This letter isn’t impressive at all. Blind obedience will be the death of us. For the resistance to have been so little thus far that this letter feels “measured” tells us what a sorry state we find ourselves in.
"That oath doesn’t come with an asterisk that says, “only when I agree with the mission.”"
It actually does come with a massive asterisk that he didn't include. The oath is to follow LAWFUL orders. Here is an example of an unlawful order straight from UCMJ. "A commanding officer orders personnel to suppress lawful protests in violation of First Amendment rights."
He does mention "lawful" in his letter. "We execute lawful orders with professionalism and honor." That should be an out to orders that do not meet that criterion.
The sole, entire purpose of deploying the guard (military) to Portland is a provocation. There is a long history of saboteurs and agents provocateur deploying with federal and state (and local!) military and law enforcement to kick things into high gear (aka starting the violence to justify "full force"). Interestingly, I just watched Paul Thomas Anderson's latest movie "One Battle After Another" last night and in it he depicts exactly that. When the order is given, the provocateurs don their black outfits and balaclavas, then advance from the rear of the protest groups and begin lobbing molotov cocktails. I expect similar in Portland and of course the aim is to blame "Antifa" or even "Trantifa" so that Trump and Miller get their way - a war on one "liberal" (or in their parlance "far left extremist") city which will lead to another.
I hope the people of Portland (and Chicago and maybe New Orleans and Memphis) can keep their wits about them and pay close attention to anyone either engaging in violence or attempting to egg others on. And to put a balanced spin on this, anyone who doesn't think that there were plainclothes Feds in the crowds on January 6 encouraging lawbreaking is fooling themselves. It's a timeworn tactic and in Trump and Miller's case it's only an added perceived political bonus if they get to blame "leftist terror" - as the main goal is always justifying larger law enforcement budgets, cracking down on peaceful dissent/protest and more mass surveillance.
Bingo. In fact Umbrella Man was on my mind when I made the comment. Funny that they STILL haven't identified him (law enforcement anyway) and haven't actually even tried to ID him or follow up. I know that some locals did some investigative work and it's likely he's an alleged member of some white supremo and/or "accelerationist" group - but even those groups are inundated with undercover fed infiltrators/instigators. The way he behaved in the Autozone video was extremely fishy above and beyond the act of breaking the windows itself, but also in how he carried himself, he knew to disguise himself with the umbrella (drones, other overhead cameras) and a mask (IIRC). That smacks of law enforcement if you ask me. Here are a few more articles about that guy that I bookmarked way back when.
So...if in fact he was "identified" then the notion that he has not been brought in and/or charged pretty much confirms in my mind he's a fed. As usual...
The letter that gives a nod to being a citizen first and then goes on to say that you are a tool of the command you fall under, note the reference to the change in command. “to face any challenge that comes our way,” does not include participating in what is felt to be a deeply unpatriotic action that caters to the whim of an individual, Trump, who is leveraging his office for his own personal use against those he doesn't like. The troops are having their proper role abused, not being employed for the public good. The general fails to see any distinction between what the troops are now to do and his list of worthy things they can be used for in Oregon. His salute to the service is obscuring his vision.
Lincoln made it a point that he was just another citizen who was serving humbly in a very high and important office that put demands on him as a civil servant that had nothing to do with him being the person, Abraham Lincoln.
Trump has earned a place in the history books along with Lincoln, but it will be for being the opposite of the man who served with humility. Lincoln got the US out of a very tight spot. Trump has put the US into a very tight spot. Lincoln saved the union, Trump is out to punish those in the union that he doesn't like, disunifying as best he can, going after one big city after another. He is a self-aggrandizing bigot who is bedazzled by wealth, overseeing a genocide with dreams of making money in real estate from a land cleared of its people.
We've reached a low point with Trump, but there is every indication that he is going to drag us lower. I hope every member in the service is thinking hard about what is going on because I wouldn't put it past Trump to declare martial law before the midterm elections. In Israel, a pathetic 350 IDF reservists refused to return to Gaza for the final slaughter. I would hope Americans could do far better in refusing to oppress our own country for one man.
