1. This morning, while CNN and MSNBC were raging about the riots, Fox News had an extended feature about how to make faux cocktails using coffee. Gee, it would be nice to have a responsible, trustworthy broadcast news network that was both unbiased and that didn’t assume that is viewers dropped out of junior high school.
2. I am surprised that so few readers have commented on this morning’s introductory post. Was everyone at church? “Is anybody there? Does anybody care?”
3. Here’s the comment on Facebook by an old friend, a retired journalist, and, of course, a Trump Derangement sufferer:
In calling out the National Guard to quell anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles, DJT’s White House said the following in writing:“The Trump Administration has zero tolerance for criminal behavior and violence, especially when that violence is aimed at law enforcement officers trying to do their jobs. The statement must be outraging the 140 Capitol Hill and D.C. police officers injured by the Jan. 6 Trump mob trying to overthrow the government on his behalf at the U.S. Capitol. Zero tolerance? As president, Trump pardoned or otherwise forgave about 1500 of his mob, who were serving time or facing charges for their Capitol Hill crimes, including assaults on police officers. They are free in society.
Aside from being classic “whataboutism” and deflection, the statement is misleading. The J-6 rioters were pardoned after already being punished with an extended period of prosecution and imprisonment. That Trump should not have issued a blanket pardon is beyond debate; that the J-6 riot was neither planned nor designed to interfere with lawful law enforcement makes this an apples and oranges comparison. One indefensible aspect of the Biden prosecutions was that the George Floyd rioters were given a pass on far more destructive behavior. Another was that the J-6 riot was contained, while the riots in Democrat-controlled cities endanger the general public. Yet another distinction is that the Capitol riot was over in a matter of hours, and the current riots have already been ongoing for days. Trump should be judged on how he handles riots on the Left and the Right when they occur during this administration. They should be treated the same: no tolerance.
4. This is a taxpayer-funded anti-rule of law/pro-open borders riot. CHIRLA (The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights) is the the primary group behind the current rioting in Los Angeles. It “received nearly $34 million in revenue from government contracts during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023, with 96% of that funding from the State of CA.” Nice. That’s the Democratic Party and the Biden Administration. They own this violence, as well as the factors that triggered it. And Kamala Harris is on record in 2016 praising CHIRLA. It’s frightening to think about how close we came to having Harris in the White House.
5. LA’s ludicrous, weak, dishonest and indolent DEI mayor Karen Bass said of the rioting, “We will not stand for this.” She did not mean the rioters or the violence aimed at law enforcement. She meant “we” wouldn’t stand for ICE enforcing our immigration laws. I am beginning to think that Los Angeles is beyond redemption.
6. Gov. Gavin Newsom is little better, just a bit smarter. “The federal government is moving to take over the California National Guard and deploy 2,000 soldiers. That move is purposefully inflammatory and will only escalate tensions,” Newsom said last night. “LA authorities are able to access law enforcement assistance at a moment’s notice. We are in close coordination with the city and county, and there is currently no unmet need. The Guard has been admirably serving LA throughout recovery. This is the wrong mission and will erode public trust.” What erodes public trust is public officials wink-wink/nudge-nudging at organized defiance of the law, which is what Democrats have been doing regarding immigration law enforcement for more than a decade.
7. Democrats in Congress are equally disingenuous. Rep. Nanette D. Barragán (D-Calif) said, “Calling in the National Guard when the Governor has not requested assistance is an intentional move by the Trump Administration to unnecessarily escalate the situation in Los Angeles County.” The Governor has made it clear that he opposes enforcement of the law. Under those condition, the President taking charge is not merely necessary, but mandatory. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) accused the Trump administration of “sowing more chaos and division in our communities.” If enforcing laws causes chaos and division in your community, then something is seriously wrong with that community. It is not Trump’s fault, nor that of sane, law-abiding Americans, that California (and Boston, and Chicago, and New York, and other Democrat controlled cities) encourages law-breaking. “The Trump Administration’s calling on the California National Guard without the authorization of the Governor is unprecedented,” claimed Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif). That this lying fool was elected Senator is sufficient reason never to take Californians seriously, as a majority of them are clearly civically ignorant. Presidents have the power to federalize the National Guard of any state during times of serious national emergency. Riots in American cities that the state and local governments refuse to end by force and mass defiance of federal law are serious national emergencies. Trump should have acted to shut down the Black Lives Matter riots in 2020. He evidently does not have a flat learning curve. Excellent.
8. CNN’s reliably absurd Dana Bash actually said, “What did happen in 1992 was so different from what we’re seeing now,” she said. “That was a real riot that went all across the city of Los Angeles after a verdict in the Rodney King case.” Bash reminds me of Whoopie Goldberg’s statement, in discussing Roman Polanski’s rape of a 13-year-old girl, that it wasn’t “rape-rape.” These riots aren’t “riot-riots” like the Rodney King rioting, according to Bash. CNN is an embarassment.
