Rise of Fascism in the United States [SPLIT]

[rareboy]

Worth a read to understand why Trump's actions in LA are illegal.

The Posse Comitatus Act Explained

The law generally prevents the president from using the military as a domestic police force.

www.brennancenter.org

 

[rareboy]

Reminiscent of when the Senators would flee from Rome to their country villas...they will be
content to watch from the sidelines and not be photographed as having attended one of the most pathetic
spectacles in US history.

 

[KaraBulut]

Something subtle but dangerous happened yesterday at Ft Bragg in North Carolina.

Traditionally, soldiers are not used as political props. Note that the troops were placed behind Hegseth and Trump. The soldiers are under orders to attend the speeches however, they are not supposed to appear political.

Trump's speech was a campaign rally speech, where he railed against immigrants, talked shit about Biden and threw his usual incoherent red meat at the crowd. Because the troops were behind Trump, they were caught booing immigrants, booing Biden, booing the Press and clapping like trained seals at the autocratic rhetoric. Every veteran should be disgusted that this happened.

One of the few American institutions that has had a high popularity rating is the military. Everything Trump touches dies.

 

[rareboy]

Ah, someone in the Trump Administration has been assigned to work on ridding us of "degenerate art".

Smithsonian affirms independence after Trump says he fired head of National Portrait Gallery

The Smithsonian affirmed its autonomy in a statement on Monday after President Donald Trump announced that he had fired the head of the National Portrait Gallery.

abcnews.go.com

Perhaps the more chilling line in the article:

Trump signed an executive order last month placing Vance in charge of supervising efforts to "remove improper ideology" from all areas of the Smithsonian and targeted funding for programs that advance "divisive narratives" and "improper ideology," according to the Associated Press.

And it is understood that the Smithsonian is actually complying.

 

[rareboy]

Something subtle but dangerous happened yesterday at Ft Bragg in North Carolina.

Traditionally, soldiers are not used as political props. Note that the troops were placed behind Hegseth and Trump. The soldiers are under orders to attend the speeches however, they are not supposed to appear political.

Trump's speech was a campaign rally speech, where he railed against immigrants, talked shit about Biden and threw his usual incoherent red meat at the crowd. Because the troops were behind Trump, they were caught booing immigrants, booing Biden, booing the Press and clapping like trained seals at the autocratic rhetoric. Every veteran should be disgusted that this happened.

One of the few American institutions that has had a high popularity rating is the military. Everything Trump touches dies.

Steve Schmidt has some thoughts on this as well.

What I see is the real nature of the US military that gets so tamped down and was/is the culture that the high ups in the military were trying to change.

But yeah...having the military literally behind you for your rally speech is chilling. A direct threat.

"The rule of Don"

There are two astonishing events that took place yesterday that deserve your full attention.

steveschmidt.substack.com

 

[cityboy-stl]

Yet people still push back when Trump is compared to Hitler. Just because der Trumpenführer isn't conducting an identical word-for-word, identical event-for-event, an identical re-enactment, in the identical timescale as what der Führer conducted, doesn't mean it is not the same fascism. The only that's really any different is the mustache and hair cut. What Trump is trying to turn the country into, is the same thing as Nazi Germany. He is using all the same methods and the end will be the same.

Everything happening now is straight out of Mein Kampf and the Nazi playbook. Tell me what is really any different.

 

[KaraBulut]

Steve Schmidt has some thoughts on this as well.

What I see is the real nature of the US military that gets so tamped down and was/is the culture that the high ups in the military were trying to change.

But yeah...having the military literally behind you for your rally speech is chilling. A direct threat.

"The rule of Don"

There are two astonishing events that took place yesterday that deserve your full attention.

steveschmidt.substack.com

Schmidt is correct in pointing out that this is both a failure on the rank-and-file but also a failure of the leadership to not protect the image of the military.

For several years, military recruiting numbers have been declining. It's not for the reasons that you think. It's because they're finding it harder to find young men who can meet the requirements. There are fewer young men who are completing high school. There are fewer men who are literate in language and math skills. There are fewer men who are physically fit. It's part of the problem that the US has with young men who are more interested in playing online games or being "influencers" than they are in laying the groundwork for a successful adult life.

The failure rate on the ASVAB is close to 25%. That means that 1 out of every 4 soldier candidates can't pass a GED-level basic skills exam.

The military's response is equally sad: they're having to do remedial education to get male recruits to the level where they can pass the entrance exams. They're having to do physical fitness "pre-boot camps" to get men into shape to a level where they can meet the physical requirements and tolerate the stress of the real post-enlistment boot camp.

