"Historian Johann Neem, a specialist in the American Revolution, turned to political theorist John Locke to explore the larger meaning of Trump’s destructive course. The founders who threw off monarchy and constructed our constitutional government looked to Locke for their guiding principles. In his 1690 Second Treatise on Government, Locke noted that when a leader disregards constitutional order, he gives up legitimacy and the people are justified in treating him as a “thief and a robber.” “[W]hosoever in authority exceeds the power given him by the law and makes use of the force he has under his command…ceases in that to be a magistrate; and, acting without authority, may be opposed, as any other man, who by force invades the right of another,” Locke wrote."
Thank you for keeping us informed about the violent and lawless attempted takeover of Los Angeles and the brutalization of immigrants and protesters by this fascist regime.
Beautifully written piece, you confirmed several of my suspicions & made me wretch & cry. I know "those brown people"'s culture to be very warm & welcoming to those of us pasty white folks. All it takes is a greeting and a smile. To hear that women & men, protestors were dragged out of their workplaces, out of the home & even run over by large black SUV w/no IDs. 100 people fucking disappeared in 2 days?!?!! Nope. I'm done. Not on my watch. (I'm a little old white grandmother that the administration has pissed off for the last time.) Get up! Go chk on yr neighbors! Talk to the people who live where you do, make sure they know the horror unfolding right in front of our eyes! Wake up yr neighbor across the street! Show yr neighbors that "woke" doesn't mean some terroristic horrible threat! Bake some cookies & share! Idk, I'm just sick to my stomach.
While it may be accurate, headlines like this contribute to the same narrative and resulting belief among Trump supporters that LA is a hellish wasteland. It absolutely is not. These are manufactured optics, clearly designed to rally and inflame those supporters. Please do not engage with this narrative. It is BLM era Portland, OR all over again. Don't get pulled in.
Also, a warning. I posted this a month ago. Just added the link. It's a deep dive but worth reading.
No matter what is coming, we must stay united and call out this misleading propaganda. The best advice I have seen is that if shit dmgies down, protestors should immediately sit down all together, probably with hands up. Those are the optics we need. Stay focused. Stay peaceful. Show them that we are not the provocateurs. Call out disinformation. Keep your hands clean. We must fight back by outsmarting their brute force.
1mo
Beware the Ides of June 14th. You cannot convince me it isn't a setup. Supporters, insurrectionists, military members pumped up to flex some muscle. Violence will be instigated by them. Protesters will be blamed. It will be called an "insurrection," using our own language towards them against us.
Martial law is and has been the goal all along. He needs a big distraction right now. An enemy. He will manufacture a crisis, which is on brand.
Call me a conspiracy theorist. That's fine. Because I also do not believe there was a legitimate assassination attempt and I don't believe the election wasn't bought/stolen from Harris. You've been warned.
To add, this is great reporting. I stand by the suspicion that there are deliberately deployed agents provocateur starting fires and instigating violence. Just like in Portland. If ICE protestors are doing these things, it's a very, very bad look. It doesn't help, it causes more harm. It's tempting but not a good idea. Please don't assume/attribute these actions to our side. Again, it serves their narrative and is not in our interests.
Also important to note that not all violence is instigated by provocateurs.
There are opportunistic criminals who smash and loot. There are the “sports hooligan” types who take any opportunity to make mayhem. The former often start after dark and most of the protesters left. The local cops know. Question is, whose side are which cops on?
I very much appreciate your work highlighting this scary and monumental time. I also appreciate how you share the stories of people in a way that humanizes them and makes them relatable. I would like to know how you learn about all these details? I try to make sure things I share are verified by reputable sources. I love your writing but want to make sure in a time of so much disinformation that I'm sharing things that people can look up and confirm they are true.
. There's a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart that you can't take part! You can't even passively take part! And you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus -- and you've got to make it stop! And you've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it -- that unless you're free the machine will be prevented from working at all!!
Mario Silvio
He followed those words with a warning to stay non-violent. That if 1000 people sit down together and do nothing-that can accomplish the goal of stopping the ‘machine’.
Quit presenting the Mexican flag! If people want to live in the US, their loyalty should be to the US!!! Doing this shows US citizens that you are not on our side, while asking us to stand up for you. Fly the Stars and Stripes to show us that you stand on our side. I want immigrants treated fairly, AND I want to know that they are loyal to the country they have chosen.
Why do you think loving this country means erasing where you came from? No one tells Irish or Italian Americans to drop their flags. But when a Mexican flag flies, suddenly it's a loyalty test. Flying it doesn't mean they're against the U.S. It means they remember who they are. That's what real freedom looks like.
Loyalty isn’t proven with a flag. It’s proven with work, sacrifice, and showing up for a country that doesn’t always show up for them. Immigrants don’t owe you a costume. They’re already carrying this country on their backs.
