It’s just days until the much talked about Mid-Term Elections. All expectations are the president and the Republicans are going to take a beating and I don’t think they will let the results stand.
On election night we’ll see upsets. They will eventually be nullified by Trump who WILL make many false claims and possibly not seat the new congress.
In hotly contested races like the Florida and Georgia governor races rest assured voter suppression and outright racism will rear their ugly heads. Trump may try to nullify these elections as well. I just don’t see BLOTUS allowing Andrew Gillum to be Governor of Florida under any circumstances. Trumps far too much of a bigot AND he’s likely committed a slew of crimes there.
As I look ahead I see mostly darkness. This is not an invitation or a suggestion NOT to vote, definitely VOTE. It’s also not a claim at clairvoyance. Its just a couple of sort of likely worst cases.
The issue is that Trump is hateful of the will of the American People and will show that if put on the spot. Hot off an October with at least 1000 verifiable falsehoods and lies from the president it would be naive to think that a huge dose of bad news will elicit anything but a full-blown, divisive and extended meltdown from Trump.
Trump won’t suddenly change when it looks like the Democrats will back Mueller and maybe even make it impossible for him to remain president. He will lie and make delusional statements about millions of illegal votes and just act like he always does. Like a deranged idiot deprived of much-needed electro-shock therapy.
What Just Might Go Down
In the week after Election Night there will be a spate of lawsuits from loser on both sides. It also brings to mind the reality we will see one of the most cruel, destructive and damaging lame duck sessions when this current horrible congress finally all get on the same page and stick it to the American People. Sure, the Jeff Flakes of the world will pretend to feel bad about it, but as we’ve seen he only cares about having cover for what he does rather than doing whats right.
And if too many elections are settled in the GOP’s favor under a cloud you gotta ask yourself if people in New York and New Jersey would even consider allowing some disputed ultra-Trumpist having a hand in their fate. Californians also fit that bill.
And then we could see Secession here and there. One possibility is 3 to 5 regional republics with varying (if any) relationships with the Federal Governments Remnants. Another, further flung possibility would be 50 little fiefdoms. If this happens god help Mexico as the Texas Republic will likely declare war on them within 30 months of independence.
The idea of several regional republics really doesn’t seem so bad to be honest. Imagine the Red States in Flyover America forced to come to terms with their own bad governing ideas? Because a Republic of the Northeast would be pretty well set up to prosper without them. Though these states are believers in Federal Socialism, how much more money would New York and Massachussetts have if they didnt have to subsidize loser job deserts in other states? And Missouri forced to self finance? A humanitarian disaster could happen there.
The idea New York simply makes a bid to join Canada sounds crazy now. In fact most of this post would have been considered Science-Fiction 500 or 600 days ago. A whole bunch of mostly bad things have happened over that course of time though and America’s falling down and to the right.
The fact is if sufficiently bungled (and we have some great bunglers in power now) the Mid-Term could result in the break up of our Union. No matter what happens we’re sure to have an extra angry, extra dangerous Trump ruminating over the concept he could get a Comeuppance for the first time ever. He’s gotta be in deep fear of that. He has never had one and never come to terms with any mistakes or personal flaws he has.
Were he anyone else he would have been forced into a mental institution years ago. It took the accumulation of fame and ill-gotten cash to insulate the guy from reality,. This despite him being a self proclaimed news-junkie and self purported authority on Fairness.
While Putin will love this no matter how it happens, he really wont be happy til he gets 50 little fiefdoms. This would still include the possibility of a reunion of the old Confederacy or some kind of malevolent New Confederacy with the policies of 1980s South Africa.
I guess the most ironic thing about either scenario is it could truly make of Trump what he falsely said of Obama – he could end up being a president NOT born in the United States. How? Well for one thing should the nation splinter theres just NO WAY New York aligns with Trump.
While the original post on the evils of Sarah Huckabee Sanders is comprehensive; the way the national discourse has fallen off the table recently with a spate of violent attacks coming from the political right. The recent horrific Pittsburgh Synagogue Massacre was front and center for a singularly bad day for America’s tas peyer paid designated liar, Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
SHS sat most of the month out, but the October 29th presser was the first in 26 days as the Trump Administration continues to do business in closed rooms with locked doors in the dead of night.
Always evasive of soap and direct answers, Sarah Huckabee Sanders has probably reached felony level complicity in the Trump Criminal Enterprise.
Mostly we see her now when things are incredibly bad and White House comments are long overdue. For some reason this has no impact on the angry indignance with which Sarah goes about her infrequent pressers.
Shame is never gonna set in to these horrible pressers or the woman who runs them with Goebbels-like dissonance. We can stop expecting the administration to start to learn or to start leading. This is it folks. We have the most corrupt and incompetent Administration this side of Ancient Rome.
As always the presser started 25 minutes late, much like Mein Kampf recommends.
Looming over the October 29th presser was a spate of recent hate crimes most people who don’t watch Fox News more or less blame the president for inspiring.
The atmosphere was first charged by the 14 (and counting) devices mailed out by a Florida Trumpist nicknamed the #MAGABomber by Twitter based on his targets. Driving around in his home/ bomb factory / vanifesto he had managed to empty out the CNN building and credibly attempt to kill former presidents Clinton and Obama among many others.
just one window of #MAGABOMBER’s Anti-Left, Pro Trump ‘Vanifesto’
All the people and institutions targeted, like california rep Maxine Waters, CNN and Right Wing Whipping Boy George Soros, were frequent Trump targets.
Next an old school Nazi Anti Semite shot up a Pittsburgh synagogue and killed eleven innocent worshippers and wounded many others. The shooter made some social media posts that showed he was moved to action in part by the presidents xenophobic obsession and repeated rants regarding a group of immigrants apparently following the harvest north Trump’s classified as a Democratic Party Funded Immigrant Caravan designed to swing the midterm election. They’re currently about a thousand miles from the US Southern border. More on the so called caravan later.
In a macabre twist, a 96-year-old Holocaust survivor was among those killed. Thats where the United States is at just about 500 days into President Trump’s inept and criminal administration.
