Never mind all that stuff about Donald Trump‘s breakup with his best buddy on Friday, including Elon Musk‘s claim that Trump is blocking the release of the Jeffrey Epstein Files because he’s featured in them. There’s RIOTING AND LOOTING IN LOS ANGELES! … according to Trump’s social media feed.
As discussed on today’s BradCast, however, from here in L.A., relatively minor weekend demonstrations against Trump’s daily ICE quotas for arresting migrants — now including day laborers outside of Home Depot, children and U.S. Marshals — don’t amount to much of a “riot” by L.A. standards, no matter what they may be showing you on cable TV or social media. [Audio link to full story follows below this summary.]
It was another lovely, mild, sunny day here in Southern California today, just as it was over the weekend. At least until Trump’s federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) brownshirts opened fire with tear gas and flash-bang grenades against largely peaceful demonstrators in a couple of small blocks downtown and a small city about 30 minutes south of downtown.
But I’m sure wall-to-wall media coverage and social media algorithms are telling folks out there a very different (and completely unhelpful) story about what is going on here.
In case they aren’t, Trump is hoping to grab your attention by abusing his authority again, this time by federalizing the California National Guard against the wishes of both the state’s Governor and the Mayor of Los Angeles. Moreover, late today, Trump is said to be deploying the U.S. Marines here, for some reason, in defiance of the U.S. Constitution. But the rule of law and Constitution are for suckers and Democrats, right?
We’re happy to report on today’s program what is actually going on today here in Los Angeles. Though it is fun to see that Trump — after recently pardoning thousands of actually violent insurrectionists who actually launched a deadly riot against federal law enforcement officials at the U.S. Capitol a few years ago — now thinks all of that, at least when it happens in California, is a bad thing.
Not that anything like what Trump incited among his followers on January 6, 2021 is happening here. Not even close. We have far larger demonstrations in this town about every other week just because it’s a Thursday. Anyway, tough guy Trump would like you to discuss all of this, rather than his break-up with Elon and all of his other non-stop criming. So, I guess we make his dreams come true on today’s program.
Among just some of our source material today…
- ICE is so desperate to meet Stephen Miller‘s 3,000-arrests-per-day quota, that they mistakenly arrested and detained a member of the U.S. Marshal Service recently. Instead of being shipped off to a super max prison in El Salvador, the arrestee who matched the “general description of a subject being sought by ICE”, was eventually released once other law enforcement officials vouched for him.
- CA Governor Gavin Newsom charges that Trump’s seemingly unlawful federalization of the California National Guard “is purposely inflammatory and will only escalate tensions”. The state is now suing him to stop it. Newsom notes, correctly, that L.A. authorities have access to plenty of law enforcement officials to handle a handful of violent protesters amid the weekend’s largely peaceful demonstrations. By Sunday night, in an excellent interview by NBC News’ Jake Soboroff, an “unfazed” Newsom dared the Trump Administration to arrest him — as Trump’s “Border Czar” Tom Homan threatened against both him and Mayor Karen Bass — and underscored again that Trump is little more than a bully whose tough guy act is being carried out because he is “trying to incite violence.”
- Trump’s unnecessary deployment of federal troops was so poorly planned, by the way, that Guard Members are being forced to sleep on the floor in an L.A. federal building basement or on the street. Photos here.
- His federalizing of the National Guard against the wishes of the Governor (and his mobilization of U.S. Marines) for this purpose is both unprecedented and likely unlawful under the Title 10 authority he has invoked. But if you think he will only do this in L.A. or California, think again. Trump’s weekend declaration claims the authority to deploy federal troops — in violation of the Posse Comitatus Act — anywhere in the country that he feels like.
We also take a few calls today from listeners in L.A., some email from a listener in the U.K., and finish with this important message for folks both here and elsewhere: DON’T TAKE THE BAIT.
Click below for a breezy, lovely meme about America:
https://blogger.googleuserconte...ctatorship.jpg
But … but … what about the big Biden news (Stumblosis)
“Trump’s weekend declaration claims the authority to deploy federal troops — in violation of the Posse Comitatus Act — anywhere in the country that he feels like.” – Brad
Who knew (The Government of the Government – 2)?
I’m so glad the GOP is against Big Gubmint.