The Occupation of Los Angeles
Listen to this articleAs much as I disagreed with the late Senator Barry Goldwater on just about everything — there is one issue on which we agreed: In 1974, while I was in U.S. Marine Corps Boot Camp — the DoD likes to call it “Recruit Training” — Senator Barry Goldwater led a group of Republicans up to the White House and informed then President Richard M. Nixon that he (Goldwater) and his colleagues were not going to allow a crook to occupy the Oval Office. In other words, Goldwater (The dean of the Republicans in both chambers of Congress) told that crook, Nixon, the House of Representatives had enough votes to impeach him (Nixon) and in the U.S. Senate there would be enough votes to convict the president, booting him from office and barring Nixon from any future attempts to hold public office. Senator Barry Goldwater was a standup guy.
Tricky Dick resigned, as I said, while I was in boot camp. We weren’t allowed to get any news, so one of the drill instructors sat the entire platoon on the clean floor of the squad bay and explained we had a new Commander-in-Chief and vice president in order for us to change our chain of command (yes, that’s a real thing and you better know it perfectly from bottom to top). No mention of Watergate, impeachments or resignation, we just had a new leader at the top of the chain of command.
There’s an obvious comparison here, and to be completely honest and *transparent” here, I am certainly not the first one — or even one of the first ten — to point out this comparison, but it should be repeated often.
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What does the title, “The City of Angels,” mean? settlement was founded by some Spanish conquerors, known as the “Los pobladores del pueblo de los Angeles.” In English: “The townspeople of Los Angeles.”
Basically 11 families, 22 adults from a variety of castes, mainly from Sinaloa and Sonora. Their purpose was to operate and run the city. These city fathers and mothers were from the very privileged Peninsuler and Criolos to the Mestizos, Mulattos, Negroes and Indios. That was in the late 18th century and then the place started to grow.
Now, Los Angeles County, the heart of the L.A. metro area, has over 9,757,000 residents, of all ages, ethnicities and skin color; a variety of languages that can make a bus or light rail ride (city train systems) a cavalcade of musical diversity.
None of that matters much right now, Los Angeles, The City of Angels is still under attack. The U.S. Marines have been ordered to leave the city and head back to their permanent base. MCB Camp Pendleton. Half of the National Guard have left. Mayor Karen Bass said, in a statement, “This is another win for Los Angeles but this is also a win for those serving this country in uniform. Los Angeles stands with our troops, which is why we are glad they are leaving.”
The Marines were sent to L.A. in violation of the Posse Comitatus Act, which bars presidents from using the military for domestic policing unless “expressly authorized by the Constitution or act of Congress.”
Neither occurred.
All of these laws and Constitutional rights that the convicted felon is violating are clearly written, like the Posse Comitatus Act: “Whoever, except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress, willfully uses any part of the Army or the Air Force as a posse comitatus or otherwise to execute the laws shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.”
We also have a Bill of Rights, which has been revered (sort of) over the past 237 years since it was ratified by the fledgling nation we now call “The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.”
Among the ten amendments that make up the Bill of Rights, the federal agents and military personnel are violating:
The 4th Amendment of the Constitution: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
The 5th Amendment: No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
Then there is the 14th Amendment, specifically Section 1: All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
Section 1 of this amendment is very clear and precise about a few things, starting with “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
There’s no ambiguity, it very specifically says “All persons …” It also makes clear, again (after amendment5) “; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; …” adding, “… nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
These ICE raids are violating the Constitution, massively and repeatedly. In reality the raids are kidnapping, a violation of federal law 5 CFR § 11.404: False imprisonment. A person commits a misdemeanor if he or she knowingly restrains another unlawfully so as to interfere substantially with his or her liberty.”
What would happen if Mayor Karen Bass or Governor Gavin Newson ordered local and state law enforcement to start arresting the masked kidnappers? The California state law, California Penal Code § 236 PC, can be charged as either a misdemeanor or a felony.
That’s a tricky legal question. Both the mayor and governor are relying on the courts, but as we have been told, lawyers working for the convicted felon in the Department of Justice were told, by Emil Bove, DoJ lawyers “… would need to consider telling the courts ‘fuck you’ and ignore any such court order.”
Not even Tricky Dick Nixon was this lawless.
The ICE raids are on the media’s back burners for now, as we are delivered daily updates — almost hourly updates — on the convicted felon’s efforts to cover up his possible crimes committed with deceased pedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking of minors.
The felon has his Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard telling old, discredited lies that then-president Barack Obama and his administration manufactured the “Russia hoax,” committing treason in the process.
In a great clap-back, former president Barack Obama said of the false claims, “These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction.” The statement, issued by Obama’s spokesperson Patrick Rodenbush, Also said, “Nothing in the document issued last week undercuts the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election but did not successfully manipulate any votes. These findings were affirmed in a 2020 report by the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee, led by then-Chairman Marco Rubio,”
The worse transgression here is that the victims of the Epstein sex trafficking are not being given any voice in the current controversy. A lawyer for more than 200 victims, Bradley Edwards, said many of his clients can confirm the book exists and they can identify many of Epstein’s friends, including the convicted felon, that took part in the sex trafficker’s crimes.
The GOP/MAGA controls both houses of Congress so next to nothing is being done to force the so-called president and his administration to release the Epstein files to the public. The names of the victims would need to be redacted, but we would know for sure who was involved and who contributed to Epstein’s “birthday book.” In other words, congressional MAGA is participating in the cove up.
Is anyone surprised?
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- Have you noticed how popular the term “transparent” in all of its forms and uses as become in recent years? To use it in a sentence: “The convicted felon’s administration is not the least bit transparent.”
Tim Forkes started as a writer on a small alternative newspaper in Milwaukee called the Crazy Shepherd. Writing about entertainment, he had the opportunity to speak with many people in show business, from the very famous to the people struggling to find an audience. In 1992 Tim moved to San Diego, CA and pursued other interests, but remained a freelance writer. Upon arrival in Southern California he was struck by how the elected government officials and business were so intertwined, far more so than he had witnessed in Wisconsin. His interest in entertainment began to wane and the business of politics took its place. He had always been interested in politics, his mother had been a Democratic Party official in Milwaukee, WI, so he sat down to dinner with many of Wisconsin’s greatest political names of the 20th Century: William Proxmire and Clem Zablocki chief among them. As a Marine Corps veteran, Tim has a great interest in veteran affairs, primarily as they relate to the men and women serving and their families. As far as Tim is concerned, the military-industrial complex has enough support. How the men and women who serve are treated is reprehensible, while in the military and especially once they become veterans. Tim would like to help change that.