As an Irish American Californian, I’m so happy and proud to see the Mexican flag, especially in protest to Ice. This beautiful land is Mexico. So in solidarity with Palestine: Make Israel Arab-Muslim Again And Make California Mexico Again
I proudly display a Ukrainian flag on my Facebook page. Apparently it's also pretty unpopular now. I will never not support a sovereign country's fight for their sovereignty against a violent, evil oppressor. Does this mean I am also unAmerican? Fuck no, it means I love freedom, democracies and fearless leaders who should be an example to all. So gtfooh with this crap. Mexican flags, any flags except those of oppressors are welcome in America, as they should be.
Actually flying your flag or both flags is a very normal thing for expatriates. Americans working abroad will fly the American flag. And with Mexicans in particular, there are treaties that formally allow nationals to work in the other country. Under those rules, many US citizens live and work in Mexico and no one treats them with tear gas and violence in any case. I headed a consulate in Mexico for two years and Mexican officials were very considerate of US residents whatever their status. And they often did skirt the rules. Finally consular employees meed to be notified immediately when an expatriate is arrested (under the Vienna Convention) and real federal law enforcement knows that. Until now.
Thankyou. It is important that someone records this, it takes away the opportunity for the Trump regime to say citizens were the problem It is at the feet of the morally bankrupt and leaders of the Trump regime.
The propoganda esposing from Noem and Miller was so fake and banal that if this was not so blatantly violent that they would be mocked.
Now I remember the fate of those who did this in WW2 and hope the same occurs with them.
"The time is near at hand which must determine whether Americans are to be free men or slaves." ~ George Washington
Fight or die, people.
"Historian Johann Neem, a specialist in the American Revolution, turned to political theorist John Locke to explore the larger meaning of Trump’s destructive course. The founders who threw off monarchy and constructed our constitutional government looked to Locke for their guiding principles. In his 1690 Second Treatise on Government, Locke noted that when a leader disregards constitutional order, he gives up legitimacy and the people are justified in treating him as a “thief and a robber.” “[W]hosoever in authority exceeds the power given him by the law and makes use of the force he has under his command…ceases in that to be a magistrate; and, acting without authority, may be opposed, as any other man, who by force invades the right of another,” Locke wrote."
- Heather Cox Richardson
They also rioted
The protesters didn't. The guys in the masks did.
Thank you for keeping us informed about the violent and lawless attempted takeover of Los Angeles and the brutalization of immigrants and protesters by this fascist regime.
Beautifully written piece, you confirmed several of my suspicions & made me wretch & cry. I know "those brown people"'s culture to be very warm & welcoming to those of us pasty white folks. All it takes is a greeting and a smile. To hear that women & men, protestors were dragged out of their workplaces, out of the home & even run over by large black SUV w/no IDs. 100 people fucking disappeared in 2 days?!?!! Nope. I'm done. Not on my watch. (I'm a little old white grandmother that the administration has pissed off for the last time.) Get up! Go chk on yr neighbors! Talk to the people who live where you do, make sure they know the horror unfolding right in front of our eyes! Wake up yr neighbor across the street! Show yr neighbors that "woke" doesn't mean some terroristic horrible threat! Bake some cookies & share! Idk, I'm just sick to my stomach.
“This is federal now. You don’t have rights.” - ICE agent to detainee.
Wrong. Those are the words of a criminal, not a law-abiding agent. Thuggish, unnecessary force. Lawyers not let in, even when detainees request them.
What illegal orders are agents being given,
that they don’t have to behave don’t like federal agents are supposed to?
Each agent took an oath to support the Constitution. Each agent who didn’t follow the law broke their oath.
Oaths may have to be amended, starts: “I swear I have READ the constitution in full…
Oaths may have to be amended, to start with: “I swear I have READ the constitution in full…
Excellent article.
You continue to protect democracy’s greatest weapon, the free press. God bless you and keep you. 🩵
Thank you for this work— take care of yourself- you are an essential voice speaking the truth we all need to hear.
While it may be accurate, headlines like this contribute to the same narrative and resulting belief among Trump supporters that LA is a hellish wasteland. It absolutely is not. These are manufactured optics, clearly designed to rally and inflame those supporters. Please do not engage with this narrative. It is BLM era Portland, OR all over again. Don't get pulled in.
Also, a warning. I posted this a month ago. Just added the link. It's a deep dive but worth reading.
No matter what is coming, we must stay united and call out this misleading propaganda. The best advice I have seen is that if shit dmgies down, protestors should immediately sit down all together, probably with hands up. Those are the optics we need. Stay focused. Stay peaceful. Show them that we are not the provocateurs. Call out disinformation. Keep your hands clean. We must fight back by outsmarting their brute force.
1mo
Beware the Ides of June 14th. You cannot convince me it isn't a setup. Supporters, insurrectionists, military members pumped up to flex some muscle. Violence will be instigated by them. Protesters will be blamed. It will be called an "insurrection," using our own language towards them against us.
Martial law is and has been the goal all along. He needs a big distraction right now. An enemy. He will manufacture a crisis, which is on brand.