It was another new low for angry Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
The Trumpire Strikes Out
On to today’s Ministry of Information Dance of Dishonesty!
Sarah outright lied and claimed the president had won the popular vote with 63 million votes when he in fact lost by over 3 million votes. Shades of Spicer in the shrubs on that one!
It didn’t get much better. One positive, she managed to stop herself in the middle of starting to pick her nose. After that you could tell something was stuck in her simuses and adding to her overt irritation.
Trump had thrown out some horrible tweets about people who were MAGABomber targets to start the day and made then some off the cuff, stupid, uninformed statements and hard to swallow denials getting into his helicopter. So the clouds were well seeded.
Hemmed in by insensitive statements by her boss that sort of blamed the victims at the synagogue; Sarah didn’t bother to do much more than deny reality and say false things when confronted. No one was buying.
The idea the president felt the Synagogue lacked a Good Guy With A Gun and was asking for it hung in the air after Trump made off-hand observations that were first darkly un-American and second sort of dissed the victims with the implication they were reckless not having an armed guard and therefore sort of played a hand in their own deaths.
The shooter for the record, was super well armed. More well armed than my character in ‘Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Ghostlands‘ avatar. He had 2 pistols and an AK-47. He wounded 3 cops in a gunfight while massacring 11 American citizens and then held SWAT at bay for some time. So the idea an armed guard or anything short of a machine gun nest could have stopped the guy is laughable and plain old sick.
In her chrome-a-key green sure to be parodied dress Sarah sounded like the ambassador from a hostile and rude Star Trek race. The only solution for Gun Violence was hardening schools and places of worship. It’s just asking for it in Trump’s world if you do anything without armed security (or go around not packing heat).
On the #MAGABomber topic she just lied and pretended the idea that he supported Trump was a media fantasy despite the social media posts and threats going back months the MAGABomber had verifiably made.
Humility was in short supply when asked if she is simply lying or out of the loop and a back and forth with CNN’s pundits was answered with rudeness and dismissive comments as always.
Justifying Illegal Dictator Moves and Spreading Fear
The president has been lying and spreading fear with repeated assertions the migrants from Central America were ISIS concealing terrorists in the ranks. This is what motivated the Synagogue shooter, who kind of liked Trump, he just thought he was too muted in his anti-semitism.
This invited questions about Trump suspending or plain violating the Posse Comitatus Act, which pretty much forbids the president from using Federal Troops to enforce Domestic Policies within the United States. Sanders was simply evasive and made some false claims about the act not applying. To be clear to suspend Posse Comitatus the “caravan” as the right has dubbed it, has to be classified an Invading Force.
Maybe enough racist governors let him deploy their National Guard Units, but it’s really unclear what Trump would want the military to even do, open fire? As far as deploying the Army? Seems to be specifically prohibited. It would probably be met with great resistance by any officer forced to command such an expedition.
It’s an issue that should go away as soon as the midterms end. Trump really likes talking about this and the Fox News Feedback Loop makes sure he keeps seeing it though, so who knows?
And at the 23 minute mark Sarah declared she was out of time and stormed off.
The worst aspects of this problem are that certain coincidences I believe Trump regards as similarities between himself and Patton as portrayed in the movie are now re-enforcing his delusional belief that he is very much like George Patton.
The biggest thing my hypothesis has going for it is if you momentarily embrace it, it explains pretty much everything and holds up to scrutiny from numerous angles. Of course its not perfect, but indulge me and then draw your own conclusion— BECAUSE COMMENTS ARE ENABLED!! Please weigh in if you feel so inclined!
The movie ‘Patton’ is a masterpiece of film making that starts with a very strong Francis Ford Coppola screenplay advised by none other than Patton contemporary and equal- General Omar Bradley himself. An inspired George C Scott gave a brilliant, authentic and career defining performance then blew off accepting his Best Actor Oscar to go to a hockey game, how cool is that? Throw in one of the best movie scores outside Star Wars to move it along from the great Jerry Goldsmith of Star Trek fame. The director was Franklin J Shaffner , fresh off “Planet of the Apes” success.
The fact is Film Appreciation 101 might save the planet were Trump forced to take the course. If he had he would have realized the Ironic Duality of the plot. Simply put the movie is all about introducing the open question of “Is Patton all that is Great and Gallant in the United States Military or is he all that is Wrong and Perverse about War and War Making?”
Why This Movie Is A Dangerous Influence on Trump
Trump’s fascination with Patton is a problem for a bunch of reasons. For one thing George Patton, despite his success, is a TERRIBLE role model for a politician or president. The real Patton was apparently non political, which makes sense. A wise choice since despite a rough charm he had no diplomatic skill or real personal charisma beyond the shock and awe of non stop profanity. While this is fine for a mid 20th century war time general, it’s just awful for a 21st century president!
The root of Trump’s many misconceptions seems to be that he is viewing the movie in a very simple manner. It seems likely Donald Trump never took a single film class. The fact is Film Appreciation 101 might save the planet were Trump forced to take the course. If he had he would have realized the Ironic Duality of the plot.
Simply put the movie is all about introducing the open question of “Is Patton all that is Great and Gallant in the Military? Or is he all that is Wrong and Perverse about War and War Making?” The movie seems to suggest he is both at the same time.
The movie analogizes very well to the 2016 Campaign, though spies play a more prominent role in the current situation, of course.
The characters line up as roughly this- Trump of course is Patton. Egotistical British General Montgomery , equally delusional and insane to only a slightly lesser degree, is ‘Crooked Hillary’. Patton’s very first aide in the movie who dies is BOTH original campaign managers AND Chris Christie (aside from the actual sorrow Patton felt,Trump we know is a stranger to empathy). Cod, his final aide is Kellyanne Conway and racist Steve Bannon. Omar Bradley and the US military are Paul Ryan and the Republicans. The German Military is the over-prepared Democratic Party, including their OP-O Researcher. Rommel is Bernie Sanders, the likely superior field commander made ineffective by a truly incompetent leader.
The movie opens with a ‘Patton Rally’. It’s a composite of Patton’s actual speeches delivered in front of a gigantic American Flag using George Scott’s incredible speaking voice to draw us in as he gives it to his troops in a loud and dirty fashion.
