Gavin Newsom’s Troll Wars as a Check against “Usurpation or Wanton Tyranny”
The Ninth Circuit — a panel of two Trump judges, Mark Bennett and Eric Miller, and one Biden one, Jennifer Sung — has unanimously overturned Judge Charles Breyer’s order enjoining Trump from using the National Guard to protect Federal personnel and property from anti-ICE protests. The decision affirms the court’s jurisdiction to review Trump’s decision (and holds out the possibility that things may change — for example, in how Trump is using the military or the urgency with which California needs its firefighting Guardsmen — that could change the outcome). But for now, Trump continues his invasion of California with the blessing of the Circuit Court.
The judges had all, including Sung, telegraphed at the hearing earlier this week that they would do so . Moreover, the decision itself is unsurprising; a number of legal commentators warned that Governor Newsom was likely to lose this case.
That’s partly because of an 1827 case, Martin v. Mott, that said even if the President abused such decision, the remedy was political. Here’s how the Ninth invoked it for to hold that it must give Trump deference on this decision.
[W]e are not writing on a blank slate. The history of Congress’s statutory delegations of its calling forth power, and a line of cases beginning with Martin v. Mott, 25 U.S. (12 Wheat.) 19 (1827), interpreting those delegations,strongly suggest that our review of the President’s determinations in this context is especially deferential.
[snip]
The Court further explained that although the power delegated to the President under the Milita Act is “susceptible of abuse,” the “remedy for this” is political: “in addition to the high qualities which the Executive must be presumed to possess, of public virtue, and honest devotion to the public interests,” it is “the frequency of elections, and the watchfulness of the representatives of the nation” that “carry with them all the checks which can be useful to guard against usurpation or wanton tyranny.”
Jack Goldsmith has been pointing to the import of that passage all week.
This won’t be the end of things. In its assessment of the harm, the court noted that violations of the Posse Comitatus Act were not before it (the state is now arguing it in their motion for a preliminary injunction), nor was an emergency (like a wildfire) for which California could claim it had immediate need of the Guardsmen. Having affirmed its authority to rule, Newsom might fare better at such a time. And in any case the state has added a slew of new facts below in its motion for a preliminary injunction.
But in the meantime, we would do well to take that lesson from Martin to heart: Politics remains a remedy. Not just a remedy, a necessary part of winning on this issue and on defeating fascism more generally.
And, increasingly, it’s a winning issue. Polls show — even a Fox News poll that has Trump screaming — that Trump is losing the battle to make this dragnet popular.
Certainly Newsom has been focused on that.
There’s been so much else going on, I’ve seen no focused commentary on the media campaign Newsom has been pursuing, even as he attempted to block the invasion in courts. Newsom has been conducting the kind of media campaign that the most realistic assessments of last year’s election loss say Democrats need to learn to do (admittedly, Newsom already took steps in this direction when he started a podcast).
Newsom’s prime time speech last week — widely applauded by those whining about so much else — has drawn a lot of attention.
Newsom repeated much of that same content in a column published at Fox, taking his argument to Trump’s base.
Over the past two weeks, federal agents conducted large-scale workplace raids around Southern California. They jumped out of unmarked vans, indiscriminately grabbing people off the street, chasing people in agricultural fields. A woman, 9 months pregnant, was arrested in LA; she had to be hospitalized after being released. A family with three children, including a three-year-old, was held for two days in an office basement without sufficient food or water.
Several people taken in the raids were deported the same day they were arrested, raising serious due process concerns. U.S. citizens have been harassed and detained. And we know that ICE is increasingly detaining thousands of people with no other criminal charges or convictions: Those arrested with no other criminal charges or convictions rose from about 860 in January to 7,800 this month – a more than 800% increase. Meanwhile, those arrested and detained with criminal charges or convictions rose at the much lower rate of 91%. Trump is lying about focusing on “the worst of the worst.”
While California is no stranger to immigration enforcement, what we’re seeing is a dangerous ploy for headlines by an administration that believes in cruelty and intimidation. Instead of focusing on undocumented immigrants with serious criminal records and border security – a strategy both parties have long supported – the Trump administration is pushing mass deportations, targeting hardworking immigrant families, regardless of their roots or risk, in order to meet quotas.