Why This New Approach to Remedial PT Actually Works

The combination of a good coach and willing participants is critical to the mission success of remedial PT programs.

www.military.com

Military Running Remedial Programs to Snare Unqualified Applicants

From Draft NOtices, October-December 2023 - Seth Kershner The U.S. military, spurred by a worsening recruiting crisis, is testing new programs that present...

comdsd.org

The number of waivers for men with criminal records and offensive tattoos has also increased. It used to be that all tattoos had to be in places that would be in places covered by a short-sleeve T-shirt.

The male portion of the Army is different from the racial mix of the general population. The Army is about 23% black men, where the general population is about 15%. It also skews in ethnicity: The US population is about 20% Hispanic but the enlisted ranks are 23% Hispanic. In contrast, the officer ranks are 70% white and non-Hispanic. It is even more obvious in the female enlisted ranks - which have a higher percentage of minorities than the general population.

The anti-DEI sentiment coming from the White House and DUI-hire Pete Hegseth are just going to cause more fracturing and decline in quality in the ranks.


For that many white male faces to be cheering autocratic, insane, anti-American statements is disturbing. It makes the apparent why the military was trying to address it's low ASVAB problem and to deal with some of the white supremacist connections to the military. It also points to a command-and-control vacuum that the troops weren't told given instruction about their public behavior and that their leadership allowed them to be used in that manner, especially in connection to the rhetoric about immigration, which is a slap in the face for the 1:4 enlisted men who are Hispanic.

 

[rareboy]

The Atlantic has also taken notice.

And now what?

We've all had a real look at what the Trump/Hegseth military apparently stands for and as a Canadian whose country could be invaded by them, I now know that they would gleefully slaughter at will
if Trump tells them to?

That the rank and file really are just an uncivilized mob force that have no discipline..either self discipline or from the upper ranks?

I'm not sure that with decades of some of the most atrocious war crime abuses committed by the footsoldiers that we ever really thought they were a disciplined armed force, but there is no question now.

The Silence of the Generals

As President Donald Trump crossed a dangerous line at Fort Bragg, the brass failed to speak out in the Army’s defense.

www.theatlantic.com

 

[cityboy-stl]

Republicans Fascists in Congress want it, the Courts are powerless and SCOTUS caved, military leadership seems to have capitulated, media has succumbed.

Chaos, anarchy, economic collapse, civil war, armed military patrolling the streets everywhere they can - within three months or less.

What is there to stop it?

 

[rareboy]

The problem is that at the moment, too many US citizens don't feel this personally affects them.

And in the smoothest Fascist government takeovers....the majority of citizens won't be personally affected because they will be placated and anaesthetized by policies designed to keep them on-side...even while they are being squeezed.

What will people do? Become corrupt...work around the edges with bribes and graft and trying to buy favour.

That is the future that the US faces. And millions will embrace it.

 

[KaraBulut]

The Atlantic has also taken notice.

And someone leaked to Military.com...

As I predicted, they found the [mostly white] knuckle-draggers and put them on the stage. It's the military equivalent of "no fats, no femmes".

Bragg Soldiers Who Cheered Trump's Political Attacks While in Uniform Were Checked for Allegiance, Appearance

As President Donald Trump viciously attacked his perceived political foes, he whipped up boos from the gathered troops directed at California leaders, including Gov. Gavin Newsom.

www.military.com

Internal 82nd Airborne Division communications reviewed by Military.com reveal a tightly orchestrated effort to curate the optics of Trump's recent visit, including handpicking soldiers for the audience based on political leanings and physical appearance.

One unit-level message bluntly saying: "No fat soldiers."

Congress needs to investigate who in the military co-operated with this show.

 

[cityboy-stl]

The problem is that at the moment, too many US citizens don't feel this personally affects them.

And in the smoothest Fascist government takeovers....the majority of citizens won't be personally affected because they will be placated and anaesthetized by policies designed to keep them on-side...even while they are being squeezed.

What will people do? Become corrupt...work around the edges with bribes and graft and trying to buy favour.

That is the future that the US faces. And millions will embrace it.

I think this is almost a best case scenario. They don't feel it personally affects them, until it does. A story on TV (msnbc I think) today talked about ICE surveilling farms in California. The result is no workers showing up and food rotting in the fields. Massive food shortages predicted in the not too distant future. The scope of the tariffs really haven't hit yet. When/If they do, everyone will be affected, including the economy. This could happen soon. If they actually cut Medicaid, the VA, and FEMA, a whole lot of people will be affected. As anti-science, anti-medicine policies cause preventable diseases to resurface, more people will die. If they successfully attack Medicare and Social Security, millions more will suffer and die. As the ICE raids expand and get more violent themselves, the entire country will be affected. By their current actions, I don't see placating and anesthetizing people being a priority anywhere on their radar. They want to kill as many "undesirable" people as they can: immigrants, LGBT, physically and mentally disabled, elderly, autistic, mentally ill. That's the message they're sending. If you want to know what they're going to do, just ask WWHD - What Would Hitler Do? That's what they're going to do - if they can get away with it.