It’s very much a political looking arena and an Academy Award Moment defying the viewer to look away.
When Patton begins to speak he’s commanding and profane. He tells his men their better than anyone their opponents, who are subhuman creeps. He boasts about their training and weapons and says they’re destined to win. He speaks of violence and glory. Again, perfect for a wartime general, TERRIBLE for a president, but of course its not very different from what Trump says at his rallys.
There are some traits both the Man in the Movie and Trump share.
One similarity between Trump and Movie Patton would be the portrayal of Patton as very much Bipolar. He was probably ‘Manic Depressive’ in terms of that time. Both were spotty students at prestigious schools (though Patton was afflicted with dyslexia, an actual learning disability he overcame, showing some discipline and personal character). Both are only functional when attacking. Both are insulated from their mistakes by great personal wealth.
Anti-Patton Cartoon from “Patton” (1970)
Both loved media coverage of and yet bristled at the scrutiny that invites. Both earned the distinction of “Suspected Huge Fan of the Nazis” from the media in their time.
Neither could simply shut up for any length of time. While Trump uses tweets Patton would simply act in an outrageous manner (sound familiar?) til the press couldn’t look away.
Both seem to flirt with the idea of War for War’s sake (the Patton character admits this repeatedly).
Each guy has their own unique religious tastes Whereas Patton’s shown as being deep and sincere Trump’s religous ides are just parroted stuff and the fact he hired Pence. Similarly; Patton’s steadfast belief in re-incarnation and love of all things violent calls into question whether he is actually a christian. In the movie he hits his knees a couple of times but only in the most arrogant way in the most dire moments. This is not unlike Trump being beloved by extremist Christians despite a life of documented debauchery and sexual assaults (and now Stormy Daniels). The climax of this subplot is arguably also the climax of the movie. Patton, frustrated that the reality of the situation didn’t fit with his preconceived plan, basically ORDERS GOD TO CHANGE THE WEATHER AND APPARENTLY PULLS IT OFF. This only
reinforces his extreme vanity and puts a more dangerous edge on his genius.
Of course what we all know today about Patton’s Weather Prayer is that a warm front moved in and the snow simply stopped. That doesn’t blunt the forceful nature of the scene where Patton excoriates a regimental chaplain, telling him to write a prayer “good enough” for God to bother listening. Its very much like Trump’s contempt for the Pope and religion in general. The “Two Corinthians” Fiasco shows Trump has no religious knowledge or convictions but has no problem with rank hypocrisy and is therefore a bit less moral than Patton.
This sequence of the movie is meant to show Patton’s Hubris and psychopathy in pursuit of battle and it’s a very dangerous thing to take it literally as surely Trump does.
Another thing Trump and ‘Movie Patton’ have in common would be a total lack of understanding of whats called “Psychological Warfare”. In the film Patton is apparently baffled as to the importance of his mission leading up to D-Day- to be a weapon of mass distraction . Patton’s use as a decoy convinced Hitler to disregard an Actual Invasion and hold off forces that may well have turned the tide of the War itself , to await a Fictional Invasion that was never going to happen. It was key to pulling of the Allied Invasion of France.
Now consider Trump calling the Generals and the former president stupid repeatedly for broadcasting some details of their plan to destroy ISIS. He simply doesn’t understand the idea that you can cloud your opponents judgement to the point you can predict or even control his actions.
It’s too subtle for the movie character or Trump to grasp.
Both Trump and Patton have a deep disdain of giving out any government healthcare. Patton orders his hospital units not to admit Combat Fatigue, which he considers
Patton “shaming a coward”/ abusing a soldier
cowardice.
This was so insane even to 1940’s medical personnel they simply ignore him. That of course boomerangs on Patton in his version of a “Hot Mic on the Bus” moment. The General loses control of himself publicly and betrays his bi-polar nature and complete lack of empathy during a brutal screaming meltdown.
Of course I am talking of the scene where Patton slaps a ‘cowardly’ soldier in a Field Hospital, disgusting everyone and showing his troops how little he cares about them despite the bravado.
Real life Patton slapped more than one soldier more than one time til they actually had to discipline him and remove him from command. It was just like the self inflicted wound we see Trump give himself all the time.
Patton is benched and used as a decoy until after the D-Day Invasion, the battle he had waited all his life to fight in. He faces it like a pitcher caught doctoring a baseball and forced to miss a playoff start. In other words, with only a minimal thought of anyone else. Again Patton shows his view of war and command to be from the Dark Ages or perhaps early Renaissance at its most compassionate.
In his finest moments of triumph after receiving a new army to command, when prosecuting the war Patton is shown as petty and dismissive of his soldiers well-being and simply thinks of his Army as a whole. To Patton, when people get killed it’s like the Army itself is just trimming it’s fingernails. In other words; it’s a natural ongoing function of war.
Just as important as winning were the laurels and press adulation that came with it. When holding the spotlight Patton is grandiose in his actions while his words are always petty. Demonizing and denigrating his personal rivals, boasting of his the strength of his army. Its much like Trump with the exception of the part it’s actually appropriate for a general to have that attitude in time of war. Trump appropriating the George C Scott version of Patton in a political mode ISN’T appropriate at all, it worked though. A crass and abusive screed of insults and violent rhetoric are the hallmark of every Trump Rally ever
Patton and Trump have contempt for the abilities (and probably even the racial abstraction) of the Russians, despite Trump’s open admiration for Putin. Patton moves himself firmly onto the hot seat in the early postwar moments by repeatedly insulting people, specifically members of the russian military, the US President and that which would become NATO. Sound familiar?
Near the conclusion of the movie Patton is again being a prima donna for the press, riding a prized horse in a Baroque era stable. He’s absolutely embraced the role of Military Governor from a Medieval Perspective. He refuses to denounce the Nazi’s properly and defends his utilization of Hitler’s former minions in his administration. In the characteristically glib manner of a sociopath Patton simply analogizes the Nazi party to the Republicans and Democrats in America. Such is his arrogance he ignores the way the press are manipulating him and plays bluntly to them making a bellicose implied case for war and just basically checking off boxes on the list of traits of “Unfrozen Caveman Warlord”. The career of Patton is gutted by his insane statements and brutal medieval view of war, deemed just too out of touch with the 20th century to be any longer tolerated.
