“My Friend Got Hit”
Posted: August 28, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Cowardly Politicians, Gun violence, Guns, Save The Children, School Shooter Drills, School Shooting Leave a comment“My friend, Victor, saved me though, because he laid on top of me, but he got hit. My friend got hit in the back.”
These are the words of Weston Halsne, a ten year old boy who attends school in Minneapolis Minnesota and was at Mass with his schoolmates when a shooter opened fire killing an eight year old and a ten year old and injuring seventeen others at Annunciation Church. (You can see the video of his interview here.)
I was dumbfounded when I first saw the interview on television. I was equally angry and heartbroken that such shootings have become routine for our children. If you listen to the clip, the young boy sounds like a grizzled war veteran. You might mistake his words for those of a special operations soldier talking about a fire fight in Afghanistan. He is so measured and matter of fact. Grateful to his friend, perhaps a bit in shock, but telling his story as if this is just what happens when you go to school.
This crisis in our schools has been around for at least twenty-five years. A generation of adults have grown up with school shooter drills as just a routine part of their day. And still nothing changes.
Shame on us. As a society we value guns above our children. Only in America.
Disgusting!
Posted: August 17, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Donald Trump, Historical Perspective, NATO, putin, Russia, Sanctions, Ukraine, US-Russia Summit, Vladimir Putin, War, War Crimes Leave a commentNauseating! Embarrassing! Revolting! Stomach-churning! Mind-boggling!
These are but a few of the phrases I have seen over the last few days following the spectacle that took place at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson near Anchorage, Alaska on Friday. The best thing that can be said about it is that the Secretary of Defense did not rename the facility after a Confederate general while he was there. Right from the beginning, the optics were horrible as Russian President Vladimir Putin looked like he was in charge while the President of the United States looked like he was a lost puppy that finally found his master. Trump simply could not keep his hands off Putin.
Think about this. Trump gave full honors to an indicted war criminal that is responsible for kidnapping thousands of children from Ukraine and indiscriminately bombing civilians including a maternity ward, schools, numerous hospitals and countless other buildings that have no military value whatsoever. Barbaric atrocities such as those against the poor people of Bucha, Ukraine should not be forgotten. Putin has a warrant out for his arrest by the International Criminal Court (ICC) and Trump gives him a hero’s welcome. Then again, Trump is a convicted felon 34 times over, an adjudicated sex offender, indicted for mishandling (stealing) classified documents, indicted for trying to overturn the 2020 election and impeached twice. The law and order president that pardoned nearly 2,000 convicts surrounding the assault and ransacking of the capital, put a convicted child sex trafficker in a minimum security prison, and pardoned convicted drug traffickers probably felt right at home with his counterpart in crime.
I am willing to opine that Trump went into the summit ill-prepared and thought that he could just schmooze his way to an agreement over Ukraine. Despite the fact that Putin has been unwavering in his demands for ending the war that Russia started. Somehow, people, including Trump, blame Ukraine for the war. It might help to start with the facts if one wants to solve a problem. But then, Trump has always been fact challenged. Putin had him for lunch — probably the reason Putin left early before the ceremonial lunch Trump had planned — as he had already filled up on embarrassing Trump.
Putin schooled Trump on how power really works in the world. Not only did he control the narrative, he spoke first in briefing the results of the talks (in diplomatic circles the host country speaks first) and laid out his demands. Putin did not agree to a ceasefire, and like the nickname TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out), Trump dropped his demands for a ceasefire before negotiations continue (he says that they usually do not work, anyway) and dropped imposing further sanctions on Russian oil exports to other countries. Could it be because Putin agreed with Trump that the 2020 election was rigged — because of mail-in voting according to the war criminal — and that the war with Ukraine would not have started if Trump were president in 2022? With Trump, flattery will get you whatever you want, especially if you are a ruthless dictator.
Note that no European nations or organizations were present, despite the fact that European security rests heavily on the outcome of the largest land war in Europe since World War II, and not to mention that Ukraine — the country that was invaded — had no representation. On the up side, many observers were worried that Trump would do his best Neville Chamberlain impersonation and declare “peace in our time” while handing over the Ukrainians to Russian subjugation. Thankfully, that did not happen. Yet. During the press brief (no questions from the press were allowed) Putin looked and acted elated and full of vigor. Trump looked defeated and tired.
Putin lectured the world from that podium on U.S. territory. His position has not changed. As he said, until the “root causes” of the war are resolved, there will be no peace. What are his root causes? His goal is to effectively, if not actually, return Ukraine to its role in the Soviet Union prior to the fall of the Berlin wall. Total domination. Putin claims that his goal is to “demilitarize and denazify” Ukraine. That means a “neutral” Ukraine with no NATO guarantees for Ukraine’s security, no strong Ukrainian military, and that Ukraine recognize that Crimea belongs to Russia and cede the Donetsk region of Ukraine to Russia. (The Donetsk was Ukraine’s most populous region with much of its industrial capacity before the war.)
So, essentially, here is what happened. Putin came to Alaska (which some in Russia consider still to be a part of their country), got a tremendous photo op with the leader (?) of the free world including a one-on-one ride in the presidential limousine thereby gaining prestige and increased power in his own country and the rest of the world; lectured Trump on the history of Russia and its relationship with Ukraine, including that the Ukrainians are really Russians with a different accent; laid out his non-negotiable demands to end the war that he started; refused to talk to the press; snubbed Trump’s ceremonial luncheon; cut the meeting time in half; got back on his plane and left. Meanwhile Trump in his remarks mumbled something about how the meeting was “very useful” and adopted Putin’s talking point that a cease-fire was not needed and that only a complete peace agreement was satisfactory. All taking place while more innocent Ukrainian civilians, children, women, and men continue to have drones and missiles rain down on them and people continue to die. Trump gives the word “deal” the worst possible meaning. He has no idea what a real deal might be. The only deals he knows are how to swindle people on real estate sales.
I have no problem with the U.S. and Russia meeting to try and solve the issues surrounding the war. I do have a problem with a fawning President of the United States adopting the talking points of a war criminal and not including Ukraine in the discussions. Rightly, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will not accept any agreement of which they are not a part. Their slogan could be “nothing about us without us.” President Zelenskyy is scheduled to meet with Trump tomorrow in Washington D.C. Their last meeting did not go well as Trump and his henchmen bullied Mr. Zelenskyy telling him he had “no cards” to play in the negotiations. Trump proved on Friday that he is the one being taken for his lunch money at the card table.
