“I'm
not saying Trump has gone round the bend, but he's two news cycles from
humping parked cars”
----comedian Bill Maher
He knows he's guilty and, as the forces of resistance
gather at the polls, our Caesar Disgustus is becoming increasingly
desperate. Campaigning in deeply reactionary jurisdictions, our
erstwhile 'president' is calling the alarm about the horde of
'vicious' individuals, bad hombres, currently near the border of
Guatemala, slowly making its way north, warning of the harm to be
done by this invasion and insisting that only he and his
Rescumlickans will protect this country.
It is all bullshit, of course, but it is grand theatre
and the Rescumlickans are nothing but about theatre—the optics of
governance.
He's order 15,000 troops to the border to defend us from
this horde of poor and destitute.
Not since Pharaoh sent troops to stop the ancient
Israelites have we seen such a misuse of our armed forces. Defense
Secretary Mattis, who should know better, has responded by sending a
greater force to Texas than we have fighting real terrorism in
Afghanistan.
Such are the demands of an upcoming election.
What is lost in the histrionics is that it is illegal to
do this, and has been since 1878. Recently, a presumed 'soldier'
posted a meme on Facebook declaring that such an action violates the
military code of justice. It does more than that, it violates
Federal law.
In an act signed into law by then President Rutherford
B. Hayes on June 18, 1878, prohibits the use of the army to enforce
domestic policy in the United States. The law was passed as part of
the “compromise” reached in the wake of the contested
presidential election of 1876 when Democratic candidate Samuel Tilden
won the popular vote but contested electors to the Electoral College
from—you guessed it—Florida, threw the outcome into doubt. A
domestic crisis emerged and a commission was formed to decide (a
constitutionally dubious act in and of itself) which Electors would
be recognized and counted. A deal was struck. The Democrats would
concede the election in return for th ending of Reconstruction which
meant that federal troops would be withdrawn from the South. For
good measure, the Posse Comitatus Act was passed
to ensure that they would not soon return. (1)
And, of course, the age of Jim Crow immediately
followed.
We cannot expect our present Caesar to know this, for he
knows nothing, and cares to know nothing. What is astounding is that
those around them, those who didn't cheat themselves of an education,
would not stand up and tell this idiot that he cannot do this.
But it may well be too late. As of this writing,
reports are surfacing of armed militias heading for the border to
defend this country from a 'horde' of those seeking only political
asylum from the hell-hole we helped create in Central America. The
military may find themselves in the crossfire as they defend this
country not from the 'bad hombres' coming north who, by the time they
reach our 'shores', will be few and full of labor, but will instead
find themselves defending us from ourselves.
This is the legacy of the gun nuts, the teabaggers, the
Rescumlickan Party and Donald J. Trump.
This is where hate leads those who follow.
“An
Br'er Putin, he jus' laugh and laugh'
Impeach and Imprison
____________________
No comments:
Post a Comment