He started a Substack the other day, describing it as an effort to “flood the zone and continue to cut through the right wing disinformation machine.”
He has done interviews with (best as I can tall, all male) influencers in his emergency response room over and over.
But the response by which I’ve been most fascinated is his trolling on Xitter — the import of which I discussed with LOLGOP earlier this week.
Between his personal account and a press account, Newsom has been supplementing more serious messaging with both important political points and trolling.
The former focuses on the stature of California’s economy, the role migrants play in it, and the likely risk of Trump stealing California’s full-time Guard firefighters. In the likely event something will go catastrophically wrong — whether via economic collapse or natural disaster — thanks to Trump’s jihad against migrants, Newsom has made the case that Trump is responsible, in advance.
Some of that includes building pressure against Republicans applauding Trump’s invasion.
Newsom has long called out the higher crime rates under right wingers. He has called out Mike Johnson, Jason Smith, Tommy Tuberville, Markwayne Mullin, and Sarah Huckabee Sanders for their states’ higher murder rate than California.
The trolling mocks Trump’s aides, including Kristi Noem, Pete Hegeseth, Steven Cheung, and Karoline Leavitt, as when he contrasted how the Guard were left without a place to stay when while Whiskey Pete boasted about going to a ballgame.
But Newsom has focused his closest attention Stephen Miller.
Newsom has been mocking Stephen Miller’s total control over the Administration.
That builds on a number of personal spats with Miller directly, as when Newsom raised Trump’s pardon of Jan6ers to debunk claims anyone but him supports insurrectionists.
And when he called out how Miller is undermining efforts to disrupt fentanyl trafficking.
The personal focus on Miller extends to Newsom’s Press Office account, which has been calling out Miller’s bullshit.
Correcting Miller on the legal posture of sanctuary cities.
Pushing back on Miller’s complaints about Sanctuary cities.
Newsom’s Press Office has pushed other peoples’ memes.
And pushing a TikTok video of Miller’s early racism.
But the trolling from the Press Office itself gets more creative. I’ve already mentioned the sustained play on Star Wars.
And pop culture references, like Lord of the Rings.
The Press Office has found many ways to call Miller Voldemort.
Amid Trump’s flip flops on whether to exclude farmworkers from the raids, the Press Office account has adopted right wing styled memes.
And as Newsom also is, the Press Office account is mocking Trump’s capitulation to Miller on targeting farmworkers.
Also tracking Miller’s ability to override Donny.
As I discussed with LOLGOP, this trolling is structured in a productive way. Not only does it play on Trump’s own weakness (in recent days, rebranding Trump’s MAGA with that weakness), but it sets Miller up as the easy fall guy when shit starts hitting the fan. It does a lot of fact-checking, but frames this battle as much about ego and dick-wagging — the currency of the far right — as rational persuasion.
Stephen Miller’s gulag is not even backed by everyone in the Trump Administration. And that’s before the full effects of it — in higher housing costs, empty produce sections, and restaurant closures — are being felt. And Newsom has been making this about him, an easy target in the same way Musk is.
There are two ways to get the Guard restored to California: A legal win. Or making it a big enough political liability that Trump relents. Newsom is actually pursuing both.
There are problems with Newsom’s efforts. As mentioned, his outreach has been a veritable sausage fest, with a focus almost exclusively on outreach to male influencers. Sure. Trump won with the young male vote and young men are the ones pushing the disinformation. But there has to be a role for outreach to women.
I really wish Newsom had picked some other platform than Substack, which platforms Nazis.
And obviously, Newsom needs to replicate some of this on Bluesky, which Newsom has ignored since he got a personal account; his official account is staid. Newsom just got a Bluesky Press account, which replicates some of the trolling from Xitter, but thus far the trolling of Miller — which would be most important to go viral — has not shown up there.
But everyone needs to approach these battles using all three tools we have: legal, legislative, and political.
You don’t have to like Newsom to recognize that this trolling attempts the kind of messaging Democrats need to do more of. Indeed, his dickish personality and the long-standing bad blood with Trump may make this more effective.
