David Kurtz writes that the Arlington cemetery incident is a clear example of how creepy Donald Trump and his campaign use thuggery to avoid the consequences of their blatantly wrong behavior.
The cemetery official who was pushed aside by the thugs in creepy Trump’s campaign has declined to press charges and the Army says that it considers the matter closed. Kurtz says that the fear of being doxxed and have the MAGA cult hordes descend on her and her family likely played a role in the decision to drop the matter.
You can’t blame the cemetery official for declining to press charges rather than put herself in the line of fire for continued and unending abuse. She didn’t sign up for that. She’s already been baselessly accused by the Trump campaign of having a “mental health episode,” being “despicable” and a “disgrace,” and not deserving to have her job. That all happened within the first 48 hours of the apparent confrontation at the national shrine to fallen service members.
…Rather than mount a full-throated defense and take any kind of remedial action, the Army has closed the matter after the cemetery official declined to press charges.
…Officials purporting to defend their person on the ground by offering some “push back” on the Trump campaign attack, but doing so anonymously while trying to keep it from “escalating.” Escalating into what? You’ve already been run over, so that leaves the only obvious conclusion: The Army itself is trying to avoid being the target of MAGA attacks. This is untenable acquiescence to bullying.
Is that really going to be the end of the story? No consequences, no new measures to enjoin Trump from doing the same thing again at Arlington or another military cemetery, no price to pay for his thuggery. It’s a familiar pattern.
The erosion of any kind of strong, unified, national, countervailing force to Trump’s public bullying and nastiness only enables and emboldens the thuggery that is central to his appeal and that he has already notoriously used on Jan. 6 to try to retain power.
If you don’t think a Trump win in November will unleash a reign of thuggery against anyone who stands in his way – not just political foes but innocent bystanders and regular folks just doing their jobs – then I don’t know what else to tell you. He’s doing it right now, he’s promised to do it if he wins, and his minions are poised and eager to follow through.
He’s not a schoolyard bully. He’s a public menace, and if he wins back the White House, he will be a public menace with vast official powers and Supreme Court-sanctioned immunity.
Some veterans have slammed the creepy Trump campaign for their behavior.
This kind of thuggery, where political parties use goons and strong-arm tactics to attack and intimidate opponents, has long been standard practice in Sri Lanka, and indeed in many countries, where the rule of law has been weakened by years, even decades, of politicians undermining it.
The GOP and right wingers warn about how the US is becoming a ‘third world country’ because of the presence of immigrants. But it should be realized that it is their use of thuggery and lawlessness to get their way, not immigration, that is the problem.
Sleepy Creepy Don old Chump. Lately he has lost energy and vigor, slow talking in a plain drone as if sleep walking thru his rally.
Turn about is fair play, now he is the sleepy-doe, and his partner James David can go to hell.
His lack of respect for the military is over the top. Commander Bone-Spurs with his lies, but he played more golf than any other president, why he is the greatest presidential golfer of all time--it’s a wonder he can even walk with all that golf. Oh, it must be God working a miracle whip for him, so he can be back in the club, er, white, house again.
The Army’s refusal to press charges, or give any real support to ONE OF THEIR OWN in the face of ignorant thuggery and threats, is a disgrace. Are their top brass that afraid of Trump returning to office and punishing them? Or is someone in the top ranks favoring Trump?
IRL, I have a friend who had a bone spur in her heel. It needed to be surgically fixed--bone spurs don’t get better on their own. Trump needs to show his medical records to prove he had a bone spur and it was shaved down.
As for the Army not supporting their own junior-level member who was assaulted by large men while simply doing her job; I am disgusted but not surprised. IMO, the higher they climb, the more cowardly they become. Also, the questions Raging Bee posed.
I’ve heard that it was the employee herself, not the Army, that declined to press charges because she feared reprisals from the MAGAts. That strikes me as a reasonable fear; and if she’s a civilian employee, it might be more difficult to give her the same protection as a regular soldier living on base would get.
I suppose that the Army could have convinced her to not press charges, but we don’t know that.
If she was acting as an employee of the Army, uniformed or not, then the Army should be sticking up for her, and the Army should be deciding to press charges — she was assaulted on her employer’s premises, on company time, as a consequence of doing her job and enforcing her employer’s rules. Her bosses should be encouraging her to press charges and working with her every step of the way. It’s their duty to enforce their rules on their turf.
Now also Harris can go there with a TV crew. Shouldn’t be a problem. And anyone else who claims to be “the next prez of USA”.
