Hard to say. I'm not really up on military thinking (to put it mildly), so I haven't a clue to what The Generals are up to in their own secret realms. I know that they, their troops, their allies and their mercenaries have been killing and destroying up a storm overseas, and they've been organizing disaster response domestically. That can easily -- too easily -- morph into occupation abroad and martial law at home, but domestically it hasn't quite yet (the situation in Puerto Rico may hold the key... they say that crime is running rampant on the streets of San Juan and "something has to be done." Right.)
When Gen. Dunford appeared before the media to clean up the mess of the Niger Operation, I thought, "Well, there's your Emperor-in-waiting."
I've said for a while now that we're one or two catastrophes away from the Apocalypse, and we've had one major catastrophe (the California wild fires) since.
We're very close to the edge.
We've seen over and over how close to nonfunctional Congress is, and when they can do something, it's detrimental to the public good. We've seen over and over how dysfunctional and chaotic the White House is, and when they do something, it is all but certain to bring harm to some segment of the public -- and probably save the favored faction of the gangster rich from harm -- to say the least.
The courts too often reinforce injustice and free the rich from the law.
The public is restive enough that some are taking matters into their own hands; white rightists are on the march, racially motivated murder and assault is on the rise, and nothing is being done about the long term problem of mass murder, except perhaps to encourage more of it.
The White House backs the "good people on both sides" -- whoever they may be -- involved in the mayhem.
This is not sustainable.
The military and intelligence community are already in effective control of foreign policy, international affairs -- and warmaking. Trump freed them from Obama's restraint almost the moment he assumed the throne. I doubt he fully understood what he was doing -- does he fully understand anything, after all? But by doing so, he set up the foundations for the military take over of the government (to the extent it isn't already overseen/directed by the military.) The emergency framework has been around since the 1950s. On occasion, parts have been implemented, starting, so far as I can tell, with the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963, or perhaps with the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. Or maybe earlier.
The point is that both the military and the permanent government in Washington, DC, have contingency plans which can be implemented in a heartbeat should the need arise.
Parts of those plans can be implemented without notice or a backward glance, and it's possible hardly anyone would notice.
Trump opened the door to the seizure of the whole government by the military when he countermanded the restraints on military action imposed by the Obama regime. It may seem like those restraints only involved who got killed and what was destroyed where and when -- overseas. The White House had to approve.
But the military also has a domestic presence and role, and if by chance the chaos of the Trump regime interferes... it can be (and in part already has been) neutralized.
Retired and currently serving generals are scattered throughout the Trump regime, and they head -- or have headed -- the key agencies that can impose rule on a restive population. Experiments and examples are implemented by such agencies as the Gestapo-like ICE which has been unleashed to terrorize brown people and communities.
This sort of thing is easily expanded, but I would suggest that in a military take over, this sort of thing would be reduced or even cease.
The military and their sponsors would want calm and certainty at home so they can more easily and effectively pursue their Imperial objectives abroad -- which apparently involve the wholesale destruction and annihilation of "rebels against the Empire" we've been seeing.
All to what end?
We're not privy to that.
At any rate, I'd say we're closer than ever to the end point of the Republic, and once it comes, a lot of Americans will breathe a sigh of relief.
Showing posts with label military rule.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label military rule.. Show all posts
Saturday, October 28, 2017
Tuesday, October 3, 2017
The Chaos Continues
The Las Vegas Massacre (50-60 dead, 500 some odd wounded so far) has consumed all the oxygen and attention of a confused and frightened media and nation. WTF is it now?
I woke up yesterday morning to the news of the mass shooting in Las Vegas from the 32nd floor of Mandalay Bay. Oh.
I haven't been to Vegas in many years, but Ms. Ché goes almost every year, sometimes twice or three times a year, and years ago when we would go together, Mandalay Bay was our favorite location. She was there last December, and she went once again in July of this year. When she goes, it's to meet friends from around the country, for the fun of it all and usually for country music concerts.