The movie closes with the disgraced Patton reflecting in how the Romans would celebrate a victory with a triumphant parade through Rome itself and a warning that all Glory is Fleeting.
Disturbing Conclusions and Thoughts-
It’s my theory that Trump see’s the story of Patton as that of an American who couldn’t lose cause he was an American and that he was an exceptional person who prospered BECAUSE he broke all rules and civility rather than IN SPITE OF THIS. I believe he sees his kooky Cabinet of Billionaire Ass kissers as equivalent to Patton’s highly trained and battle proven staff officers. This dangerous delusion casts crazy ex-General Flynn in the role of Omar Bradley, something so far from the truth it would be laughable of it weren’t absolute reality.
Based on his overtly displayed misunderstanding of the movie Trump shows he is dangerously militarily primitive and most comfortable with methods and ideas more commonly associated with the Nazi Germans than 20th century Americans.
Patton is a terrible role model for even most soldiers as he was always succeeding at he expense of higher all around casualties. He declined peaceful solutions whenever possible. He was always one mistake from disaster but circumstance connived him a series of unlikely wins. As a role model for a president Patton is a disaster.
Like Trump, Patton’s glory should never eclipse the incompetence of his enemies. It requires some historical perspective to understand. Patton was set loose in western Europe with a veteran army and ample supplies. Even more decisive the Germans are mandated by Hitler ONLY to plan against Patton in an area where they expect the Invasion that never comes in Calais. Rather than ever accepting that they must fight Patton they become intimidated and willfully ignorant of the reality due to Hitler’s rapid mental decline from seriously insane to non functional maniac between about 1942 and early 1944. Patton directly benefits. As far as the recent campaigns analogize think of this as being roughly the same as Hillary not going to states she considered ‘safe’, like the vaunted Democratic “Blue Wall” of reliably Democratic states , each of which she then lost by less than an under-attended football game worth of people. We know Trump appreciates this misstep because its one of his favorite riffs to go on from the ongoing “Thank You Rallies” that are a veritable torchlight parade for the guy.
Also like Trump, Patton did have a staff of soothsayers, but again, they were highly competent top notch merit promoted staff officers with great expertise as well. Trumps rag tag group of advisers is anything BUT top notch or Highly Competent.
Another unavoidable conclusion from the movie is that current 21st century Americans are actually LESS civilized than Americans of the mid 20th century, 75 years ago, or at the very least the Americans of 1970 when the film is made. Being at war since 9-11 surely is somewhat to blame for this. This suggests that assertions about a cult of ignorance and a desire to literally turn back the clock to early post world war 2, before the integration of the military, by the Trumpists are very much real and accurate.
There is still time to avoid the fate of the Germans and the fate of Patton, which is the final spoke of this wheel. Patton’s death was in a freakish car accident. Its long been imagined and even said that the General was killed by the CIA’s predecessor the OSS. If you watch the movie you’ll end up a little torn by that because clearly he was an enemy of peace in every form. Could Trump’s disdain for the Intelligence community and peoples sensibilities be such that there is action taken against him as well?
It was a nightmare everyone thought would end with a diminished Donald Trump losing the election and bringing down the Worst and Wildest Elements of the Right with him. Instead a Celebration of Ignorance and an arcane Electoral System conspired into the most unlikely of events – An Electoral College landslide for Billionaire Donald Trump.
Suddenly a completely intolerant and egotistical man is about to take the Oath of Office and become president, something most Americans couldn’t fathom as late as Election Day.
Trump’s apparent fascination with and documented allegiance from the Alt-Right is maybe the most unsettling aspect of his millieu.
A prime voice of this group is court documented wife beater, all but admitted White Supremacist and Creature from The Breitbart Lagoon- Steve Bannon. A man as removed from civility as he is from his last shower Bannon is an unsightly mess inside and out. He would be repulsive enough without adding in his position as the Trump campaign manager and Show Runner. His prominance in Trump’s terrible coven of advisers is truly disturbing as he has proudly and purposely been as Machiavellian as possible. An outright flake like General Flynn is scary enough, but Bannon has all the hallmarks of a dedicated straight up Nazi.
Trump chums the waters with meaningless personal conflicts the media rushes to cover to try to change the scene. He may yet pull this off too. Part of his success is the broken nature of America’s media and even more deeply its flawed (and soon to be gone?) public education system.
All of Trumps Cabinet picks are head scratchers, but its Bannon most of all; conspicuously disheveled, weeks past a haircut and days removed from his last shave; who is the most revealing member of the Inner Circle. As mentioned earlier he is a leading figure in the American Nazi Movement, or as they call themselves in 21st century Weimar America, the Alt-Right. These guys are cleaned up Klansmen with a pseudo intellectual updated and Americanized version of the old Nazi “Stab in the Back Myth” and all the familiar ideas regarding racial superiority.
The idea that Bannon has a non deniable job (he’s a personal adviser to the president) in the White House is way more legitimacy than Bannon or his ‘Philosophy’ deserve. Congress can hate on him all they want should they choose to, there’s no stopping his being a member of Trump’s inner circle. This is made only slightly less infuriating by the sobering fact the Democrats are basically classified as an ‘At Risk Species’ in Washington, toothless and declawed like never before. Thanks to that it’s not like Bannon or any other sociopath Trump decides to add to his cabal will have that much trouble getting confirmed by the very friendly and very Republican congress if their position should call for it.
Don’t worry, it gets even worse.
Unpleasant people litter Trumps inner circle. An Inner Circe that might include Vladimir Putin. No one but Donald Trump and his lackeys seem to have any confusion about the FACT that Russia tried or maybe even succeeded in tampering with the vote and vote totals. They were clearly shown by their actions to be biased toward Trump. Trump chums the waters with meaningless personal conflicts the media rushes to cover to try to change the scene. He may yet pull this off too. Part of his success is the broken nature of America’s media and even more deeply its flawed (and soon to be gone?) public education system. Many graduate with no analytical skills and a penchant to believe anything they hear so long as its lurid enough to hold their attention.
Some of the problems Trump’s heading for result from his own double talk and double standards. For instance, scoffing at Immigrants makes it sort of difficult for him to use his actual wife as First Lady. He’s totally cool with it though as he has a maudlin back up plan. Instead of a First Lady we will get a Mount Rushmore of Arrogance in the form of his adult children, each less likable than the last. Throw in adolescent Cyber Security Expert Barron for good measure. Somehow they’re gonna run his businesses too. The Press Conference to explain how that would happen just never took place though,much like the press conference where he was going to release his taxes failed to materialize. Look for these two events to remain perpetually ‘about two weeks’ into the future.
Currently Terminal C of LaGuardia Airport in Queens New York has been evacuated due to a smoldering piece of checked luggage that is giving off smoke. Updates to follow
UPDATE 3:44 p, EST- No reporting on this incident at all since CNN mentioned it hours ago
The epic week of Terror in Boston leaves 3 civilians and one cop dead as well as nearly 200 hurt, many critically. The Brothers Tsarnaev have defied classification in the lexicon of Terrorist Descriptions.
Domestic Terrorists?
Domestic Terrorist seems to fall just short, as they were not American by birth. Tamerlan, the older, presumed mastermind had permanent resident status and his younger brother Dzhokhar was actually a citizen, ironically taking the oath on the 11th anniversary of 9-11.
Al Qaeda or al Qaeda Wanna Be’s?
Al Qaeda operatives is still open for speculation, Tamerlan DID spend time in Russia and what he did in his 6 months there is currently unknown. The biggest problem with ‘al Qaeda wanna be’ or ‘al Qaeda Trained’ is the lack of a claim of responsibility in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon Bombing. If you do something this extreme on behalf of a cause why keep that to yourself? It’s a strong case against calling them al Qaeda. If you go this route to classify them ‘al Qaeda Wanna-Be’s’ works better.
Terrorists or Sociopaths?
It’s not important if the Tsarnaev brothers had any real agenda for the bombing, but one relatives description of them as losers lends creedence to the idea they are non terrorist Mass Murderers. Radical Islam seems to be emerging as their motivation… or is it simply a rationalization to excuse the simple malignant acts of murder they ultimately carried out? It’s unimportant because Terrorism resulted from their acts and in a purely technical sense their acts alone legally made them fit the definition of terrorists
This one is a tough stretch but may be ultimately what they refer to the dead brother as. He is the one who left the country and was a more overt and vocal practitioner of Radical Islam. The lack of a claim of responsibility is a problem with this definition also. Why would someone commit an extreme terrorist act without claiming responsibility. Unlike Timothy McVey, who was in custody (for other charges) within hours of the bombing and arguably was not able to claim responsibility, these guys had a whole week.
Just Plain Anarchist Malcontent Mass Murderers?
This is almost certainly the way they would have been viewd in a pre 9-11 world. They were hateful and had a grudge against America. One Uncle living in Maryland seemed to touch on this when he called the brothers ‘losers’ and seemed to attributed their radicalism to selfishness and a move of convenience, possibly even a self defense mechanism against their own failures. He continues to make statements denigrating the older brothers dedication to or even his practical knowledge of Islam.
A Whole New Kind of Terrorist?
Foreign Inspired Domestic Terrorist or Self Radicalized Domestic Islamic Terrorist seems to work best. I have not seen these terms used as of yet, but it’s a logical cobbling of terms and likely will be used if it hasn’t already. The labels fits both brothers well and satisfies the idea of a fitting, complete description. Only the Islamic Element of their classification seems debatable. As more information comes in there will be opportunity for a more specific rendering, but for now, the Tsarnaev Brothers fit into this final dual category.
Whatever else we decide they are, calling them Domestic Terrorists with some sort of twist seems to be a pretty solid assertion.
Will he be a Folk Hero? Was he a rogue cop or a Robin Hood? Was he a man broken by society or a man who simply hated a society he felt put him at a disadvantage and failed to live up to his ideals, as
perhaps the most disturbing Chris Dorner Image of all. Is this man worthy of any respect or adulation?
utopian or realistic as they may have been? Did he aspire to his several distinguished accomplishments, such as achieving Officer Rank in the United States Navy, because he loved the adulation society has lauded, justifiably, on these figures? Or was Chris Dorner merely looking for more control of the world around him and simply a possessive boyfriend to his own distorted view of reality?
One disturbing dimension of the Chris ‘Django UnBadged‘ Dorner story is a heroic view some people absolutely have for him. From tribute tattoos to numerous facebook groups, some of which have about 5 thousand members.
In short, was this a man off the reservation, broken because he attempted to be honorable in a dishonorable world? Or was he simply a bitter man who was justifiably exposed as unworthy to carry a badge?
Is Chris Dorner a Terrorist?
Dorner’s motivation was laid out in his manifesto. He was clear in who he wanted to punish, who he considered legitimate targets. Despite differentiating in whom he would kill his actions still qualify him as a terrorist of the homegrown variety. His war on society was born of his own experiences and his perception of the world seems to have revolved around respect. He needed and craved respect and perhaps in some ways power as well. He certainly exercised the power of life and death wantonly during his “Operational Phase”.
His reputation meant a great deal to him. Dorner may have been proud to a fault. Certainly any personal sleight was viewed with deep and abiding anger that would not dissipate as it does for most people. I assert that Dorner was exhibiting OCD in his need for control and respect.
No one, especially not the LAPD or San Bernadino Police, have too many answers yet but one thing about Chris Dorner we can be sure of is he made an impression on society. Some will make wild conspiracy theories and others will glorify him. I will play the skeptic. Conceded though; the Dorner case as of now has many more questions than answers. It’s hard to call a search which cost innocent lives inept without sounding cold blooded, but that word was invented for this sort of situation. He was hiding literally across the street from search Head Quarters. Did he bumble into this or was he stalking his prey? This one we can never know but its worth further examination as facts emerge.
