“Does, or does not. There is no why.”
— D’Anconiyodah
Re: mass arrests, that’s not the stage we’re at right now.
If you’re building an authoritarian regime, your first order of business is neutralizing and wiping out your political rivals at the top. What Trump, Pompeo, and Barr intend to do is to drive into extinction the current civil service culture of faithful, neutral service to the public - that’s what they’re doing right as we speak.
They’re purging the government of its critics in much the same way that Erdogan purged his enemies after taking power - the only difference is that he hasn’t actually cooked up charges and thrown them in jail, but don’t for a moment think I’m being hyperbolic when I say that Bill Barr is heading in that direction. This isn’t Asahi being chicken little; this is what we’re writing about in this thread.
Don’t believe me? Then take a look at this:
Now let that sink in for a moment. The firings out of revenge and spit? Firings for not being enough of a yes man? Meh, that’s normal now. General Kelly. General Mattis. Tillerson. Sessions. This country made it normal when we just shrugged and accepted that this is Trump being Trump.
But now we’re talking about firing someone who’s job is keeping government clean and accountable to the people. That’s a major step toward authoritarian rule and replacing the rule of law with the rule of men. Imagine for a moment the scenarios that can unfold if the bureaucratic culture of doing what you were hired to do for the public trust is replaced with doing whatever Trump needs you to do to make sure he crushes his political rivals. Imagine what the FBI looks like then. Imagine what the DoJ looks like then. Or DHS, or the US Marshal Service, or even the military.
Will this be noticeable today, tomorrow, or next week? Maybe not, but rest assured: we’re on our way there right now as we speak.
Right now, she has only the loss of her job and her career to worry about. In the future, the price will be much higher than that.
I meant massage. Dummy me.
Looks like Donald emulated one of his heroes and had his own Night Of The Long Knives. The message is clear- fuck with The Don at your own peril.
Is the President, or his he not, displeased that others told the truth about how rotten he is?
BobLibDem,
“message” fits OK
Originally Posted by D’Anconia
Did he, or did he not, serve at the pleasure of the President?
Good point and folks who work in the WH kitchen could dry their sweat socks in the microwave.
Then why on earth would you feel qualified to have an opinion, or even to ask a leading question, on the matter?
I still don’t understand what your point is. Care to elaborate?
I was thinking Moe Greene of the Godfather but yes getting or giving the wrong message is also a capital crime for The Don.
I know but he got the message
I’m surprised these people were not fired last year.
“FUCK YOU” is very Presidential, isn’t it.
It’s a far, far more powerful message now than it would have been then. Had he done it then, it would have been James Comey all over again.
But now, everyone - including the terminated employees - know who’s boss. Everyone knows who won. Everyone knows who holds the power. And most importantly, everyone knows, there - is - no - recourse. His word is final.
Everyone - every damn civil servant, in every agency that answers to him - knows it’s his way, or the highway.
At least it’s not jail - at least not yet anyway.
He seems to get away with that.
So, what’s next for Trump ll? Maybe not next, but soon, I anticipate Loyalty Oaths. These are so broadly phrased that a signer is instantly guilty of perjury making him/her a ready target. Kind’a like the Sedition act.
In the '60s federal loyalty oaths were threatened for anyone who worked on a government funded project. I worked for IBM on the Apollo program and we were told that loyalty oaths would be required. Fortunately it never happened. Following the same pattern though, Trump can demand loyalty oaths of all citizens who receive Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid or welfare assistance. Also contractors and perhaps industries that receive government subsidies - aerospace, agriculture, oil etc. That in addition to federal government employees and the military. Perhaps immigrants too.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/trumps-friday-night-massacre/ar-BBZM7ok
This article sums it up more concisely than I could:
Do you mean like opening every session with the Pledge of Allegiance?
Sarah Kendzior said it well: “There were never adults in the room. There were accomplices in the room.”
Mattis, Kelly, Tillerson, and now Pompeo and all the others: accomplices. They may have thought they were doing good from inside the administration, but they were only advancing its interests. They may have passed the time warming themselves with their secretly virtuous insides, as Kurt Vonnegut phrased it in his preface to Mother Night. I wonder if any of them have read that book.
I wonder if Vindman could have been part of a group whistle blowing for protection?
Maybe Trump will fire Romney. You know, I haven’t watched everything on the news and was thinking, okay, maybe hes not so bad. Now I see, this is scary.