In a move unprecedented in American history, Trump is ordering troops to Portland, Oregon.
Trump believes that Portland is overrun by Antifa and radical terrorists. He posted on “Truth Social”:
“At the request of Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, I am directing Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to provide all necessary Troops to protect War ravaged Portland, and any of our ICE Facilities under siege from attack by Antifa, and other domestic terrorists. I am also authorizing Full Force, if necessary.”
Neither the Oregon Governor nor the Portland Mayor requested troops. This another step in Trump’s retribution tour of people and places he hates.
Will Republicans in Congress find a spine? No.
This is fascism.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
He did it in 2020 and it led to violence. Protestors were demonstrating for months nonviolently until blackdhirts with no insignia’s armed to the teeth. It will happen again as it did in LA and DC.. He’s an authoritarian, a dictator and dangerous not only to Americans, but the whole world. NSF & NIH one day, Comey the next, and now an invasion of the state of Oregon.
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Terrifying news. Where/ when/ how will his assault
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Wait a minute. Not National Guard. Active duty military? The law suits are already being filed.
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It’s clearly against the law to do this, not that our current Extreme Court has any respect for law.
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Trump said, “I am also authorizing Full Force, if necessary.” What the hell is he going to do, drop a small tactical nuclear device on Portland?!! This is an insane abuse of his powers as president, as third rate tin horn wanna-be dictator. He should be impeached again.
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If Congress did its duty, it would impeach Trump on multiple grounds. 1) sending the military to American cities; 2) usurping Congress’ power of the purse, by imposing tariffs and by refusing to spend money that Congress appropriated.
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WHAT TRUMP IS DOING TODAY is the very same thing that our Declaration of Independence lists as the violations of liberty that triggered our Declaration of Independence. Take a look:
The King used armed forces to control American cities and towns, without first asking permission from the legislatures; quoting the Declaration, it says: “He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.” Just like King Trump sending armed National Guard units into our cities today.
The King replaced local police with his armed forces. The Declaration says: “He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.”
The King’s armed forces were protected from killing civilians: “For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States.” People die today in ICE custody, and nothing happens.
The King ignores civil courts: “He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.”
“He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices.”
“He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people.”
“He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained.” Today, not only do governors of Red States do nothing without Trump’s approval, neither does Congress.
The Declaration also says that we also declare our independence from the King for his:
The Declaration says Americans are breaking away because the King has opposed immigration that is vital to America’s economic growth, by “obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither.” Already in 1740, laws had been passed to grant “natural born” citizenship status to immigrants who lived there for seven consecutive years.
The King has also been “redistricting” Americans out of their right to representation: “He has refused to pass Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.” Just like the redistricting going on today.
Americans today truly need to read the history of our Revolution and what went into and is actually in our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution. Read the ACTUAL WRITINGS of our Founding Fathers, not just listen to or read the “analyses” of political talking heads on today’s TV and social media.
That kind of reading takes time, and too few Americans today are willing to spend the time.
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Brilliant post, Quickwrit!!!!
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Quikwrit, Really excellent post!!!
Who knew that it was actually the (sick/crazy?) British King George III in the 18th century, and not Americans in the 19th century, who invented gerrymandering?
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Exactly, Diane.
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I could not find news reports of major incidents that might have warranted troops being sent to Portland, has anyone else? If not, it sounds like a fake Reichstag fire is being used as an excuse for him to seize power in a blue city and state. Plus, surprise surprise, he lied when he said he just wanted to go where he is wanted (after being rejected by Chicago and Illinois.)
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So he said he was going to send troops to Memphis instead of Chicago, but the troops are still not there. You would think a major indicator of the need for bringing in federal troops would be an emergency that the city and state can’t handle and which needs to be addressed immediately, not something that can wait for weeks. Sheesh! It’s a phony mess that is ALL just about power and politics.
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AND it’s about RACISM, since the plans are to send federal troops to blighted areas of cities where there’s increased crime due to poverty –which are primarily where people of color live.
