Mother, mother
Everybody thinks we're wrong
Oh, but who are they to judge us
Simply 'cause our hair is long. . . .
Picket lines and picket signs
Don't punish me with brutality
Come on talk to me
So you can see
What's going on (What's going on)
Yeah, what's going on (What's going on)Marvin Gaye, "What's Going On," 1971 (Ranked by Rolling Stone in 2004 as number four on its list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.)
There are two competing stories about Portland. President Trump's story is that Portland is a war zone. The other story is that Portland is OK, that normal police are handling things, and Trump is intentionally escalating confrontations.
I hear both stories. The Trump administration, Fox News, and pro-Trump social media posts depict multiple people in the camera frame, showing movement, jostling, and sometimes confrontations. It looks unruly. An enthusiastic Trump supporter who reads this blog supplied links to Facebook posts with the Portland-in-chaos story, with the sarcastic heading "Peaceful Portland." People living in the Trump media world see and believe this story.
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There are reliable story elements: 1. 100 nights of violence; 2. the radical masked and mysterious Antifa villain; 3. local police are instructed not to act because local "Democrat" leadership is weak and aligned with the protesters; 4. rioters are in control of Portland.
This caption has it all:
Democrats should not overstate their case. It is undeniable that there are incidents of disorder. Some protesters have blocked streets and entrances to the ICE facility, and they have been forcibly moved. Some of the protesters have used rude gestures and words. There is a blurry line between peaceable assembly and non-peaceable disorder.
My own sense is that the Portland-has-it-under-control story is mostly right, complicated by the fact that we will always have hotheads fueled by political passions, testosterone, social pressure, or alcohol. We are watching the Trump administration stage a performance, using live actors in real time. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called Portland officials "pansies," a vivid word intended to define the story as one of Trump-style strength versus Democratic permissiveness. Deja vu. It is the 1960s battle between hard-hats and entitled college students all over again.
Democrats are doing their own performance. Some of it is in courtrooms. Some of it is shaping the look on the streets by reducing points of conflict. Against ICE's wishes, they are taking down the police tape that surrounds the ICE facility. The tape creates a line of scrimmage that sets up confrontations at the border. No line; maybe no line of scrimmage.
The Wall Street Journal is an anomaly in this battle of memes. It reveals a point of vulnerability for Trump. The WSJ has a small-government, libertarian orientation. Trump is a big-government populist. The WSJ is uncomfortable with government power, even when it is used by Republicans. They recognize the dangerous precedent of Trump's expansion of executive power using pretexts. Two weeks ago, the WSJ came to the defense of Jimmy Kimmel. If Trump can use the FCC to force Kimmel off the air, a Democratic president can force Fox stations off the air.
Today's WSJ will frustrate Trump. It is a day-by-day review of Portland disorder. It takes the side of Portland leaders. They report that disorder, such as it is, is caused by Trump. Gifted article.
4 comments:
Trump is not smart but he’s shrewd. My sense is he knows he’s in a race against time to consolidate absolute power (Putin-style) so that elections will be nothing more than veneer evidence of a former democracy. The MAGA faithful don’t read the WSJ, and big business has already “kissed the ring” lest they incur his wrath. The propaganda game continues and I question whether the WSJ matters. But thanks for the glimmer of hope.
Portland will be fine. EVERYTHING TRUMP IS DOING IS TO DISTRACT FROM THE EPSTEIN SCANDAL. BONDI MADE A FOOL OF HERSELF DEFENDING HER "AUDIENCE OF ONE". KEEP ASKING YOURSELF WHAT ARE REPUBLICANS HIDING THAT IS SO TERRIBLE THAT THEY WILL FORCE A GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN AND ALLOW TROOPS IN OUR CITIES?
Portland is the biggest small town, people say. Residents in this city often wait to turn left on a major highway without a traffic signal. The probability that you will run into a friend when you're running errands or going to a show is high. We are not LA, San Fransico, or Chicago, as big cities, we rank 28th nationally. After the George Floyd demonstrations, Portland changed its leadership and form of governing council. The new DA has a reputation for charging and prosecuting crime when his prosecutors have the evidence for trial. Of the over 60 arrests at ICE protests, 31 are facing trial or have been sentenced. Troops on the streets are an overreaction to the right of assembly and to peacefully express their grievances.
And then we have a headline “JFK links circumcision to autism.” So at least the Trump administration is leading the way on the health front.
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