Los Angeles protesters vs the GOP's "Shock Troops"

TAT readers,

Well, off we go into another dystopian Trump, MAGA GOP week of fascist activities. Today’s essay is about the Los Angeles protests version of those anti-American activities. Today’s discussion about those protests will briefly cover a handful of the related issues about the war between this GOP administration and the state of California, a longtime target of Republican ire. Full disclaimer, I lived and worked in California from August of 1977 through late 2003. After spending 2004 in Baghdad, I returned to California, just long enough to say some goodbyes and to pack for moving to Texas.

California hardly fits the profile of what today’s Republican Party narrative about the state describes. In my years there, I had more years under a Republican Governor than Democratic. Property taxes are far better than here in Texas, where they go up nearly every year. Roads are far better and the State of California, doesn’t dictate state college curriculum, like the Governor Greg Abbott administration does here in TX. Sure, gas is more expensive, but the roads and freeways are far better. California like NYC is a testament to our nation of immigrants’ DEI benefits. To be frank, being anti-DEI is un-American.

Trump wants Californians to “rake their forests” to prevent wildfires and now to do something just as ridiculous, such as allowing his administration free rein, to deport roughly half of California’s population, largely Latino. This past weekend, via mobilizing the National Guard, he showed just how far he is willing to go, regarding “non-white” Americans. Just this morning, he announced that he’s fine with having Governor Newsom, arrested for calling him out regarding Trump and the GOP’s usual bevy of lies. We’ve come to the point in the Trump era, where I earnestly believe there to be some sort of ongoing contest between GOP elected leaders, their base, their media and their party, to see who can lie most effectively and with headline grabbing idiocy.

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The LA Protests and the Trump and Republican Party’s provocation.

As we all know by now, Trump and his entire party have been lying about immigration for years. Their dishonesty required me to write several TAT essays over the past two and a half years. In fact, enough essays to be worthy of becoming one of my “Special Editions.” Their dishonest border narratives became a mainstay of the utterly false narratives that elected this administration. Don’t even get me started on the incompetence of the Democratic Party in campaigning, that allowed these narratives to dominate the election season.

The Southern Border/ Immigration special edition

Add to this, the Trump party’s long-time actions that can only be accurately described as overtly racist, illegal, unconstitutional and grotesquely immoral deportation actions. It is easy to see that their seemingly perpetual war with California and other states, was a matter of when, not if. The first major battle of the war, occurred over this past weekend. It wasn’t pretty and and the administration’s rhetoric, ridiculously juvenile. Now, Trump and his Republican Congress and Cabinet, are escalating this war. Let’s take a closer look.

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First and foremost, few Americans, right, left and otherwise, disagree with the fact that we must have comprehensive immigration reform. Honest Americans also understand the sheer ignorance of a wall. There is no way at this time to effectively secure our borders. Those who entered illegally and are not in the asylum system are legitimately eligible to be deported. Remember, those who are in the asylum system, are no longer “undocumented.” ICE deportations also include the deportation of those “in the system,” often times when they are making their mandated hearings at court. This is disgraceful.

Data clearly shows that those “in the system,” are more law-abiding than the preponderance of American citizens. Asylum is the law and The Trump/ GOP is in fact, denying these documented aliens, the due process they are entitled to. This makes America a liar, and it reflects poorly on all of us.

Last Friday’s original LA protests, were relatively small and non-threatening, by any honest account. Our cruel, authoritarian administration, along with their failed Cabinet, agency level leadership along with the full backing of the Republican Party, took the LA protests as a challenge to their fascist tactics. Now, it is the administration that continues to escalate a situation that would have soon disappeared quietly on its own, had they let it. Instead, Trump and the party, chose to escalate. DHS and their subcomponent ICE, just a week ago underwent another shake-up in leadership due to failing to meet the deportation quotas set by Trump, Stephen Miller, agency leadership and the GOP.

Typical to Trump’s first administration, he and his oligarchical Cabinet, are already failing to meet their campaign promises. To salvage a bit of their deportation promise, they are putting enormous pressure on entities like ICE to do the impossible, to legally meet his deportation campaign promises. Like most organizations, ICE has a percentage of “bad apples” and these are the agents whose disregard for the law, is in our daily news feeds. American government agencies should never operate on the concept of, “I will break the law but won’t stop until they make me.” That is how ICE is now operating.

Trump, operating on the sadistic principles of his malignant narcissism, takes any and all resistance to his pro-Putin style of governance personally. His Cabinet and Party, cowardly support his whims as if they were handed down by Moses descending Mount Sinai with the Ten Commandments. This sadistic vengeance then escalated into mobilizing 2,000 California National Guardsmen, and now today, 700 active-duty Marines from just an hour down Interstate 5, at Camp Pendleton.

The California National Guard’s mobilization over the objection of the Governor, Gavin Newsom, is now undergoing legal challenges and there is no doubt, that the tasking of 700 Active-Duty Marines, will be challenged as well. Employing active duty troops domestically represents a list of legal challenges. Both the Guard mobilization and deployment of the Marines are only legal under select, long-determined circumstances. In my opinion and that of most legal scholars, there are plenty of substantive legal challenges to both of these actions. The refusal of this administration to respect the law, has become one of their most defining characteristics.