So.
Here we are witness to the aftermath of yet another mass slaughter by some white guy high up in the tower, shooting seemingly randomly into folks just going about their business.
Allusions have been made to the UT Austin origin of the phenomenon, Charles Whitman, 1966, etc. How similar this seemed in some ways. Well, no. Not really. But it seems to comfort some observers to see commonalities and parallels with historical events. To place it in context, or so they say.
Because the shooter was a white guy, it's not -- and it can't be -- "terrorism," right? That's the narrative, always: when a white guy does the unspeakable, it's always about a Lone Wolf, almost always someone with diagnosed or undiagnosed mental issues, clearly deranged and exceptional because of it. We should not draw any conclusions about white guys because of it, right?
If a person of color does it, however, of course we can draw conclusions not only about the individual but about his family, society, race and religion. It's obvious as sin, right?
Yes there are commonalities between these shootings and shooters, ones that we probably should be paying more attention to but we don't.
I woke up yesterday morning to the news of the mass shooting in Las Vegas from the 32nd floor of Mandalay Bay. Oh.
I haven't been to Vegas in many years, but Ms. Ché goes almost every year, sometimes twice or three times a year, and years ago when we would go together, Mandalay Bay was our favorite location. She was there last December, and she went once again in July of this year. When she goes, it's to meet friends from around the country, for the fun of it all and usually for country music concerts.
So.
Here we are witness to the aftermath of yet another mass slaughter by some white guy high up in the tower, shooting seemingly randomly into folks just going about their business.
Allusions have been made to the UT Austin origin of the phenomenon, Charles Whitman, 1966, etc. How similar this seemed in some ways. Well, no. Not really. But it seems to comfort some observers to see commonalities and parallels with historical events. To place it in context, or so they say.
Because the shooter was a white guy, it's not -- and it can't be -- "terrorism," right? That's the narrative, always: when a white guy does the unspeakable, it's always about a Lone Wolf, almost always someone with diagnosed or undiagnosed mental issues, clearly deranged and exceptional because of it. We should not draw any conclusions about white guys because of it, right?
If a person of color does it, however, of course we can draw conclusions not only about the individual but about his family, society, race and religion. It's obvious as sin, right?
Yes there are commonalities between these shootings and shooters, ones that we probably should be paying more attention to but we don't.
- They almost never go after the High and the Mighty -- the Scalise shooting in DC and the Giffords incident in Arizona are startling exceptions to the rule. One could argue that neither Scalise nor Giffords are particularly high or mighty in any case.
- They almost always target the defenseless rabble going about their ordinary lives, shopping, going to church or the movies, or in this case at an open air concert.
- It's almost as if these shootings are purposeful and deliberately terroristic, to terrorize and panic the Rabble, to make them fearful and easily managed/manipulated -- by whom, though? And to what object?
This massacre came at a particularly opportune time for the Regime of Chaos emplaced over us. Nothing will be done about gun violence per se, and nothing can be allowed to interfere with the sale and trade of firearms for the pleasure of the masses, but we can be almost certain that this incident of mass murder will be used for some political and practical end benefiting the Regime.
People are already being conditioned to accept a form of military rule, and I've pointed out elsewhere that the Government in DC is effectively that of a military junta. The Generals are in charge of everything that's important, not the Orange Menace. Yet he is the temporary face of the junta, and he is the one who ceded presidential power to them. It was no accident. I think this was gamed out behind the scenes well before the election, and it might have happened if Clinton had assumed the throne.
In other words, a civilian government may not have been salvageable given its own inherent instabilities and disabilities.
Obviously the Generals are playing it by ear. They're not skilled at this. But they do have skills and they are prepared to take over completely -- should the need arise.
They might bumble, but they'd do it.
