Thursday, July 23, 2020

Pinochet In Portland


Maybe it was a dream. When Barack Obama was president, and now it sure seems like a dream (intelligence, integrity, competence, humor, nice family, no indictments), weren’t a bunch of self-described “patriots” hoarding guns and ammo like toilet paper in a pandemic? Predicting government troops would be rounding up civilians and hauling them away? Building bunkers, promising to defend our “freedoms” with their lives?

Funny thing: what they predicted with the certainty of Covid-hoaxers and climate-change deniers has come to pass, just down I-5. Anonymous, heavily-armed federal agents, uninvited, snatching citizens off the streets, hauling them away in unmarked vans. Citizens who, for the most part, had been protesting non-violently. No identification on those armed government kidnappers, no warrants. Swinging truncheons, gassing, shooting rubber bullets. Maybe I shouldn’t have said “funny.”

Unlike those fevered “patriots,” people having more than two Betz cells to rub together knew this would never happen under President Obama. Same with those imaginary “antifa” demonstrations, to which the tumescent, mega-armed, MAGA-hatted have been showing up, ready to lay down their lives for Old Glory, Confederate flags, and the occasional swastika. That those events were obvious troll-jobs didn’t occur to them, even after the third or fourth time.

Maybe those heroic one-minute men knew President Obama was never going to lead UN tanks and ISIS soldiers up their driveways; knew they’d not need to make good on their rodomontade. But where are they now, as Portland is Pinocheted? Citizens are being disappeared, though less permanently, as if America were 1970s Chile. As if our “president” were the third-world strongman to which he aspires, against which those faux militias promised defiance. Having claimed resistance as its primary purpose, the NRA is missing, too. Moms are there, though, arm in arm, braving the gas. Who are the real patriots?

Our heavily-armed, Obama-hating heroes weren’t really concerned, then, about out-of-control government coming for people exercising their rights. Turns out it’s fine when a tyrannical leader kidnaps and batters citizens, as long as they’re libtard commies. Some might call that short-sighted collaboration.

A brave guy is Donald “Found-a-dementia-test-difficult” Trump. Afraid to serve in Vietnam, as this columnist did, he’s courageously ordering troops into Democrat-run cities, unleashing beatings, gassing people who seek only fairness, to galvanize his base. Anxious to have them forget his disastrous pandemic response and the Russian bounty disgrace, this he’ll do. And, more blind than those he gassed, Trumpists are delighted. Beating up liberals absolves 140,000 American deaths, Constitution be damned.

Because of the “Patriot Act,” some say Trump has authority to send troops to protect federal property. Okay, fine. Deploy them to steps of federal buildings and pedestals of statues, to hold off the chalk, donuts, and spray cans. But assailing peaceful crowds; breaking bones of a Navy veteran whose offense was challenging them to uphold their oath; beating on-scene medics; firing tear gas at resolute, non-aggressive moms? That’s what history’s Pinochets do. And when enough citizens excuse it, because it’s not them, that’s how they consolidate power.

America was built on protest. Dumping tea into Boston Harbor; women marching, year after year, for suffrage, assaulted, jailed; MLK, Jr, John Lewis, and other brave souls, risking lives for equal rights, paying with life and blood; Stonewall. Absent the right to assemble to petition for redress of grievances, who would we be, and who will we become? First among the ten, that right is inseparable from America’s greatness. Or was, before Trump began striking at the heart of it.

Though he and his “news” liars pretend otherwise, Portland wasn’t being overrun, nor were people hiding in their homes, local police overwhelmed as terrorists roamed a city in flames. Like Seattle, it’s a couple blocks of inconvenience, as city life otherwise goes on as usual. If there are situations that might justify Federales overtaking local law enforcement, this isn’t. And what has Trump’s banana-republic despotism accomplished? More resistance. Which he’ll turn into context-free doomsday ads.

If Trumpist-Republicans are unconcerned when their “president,” sinking in the polls, turns federal troops upon pro-equality demonstrations; if they ignore the ominous implications because it’s a “liberal” city and the demonstrators aren’t red-hatted, they’re deaf to America’s death-rattle.

Every American, including Trumpists, should be horrified by what’s happening. Those who aren’t, because it’s only “lefties” being brutalized, are anything but patriots. They’d have ratted on the Boston tea-dumpers, thrown rocks at suffragettes, and taunted innocent Black children as they bravely integrated schools.

[Image source]


21 comments:

  1. They don't even qualify as Paine's summer soldiers or sunshine patriots, despite shrinking from the service of their country in this Trump-made crisis.

