The Great Purge Approaches

"A show trial is a public trial in which the judicial authorities have already determined the guilt, and/or innocence, of the defendant. The actual trial has as its only goal the presentation of both the accusation and the verdict to the public so they will serve as both an impressive example and a warning to other would-be dissidents or transgressors.^[2] Show trials tend to be retributive rather than corrective and they are also conducted for propagandistic purposes.^[3] The term was first recorded in 1928."  wiki on show trial

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"National Guard troops deployed in Washington, D.C. for the Biden inaugural in the wake of the storming of the Capitol last week have been authorized to use lethal force, according to a report by U.S. News that cited a Defense Department official. The D.C. National Guard had issued a statement Wednesday that troops under its command had been authorized to carry weapons."  gateway pundit

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"Is there something in the character of politics that makes it illogical, a “blood sport”? Is that why it is called an “arena”? Perhaps a brief look at early American history might give a clue.

From the beginning, Americans were fiercely independent, passionate, but deeply divided. Only about one-third supported the revolution; the majority were either neutral or remained loyal to the British (“Tories”). A fierce internal terrorist campaign raged throughout the war between these two groups of Americans. So intense was the divide that a British Chaplin was moved to write that,

'These Americans, so soft, pacific and benevolent by nature, are here transformed into monsters, implacably bloody and ravenous; party rage has kindled the spirit of hatred between them, they attack and rob each other by turns, destroy dwelling houses, or establish themselves therein by driving out those who had before dispossessed others.' [Note the word “rage.”]  "political hysteria"

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It appears to me that Schumer has in mind to try former President Trump in the senate with John Roberts presiding.  IMO this is unconstitutional.  As Alan Dershowitz said on the TeeVee today, the prospect of such a procedure should be horrifying to all.  Why?  If the congress can try a private citizen and bar him/her from holding federal office, then whichever party controls the congress can simply bar significant opposition figures from office by re-defining the meaning of statutes, imputing motive where there is none and through guilt by association.   This all begins to smell like Stalin's show trials in the 30s in which he killed off his Old Bolshevik comrades and the leadership of the Red Army.  Trump will always remain vulnerable to the civil courts.  The Dems fear that Florida or federal courts in Florida will not extradite him?  They should live with that in the interest of maintaining the Union.

We now have most of downtown Washington, DC transformed into a Green Zone on the Baghdad model.  25,000 federalized National Guard troops plus various kinds of cops occupy that zone.  25,000?  How about 1,000?  How about 2.000?  What do they expect, an attack on the Biden inauguration platform from the other end of the Mall?  The bridges from Virginia are closed by order of his majesty Ralph Northam.   We live here under Ralph's imperial decrees in a vast outdoor prison.  The ability of the imperial authorities to wall us up, each in our own crummy little domain bodes ill for the future.

Not for the first time am I disgusted by the susceptibility of those I thought my countrymen to waves of hysteria.   German and then Communist spying in WW1,  Prohibition, internment of Japanese descended citizens of the US in WW2,  McCarthyism, the 2K fantasy in which people waited for the end of civilized life, 9/11, after which the whole country went into a profound funk and stumbled about terrified of the NEXT ATTACK.   And now, we have the Left's desire to destroy opposition, the opposition of 75 million citizens and to do it through mass mobilization of political hysteria.

This will never be the same country again.  We have lost the talent needed to maintain a federal republic.  pl

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/01/biden-inaugural-national-guard-troops-authorized-use-lethal-force-d-c-turns-police-state/

https://www.iwp.edu/articles/2019/07/29/political-hysteria-american-as-cherry-pie/

Show trial - Wikipedia

Comments

[TV]

What future does a nation have when a significant part of it's citizenry (including a major political party) dislikes or flat out hates it?

[turcopolier]

TV

I was an SES-4 after retiring from the Army but the true Swampies got rid of me so that should be recorded in my favor.

[Ed Lindgren]

The fact that DC has been turned into an armed fortress is simply a reflection of how 'popular' Team Harris/Biden is with the average American (the Green Zone analogy is spot on). DC hasn't been this fortified since the Civil War (or at least since the Vietnam Era march on the Pentagon).