Russia and Putin only understand power. Anyone with even a passing knowledge of history knows that the only way to get Putin’s attention is through strength, not schmoozing. If Trump is serious about ending the war in Ukraine he should immediately put sanctions on Russian oil to third parties (their illegal oil exports are about the only thing keeping Russia economically afloat), increase the number and lethality of U.S. and NATO weapons to Ukraine, remove any restrictions on their use, including the current limited range into Russia proper and work to completely isolate Putin and Russia on the international stage.
Instead, we got one of history’s most pathetic showings by a U.S. president in international negotiations that anyone can remember. It was a bad day for America.
The MAGA Authoritarian Regime Is Growing
Posted: August 11, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Census, Donald Trump, Gerrymander, Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE), MAGA Republicans, National Guard, Ukraine Russia, United States Constitution, Vladimir Putin, White House 1 Comment“The Almighty tells me He can get me out of this mess, but He’s pretty sure you’re f***ed.”
— “Stephen” the Irishman to William Wallace in the movie “Braveheart”
Sometimes it is the little things that tell you that events are unfolding in a negative way. Sometimes it is the big things. Sometimes it is both. However I look at, it seems that all of the evidence points in the direction of Trump and his MAGA acolytes converting our government into an authoritarian regime. I fear that we are further down that road than most of us realize.
Have you seen pictures of the Oval Office or the rest of the White House recently? It is as though Trump has some form of kenophobia. Every imaginable space is filled with gold gilt. Cherubs, medallions, swirls, and countless other embellishments fill the walls, ceiling, doors, and every other imaginable flat space. Meanwhile he has cornered the market on gold tchotchkes and proudly displays them everywhere. I think he was going for the Saudi prince model of decorating. He bulldozed the Rose Garden and paved it over with a patio that rivals any patio at a La Quinta Inn anywhere. He plans to build a 90,000 square foot ballroom by demolishing the East Wing of the White House and replacing it with his idea of glamour. Or most likely, as a monument to himself. For comparison, the ballroom will be almost twice as big as the existing main structure of the White House. It will totally distort the grace of the current White House and grounds with a tasteless monument to one man’s ego. So much for calling it the “Peoples House.” Besides being heartbroken by the destruction he is spreading — institutionalizing his disregard for the law, tradition and morals — I worry that he is remodeling the White House to suit his tastes because he does not plan to move out. Add to that the nearly one billion dollars that the Department of Defense (DOD) must redirect from modernizing our nuclear arsenal to rebuilding the “new” Air Force One with which the Qataris bribed him — talk about “pimp my ride”– and we have some serious indicators that the man does not think that the laws pertain to him. He is a guy planning to remain in power one way or another for the rest of his natural life.
Ahh, but what about elections you ask? You mean the ones that Trump and his MAGA henchmen are trying to rig? Here is all you need to know about where this is all heading. Look at Texas, already a state that has gerrymandered (drawn voting district lines to favor one party over another) its map for the U.S. House of Representatives. The Republican majority there is attempting to draw the districts yet again to give more seats (five) to the MAGA party at the expense of Democrats in the House. Last week this is what Trump had to say about the ongoing effort.
“We have an opportunity in Texas to pick up five seats. We have a really good governor, and we have good people in Texas. And I won Texas. I got the highest vote in the history of Texas, as you probably know, and we are entitled to five more seats.”
“Entitled.”
That is Trump’s approach to everything and the approach that his administration takes — laws, tradition and morality be damned. If Trump wants it, he will get it. Oh, but there is more. Not content to get five seats from Texas, he is pushing Florida, Ohio, Indiana and other states to do the same thing. If that does not get the job done, he wants to hold a census, this year, and dictate who can and cannot be counted, specifically excluding people living in the country without legal status. The goal is to gain forty more seats for the MAGA party and make it a permanent majority. In other words, keep one party in power while denying power to half the country. But wait! There’s more! The 14th Amendment requires that the census include “the whole number of persons in each state.” It does not distinguish who those “persons” are. Just that they live there. The census determines how the representation in the House is distributed among the states as well as the number of presidential electors to the Electoral College. Additionally, Trump has tasked the Commerce Department which oversees the census, to “immediately” begin work on a new census applying modern technology to “the results and information gained from the Presidential Election of 2024.” I am not sure anyone knows exactly what that means, but I am betting that since he won that election the analysis will show that he is “entitled” to more representatives than he currently has.
One more little wrinkle. Not only the 14th Amendment addresses the census, but Article I of the Constitution gives the Congress control of the census. Currently Title 13 of the U.S. Code dictates a once a decade count. The last census was in 2020.
But why let a silly little thing like the Constitution stop the great man from rigging the election?
By the way, keep an eye on developments in Texas. Lots of threats have gone back and forth between the Republican majority and the Democrat minority. Currently most of the Democrat state representatives are out of state to prevent a quorum in the legislature (the minimum number of elected representatives needed under state law to conduct business) and thus to prevent a vote on the new districts. State officials are trying to get the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) involved to arrest the Democrats and haul them back to Texas. There is no law, state or federal, that would allow that. The missing Democrats have broken no laws. They are not criminals. If the president or any other administration official orders the FBI to get involved, then we know we are all in great danger. It will mean that the FBI has become another branch of the private army of the MAGA politicians. (Some may argue that the disguised undercover Immigration and Customs Enforcement [ICE] officials taking people off the street in unmarked vehicles are the other branch.)
The abuses are becoming bigger and they do not try to hide them or justify them anymore. Today in what I see as a test run for the rest of the country, Trump and his cronies took over the Washington D.C. police department, put FBI officers on the streets and began deploying National Guard troops in the city. Ostensibly, their actions are to fight crime, which comes as a surprise since the D.C. crime rate is at a thirty year low. In reality, I believe this is the first of many such moves to gradually take over the country’s “blue” cities with federal forces. They declared an “emergency” which allows such action. (Just like everything else that they are doing, be it the economy, immigration, deportations, tariffs, etc. etc. All of their actions utilize loopholes in the law that allow actions in “emergencies” that are not normally legal.)
Trump and his MAGA buddies always tout that “blue” cities are the most dangerous, crime ridden, awful places to live. By many accounts, that award should go to a “red” city — Memphis Tennessee. Which isn’t to say that crime is not a problem. One murder or rape is too many. But other cities in the top 15 according to the news outlet U.S. News and World Report, include St. Louis Missouri, Alexandria Louisiana, New Orleans Louisiana, Anniston Alabama, Little Rock Arkansas and Birmingham Alabama. New York City, Washington D.C. and other supposedly crime ridden cities are not on that list. According to data from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in 2022 (the latest year available) the five states with the highest murder rates per capita were Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, New Mexico and Missouri. Interesting. Why isn’t the National Guard being called out to patrol their streets?
It’s all about power and suppressing political opposition. Crime is just an excuse.