During the recent hurricanes, the military was given almost free rein to conduct domestic operations in Texas and Florida, and according to reports, their operations were a "stunning success." Despite widespread destruction and devastation from the storm, few people died (and those who did "would have died anyway..."); relief efforts were mostly adequate or more than adequate, and survivors have little but praise for the operations of both civilian and military agencies on behalf of hurricane victims.
That all fell apart with regard to the Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands hurricane aftermath. Many-many calls for military intervention were either not heard, or they were deliberately countermanded in DC. By whom? By Daddy Yankee? It's hard to say. More likely, he gave no direction at all. He went golfing instead. Weekend getaway and all that.
This left the Generals on their own, and to say they were flat-footed is an understatement. According to this article at Politico, the military resources for relief and recovery that were operating in Texas and Florida were not re-deployed to the Caribbean. They simply disappeared.
Thus the chaos and continuing lack of relief on the ground in Puerto Rico that has led to so much recrimination. Now that the military is deployed in the Islands, it's looking somewhat less dire in some areas, but...
Puerto Ricans are well aware that the military can just as easily be an occupation force on behalf of corporate interest no matter what immediate and temporary relief they are able to provide.
Puerto Rico is a humanitarian disaster, but conveniently, there was a mass shooting by some white guy of a lot of other white guys in Las Vegas that takes some of the focus off the disaster in the Islands. The white guy that did the shooting in Las Vegas apparently had access to military grade weapons and used them to effect. The killed and wounded by one civilian have reached unprecedented numbers. Even the military would have trouble matching them without resort to 1000lb bombs.
Dude did a bad-bad thing, but...
He was a white dude shooting at mostly other white dudes (and their women and children) in what would otherwise be seen as a "military" operation -- it's what Our Valiant Troops have been doing in foreign lands for so long we've forgotten when it all began.
It shouldn't be acceptable abroad, but it is definitely not acceptable at home. It is an invitation to chaos.
Yet another one.
The only force capable of controlling it is the military itself.
Ergo, don't be surprised if over the next few months the military ("His Generals" according to Trump) take on more and more domestic responsibility and authority. They will be hailed as heroes.
Oh yes, they will...
Tuesday, August 22, 2017
It Couldn't Have Been Plainer
In his speechifying to the troops last night, Trump was laying the groundwork for military rule.
There should be no doubt any more, given his lavish praise of the military and military culture, a culture civilians should emulate.
A culture of patriotism, loyalty and mutual service to one another, to the highest principles of sacrifice, to the Glory of the United States, and to the honor and love instilled through service.
Etc.
He says a lot of things, of course, and we should have learned long ago not to take any of it too literally or seriously. He's a lawn sprinkler, spewing out in all directions at once, all of it absorbed by his thirsty fans, but none of it meaning much in the end.
Oh yes, much harm has been initiated and caused by his blathering. The terror sweeping through immigrant communities from his unleashing of the immigrant raiders, the fear and anger inspired by unleashed Nazis and white supremacists, the annihilation of whole populations and the destruction of cities overseas, the removal of environmental and safety regulations, the efforts to destroy a tottering health care system, the endless advantages delivered to the meanest of the mean at the top of the pyramid, and on and on.
Everything he touches turns to shit, but... he seems to recognize that his presidency is a failed one, and there is nothing he can do at this point to salvage it. He's lost the thread, along with most of his staff. Stephen Miller is essentially the last man standing, and hardly anyone takes him seriously. [I forgot about Gorka. For shame. For shame. Yeah, he's a winner... ]
What's left? Well, of course, "his generals."
Three of whom essentially run the executive branch in the absence of a functioning presidency.
Pence seems to go around the world explaining to the dismayed foreigners that things aren't really as bad as they appear to be, and that everything will work out in the end, be not alarmed. He seems to carry out his duties as well as can be expected. Loyal to the core, he is.
Meanwhile, Congress is as much of a mess as ever, worse in some ways, in its inability to find common ground between the contending factions of the Ruling Party. It's a bad joke which does nothing and can do nothing to improve the lives of the American people. What's the point of such a body? We have to ask.
Trump's lavish praise for the military is no doubt shared by many, many Americans. In one survey, I recall, the military was the only part of the government that consistently rated a 50%+ approval rating.
And I have no doubt that many -- many, many -- Americans would be happier under military rule than continuing under the current wheezing mess of a government.
I myself have thought for many years that a military government, even martial law, was coming. It would be unavoidable given the advent of the Security/Surveillance State under the Bush/Cheney regime. This is not something that an accountable civilian government can undertake or operate constitutionally. It can only happen as a function of a military government, and ideally only temporarily. But as we've seen, the Security/Surveillance State is permanent. It's not going away. Like everything else in this mess of a government, it's metastasizing.
Trump has already handed immense and unaccountable power to "his" generals in the fields of war and destruction overseas, and to "his" security forces at home. They are not just unaccountable, some of them take pleasure in defying what few constraints there are. This has been going on from day one of the Trump regime, and it's not likely to end any time soon.
I'm no fan of the military for a wide range of reasons, but under the circumstances, I can understand why many Americans might applaud a mild form of military rule, especially as the indications of a looming civil war between the red and the blue factions gain heat if not much light.
Trump has shown himself incapable of rational and responsible rule, Pence appears to be a pawn, the congressional leadership is anything but, and that leaves what?
The generals.
A junta as it were.
While I've never thought the Trump regime would end well, an elision to a military government might be the least bad of terrible alternatives.
Or it might not. Uncharted territory. That's for double damb sure.
I should point out that it would be military rule on behalf of a corporate state, not on behalf of the long-suffering masses.
Ahem.
There should be no doubt any more, given his lavish praise of the military and military culture, a culture civilians should emulate.
A culture of patriotism, loyalty and mutual service to one another, to the highest principles of sacrifice, to the Glory of the United States, and to the honor and love instilled through service.
Etc.
He says a lot of things, of course, and we should have learned long ago not to take any of it too literally or seriously. He's a lawn sprinkler, spewing out in all directions at once, all of it absorbed by his thirsty fans, but none of it meaning much in the end.
Oh yes, much harm has been initiated and caused by his blathering. The terror sweeping through immigrant communities from his unleashing of the immigrant raiders, the fear and anger inspired by unleashed Nazis and white supremacists, the annihilation of whole populations and the destruction of cities overseas, the removal of environmental and safety regulations, the efforts to destroy a tottering health care system, the endless advantages delivered to the meanest of the mean at the top of the pyramid, and on and on.
Everything he touches turns to shit, but... he seems to recognize that his presidency is a failed one, and there is nothing he can do at this point to salvage it. He's lost the thread, along with most of his staff. Stephen Miller is essentially the last man standing, and hardly anyone takes him seriously. [I forgot about Gorka. For shame. For shame. Yeah, he's a winner... ]
What's left? Well, of course, "his generals."
Three of whom essentially run the executive branch in the absence of a functioning presidency.
Pence seems to go around the world explaining to the dismayed foreigners that things aren't really as bad as they appear to be, and that everything will work out in the end, be not alarmed. He seems to carry out his duties as well as can be expected. Loyal to the core, he is.
Meanwhile, Congress is as much of a mess as ever, worse in some ways, in its inability to find common ground between the contending factions of the Ruling Party. It's a bad joke which does nothing and can do nothing to improve the lives of the American people. What's the point of such a body? We have to ask.
Trump's lavish praise for the military is no doubt shared by many, many Americans. In one survey, I recall, the military was the only part of the government that consistently rated a 50%+ approval rating.
And I have no doubt that many -- many, many -- Americans would be happier under military rule than continuing under the current wheezing mess of a government.
