I have long written that it’s difficult to appreciate the degree to which DeSantis controls Florida. Whatever DeSantis wants, DeSantis gets – at least at a statewide level. His majority legislature bows before him, and the elected Florida Supreme Court defers to his programs. It is DeSantis’s state that wants to make it far easier to punish journalists with a new statute that would make the use of anonymous sources a presumption of “malice” in a defamation suit, and an anonymous source would be presumed to be wrong. DeSantis wants to control the message and wants to sue people who criticize him.
Now he wants to build a Floridian army, aka “National Guard,” though one that seems far bigger than needed, and, one can find many ways to put that money to better use. From the Tampa Bay Times:
When Gov. Ron DeSantis first proposed reviving the long-dormant Florida State Guard, he wanted 200 volunteers and a modest $5 million budget. Then it grew to 400 members and $10 million. Now it’s 1,500 members and a nearly $100 million budget — with police powers, helicopters, boats and, under one lawmaker’s request, cellphone-hacking technology.
The proposed budget for the Florida State Guard, released by a House committee on Tuesday, offers the most detailed realization of DeSantis’ vision for the State Guard, a WWII-era force brought back last year.
Republican leaders in the House largely mirrored DeSantis’ proposal, proposing more than $89 million in their budget, including six boats and tow vehicles, $49.5 million for planes and helicopters, $22.7 million to store those vehicles and $10 million for a new headquarters.
Now, you might ask yourself why one needs to ratchet up what was a $5 Million endeavor to a $100 million with planes, helicopters, ships, etc. One answer could be, “Well, they’ve had a lot of hurricanes, and they don’t seem to be abating. The National Guard is often used in…
No. That is the answer for the $5-10 million National Guard.
I cannot help but see this tied to Trump’s speech at CPAC in which he called 2024 “The Final Battle” and the “America First Institute,” both of which sound like a “win at all costs, including fighting if needed in 2024 and instituting martial law.” Trump said he would federalize the National Guard and send troops to police blue cities. He even said, “You’re not supposed to do that, by the way.”
And, no – that’s not “just Trump.” The America First movement, of which DeSantis is a leading member, has plans to change the way this country is run, firing 50,000 Civil Servants, and instituting what is essentially a loyalty oath for those that stay. “Obliterating” the intelligence community and part of the national defense infrastructure, including the NSA, CIA, etc.
It is hard not to think of the haunting quote that Joe Scarborough noted – one I’ve cited many times, in which a “pillar of Washington since the Reagan era” (think Chuck Grassley, someone like him), who told Joe that it’s not the Constitution or structure that makes the country run but it’s the people, and they have a chance to reform all of it. (These are Republicans, currently people who aren’t in charge but are looking at 2024 as “the final battle.”) Putin would agree. It’s the people who run the government that matter.
Now, put all that together, and what is the response one would expect? Protests, even violent protests. All states would have to be ready for the protests that would ensue. But California, with all its natural disasters, they’re not exponentially building up its own Californian army and navy. I can’t help but think this is part of the America First, reorganization of the federal government, Scarborough’s source “reform the government because it’s the people, not the structure that matters,” that is driving this. They cannot implement their plans without the ability to fully control the population. Trump is telling people what he plans to do. The America First Institute is telling people they have a list of 50,000 people (think about that) to put in place of who they fire in the first days of a new Republican administration…
It isn’t just Trump. It’s the DeSantis’s, Abbotts, Stefaniks, Rand Pauls, McCarthys… It’s the GOP with just a small fraction outside of the movement, McConnell, Romney, Murkowski, Cornyn. Find someone in the GOP who hates Putin and you’ll find someone outside the America First movement.
Because the GOP has become a permanent minority party. In the last 30 years, they’ve won ONE presidential popular vote election. As the ethnicity of the country evolves, it will only get worse. You can’t control a democracy if you’re a permanent minority. So, get rid of democracy and be ready for the response…
I think that is what is happening here.
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[email protected], @JasonMiciak, SUBSTACK: SMITH MAY SURPRISE WITH AN EARLY INDICTMENT, LIGHTNING SPEED OF APPEAL IS A TELL.
Hitler established several paramilitary groups to carry out his evil long before he took on the armies of other countries. Fact. Florida is now a nazi run state in my opinion. The nazi in charge is following every tactic Hitler and Goebbels used in the late 30s. The cultural myth of our country is that somehow we are special; we have God on our side; we are the hope of the world; yadayadayada. These are myths based on denial of our actual history. Unless we care enough to stop these nazis, they, like cancer, will spread. One effect I already see is how they have worn down decency incrementally so that the outrage is muted and diminished. We now accept nazis and insurrectionists in congress put there by rigging the voting, and they command national media attention. Our margin of error fueled by our cultural ignorance, apathy, and misplaced priorities, seems to grow smaller daily. I defer to Jefferson, who said: ” any nation that expects to be ignorant and free, expects what never was and never will be.” Like many of his time, he was an elitist slave owner, who bore children by his slave, Sally Hemming, whom he never freed, even in his will. However, his statement is absolutely true. Our nation seems to believe in what never was and never will be. Otherwise, please explain how the majority is at the mercy of these nazis in power in the ‘land of the free’. It seems you can never solve real problems, until you’re willing to acknowledge the TRUTH. As a culture, we have trouble with the truth. I often joke that the fastest way to get into trouble in America is to tell the truth. The nazi party,(gop), is doing everything they can to make sure truth is the first casualty. Goebbels would be proud.
