A House Divided

H/t Moudakis

Abraham Lincoln, in a famous address, borrowed a biblical phrase and said, A house divided against itself cannot stand. It warned of the ultimate toll when a nation is divided on key issues. A more fitting quotation I cannot think of for what is going on in Trump's Amerika.

In many ways, Herr Trump seems to have declared war on America's citizens. ICE raids, cities infested with national guard troops, threats to jail those who oppose him, are all part of the sick scenario now unfolding. 

What seems undeniable is that the government's particular targets seem to be those that 'don't measure up.' They include immigrants, 'the radical left,' those dependent upon Obamacare's subsidized premiums, the latter the apparent sticking point that has precipitated the government shutdown, putting millions out of work and promises of massive dismissals.

Last night, NBC News put the question of health care premiums under the microscope. A surprising opponent of the "let them eat cake Republicans" who refuse to extend subsides is well-known MAGA enthusiast Marjorie Taylor Green. 

Begin the following at the 10:20 mark.

The plight of 22 million Americans facing such huge premium increases without the subsidies seems to epitomize an Amerika that cares not for its people (tech bros and other billionaires excepted). It is a recipe for disaster.

And scenes like the following, Americans fighting Americans, are becoming increasingly common.

Now, Trump is threatening to invoke the Insurrection Act, claiming Chicago police are not doing enough to protect ICE agents. The act would allow military troops to storm American cities.

The Insurrection Act can essentially override the Posse Comitatus Act, passed in 1878. That law generally bars the federal branches of the military from engaging in the law enforcement, responsibilities that rest with local authorities.

Under the invocation of the Insurrection Act, troops can perform searches or make arrests. 

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said this week it was his view that the Trump administration's goal is to "make it seem that peaceful protesters are a mob by firing gas pellets and tear gas canisters at them ... to create the pretext for invoking the Insurrection Act."

To close out  this post, here is a brief clip of Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker as he compares the Trump regime to its historical predecessor, the Nazis: