I agree that the idea that there is an announced (or leaked) fixed date for declaring martial law is silly. However, I think there is plenty of reason to believe that the administration (not just the president) is manufacturing crises in order to further consolidate power. As protests are getting traction, I can absolutely imagine another (remember June 2020 in DC?) attempt to turn military force against peaceful citizens. Maybe even on April 19.
He's totally manufacturing crises. And I have no doubt that he'd round up everybody who didn't vote for him if he could. I just don't think it will come down in the made for tv version being talked about. And I see it as counter-productive, making people fear rather than act.
I truly hope you are correct about the articles being hyperbolic and unfounded. However, the government has not announced the possibility of martial law being implemented, people have - not entirely unreasonably - inferred that the Insurrectionist Act could be activated with liberal interpretation given that Hegseth and Bondi’s assessment will be what Dickhead wants it to be. Also, holding facilities are not a prerequisite for martial law. Martial law rarely is used with any intent of jailing massive portions of the population. It is used to deter and intimidate opposition. It wouldn’t take many arrests and incarceration of prominent opposition figures to make a point and - potentially - deter opposition to Dickhead’s agenda. The government does not need to incarcerate people to severely restrict people’s freedom. Military personnel scattered throughout cities, along heavily travelled thoroughfares etc is plenty to deter many people from ‘stepping out of line.’ My main takeaway from the articles I’ve read regarding April 20th is that the expiration of the executive order could be a convenient excuse to ‘legally’ make military deterrence of people opposed to Dickhead a more regular sighting and yet another cue of a descent into fascism.
Again, I really hope you are right! Thanks for your take on things!
I’ve been countering that ML panic with a lot of the folk I know posting it too ~ this is little more than an equivalent to the wild conspiracy theories MAGA has made a steady diet of for the last ten years.
There’s a ton of reasons why martial law nation wide won’t work and setting aside the massive logistics inadequacies that would occur hampering its success, we as a population aren’t anywhere near properly primed to cower in our homes at this point - they’re not far along enough or been successful enough with their “flood the zone” campaign - the only thing they’re really accomplished (outside of externalizing their opportunities to maximize the grift in plain sight) is firing a shitload of people and pissing off a significant portion of the population -
just wait until their fuck ups start hitting things that really count, like the food or the fuel supply to see that particular flavor of pissed-off really take off - the only thing martial law at this point would do is become a one stop rally shop for EVERYONE pouring out into the streets in opposition.
Our military isn’t geared for it - killer tech or no, it’s not massive enough to ever pretend it can pacify the entire nation. (Would the military even try?)
There’s plenty enough psychotic shit they’re doing to keep us busy ~ let’s focus on that.
I don’t believe he will try for martial law but there is the possibility that he might try to ‘federalize’ (gain executive control over) at least some State National Guard units, (that normally are commanded by State Governors). This would be very bad as it would be the first step towards creating a military force answerable only typo him. We will see in just over a week.
The date coincides with his emergency declaration and the report he requested from dumb and dumber on if additional measures should be implemented.
The date may not be accurate but I do think this is in the works.
I have sons in the military they are being mobilized to different areas of the country.
My son stationed at FT Carson was mobilized to Texas, my son stationed at Camp Pendleton is being mobilized next week and he is unable to tell me where.
I have genuine concerns and do not want to fear monger but believe we should be aware and take precautions
Let me clear -- I think that mass repression of people's first amendment rights is a real possibility. And that activists need to have honest discussions about the possibility. My quibble is the alarmism based on conjecture; it serves no useful purpose. How do we "prepare" other than the way we should all be ready for natural disasters? My fear is that people can be driven to stop doing the things that can stop these fascists: educate, organize, agitate, and build community. It only takes 3.5% of us to turn the tide.
I agree with your statement. I live near Madison WI. Our county is blue, we are surrounded by red on all sides. I have friends and colleagues that insist it will all pass and we should hunker down in our “Dane County Bubble “ and wait for them to implode on themselves. This is detrimental, in my opinion. I am not confident that people are taking things as seriously as they should be. That is my fear. They remain content in their “bubble “ and things escalate.
I have participated in the rallies made the calls to my representatives and written letters. We do need to be doing these things.
We should prepare as we would for any natural disaster. Cash in hand, food stocks, etc. I should have clarified on that.
You made an interesting implication when you wrote that jails must first be imagined to hold all those who will be detained (my paraphrasing). Now that this regime has stated that US citizens will also be housed in foreign jails (courtesy of our tax dollars), can you accept that the jails have been much more than ‘imagined’: if not why not, and if so, how does that fact change your argument?
Well, Trump did ask for a Trillion dollar defense budget, so maybe the military could be talked into pissing away resources. The El Salvador thing was a made for tv stunt, which admittedly could be repeated... until it loses its shock value.
I’m curious how long our stable genius will continue the distraction game before enough people cry “Enough!” (or whatever El Grito is eventually adopted)?
Ah a clairvoyant. Go away with your defeatist attitude. Tell us “ I told you so “ once your fear mongering and we shall say , “ nah, nah , na,na,na,na! Deal?
Perhaps there are truths to the martial law thing. Remember convicted felon appointed Flynn to a back door board role and will utilize the Russian traitor when martial law is announced. He was urging the orange beast during 1.0 to do the same. Things to think about
I added a shout out to today's email & changed the website edition. Unfortunately, this newsletter is an email, so I can't fix errors in people's inboxes. Thank you for letting me know.
Guess we will find out even if it isn’t the20th he’s absolutely going to do this but my bet is for the 2026 election cycle
I agree that the idea that there is an announced (or leaked) fixed date for declaring martial law is silly. However, I think there is plenty of reason to believe that the administration (not just the president) is manufacturing crises in order to further consolidate power. As protests are getting traction, I can absolutely imagine another (remember June 2020 in DC?) attempt to turn military force against peaceful citizens. Maybe even on April 19.
He's totally manufacturing crises. And I have no doubt that he'd round up everybody who didn't vote for him if he could. I just don't think it will come down in the made for tv version being talked about. And I see it as counter-productive, making people fear rather than act.
I truly hope you are correct about the articles being hyperbolic and unfounded. However, the government has not announced the possibility of martial law being implemented, people have - not entirely unreasonably - inferred that the Insurrectionist Act could be activated with liberal interpretation given that Hegseth and Bondi’s assessment will be what Dickhead wants it to be. Also, holding facilities are not a prerequisite for martial law. Martial law rarely is used with any intent of jailing massive portions of the population. It is used to deter and intimidate opposition. It wouldn’t take many arrests and incarceration of prominent opposition figures to make a point and - potentially - deter opposition to Dickhead’s agenda. The government does not need to incarcerate people to severely restrict people’s freedom. Military personnel scattered throughout cities, along heavily travelled thoroughfares etc is plenty to deter many people from ‘stepping out of line.’ My main takeaway from the articles I’ve read regarding April 20th is that the expiration of the executive order could be a convenient excuse to ‘legally’ make military deterrence of people opposed to Dickhead a more regular sighting and yet another cue of a descent into fascism.
Again, I really hope you are right! Thanks for your take on things!
Yeah Doug,
I’ve been countering that ML panic with a lot of the folk I know posting it too ~ this is little more than an equivalent to the wild conspiracy theories MAGA has made a steady diet of for the last ten years.
There’s a ton of reasons why martial law nation wide won’t work and setting aside the massive logistics inadequacies that would occur hampering its success, we as a population aren’t anywhere near properly primed to cower in our homes at this point - they’re not far along enough or been successful enough with their “flood the zone” campaign - the only thing they’re really accomplished (outside of externalizing their opportunities to maximize the grift in plain sight) is firing a shitload of people and pissing off a significant portion of the population -
just wait until their fuck ups start hitting things that really count, like the food or the fuel supply to see that particular flavor of pissed-off really take off - the only thing martial law at this point would do is become a one stop rally shop for EVERYONE pouring out into the streets in opposition.
Our military isn’t geared for it - killer tech or no, it’s not massive enough to ever pretend it can pacify the entire nation. (Would the military even try?)
There’s plenty enough psychotic shit they’re doing to keep us busy ~ let’s focus on that.
I don’t believe he will try for martial law but there is the possibility that he might try to ‘federalize’ (gain executive control over) at least some State National Guard units, (that normally are commanded by State Governors). This would be very bad as it would be the first step towards creating a military force answerable only typo him. We will see in just over a week.
The date coincides with his emergency declaration and the report he requested from dumb and dumber on if additional measures should be implemented.
The date may not be accurate but I do think this is in the works.
I have sons in the military they are being mobilized to different areas of the country.
My son stationed at FT Carson was mobilized to Texas, my son stationed at Camp Pendleton is being mobilized next week and he is unable to tell me where.
I have genuine concerns and do not want to fear monger but believe we should be aware and take precautions
Let me clear -- I think that mass repression of people's first amendment rights is a real possibility. And that activists need to have honest discussions about the possibility. My quibble is the alarmism based on conjecture; it serves no useful purpose. How do we "prepare" other than the way we should all be ready for natural disasters? My fear is that people can be driven to stop doing the things that can stop these fascists: educate, organize, agitate, and build community. It only takes 3.5% of us to turn the tide.
I agree with your statement. I live near Madison WI. Our county is blue, we are surrounded by red on all sides. I have friends and colleagues that insist it will all pass and we should hunker down in our “Dane County Bubble “ and wait for them to implode on themselves. This is detrimental, in my opinion. I am not confident that people are taking things as seriously as they should be. That is my fear. They remain content in their “bubble “ and things escalate.
I have participated in the rallies made the calls to my representatives and written letters. We do need to be doing these things.
We should prepare as we would for any natural disaster. Cash in hand, food stocks, etc. I should have clarified on that.
I appreciate your response.
Oh did they change the date to ninety days out?
You made an interesting implication when you wrote that jails must first be imagined to hold all those who will be detained (my paraphrasing). Now that this regime has stated that US citizens will also be housed in foreign jails (courtesy of our tax dollars), can you accept that the jails have been much more than ‘imagined’: if not why not, and if so, how does that fact change your argument?
Well, Trump did ask for a Trillion dollar defense budget, so maybe the military could be talked into pissing away resources. The El Salvador thing was a made for tv stunt, which admittedly could be repeated... until it loses its shock value.
I’m curious how long our stable genius will continue the distraction game before enough people cry “Enough!” (or whatever El Grito is eventually adopted)?
Ah a clairvoyant. Go away with your defeatist attitude. Tell us “ I told you so “ once your fear mongering and we shall say , “ nah, nah , na,na,na,na! Deal?
Just a thought…
Perhaps there are truths to the martial law thing. Remember convicted felon appointed Flynn to a back door board role and will utilize the Russian traitor when martial law is announced. He was urging the orange beast during 1.0 to do the same. Things to think about
Please credit Peter Kuper for the art. Thank you.
I added a shout out to today's email & changed the website edition. Unfortunately, this newsletter is an email, so I can't fix errors in people's inboxes. Thank you for letting me know.