I got a real chuckle out of watching Pete Hegseth do his 'photo op' imitation of George C. Scott in the movie "Patton," as he addressed the assembled and stone-faced US military commanders, before a large US flag in the background. Truly an embarrassing spectacle for the ages.
Am I the only one who believes he is really a closeted gay man doing his best to look macho, like the little war monger Lindsey Graham?
Anyone interested in history rhyming, repeating or both should look into Brazilian and Indonesian history starting in the 1930s, but more recently in the 1960s and 1970s. Specifically how the military was used during a climate of faux-paranoid-US-fueled communist/leftist paranoia to create the conditions, including the manipulation of language and narratives, necessary to "justify" violence against not just peaceful dissent, but to manufacture a whole new climate of acceptance for suppression of even the mildest dissent, crackdowns on speech and 'unfriendly' media, and fascist right-wing governments, which in Indonesia (like so many in the ME) led to what American right-wingers love to decry as "Islamist extremist" governments (never mind that even that designation is subject to change on a capricious whim in DC). Case after case demonstrates that the biggest bogeymen in the Trumper and neocon (including Dem versions) catalog were once moderately left to capitalist-friendly liberal nations that DC viewed with incredible paranoia during the DC-fueled "Cold War (1.0).
In nearly every non-Latin American case, what happened was an at first slow, then rapid transition from moderately leftist, liberal countries into hard-right religious fundamentalist states characterized by (mostly correct) anti-colonialism and it's those countries that are by no coincidence consistently used as political battering rams and attacked, besieged, sanctioned and held up for scorn and ridicule by the (mostly zionist-private-capital) owned western media and "conservatives" in all western political parties. In the cases in Latin America - particularly Brazil (but an amalgamation with Indonesia is entirely apt) - you have what seems to be 'developing' right now under Trump. No Godwin's Law Hitler or Mussolini references even necessary. Trust me, this has all happened before, under slightly different conditions and contextual realities.
Thanks for your common sense response about the various troop deployments and the overheated rhetoric surrounding it. Some on the left seem to want SO BADLY for Trump to actually try something. I admit that I haven't followed the stories closely but I am assuming that since I haven't heard anything about troops firing on crowds or beating people with batons, it's been more of an optics thing than anything. I'm willing to be shown I'm wrong.
Regarding Hegseth's comments yesterday, I listened to his whole speech and while I can see why some would object to various things, the overall message of tightening up standards of fitness and grooming in the military seems appropriate. The military is SUPPOSED to be hardass, at least those in combat positions. I was not in the military so I realize my comments carry little weight, but from the outside it seems like mostly common sense to want the military to think of itself as well-disciplined and battle-ready, and that leaders should lead by example. As for the anti-trans comments, that's part of a larger cultural war, and I think that the furor being whipped up against the trans ideology is hugely overblown given its implications in most of our daily lives. But that was not the focus of his speech, so it feels like a separate topic.
I did not know that "Family Readiness Groups" are a thing. It's surprisingly lovely to read a letter that acknowledges the humanity of individual National Guard servicemembers (all volunteers!!!). This guy seems like as good a supervisor as one could expect in such circumstances. Thank you, Ken.
This letter isn’t impressive at all. Blind obedience will be the death of us. For the resistance to have been so little thus far that this letter feels “measured” tells us what a sorry state we find ourselves in.
"That oath doesn’t come with an asterisk that says, “only when I agree with the mission.”"
It actually does come with a massive asterisk that he didn't include. The oath is to follow LAWFUL orders. Here is an example of an unlawful order straight from UCMJ. "A commanding officer orders personnel to suppress lawful protests in violation of First Amendment rights."
https://www.ucmjlaw.com/disobey-a-superior-officer/
He does mention "lawful" in his letter. "We execute lawful orders with professionalism and honor." That should be an out to orders that do not meet that criterion.
Thank you for saying what I wanted to say. You did a great job.
While I agree there's intentional fear mongering in the media, I also fear these silly displays are also a tactic to collectively numb us.