9. Bash tried to make the distinction that in the 1992 Rodney King riots, California’s Governor Pete Wilson requested the National Guard be activated (because it was a riot-riot), while President Trump activated the National Guard without the governor’s request. She saw significance in the fact that the last time a President unilaterally deployed the National Guard was in Alabama in 1965. Exactly! President Johnson sent in the Guard in 1965 because local authorities refused to enforce federal law. You know, like in “Mississippi Burning”? Now President Trump has sent in the Guard because, again, local authorities refuse to enforce federal law.
There is only one ethical side in this.
Ethics Alarms 
“2. I am surprised that so few readers have commented on this morning’s introductory post. Was everyone at church? “Is anybody there? Does anybody care?”
Yes, I was in church and then taught Sunday School. The sermon was on showing grace without sacrificing the truth and telling the truth without sacrificing grace.
I agreed with every word. The President must act to see that the law is upheld. We elected him to provide for the common defense and promote the general welfare. Protestors have the right to petition the government peacefully. Property destruction and physically assaulting government employees is not a right under the Constitution.
I locked myself in my basement this morning and warned myself that under no circumstances was I to leave until I had two sets of shelving assembled and made some headway in getting control of the chaos.
Speaking of CNN, I was listening to a Megyn Kelly podcast while cleaning and she reported how a pundit on CNN (I wish I could say which pundit) referred to illegal aliens as “undocumented citizens.” See what they’re doing? The left loves to get cutesy with language: minor attracted persons, chest feeders, undocumented citizens…
Is “chest feeder” supposed to mean breast feeding?
PWS
Yes. Get with the times, CG. Geez.
New one for me. I swear, Lefties must sit around and ideate the stupidest f*****g things imaginable (the stupider, the better) then unleash them on their lock-steppin’ glassy-eyin’ unquestionin’ base, who lap them up like they’re…um…Mother’s Milk…
PWS
Jack wrote:
Exactly! President Johnson sent in the Guard in 1965 because local authorities refused to enforce federal law. You know, like in “Mississippi Burning”? Now President Trump has sent in the Guard because, again, local authorities refuse to enforce federal law.
The parallels are actually quite striking — in the Alabama case, George Wallace refused to call up the NG to protect the civil rights protesters marching from Selma to Montgomery from the Klan and other violent segregationists, as well as the public from the general mayhem that would’ve ensued absent their presence. So LBJ did so.
In the instant case, Newsome refused to call up the NG to protect federal employees lives from Antifa and the violent pro-illegal immigrant folks, as well as the public from the general mayhem that was clearly ongoing. So Trump did so.
Seem very similar to me without the ideology and identity politics.
The truth is, though, Trump is incapable of taking the high ground. He’d rather call Newsome names (“Newscum”) on his social network and make other absurd comments showing everyone unabashedly how not only not to look presidential, but also how 12-year old schoolyard bullies behave.
Glenn. Julie Principle.
Exactly. Some cannot help lovin’ dat man of dere’s, no matter how repulsive he and his actions are, so they give him a Julie pass. And to those who aren’t in love with him, who make note of his egregious behavior and actions, simply proclaim TDS. Makes life simple.
1. Sarcastic “Exactly.” Shame! Shame!
2. Am I really supposed to write a post making it clear that another one of Trump’s tweets and outbursts is uncivil self-destructive, needlessly divisive and triggering, and as such unethical? Because that would literally take up the whole site forever.
3. The Julie Principle means that I am stipulating, “This asshole (and Trump is an asshole, what Dennis Miller called “the blank tile in Asshole Scrabble”) simply refuses to stop doing this, and that’s who he is. There is no point in calling attention to what everyone knows.”
4. I will call out the tweets and statements that exceed the norm. As I did just last month. Since the people who I have given the Julie Principle break on EA are definitely not individuals I “love” but quite the opposite: Trump, Kamala, Karine, Bill Clinton, various pundits, MSNBC, etc. your comment doesn’t even have the virtue of accuracy. Or fairness. Otherwise, good job!
I can’t help it. Shameless is just the way I am. Hard-wired for sarcasm.
And, if I really believed that about myself, I would just call Julie Principle and be done with my self-analysis. However, with very, very few exceptions, I do not think people are hard-wired for any kind of behavior. Trump certainly is not. People who have met with him on a personal level have said they found him to be friendly, considerate, even charming. The assholery is an act that he uses to stir up his opponents and gratify those who love him.
Invoking the Julie Principle leads to contradictions, and it is one reason I don’t think it is a legitimate part of ethics, except perhaps as a modifier of the presumed duty to confront. A contributor here that I highly respect and who almost always presents flawless arguments has said both that Trump is incapable of taking the high ground and that he’d rather call people names and make absurd comments. So, both constrained and acting freely. Uh, uh.
Feelings may spring up spontaneously, but Julie’s love is a choice.
No, he’s really an asshole. Lots of assholes are “nice” within a narrow range, assuming they are smart enough to know when it’s to their advantage in the broad sense. Trump’s definitely smart enough. To a great extent, you have to be something of an asshole to get to be President. Assholes, sociopaths and narcissists dominate the field.
