Saturday is a day set aside to honor our national symbol, the flag…..and our clueless leader has decided to cheapen the day by staging a massive ego trip dedicated to him.

The Army’s latest estimate for its major parade to celebrate its 250^th anniversary – which falls on President Donald Trump’s birthday – totals $40 million, including the cost of repairing streets in Washington, DC expected to be gnawed by tank treads.  (and yet nothing for hurricane ravaged North Carolina)

There is also protests planned around this silly ego trip  Trump administration is escalating tensions,” the coalition wrote. “Against the guidance of local leaders, they are deploying military force to suppress free speech. They do not care about our safety—it’s about silencing opposition. It’s a blatant abuse of power designed to intimidate families, stoke fear, and crush dissent.”  and of course Herr Donny has words for the would be protesters.

The protesters in Los Angeles aren’t the only ones on President Trump’s mind. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, the president warned demonstrators to keep away from the military parade he ordered in DC this weekend.

• “For those people that want to protest, they’re going to be met with very big force,” Trump said in the Oval Office, per the Washington Post. “This is people that hate our country, but they will be met with very heavy force.”

He has become even more power hungry since he got a chance to flex his authoritarian muscle in LA.

With LA smouldering and the promise of more protests at his silly ego trip on Saturday Donny has reached back into our history like he did with the Aliens Act but this time it is the Insurrection Act.

President Trump still has a big, and controversial, card he could play in regard to the Los Angeles protests: invoking the Insurrection Act. “If there’s an insurrection, I would certainly invoke it,” he told reporters on Tuesday, reports Reuters. “We’ll see.” Coverage:

• The 1807 act “is among the most extreme emergency powers available to a sitting president,” explains Axios. It allows a president to summon US troops to put down domestic unrest.
• Yes, Trump already has ordered Marines and the National Guard to Los Angeles under a separate legal authority, but their duties are legally limited to protecting federal property and personnel, per Politico. If Trump invokes the act, they could directly intervene against protesters. Critics including Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal view what Trump has done as a “backdoor” way of invoking the act.
• Trump has been using language that appears to be laying the groundwork for invoking the act, notes the New York Times. On Monday, for example, he described protesters as “insurrectionists” and “professional agitators.” However, at another point on Monday, he said, “I wouldn’t quite call it an insurrection, but it could have led to an insurrection,” per CNN.
• The CNN piece notes that top Trump aide Stephen Miller has been using the term regularly to describe the protests. An insurrection “is generally defined as a violent revolt or rebellion against the government,” writes Aaron Blake. It “isn’t about the level of violence; it’s about the target and purpose of it.” When asked to define it, Trump himself said: “You actually really just have to look at the site to see what’s happening.”
• The last time the act was used was in 1992 in the aftermath of the Rodney King beating in Los Angeles, notes ABC News. “Some legal experts have warned the law is overly broad and vague,” writes Alexandra Hutzler, “and there have been various calls for it to be reformed to provide greater checks on presidential power.”

For those people that spin their time whining about others and hiding in their closet a definition of the ACT will be needed….

The Insurrection Act authorizes the president to deploy military forces inside the United States to suppress rebellion or domestic violence or to enforce the law in certain situations. The statute implements Congress’s authority under the Constitution to “provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions.” It is the primary exception to the Posse Comitatus Act, under which federal military forces are generally barred from participating in civilian law enforcement activities.

Although it is often referred to as the “Insurrection Act of 1807,” the law is actually an amalgamation of different statutes enacted by Congress between 1792 and 1871. Today, these provisions occupy Sections 251 through 255 in Title 10 of the United States Code.

https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/insurrection-act-explained

“This shows the Trump administration is ready to do whatever it takes—including deploying military forces—to target and punish those who speak out in defense of human rights,” said Paul O’Brien, executive director of Amnesty International USA. “This is not about protecting communities, this is about crushing dissent and instilling fear.”

The pimple of the presidency is coming to a head….how will this play out?

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