It's a distraction, a push on the overton window, and probing to see what they can get away with.
The sole, entire purpose of deploying the guard (military) to Portland is a provocation. There is a long history of saboteurs and agents provocateur deploying with federal and state (and local!) military and law enforcement to kick things into high gear (aka starting the violence to justify "full force"). Interestingly, I just watched Paul Thomas Anderson's latest movie "One Battle After Another" last night and in it he depicts exactly that. When the order is given, the provocateurs don their black outfits and balaclavas, then advance from the rear of the protest groups and begin lobbing molotov cocktails. I expect similar in Portland and of course the aim is to blame "Antifa" or even "Trantifa" so that Trump and Miller get their way - a war on one "liberal" (or in their parlance "far left extremist") city which will lead to another.
I hope the people of Portland (and Chicago and maybe New Orleans and Memphis) can keep their wits about them and pay close attention to anyone either engaging in violence or attempting to egg others on. And to put a balanced spin on this, anyone who doesn't think that there were plainclothes Feds in the crowds on January 6 encouraging lawbreaking is fooling themselves. It's a timeworn tactic and in Trump and Miller's case it's only an added perceived political bonus if they get to blame "leftist terror" - as the main goal is always justifying larger law enforcement budgets, cracking down on peaceful dissent/protest and more mass surveillance.
Thank you for this. We saw this in Minneapolis after the murder of George Floyd. I'm not sure any of them were brought to justice. Here's a recent article about one such individual from the local paper. https://www.startribune.com/umbrella-man-minneapolis-autozone-george-floyd/601357315
Bingo. In fact Umbrella Man was on my mind when I made the comment. Funny that they STILL haven't identified him (law enforcement anyway) and haven't actually even tried to ID him or follow up. I know that some locals did some investigative work and it's likely he's an alleged member of some white supremo and/or "accelerationist" group - but even those groups are inundated with undercover fed infiltrators/instigators. The way he behaved in the Autozone video was extremely fishy above and beyond the act of breaking the windows itself, but also in how he carried himself, he knew to disguise himself with the umbrella (drones, other overhead cameras) and a mask (IIRC). That smacks of law enforcement if you ask me. Here are a few more articles about that guy that I bookmarked way back when.
https://southsidepride.com/2022/02/21/what-about-umbrella-man/
https://www.ajc.com/news/police-deny-link-mysterious-umbrella-man-who-broke-windows-during-riot/3j8cSrRBHjvnvX0PRwIYIP/
https://abcnews.go.com/US/man-helped-ignite-george-floyd-riots-identified-white/story?id=72051536
So...if in fact he was "identified" then the notion that he has not been brought in and/or charged pretty much confirms in my mind he's a fed. As usual...
The letter that gives a nod to being a citizen first and then goes on to say that you are a tool of the command you fall under, note the reference to the change in command. “to face any challenge that comes our way,” does not include participating in what is felt to be a deeply unpatriotic action that caters to the whim of an individual, Trump, who is leveraging his office for his own personal use against those he doesn't like. The troops are having their proper role abused, not being employed for the public good. The general fails to see any distinction between what the troops are now to do and his list of worthy things they can be used for in Oregon. His salute to the service is obscuring his vision.
Lincoln made it a point that he was just another citizen who was serving humbly in a very high and important office that put demands on him as a civil servant that had nothing to do with him being the person, Abraham Lincoln.
Trump has earned a place in the history books along with Lincoln, but it will be for being the opposite of the man who served with humility. Lincoln got the US out of a very tight spot. Trump has put the US into a very tight spot. Lincoln saved the union, Trump is out to punish those in the union that he doesn't like, disunifying as best he can, going after one big city after another. He is a self-aggrandizing bigot who is bedazzled by wealth, overseeing a genocide with dreams of making money in real estate from a land cleared of its people.
We've reached a low point with Trump, but there is every indication that he is going to drag us lower. I hope every member in the service is thinking hard about what is going on because I wouldn't put it past Trump to declare martial law before the midterm elections. In Israel, a pathetic 350 IDF reservists refused to return to Gaza for the final slaughter. I would hope Americans could do far better in refusing to oppress our own country for one man.
