Charles P. Pierce: Are We Supposed to Pretend We Aren't in the Hands of a Madman?

[babylonsister]

https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a33381103/donald-trump-federal-law-enforcement-protests-american-cities/

Are We Supposed to Pretend We Aren't in the Hands of a Madman?
This is crazy bananas stuff aimed at scaring white people who live no closer to, say, Baltimore than they do to the moon.
By Charles P. Pierce
Jul 21, 2020


Should I be alarmed that the president* seems to want to set off a kind of civil war so he can butch himself up for television ads boosting him for re-election? Should I assume we’ve driven that deeply into the trackless frontiers of Crazyland?

Why the hell not?

From The New York Times:

Governors and other officials reacted angrily to the president’s move, calling it an election-year ploy as they squared off over crime, civil liberties and local control that has spread from Portland, Ore., across the country. With camouflage-clad agents already sweeping through the streets of Portland, more units were poised to head to Chicago, and Mr. Trump suggested that he would follow suit in New York, Philadelphia, Detroit and other urban centers. Governors and other officials compared his actions to authoritarianism and vowed to pursue legislation or lawsuits to stop him.

What happens the first time a state trooper or a city cop draws down on one of the nameless federal goons in camo in Philadelphia or Milwaukee? Worse, what happens the first time a Fed kills or wounds a citizen and the local LEO’s stand aside and do nothing? In either case, El Caudillo del Mar-a-Lago wins because he gets the chaos in which he thrives plus great B-roll for the gang down in the video shop. And it’s not like he’s hiding it or anything.

snip//

This is crazy bananas stuff aimed at scaring white people who live no closer to, say, Baltimore than they do to the moon. It also is using the most serious power the government in such a transparently self-serving way that Juan Peron would stop and say, “Chill, jefe. Don’t be so obvious.”

The Department of Homeland Security has put about 2,000 officials from Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Transportation Security Administration and the Coast Guard on standby to be quickly deployed to cities. At least 200 members of “rapid deployment teams” were sent to Washington, D.C., Portland, Pennsylvania and Seattle, the agency said this month. Many tactical agents from those teams from Customs and Border Protection and ICE are now in Portland.

The Coast Guard?

Are we supposed to pretend this is all normal? Are we supposed to pretend we aren’t in the hands of a madman?

I’m going to need some guidance very soon.

[Guilded Lilly]

1. This is what has freaked me out since the escalator ride into history...

Everyone has treated this sick jerk like he is a normal person with normal characteristics. Just unfamiliar with traditional politics. He isn’t and has proven daily he’s without normal humanity or compassion or concern.
The Cretin counts on people doing nothing because he has never BEEN held accountable.

Some in the media are finally catching on and using the power of their platforms to fight back. The shock has probably worn off that this freak ISN’T like anyone else and is incapable of normal emotions and intelligence.

It remains to be seen if it is too late. I tend to think we CAN fight back, but it will be painful.

[lagomorph777]

9. It seems most people have never met somebody like this close-up.

They apparently find it hard to believe anybody could be so purely evil. Well, I know from experience, it's possible.

[Guilded Lilly]

13. Good point. Until you've actually dealt with his type, it's hard to grasp.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. Charlie's got it right: We ARE in the hands of a madman.

Last edited Tue Jul 21, 2020, 04:18 PM - Edit history (1)

We are overdue, way overdue, to stop him.

Nov. 3rd is our last chance.

[woodsprite]

3. Isn't election day Tuesday, Nov 3rd? nt

[CaliforniaPeggy]

7. Ooops. I will fix, and thank you! n/t

[GeorgeGist]

4. Barring a military coup ...

Stick a fork in US

[Cha]

5. According to the "normalization of DT" m$$$$m

we are.

[BamaRefugee]

6. Unless one of these pundits can offer a SOLUTION, I'm done with wailing and rending of garments,we

all KNOW the situation we're in, we don't need daily reminders, WE NEED IDEAS AND METHODS AND STRATEGIES for dealing with it!!!

[lagomorph777]

8. "what happens the first time a Fed kills or wounds a citizen and the local LEO's stand aside?"

That's already happened. Twice. They shot a guy in the head and he's still got a brain bleed, severely wounded in the hospital. Then they broke that Navy guy's hand. Now they are teargassing pregnant women.

Charlie, do these injuries not count?

[Demsrule86]

10. In order for this never to be an issue again and save our country from a police state

when Biden is elected The DHS needs to go.

[Lonestarblue]

11. Trump essentially admitted to Chris Wallace that he has dementia.

Anyone without cognitive difficulties would not find the last five questions unbelievably hard, so hard that most people would not be able to answer them. I daresay that anyone on DU could answer every question. We need to use this demand over and over: “Use the 25th on the 45th—now.”

[hadEnuf]

12. Jack booted goverment thugs in the streets! Black helicopters! Military used against US citizens!

Sound familiar?


The Right Wing has always accused the other side of what they themselves are actually planning or doing.


Too bad it's had to get to this point in order for some to wake up, but then again some will still remain in denial.

[Hekate]

14. KnR

[uponit7771]

15. K&R, Trump brags about passing a dementia test and wishes well accused pedophiles ... that's horribl

[smirkymonkey]

16. K&R

[Mr. Ected]

17. Frankly, I'm afraid of what would happen if the stormtroopers shut down DU

And we had no way to communicate or band together.

Nightmare stuff. Had a taste of it in 2016. I wouldn't doubt we'd be slated for termination by the neofascists, only this time they'd reveal themselves and swell in pride.