 

[rareboy]

people are incredibly adaptable.

and for the most part, unprincipled.

they will sell neighbours, family and friends out for some idea that it will protect them.

 

[KaraBulut]

The coup-plotters in the White House are putting pressure on the MAGA shills in the Texas governor's mansion and the Texas Legislature. They want the Texas Republican Party to force an off-year redrawing of the Texas Congressional Districts to get rid of the Democrats who serve in the US House.

This hints that the White House is paranoid about Republicans losing the House in 2026. A Democratic majority House would tie up the White House in investigations, Trump would lose his full-time enabler Speaker Mike "Masturbation App" Johnson [R-LA] and it could lead to yet another round of impeachment hearings.

Trump aides want Texas to redraw its congressional maps to boost the GOP. What would that mean?

The plan would shift voters from safely red districts into blue ones. Members of the state’s Republican delegation aren’t sold on the idea.

www.texastribune.org

The plan would shift voters from safely red districts into blue ones. Members of the state’s Republican delegation aren’t sold on the idea.

Republicans representing Texas in Congress are considering this week whether to push their state Legislature to take the unusual step of redrawing district lines to shore up the GOP’s advantage in the U.S. House.

But the contours of the plan, including whether Gov. Greg Abbott would call a special session of the Legislature to redraw the maps, remain largely uncertain.

The idea is being driven by President Donald Trump’s political advisers, who want to draw up new maps that would give Republicans a better chance to flip seats currently held by Democrats, according to two GOP congressional aides familiar with the matter. That proposal, which would involve shifting GOP voters from safely red districts into neighboring blue ones, is aimed at safeguarding Republicans’ thin majority in Congress, where they control the lower chamber, 220-212.

Texas has 38 US House seats. 12 are held by Democrats. In 2003, Texas did an off-year redistricting that changed a 17-15 Democratic majority in 2002 into a 21-11 Republican majority in 2004. This was done by dividing up major Democratic cities in Texas like San Antonio and Austin into torturously shaped districts to change the district into majority Republican:

The Supreme Court said this was perfectly legal.

In 2021, the Democrats in Congress tried to pass a bill to prevent majority parties in any State from using tactics like gerrymandering to reduce representation of the minority party. Thanks to Joe Manchin [D-WV], the bill was unable to get traction.

 

[cityboy-stl]

Where can I find fast acting cyanide pills? I'm done.

 

[Riverrick]

Where can I find fast acting cyanide pills? I'm done.

Go read a novel and stop reading the news for a few days.

 

[rareboy]

Apparently, TrumpCo. is going to have to rent-a-crowd for his Nuremburg spectacle.

Seat Fillers Needed - June 14th - Constitution Avenue - DC - talent gigs - craigslist

T-Mellon Events is looking for seat fillers and extras to provide their time for space maximization and attendance perception for an event taking place in Washington DC on June 14th. Extras and Seat...

washingtondc.craigslist.org

 

[rareboy]

And apparently, der Fuhrer didn't get quite the reception he planned on at the opening of Les Miz...a musical about an uprising against oppression.

The video of him getting loudly booed is delicious to see. I doubt if he will be attending many more shows.

 

[rareboy]

The Atlantic has also taken notice.

And now what?

We've all had a real look at what the Trump/Hegseth military apparently stands for and as a Canadian whose country could be invaded by them, I now know that they would gleefully slaughter at will
if Trump tells them to?

That the rank and file really are just an uncivilized mob force that have no discipline..either self discipline or from the upper ranks?

I'm not sure that with decades of some of the most atrocious war crime abuses committed by the footsoldiers that we ever really thought they were a disciplined armed force, but there is no question now.

The Silence of the Generals

As President Donald Trump crossed a dangerous line at Fort Bragg, the brass failed to speak out in the Army’s defense.

www.theatlantic.com

So, as suspected, TrumpCo. screened the audience.

This in and of itself is a naked failure of leadership by the upper brass at Bragg.

 

[rareboy]

Vindman also calling out the enormity of what happened at Bragg.

And if the Generals and Admirals are 'terrified', they can't be trusted not to capitulate
and to turn their troops on US citizens.