Amazing -- the entire United States Army can’t protect one individual/family from
brown shirtred cap goons.Weimar R US.
OT: has sonofrojblake been banned?. I hadn’t noticed multiple comments by him recently.
No one has been banned under the new policy.
Arlington Cemetery or the Army should be pressing charges and imposing fines for A) violating the Hatch act, and B) verbally and physically assaulting the employee who was doing their job correctly.
It is absolutely not the employees responsibility to press charges personally.
The Army needs to step-up and enforce its policy.
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@Rob Grigjanis
Sonof was commenting OT and rather rudely to Bekenstein in the JD Vance chameleon thread.
The comment you linked was him whingeing about how unfair it was that Mano personally reiterated his rule, but didn’t ban Pierce for accidentally making 4 polite and on topic comments.
The authorities selectively upholding the law was how a cerain political movement seized, and then secured their hold on power in Italy a hundred years ago.
Comparing it to fascist Italy is really melodramatic Birger. Mano has not selectively enforced his new rules, and it’s nonsense to pretend that being required to be polite, on topic, and limit your comments to three is hard to understand.
He clearly stated he is the sole authority on his personal blog, and it’s sad that a few individuals made it necessary in the first place. Nobody has been banned, and I very much appreciate that the comment threads are no longer filled with petty personal squabbles.
Particularly as by my count Birger has already broken that rule at least once, three comments in a row, then another further down a thread.
Mano
I was wanting to check what the new rules were and, while I could go back to your original thread on the subject, as time goes on that will become more difficult. It might be useful to have the rules somewhere in the side bar so oldies can be reminded of them and newbies find them in the first place.
Tethys @# 12 and #13
I think birgerjohanson in #11 was referring to upholding the rules at the Arlington Cemetery, not my rule about the number of comments.
Mano Singham @ 14
Thank you.
Yes, the Italian authorities did not interfere when the blackshirts intimidated and even beat up enemy politicians. They systemstically bullied their way to the top while maintaining the pretence of democracy, until a leading opposition politician was murdered after challenging the misrule by Mussolini.
At that point their rule was so established they no longer had to maintain the trappings of democracy.
No, that comment was in response to this one, in contrast to Pierce’s quintuple post; in an exchange with Mano further down that thread sonof indicates general approval of the new rule so I doubt he is either banned or self-exiled.
Also, I take from the exchange Mano ignores posts that are obviously just footnotes, corrections etc. to previous ones, which is why Pierce ‘got away with it’.
(My post was in response to Rob’s #8. It appears I left this thread open without refresh for about 10 hours and other people commented within that window)
It is amusing that #11 could apply to the OP and the new posting rules. It’s still a bit melodramatic to bring Mussolini into the mix.
I don’t know what if any penalty can be given for violating cemetery rules about filming other than filing an official complaint with the relevant authorities.
The Hatch Act applies to federal employees, but I’m not sure if it applies to the various branches of the military. If they made a big deal out of pressing charges it could be considered a violation. I’m sure the rump campaign would have a conniption, and claim it was proof of the worst political persecution that ever happened to anyone, ever.
@ Rob Grigjanis
Moderated environments are intrinsically unfriendly to those who thrive on hostility.
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I know I said before it was my last comment on Mano’s new policy, so call me liar liar pants on fire -- but I still find it interesting there are two quite distinct camps evident in this very thread: “I very much appreciate that the comment threads are no longer filled with petty personal squabbles” (#12)
and, ” that comment was in response to this one, in contrast to Pierce’s quintuple post; in an exchange with Mano further down that thread, [blah, blah, blah, personal squabbles FTW]”. (#16) X-D
Long may the former prevail.
Holms @16: Thanks for the background.
BUT BUT ROB THIS IS A PERSONAL SQUABBLE! At least, according to Sbob’s reading skills.
Clarification:
First, rest assured assured I do not regard any in the commentariat to be compareable to 20-century dictators.
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The orange one does *not* have the intellect of the bald Italian, but the people riding on his coattails have it.
And whenever intimidation is a successful tactic, the logical next step is to escalate.
The classic consevatives have chosen to support an obvious villain.
As the US media have failed to pursue a principled stance ever since Trump entered politics, its self-flattering image as the “fourth branch” is false.
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So, if this stress test of US democracy has a happier ending than in Italy it is because SSADT and his closest minions are so goddamn inept. SSADT has not tolerated any overly clever people in his inner circle nor would he listen to their advice.
In a way it is good that the system has been challenged; everyone has seen the usual checks and balances have failed and need to be overhauled.