"Clean Wehrmacht", American edition, where all the troops feel so reluctant about inflicting violence on American citizens
SO American families, what are you going to do when your kids shoot and kill unarmed citizens?
Do you suppose this will not happen to you?
Useful timeline of 2025 Portland ICE protest events
https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2025/09/tracking-the-rise-and-fall-of-portland-ice-protests-key-developments-as-trump-troops-arrive-soon.html
I got a real chuckle out of watching Pete Hegseth do his 'photo op' imitation of George C. Scott in the movie "Patton," as he addressed the assembled and stone-faced US military commanders, before a large US flag in the background. Truly an embarrassing spectacle for the ages.
Am I the only one who believes he is really a closeted gay man doing his best to look macho, like the little war monger Lindsey Graham?
Ten years from now he will be quietly retired with his husband. Those are not the actions of a happy person.
Anyone interested in history rhyming, repeating or both should look into Brazilian and Indonesian history starting in the 1930s, but more recently in the 1960s and 1970s. Specifically how the military was used during a climate of faux-paranoid-US-fueled communist/leftist paranoia to create the conditions, including the manipulation of language and narratives, necessary to "justify" violence against not just peaceful dissent, but to manufacture a whole new climate of acceptance for suppression of even the mildest dissent, crackdowns on speech and 'unfriendly' media, and fascist right-wing governments, which in Indonesia (like so many in the ME) led to what American right-wingers love to decry as "Islamist extremist" governments (never mind that even that designation is subject to change on a capricious whim in DC). Case after case demonstrates that the biggest bogeymen in the Trumper and neocon (including Dem versions) catalog were once moderately left to capitalist-friendly liberal nations that DC viewed with incredible paranoia during the DC-fueled "Cold War (1.0).
In nearly every non-Latin American case, what happened was an at first slow, then rapid transition from moderately leftist, liberal countries into hard-right religious fundamentalist states characterized by (mostly correct) anti-colonialism and it's those countries that are by no coincidence consistently used as political battering rams and attacked, besieged, sanctioned and held up for scorn and ridicule by the (mostly zionist-private-capital) owned western media and "conservatives" in all western political parties. In the cases in Latin America - particularly Brazil (but an amalgamation with Indonesia is entirely apt) - you have what seems to be 'developing' right now under Trump. No Godwin's Law Hitler or Mussolini references even necessary. Trust me, this has all happened before, under slightly different conditions and contextual realities.
It's just awful that they have to be put in this situation in the first place.
Thanks for your common sense response about the various troop deployments and the overheated rhetoric surrounding it. Some on the left seem to want SO BADLY for Trump to actually try something. I admit that I haven't followed the stories closely but I am assuming that since I haven't heard anything about troops firing on crowds or beating people with batons, it's been more of an optics thing than anything. I'm willing to be shown I'm wrong.
Regarding Hegseth's comments yesterday, I listened to his whole speech and while I can see why some would object to various things, the overall message of tightening up standards of fitness and grooming in the military seems appropriate. The military is SUPPOSED to be hardass, at least those in combat positions. I was not in the military so I realize my comments carry little weight, but from the outside it seems like mostly common sense to want the military to think of itself as well-disciplined and battle-ready, and that leaders should lead by example. As for the anti-trans comments, that's part of a larger cultural war, and I think that the furor being whipped up against the trans ideology is hugely overblown given its implications in most of our daily lives. But that was not the focus of his speech, so it feels like a separate topic.
I hear the goosesteps getting closer.
Fuck him. Fuck them. This is an unlawful mission and an unlawful op. You want my respect? Disobey the order.
No insurrection exists. No war exists.
I did not know that "Family Readiness Groups" are a thing. It's surprisingly lovely to read a letter that acknowledges the humanity of individual National Guard servicemembers (all volunteers!!!). This guy seems like as good a supervisor as one could expect in such circumstances. Thank you, Ken.