Greg Abbott: Texas has a Shitweasel in the Governor's Mansion

[kittykay]

This is my world.  I have become even more of a hermit here than I was in the last place we lived.

[GreyhoundFan]

Yeah, typical GQP "I got mine, fuck you" mentality.

[apple1]

(I debated putting this in the Trump thread.)

 

I could be happier about the Trump/Carroll decision (and I think it might be just the tip of an iceberg) - if there weren't a TX governor who also thinks rules don't apply to him, and that he can set a match that starts the US's "Civil War II" (or number of your choice), secede, and take a few states with like-minded governors along with him.

I sure hope I am overestimating the degree of probability for this occurring.

[Howl]

1 hour ago, apple1 said:

... a TX governor who also thinks rules don't apply to him, and that he can set a match that starts the US's "Civil War II" (or number of your choice), secede, and take a few states with like-minded governors along with him.  I sure hope I am overestimating the degree of probability for this occurring.

I'm getting very nervous about Abbott setting up this state vs Fed conflict in Eagle Pass.    White Christo-fascist "army of god" wing-nut zealots are organizing a trucker convoy to arrive near Eagle Pass, TX on Feb. 3rd. 

The Texas trucker convoy rally is taking place about 25 five miles north of Eagle Pass at Cornerstone Children’s Ranch Inc. close to Quemado, a Rio Grande border community of around 200 souls.  This agricultural community is 90% Hispanic; I can't imagine there is any local support for this crap. Two-lane  Highway 277 runs through the center of "town".    There is no Port of Entry between Del Rio and Eagle Pass and none of the highways in this general part of Texas are set up for the amount of semi traffic and cars this rally will supposedly generate. 

 Cornerstone Children’s Ranch Inc. claims its a "multi-denominational ministry facilitation and retreat center”.   So why would they host this convoy?  This is the Bible quote on their home page: "Ephesians 6:12-13 - “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”  

Vice:   Protest Convoy Headed to Southern Border Is Calling Itself an ‘Army of God’

Experts say that the Christian nationalist rhetoric adds a dangerous dimension to the standoff between Texas and the Federal Government.

<snip> A trucker convoy of “patriots” is heading to the U.S. border with Mexico next week, as the standoff between Texas and the federal government intensifies.
The organizers of the “Take Our Border Back” convoy have called themselves “God’s army” and say they’re on a mission to stand up against the “globalists” who they claim are conspiring to keep U.S. borders open and destroy the country. 

“This is a biblical, monumental moment that’s been put together by God,” one convoy organizer said on a recent planning call. “We are besieged on all sides by dark forces of evil,” said another. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God. It is time for the remnant to rise.” (The remnant, from the Book of Revelation, are the ones who remain faithful to Jesus Christ in times of crisis).

As the Vice article notes, some reich-wing forums are counselling against being part of the rally, because, ya know, conspiracy to entrap patriots!!!!! 

This could become a non-event or a massive cluster-f**k.  Biden et al. better have a good strategy to deal with this, starting with nationalizing the Texas Nat'l Guard STAT. 

[fraurosena]

23 hours ago, Howl said:

I'm getting very nervous about Abbott setting up this state vs Fed conflict in Eagle Pass.    White Christo-fascist "army of god" wing-nut zealots are organizing a trucker convoy to arrive near Eagle Pass, TX on Feb. 3rd. 

The Texas trucker convoy rally is taking place about 25 five miles north of Eagle Pass at Cornerstone Children’s Ranch Inc. close to Quemado, a Rio Grande border community of around 200 souls.  This agricultural community is 90% Hispanic; I can't imagine there is any local support for this crap. Two-lane  Highway 277 runs through the center of "town".    There is no Port of Entry between Del Rio and Eagle Pass and none of the highways in this general part of Texas are set up for the amount of semi traffic and cars this rally will supposedly generate. 

 Cornerstone Children’s Ranch Inc. claims its a "multi-denominational ministry facilitation and retreat center”.   So why would they host this convoy?  This is the Bible quote on their home page: "Ephesians 6:12-13 - “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”  

Vice:   Protest Convoy Headed to Southern Border Is Calling Itself an ‘Army of God’

Experts say that the Christian nationalist rhetoric adds a dangerous dimension to the standoff between Texas and the Federal Government.