My theory on Chris Dorner is that he was a de facto domestic terrorist and, also and perhaps more specifically, a disgruntled employee workplace spree killer as well.
Some aspects of Dorner’s behavior showed some compassion and a discrimination in victims. It’s important to remember how this distinguishes his attacks from those of McVeigh but compare favorably once again to the Unabomber. He did not kill wantonly; he was specifically hunting and killing former colleagues. He was described as ‘calm and professional,’ by those whom he carjacked and kidnapped. It would have been far easier to kill these people and made him more a terrorist.
While the behavior of Chris Dorner is paradoxical he is still a Domestic Terrorist by virtue of his grudge against the police. He compares favorably with a view of the Unabomber as a domestic terrorist in that he also targeted very specific people in the initial assassinations which began Dorner’s spree , which also included those with whom he was once a colleague, in Dorner’s case it was Law Enforcement Officers whereas the Unabomber singled out people based on his perverse scale of his view of a person or locations complicity with or specific to the furthering of any technology .
Terrorism Theory Paradox
The paradox is where the ‘McVeigh Factor’ figures in. In other words, how focused and cruel was he as well as what their level of precision in the prosecutions of his attacks by comparison to Timothy McVeigh, the textbook Domestic Terrorist? The heart of the matter is- How deeply and passionately did they believe in what they were doing and how intentional was the Terrorism aspect of the attacks on society.
The bombing of the Murrah Building by Timothy McVeigh , on April 19, 1995 (Hitler’s Birthday and anniverary of Waco Massacre) is considered a crucial moment in the National Consciousness and marked the beginning of Domestic Terror. The word “Domestic Terrorist” was likely coined for exactly this act. Chris Dorner has a lot in common with Timothy McVeigh, including being a war veteran and former military.
Timothy McVeigh is the prototypical domestic terrorist. His act was heinous and, though he had not targeted it intentionally, he inadvertently concentrated the destruction on the buildings day care center and killed 19 children under age 6 as well as 157 others with another 680 hurt, many very badly. McVeigh and Dorner BOTH considered themselves soldiers.In the case of Dorner his method of attack, personally shooting people, was simply more ‘surgical’ than a truck bomb. Was Dorner a more precise McVeigh? Was he simply channeling the extreme violence more efficiently? I would say the answer to this is a resounding YES.
Theory on Motivation & Speculation on current known Facts
By virtue of the behavior which got the Unabomber and Timothy McVeigh labeled as such, I would say that we can only consider (the late?) Chris Dorner a Domestic Terrorist with overtones of disgruntled workplace shooter.
Operating Under this theory I will try to apply scientific methods of sociology and the social sciences as well as psychiatric analysis to examine any and all Dorner Truthing. If I cannot debunk something I will admit it. I will be fair and apply police science as well examining the motives and behavior of Dorner.
Botched Manhunt; Is Chris Dorner Really Dead?
I will also focus on the COMPLETELY BOTCHED MANHUNT where they didn’t even bother to check the house ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE Multi-Agency Police/Federal MANHUNT HEAD QUARTERS where Dorner was actually hiding out, either brazenly or ineptly. Was he a lion stalking gazelles at the oasis and considering a later abandoned Asymetrical Warfare plot? His will to live and continue his rampage was always at the heart of his motivations. Perhaps in his inner “Risk / Reward Analysis” he gained more by hiding in plain sight than another direct attack? One with pretty much zero chance of survival? He did not go out easily. It was an ending worthy of ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid‘ and only semi suicidal.
The world will await positive DNA before conspiracy theories can be quashed. There’s a slim but real chance the botched manhunt and subsequent fiorefight could have killed someone other than Dorner. If Dorner is alive though, he will continue to attack so this theory has a brief shelf life as of now.
I am openly skeptical of a Dorner suicide unless he was dying and feared capture. If he thought he could kill even one more cop he would have held off any alleged suicide.
I dislike the suicide theory also because it conveniently paints him a coward while still being wildly unsubstantiated.
Intentional Fire Theory- There seems little doubt an already sloppy law enforcement effort went from bad to worse in just seconds. Police made the emtional decision that no more of them will die to take Dorner alive. This is justifiable considering how dangerous he was. The evidence lay dead in the snow amongst them. The Dorner cabin WAS certainly torched, either by intent or with complete disregard for the consequences. The police being terrified is one possible explanation. Right now it has the advantage of adding up as well or better than any other theory out there.
Whats your Dorner theory? Comments are Enabled!
_ In a curious aside I believe the Fish and Game Police are also the ones who caught the Manson Family. More on all of this to follow soon.
[As the world awaits DNA confirmation, questions linger. Chris Dorner kidnapped and carjacked people, but after his initial assassinations he only ever attempted to kill police. All victims described him as ‘calm’, and ‘professional’. He was behaving in a perverse soldier-like manner. He may now be more a super violent and capable disgruntled workplace killer more than anything else. Were he truly a domestic terrorist, would he not have killed all he saw? The Paradox is that by actively tracking and killing cops while avoiding non assassination related collateral damage he was still furthering a war upon the Guardians of Society and intended to live so he could further prosecute it. He was a one man ongoing criminal enterprise. He was a de facto Terrorist simply because he was attacking police. He still possesses many traits of Terrorists and other notable spree killers. He may have seen himself as something of a Robin Hood]
You don’t need to be Fox Mulder to see that Cop Killer and Triple Murderer Christopher Dorner, 33, holds a grudge against society, especially the police, and is full of himself. That much is evident just on the surface. The question of what motivates this man however is open to speculation. Here’s my psychological profile sketch of Christopher Jordan Dorner,a man currently on the run, armed and dangerous and waging a violent one man war.
At this point, despite looking like the nicest guy in the world in every single picture, Christopher Dorner has killed 3 people. One attack was a pre planned hit on the daughter of a former colleague who had served as his advocate when he was fired off the LAPD and her fiancé. Then he ambushed 2 cops, killing one. Astoundingly this is one of two attacks on police, Dorner fired at 2 more policeman not long after. This was unprovoked and Dorner covered a lot of ground, like 100 miles, even stopping at a Naval base, as he went about his spree. It’s possible that in his state of rage he simply couldn’t resist attacking police officers, but this seems unlikely. He is operating with forethought and planning. He also found time to mail some creepy stuff to Anderson Cooper and ditched his identification and perhaps his badge near LAX.