Well, at least it isn’t all bad. At least Trump is bringing a war criminal who is a pariah who would be arrested in most countries in the world to Alaska so that he can give Russia Ukraine without the good people in Ukraine giving their consent. Well maybe it will fulfill his fantasy of winning the Nobel Peace Prize.
I hope that the Almighty can get us all out of this mess.
Trump Hates Me (And Maybe You Too)
Posted: July 7, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: 2026 Elections, Democracy, Department of Homeland Security, Donald Trump, Immigration, Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE), MAGA, One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Political Violence, Salute to America Rally, Tik Tok, United States Constitution Leave a comment“But I hate them, too. You know that? I really do, I hate them. I cannot stand them because I really believe they hate our country, you want to know the truth.”
— Trump referring to Democrats at a “Salute to America” rally on 3 July 2025
I am still trying to figure out how I morphed from being a moderate, maybe slightly left of center on social issues, into a “lunatic” and a “radical left Democrat.” I don’t feel any different today than I did, say, a year ago. Maybe I am just not self aware. Or maybe the President of the United States does not care about half of the citizens of those same United States. Or worse. Perhaps he is radicalizing his followers into committing acts of political violence so that he can promote his own autocratic agenda.
Whether or not you believe this is “just Trump being Trump,” his increasingly violent language has consequences. He calls undocumented immigrants “scum” and “animals” and “people with bad genes” among many other, even worse, characterizations of other human beings. There is a long historical record of how words used to vilify “others” eventually always leads to violence. Increasingly, it is apparent that Trump has an agenda to depict our country as under attack from “within” by people that, as he says, “hate our country.” Apparently, eventually or tomorrow, I am one of those people. Imagine my surprise! He is only six months into his term. He has three and a half more years to continue to implement his autocratic plan. Am I fear mongering? I don’t think so — and I am certainly not doing it on purpose — but to me, the evidence is there.
Trump has figured out that all he has to do is demand that something happen and refuse to back off when dealing with our institutions. His cabinet, in my opinion, is filled primarily with sycophants that are too busy designing photo ops to impress the boss, rather than running their departments. There is no pushback. Other institutions seem to take the same approach, impress Trump by giving him what he wants and hopefully he will back off — which of course no bully ever does if they keep “winning.” Whether it is the party formerly known as the Republican Party, Congress, the Supreme Court, institutions of higher learning, corporations, tech bros, or countless other groups, they cave. If the guardrails are still there, they are hanging on by one slightly rusty bolt. Perhaps some state governors and legislatures continue to do the right thing and to follow the law, but it isn’t clear to me how long they can keep it up. When the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) goes to California for a photo op with the National Guard and combat Marines protecting Los Angeles from a non-existent threat, there are already warning signs. When she declares “We are not going away. We are staying here to liberate this city from the socialist and the burdensome leadership that this governor and that this mayor have placed on this country” as she did on 12 June 2025, there is an imminent threat to our democracy. Like them or not, the governor of a state and the mayor of a city are duly elected representatives of their constituents. The DHS cannot implement a coup d’etat just because they disagree with an elected official’s legal policies.
Mass deportations are underway. When will they stop? Who knows, but given the pace of things and impotence of the Congress and the willingness of the Supreme Court to do Trump’s bidding, I expect them to continue to expand. When due process is not enforced, and apparently it isn’t really being enforced except in a few publicized cases, and masked men without identification can whisk anyone away off the streets with no restraints, we are already living in a police state. What is to stop it from expanding to others that merely disagree with this administration? When the president declares that he hates half of the country, what he is really saying is “fall in line or else.” I worry about the “or else” for the citizens of our great country.
With the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), Trump has a para-military force (ICE) that is bigger than the FBI, Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) Agency, Bureau of Prisons and the U.S. Marshals Service combined. Add to that the use of the military in the form of federalized National Guard troops and combat Marines in Los Angeles. But why stop there? The Trump administration is deploying 200 Marines to Florida to “help” ICE and has approved plans for deploying up to 700 Marines in Florida, Texas and Louisiana. Think about that. They are gradually increasing the numbers and locations of combat Marines throughout the United States. I seriously doubt that that will be the end of it. Coming soon to a city near you! The U.S. Marines! We should be so thankful. Believe me when I tell you that the Marine Corps absolutely does not want to do this. It impedes their readiness and training for, you know, their actual duties (the Marines are an expeditionary force to, as they like to say, “kick open the door” for the other services in foreign combat — hopefully they will not soon be kicking open my door), not too mention it uses Department of Defense (DOD) money that could be better spent elsewhere and takes those Marines away from their families, when they already have precious little time to spend with them to begin with.
I do not have a good feeling about the 2026 elections when the president declares that Democrats are unpatriotic and hate their country, with increasing numbers of troops deployed around the country, with a Department of Justice (DOJ) that is Trump’s personal law firm, and other warning signs. Trump continually debases our country and rants about how dangerous it is. What assurances do we have that the 2028 election won’t include Trump? Here is my “canary in the coal mine” concern about upcoming elections. Neither Trump nor his MAGA supporters in Congress seem to care about the political damage the OBBBA and other policies are causing. In what might be considered normal elections, the “Republican” party would be likely to take heavy election losses turning Congress over to the Democrats. They seem totally unconcerned about that — especially Trump. Why?
As Trump and his cronies continue to dismantle the federal government, from the National Security Council to our health care institutions, to environmental agencies, to education agencies, to just about anything you can name, Trump and his fiercest loyalists are consolidating power under the Executive branch. He likes to say that he loves Article II (of the Constitution) because I have “the right to do whatever I want as president.” Constitutional experts would disagree, but let’s look at the evidence. The Supreme Court says the president is immune and only they can rule on whether what he does is Constitutional or not. His Project 2025 minders continually tell him that he is the ultimate decision maker on almost everything. Truthfully, who has stopped him?
Here is the kicker. The following is a peek into the future for us and the current mind set of this administration.
Remember Tik Tok? The scourge of the youth of America? The one that was banned by a bipartisan vote in Congress, signed into law by the president and upheld in a 9-0 decision by the Supreme Court? Trump continues to ignore the law. He continues to give Tik Tok extensions for its sale, even as he campaigned that it was a tool of the Chinese Communist Party to spy on Americans. Stay with me, yes, who cares about Tik Tok, but here is where it gets scary.
Attorney General Pam “Whatever You Say Boss Barbie” Bondi declared that the president can decide which laws to enforce and further more, she declared that the companies carrying Tik Tok can continue to do so “without incurring any legal liability” and that DOJ was “irrevocably relinquishing” any legal claims against them for their actions.