Watch success and learn my Vietnamese friend always advised me. No doubt the right wing attacks and messaging juggernaut produces results. The governor seems to have listened to my friend.
What Newsom is doing is a master class in political trolling and he has the reach and the popularity despite the assessment of a “dickish” personality. “Dickish” is the only language the Nazi slime and ‘access’-seeking media in Washington understand or respect so I am grateful Newsom recognizes this and speaks to that audience. The man is brilliant. And I’m frankly annoyed by the assessments of his personality as if that is any reasonable measure of competence.
For years, I’ve been waiting for Team Trump get Kimberly Guilfoyle to give them dirt on Newsom that they can use against him. Her absence from this fight tells me that she and Newsom have an understanding akin to mutually assured destruction. “I don’t talk about you, you don’t talk about me, the ugly stories we have about each other stays buried, and we can both get on with out lives.” That said, given Newsom’s relentless mockery of Trump and Miller, I wonder how long she will be able to resist the pressure to dish.
Because mockery is what really matters in Trumpworld.
Er, reckon she’s not so pro-Trump since DJTJ dumped her?
“User Blocked by List
This user is included in the ‘A Very British Bigotry’ list which you have blocked.”
two of his linked sky accounts are … as above.
OT-ish: just watched a clip of Trump announcing the erection of two 88-foot flagpoles (yup, that’s the number). First I was struck at how labored his breathing was. He really is looking worse and worse by the day. Second, he “joked” with the construction workers behind him “So, any of you illegal? Hahaha. Oh they will be looking at you closely now. Hahaha. Gonna ruin your life. Don’t worry, I’ll be standing behind you…far behind you. Hahaha.”
Hope that “gonna ruin your lives” will be used in Court.
Someone should mess with his head. “Umm, sir? We just measured and they’re actually 87 feet. Should we tear ’em down and start over?”
That attempt at “humor” perfectly illustrates his deficit of humanity. Not funny in the least, just dickish and cruel.
Those poles were bought and paid-for by Trump. Trump had part of the Rose Garden lawn paved-over for this specticle.
https://www.fox5dc.com/news/construction-begins-trumps-plan-pave-over-rose-garden-grass-add-flagpoles-lawns
I can’t remember his name but a Black comedian did a bit about how he gets nervous when he sees too many flags. I’m white and I totally agree. My MAGA neighbor has lots of flags plus a “LOVE” sign.
He also, again, made an issue of the fact he shouldn’t say the word “erection” because he would be criticized for it. Weird. Reminds me of 12 year old boys giggling.
Seventh grade locker room talk.
I’m a little late to this thread, but I’m wondering about the height of the poles. What I’ve read until now was that they have 100 feet or 30.5 meters. When I checked, I found only a USAToday article reporting the eighty-eight figure. Newsweek and Fox5, e.g., still have the other one.
So it would be interesting who came up with the shorter number, because that’s really outrageous if that would be the message sent through this “gift” by Trump.
Not surprisingly, Trump’s descriptions of his new penis substitutes are false.
The flagpoles are 80 feet high, not 100: “A Plano small business, US Flag & Flagpole Supply, is having its flags and two 80-foot flagpoles permanently installed at the White House today.” http://www.yahoo.com/…
Mick Mulvaney — not the most reliable source — says, “the 88-foot [sic] flagpole on the South Lawn could interfere with the president’s Marine One helicopter, which departs from and lands on the same lawn.” http://www.huffpost.com/…
Whether the new poles (or, as Seth Meyers might describe them, Trump’s “massive mandate”) are 80, 88, or 100 feet tall, they are far from the largest flagpoles sold by US Flag & Flagpole Supply. You can get a quote for a 100, 120, 130, 140, or 150 foot flagpole here: usflag.com/… The same company helped install — more than 10 years ago! — the 400 foot flagpole for Acuity Insurance in Sheboygan, Wisconsin (the flag itself is 70 feet high by 140 feet long): http://www.acuity.com/…
Making matters even worse for the phobia-ridden occupant of the White House, construction of these extra-large flagpoles is “very similar to wind turbine” construction (video @ 2:50).