DJANGO UNBADGED! Revenge Killer Christopher Jordan Dorner
Dorner is a Domestic Terrorist. He has declared war on the Government and the society that he swore to protect and is perversely rationalizing it. He has killed and seems eager to do so again. He said in his manifesto he was going to use asymetrical warfare and maybe he is having some success. He may have left that false trail in the woods and managed to somehow double back or make it to his hypothetical stashed vehicle. You need only see a couple of John Wayne movies to know THAT trick. How much more advanced survival and asymetrical warfare knowledge Dorner may have is still unclear. In his Naval career he was trained to survive as something of a counter insurgent. He is highly proficient with firearms. Not quite a SEAL, but still pretty formidable, especially when coupled with the fact he is pretty
Despite appearances the well armed Dorner is capable of extreme violence
intelligent. According to ABC NEWS the arsenal he had access to is quite impressive and includes, and i kid not, a shoulder fired rocket launcher! He is considered a pistol expert and also may have things like semi military grade modified civilian automatic rifle of some sort and a sniper rifle. How well armed he is right now is still an open question.
Now, in the depths of a blizzard, which for Dorner could be a blessing or a curse, SWAT teams and FBI Agents are closing in around an 8 square mile area in California’s Big Bear Park where Dorner MUST be if he didn’t have a vehicle stashed to leave the park. People are spotting him everywhere and there’s a lot of misinformation. He may have tried some kind of nautical carjacking or Yacht Jacking or something, so I suppose he’s a pirate now too. Later on it came to light the torched truck had a broken axle. It seems likely now that this was NOT part of Dorner’s plan. He probably had no get away vehicle stashed, or simply no way to get to it in a blizzard.
Unbelievable. We now have a serial Killer who preys on Cops and is armed, motivated and operational. It exhibits what history will call a sad state of affairs for early 21st century America. He has many traits in common with other prominent killers.
In some ways he is like the Unabomber Ted Kaczynski when you read his internet rantings, which just reeks of grandiose self importance and a hatred of society in general. He seems something of a Conspiracy Theorist in his worldview. The general tone of the writings is much like the Unabomber. Both of their manifesto’s exhibit a profound disappointment with where America is right now, feeling it should be more like their own utopian views. They also share the experience of having achieved respectable positions in society and shown an inability to handle them. They both then funneled this into a thoughtful, purposeful rage which he somehow maintained for an extended period of time. At this point “Hyper-enraged” may be the only way to describe this guy other then Domestic Terrorist.
It’s a bit unnerving how amiable and nice he looks here. What happened to this guy?
Dorner is also a Timothy McVey type. He is cagey. He may have a survival hutch OR if he is as smart as he has shown to be so far he is smoking a joint in Tijuana looking for a way to Cuba. Like I said, there’s still no knowing if he is in that area.
What concerns me is that because he was long time military and also a cop he will perpetuate negative stereotypes about cops, African Americans, Veterans and other noble people when this guy is only really one rogue example. He is definitely quite taken with himself and if he doesn’t skip to Cuba or go freeze to death in the woods he will most definitely NOT cap himself until his last round. He will go out shooting should he fail to make good on escape. Though likely not averse to what would be a unique take of suicide bu cop, he is not suicidal in the conventional sense. He has shown no inclination to put himself at a disadvantage to enable “Suicide by Cop” as we know it. He very much wants to stay alive.
UPDATE 2-13-13 Last Stand Theory Proven.
If the body found in the burned out cabin turns out to be Dorner, my prediction he would not commit suicide will have more or less proven true. Though not down to his last round he was most definitely trapped in a very serious structure fire and burning or dying of smoke inhalation and no longer was going to be able to harm anyone else. In his mind he likely felt he had accomplished his mission, which is disturbing evidence of how unfair life is and how twisted Dorner was. It was said a single gunshot was heard, followed by many shots as Dorners ammunition popped off from the fire. Its possible he was dead from previously received wounds and the single gunshot was simply the first of his ordinance to go off from the heat. An autopsy report is pending.
While he may have taken his own life and cheated the hangman, it came after killing another cop and shooting several others in a series of increasingly one sided engagements where he was at a serious tactical disadvantage. Though unable to evade the authorities any longer he displaced a couple of times with an apparent continued attempt to improve his tactical situation . He continued attack as well as continue trying to escape. He staged a last stand worthy of the final scene of “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid“. As I predicted he went out shooting for the most part.
CNN said its possible he is very heavily armed with military or near military grade weaponry. I salute the brave Peace Officers who pursue this horrible menace and cancer upon our society. I can only hope he will be captured alive so
Seems so trustworthy. “Sure I’ll help you move! Don’t worry about it!”
that he can be slipped the Needle Of Justice after a fair (and hopefully fiasco free) trial.
Christopher Dorner’s manifesto, truly the diary of a madman, leaves us no doubt he’s a twisted husk of a human being. Broken, evil and willingly harming people. Whatever good man he ever may have been dissolved into a sea of hate. He is not unlike Colin Ferguson, a spree killer I actually met several times, in his self entitled and grandiose view of the world.
A former girlfriend of Dorner’s described him as a self hating black man and pressured her to ‘act more like a white woman’. She also recommended to stay away from Dorner “if you value your sanity”. When the women posted her feelings on Dorner to a website he sought an Order of Protection against her. His worldview is like that of Colin Ferguson in the sense he has an obsession with racce. The biggest difference is that Ferguson was a militant hater of White people and Dorner is apparently struggling with feelings of racial inferiority. Attaining a respected positions in the military and being a police officer would have made most people secure, it seemst his was not the case with Dorner. Dismissed from the Navy earlier this month for failure to advance in rank (and who knows what else), losing the only respected position he had left is a likely catalyst for his rage killings.