How did she decide this? Quite simple actually. She declared that shutting down Tik Tok would impinge upon Trump’s “constitutional duties” because the law interfered with his “unique constitutional responsibility for the national security of the United States, the conduct of foreign policy, and other vital executive functions.” Hmm. If they will do this because Trump thinks Tik Tok helped him win the 2024 election, imagine what lawless lengths they will go to to do what they want, much less to interfere with any future elections.
I am sorry to be so negative. I see what is happening (and more) and worry greatly about the future of our democracy for our kids and grandkids. I see too many comments that “it can’t happen here.” It is already happening here and increasingly Trump and his loyalists are more and more brazen about it. I remember back in the fall when a voter focus group was asked if they were worried that we would lose our democracy under a Trump presidency. They all said “no.” Why? Because as long as we can vote we will have a democracy, they declared. To that I can only ask if they mean like in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea), or like Russia, or like the People’s Republic of China (Communist China) or numerous other countries where the people vote, but they definitely do not have a democracy?
No one pays attention until they are impacted. By then it is too late.
Let Freedom Ring
Posted: July 3, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Alligator Alcatraz, Donald Trump, Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE), Impoundment Control Act, Independence Day, One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Supreme Court, Supreme Court of the United States, Trump v CASA, Trump v United States, United States Constitution 2 Comments“It is not merely for to-day, but for all time to come that we should perpetuate for our children’s children this great and free government, which we have enjoyed all our lives.“
Abraham Lincoln in a speech to the One Hundred Sixty-Sixth Ohio Regiment –August 22, 1864
Tomorrow is the 249th birthday of the Declaration of Independence, a time to celebrate our nation and our heritage. On our way to our landmark 250th birthday, I cannot help but wonder what kind of nation we will be in a year.
As I write, the House is about to vote in favor of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) that incorporates provisions to rob the poor to pay the rich. Almost immediately, Trump and his Mar-A-Lago buddies will benefit. Their tax breaks and financial incentives will help to make billionaires and corporations richer. To pay for it, while still adding over three trillion dollars to the national debt over the next ten years, Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP — commonly referred to as food stamps) will be cut substantially, along with other programs. The Medicaid cuts alone impact 12 million Americans. Along with other changes to the Affordable Care Act, numerous projections all agree that about another four million Americans will lose their health insurance. Those 16 million Americans set to lose their health care are not the perpetrators of waste fraud and abuse as Trump constantly falsely claims. The OBBBA is devious. The bill has many critics — the aggregate of reliable polls show that only about 33 percent of Americans approve of the bill. Knowing that, MAGA Republicans wrote the bill so that the tax cuts for the rich take place in the near term, but cuts to social services don’t kick in until December 2026, after the mid-term elections. Digging deeper, it is apparent that more than those on Medicaid will be impacted. Medicaid funds are the main source of income in many rural hospitals and medical clinics, retirement homes and other institutions that take care of our poor and elderly. Without Medicaid, many will close. In those areas, whether or not you personally have insurance, where are you going to go to get healthcare even if you can afford it? Cutting back Medicaid by about a trillion dollars will also lead to the loss of jobs. Several studies calculate that 500,000 healthcare workers will lose their jobs over the next ten years as a result of these cuts.
The bill is about 900 pages long. I do not believe that as I write today, a single Senator or Representative knows everything that is in the bill. There so many other provisions installed to satisfy the many competing interests of MAGA Senators and Representatives that the impact — and surprises — from the bill will be felt well into the future. Some significant changes include, for example, increased financial rewards for fossil fuel companies while it penalizes clean energy companies to such an extent that experts are worried about the future viability of the programs. As a result, thousands of jobs will be lost in what is currently one of the fastest growing industries in the U.S.
With all of that, my biggest concern is the immediate impact on Immigration Control and Enforcement (ICE). Over the next four years, spending for Trump’s border security and mass deportation plans will increase to a total of 150 billion dollars. For example, the bill allocates 45 billion dollars for adult and family detention centers. That is up from the current 8 billion dollars. Look for more punitive detention centers such as the newly minted “Alligator Alcatraz” concentration camp. Just this week Trump and his factotums joked about how much “fun” living in the Everglades in cages without air conditioning would be. There are also equally significant increases in spending for more masked, unidentified men grabbing people off the streets and putting them into unmarked cars and sending them to jail without due process, a warrant or any other legal justification. Some who have lived here for decades, raising families, working hard and paying taxes even though they are not eligible for social security or many other tax payer funded services. By this time next year most of us will know or know of someone taken away for wanting to have a better life. This worries me a lot. I do not just worry about those that are currently being rounded up. I also worry about the rest of us — what if we look “foreign”? Will we have to carry our passports proving our citizenship just to go to the grocery store? Where does it stop as the Trump Administration digs deeper and deeper into our society to remove those who they decide do not belong here? We already have National Guard troops and combat Marines deployed in a peaceful Los Angeles. What other demonstrations of unleashed power are we going to see?
To my surprise, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is helping him to change our societal norms. Last week it was a ruling on nation-wide injunctions and birthright citizenship. In Trump v CASA, Inc, the justices put serious restraints on the ability of a district federal judge to issue a national injunction. A good argument can be made that the practice of “judge shopping” and looking for an amenable judge to stop anything that a particular group opposes should be eliminated. Practically speaking, however, really? This was the case that they chose? A violation of the Constitution? (Trump issued an Executive Order ending birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment.) Not to mention that the Biden Administration tried several times to get the SCOTUS to take up the issue and they never did. (According to the Congressional Research Service, 28 nation-wide injunctions were issued during President Biden’s term.) There are arguments for and against these injunctions. The system was beginning to be abused. However, it seems to me that a case involving a president trying to eliminate a Constitutional right by fiat should not be limited to the plaintiffs that brought the case. The Court did delay their decision for thirty days so that the plaintiffs could pursue other avenues to address the issue. Without going into the legalese, legal experts disagree on how effective those work-arounds might be. One, is to file a class action lawsuit, however this SCOTUS has been continually refining and narrowing what cases are allowed under a class action. No one knows what will happen going forward. The result? Probably chaos. Trump always takes advantage of the loopholes in any ruling or law and then lies about it. Right now twenty two states, and some immigrant rights groups, have sued to stop Trump’s Executive Order. Does that mean at the end of July Trump can start taking away the citizenship of those in the other 28 states that are citizens by birth? How do you or I prove we are a citizens? Trump is also threatening to denaturalize citizens that oppose him. Whether we agree with his critics or not, we do not kick citizens out of the country because of their political views. This is part of a larger administration effort to punish people for exercising their First Amendment right to free speech. Trump is also threatening to send US citizens to “shithole” third countries because of their beliefs. He says he will only send hardened criminals (there are already laws to imprison criminals in the US) but he gets to define who is a criminal.
