The Militia, the Constitution, and States Rights

I, (First, Middle, Last Name) do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State (Commonwealth, District, Territory) of against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the Governor of the State (Commonwealth, District, Territory) of , that I make this obligation freely, without any mental reservations or purpose of evasion, and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the Office of (Grade) in the Army/Air National Guard of the State (Commonwealth, District, Territory) of upon which I am about to enter, so help me God. — US National Guard Officer’s Oath, 2019-09-13 Ng.mil, Archive.org.

The Apocalyptic Administration

One of the constant refrains, I hear from people who aren’t bought into the madness that has overtaken the United States, is “Why are they destroying this? Don’t they care about the outcome?” And the answer, all too obviously, is “No, they don’t care.” Which leads to the second question: “Why don’t they care?” It’s their own lives on the line; even the very rich and powerful have reason to care; look at what has been done to the oligarchs of Russia. So, why…?

Big Brother Is Alive and Well in Mississippi

Because of a new Mississippi law, Bluesky has blocked all Mississippi IP addresses. Key points:

 "The law requires age verification for all users, not just those accessing age-restricted content […]

"The compliance requirements disadvantage newer and smaller platforms like Bluesky [or anyone who hosts their own blog or runs a Mastodon site, which is basically now at best much more expensive and even so at risk of false prosecution…]

"The law requires collecting and storing sensitive personal information from all users, including detailed tracking of minors. […]"

This law puts every internet user in Mississippi at risk, by creating extensive databases of their internet use, which can then be abused both by state security agencies and hackers.

US Fascism: a Tipping Point

This week, it seems to me that multiple lines have been crossed. It began with:

• The firing of Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer
• Identification of Trump as a groomer by Lindsay Beyerstein, and the transfer of Ghislane Maxwell to a minimum security facility, endangering the public and the other people held there.
• The leak of a Homeland Security memo detailing that there is a plan to extend the ICE investment of Los Angeles to other cities, with the extensive funding provided by the Big Baleful Bill.

It ends with:

• The current EPA management unilaterally abrogating its contracts with its employee unions, with a claimed justification of national security.
• In the name of peace and without consulting the Ukrainian government, which will not accept it, Trump has surrendered part of Ukraine to Russia and is inviting Putin to the United States to seal the agreement.
• A comprehensive censorship regime is being constructed, at CBS and in government funded scientific research.
• Texas is planning on gerrymandering six Democratic seats out of the House of Representatives. 

As Kamala Harris said in her Late Show interview, “I believed that on some level, there should be many who consider themselves to be guardians of our system and our democracy, who just capitulated.”  The Trump administration keeps making things worse and worse and yet few people and institutions with any power are fighting,