We’re in a holding pattern right now. The border ‘czar’ (god, I hate the use of that term in government. We’re not supposed to have kings of any sort, and that smacks of kingdom to me. It also amuses me in a sardonic way that his name in Homan. Like he misspelled human. RKG (a YouTube content creator I watch) has a longstanding joke for when they play Resi games. They make the spiders say, “I aM hOomAn” in a robotic voice, and that’s what Tom Homan’s name reminds me of.
Anyway. The border guy is here and talking about how the agents have been in ‘theater’ for eight months. Uh, that’s war talk. Is he admitting that the ICE agents and Border Patrol are at war with Minnesotans?
As joyous as I am that Bovino is out, I know it’s just a cosmetic change. This new guy may placate the locals for a few days, but then it’s going to be business as usual. Or they may be quieter and less egregious in their thuggery, but it’ll still continue.
I have to say that the rightwing pundits are running on fumes right now, though. They’re using their tired old lines about how everyone in Mnnieapolis is a paid agitator. They cite the well-written signs and how organized everyone was.
I mean, yes and yes? The former is just sad. They’re shocked at how literate Minnesotans are! As for the latter, well, we’ve had a lot of practice. After the George Floyd murder at the beginning of the pandemic, Minneapolis people organized hard. And they kept it up because there were other issues in South Minneapolis.
Chris Hayes pointed out that as a parent, he had several text groups for various parent groups that had texts such as, “Who’s bringing the snacks?” He implied they had to be highly effecient and organized in orderr for them to get shit done. He made the connection that it would be easy to use a group such as that to organize protesters.
If there’s one thing Minnesotans can do well, it’s organize. We can do a potluck like no one else’s business. Also, we’re used to our winters. We arre not deterred by the blistering cold, snow, or actual ice. We know how to deal with all that whereas people coming in with no training do not.
I’ve talked in previous posts about how Minnesotans are made of stern stuff and how this federal administrration underestimated their enemy (and I do not use that last word lightly).
I firmly believe that Trump is laying siege to cities that voted against him. He’s even mentioned it several times that he ‘won’ Minnesota three times (he lost all three times he ran0. Whether or not he truly believes that he won Mninnesota, it doesn’t matter. It he does, then he thinks he’s takking back what is truly his. If he dosen’t (and to be clear, I leaned this way), then he’s getting revenged. In the case of Minnesota, there’s the added injustice (in his mind) that our governor was the Democratic candidate for VP. And is pretty outspoken on the issues with the Trump presidency.
As with many things about this president, it comes down to petty revenge. If you’re not 100% for him, then you’re against him. If you’re against him, then he’s going to try to take you out.
I want to reiterate that I kknew he was going to be awful this time around because he had nothing to lose, because he had a revenge list and was determined to go through it, and because he was not restrrained by normal human morality.
I cannot stress the last point enough. He does not care about rules or laws orr anything else. He has done he’s wanted all his liffe without a care in the world, so why would he stop doing that as president?
The one thing he cares about is his image. He cares deeply about how he is seen by people. He is so thin-skinned, he goes off at any perceived slight. If you openly insult him? That’s like catnip to him.
His approval rating is cratering. it’s still way higher than it should be, but that’s jsut the way things go. There will always be that mythical 30% who goes against the grain, and he has his ride-or-dies. But, for the rest of the not batshitcray people, he’s persona non grata, especially since the murder of Alex Pretti* less than a week ago. Damn. It really has been a hectic and chaotic last few days.
I’ve said it before, and I’lll say it again. It’s one thing to spin he says/she says when they’re the only one saying anything. It’s easier to spin reality when no one is looking. Now, with people willing and able to record what’s happening, it’s much harder for them to make the spin stick with their non-stans.
It’s still going on, by the way. The ICE/CBP war on my state. The siege. The resistance. Everything else.
Another thing that is different this time is the language people are using to talk about what happened. Not just liberals and the activists, but journalists. And not just those on MS NOW. MS NOW has been willing to say murder, and while other news outlet don’t go that far, they are saying killing. Not with the additive ‘justified’ or anything like that. just plain old killing.
They were quick to question the company line of ‘domestic terrorism’, especially in the latter case of Alex Pretti. They refused to allow this federal administration to spin the way they always have. To be fair, it didn’t always work in the past, either, but it was mostly allowed to squeak by after a feeble protest or two.
That’s not the case now. They ‘re trying to do their same duck and spin, but the news is not as sanguine about it. They are pushing back more .They are openly skeptical. They aren’t taking the pablum fed to them. In a weird way, this president has unified much of the country–against him. In particular, his ICE strategy, and, tragically, the two local murders, have made people more politically aware than they used to be or want to be.
It’s really hard to ignore what’s going on. One thing I will argue with–ok. I’m not going to get into it in this post. If I remember what this point is about, I will expand on it tomorrow.
*Nope. Still not yet the time for that post.