Congress is impotent and unwilling to challenge him in any way. I had hope that the judicial system would temper him and keep his wildest impulses in check, but now SCOTUS says only they can do so. Not district courts or appellate courts. So in one sense, those courts are now exhibition matches because only the SCOTUS has the authority to rule on Executive Branch actions. By the way, on this court are the same people that said Trump as president is immune for prosecution no matter what he does in an “official” capacity. (Trump v United States) He has already shown a willingness to pardon hardened criminals if they do his bidding. Scary.
While we were not paying attention because of all of the drama surrounding the OBBBA, this week the Trump Administration withheld 7 billion dollars in education funds the night before they were to be disbursed. Those funds were duly appropriated and authorized by Congress. Once again Trump is going against the law. As a result, tens of thousands of summer programs and adult education and other activities to help kids and adults are cancelled. In addition the teachers, counselors and others have lost their jobs. This is yet another test of the 1974 Impoundment Control Act that Trump and his Project 2025 henchmen unilaterally declare to be un-Constitutional. Their belief is that the Executive Branch has sole discretion on how to spend funds appropriated and authorized by Congress.
Also this week, while few were paying attention, Trump severely limited military aid to Ukraine even as Russia mounts a major offensive and continues the largest aerial attacks of the war. Why would any of our friends or allies trust us?
In every instance I see the increasing power of the Executive Branch as they ooze into areas that give them more and more power. Appease Trump (bribe him — I am looking at you Paramount Studios), you get what you want. Oppose him for any reason and you are vilified, investigated, shut down or otherwise pursued in retribution. (“I am your retribution.” — 2024 campaign slogan) As time goes by he feels untouchable and ever more powerful.
Looking back over our 249 year history, clearly our country has been in some tough spots before and survived. We will eventually get through Trump, but I fear that it could be at least a generation of hard work to get back to where we were just a year ago. I cannot predict how things will look a year from now. When I put together everything that is happening (and the above is only a part of what is happening right now), however, along with his continued claims that the 2020 election was stolen and therefore election “reform” is necessary, I do not think that those of us that care, about our freedoms, our rights and our fellow human beings, are going to like it.
Peace Or No Peace?
Posted: June 25, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: B-2 Bombers, Battle Damage Assessment, Congress, Defense Intelligence Agency, IAEA, Iran, Israel, Middle East, Politics, US Intelligence Community, War Powers Act 1 CommentIn many situations, two things can be true at the same time. Looking at the events unfolding over the last two weeks in the Middle East demonstrates how this premise applies.
Last Saturday, the United States bombed three locations in Iran that were known to be associated with Iran’s nuclear weapons program. The ability to strike with lethality and accuracy anywhere in the world was aptly demonstrated by the attacks on Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan in Iran. 125 military aircraft were involved including refueling tankers, escort fighters and seven B-2 stealth bombers that dropped fourteen GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators (MOP) or “bunker busters” on targets. At the same time, U.S. Navy submarines launched about thirty precision guided Tomahawk missiles at Isfahan. No aircraft were lost. No Americans were killed or wounded. By every standard, there is no doubt that the American military pulled off a wildly successful surprise attack on their assigned targets. We should all be proud of their skill, persistence, fortitude and valor. It was a tactical success in every way. However, was the mission accomplished? Were the Iranian nuclear facilities destroyed and their nuclear weapons program halted or at least delayed for many years?
We do not know.
The president announced within hours of the attack that the Iranian facilities were “obliterated.” There is no way he could know that. Many in his cabinet use the same or similar words to continue to describe the success of the mission. They revile anyone that questions their conclusion by calling them un-American and disrespectful to the courageous airmen and sailors that conducted the attack. As is usually the case with this administration, they are more concerned with the drama and self-congratulations than they are with the facts, with which they often only have a passing familiarity.
General Dan Caine, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) is more cautious, professional and deliberate in his descriptions. Until a complete account of the Battle Damage Assessment (BDA) can be made, we simply do not know the extent of the damage or even whether the targets of the bombing — enriched uranium and the centrifuges used to make it — were at the sites that we attacked. The attack was successful — bombs on target and everyone came home — but we do not know if the mission was successful — no more Iranian nuclear program. The only way to be absolutely sure is to inspect the sites on the ground. That is not going to happen. The bombing certainly crushed any hope of a short term resumption of discussions to allow inspectors, such as from the International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA) into the area. U.S. inspectors will not be able to go there, either. Of course there are numerous other ways to feel fairly confident of the results. Spies on the ground (it appears that the Israelis had numerous people in key places prior to their own attacks), intercepts of Iranian military and government communications discussing the damage that was caused and assessing their own ability to respond to the attack and other elements of intelligence trade craft that can give a fairly robust picture of what happened. That can take days or weeks before the Intelligence Community (IC) can say with confidence that they have a comfortable assessment.
With that in mind, the revelation yesterday on CNN, and soon widely reported elsewhere, that the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), the intelligence agency for the Pentagon, assesses that the Iranian nuclear program was only set back about three to six months rather than years or being “obliterated”. That report caused quite the uproar. For those reading the fine print, the DIA assessment was a preliminary report of “low confidence.” Such reports are often issued soon after an operation to give decisionmakers an outline of what may be needed in the near term should follow up actions be necessary.
There have been rumors/reports that the Iranians moved significant quantities of enriched uranium and centrifuges before the attack. It is thought to be enough to keep their program going. Similarly, although the Israelis killed several top Iranian nuclear scientists in their sleep, they cannot kill everyone and they cannot kill the knowledge of methods and practices that they have learned with their program thus far. Do not discount the possibility that the Iranians are also getting technical assistance, and perhaps even material, from their friends in North Korea and Russia.
Stopping Iran from having a nuclear program is not as easy as launching one bombing attack, no matter how audacious or successful that one attack may be. Wishing it so, shouting it so, demanding that the “scum” in the media stop asking how does the administration know, doesn’t make it go away. Saying that “nothing” can survive fourteen 30,000 pound bombs does not mean it happened. (May I remind everyone that the U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM) shares a headquarters with the North American Aerospace Command (NORAD) in Cheyenne Mountain near Colorado Springs Colorado. Completed in 1967, the command and control facility can withstand a nuclear attack. Surely the technology and know-how to build such a complex could be accomplished by other nations sometime in the ensuing 58 years.)
To me, a great big “tell” happened yesterday. The House and Senate were to receive briefings on the Iranian program and Saturday’s attack. When the news broke about the DIA assessment, the briefings were cancelled. One can only surmise that the administration knew that their brief would not hold up under questioning since the audience would be aware of the CNN report.
