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2025 Political Thread

Have been thinking about that Oregon firefighter case and think an argument can be made against military support of ICE raids even with the weenie excuse, first used by security types during the Clinton administration, of "I feel threatened."

The company that employed him and the Washingtonians reportedly lost its contract. The idea behind that, of course, is to force companies to vet their workers more thoroughly.

So far, so good. But that stick can be used in other ways, too. As a shakedown for money and political support, for instance.

I'm not saying that this was the case with that firefighter company -- don't know a thing about it or about the business as a whole. Probably, like most businesses, it's all orderly and law abiding.

But federal law enforcement agencies are run by humans, not angels, and this administration is far from ideal and certainly not at all transparent.

I don't like illegal immigration because all citizens should follow the rules, including the rules on how to become a citizen.

But I have compassion for the majority of them because they can so easily find themselves in a form of slavery since they don't dare complain about wage nonpayment, abuse, etc., and thereby face deportation.

The threat of raids, especially military-style raids, AGAINST COMPETITORS, could put abusive but well-connected/paid-up employers in an even stronger and more secure position as well as please the powers that be by concentrating the slaves in just a few trusted hands.

Again, while the abuse of illegals definitely has been documented in several past instances, the rest of this is just speculation.

But in this administration, where for instance, two guys walk into the Copyright Office (a key source of proprietary business information) on a Monday morning in May, saying they're running it now -- like mafioso, even though their claims didn't pan out -- and it takes the Copyright Office's director until late September to get her job back, well, everything needs a second and third look.

Maybe instead of illegally deployed Guardsmen and Marines accompanying them in the streets and into our homes, workplaces, and firelines, ICE needs a Woodward-and-Bernstein-style investigation of its target selection choices, accountability procedures, etc., with willingness of the investigators to follow all leads and to continue up the chain of command, if needed, all the way up to and into the White House, if that's where a dirty trail ultimately leads.

It would have to be journalists, because politicians, the law enforcement sector (with some probable gutsy and praiseworthy exceptions), and businesses aren't going to investigate themselves.

And it might be going on right now, at least the preliminary steps, for all we know. Editors and reporters aren't going to show themselves in such a risky situation until the time is right.

Hey, what's wrong with hoping? ;)

But in the meantime, sigh -- just so many victims...and so much ugly potential.

Meanwhile, hands off Oregon!
 
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Will it end Landry's?

 
Meanwhile, in Portland, troops reportedly won't be deployed until at least Thursday, per a story at Oregon Live, and the injunction hearing is set for Friday.

Meanwhile, Ron Wyden's Bluesky thread is a joy to scroll through: political protest at its most gentle and funniest -- lots and lots of reposts like this:


 
And this:

 
Meanwhile, in Illinois:




Generally, his earlier moves recently show that he wants to be among the candidates for Prez at the Democrat convention. So we're not talking fringe here -- he must have a broad Democratic base.

And he's probably a billionaire, too. Maybe it takes one to fight one.
 
Hmmm. Ordinarily, I'd ignore it as irrelevant to my daily life since none of mine are in the military and I don't live near a base. But these days, who knows...
 
Wikipedia has a page on troop deployments in various places, perpetrated and threatened (hey, a judge ruled the LA deployment was illegal, so "perpetrated").

What they don't cover is Albuquerque. Is this going to be the face of US cities?

I lived and worked in ABQ from late 1987 through early 1989, and it was rough even then. When I left to go to another job, I said to myself, they need the National Guard here.

Instead, they got Hollywood and "Breaking Bad," unfortunately.

Now that the Guard has been deployed there and is being trumpeted as a big crime reducer, I feel differently. I feel that it is a military occupation, basically if not practically yet -- a quick fix that avoids those knotty questions to be found in cities these days, like (but not limited to):

  • Why are the police so ineffective? And why doesn't the media cover it 24/7/365 until they're effective again?
  • What amount of political corruption is involved? (A lot, I suspect.)
  • How is it that urban people accept such a crime-infested standard of living (white flight is a factor -- in New Mexico I saw a triple-point of hatred between whites, Latinos, and Indians; there weren't that many black people there during my time, so I don't about that side of things there; another factor is incredible income disparity in the state)?
  • How much of the crime is drug related; how much of the abundant money is drug related; and how much of the apathy is drug related? (A lot, in each case, I'm sure)
  • A broad-scale left-wing invasion occurred in the late 20th century from California's equity immigrants, adding to an intense but relatively small local crop of nutters who were isolated mostly in the Santa Fe and Taos areas. How did crime rates, etc., respond? I don't know, but there has been a loss of the original New Mexican sense of community -- at least that's how I interpret the refusal of recovery assistance to iconic Dixon's Orchard after they got hit by a wildfire; from what little I could read about it online, apparently the Dixon's left the area and moved on. Sigh. That place, in a box canyon and with gigantic rattler skins on the wall, was amazing!
  • Illegal immigration; though it's not a border city, it is a transportation hub.
The Guard is no answer: ABQ has problems. So do all the other cities with troops deployed or threatened. Including Portland -- I stand with them against Trump, invade that city and you've invaded my state, but I haven't been up there since 2015, when I went up to check it out and found it to be still nice in some ways but essentially broken and full of either snobs or homeless camps, depending on where you were.

