28 Jul 20
@caissad4 saidAs believable as this is I think it is a conspiracy in the twitterverse.
Yes indeed . They are Trumps' private army patrolling the streets of Portland firing weapons at Americans which are banned by the Geneva Convention . All at the behest of Dictator Donald and paid for with taxpayer dollars . THIS is Trumps' America .
Be glad to be proved wrong.
Blackwater was the outfit convicted of killing Iraqi civilians way back.
They've changed their name since (unless there is a new "Blackwater" outfit.)
29 Jul 20
@wolfgang59 saidHow do you know, they are unidentified. They could be thawed out space nazis for all you know.
As believable as this is I think it is a conspiracy in the twitterverse.
Be glad to be proved wrong.
Blackwater was the outfit convicted of killing Iraqi civilians way back.
They've changed their name since (unless there is a new "Blackwater" outfit.)
29 Jul 20
@caissad4 saidOf course private contractors are going to be used.
Yes indeed . They are Trumps' private army patrolling the streets of Portland firing weapons at Americans which are banned by the Geneva Convention . All at the behest of Dictator Donald and paid for with taxpayer dollars . THIS is Trumps' America .
We contract wars and prisons to private companies -- why wouldn't some amount of the policing also be contracted to others?
Jumping to the conclusion that this is his personal Army is not accurate.
29 Jul 20
@shavixmir saidSlow down shav!
How do you know, they are unidentified. They could be thawed out space nazis for all you know.
I'm not saying I know.
I'm saying that this story is currently fake (but believable.)
29 Jul 20
@philokalia saidAre you serious?
We contract wars and prisons to private companies -- why wouldn't some amount of the policing also be contracted to others?
Why ... ?
@philokalia saidAbsolutely not! Private contractors (mercenaries) have NO business in domestic policing. Domestic policing is not comparable to war or managing prisons.
Of course private contractors are going to be used.
We contract wars and prisons to private companies -- why wouldn't some amount of the policing also be contracted to others?
Jumping to the conclusion that this is his personal Army is not accurate.
Let us assume that this did not happen, that this is merely a rumor. Let us hope that it did not, that Trump did not deputize mercenaries and 'call' them "federal agents" and send them to Portland. It would be a dire development if he had done.
But the fact that this is even a plausible hypothesis speaks volumes about the Trump administration's total contempt for law and due process. Sending federal agents into Portland, and threatening to do so in other cases, against the wills of local authorities is not law and order - it is tyranny. It is exactly the reason the NRA always cites as the primary justification for guns in private hands: to defend the citizenry against its own government.
29 Jul 20
1 edit
@philokalia saidPostscript:
Of course private contractors are going to be used.
Heavily-armed people in camouflage suits, but without identification or insignia, running around in unmarked vans and threatening people, is an open invitation for all manner of right-wing militias (of which there are too many in the USA*) to have a field day. Trump has set a very bad precedent.
*
List of right-wing militias in America:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Right-wing_militia_organizations_in_the_United_States
29 Jul 20
@philokalia saidWe should not be contracting wars and prisons to private companies.
Of course private contractors are going to be used.
We contract wars and prisons to private companies -- why wouldn't some amount of the policing also be contracted to others?
Jumping to the conclusion that this is his personal Army is not accurate.