There are numerous additional questions surrounding the entire state of affairs. Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard testified under oath before Congress that the Iranians did not have the capability to build a nuclear weapon (people also forget that it is not enough to have a nuclear capability — a country must be able to weaponize the material and, often forgotten in the discussions, have a means to deliver it against an adversary. Not an easy task.) Trump said she was “wrong.” Multiple times in the last few days he has made it clear that he does not believe in, or listen to, anyone that tells him something he does not want to hear, regardless of the sources or methods used. This is unbelievably dangerous. Vice President J.D. Vance on Sunday said that the president and his advisers “trust their instincts.” Holy cow. We entrust our security and safety to instincts rather than analysis and facts? I feel better already.
I also have every expectation that political appointees in the IC will start requiring intelligence reports to conform to Trump’s preconceptions or politically expedient explanations. They have already done so while rationalizing the use of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to round up immigrants. I am sure people will be fired at the DIA after the leak of their report yesterday.
There are, of course, issues surrounding this attack and the War Powers Resolution of 1973 (also called the War Powers Act). Many members of Congress are calling Trump’s decisions un-Constitutional because only Congress can declare war. The Resolution calls for the president to brief Congress within 48 hours of military action if he acts on his own. This administration is ignoring the law. (Again.) Traditionally, the administration briefs the Gang of Eight prior to undertaking operations such as the attack on Iran. They did not brief them. (The Gang of Eight are the leaders in the House and Senate of both political parties along with the Chair and Ranking Member of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees).
In reality, wars are only resolved through negotiations. We will see if the U.S., Israel and Iran can figure out a satisfactory settlement. I am skeptical. A cease-fire is a very tenuous thing. There is a long way to go before anything is settled. Israel still sees Iran as an existential threat and besides wanting to end Iran’s nuclear program they would also like to see the religious zealots ruling Iran disappear — regime change. Iran still has its government and is still determined to erase Israel from existence.
The Iranians responded to the U.S. attack by launching missiles against the U.S. air base near Doha Qatar. It was really just a sound and light show — the Qataris, U.S. and U.K. (at a minimum) were given a heads up and they shot down the incoming missiles with no deaths or injuries. Do not expect that face saving demonstration to be the end of it from the Iranian perspective. The Trump administration thinks in terms of news cycles and then it is on to the next shiny object. The Iranians (Persians) have a long and proud history and consider themselves to be the root of civilization in the region (Arabs are poor nomads with no culture, according to the Iranians). They will be taking the long view and have the patience to wait out their enemies. The only wild card is the internal politics of both Israel and Iran. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu keeps himself in power (and possibly out of jail) by keeping the wars going in Gaza and elsewhere. Will he honor the cease-fire once the U.S. resupplies his military? (At the expense of Ukraine. We only have so much in our stockpiles.) Will the people of Iran leave their government in place or will they rise up and try to install a new generation of leaders? It is still a very volatile situation and will be for quite awhile.
So many questions right now. So few answers.
War In Iran
Posted: June 18, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Benjamin Netanyahu, Bunker Buster Bomb, Fordo iran, Iran, Iran Nuclear Deal, Israel, Middle East, National Intelligence, Nuclear Weapons, Policy Strategy Mismatch Leave a commentFor almost a week, Israel and Iran have exchanged bombs, missiles and drones causing damage and casualties, military and civilian, on both sides. Israel initiated the conflict when it attacked Iranian nuclear facilities and took out most of the leadership in the Iranian military and Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as well as many of the leading scientists working in their nuclear program. According to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli intelligence agencies believe that the Iranian nuclear program was on the brink of producing one to fifteen nuclear weapons. Since Iranian leaders vow to erase Israel from the face of the earth, the Prime Minister viewed these developments as an existential threat and attacked. (Some politico-military analysts are debating whether it was a “preemptive” strike — meaning an Iranian attack was imminent — or whether it was a “preventive” strike — meaning there was no immediate danger but the Israelis wanted to make sure there was no chance of Iran developing a nuclear weapon. For most of us, that matters little, but under international law, it has significance.)
There is a long history behind the current conflict. For many years, Israel, the United States, and indeed the world worried about the religious zealots in Iran obtaining nuclear weapons. Presidents of both parties have vowed that they would prevent it from happening. Additionally, Iran was the main supporter of terrorism in the world. (They are still a supporter of terrorism, but their proxies in Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis have been greatly diminished and Syria is no longer in Iran’s sphere of influence, limiting their reach, but not their ability to strike.) In 2015, President Obama negotiated the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Iran along with support from China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and Germany (known as the P5+1). In brief, the JCPOA limited Iran’s nuclear weapon program as verified by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in exchange for sanctions relief. Trump withdrew from the plan in 2018, re-imposing sanctions and Iran has been ramping up its nuclear efforts since then. Trump was negotiating a “new” agreement with Iran that looks very much like the one that he withdrew from in 2018. Prime Minister Netanyahu denounced the JCPOA from the beginning and lobbied the current administration not to strike any agreements with Iran.
Israel continues to insist that the Iranian nuclear weapon capability was imminent. U.S. and U,K. intelligence sources, according to open press reports, assess that Iran is still not able to produce a weapon. Interestingly, the U.S. Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabard testified before Congress in March that our intelligence agencies assessed that Iran was not capable of building a nuclear weapon. Yesterday, when asked about that assessment, Trump publicly contradicted his DNI, saying “I don’t care what she said” and avowing that he believed Mr. Netanyahu. (As a side note, if I were the DNI my resignation would be on the president’s desk about five minutes later. But we all know how this administration works. She is still in office.)
It is hard to know exactly what brought us to this point as both the Trump and Netanyahu administrations are not very forthcoming nor particularly truthful, and of course, military operations should remain classified until executed — unless you are Pete Hegseth — so it is only in retrospect that things look clearer. That said, from where I sit, it appears Prime Minister Netanyahu boxed Trump in before he could produce a “deal” with Iran. Emboldened by their successes in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, Mr. Netanyahu saw that he had an opportunity to attack, had the forces to execute it, and wanted the world to be confronted with a fait accompli. There was no turning back. To date, the Israelis have inflicted significantly more damage on the Iranians than the other way around.
As yet, the U.S. is not involved. As yet. At least publicly.
There are some hard choices ahead for a president that campaigned by saying that he would keep us out of new wars in the Middle East. “America First” is interpreted by many MAGA voters as meaning no foreign wars in support of other nation’s interests. It is doubtful that Israel can continue to pursue its objectives without U.S. support. There are several reasons for that. Israel uses primarily U.S. weapons systems, aircraft, anti-ballistic missile defense systems, ammunition and other equipment. They do not have an unlimited supply. Giving more support to their efforts could get the U.S. involved whether by design or by accident. It also further diminishes our support to Ukraine as supplies are directed away from the Ukrainians and to the Israelis. Which is something that really does not bother Vladimir Putin even though Russia supports Iran — tough choices. Sorry Ayatollah.
Always looming on the horizon is direct U.S. military action against Iran. While prepared, no military planner that I know about relishes that idea. The reality is that Israel cannot completely destroy the Iranian nuclear program without destroying the main Iranian nuclear facility in Fordo, a small community near Qom. The facility is built in to a mountain and is considered extremely difficult to destroy. Current Israeli Air Force and missile capabilities cannot seriously damage it, unless they use one or more of their own nuclear weapons. That is an entirely different discussion. It is conceivable that Israeli special forces could attack it on the ground, but that is highly risky and is probably not on the table right now, especially because there is another option. The U.S. Air Force could deliver a “bunker buster” bomb — properly known as the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP). It is a 30,000 pound GPS guided bomb launched from a B-2 Stealth Bomber that is believed to be able to penetrate at least 200 feet against concrete, rock or earth before it explodes. Multiple MOPs can be used to go even deeper, if necessary. The only aircraft capable of delivering the bomb is the U.S. B-2. We cannot just supply Israel with it. There are 19 B-2s in the inventory and they are based at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri. They have demonstrated their world-wide ability to strike during previous conflicts having flown 34 hour combat missions from Missouri to Libya and back in 2017 using in flight refueling, for one example.
It is a cliche to say that we go to war with the president we have — good, bad or indifferent. Trump has a big decision to make, although it seems hard to believe that he totally understands what is going on. For example, his social media post yesterday directed at Iran said only “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” Which raises many serious questions about his state of mind. For the record, there are extremely few historical examples of “unconditional surrender” with the last one being Japan at the end of World War II.
There is a case to be made for the U.S. to bomb Iran. From where Iran sits, they now see that they are in dire need of a credible deterrent. Without a nuclear capability they have been exposed as defenseless. Should the bombing stop short of a significant impact on their nuclear program, they have every incentive to accelerate the program and procure one as quickly as possible. One could argue that now is the time to finish the job. Kick them while they are down, so to speak, so that no one has to come back later to finish what could have been done now.
The danger inherent in such U.S. involvement is extreme. Not in the short run, the U.S. could take casualties in any operation but given the current state of Iran’s air defenses, the risk would be assessed as acceptable. The real danger is long term. How does Iran retaliate against us — for they will retaliate in some form or another. What are our strategic goals? Simply to destroy or significantly delay the nuclear program? Trump has been speculating on social media about regime change — assassinating the Ayatollah and other Iranian leaders. Iran is a country of over 90 million people, many of whom resent the regime that has been in place since 1979. However, that does not mean that they want the U.S. or Israel to eliminate their government. Who takes charge? Under President George W. Bush the U.S. thought that bringing down Saddam would be easy and result in a free and democratic Iraq. While most Iraqis were glad to see Saddam gone, they were just as unhappy to see U.S. forces do it and remain in their country. We know what happened there. What to do in Iran?
This is where it gets tricky. It is one thing to bomb Iran, it is another to deal with the aftermath. It seems that Mr. Netanyahu knows how to play to Trump’s biases and ego. He has him nearly ready to provide support to the Israeli mission to destroy Iran. But what does that really mean and what is the long term commitment? Take a look at Gaza. Mr. Netanyahu’s objective there was to eliminate Hamas. That conflict has turned into what appears to be a long term goal to destroy everything in Gaza. Apparently the only way to eliminate Hamas is to eliminate every Palestinian that lives there — either kill them or move them. That campaign has gone on much longer than what was militarily necessary. What are the plans for Iran?
Wars are easy to start but hard to end. We need look only at our own history. I do not trust our president or his senior advisers to think through the totality of their actions. Looking tough seems to be their only goal. That is not good enough. There are sound strategic, geo-political and military arguments to use our forces to decimate Iran’s nuclear program. It is the “what’s next” question that I have not seen anyone in the administration thinking about. How does this all end?
It’s Starting
Posted: June 10, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Donald Trump, Immigration, Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE), Insurrection, Insurrection Act of 1807, Kent State University Massacre, Los Angeles Protests, los-angeles, Posse Comitatus Act, United States Constitution Leave a comment“I tasted a little tear gas — tasted like fascism.”
An unidentified protester in Los Angeles in a street interview on CBS on 8 June 2025.
Starting last Friday, protests in Los Angeles have continued in response to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions to apprehend undocumented immigrants. The protests started small, but have grown in reaction to the federal government’s response to the unrest. It seems that Trump (aka TACO — Trump Always Chickens Out, a name given to him in an article about tariffs in the Financial Times) seized upon this development to embrace his attempts to try and show how tough he is. His poll numbers and national support are dropping sharply in all areas except immigration. Therefore, he wants to make immigration his central focus in order to drown out all the criticism of all of the other parts of his agenda that are failing.
While it is true that playing to his base is one of his main motivators, it is not all that he is doing, nor is it the most important. We as a nation are on the brink of losing our democracy to an autocratic regime that has no patience for criticism and is willing to take extreme measures to achieve their goals.
It is extremely ironic, not to mention hypocritical, that a man that is a convicted felon, adjudicated sexual offender and well known draft dodger (“bone spurs”) who pardoned over 1500 people that brutally attacked law enforcement officers in an insurrection designed to keep him in power after he lost an election, is now screaming about law and order and pushing for the harshest punishments for anyone that even bumps into a law enforcement official. The leaders of the Trump regime are immune to feelings of hypocrisy and shame.
Let there be no doubt. Violence, looting, destruction of property are all crimes and people should be held accountable for any form of criminal activity, whatever “heroic” actions they may think that they are taking. However, the vast majority of the protesters are acting peacefully, if forcefully, to express their dissatisfaction and fears for their safety and the safety of their family, friends and neighbors. California is the fifth largest economy in the world — all by itself. Los Angeles is the biggest city in the state. It has a diverse, well integrated economy that relies on immigrants in every aspect of social and economic activity. It is a majority-minority city — meaning white people comprise less than half of the population. Estimates put the number of undocumented immigrants in the greater Los Angeles area as being about a million people. ICE and other Trump regime members claim that they are only going after hardened criminals. Yet another lie. Finding and arresting hardened criminals is difficult, time consuming and expensive. When Trump’s deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller (a white nativist) tells the ICE and other federal law enforcement officials that they must arrest 3,000 people a day or else they are fired (the bottom ten percent of field offices each month), those officials are going to go for the easy pickings. Day workers outside of Home Depot. Construction sites. People coming in for their immigration hearings or other appointments in accordance with our laws and their asylum or citizenship requests. As I and many others pointed out before Trump took office, many people now in the administration were saying that anyone that is here illegally is breaking the law and therefore is a criminal. We should not be surprised. They told us what they were going to do but no one believed them. That is what is happening in Los Angeles. ICE raided the parking lot of a Home Depot scooping up day workers and then raided the garment district. That is how the protests started.