The town I grew up in has a flagpole in the main intersection – it’s on an island – and the current one is a replacement. The original was old enough that the city was worried about its safety (it’s wood!) and had it moved to a park. It took two days to get it out of the ground, and it got shortened 20 feet when reset, so it’s only 100 feet tall now. The steel replacement is probably one of those 120-foot poles. (At Christmas, they hang lights from a collar, to look like a tree.)
Thanks for your reply, Theseus, that even the lower figure I had was exaggerated.
The reason why I was so appalled by the 88 figure can be found on urbandictionary-dot-com (or on Wikipedia, entry “88 (number)”, subchapter “In neo-Nazism”).
Maybe because IANAL I do not understand how this assumption can be used as an excuse for judges to cede their position as one leg of the balance of power, even if they base it on previous cases. “in addition to the high qualities which the Executive must be presumed to possess, of public virtue, and honest devotion to the public interests,” it is “the frequency of elections, and the watchfulness of the representatives of the nation” that “carry with them all the checks which can be useful to guard against usurpation or wanton tyranny.” With this administration and Congress the presumptions are ridiculous and surrender the most basic tenets of the Constitution.
Core A Nation
Stephen thinks he’s got it made,
Did he attend the parade:
Coronation.
A parade to make it known,
Just who is the man upon the throne:
Coronation.
It’s autopen and Stephen Miller,
A world class hater and ill willer:
Coronation.
Stephen finally has his crown,
Powering Stephen’s very own crackdown:
Coronation.
Yes, behind the scenes he’s in command,
Speaks aloud for his homeland,
Stephen Miller, yes, that’s the name,
Calumniator,
His victims get all the blame.
Stephen now can’t be undone,
The favorite one:
Coronation.
Will this one ever disappear,
As the world’s leaders now point and jeer:
Core A Nation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lT-6ijaSNI
John Lennon – Isolation (Lyrics)
You know, let me take a 10,000 foot view for a moment.
This is why I value diversity. Sometimes, the right person for the moment is a person who is not very much like me. Gavin Newsom is an example. I don’t like him. I didn’t like him, I still don’t like him. But he is clearly the right person for this moment, and the sort of arrogant dickishness that makes me not like him makes him very fit for the work he is doing right now.
I’m never going to become that guy. I think I am someone who can support and encourage someone who is thinking about, or in process of changing sides to D. I am someone who can do one-on-one discussions of trans people and issues (with people who aren’t dedicated ant-trans activists. Those guys are likely a waste of time. Pearls before swine and all that.). I’m not a guy to engage in public mockery contests. I hate that stuff.
But it has a function.
I think all of the focusing on Newsom messaging and – lack of coherent Democrat messaging- is spot on and quite eye opening in a good way.
But what concerns me more than a bit, to use the House Budget Reconciliation Bill as an example, is that most if not all of the provisions that will cause pain to MAGATs happen after the midterms.
We might agree that a midterm effect may be too late.
My connection to this wrt to messaging has to do with breadth and depth of reach. A goal is to fracture the MAGAt support cult. But cults are not all that – uhhh – open minded much less critical thinkers I suspect.
So, while better than what has been done up to now – and setting aside Marcy’s required viewing Cat Turd Deficit above – my gut is upset in terms of depth, breadth, and TIMING of these efforts in having a meaningful desired effect. I realize it may be all we have since the wheels of Justice may not turn fast enough – certainly not as fast as we like and we will suffer setbacks – expected or not – (see 9th Circuit ruling on CA National Guard deployment).
The MAGATs must feel “pain” to various degrees along the lines of their cult beliefs cracking as well as their pocketbooks.
That’s a media problem, in significant part.
Dems have been messaging on Medicaid non-stop for three months, at least. But according to an Elliott Morris poll, just 3% of Americans remembering seeing news coverage of cuts to services in the last month.
The Elon-Trump fight was remembered by 16%.
https://www.gelliottmorris.com/p/trump-approval-at-42-democrats-up
Medicaid doesn’t resonate. Too many people view Medicaid as being nothing but a handout for the poor. Unless they have a loved one in a nursing home, then they start to understand.