I myself have thought for many years that a military government, even martial law, was coming. It would be unavoidable given the advent of the Security/Surveillance State under the Bush/Cheney regime. This is not something that an accountable civilian government can undertake or operate constitutionally. It can only happen as a function of a military government, and ideally only temporarily. But as we've seen, the Security/Surveillance State is permanent. It's not going away. Like everything else in this mess of a government, it's metastasizing.
Trump has already handed immense and unaccountable power to "his" generals in the fields of war and destruction overseas, and to "his" security forces at home. They are not just unaccountable, some of them take pleasure in defying what few constraints there are. This has been going on from day one of the Trump regime, and it's not likely to end any time soon.
I'm no fan of the military for a wide range of reasons, but under the circumstances, I can understand why many Americans might applaud a mild form of military rule, especially as the indications of a looming civil war between the red and the blue factions gain heat if not much light.
Trump has shown himself incapable of rational and responsible rule, Pence appears to be a pawn, the congressional leadership is anything but, and that leaves what?
The generals.
A junta as it were.
While I've never thought the Trump regime would end well, an elision to a military government might be the least bad of terrible alternatives.
Or it might not. Uncharted territory. That's for double damb sure.
I should point out that it would be military rule on behalf of a corporate state, not on behalf of the long-suffering masses.
Ahem.
Sunday, August 20, 2017
Junta Time?
The events in Charlottesville continue to reverberate. While Nazi torchlight parades and chants of "Blood and Soil!" are a disgusting display and street brawls are little more than theater -- usually -- the upshot in Charlottesville was the terror-by-vehicle tactic deployed against the so-called counterprotesters (watch how that term is twisted and turned this way and that to normalize the Nazis as the genuine "protesters.")
One was killed and dozens were injured on the ground. Two state police officers observing from above were killed when their helicopter crashed.
It was a debacle for all kinds of reasons.As we inch closer to Labor Day, we need to keep that in mind.
The day did not go well for anyone.
It seems to me this was the tipping point we wondered if it would ever come.
Trump demonstrated clear unfitness for office and inability to lead with his pathetic and contradictory responses to the events in Charlottesville. He was so far out of touch with the zeitgeist he seemed like some alien entity plopped down in front of a teleprompter to say just the wrong things and repeat them, at a time of public mourning and national moral crisis. He failed every test of leadership.
In normal times, that would mean he's done. In these times, it's hard to say.
But note well that he's effectively installed a military junta to run the country should his regime collapse -- as it appears to be doing.
Mattis at Defense, McMaster at DHS (the key domestic agency -- thanks Cheney!) National Security Advisor and Kelly (ex-DHS) in the White House as chief of staff. There seems to be bipartisan support for these fine fellows, each of whom is practically worshiped by both parties and many in the Overclass. In other words, if the Trump regime goes down, these three can instantly elide from their current positions to ones of executive control, without objection from the People Who Matter.
The US experiment with constitutional self-government will reach its final end.
Though I'm sure the junta, like Octavian in Rome, would say they are protecting and restoring the Republic. Bless their hearts
Events of this magnitude take place after Labor Day, so we have a few days to psych ourselves up.
Ms Ché and I are scheduled to visit Acoma Pueblo on Labor Day. There is a whole story to tell about what happened there when the Spanish came a-calling in 1598. Needless to say, it wasn't pretty.
Acomans survived it in sufficient numbers that they are still around; the mesa-top village was rebuilt along with the huge San Esteban mission church, one of the largest in New Mexico, and today, the Acoma pueblo and surrounding territory are major tourist destinations. Despite survival, Acoma today is a very different place than it was before the Spanish conquest.
My bet is that the US will become a very different place after Labor Day this year, but I wonder how many people will notice.
There has long been a significant sector of the US population that would prefer military rule to the messy "democracy" that's been teetering on the verge of collapse for a generation.
One was killed and dozens were injured on the ground. Two state police officers observing from above were killed when their helicopter crashed.
It was a debacle for all kinds of reasons.As we inch closer to Labor Day, we need to keep that in mind.
The day did not go well for anyone.