According to NBC news, and other sources, Mr. Miller already directed 5,000 federal law enforcement officers to augment ICE and other Department of Homeland Security (DHS) efforts to round up immigrants. This includes FBI agents, Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) agents, Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) personnel, U.S. Marshalls and many other agencies. First, none of those officers have been trained to apprehend immigrants. Second, their reassignment creates huge gaps in our ability to conduct anti-gang investigations, break up drug cartels, provide counter-intelligence and generally keep our country safe and secure. Instead we are arresting moms and high school kids and other long term, law abiding, tax paying members of our society. Their only focus is on immigration and looking “tough.”
Which brings us back to what I am afraid is really going on. The protests in Los Angeles and the sporadic violence that broke out was ably and effectively controlled and monitored by the LAPD and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office. They are trained, equipped and expert in handling protests bigger than what was happening in the beginning. They did not need outside help, and if they did, there were thousands of other area law enforcement officers available to help them under mutual aid agreements that most counties and cities have with jurisdictions in their areas.
Instead, the president mobilized two thousand National Guard troops. The desired result was achieved. Instead of calming things down — which any right minded leader would have as their objective — it exacerbated the situation and tensions increased. In my view, Trump was hoping for exactly what happened. Things got worse. When they got worse, his lackey in the Pentagon decided to send in a battalion from the U.S. Marine Corps base in Twenty-nine Palms California (about 700 Marines). Why do that? First, local law enforcement officials said that they could handle it. Second, 2,000 National Guard troops were there. Third, the California National Guard has about 18,000 members. If those on the ground needed help why not mobilize more National Guard personnel? He did it for many reasons — political, precedent, court tests and because Trump thinks that the U.S. military is his personal armed force. (He loves to play with “his” toys. There is a massive display of military power on tap for Saturday 14 June. It is the Army’s 250th birthday (happy birthday soldier!) and coincidentally Trumps 79th birthday. Washington DC is already closing down and Reagan National Airport will be closed during the parade. Totally disruptive. I will only note that the Navy (October) and Marine Corps (November) are also celebrating their 250th birthdays this year. No parades are scheduled.)
Here is why I think Trump and his henchmen and women are purposely escalating this situation. It is a dress rehearsal for bigger and better (in their minds) use of the military under the Insurrection Act of 1807, essentially martial law. Immigration enforcement is a political winner for this administration. It is also a fig leaf for trampling on the Constitution. It is no coincidence that Trump’s foray into this test case took place in California, a deeply blue state with a powerful governor that Trump happens to hate. If he can get away with it there, then he can go after other blue states that anger him (watch out Maine.)
California Governor Gavin Newsom did not request that the National Guard be activated and sent to Los Angeles. The president did so on his own, the first time since 1965 that a president has done so. (In that instance President Lyndon Baines Johnson activated the Alabama Guard to protect peaceful civil rights protesters being harassed and beaten by Alabama law enforcement officers. What a turn around today.) Of course in those 60 years the National Guard has been called out in a variety of circumstances, but always only upon request from the state’s governor.
I am not a Constitutional expert nor any kind of attorney, so I will not get into all of the U.S. codes covering the use of the military domestically. In brief, it is legal for the president to call up the National Guard and to deploy the Marines. However, under the law, they are only to be used for force protection (guarding buildings and the like) and support services (logistics, communications, transportation, and so on). Under a U.S. law known as the Posse Comitatus Act, federal military personnel cannot be used for civilian law enforcement purposes. (Ironically, if the governor had mobilized the Guard, they could be used in that way, but since now that they are federal military forces, they cannot.) I will vouch for the fact that the Marines being sent in have had absolutely no training in crowd dispersal, riot control or any other element of dealing with protesters, unless one or two were previously law enforcement officials. Probably the first time they had ever held a baton and shield in crowd control formation like the pictures show, was yesterday. What could go wrong? This is not the Marine’s mission. They are only there to show how “tough” the Trump regime can be. Some might say cruel, but then we know that when it comes to this administration, fear and cruelty is the point. One prays that an anxious young Marine or excited young protester doesn’t do anything stupid. It could all go down hill fast. Some of us remember what happened at Kent State University in Ohio when National Guard troops opened fire on unarmed war protesters in 1970.
Language is important, precision is important, especially when it comes to the law. Trump and his cohorts are aggressively using the word “insurrection” in their barrage of comments about the evil people of Los Angeles. They are not insurrectionists, of course. No one is trying to overthrow the government. However, there are several reasons for that. One, perhaps the least important, is an attempt to change the narrative and re-write history concerning the attack on the Capitol building on 6 January 2021. Those were insurrectionists, but Trump and the MAGA crowd want you to think otherwise which is why they continue to call them “patriots” — as if Trump even knows what that word means.
Second, the provisions of the Posse Comitatus Act allow for the military to be used in law enforcement under the provisions of the Insurrection Act of 1807. Remember that Trump wanted to invoke that law during the protests following the murder of George Floyd in 2020. He wanted to direct the military to shoot protesters in the legs. The then Secretary of Defense (SECDEF) and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs (CJCS) refused to implement his requests and true to his TACO form, he backed down. Thankfully. Who is there now telling him that what he has in mind is wrong? No one. SECDEF Pete (DUI Hire) Hegseth certainly will not. DHS Secretary Kristi (ICE Barbie) Noem certainly will not. Attorney General Pam (Police State Barbie) Bondi certainly will not. I don’t know about the current CJCS but I am worried that we have heard nothing from any source as to any mitigating recommendations senior uniformed officials are making. Crickets so far. Trump’s senior civilian officials seem to be competing amongst themselves to see who can impress the boss the most with their cruel and demeaning behavior.
Immigration is a legitimate issue. The system has been broken for a long time. In 2024 there was a legitimate bi-partisan effort in Congress to try and untangle the mess in a fair, but practical way. Trump killed it during his campaign because he thought that it was his best issue to win re-election. It appears he was right. Now he can use it as a handy tool anytime anything else goes wrong in his administration. Think of all the things that he was going to change/solve/fix in his first 24 hours/month/100 days. None of them happened. But with actions such as he is taking in California, and pretty much around the country, he can say he is doing what the electorate wanted by cracking down on undocumented immigrants. He has a winning political issue and the enablers in his administration, the Project 2025 crowd, have a willing enforcer to Make America White Again.
Only about ten percent of his term has gone by. Stand by for what is coming. This is just the start.
Tom
Into The Fray 
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