Under the false claim that "crime is out of control," which is yet another outright lie told by Trump, the federal government is preparing to take over the District of Columbia police department and deploy the national guard on the streets of Washington, DC. This is the second attempt made by this incompetent and uniformed administration to try and control what happens in an American city, the first being his failed attempt at doing the same thing in Los Angeles. And I will make this statement, because it needs to be said: Anyone who is not able to see this kind of action for exactly what it is does not have an understanding of this nation's Constitutional democracy, the Republican form of government it has adopted, and the definition of being a patriotic American committed to the rule of law.
I'll say that again. Anyone who cannot see this for what it is, is an ignorant dumbass.
It should also be a signal to those who have been marching and protesting that it is time to raise the level of resistance to the point where it has some effect on putting a stop to the actions being taken by the other side. This kind of thing, sending in military to try and reduce a crime rate that is already well below the point where it was at its peak, to appeal to ignorant populists who aren't aware of, and don't care about facts, has to be stopped before it goes any further. This is not an acceptable action of the Presidential administration, and some kind of line has to be drawn to send that clear message.
Combat the Misinformation
Trump lies when he opens his mouth. He is such a pathological and habitual liar, making up his own statistics as he goes along, that it can be assumed nothing he says is accurate, even if it may sound somewhat reasonable. In that regard, he's like the proverbial clock that is completely broken and doesn't work, but is right two moments each day.
Contrary to Trump's false assertion, Crime in Washington, D.C. has hit a 30 year low. That's according to the U. S. Department of Justice. The fact that Trump just casually lies through his teeth and makes a provably false statement is infuriating, and proves that the man lacks any sort of character. The fact that there are Americans who ignorantly and stupidly believe him, and they are ignorant and stupid for believing him, is infuriating, especially in a country where we have the kind of educational resources available to us to prevent this kind of blithering ignorance.
But I'll take bets from anyone who wants to make a wager with me that the media will not only fail to report this fact [I got the information from the DOJ website], but it will deliberately find ways to keep from reporting it. That, unfortunately, cuts us off from one of the more effective ways of stopping Trump, and that is to point out how unpopular he is. And while there are people who will look at the facts and then decide to believe the lying Trump anyway, and that's the kind of stupid that can't be fixed, there is a direct correlation between the level of accurate information provided by the media, and drops in Trump's overall approval and popularity ratings.
Crime Rates Across the Country Dropped Significantly During the Biden Administration
According to a recent report, published July 24 in Stateline, violent crime in the United States has continued the downward cycle that began right in the middle of Biden's Presidency, in 2022, in most of the cities where it has been a chronic problem. This report is exactly the sort of thing we need to see from the major media outlets. First, it cites the crime statistics which shows significant drops in homicides and other violent crimes, mostly in bigger cities where these things have been a problem and then the author says, "These findings come as Donald Trump continues to amplify concerns about crime, at times citing misleading statistics and narratives.
I'll give that reporter a B+. A sentence that would get an A would read something like this:
"These findings provide proof that Trump's concerns about crime and citations of statistics are based on lies, mostly of his own making," that fly in the face of accurate statistical data based on real figures and research, and not just on their appeal to the populist narrative"
We get that kind of accuracy from Mother Jones, or The Atlantic,or Stephanie Miller, not from CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN or the New York Times or Washington Post, unfortunately.
Decorum and Civility Are Old Protocols for Abandoned Rules
Republicans abandoned the old school protocols of decorum and civility at the behest of Rush Limbaugh and his "winner take all, no sympathy for minority rights" attitude. That actually occurred during the Reagan administration. And if they left any doubt about their contempt for that means of doing government business by compromise, and about their contempt for the rule of law, it was removed when they marched on the Capitol on January 6, 2021 in a violent attempt to steal an election and overthrow the United States Constitution.
And there's a clear reason why Trump wants to call out the National Guard and take over the police department of Washington, D. C. It's to give him an advantage when he wants to attack the Capitol once again. Were I a member of Congress now, especially a Democrat, I would not feel safe in the Capitol. Let's be clear.
Trump's closest sycophants are warning about the turn in the political tide that indicates Democrats are going to claim control of Congress following the 2026 elections. Everything they are doing now indicates that they are planning to steal the midterm elections to prevent this from happening and it appears that while they attempt to gerrymander as many states as they can get away with, to try and take the election that way, they are also setting up to over-run the Capitol building, again, and prevent Democrats from taking office that way, if they win the elections.
We can no longer afford a "wait and let's see" attitude, going about our fundraising and our business as if this were not happening, ignoring it, thinking that the Republicans are still playing by the rules dictated by decorum and civility, or acting like this is just another routine election and however it plays out will be the will of the voters.
Timothy Snyder, in his book On Tyranny, provides two distinct warnings here which I believe we need to heed, and give immediate consideration to adopting.
Principle #7 says Be Reflective If You Must Be Armed.
"If you carry a weapon in public service, God bless you. But know that the evils of the past involved policemen and soldiers finding themselves, one day, doing irregular things. Be ready to say no."
I think we are at the point where we need to take stock of the things that are now being done by this administration, and be smart when it comes to figuring out what weaknesses they exploit, and what strengths they commandeer. We may have a great deal of respect for the rule of law, but our opposition doesn't share that same respect at anywhere near the same level. We need to encourage enough critical thinking skills to help people decide when to say no.
Principle #17 says "Listen for dangerous words."
"Be alert to the use of the words 'extremism' and 'terrorism'. Be alive to the fatal notions of emergency and exception. Be angry about the treacherous use of patriotic vocabulary."
Make no mistake about it, calling out the National Guard to patrol the streets of Washington, D.C. are dangerous words, as dangerous as anything we have heard in this country since shots were fired on Union troops at Ft. Sumter. Federal control of the police department of the District of Columbia, based on a false pretense, is also representative of dangerous ideology. The manner in which this President has thown rhetoric around makes those actions threats against the members of the Democratic party.
Another mistake not to make is to confuse "Christian nationalist" with "Christian." The leadership of the Heritage Foundation has allied itself to the dregs of humanity that make up the Trump administration. Their convictions are deceptive and dangerous. I don't see that they are very closely acquanted with things like "love your neighbor as you love yourself," neighbor being an exceptional and misused term in their vocabulary, or with the equality of all humanity created in the image of God. They think God suspends the rules for those he has chosen to rule the world. As Snyder says, "exception" is a dangerous word, and it exists in Christian nationalist, Heritage Foundation vocabulary, appearing as often as the words "the" and "And."
Not An Easy Task When it Comes to Playing by the Rules
The safeguards on which we have depended, and which our founding fathers wrote into the constitution to keep demagogues out and democrats in have failed. It's difficult for people who believe in and live by the rule of law to imagine circumstances in which actions must be taken that might appear to be inconsistent with that rule. Much of what could have been done in advance of this wasn't, because people could not imagine an American political party off the rails as badly as the GOP has wrecked itself under Trump, though his predecessors, and the Supreme Court, are also extremists who should be blamed.
I know there are those who are in positions of power who need to step up now and start laying plans to preserve and protect the freedom we have. I wouldn'd advocate for ramping up the opposition if I were not willing to participate in that myself, and I know there are a lot of others who are willing. We must not, as Snyder warns, fall for the oldest trick in the Hitlerian book, which is the suspension of civil liberties because of some "crisis." That's what's happening in Washington now, and that is what must be stopped now.
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