Call me a conspiracy theorist. That's fine. Because I also do not believe there was a legitimate assassination attempt and I don't believe the election wasn't bought/stolen from Harris. You've been warned.
https://themouthyrenegadewriter.substack.com/p/chat-gpt -analyzes-trumps-alleged?utm_source=share&utm_medium= android&r=1r9beh&tried Redirect=true
To add, this is great reporting. I stand by the suspicion that there are deliberately deployed agents provocateur starting fires and instigating violence. Just like in Portland. If ICE protestors are doing these things, it's a very, very bad look. It doesn't help, it causes more harm. It's tempting but not a good idea. Please don't assume/attribute these actions to our side. Again, it serves their narrative and is not in our interests.
Also important to note that not all violence is instigated by provocateurs.
There are opportunistic criminals who smash and loot. There are the “sports hooligan” types who take any opportunity to make mayhem. The former often start after dark and most of the protesters left. The local cops know. Question is, whose side are which cops on?
I very much appreciate your work highlighting this scary and monumental time. I also appreciate how you share the stories of people in a way that humanizes them and makes them relatable. I would like to know how you learn about all these details? I try to make sure things I share are verified by reputable sources. I love your writing but want to make sure in a time of so much disinformation that I'm sharing things that people can look up and confirm they are true.
Thank you for your reporting.
. There's a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart that you can't take part! You can't even passively take part! And you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus -- and you've got to make it stop! And you've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it -- that unless you're free the machine will be prevented from working at all!!
Mario Silvio
He followed those words with a warning to stay non-violent. That if 1000 people sit down together and do nothing-that can accomplish the goal of stopping the ‘machine’.
Thankyou for putting this out into the wider world.
As an outsider (Tasmanian) looking in your/the Feds are inhumane.
My heart breaks over what is happening, but that doesn't really help.
Keep up your great work, so the word can be spread.
Quit presenting the Mexican flag! If people want to live in the US, their loyalty should be to the US!!! Doing this shows US citizens that you are not on our side, while asking us to stand up for you. Fly the Stars and Stripes to show us that you stand on our side. I want immigrants treated fairly, AND I want to know that they are loyal to the country they have chosen.
Why do you think loving this country means erasing where you came from? No one tells Irish or Italian Americans to drop their flags. But when a Mexican flag flies, suddenly it's a loyalty test. Flying it doesn't mean they're against the U.S. It means they remember who they are. That's what real freedom looks like.
Loyalty isn’t proven with a flag. It’s proven with work, sacrifice, and showing up for a country that doesn’t always show up for them. Immigrants don’t owe you a costume. They’re already carrying this country on their backs.
Absolutely!
I fly no other flag than the one I pledged allegiance to.
Where do you live Jodi?
As an Irish American Californian, I’m so happy and proud to see the Mexican flag, especially in protest to Ice. This beautiful land is Mexico. So in solidarity with Palestine: Make Israel Arab-Muslim Again And Make California Mexico Again
Fuck Trump
Fuck Israel
Free Free Palestine
❤️🇵🇸 🇲🇽 🇮🇪
I live in California, where I was born. I am an American of Scots-Irish descent.
Fuck Trump
Free Palestine
Fuck ICE
See my later comment below.
How many other countries have you lived in?
None, yet. Canada looks better every day.
I proudly display a Ukrainian flag on my Facebook page. Apparently it's also pretty unpopular now. I will never not support a sovereign country's fight for their sovereignty against a violent, evil oppressor. Does this mean I am also unAmerican? Fuck no, it means I love freedom, democracies and fearless leaders who should be an example to all. So gtfooh with this crap. Mexican flags, any flags except those of oppressors are welcome in America, as they should be.
Actually flying your flag or both flags is a very normal thing for expatriates. Americans working abroad will fly the American flag. And with Mexicans in particular, there are treaties that formally allow nationals to work in the other country. Under those rules, many US citizens live and work in Mexico and no one treats them with tear gas and violence in any case. I headed a consulate in Mexico for two years and Mexican officials were very considerate of US residents whatever their status. And they often did skirt the rules. Finally consular employees meed to be notified immediately when an expatriate is arrested (under the Vienna Convention) and real federal law enforcement knows that. Until now.
BOTH! That would show appropriate respect.
Oh really? How many Pisreal flags do you have?
Not a plucking one.
Pisreal flags make a good substitute for toilet paper.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🥰🤣
Thank you for humanizing your report. Media too often strip out the human feelings. I will spread this as far as I can. 💕
Thank you very much for your excellent reporting!
Thankyou. It is important that someone records this, it takes away the opportunity for the Trump regime to say citizens were the problem It is at the feet of the morally bankrupt and leaders of the Trump regime.
The propoganda esposing from Noem and Miller was so fake and banal that if this was not so blatantly violent that they would be mocked.
Now I remember the fate of those who did this in WW2 and hope the same occurs with them.