Social Security and Medicare are what get people’s attention. The MAGAs and all nearly all the R’s have been gunning for those programs for years. This message should be always front and center.
I think you need to do a little research to support your claim.
7 Charts About Public Opinion on Medicaid
Published: Jun 17, 2025
https://www.kff.org/medicaid/poll-finding/7-charts-about-public-opinion-on-medicaid/
Welcome to emptywheel.
They see that they’ll lose their hospitals – many of them in more rural areas depend on Medicaid and Medicare patients.
I hear nothing from anyone about the individual crimes that all of these “rounded up” people have committed. Trumps lists murders, rapes, robberies, terror, but these are all crimes for which an accused person will have a trial, and if guilty will go to jail. After all, for each of these crimes there are victims and they should see justice. Who would be satisfied if so harmed, to see the felon simply be deported to his home country? (The El Salvador cases are unique on several counts, but specific crimes against any of them have not been mentioned – likely because they don’t exist)
Yet, other than the few cases for which we know about for which there are trials and sentences, there is NOTHING about all. It seems like this fact is an area that is ripe for throwing in Stephen Miller’s, Homan’s, Noems’ and tRump’s collective faces. They should not be let off the hook by saying they were all convicted of everything in Venezuela before, either.
I realize this is a thread about the National Guard and Newsome, but the trumpers claim they need extra help because of the severity of the crimes these people have committed. Challenging them on theses points is valid IMO.
Does anyone have any ideas about this lack of curiosity? I know the media fears losing access to king tTump (no excuse, but there we are). Democrats, trolling or not should pound this out!
Very interesting Ball of Thread on the use of Twitter for fascism and “hijacking discourse”, from 2016 thru now. Including Emptywheel’s guidelines for using Twitter effectively.
It had really stood out to me when JD Vance admitted the Haitian immigrant pet eating allegations were fabricated in order to influence media coverage of immigration.
Sun 9/15/24: https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/15/politics/vance-immigrants-pets-springfield-ohio-cnntv
This stood out to me largely because of Vance’s proximity to Peter Thiel, Elon’s long time associate. As Vance had likely been selected by Musk & Thiel as the running mate.
Vance doing the same thing that the Mackey “cooperating witness”, Microchip, described doing on Twitter in E2016, with regard to information narratives. Taking a situation with a couple truths, an Ohia woman eating a cat, a picture of a man holding a goose, for example, and twisting that into something else that becomes outrage porn for folks on the right.
Emptywheel has previously described Microchip as seemingly coming out of nowhere in November 2015 with, with this inherent ability, allegedly without training.
Which is around the same time that a Thiel Associate wrote a NATO article “It’s Time to Embrace Memetic Warfare.” Thiel and that associate have a long relationship with the alt-right and neo-nazis, including at a 2016 election celebration called Deplora-ball.
Leaving open questions:
* Did Microchip have this ability without any training?
* Was there funding and training for the 2016 crew?
* Would that funding and training have been tied to someone with national security ties like Peter Thiel?
It’s a good question but 1) Microchip did have good technical skills 2) Daily Stormer webmaster Weev did do what amounts to training.
That said it is a good question.
I’m not sure how much good technical skills translates into self discovery for hijacking discourse, but I bet those skills would stand out to a recruiter.
Interesting connection on Miller potentially being the mystery voice to Elon to but Twitter. And whether he had any connection with the 2016 crew.
I’m not sure if you have already elaborated on those ideas in articles. But that’s an interesting idea to explore.
Emptywheel described the Jack Posobiec alt account [which I believe is called End Wokeness] as originating the narrative about Haitian immigrants and eating pets. Then was retweeted by Stephen Miller and JD Vance.