But the Guard never was needed, even during the height of that Antifa nonsense. A sense of responsibility and rediscovery of something worthy that's bigger than you -- your city -- is needed.

And a willingness to see your neighbors as neighbors, no matter what their ethnic background is -- that is perhaps the biggest issue of all and one that those I believe really are trying to succeed in a soft fascist coup can very easily exploit. :(
 
We Americans SO need to stop being against things and to start being for something that's bigger than our puny little selves: its motto is e pluribus unum not "What's in it for me?"
 
LOL no he didn't
Even if that was taken out of context, it doesn't make him look any better as a person. He was still extremely transphobic and racist (there's numerous times where him saying abhorrent stuff isn't out of context), and the fact that they considered a federal holiday for him is absurd. I can condemn an attack without mourning the victim.
 
Even if that was taken out of context, it doesn't make him look any better as a person. He was still extremely transphobic and racist (there's numerous times where him saying abhorrent stuff isn't out of context), and the fact that they considered a federal holiday for him is absurd. I can condemn an attack without mourning the victim.
A federal holiday is stupid. We have too many as it is.

I'm no Charlie Kirk expert but I do know many times a different viewpoint is considered by others to be transphobic/homophobic/racist/whateverphobicist.

I do know all the folks with a Bluesky account took what he said about an African American pilot out of context.

We've lost the ability to simply disagree, and it is a big reason why the Democrats aren't in charge of everything right now, because they'll never face a group of Republicans easier to beat, yet can't.
 
A federal holiday is stupid. We have too many as it is.

I'm no Charlie Kirk expert but I do know many times a different viewpoint is considered by others to be transphobic/homophobic/racist/whateverphobicist.

I do know all the folks with a Bluesky account took what he said about an African American pilot out of context.

We've lost the ability to simply disagree, and it is a big reason why the Democrats aren't in charge of everything right now, because they'll never face a group of Republicans easier to beat, yet can't.
We've lost the ability to simply disagree when Trump is saying to use American cities as proving grounds for the military. Why is it the fault of the Democrats when people like Rush Limbaugh and Roger Ailes have created a right wing media machine that teaches people to hate their neighbors if they don't look like them? It's the Democrats' fault for Peter Thiel, Curtis Yarvin, and Elon Musk's nonsense?
 
Sowing discord and confusion among the target population is a basic part of coups.

So is cognitive dissonance: today the President of the United States has both declared a dirty war on American cities and simultaneously demanded a Nobel Peace Prize.

About the only thing I'll ever agree with AOC on is that Trump is weaker than he looks, and so is the GOP. MAGA does not support all this. What can they do about it, though, if non-MAGA people make them feel isolated? (Speaking generally here, not addressing anything in this thread.)

But the Democrats are weaker still -- clinging to the fiction that We The People are worked up by Obamacare changes.

Tscha! :(

They have given Trump and whoever he's fronting for a stick and it looks like he's going to try to use it.

Try...

We is still We, not Us v. Them, down deep.

The heart of America is not in DC, and there are saner Americans throughout the system, closer to us, who seem to be quietly putting the brakes on whenever possible.

Let's hope there are many of these silent heroes. It sure seems as though the crunch is here.
 
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I saw no mention of Trump's speech in the headlines on the AP and UPI sites just now, but Reuters mentioned it. It did happen, then; and for most of my life, such a thing would have sent shock waves around the media universe. (Here's that link again, just in case: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-preside-over-unusual-military-gathering-virginia-2025-09-30/ )

Why so silent?

And here, I think, is the Pritzker tweet that Reuters mentions:



Here's another, with good advice that extends beyond Illinois:



Before you follow it, if so inclined, check out state and local law on such filming, which may or may not be legal, and, just in case there are hotheads in the group you're filming, also know thoroughly the federal, state, and local laws regarding your rights and responsibilities as a US citizen when interacting with law enforcement.