<snip> A trucker convoy of “patriots” is heading to the U.S. border with Mexico next week, as the standoff between Texas and the federal government intensifies.
The organizers of the “Take Our Border Back” convoy have called themselves “God’s army” and say they’re on a mission to stand up against the “globalists” who they claim are conspiring to keep U.S. borders open and destroy the country. 

“This is a biblical, monumental moment that’s been put together by God,” one convoy organizer said on a recent planning call. “We are besieged on all sides by dark forces of evil,” said another. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God. It is time for the remnant to rise.” (The remnant, from the Book of Revelation, are the ones who remain faithful to Jesus Christ in times of crisis).

As the Vice article notes, some reich-wing forums are counselling against being part of the rally, because, ya know, conspiracy to entrap patriots!!!!! 

This could become a non-event or a massive cluster-f**k.  Biden et al. better have a good strategy to deal with this, starting with nationalizing the Texas Nat'l Guard STAT. 

This is a great analysis of what is happening. Frightening too. 

Full text:

What Donald Trump, and his klan are doing with this whole “southern border” convoy thing, is testing to see how much buy in they can get from red state governors, truck drivers, law enforcement, and “patriots,” as a whole.

“Buy in?” you ask. Yes. To see if they have the horsepower and the number of states, people etc. to pull off a multi-state insurrection; one that will dwarf what we saw on Jan. 6th. I don’t believe they expect to win in November.

In fact, I don’t believe they even care about November.

I think we are watching an insidious change unfold.

Why wait until the months between November 2024 and January, 2025 to move? Our country’s readiness to defend democracy and keep law and order will be at its peak by that time.

What if they struck now, or from February through August 2024?

Would our readiness be anywhere close to being prepared to respond to multiple crises or domestic terrorist attacks occurring simultaneously…within our borders?

If you’re going to take the White House by force (and they’d have to, somehow…because Trump simply cannot beat Biden in a head to head contest) why wait until November or January to do so?

The stakes are too high for Trump AND the GOP.

With enough time allowed to roll out, Trump could be incarcerated.

He could also become ill and die? Does the GOP have an alternate that they could install at the last minute, who Republicans would respond to with as much emotional intensity? Not likely.

There’s the risk of Donald not being the GOP nominee, due to a series of circumstances no one saw coming.

No, November is cutting it too close, both Trump and the GOP know that time is not on their side. They need to move sooner.

Gavin de Becker is fond of saying, “The fact that you have been able to imagine a “freak, one in a million chance” scenario in your mind, means that someone else has already done what you just imagined.

If you can imagine it, so can someone else. If the wrong someone else imagines it…they’ll likely act on it.

I’m suggesting that we are overly focused on November…and the couple of months until the inauguration.

When you focus your eyes on something 200 yards away, your eyes adjust in such a way that the things close to you become temporarily blurry and out of focus. It’s easy to miss the obvious, because we don’t have as much clarity at the distance where we need it most.

I have a feeling that millions of Americans will be at least somewhat prepared for chaos once we get really close to November. Probably not as prepared as they should be, but at least they’ll have taken some of the right actions. If the “November Chaos” broke lose in late February or the first week of March (2024,) I would expect to see mass panic, and millions of people who had planned to prepare, but were going to wait until closer to November to do so.

I can see a nation getting caught with its pants down around its ankles. I can also see Trump and his merry band of Russia colluding ass clowns, thinking that’s probably how this all needs to go down.

The ways they might attempt this are many. One approach they might try would be essentially deciding to set up a “shadow” government…that’s not really a “shadow,” and is more of an outright, “We don’t recognize the government body as it has been up until now. We are now the official government of this country, and it consists of these states…..(all red.)

Yes, legal scholars, Constitutional lawyers, historians etc. can give us a mind boggling number of reasons “Why this could never happen.”

Those reasons, however, would be based on the logic they have used for decades, that rarely factored in the wild and magnificent ability of a mind with ill intentions, to envision obliterating the established norms, by using surprise, shock, violence, force and fear to set up shop and effectively take over.

Start developing a plan. Not because you’re worried. That’s a waste of time. Plan because you’re concerned, and smart.

 

[Howl]

Jen Budd, a former Border Patrol and now Border Patrol critic, has long said that Border Patrol is insanely pro Trump, which is also obvious from Twitter posts by the Border Patrol Union.  So that's another factor.  

You can follow her @BuddJen on Twitter.