End Wokeness
3/10/24: Haitian gangs and cannibals running Haiti and rehashing “shit hole” description, https://archive.is/3tQo9
7/12/24: Haitian immigrant economics and Springfield, https://archive.is/ChATz
9/6/24: Haitains eating pets in Springfield, OH, screenshot of what looks like a Facebook post of Springfield Crime Watch, https://archive.is/C7Jzv
Here’s Vance
9/7/24: mentioning immigration/economic impact but not pets
https://archive.is/Bk0vC
9/9/24: mentioning of pets, tying into immigration/economic impact
https://archive.is/dfiI2
Here’s Stephen Miller
9/8/24: retweeting the Calvin Coolidge Project about Haitans and pets, https://archive.is/66how, https://archive.is/L4tNL
9/9/24: Miller retweeting America First about Haitian immigration and crimes, https://archive.is/VDh7M, https://archive.is/2oYjw
Trump
9/10/24: “they’re eating the dogs!” At the debate w Kamala, https://archive.is/q6NEy
FWIW I don’t think the meaning of the “Orders for these purposes shall be made through the Governors etc” clause has been accurately argued either as to
a) the true meaning of the clause
or b) the effect its true meaning has on the proper interpretation of the preceding language of the section.
I know that it is contended the clause is merely procedural
However, I contend it means that orders to the California Nation Guard to report for federal duty to be lawful and effective under this section must be in the Name of, ie on the authority of, the Governor of California.
So the Governor is formally relinquishing his role as Commander in Chief of the relevant units and personnel, and it is by the Governor’s orders that the President becomes C-in-C of that portion of the National Guard who become subject to federal military orders and the jurisdiction of federal military law at the time defined by s12405.
[Members of the National Guard called into Federal service are,
••from the time when they are required to respond to the call, ••
subject to the laws and regulations governing the Army or the Air Force, as the case may be, except those applicable only to members of the Regular Army or Regular Air Force, as the case may be.]
That is what •Orders• or •being placed under orders• means. And crucially call is not the same as ordered.
The President does not become Commander in Chief of the National Guard until the units and personnel are required to respond to a lawful order to report for federal duty.
Other statutes exist which empower the President on his own authority and in his own name to issue such an order to report for federal duty. But s12406 IN ITS PRESENT form and read with s12405 is not one.
No statute exists which empowers the President to order a Governor to give orders to their military subordinates, and it would be unconstitutional for the President to order a Governor.
Consequently, this IMHO affects the interpretation of the preceding language of the section.
The statute is materially different to the statute in Mott.
During argument, Breyer came close to grasping this point, but it didn’t find its way in a fully elaborated thought through way into his analysis.
I don’t think the California AAG argument grasped the point either.
The 9th Circuit almost got there:
“ Thus, to determine whether the political question doctrine precludes judicial review, we must first determine whether the President’s authority to federalize National Guard members is
constitutional or statutory. We conclude it is statutory.
The Constitution provides that “[the President shall be Commander in
Chief… of the Militia of the several States, ••when called into the actual Service of the United States.••• U.S. CONST. art. II, §2, cl. 1 (emphasis added). Pp14-15
But the Constitution authorizes Congress, not the President, to determine •••when (and how)••• the militia can be called into actual service of the United States: pursuant to the “Militia Clauses,” Congress has the power “[to provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions,” as well as the power “[to provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States.” Id. art. I, § 8, cls. 15-16. Congress has delegated some of its power to call forth the militia to the President by statute, including 10 U.S.C. § 12406, which authorizes the President to “call into federal service members and units of the National Guard of any state” under specified exigent circumstances. Both parties agree that calling members of a state’s National Guard “into federal service” is the legal equivalent of “calling forth the Militia.””
This of course allows them to beg the question of the meaning of the “Orders” clause, and of course they didn’t consider s12406 together with s12405, and so treated calling forth as having been completed by the call, when of course even they had recognised that “ calling into actual service” is a process, not an event, as is plainly recognised by s12405.
IMHO They didn’t think this through, and were not helped to the fullest extent they might have been by the AAG.
However, there’s a chance here of a do-over.
Someone correct me if I have this wrong…After a first look at the 9th Circuit’s decision, it looks like a governor’s having knowledge of the President’s callup of that state’s National Guard is sufficient, even if none of the conditions for callup in 10 USC 12406 are met.