Trust me, DeSantis vision has that 100 million as mere start-up costs. I don’t see his fellow NAZIs in the legislature saying no when he comes back asking for more. You can’t buy very many of the types of planes and helicopters (or retrofit them) of the type he envisions for the amounts listed. Same with boats.
These state type thingies are nothing new. I didn’t move to WV until the fall of 2003. For the prior six years I lived and worked in Herndon (the first town outside Dulles Airport) and I recall heading into the local Giant (grocery) one Sat. afternoon and seeing a few guys in camo at a card table with literature and forms on it. Virginia it seems had people organizing a “civilian militia” and what surprised me was our Town Attorney was one of the recruiters. He introduced me and told the others about my having been a grunt in the Marines so they sure as hell wanted me to sign up but I begged off. Richard’s office was thirty feet away from mine in the Old Town Hall and unless the Mayor was there for an appt. during the day it was just him and me and our admin assistants on that first floor so we saw a lot of each other.
He kept trying a couple more times to get me interested and finally sat down in his office for a long, long talk. I don’t know that he actually quit, or became less active but I never saw him recruiting again after that. I pointed out some things he really hadn’t thought much about. But here’s the thing. Even though VA was still a lean red state back then with the legislature dominated by Republicans NOT from either the northern VA (suburban DC) suburbs or the Norfolk area. And even then the state wasn’t investing in some non National Guard type force!
This is some dangerous shit taking place. I wonder how businesses in FL feel about this and whether they’ll cut back.
Biden and his administration need to nip all this in the bud. The voters have done their job and now the DOJ needs to do their’s. We forget the DOJ was formed to fight the Klan. First they need to chalenge all these fascist states that are passing anti-woke laws on the grounds that the government can’t impose a religion on the rest of us.Then they should re-litigate the destruction of the voter’s right act, siting the election of a person who’s only qualification was his birtherism crap and all other crap he has brought from the rise of hate crimes and then of course J6. As all National guards are under the DOD, the military should place restrictions on the size and equipment the NG’s have. Lock up Abbott and Desantis for human trafficking or kidnapping or embezlement of government funds. The attack on fascist should be timed to take place over ten weeks so that the only thing in the news will be the trials of their king and the exposure of the fascist. Oh, they should lock up all the insurectionist in Congress and the Senate.
I have seen this sort of crap on tv shows where the governor orders his ‘Guard’ to standup against the Federal agents. Seems almost pulled that on Obama. It could easily happen. Brings to mind ‘The Republican Guard’ of Iraq.
Let’s say President Biden does try to put a stop to this. We have a theocracy occupying the s.c. whose members already basically re-wrote the second amendment to suit their personal needs as well as their theocratic wannabe supporters. Who’s to say they won’t re-write it again to install religious troops or some such dumb-fuckery? And they have already made the First Amendment all but meaningless, protecting only xtians and only those of a certain stripe. I’m not saying he shouldn’t put a stop to it, or try to, but I am saying we need to be very, very prepared just in case it isn’t our southern shit-hole state’s (but I repeat myself) prelude to secession.
This is some scary shit for sure! 😡🤔😮💨
Florida needs to be dealt with, invaded if necessary, burned to the ground if necessary and desantis and trump hanged by the neck until dead in front of the white house if necessary.
And its becoming more and more necessary by the day. We need a president who isnt afraid of sending these scumbags where they belong : straight to hell
I have one question: how is that in any way different than what the magats wish on us every fucking day? More to the point: how on earth does it help anything? Shit like that might have worked, and probably should have been performed, in 1865 with the confederate soldiers. Now it would start another war. If we were to go that route, and we won’t BTW, hope you have a lot of rounds set aside for what would be unleashed. I may keep my firearms in a safe but I do have many, many rounds for my rifles just for when the magats get more than just restless. A stunt like this would make them more than restless I suspect.
Dare we hope this means the dangling dick of a state drops off of/out of U.S. sphere of influence and therefore needs its very own little army? That would be a very good thing and maybe someone should become a desantis whisperer with that in mind. I see no downside to this idea.
Lest we forget, when Marjorie Taylor Greene proposed a “national divorce,” Steve Bannon essentially told her, “No, damn it, we (fascists) want the WHOLE country.” I once believed that wealthy GOP donors would discourage civil discord as being bad for the economy, but they seem to be okay with a fascist takeover as long as it’s done through legislation and the courts, rather than in the streets.
GOP voters who still cling to “small government” principles need to wake up and see that their party in 2023 is anything but that.