It also concerns me that because he distinguished himself at some points in his life, people may try to make him into a robin hood, which he is most definitely not. He is a reprehensible man. I have been through as bad and hurt no one. He is in no way justified and the LAPD may have made a rare good call in dismissing him.
There is increasing evidence to suggest his firing was justified and that he had made the “False Statements” against his training officer after he had had received a poor rating for his performance as a Police Officer. Among the things that disturbed his training officer, the person against whom he found to have made the false statements about, was Dorner losing it and crying on duty. He had also requested re-integration training and tearfully asked to be taken back to the Police Academy for more training.
As of right now, 11:15pm Pacific Time US Eastern time, the Manhunt is still working on the theory that Dorner is in an 8 square mile area of Big Bear State Park near where his torched car was found. The likelihood this was a false trail left intentionally is steadily increasing. The media seems increasingly sure that Dorner is very well armed, perhaps even having a .50 caliber Sniper Rifle. If he is still ‘operational’ and looking to kill more cops he HAS succeeded in luring them into an ideal area to snipe them as the terrain is described as relatively rugged with high grounds and shallow valleys. It’s also a brilliant ploy to misdirect manpower and make the search slow, painful and frightening. The FBI & SWAT personnel I saw on TV looked distinctly uncomfortable. This is important because these are the toughest cops available and you can be sure many have been through dangerous situations already, perhaps several times. Most time these elite type cops look cool and professional no matter how bad the situation.
Sadly elsewhere in the blogosphere there has been some sympathy and a romanticizing of this guy as some sort of folk hero. Lets hope it doesn’t perpetuate.
– CNN has just reported that Dorner has some aviation skills and may have the ability to pilot a plane. He may still be able to add skyjacker to his already impressive list of heinous felonies.
– UPDATE 10:14 PM PST-2-11-13 CNN is now describing Django Dorner as a ‘Trained Assassin’. The reward for information leading to his capture has gone from 40,000 USD to a cool $1 Million Dollars
UPDATE- 10:14 am PST 2-11-13—-LAPD has lifted the “Tactical Alert” for Chris Dorner. Schools in the Big Bear Park, where his torched vehicle was found. It’s starting to look like no one has any clue where Django UnBadged is.
Chris Dorner likely died in this structure fire. The manhunt is announced suspended as of 4:14 pm PST
Update- 10:09 PM Pacific Time- CNN has reported that Dorner’s torched vehicle found in Big Bear Park had a broken axle. Cold weather survival gear and camping equipment as well as some sort of generator were found nearby. This would indicate either the vehicle faiked and gutted Dorner’s plan or he was laying yet another false trail. However the possibility that Dorner has either become lost or froze to death in the woods is increasingly likely. The idea that a heavily armed and motivated killer like Dorner would go 5 days without striking are the best evidence he’s either dead or smoking a joint in Havana.
UPDATED 4:45 pm Pacific Time – 2-12-13-Django Dorner has killed one police officer and wounded another in whats shaping up to be a final conflict. He may have hostages. Remarkably he was still in the area of Big Bear Park. Apparently he attacked rather than try to flee.
UPDATED 1:08 AM – A body has been recovered from the burned out cabin that the man police believe was Django Dorner was holed up after yet another shootout with members of several different law enforcement agencies who converged upon his location. No positive identification has yet been made. The blood orgy of Chris Dorner is likely over. Early indications was that he took his own life in the flaming cabin
UPDATE- the charred remains found in the cabin have still not been identified. The possibility of him becoming this generations D.B. Cooper on top of everything else is becoming a distinct possibility. This whole story has “Truthing” written all over it. They need to ID those remains fast or, like John Dilllenger, questions about the legitimacy of the corpse will persist. This become someone’s pet conspiracy theory.
UPDATE 4:02 PM PST– Law Enforcement Officials announces Dorner Press Conference will begin in minutes. CNN has reported Dorners wallet was found at the burned out cabin and there will likely be no further evidence of body authenticity such as DNA likely available yet. Details to fillow after press conference
UPDATE 4:02 PM PST- Media openly question police search meathods. Police maintain they made extensive search. The initial speaker refused to answer the question about what looks like a botched search by the local Big Bear Police, whose chief was introduced to answer the question. Reports were that civilians in the search area never saw the authorities at any time. CNN cites local residents as saying no one ever knocked on their door. A complete fiasco that empowered the final killing spree if true. Positive identification was still not made. The search is over per Police. The Police indicated they would know soon, implying they awaited DNA.
CNN Analayst and former NYPD chief William F Bratton characterizes the press conference as ‘strange’ and that it ‘provided very little information.”
Bratton has expressed skepticism of the ‘single shot’ aka suicide shot’ theory. Bratton speculates Dorner was already wounded, probably badly.
UPDATE 2-14-13 5:07 PM PST- Authorities are citing dental records as positive identification of the remains from the burned out cabin as those of Christopher Jordan Dorner. No DNA evidence has been released as of yet. Questions will linger until this is provided. In all likelihood though, Dorner, the Domestic Terrorist they called “Django UnBadged”; is dead.
HIDE IN PLAIN SIGHT
UPDATE 11:46PM PST–
While there is still no DNA evidence to confirm the body recovered from the burned out cabin is that of Chris Dorner, authorities have confirmed that during much of the manhunt Dorner was hiding in cabin across the street from the Command Post. If there was ever a case where authorities were more inept please leave me a comment. Even Lee Harvey Oswald was captured the same day and he only killed at most 2 people.
Now consider Trump calling the Generals and the former president stupid repeatedly for broadcasting some details of their plan to destroy ISIS. He simply doesn’t understand the idea that you can cloud your opponents judgement to the point you can predict or even control his actions.
Instead a Celebration of Ignorance and an arcane Electoral System conspired into the most unlikely of events – An Electoral College landslide for Billionaire Donald Trump.
get a Mount Rushmore of Arrogance in the form of his adult children, each less likable than the last. Throw in adolescent Cyber Security Expert Barron for good measure. Somehow they’re gonna run his businesses too. The Press Conference to explain how that would happen just never took place though, much like the press conference where he was going to release his taxes failed to materialize. Look for these two events to remain perpetually ‘about two weeks’ into the future.