“Under California law, the Adjutant General “is chief of staff to the Governor, subordinate only to the Governor and is the commander of all state military forces.” CAL. MIL. & VET. CODE § 160. The Adjutant General’s duties include “issu[ing] all orders in the name of the Governor.” Id. § 163. Plaintiffs do not dispute that California’s Adjutant General received the memoranda from the Secretary of Defense, relinquished command to the federal military accordingly, and forwarded the memoranda to Governor Newsom. Although Governor Newsom did not personally issue the order relinquishing state command, § 12406 requires that the President’s order be issued through the Governor, not directly by the Governor.
Some of the command relationship between the Governor and the Adjutant General may seen less than iron-clad, but there is similar language sprinkled around in California Code that is intended to not impede the delivery of emergency services and relief in the event of a little- to no-warning disaster initiating event. I suspect that the authors of California Code that directly or indirectly influences effective Continuity of Government (COG) never envisioned that they would need to protect state sovereignty and resources against a malign Federal Executive Branch.
Since the only emergency is the one in Miller’s head, they absolutely didn’t need to activate the guard.
The tone I get is that, at this point, whatever is in Miller’s head is irrelevant, and that the President pretty much can decide that there is an emergency — the language in 10 USC 12406 notwithstanding — and activate a state’s National Guard at will. If Congress doesn’t like that, they can change the law. I suspect that, like the authors of California law, Congress didn’t foresee a malign Executive Branch when that part of Title 10 was created or amended .
Pee Wee German
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c6827c4c5b103686338db354c48487cea63d1a58149112cdd31c1d81cd4bb3cb.jpg
One person I wouldn’t mind seeing trolled is Homan. The resemblance to Homer Simpson is notable:
https://youtu.be/9aT0NDPWo5o?si=5g7JBVQ5dzlrbQnH
On Thursday evening I listened to an NPR story where the interviewer sorta tried, but was not able to complete the circle on Homan’s deflections and outright lies – even to the point of mischaracterizing his own “40 years” of experience. The issue is his misuse of resources.
Homan swears that his priority is finding the serious criminals within the undocumented population. He states that he floods the zone when pursuing those bad actors so officer safety is maintained. Of course, if he nabs a few of those bad actors he can’t just leave those other “illegals” standing around. So now, all those resources are going to be taking into custody, transporting, and processing a number of people significantly larger than just those original bad actors.
Ya see, he just can’t let those illegals go. No law enforcement officer would – according to Homan.
And that’s Homan’s big lie. Anyone who as ever been involved in regulatory and law enforcement knows that you never have enough resources on hand on any given day to everything. So, each day, week, and month, you have to budget those resources and factor in criticality, threat, needs of the community, etc. Homan’s approach actually leaves MORE bad actors on the street.
He’s engaging in performance art, and evading and deflecting any attempt to making him responsible for focusing resources where they are needed the most. If there was ever a DOGE-worthy target…
The similarity to the “Palmer Raids” of 1920 (actually should have been called the “Hoover Raids”) is striking. The DOJ went out and arrested everyone they had on lists of communists, socialists, anarchists, and war opponents under the guise of immigration enforcement and on the theory that anyone who even vaguely had exhibited any of these through their speech had committed sedition and was anti-American. The raids were violent, the arrestees were confined in deplorable overcrowded and unsanitary conditions, and some were beaten and tortured. They arrested *many* more than they had warrents for, and swept in anyone who happened to be in the vicinity of someone they went out to arrest.
This proved to be a stain on the DOJ of the time, and those in charge were rooted out and fired (except for Hoover who lied and wormed his way out of any responsibility). What he learned was to keep those lists confidential and personal to him so that he could evade any court or congressional attempts at discovery. And went on doing what he was doing before as the newly installed director of the Bureau of Investigation, except more circumspectly.
The United States managed to avoid that slide into fascism in 1920 because of popular revulsion to those tactics and getting some new top level leaders. Will we do so again, now that the same thinking and tactics have reared their ugly head again?
BTW: This evening, I stumbled across this reading a mystery novel published 99 years ago:
“Circumst’ntial evidence, Markham, is the utt’rest tommyrot imag’nable. Its theory is not unlike that of our present-day democracy. The democratic theory is that if you accumulate enough ignorance at the polls, you produce intelligence…”
S.S. Van Dine. The Benson Murder Case (A Philo Vance Mystery #1)