Comments And Discussion

As often happens, my response to a couple comments under the previous post expanded into a post in itself. It's only proper to question claims as serious as "failed state" and "police state". Further discussion was indeed warranted, and is still welcomed. 

Let’s present the content here instead of in a long thread.

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Tyrell (TP):

From failed state to police state, huh? I don't think so, my friend.

While leftists have done what they could to either ignore or undermine our constitution (yes, some militant right-wingers are also guilty), America is still not a failed state. Even for Americans of color, there is more prosperity, opportunities, and freedom in America than nearly anywhere else in the world.

Further, if the Democrats were to recapture the White House and both chambers of congress, this would not become a police state either, since the Democrats are seemingly bound and determined to eliminate the police in most major metropolitan areas. That, of course, is another knee-jerk reaction, the ramifications of which has not evidently occurred to these brilliant leaders of ours.

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TB3:

Oh, I'm waiting with bated breath on a further elaboration on how "leftists" ignore or undermine the Constitution AS WELL as reconciling the ongoing demonstrations with the phrase "Even for Americans of color, there is more prosperity, opportunities, and freedom in America', TP.

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I thank the gentlemen for their remarks. 

It’s always revealing that our conservative friends are so reluctant to cite any of my points or opinions offered, and provide facts or information that contradicts them.

I suppose they think just stating their beliefs accomplishes that.

I, too, would love to see further elaboration, and of course evidence, to support TP’s assertions. Historically the pattern would indicate none will be forthcoming.

I don’t know how any “leftists” ignore or undermine the Constitution, since they wield very little power to do so. Maybe this is a red herring to deflect from the blatant abuses of our Constitution by the Republican Party and Donald Trump?

Remember when Moscow Mitch refused to follow the Constitution and hold a vote for a Supreme Court Justice nominated by the Black President? Remember how we used to have Constitutional checks and balances, and administrations would comply with oversight and obey lawful Congressional subpoenas? Remember how Constitutional impeachment trials would allow for actual evidence and testimony?

Rightists love to deflect form these horrible abuses of our Constitution.

The Republican Party has become a gutless cult, serving their criminal and corrupt racist leader. Rep. Justin Amash alone had the moral decency to leave the Republican Party. Mitt Romney was the only Republican In DC with a conscience to vote Trump guilty of his criminal attempts to bribe and blackmail a foreign leader to help win his upcoming election. (Article 2, Sec. 4) That doesn’t bother them any more than Trump’s criminal payoff to a porn star.

It seems "Constitutional conservative" has become an oxymoron.

Remember the First Amendment provisions for a free press? Totally demonized by the Tangerine Tyrant for not kissing his ring. Remember the First Amendment “right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances”?

We have numerous videos of cops gassing and clubbing peaceful protesters, for protesting police violence. Like a police state.

We have a president who said, “I will fight to protect you. I am your President of law and order, and an ally of all peaceful protesters." Minutes earlier it was as if he ordered: "OK, Barr. Smash and gas those peaceful protesters so I can have my Bible photo-op." This is exactly the behavior of a dictator's failed state, verging on a police state.

Even high ranking former Trump officials and other military leaders have called out his lawlessness. Retired Air Force Generals Mark Volcheff and Richard Myers, Admirals Mullen and McRaven, Army and Marine Generals Powell, Kelly and Mattis were just a few of those senior military men outraged by this flagrant and criminal violation of our Constitution.

But, I am open to hearing evidence on how “leftists” are the guilty ones.

I would concede the terms “failed state” and “police state” do not generally apply to wealthy white Americans. They are doing swell. After all, they comprise almost all the economic elites served by a bought and paid for Congress and White House sympathetic to the rich over everyone else.

We are a failed state when it comes to our founders’ ideal of consent of the governed as stated in the Declaration of Independence. We are certainly a failed state if the standard is equal justice under law. Only privileged and rural whites still believe this myth. Voter rights and registration depend on Republican leniency and what color your neighbors are. Republicans, in their open war on democracy, shut down the League of Women Voters from helping with registration. Qualified voters have been purged from rolls. Poll access is another unequal proposition.

Note that I am not including voter ID to counter wildly inflated claims and blatant lies of voter impersonation. Major election fraud has recently been the domain of Republicans. Trump’s taxpayer funded witch hunt for “millions of illegals voting” came up empty.

The Electoral College is a vestige of slave state demands. It is antithetical to representative democracy. The same is truth for the imbalance of representation and power in the Senate. These are direct and intentional impediments to the consent of the governed. The fact is our country was founded by wealthy white men, many being slave owners. Women and African Americans waited over a hundred years for the right to vote. Now we have an authoritarian political party working to reduce the number of voters and their access to their right to vote.

Republicans would prefer Americans standing in line, risking death and disease in a pandemic, rather than allow mail-in ballots.

So yes, the state has failed, and is actively failing, its citizens regarding voter rights and fair elections. The state has failed, and is actively failing, policing the police and providing equal justice under law.

Racial profiling and a long history of police brutality against minorities indicates another characteristic of a failed state. “Qualified immunity” is a concept that protects abusers in law enforcement and is antithetical to justice. Unaccountable police violence is a characteristic of a police state. Tyrell might even agree with this point.

And I agree that Americans of color have “more prosperity, opportunities, and freedom in America than nearly anywhere else in the world.”

The qualifier I would add is “generally” people of color having more prosperity, opportunities, and freedom than “nearly anywhere else”. The last qualifier is important. People of color have opportunities, better health care and better education in other countries.

We certainly have nothing approaching equal opportunity in this country.

Also “driving while black” is one of the freedoms that still eludes many, if not most, African Americans. Anyone who dismisses their real fear of racist cops is uninformed or willfully ignorant.