As a matter of fact, I was in Sunday school and worship this morning, and have been distracted since then by my three free-range grandsons running amuck at my house. In short, I agree with your assessment of Trump doing his duty to restore order when state and local authorities fail in their duties. I know my sheriff and county mayor very well and I know they would be asking the governor for National Guard assistance PDQ if our county were similarly embattled and local resources were being overwhelmed.
Periodically I think of the Fugitive Slave Act which, as the 1850s progressed, became unenforceable in portions of the Yankee North such as New England.
The people who are protesting ICE and attempting to disrupt its removals of illegal aliens view themselves as fighting the good fight.
If I recall correctly, Hugh Brogan in _Penguin History of the USA_ discusses opposition to the Fugitive Slave Act. It took so many federal authorities to extradite an fugitive slave held in jail in Boston that after one high profile protest (with interference) that the law simply didn’t have traction there afterwards.
#2 yes church
#2.1. I snarkily thought to myself that it’s taken a while to get the riots going without all that USAID funding.
#9 And, now it’s “California Burning”. Wikipedia lists 15/20 of the last major fires to be human driven. 1/20 was lightning.
Maybe readership and comments are down because of exhaustion. With apologies to Mel Brooks, “I’m tired.” The AUC is very effectively wearing people down.
Yes, I was in church after recovering from two days on a hot airfield. That said, I think what is happening here could be a bridge too far. What happened in 2020 were protests against an injustice that were quickly exploited and made to get out of hand. There was also a pandemic in place that doctors conveniently said required lockdowns except for protests against racial Injustice. The president wants no part of another summer 2020, and has chosen to take action.
The difference here is that people who have no authority to do so are actively interfering with federal law enforcement doing their jobs, and making attacks on federal agents. For whatever reason, the authorities in California are a bit smarter than those in Portland 5 years ago and have decided they are not going to look the other way with regard to assaults on federal agents, probably because they know if a federal agent gets killed it’s going to be like the Marines have landed on their doorstep.
It was more than 30 years ago but the Marines and the 7th infantry were sent into Los Angeles to stop the Rodney King riots. It was not an act of tyranny, it was the last domino falling in a domino game that started with Rodney King deciding he would break the law and speed while drugged up, then the LAPD officers deciding they would break the law and beat the tar out of him, then the jury deciding they would break the law and acquit these officers, then a whole bunch of people deciding they would break the law and riot. In this case, it’s not even a question of an injustice that was out of proportion to the original act. What happened here is people decided they would break the law and come here illegally and then remain here illegally, then the local authorities decided they would break the law and look the other way on this, then the administration decided it was time for this practice to end, but a bunch of people who hate the president and the administration have now decided that they will break the law and try to stop federal law enforcement from doing their jobs, and if they don’t stop, then they will attack them.
Even Al Capone never went so far as to seriously try to kill Elliot Ness or any of The untouchables, though he may have threatened it. Michael Collins knew he was taking a very serious risk by killing off British intelligence agents, and that was with having a man on the inside who would pass him classified information. These people sure as the devil are not gangsters trying to turn a city into their own sovereign state nor are they outnumbered terrorists trying to even the field through the use of asymmetrical warfare. They have neither the organization nor the talent. They’re also not up against a government exhausted by a recent World War.
Ironically, these are the same people who say that second amendment activists who try to hold on to their weapons will just end up lying dead in a pool of their own blood. That may or may not be true, but those who attack federal agents by throwing things at them or coming at them with improvised weapons are more likely to end up lying dead in their own blood, and honestly, they will have brought it on themselves. They might believe they are on the right side, but that does not make them bulletproof, and if they try to go a step farther and bring in thugs like Antifa and the John Brown gun club, they are likely to find out just how much better trained and more adept federal agents are. Taking on actual soldiers is just asking to die.
I certainly don’t think it’s a great idea for federal law enforcement or the military if it comes to it to use deadly force against our own citizens. However, when the choice is either that or letting our second biggest city dissolve into anarchy, the choice isn’t that hard.
What the Hell is going on this morning? I get a text message at 5 am, an emergency call a littel later, you send in a Comment of the Day at 6:30am, A Friend invades before I’ve had a cup of coffee. You know that cartoon where the chick hatches, looks around, and goes back into its shell? That’s me.
Maybe this coming Saturday I can buy you a cup of coffee.or two.
This coming Saturday looks like it will be a good time for that….
FROM YOUR SLEEPY HOST: This vigilante NYT Times defender graced us with yet another contrived defense of that indefensible leftist, Trump-Deranged organ this morning while I was still trying to wake up after a bad night and frantic weekend. He thinks the Times headline that highlighted the fact that Trump’s legal authority to call up the Guard when governors won’t enforce the law against rioters was “little used” [‘See? He’s a Nazi just like Joe said he was!’] rather than “seldom needed,” because usually governors aren’t encouraging their citizens to interfere with legal law enforcement, was appropriate, putting the riots themselves in second place. Classic “Republicans pounce” tactic to deflect from the Left’s anti-democratic and corrupt conduct, as I stated yesterday, correctly.
I’m hollowing out his unauthorized comment because he recently promised to have given up on enlightening us, and can’t even follow his own requirements, much less EA’s. What a jackass.-JM.]