Recent activities
by
the Trump administration singularly and
collectively sent powerful messages to the
world. The dueling fronts were in full motion.
The Democracy Defenders and MAGA-ites deepened
their respective lines in the sand. Trump’s
abuse of authority has forced a massive,
coordinated response from the Defenders.
Leading up to
the eventful weekend were the escalating ICE
raids in California and elsewhere. The trump
administration’s big lie is that only the
most vicious and violent of those in the
country without proper documentation would be
rounded up. Nazi wanna-be Stephen Miller, a
key trump advisor, has been the torch bearer
for mass deportations. He also led the charge
against DEI. Being called a despicable human
being, a racist and a xenophobe only adds to
his desired persona as someone to be feared.
We now know the
first wave of ICE roundups reveal the
immigrants being held or disappeared are
hard-working, tax-paying people who are
struggling for a safe and better life. Miller
has failed miserably in moving his daily quota
of 3000 so-called violent thugs out of the
country. We can expect him to double down with
more aggressive tactics toward immigrants.
There was the
utter disregard for the established process of
deploying the National Guard. Kristi Noem, the
incompetent head of Homeland Security, vowed
to keep troops in Los Angeles to “liberate the
City from the socialist and the burdensome
leadership” of Mayor Bass and Gov. Newsom.
Both the mayor and the governor were firm in
their abilities to deal with the ICE protests
in the City of Angels.
During a press
conference by Noem, U.S. Senator Alex Padillo,
was tackled to the ground and handcuffed for
trying to simply ask a question. The release
of the full video exposed the lies by Noem
that Padillo moved in a threatening manner and
did not identify himself.
Then there was
the deployment of U.S. Marines to LA--a
military arm trained to kill, disrupt and
destroy, not control protesters. They were
sent into LA despite the vocal opposition of
the mayor, the governor and others who
understand the U.S. Constitution and state
authority.
The tragic
assassination of a U.S. senator and her spouse
in Minnesota, along with the attempted
assassination of another senator and his
spouse, along with the discovery of a hit-list of other
Democratic state leaders, took the violence to
a new level.
There was the
flagrant use of the $45 million parade
to celebrate trump’s birthday under the guise
of celebrating the U.S. Army. And most
disgusting, it’s at a time when veteran
agencies and benefits are being gutted. The
parade was rightfully overshadowed by the
millions who poured into the streets chanting
“No Kings!” The 2100 protests were held
in all fifty states and showed that people,
including some trump supporters, understood
that we are in dangerous territory. We must
stand up against authoritarianism and continue
to organize the resistance.
The pressure on
MAGA has pushed them into revealing their true
identities and agenda at all costs. Dictator
trump has promised to carry out ICE raids and
put military troops in every city. That
promise was subsequently exposed to mean
cities where there are Democrats in elected
leadership. All this points to extremist
attacks targeting Democrats and ratcheting up
state repression for the rest of us.
Let us not
ignore the character of trump and those around
him. Even if we only focus on the line between
January 6 and now, MAGA has unapologetically unveiled
its plan for the country. What happened on
January 6, how trump incited an insurrection
and how he rewarded the actions of those who
killed, maimed and threatened under the banner
of making America white again with pardons is
proof positive that we who believe in Freedom
have plenty of work to do.
I still
passionately believe that Congress needs to
invoke Amendment 25 for trump’s insane and
reckless leadership. This man is not only
stoking civil unrest nationally but in foreign
affairs like Gaza
and Iran. His actions are a threat to national
security as well as our personal security.
The No Kings
protests cannot be a moment of temporary anger
at what we’re seeing and experiencing. It must
be shaped into a multiracial, nonpartisan
movement to oppose homegrown authoritarianism.
Only then will it be respected as part of a
global united front against fascism. We must
do our part here and now.