First, Trump has claimed that he is mobilizing the Cal Guard, over the objections of Gov. Newsom, because he claims that the protests rise to the level of “rebellion.” Rebellion is the legal threshold for him to employ Title 10 authorities. Most legal scholars believe this claim to be unsupportable. I would agree from a professional, national security perspective. Secondly, Title 10 authorities, do not allow for employing the Guard with arrest and law enforcement authorities. They will be there only to “protect” legitimate law enforcement personnel. Even many of the actions taken by existing ICE and other law enforcement entities, have come under serious legal scrutiny. Frankly, we are living under a mostly lawless Republican regime.

From the other side of the ongoing and escalating tensions, the protesters are certainly not there supporting a political party. They are there because the US government made them promises that the current administration then cruelly broke. When ICE and their partner agencies arrest people attending their scheduled asylum hearings, they are in fact deporting those who are honoring their legal asylum requirements, not law-breakers. This administration, has a pathetic record of deporting innocent residents and then refusing to correct their erroneous decision.

Well over 50% of those deported to the infamous CECOT prison in El Salvador, are not only innocent of US crimes, but of crimes in their home country as well. The version of ICE we see daily on our screens, often operate illegally, and immorally as well. The harm they are doing to human beings, their families and businesses, will leave a devastating mark on some industries.

One the other side of the protests, some of those protesting are making grievous mistakes, if they wish to be taken seriously. Demanding an end to ICE and immigration enforcement, is patently ridiculous. All nations have rights regarding their sovereignty. There is a need to well manage immigration effectively and morally. Both parties have failed miserably for decades, to come up with comprehensive immigration reform. This leaves us victims of the endless stream of Executive Orders, spewing from the GOP’s Oval Office resident.

Another issue that is costing protesters support is the waving of Mexican flags, at their protests. As they say, “the optics are bad.” Anyone demonstrating in support of immigration rights to the US, has no business elevating their home nation’s interests above those of the US. Yes, most Americans are proud of their ethnic heritage, but not at the expense of the rights and privileges of being an American citizen or legal resident. This issue is just one more fact in a long list of facts, that no one with a brain, is in charge of resistance to this criminal administration. Behind the scenes, many of the opposition leaders come from progressive and ultra progressive movements.

America has made it quite clear at the polls, that the left’s ultra progressives are not what the majority want at this time. These left wing movements, tend to have solo interests in whatever their specific special interest is. It takes a team player to lead the opposition. It is not just the DNC, whose feckless and incompetent leadership got us into this mess in the first place, but they were in charge of the campaign. Americans are sick and tired of being bled dry, financially by big money political parties that badger us for money, constantly.

My laptop just received a news update regarding troops mobilized to the LA area for duty against the protesters. Apparently, Our terminally immoral and malignant narcissist POTUS, has just ordered an additional 2,000 National Guard troops to LA. He seeks escalation, in order to justify Martial Law. This must not be allowed to occur. Massive, loud, non-violent and non-partisan resistance is the right answer, not destruction of property or injury to human beings.

The last thing I will say at this time regarding the massive national protests, is to wish them all due success. The sooner that honest, real patriots stand together in a non-partisan manner against the GOP’s tyranny, the sooner this ends favorably. There are more of us than there are of Republicans. There is zero principled conservatism left in the GOP. Those who voted for Trump and his GOP henchmen last November, are the reason that honest and patriotic Americans must endure the pain of the MAGA GOP. They will not respond favorably to anything other than strict, non-partisan resistance.

At this phase of our current GOP coup, we must have every possible American on the side that honors our constitutional republic, not the side of those attempting to overturn it. There are plenty of delusional Trump/ GOP voters, enabling the Putinesque regime in the White House. I see these voters as an excellent opportunity to gain support for the restoration of our republic. Trump and the Republicans, want a civil war to firm up their control over the US. They have not made as much Project 2025 progress as they’d like, since January 20th. This gives us opportunity to put heavier pressure on the administration, especially if we target the home offices of all congressmen, for our peaceful protests.

Summary

We are a nation of immigrants and were once proud to also be a nation of laws. In the Trump era, the law has become increasingly two-tiered, one for the elites, and one for the rest of us. Now, this GOP administration ignores the law or is in the “untouchable” tier or above the law. This triggers most honest Americans, Republican, Democrat or otherwise. I have long believed that there is a line that cannot be crossed, that beats in the breast of every true patriot. When that line is crossed, it means that we’ve had enough of tyranny and will act to end it. What we are watching in the streets of LA and other cities, is the physical manifestation of this belief. This is what it means to be an American.

The bottom line is that these protests that provoke such dramatic overreactions from the administration, provide an influence opportunity for the resistance to gain ground. The way to do this, is to carefully protest in large numbers with lots of non-violent noise. Get as much media as possible involved, while encouraging protesters to record as well. Finally, take this fight to every single Republican congressman’s home offices. Show them and them the videos and the media coverage.

The last thing that we want to do is to provoke an incident where law enforcement, protesters, press nor anyone else, get’s hurt. We’re still a free people with rights, so we certainly should put them to use sustaining the very republic they stem from.

Bravo protesters and patriots

Paul