We Stand With California
A Message of Solidarity and Resistance
California has become the frontline in the fight for democracy. The world is watching as Donald Trump unleashes a full-on attack against the people of California — weaponizing the National Guard and threatening to use the Marines to punish citizens who dare to stand up for their neighbours and the rule of law.
Writing in The Guardian, Robert Reich points out that this is part of Trump's plan to turn the United States into a police state. It is a plan he has been waiting to enact for a long time.
I urge you to read the book War by Bob Woodward. It documents the colossal efforts by those in the White House during the first Trump regime to stop Trump from using the military against the people.
General Mark Milley, head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was determined to prevent Trump from turning the army on Black Lives Matter protesters. He told Woodward:
"No one has ever been as dangerous to the United States as Donald Trump. He is a fascist to his core."
Milley was deeply concerned that Trump's rhetoric was deliberately provocative to force a violent response. At one point, Trump asked Secretary of Defense Mark Esper why the army couldn't just shoot down protesters.
Esper later wrote:
"We were on the verge of crossing a red line. We had walked close to these thresholds in the past, but never one this important and never with such rage."
"What would happen if we were gone?"
By that, he meant those in the White House who were still willing to stand up for the Constitution and the rule of law.
Those checks and balances are now gone. Trump has surrounded himself with toxic sock puppets and grifters. The shining light on the Hill is being looted by extremists and conmen.
And so, it comes down to the people to defend democracy.
The people of California are at the forefront in the fight against tyranny. The free world stands with them.
We are learning, in real-time, that as hard as this is, it is better to stand up against fascism when it is being built than when it has been firmly established.
We are all in California today.
Here is the video message I sent to the people of California. Please watch and share.
Keep kicking at the darkness.
I have a bad feeling about this coming Saturday, June 14. After Trump's self-aggrandizing fascist parade, he might decide to indulge his other favourite pastime, watching innocent folk get a beatdown. Also, TACO can glory in the fact that this time it'll be his very own Gestapo that delivers the message. Frankly, I worry about the safety of the Meiselas brothers, Kyle Kulinski, and Krystal Ball. "Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent" ... Issac Asimov.
Thank you, Charlie. It’s hard to believe this is happening in CA. I always thought this would be one of the safer states to be in under the Trump regime. Apparently no where is safe.