If he really wanted to help, he would send the federal money that would be spent deploying those troops to create OPPORTUNITIES instead for people who are indigent, such as for job trainings, increased education, small business loans, clothing for job interviews, food, etc. He doesn’t understand or care about what the priorities should be if you really want to help poor people that are struggling and frustrated, BECAUSE, in urban areas, they are primarily people of color and they just don’t matter to him.
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Trump is a tyrant. Portland has a history of combative young people that can become aggressive with the police. If young people engage with the Ice thugs, the result could be another Kent State. Unfortunately, Trump may be trying to provoke conflict in blue cities to feed his narrative that the left is violent, and loss of life other than his own means little to him. I truly hope this does not happen.
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Yes. He wants to create the crisis that he claims is already occurring.
I watched footage of the Portland mayor’s news conference. He mentioned that Trump is using footage of the protests that turned violent five years ago as justification for this move.
Our leaders and the courts have to stand up against this. I don’t care about political beliefs. Unless you WANT dictatorial rule, this is completely against everything we stand for as a nation.
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Most of the media are using Trump’s phrase “war-torn” to describe Portland without challenge, making them complicit.
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I live here in Portland and if “Nextdoor” is any indication (and GOD I HOPE NOT!) the over arching message is: “Avert your eyes and hope they leave soon.” Keith Wilson being the model of courage and fortitude that he is, got together with his leadership team and dispatched the message: “Don’t take the Bait!” That should work… Yes? If your are nice to them they will be nice to you. That’s what fascism does…? Right?
Maybe if France had just bought a baguette and lit up cigarette in 1940 the Germans would have been become bored and left.
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I hope the people of Portland refuse to take the bait. I hope Ice wastes a lot of time as they did in Washington, DC, without finding angry mobs, and it makes Trump look foolish. The masked Ice folks are not the Portland police. They come with bullets, not fire hoses.
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Did it work in D.C.? There are still troops in D.C. and L.A. They are still actively terrorizing those cities. ICE is actively terrorizing the entire country. No? I’m more than happy to see that citizens everywhere are actively working to interrupt, curtail and thwart their steroid laden, masturbatory behavior. I can only hope Portland will follow their example. Maybe even set some example of our own.
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NO violence. Film it. Hold signs. Chant. Don’t give them an excuse to jail you or shoot you.
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To everyone in Portland,
DONT TAKE THE BAIT. Avert your eyes. Let them clean up parks, as they did in DC.
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Dianne,
I would love it if averting our eyes gets it done… But I don’t think it will. And… I hope I’m wrong. Lord knows our parks need the help.
I plan to look them in the eye and ask:
-Why are you doing this?
-Does this make your family proud?
-Will you want to tell your children about this in 20 years?
-Was racism and bigotry part of your oath?
I might paint a sign that says:
“This is what your brain looks like on steroids, ignorance and racism!”
Too rude…? Maybe. I’m just trying to keep the F word out of it. 😉
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Add a photo of an ICE agent with helmet and gas mask to your brain sign. Too rude!!! Their behavior goes far beyond rude.
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I fully agree that violence is NOT the answer. In the distant past, I was involved in a lot of peaceful protest marches, in the south and in the north, such as to demonstrate support for civil rights, ending the Vietnam war, promoting women’s rights, etc. We carried signs with positive messages about what we were supporting, and as long as the proper permissions/permits were obtained and adhered to, and people were strongly committed to behaving peacefully, everything went off without incident –and there were thousands of protesters involved in those peaceful marches. Plus they we were effective in influencing the passage of needed legislation that promoted the equitable treatment of people etc.
I know these are very different times today. However, if protesters don’t bring with them things that are meant to be provocative and hateful, like the giant orange baby Trump balloon, and then stick to carrying signs with positive messages that describe what they support or that stick up for their rights, instead of signs meant to insult opponents, I wonder if that approach might possibly work now, too?
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cx: Sorry, I meant to write “they/we were” not “they we”
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