I had some mixed feelings about the events of January 6th. Now I see some value in what took place that day. It has forced the latent totalitarian impulse present in the soul of the Democratic leadership (and their Republican fellow-travelers) to the surface. Most of us knew it was there; now it is on grand display for all to see.

There is simply no way that these people taking power are going to allow private citizens to remain armed. Look for a full throttle attack on the 2nd Amendment.

[Barbara Ann]

Unhinged Citizen

I must assume your comment was directed at my link to Miller's remarks at the Space Force anniversary. Not sure why you would think this has anything to do with QAnon.

I am not aware of anything visible that could be described as "the most complex military operations this country's ever conducted" - certainly not within the timescale covered by Miller's tenure. Care to clear up my "intellectual detritus" with your own opinion on what Miller was referring to?

[Seward]

Y2K was not a fantasy. I was part of a team working 24 months at the leading IC agency to find and correct all the instances of it in our software. (Finding was difficult; correcting was trivial.) Which we did, testing it exhaustively in virtual machine at critical dates, like Jan. 1, 2000, Feb. 29, 2000, Sep. 30, 2000, etc.

The second leading IC agency, located about 25 miles northeast in an adjacent state, did not, in its arrogance, and had its main database fail New years Day 2000: fortunately a public holiday thought the world, giving them time re-group.

[Eric Newhill]

Ed Lingren,
I agree with what you say about the 2A. Very unfortunate, very arrogant and very stupid that they will go there. It's going to cause something no one wants to have happen.

They can't trust their hastily assembled Praetorian Guard to carry live ammo after an FBI screening of the 25K; how much less so after they enact gun confiscation? Who do they think is going to protect them as they begin to walk all over 75 million Americans? It's like they're a determined suicidal death cult.

[turcopolier]

TV

I have been reviewing your comments and have decided that you probably should find somewhere else to feel superior.

[SAC Brat]

While driving on Friday I listened to NPR on the radio describe the National Guard preparations. The reporter stressed that the troops were issued M4 rifles, which seemed odd compared to most reporting. I figured it was to distinguish the NG from people that carry assault rifles.

I really don't know how expected Biden administration attempts at gun control will work out. I'd like to point out that last year there was a surge in firearm purchases and a lot were new owners that don't fit the stereotypes for firearms owners. These new owners of legal firearms may not be as supportive of gun control as they may have been in the past. A positive aspect of the people new to firearms is that NRA firearm safety classes held at local ranges are filled up.

[turcopolier]

SAC Brat

The M-4 is what the libs call an assault rifle, anything black with no wood, a pistol grip, etc.

[turcopolier]

SAC Brat

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M4_carbine

[SAC Brat]

I think we are crossing signals. Normally in the US news media bad people carry assault rifles. Good NG folks have M4s. Police carry Patrol Rifles.

[Patrick Armstrong]

A note of cheer. Sort of.
These people are cunning and unprincipled but they are fundamentally stupid.
Evidence? The entire neocon PNAC project (and these are the same people plus or minus) has produced the exact opposite of what they wanted. And they still don't get it.
But. It will take a while.

[Patrick Armstrong]

Small illustration of my last comment.

"If you are looking for “Why Face Masks Don’t Work: A Revealing Review” by John Hardie, BDS, MSc, PhD, FRCDC, it has been removed. The content was published in 2016 and is no longer relevant in our current climate."

Cunning and unprincipled people would remove it, but only stupid people would tell you that they did so.
https://www.oralhealthgroup.com/features/face-masks-dont-work-revealing-review/

[Mark Logan]

Patrick Armstrong, '

This is probably what you are looking for:
https://www.oralhealthgroup.com/blogs/the-peculiar-reality-of-covid-19/

Here's a refutation from another dentist, just for perspective.
https://www.cda-adc.ca/jcda/vol-66/issue-4/186.html

Hardie's right, there is no hard evidence, but Petty is also right, no evidence doesn't mean it's wise to do nothing. Common sense and best-guesses apply. Who would want their surgeon to argue that he or she will not wear a face mask while performing surgery on oneself, citing a lack of hard evidence it makes any difference? That hard evidence, though, would require surgeons not wearing masks and surgeons wearing masks to obtain.