Trump and Sessions gutted federal measures for police accountability.They drastically limited abilities of federal officials to use court-enforced deals to require reforms at police departments.

I would also love to see evidence that “Democrats are seemingly bound and determined to eliminate the police in most major metropolitan areas.”

Reform is not removal, and the Right stands firmly opposed to reform.

It’s interesting that the Right sees a protester’s “defund the police” sign and assumes it is the Democratic Party platform to eliminate police. Nowhere have I seen a sign demanding “Eliminate the police”. Could that be the real “knee jerk reaction” projected upon Democrats?

This isn’t unusual, since the Right sees things that are not there. They see commies under progressive beds and the Devil between their sheets.

From Failed State To Police State

I'd like to share some random thoughts, impressions, and tweets regarding the ongoing Great American Tragedy. This tragic arc of our history was birthed by slavery, and prolonged by the continued racism, and indifference to racism, by white American conservatives. It has been continued in systemic racism throughout law enforcement.  

Equal justice under law has been an ideal, but still exists only as myth in America.

Since American con-servatism now has Trump for its leader, inequality and racism have only been fueled. Exacerbation will continue until he is removed from office.

We can count on a despot like the Big MAGAt to deny the result of an election he loses. If he can't win, or steal, the election, it WILL get ugly . He will likely incite his armed brown shirts to violence. Win or lose, he will go full Nazi. Count on it.

RepublicaNazis want voters to stay home or expose themselves to the coronavirus. They hate voter rights and fair elections. They are enemies of democracy and a threat to our lives. Wisconsin showed standing in line to vote spreads the virus. Republican judges refuse to allow the election to be postponed. The Trump Cult is pure evil.

I was for Bernie, but this is an emergency. Trump is a direct threat to our health. He threatens to withhold Michigan’s federal funding over vote-by-mail. He threatens the Post Office to stop mail-in votes. We choose to stop this fascist or allow four more years of destruction.

Many Nazis evaded justice. The Bush/Cheney cartel evaded justice for war crimes and torture. Trump will go free in an America gone rogue. This is a failed state. American democracy, justice and rule of law have been corrupted.

How is the Trump cult different from Nazis? They hate the same people. Minorities, liberals, educators, scientists, journalists, and yes, socialists are the targets of their hate. Time to call RepublicaNazis what they really are.

The Birther Liar tweeted: "It’s ANTIFA and the Radical Left. Don’t lay the blame on others!"

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey: "We are now confronting white supremacists, members of organized crime, out of state instigators, and possibly even foreign actors to destroy and destabilize our city and our region."

White nationalists threatened a family of campers and accused them of being "Antifa". This is the ignorance and hate being spread by Trump, hate radio, fascists on social media, and FOX(R).

Trump and his white nationalist cult deserve to be called neo-Nazis. No question. They hate the same people Hitler's Nazis hated. Minorities, liberals, educators, journalists, etc. The Fourth Reich is taking America down.

What has been true for minorities is now true for the majority of Americans. Racism, lies and hate stoked by Trump and the Right have taken us from divided state, to failed state, and now, to a police state. American neo-nazis are taking America down fast.

Yes. The truth is ugly. Nazis always hated democrats. FDR was their enemy. They still hate democrats, like they still hate democracy and minorities.

Racism is not racism to racists. A cult is not a cult to a cult.

Don't let Captain Tom "No Quarter" Cotton pretend otherwise. Historically “no quarter” was a death sentence. Hauptsturmführer would be Captain Tom 's rank in the SS. The Trump Cult hates the same people Hitler's Nazis hated. Hmm?

William Barr and his thugs are guilty of assault on peacefully assembled Americans exercising their First Amendment rights. He proclaimed, “The violence instigated and carried out by Antifa and other similar groups in connection with the rioting is domestic terrorism and will be treated accordingly.” 

So Barr ordered violence upon non-violent Americans.

He is literally an enemy of the people, as are his boss and every brutal cop. Lock them all up.

Amidst this authoritarian crackdown, the president tweeted:

5-28-02 “The only good Democrat is a dead Democrat”. 5-29-02 “When the looting starts, the shooting starts.”

5-30-20 "It’s ANTIFA and the Radical Left. Don’t lay the blame on others!"

5-31-20 "The Lamestream Media is doing everything within their power to foment hatred and anarchy. As long as everybody understands what they are doing, that they are FAKE NEWS and truly bad people with a sick agenda, we can easily work through them to GREATNESS!"

"LAW & ORDER!"

“The United States of America will be designating ANTIFA as a Terrorist Organization.”

6-1-20 To Governors: "Most of you are weak."

"You have to dominate, if you don’t dominate you’re wasting your time. They’re going to run over you, you’re going to look like a bunch of jerks. You have to dominate."

Hundreds of thugs with badges have been beating people for protesting police violence. Journalists have been viciously attacked as well. 

Here is just a small sample of police brutality inflicted on people protesting police brutality:

Buffalo Police shove older man, who then bleeds from his head.

Black store owners looked for help from LA police, were handcuffed instead.

Black CNN reporter arrested live by Minneapolis on air. 

Protester with his hands up taken down by Buffalo police while giving a TV interview.

US Park Police gassed and bashed peaceful protesters to clear the way for a Trump photo-op.

Atlanta Police pull college students from a car and stun them with a Taser.

Salt Lake City Police knock down older man with a cane when he doesn’t move fast enough.

NYPD rams SUV into a crowd of people.

LAPD batters protesters with batons.

NYC Police shove, shout expletives at Associated Press journalists.

Richmond Police fired tear gas at protesters in Virginia before curfew.

What are the odds these real enemies of the people are Trump supporters, taking cues from their RepublicaNazi leader?