It seems to me this was the tipping point we wondered if it would ever come.
Trump demonstrated clear unfitness for office and inability to lead with his pathetic and contradictory responses to the events in Charlottesville. He was so far out of touch with the zeitgeist he seemed like some alien entity plopped down in front of a teleprompter to say just the wrong things and repeat them, at a time of public mourning and national moral crisis. He failed every test of leadership.
In normal times, that would mean he's done. In these times, it's hard to say.
But note well that he's effectively installed a military junta to run the country should his regime collapse -- as it appears to be doing.
Mattis at Defense, McMaster
The US experiment with constitutional self-government will reach its final end.
Though I'm sure the junta, like Octavian in Rome, would say they are protecting and restoring the Republic. Bless their hearts
Events of this magnitude take place after Labor Day, so we have a few days to psych ourselves up.
Ms Ché and I are scheduled to visit Acoma Pueblo on Labor Day. There is a whole story to tell about what happened there when the Spanish came a-calling in 1598. Needless to say, it wasn't pretty.
Acomans survived it in sufficient numbers that they are still around; the mesa-top village was rebuilt along with the huge San Esteban mission church, one of the largest in New Mexico, and today, the Acoma pueblo and surrounding territory are major tourist destinations. Despite survival, Acoma today is a very different place than it was before the Spanish conquest.
My bet is that the US will become a very different place after Labor Day this year, but I wonder how many people will notice.
There has long been a significant sector of the US population that would prefer military rule to the messy "democracy" that's been teetering on the verge of collapse for a generation.
Monday, November 28, 2016
The Follies
Looks like Trump sent his Harpy Kellyanne Conway out to the Twitterverse and the Sunday Shows to denounce and disparage the Clintooon Recount that is being promoted and funded by the Green Party and Jill Stein, who are no friends of the Clintons.
Ah well, it doesn't matter. What matters is that the very idea of a recount be delegitimized in the eyes of the public, but oops. When (apparently) Himself insisted that "he woulda won" the popular vote too if it weren't for all the "millions" of illegals who voted for The Hag, he blew the whole thing wide open.
Now he and Kellyanne have boxed themselves in. The only way to find out what happened is if there's a nationwide recount.
Of course, that's highly unlikely, but they have thrown shade on their own side by claiming something essentially impossible about the other. We'll call it projection, because that's what it is. It's a bind I don't think they can get out of, and if calls for a nationwide recount are picked up, the consequences could be very interesting indeed. Since both Hillary and Trump made wild claims about election rigging and foreign interference, they've both set up a dynamic that requires a recount.
At this point, I'll lay even odds that there won't be an inauguration on January 20, 2017, regardless of the outcome of the first three recounts (assuming they even take place.) What looks at least possible is that the EC will be unable to reach 270 for either candidate, and the matter will be thrown to the House, but the House won't be able to do anything about it before January 6 when the new congress is supposed to be seated.
They won't be likely to pick Trump or Hillary. They might go with Their Good Friend Pence, but they might not have that option. Then what?
Who knows? Chaos ensues.
But then we have that already, and Our Fearless Media is scrambling to normalize it. Good lord, their cartwheels are impressive. Let them laugh while they can, though, this is not a sustainable situation.
Something like this level of chaos was taking place during the recount in 2000; armed militants were gathering at state capitols and public squares demanding that their boy Bush be declared the winner, and it was Scalia who took up the call and scared the rest of the Court into doing just that. Even though they had no real jurisdiction, and they knew it. The excuse was that if they hadn't intervened there would have been a civil war.
Well, maybe. I actually don't think so. Most of the threats were empty, but just the chance that there might be "civil disorder" was enough to goose the system to find a solution. So what if it was outside the bounds of law and custom? It worked, didn't it?
Such may be the case this time, too. I don't expect the Court to intervene again, at least not like they did in 2000 (for one thing, there isn't a majority for one side or the other). Some other kind of intervention, though, is more than possible, and I'm sure TPTB are gaming it out. What can they get away with without triggering wholesale insurrection by one side or another?