Don't ever let them get you emotional, remain absolutely physically nonthreatening no matter what, be patient and persistent instead of loud when standing on your rights, and when the interaction is over, always ask, "Am I free to go, officer?"

If you're arrested, say that you want a lawyer and then clam up. Totally. They have to give you that. A phone call, not so much despite what we see in movies. Miranda rights are read only in certain circumstances.

Never thought I'd have to return to Sixties-era stuff in my old age.

Of course, if they're soldiers, well, it's a brave new world, isn't it.
 
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We've lost the ability to simply disagree when Trump is saying to use American cities as proving grounds for the military. Why is it the fault of the Democrats when people like Rush Limbaugh and Roger Ailes have created a right-wing media machine that teaches people to hate their neighbors if they don't look like them? It's the Democrats' fault for Peter Thiel, Curtis Yarvin, and Elon Musk's nonsense?

Partially, yes. The vitriol from the left is abhorrent. The pendulum swings further and further in both directions.

I've listened to a lot of Rush Limbaugh in years past before I grew tired of political talk radio and he never taught me to hate my neighbors who don't look like me. Hell, my two favorite neighbors that I talk to the most don't look like me. Never once has it occurred to me that "Oh, Rush may not be happy with me right now!"
 
Just an Oregon update (and a wish that, if we've got to have a Democrat in the governor's office, it could be someone like Pritzker; Illinois is fortunate or, possibly, sane).

The Portland troop thing is still active, with the judge's ruling now expected on Saturday. But going by the tone of articles on Oregon Live, it seems that the Portland liberals have gone from clutching their pearls and Chardonnay glasses in shock to enjoying another drama that's all about them.

Sigh. It has been an emotional wringer for me and probably for most other Oregonians, and likely there will be no clear resolution -- there seldom is with these left- and right-wing publicity addicts.

More practically, the Feds are in court, and I'm fine with that as I don't care for the sanctuary movement. It all stems from the bad old days when left-wing and right-wing Americans were supporting contending Latin American factions.

I want to say that this is a whole 'nother and off-topic thing, but one result of those days is Bukele in El Salvador: a dictator for life, Trump fan, and possibly one of the role models for both left and right wingers in the US today.

Sigh.
 
Meanwhile, in Chicago, Martin Niemoller is heard from ---

"There was no reason for them to do that,” he added. “I’m upset. I’m a Caucasian male and I don’t typically have to deal with situations like this, but it’s upsetting to see people being paid to attack our community for senseless stupid reasons.”

-- and either Nolan apparently is filming another Batman movie or some LARPers are loose. Sigh.

CHICAGO, Oct 4 (Reuters) - U.S. Border Patrol agents deployed to Chicago led a late-night raid on an apartment building this week, rappelling from helicopters onto rooftops and breaking down doors in an operation authorities said targeted gang members but which swept up U.S. citizens and families.

The show of force highlighted President Donald Trump's unprecedented use of Border Patrol agents as a surge force in major cities, rerouting personnel who would normally be tasked with guarding America’s borders with Mexico and Canada...

-- Source
 
Body count in extrajudicial killings -- I don't like that term but it must be used until my government backs up its words with solid evidence -- in the Tonkin Gulf off Venezuela is now 21, reportedly.
 
The Tribune presents all views of the shooting in Chicago. Reuters covers the administration's version.
 
And Pritzker says no. Edit: Trump says yeah, and that link also sums up Saturday's shooting incident, which sounds very different depending on who you listen to, the feds or the activists. I haven't tried to look up video yet but hope someone objective had a good view and a good phone battery.

I can't believe this is happening in America. And that Congress is passive-aggressively enabling it to further socialist goals.
 
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Indivisible, who are probably fine with the socialism :( , have a No-Kings day planned for the 18th. But that train has already left the station, I think.

What we need now is for Us Pluribus Unum to come together and demand that Congress impeach the bull out of the china shop White House. It won't solve everything, but it's a start, and no one can scream "politics" about a bottom-up push after the last 9 months of aggravation.

Enough is enough.

But the last thing that any media, journalists, Congress critters, PACs and others who know which side their bread is buttered on are going to do is tell us whether or not We The People are actually calling for impeachment of this president via individual phone calls, mail, and/or meetings with our reps.

It's possible, judging from all the distracting drama and divisive egging on in the media; the Isolate, Discourage, and Distract stuff.

They wouldn't cover news that they are actively ignoring us, would they? The last thing they want us to know is how strong we are as the populace of a great and freedom-loving nation.

All 340.1 million of us.

I was hoping Indivisible might pick up on all that, but no. Sigh.
 
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