The Trump Admin’s Mostly Unnoticed Move to Crack Down on the Opposition

Originally published at: The Trump Admin’s Mostly Unnoticed Move to Crack Down on the Opposition - TPM – Talking Points Memo

Last month, the White House issued two executive orders that direct federal law enforcement to start cracking down on the political opposition. One of the two memos prompted some confusion and mockery for its attempt to designate “antifa” a terrorist organization. But the second has gone largely unnoticed in the mainstream press, with only a…

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The now familiar, new-normal sequence of events will follow:

  • Illegal regime actions will be initiated against constitutionally protected activities.
  • Lawsuits will be filed against the regime’s actions.
  • Courts will rule against the regime.
  • The regime will appeal to the Supreme Court.
  • The high court will issue an unsigned, unexplained, shadow docket opinion allowing the regime to continue its unconstitutional actions until a final ruling which will never come.
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this kind of totalitarian crap is a double-edged sword, and this administration has effectively declared war on more than half the country. Depending how far they go with this and what this corrupt SCOTUS is willing to green-light, I look forward to taxing and shutting down many of the various far-right Christian madrassas and deploying these anti-terrorism statutes and federal police powers against the vastly larger and better-funded ecosystem promoting fascism and fascist violence in the next Democratic administration. This includes going after their media, their think tanks, their non-profits, and all the associated funding streams. They are opening a Pandora’s box that can and will quickly spiral out of control. Of course, these are the ideological descendants of the Confederates who never accepted the outcome of the civil war and were treated with kid gloves since the Hayes-Tilden compromise of 1876 and the collapse of Reconstruction.

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The Tech Bros are getting ready to start a war. What if the army doesn’t fight for them?

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Freedom of thought is now “think only our state approved thoughts” or “do not think”.

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the threat of the orders comes not necessarily in the form of imminent charges but in the lengthy, resource-draining investigations

The same way free enterprise business works.

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It was something to see…Scott Bessent standing behind Trump and simpering as Trump promised to go after Soros, whom Bessent worked for for 24 years. During his time at Soros Fund Management, Bessent made $2 billion for the company by betting against the yen and the pound.

When I was a bike messenger in San Francisco many decades ago, there was a sculpture outside the Bank of America building that consisted of a large lump of black granite. Everyone called it The Banker’s Heart.

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How would a prosecution even work? Antifa is what, an ideology?

Don’t these people have lives?

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Ummmm. No. Its a single-edged sword. Dems don’t have the balls, fight, or understanding that you have to destroy enemies of democracy. These Dems would be afraid to sentence Nazis to the death sentence because, you know, they are entitled to 1st amendment free speech, 2nd amendment arms, etc., etc. Today’s Dem leaders are a bunch of cowering, second-guessers who are not suited to an existential war.

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It’s become quaint to think that it was only ten years ago that opposing fascism was not only considered a good thing, but normal.

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“I’m going to need some good minds on how to use those authorities,” she added.

Thank FSM. If that’s what they need, we’re probably safe.

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If they call us progressives, we call them recidivists.

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Is “recidivist” Latin for “cocksucker”?

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I contribute regularly to the World Food Program. Am I a terrorist now?

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Opposition and descent will not be tolerated or encouraged. We will all have to fall in line before we can fall in love. Or some crap like that.

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Even celebrated. I wonder if someone has already catalogued the number of books, movies, songs, or TV shows that had themes of opposing fascism?

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Looks like JD is looking at a crack in the ceiling, maybe an escape route?

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IANAL, but the memorandums and executive orders are not the law.

How many has convicted felon or his auto pen signed so far?

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In the common tongue, it mostly refers to pedophiles….

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My heart says otherwise. You know, sex first, and then commitment, maybe.

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