What can they get away with this time?
I dunno.
Whatever happens, I suspect one of the consequences down the line will be a greater level of state autonomy. The South and parts of the West have been demanding it for a long time, and they're liable to get their wish. The coasts are likely to demand autonomy as well, regardless of the election outcome. That could mean the Mountain West where I live is left to fend for itself, though some wags have proposed that we rejoin Mexico. Na ga happen, but still the idea is out there. We haven't really heard that notion since the days of Aztlan, though I thought that was always supposed to be independent of Mexico.
Will we see the republic suspended ? That actually seems more likely every day, and if that happens, it would almost require a General in charge and the institution of quasi- or actual martial law. Oh it could happen. The mechanisms exist. And they could be triggered by... elite fear of the masses?
We'll see won't we?
Ah well, it doesn't matter. What matters is that the very idea of a recount be delegitimized in the eyes of the public, but oops. When (apparently) Himself insisted that "he woulda won" the popular vote too if it weren't for all the "millions" of illegals who voted for The Hag, he blew the whole thing wide open.
Now he and Kellyanne have boxed themselves in. The only way to find out what happened is if there's a nationwide recount.
Of course, that's highly unlikely, but they have thrown shade on their own side by claiming something essentially impossible about the other. We'll call it projection, because that's what it is. It's a bind I don't think they can get out of, and if calls for a nationwide recount are picked up, the consequences could be very interesting indeed. Since both Hillary and Trump made wild claims about election rigging and foreign interference, they've both set up a dynamic that requires a recount.
At this point, I'll lay even odds that there won't be an inauguration on January 20, 2017, regardless of the outcome of the first three recounts (assuming they even take place.) What looks at least possible is that the EC will be unable to reach 270 for either candidate, and the matter will be thrown to the House, but the House won't be able to do anything about it before January 6 when the new congress is supposed to be seated.
They won't be likely to pick Trump or Hillary. They might go with Their Good Friend Pence, but they might not have that option. Then what?
Who knows? Chaos ensues.
But then we have that already, and Our Fearless Media is scrambling to normalize it. Good lord, their cartwheels are impressive. Let them laugh while they can, though, this is not a sustainable situation.
Something like this level of chaos was taking place during the recount in 2000; armed militants were gathering at state capitols and public squares demanding that their boy Bush be declared the winner, and it was Scalia who took up the call and scared the rest of the Court into doing just that. Even though they had no real jurisdiction, and they knew it. The excuse was that if they hadn't intervened there would have been a civil war.
Well, maybe. I actually don't think so. Most of the threats were empty, but just the chance that there might be "civil disorder" was enough to goose the system to find a solution. So what if it was outside the bounds of law and custom? It worked, didn't it?
Such may be the case this time, too. I don't expect the Court to intervene again, at least not like they did in 2000 (for one thing, there isn't a majority for one side or the other). Some other kind of intervention, though, is more than possible, and I'm sure TPTB are gaming it out. What can they get away with without triggering wholesale insurrection by one side or another?
What can they get away with this time?
I dunno.
Whatever happens, I suspect one of the consequences down the line will be a greater level of state autonomy. The South and parts of the West have been demanding it for a long time, and they're liable to get their wish. The coasts are likely to demand autonomy as well, regardless of the election outcome. That could mean the Mountain West where I live is left to fend for itself, though some wags have proposed that we rejoin Mexico. Na ga happen, but still the idea is out there. We haven't really heard that notion since the days of Aztlan, though I thought that was always supposed to be independent of Mexico.
Will we see the republic suspended ? That actually seems more likely every day, and if that happens, it would almost require a General in charge and the institution of quasi- or actual martial law. Oh it could happen. The mechanisms exist. And they could be triggered by... elite fear of the masses?
We'll see won't we?
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