’t caught on yet the Brennan Center is awesome and valuable and, not for nothing, has some thoughts on this nightmare.) My issues with the Guard being sent in and the subsequent fallout:
Totally unwarranted. As usual, the hyperbole being used by ConDon and his minions was outlandish. LA was not “in flames” and would not have “been obliterated”. The protests were very nearly entirely peaceful, took place in a minuscule portion of the city and only continued to be portrayed that way by Faux News and their ilk.
Speaking of Faux, they were (are) actually continuing to loop footage of the only car fires that happened - three, on the first day - three days after the fact.
Drumpf praised the Guard’s fabulous work and how he saved the city by sending them in before they had arrived. And most them were sitting around twiddling their thumbs miles from the protests.
To their credit, Guard units are required to have annual training for crowd control and use of riot suppression gear for just such eventualities. But guess what? Since it was done so rashly and haphazardly, and with waaaay too many (2,000 more sent in after things were “quelled? WTF) most of them didn’t have said gear. That gear is maintained and distributed on a national level - I have to confess to being pleasantly surprised by the wisdom of this policy - and they hadn’t gotten it yet.
They are not, however, supposed to be detaining people. Or maybe they are. No one, not even the commander on the ground or the DHS, seems to know whether they can or not, or whether they are or not. That’s not worrying at all.
In general related issues, while the attention is being given almost exclusively to the tiny area downtown where this is happening, more heinous shit continues to happen in greater Los Angeles, and will soon be happening nationwide.
ICE agents rammed a car with two infants in it to arrest a US citizen alleged to have punched an agent during the protest. The fact that no less than the freaking NY Post reported this with skepticism and contorted themselves into almost unbiased reporting should tell you something. By the way, why does ICE need those Special Response Teams? Military grade weapons, heavy vehicles and full battle-rattle seems a little excessive for Immigration and Customs.
They also now consider churches fair game. Note the drawn weapon and “the whole country is our property” quote. Fucker.
A thirty-year resident washing cars certainly seems like the “worst of the worst”.
They are targeting people who are desperately trying to do the right thing, follow the system and obey the rules. To arrest people showing up for court appearances is beyond the pale.
Which brings me to the larger issue of why in the name of all that is right and good is this being done? Out of horribly misguided ideology and political expedience. Despotus’ victory was due more to his stance on immigration and his promise of mass deportations than any other issue. This because of the outrageous misrepresentation of immigrants by the MAGAssholes. The “facts” they used to vilify immigrants were all bullshit and lies. So-called “immigrant crime”? Doesn’t exist and in fact the opposite is true. They are a drain on resources? Nope. They are actually a net plus for the economy. They take American jobs? They actually fill gaps in the labor force. People like Stephen Miller and his disciples are lying through their teeth and they know it. They make shit up to defend and rationalize their racist, xenophobic, white-supremacist ideology, and then find someone like ConDon, who will do anything to amass power and wealth, to spout it to his blind followers. He gets elected playing on the fear sowed by the lies and provides the Millers of the world a chance to further their evil goals. (For the record, I have decided that I don’t think the Trumpster Fire is racist. He has equal contempt for anyone who doesn’t kiss his ass that is not motivated by anything other than his own narcissism and burgeoned by his massive insecurity. I honestly don’t think race plays a role.)
There are, of course, violent and terrible people in the immigrant population - just like any population - and they should be treated just like any other criminal elements, as in subject to the law and justice. But to paint an entire population with such a ugly an unjust brush is of course absurd. Most immigrants, illegal or not, want exactly what US born citizens want: equal opportunity, rights and a chance at a better life. And that is what they are chasing. And let us not forget that not only are they a vital part of what is supposed to be the American ideal, but we flat-out need them.
Ninety per cent of the strawberries consumed in the US are grown in Ventura county, just north of LA. And you already know who picks those berries. The fields are emptying thanks to ICE’s reign of terror - and make no mistake, that is exactly what it is. As I said before, those day laborers they are targeting at Home Depot are the backbone of the construction and landscaping industries - and not just in LA. So just be sure that when you can’t find strawberries in the market - or they cost twice as much, or when getting repairs done on your house or your yard maintained becomes more difficult, if not impossible, that you blame the right people: our Felon-in-Chief, Stephen Miller, Tom Homan, Pete Hegseth, Kristi Noem, Kash Patel and all the rest of the rat-fuckers who are complicit in this tragedy.
All that said, it should become apparent that the immigrants are not the problem. The system is the problem. If they are good people doing their best, trying to follow the rules, that we not only need but should value, our inability to facilitate their integration sounds like an us problem, not a them problem. Here’s an idea. How about develop a border policy that allows people to readily travel back and forth? Seasonal workers can come do the vital work, get legally paid and then go home, which is where many of them would rather be anyway. How about recognize that refugees are contributors just like other immigrants and let cities or states actually volunteer to take them in when they wake up and understand their value? Invitation instead of sanctuary. Or make the employers that rely on and value these folk take some responsibility for their status. Workers’ rights and a competitive wage would benefit both sides of the equation. Purely spit-balling here but it seems to me that people who understand stuff like this way better than me could come up with some solutions. But not until we get rid of the people who would rather foster hate and fear so they can protect their contemptible self-serving vision of our country.
On a side note, we need to develop a broader sense of empathy. As heartwarming and encouraging as it is to hear stories about communities rallying around members being subjected to this illegal and amoral campaign (the high schooler in MA, the waitress in MO or the restaurant owners in NJ for example) it also kind of pisses me off. In the case of red states or towns it is galling that they are surprised. “I didn’t think it meant people like [insert detainee here].” Where did they think they were going to find eleven million people to deport? Grr. But even in supposedly progressive places, why does it have to be someone you know before you can give a shit? It reminds me of the infuriating “What if it was your daughter or your sister?” when we want to rally against rape and abuse. Or the same idea applied with “child” substituted when we want to stop school shootings. Can we not summon up some empathy for someone else’s loved ones? Why does it have to be personal before we can care? I know, I know, it being personal makes it hit harder, opens our eyes, etc. But damn, we need to be able to care about anyone being subjected to horror or injustice, not just our own. Maybe one more consequence of our increasing disconnection from each other. Anyway.
I readily admit that I have a deep bias surrounding this issue. My wife is an immigrant. Her parents and most of her siblings are, too. While they have all become naturalized citizens when they came here under various circumstances they were illegal. They are, without exception, upstanding, hard-working, law-abiding contributors to society. They in may ways embody the so-called American dream. Work hard, better your circumstances and try to improve the lives of the next generation. Which is exactly what they did. My wife was the first member of her family to graduate from college and did it while working full time and without an ounce of financial support from her family. Not because they didn’t support her dream but because the money just wasn’t there. Now? I honestly have lost count of how many of nieces and nephews have degrees. Two nieces are currently working on their masters’ at US-fucking-C. There are very few people I admire more than my mother-in-law. This incredible woman raised seven kids - essentially on her own - in a two-bedroom apartment on one unpredictable income. And one of them has severe autism requiring very high levels of care. I still literally have no bloody idea how she did it. Not only are they all the things I describe above, but also genuinely good people raising beautiful families, and that is her doing. It is a good thing their story didn’t play out in our current environment because it is people like that remarkable woman and her amazing family who are being targeted. So if I seem to be on an even higher soapbox than usual, that’s why.
I will continue to pound the drum about just how much we should be freaking out about what is happening, and will hope despite my fears otherwise that we will wake up to the danger before it is too late. But I can’t help but feel that we will continue to act like frogs in boiling water until we live in a full-blown fascist state. We may be already. Thanks for reading.