    I had some trouble navigating your first two paragraphs. The huge font and time of day contributed, but there were many potential subjects and compound predicates on the first reading for this follower. Finally managing to get it together, it makes complete sense. It was just a little rough for me. My own Person, Woman, Man, Camera, TV achievement!

    ReplyDelete
  2. seeker of wisdom and truthJuly 24, 2020 at 11:06 AM

    Under the Obama administration, the Second Amendment was honored by adhering to the "well regulated militia" clause. The amendment is intended solely to prevent an abuse of power by a tyrant regime in office.

    The current "tyrant regime in office" grossly abused their limited power when they intervened in Portland by pushing unwelcomed federal (armed and unidentified) forces to arrest unruly protesters.

    The NRA has not objected to this illegal intervention. Some NRA members use their (political lobbying) voices to justify owning guns to prevent an illegal use of presidential power by a potential tyrant in office. I believe they cannot deny this is happening today.

    The rioters who loot and burn must be arrested and prosecuted within our normal justice system. We cannot survive as a democracy by submitting cowardly to the rantings of a tyrant yearning to be an autocrat.

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  3. I've been having issues, or, rather, blogger has, with font size. I just went thru the HTML and, one by one, tried to fix it.

    And I changed the layout of the first paragraph. I'd been thinking it was a little clunky with the em-dashes.

    Just for you, Dr S. Fellow doctor, and all...

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  4. Perfect! Your opening really hits hard and sets the stage, Sid.

    Fellow doctor?? I've probably been accused of being an operator and doctoring a few things in my career, but that's about as close as I come. :)

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  5. I figured we could fool a few people into thinking you're a doc. I'm very believable, as you know.

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  6. HA! Now who's the nut complaining about black helicopters and Immunizations? It's like "Hizzonner" Mayor Daley(D)said,
    "The Policeman is there to preserve Disorder"
    and am I the only one to notice the Governors/Mayors complaining about the "Feds" are of the DemoKKKrat Pursuasion, just like the ones who complained in the 60's, makes ya think.
    I'll give you one point, a "Sleepy Joe" administration will have lots of "Humor"

    Frank "who's that guy in the Brown Uniform!?!?!?!? Oh Yeah, UPS"

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  7. Of course they're Democrats, Frankie. That's the whole point: look tough. Kick liberal ass. Easier than putting together a response to a pandemic or coming up with an economic package, other than one that enriches his friends and, as we're seeing, himself. But, hey, he's donating his salary.

    My son and his family live in Portland, where they can hear the noise across the river but, as I said, except for those couple of blocks, life is normal. You don't actually believe the Trumpofoxian descriptions, do you?

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wow! Thumbs up!!
    https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/07/24/aoc-response-ted-yoho-read-text-rep-ocasio-cortezs-speech/5500633002/
    Rep. Yoho messed with the wrong member of Congress here.
    (for what this means, read this changing the pronouns as if AOC were male, and her speech will ring true for respect from that perspective. Then, read from the perspective of race, any race, and it will still ring true)
    These things change, and cause change. Well done Rep. Ocasio-Cortez!
    Sid, thanks for maintaining a forum where something can be written about these things.

    ReplyDelete
  9. In the funny irony department...

    Drumpfs' lawyer...Cohen...Suing Drumpf, from jail, to NOT be silent, so Cohen can make money. Instead of Stormy doing it to Drumpf and Cohen.

    Also? Out of all of them? The porn star made out like a bandit while the rest are in deep shit.

    You can't make this shit up...

    GO KRAKEN!

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  10. Doc S.
    "Fellow doctor?? I've probably been accused of being an operator and doctoring a few things in my career, but that's about as close as I come. :)

    July 24, 2020 at 1:28 PM
    Blogger Sid Schwab said...
    I figured we could fool a few people into thinking you're a doc. I'm very believable, as you know."

    There all are kinds of Doctors...Some even write.

    ReplyDelete


  11. For those that are aboard the covid infested "RADICAL ISLAMIC TERRORISM" bandwagon.

    Noura Kahil-Fight Island Project manager in Abu Dhabi. She is incharge, drives herself to work, wears a face/head covering, make up.

    @1:19

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ij1DdMy2CZ0

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  12. The alt right voters should be in solidarity with the anarchists. Trying to bring down government. More freedom, less regulation right?

    These current cities under Drumpfs' mafia war to terror are "whiter" (portland). Now it's going so well they are deploying to the more minority, less white neighborhoods. To establish law and order, right? Where's the Bundy Bunch!!!??? They froggin' LOVE Oregon.

    They all lie to you for their own purposes. People have seen. They've heard. They've payed with their lives in some cases. In other cases their name ruined. Unable to continue with life, blackballed by the cops. Have your extended family harassed and nobody is the wiser.

