"He is a barbarian, and thinks that the customs of his tribe and island are the laws of nature."*
I am shamed by forgetfulness.
It had gone out of my head that the District of Columbia lacks a governor. Our seat of government has Congress for its legislature and the president as its governor. Poor DC.
So the National Guard, forced to "defend" the Bully-in-Chief's own little fiefdom, was apparently following legitimate orders to commit highly questionable, if not unlawful, acts when it cleared the way for him to waltz over to St. John's church with his posse in tow.
That neither excuses nor legitimizes anything the Guard did. The actions of helicopter pilots in battering the crowds with rotor wash are at least under investigation, but given the players I have to question the rigorousness of the inquiry.
The notion of the president using his "gubernatorial" powers to direct military action could be a dreadful precedent. I mean, think of it: an overgrown, self-absorbed child with 69 square miles of territory to play with real soldiers in.
Imagine--Bayonet charges on The Ellipse; Nighttime exercises in Rock Creek Park; Amphibious landings on Roosevelt Island. The Barbarian Duke of DC could see the first and last of these, surveying his demesne from the roof of the White House.
I suggest we urge the governors of Maryland and Virginia to build a high wall along their borders with DC, allowing only helicopter access, and let the games begin.
---Diogenes, 6/7/2020
* George Bernard Shaw: Caesar and Cleopatra.
Enumerating the Crimes of Donald Trump
Whoever incites, sets on foot, assists, or engages in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the United States or the laws thereof, or gives aid or comfort thereto, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States. 18 U.S. Code, Section 2383
-----------------------------------------------------------------No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. Amendment XIV, Section 3
U.S. Constitution
The bedrock of the United States of America
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