The Nemesis | 100 comments (100 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

...adding:

I'm not worried about the military. The military will sort that kind of behavior out real quick. This or that soldier may be conservative or liberal, and groups just the same. And stupid shit like that will happen, of course -- but, again, the command structure will not be pleased, and they'll spend a few days scrubbing toilets with toothbrushes (or whatever the modern equivalent is) and learn a lesson.

The FBI, CBP, ICE, etc -- the Cops Who Wear Suits agencies -- are far more worrisome than the military. For one, because they operate domestically, of course, unlike there military (outside of natural disaster response and the like). For another, because they're not under the same kind of structure and programmed the same way as the military. Same with cops and sheriffs at the local level.

Be nice to America. Or we'll bring democracy to your country.

by Drew J Jones (pedobear@pennstatefootball.com) on Sat Feb 4th, 2017 at 01:09:50 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The Nemesis (4.00 / 5)

I dunno, there were some really scary reports of Dominionist infiltration coming out about the USAF a few years ago. And the amount of stark, outright insanity among the generals Trump has assembled is scary. Granted, they were eventually cashiered, but the fact that they got to accumulate as much brass as they did before being retired does not fill me with warm fuzzies.

- Jake

Friends come and go. Enemies accumulate.

by JakeS (JangoSierra 'at' gmail 'dot' com) on Sat Feb 4th, 2017 at 02:02:08 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The Nemesis (4.00 / 3)

Of the generals around him, Flynn is obviously worrying. But Flynn is hated within the defense and security establishment. (It was at DIA where the grunts came up with the term "Flynn Facts".)

Bigger issue is Trump clearly sees no need to listen to any of the competent generals around him. Mattis and others are apparently on the verge of resigning.

That said, I should add a qualifier to my comment:

On the list of groups to worry about, the military ranks quite low.

Be nice to America. Or we'll bring democracy to your country.

by Drew J Jones (pedobear@pennstatefootball.com) on Sat Feb 4th, 2017 at 02:12:23 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The Nemesis (none / 0)

Flynn is the guy who's on Erdogan's payroll, right?

- Jake

Friends come and go. Enemies accumulate.

by JakeS (JangoSierra 'at' gmail 'dot' com) on Sat Feb 4th, 2017 at 03:28:52 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The Nemesis (none / 0)

Yes, I believe so.

Be nice to America. Or we'll bring democracy to your country.

by Drew J Jones (pedobear@pennstatefootball.com) on Sat Feb 4th, 2017 at 04:09:00 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The Nemesis (4.00 / 2)

Flynn was so incompetent that Obama had to shitcan him when he was at DIA -- an intelligence agency that is not exactly well thought of within the IC.

Be nice to America. Or we'll bring democracy to your country.

by Drew J Jones (pedobear@pennstatefootball.com) on Sat Feb 4th, 2017 at 04:12:10 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The Nemesis (4.00 / 2)

I really don't know how well the Dominionist problem has been dealt with. The Air Force, and, especially, the Air Force Academy, is a bit of an outlier. It was probably a mistake to locate it next to Colorado Springs - the Orange County of Colorado. Boulder would have been a MUCH better choice, but there probably wasn't suitable land available, especially for an air base.

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Sat Feb 4th, 2017 at 04:55:28 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The Nemesis (none / 1)

Boulder? Too upscale lib'rul. I don't think military people and college students mix well.
There's plenty of flat space further west, where DIA was built.

by Bernard (bernard) on Sat Feb 4th, 2017 at 05:22:20 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The Nemesis (none / 0)

Yeah, but then the conspiracy theories were be too nutty, given that the NWO/Illuminati types are already obsessed with Denver International.

(Side note: Forget the Satanist horse at the entrance. That airport is a colossal pain in the ass. It might as well be in Tulsa.)

Be nice to America. Or we'll bring democracy to your country.

by Drew J Jones (pedobear@pennstatefootball.com) on Sat Feb 4th, 2017 at 09:56:47 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The Nemesis (none / 0)

Elon will fix it with a hyperloop tunnel to downtown Denver.

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Sun Feb 5th, 2017 at 07:26:51 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The Nemesis (none / 0)

Elon's thinking bigger-picture. I'm not optimistic on his ability to hit his goals, but at least he's thinking and putting some skin in the game.

Be nice to America. Or we'll bring democracy to your country.

by Drew J Jones (pedobear@pennstatefootball.com) on Wed Feb 8th, 2017 at 02:31:45 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The Nemesis (none / 0)

It was a sardonic joke, but it might actually happen, as so many other such jokes have come to be fact. Think Trump. At least that one would be useful.

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Wed Feb 8th, 2017 at 02:46:50 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The Nemesis (4.00 / 2)

Drew: The FBI, CBP, ICE, etc -- the Cops Who Wear Suits agencies -- are far more worrisome than the military.

Especially considering this:

FBI investigated white supremacists infiltrating law enforcement agencies: Report

According to a classified FBI counterterrorism policy guide obtained by The Intercept, "white supremacists and other domestic extremists" have been joining law enforcement agencies across the United States.
"Domestic terrorism investigations focused on militia extremists, white supremacist extremists, and sovereign citizen extremists often have identified active links to law enforcement officers," the FBI's guide states. Detailing the ways the FBI places individuals on a terrorism watch list, the Known or Suspected Terrorism File.
Despite the evident threat posed by these right-wing extremists, law enforcement has failed to acknowledge proper ways to combat, or even address the systemic issue.

by Bernard (bernard) on Sat Feb 4th, 2017 at 05:40:21 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The Nemesis (4.00 / 3)

Connects fairly well with the old report DHS put out about a month or so into Obama's tenure back in 2009 about the new rise of the militias and other right-wing extremists.

Report was put together by the Bush administration folks but came out right after Obama took office. The GOPers lost their shit over it.

Think the Southern Poverty Law Center put a similar report out around the same time as they were seeing the same thing.

I'm hesitant to take it too seriously for fear of veering into hyperbole, but it wouldn't be shocking. In many places, it'd be very easy for white supremacists to slither into law enforcement in a cultural sense.

Be nice to America. Or we'll bring democracy to your country.

by Drew J Jones (pedobear@pennstatefootball.com) on Sat Feb 4th, 2017 at 09:51:57 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The Nemesis (4.00 / 5)

American law enforcement has always been centered on abusing brown bodies and protecting private property. In my opinion the only variable over time has been the level of public violence. In the modern era a lot of the violence is done behind closed doors in prisons so as to not draw attention from the liberal white public. Obviously the social media era shines a dark light on how much violence is still done publicly, which has a polarizing effect on the public depending on the individual's pre-existing views.

you are the media you consume.

by MillMan (millguy at gmail) on Sat Feb 4th, 2017 at 10:12:50 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The Nemesis (4.00 / 4)

As someone noted on Twitter a year or two ago -- it's amazing how the rise of high-quality cameras on smartphones has resulted in a rapid increase in the knowledge of police brutality and a collapse in UFO sightings.

And, yep, you're right about the violence in the prisons.

Be nice to America. Or we'll bring democracy to your country.

by Drew J Jones (pedobear@pennstatefootball.com) on Sat Feb 4th, 2017 at 11:11:28 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The Nemesis (none / 1)

In a lot of smaller places the challenge is having many available candidates who are not of the far right sort.

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Wed Feb 8th, 2017 at 03:25:42 PM EST
[ Parent ]

The Nemesis | 100 comments (100 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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