    Reality folks. This is 100% real and has been happening since before 9/11. It simply went nuclear with 9/11. Our freedoms are diminishing to nothing and where is the alt right?

    We'll see...I for one won't let it happen if I can help it. We'll see...November is a long way off. *sigh*

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  13. Here we go..We went from no weapons, to one weapon, to lots of weapons. Here's a perfect example of everyone has guns, yet, the cops are not assaulting anyone. Hmmmm...Would the cops assault them if they were unarmed? Seems highly likely. Seems like 'law and order' is delicate in Moscow Mitch's dumpster fire of a state.

    https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/watch/armed-protesters-separated-at-louisville-demonstrations-against-breonna-taylor-s-death-88287813974?cid=referral_taboolafeed

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  14. Did everyone else see Rep. Pramila Jayapal call out William Barr for his politically motivated hypocrisy and selective awareness? I've disagreed with Jayapal about some of her positions in the past, but her nailing Barr to the wall was choice and a delight to watch.

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  15. I saw it and was similarly impressed. Barr is a much better liar than Trump, and no less nasty. Arrogant, dismissive, sleazy.

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  16. Yeah, I caught that too. She's on the political talk show circuit. She was on Maddow.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=za6DC2_vPfs

    ReplyDelete
  17. A really good article: https://getpocket.com/explore/item/eight-go-mad-in-arizona-how-a-lockdown-experiment-went-horribly-wrong?utm_source=pocket-newtab
    If you ever drive the super-freeway from Phoenix to Tucson, return to Phoenix via "the mine route" to the east, which takes you near Biosphere 2. It's very much worth stopping in. Fascinating place, and what we learned from them is important.
    Blows me away who is mentioned in the article, who took over for the next attempt at living separately from the world.
    Consider what they did with Biosphere 2 before you fall into the tripe of Mars-as-our-next-abode. And, consider what they say about Biosphere 1 (our earth).
    Some of the 8 participants are still alive to this day, in their 90's.
    And, don't minimize why there were 8 of them, btw...
    How is this relevant to your article, Sid? Consider that even among their 8, they broke into 2 camps of 4, with one oppressing the other. The why of that, which makes sense, is less important than that there will always be contention between groups, even groups of common purpose. It's just how humans are wired. One has to be a little king, another has to accept serving. It's the manner of man. There is only one manner that solves that, and it has to be learned and imputed.

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  18. And it's been confirmed time and again: the "Stanford experiment," in classrooms, in literature (Lord of the Flies....)

    My next column addresses it to some extent, and, in a way, disputes the argument, if not entirely seriously: why are we in this sorry state? Due to humanity's fundamental flaws? Maybe not: because, at the moment, the US is the outlier. Maybe it's not the weakness of the human mind (made in gods' image?) but America itself. And if so, why?

    Stay tuned.

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  19. (not to mess up what you're considering for your article...)
    The image is the opposite of the reality, left is right and right is left, and, 2-D rather than 3-D. This from the perspective of the observer. But then, the image is NOT an observer.
    I know this is a little on the weird side, but, the perspective of the observer of these things is important. Consider the silliness of a "picture" of the Milky Way, a picture that people accept as real even though it can't possible be! (I'm not saying it's false, I'm speaking to people's acceptance of things). While I can imagine computer-generated-extrapolated star positions assembled into such a picture, heck I could probably write the program for that, the point is even the few stars of the Milky Way have not been identified and positioned, etc., etc.
    Some translate the phrase as "we look through a glass darkly", others, just as well-meaning, translate it as a mirror, as they may think it's necessarily an image. It makes a difference, but most people don't even know a discussion can exist about something like that.
    There are things much larger than a two-way dispute, though. Do two people ever agree on even a single thing? (yeah, actually, T's a jerk, and I'm sick of it).

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  20. One letter writer to the Herald today evidently has a dark looking glass, claiming that all of the polls showing Trump far behind Biden are nothing more than lies — or a conspiracy to intentionally skew each and every one with flawed sampling design (which of course is another type of lie).

    I didn't know that!

    A consultation with this individual might possibly yield a more accurate model of the Milky Way, one certainly far better than all those lying astronomical photos.

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  21. I noted that letter, too. A repetition of Trump's lies about Biden, swallowed whole, and the exact opposite of what Biden has said. And regurgitating the vision of a country in flames if he's elected, despite the fact that as soon as Trump's goons departed, Portland returned to the peaceful protest that was the case before they showed up.

    That guy is among the 35%, no doubt, that thinks Trump's doing a fabulous job with the virus, too. Simply no way to penetrate their wall of ignorance.

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