Low Energy Protest

“The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.”

The exact author of the above quote appears to be unknow. One reader of Angry Bear brought this to our attention. I have removed Mark Twain as the author. Quote Investigator®

I know that Trump news is generally demoralizing and frustrating. But for me, when we talk about it openly and share our thoughts, it makes it less overwhelming because we have others who are just as outraged. Classic horror movies love to have the characters split up to search for the killer so they can get picked off one by one. We’re not allowing the monstrous Trump administration to split us up. Talking about it is one way we stay together.

SUMMARY: President Trump described Portland, Oregon, as a “War ravaged” city that was “under siege from attack by Antifa” mobs protesting ICE raids.

But here is how federal officers described the scene outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in southwest Portland on Sept. 25: “low energy.” The next day the same: “low energy.”

Internal reports from the week before Mr. Trump ordered troops into Portland show that, by and large, the officers observed displays of civil disobedience, including protesters standing in front of vehicles on the road, playing loud music and “flipping the bird,” and an older woman using chalk to write on a wall.

MY TAKE: A small group of peaceful protesters have been demonstrating outside ICE offices in Portland while wearing chicken and inflatable frog suits. Yet, Trump has called them “domestic terrorists” in order to justify invading yet another Democrat-led city.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem visited Portland, and even she conceded that the protest was “peaceful,” though she was quick to declare that the protesters were “uneducated and ill-informed.” Fortunately for her, being uneducated and ill-informed are not grounds for arrest. Yet.

Quick recap: There are no significant violent protests in Portland, no ICE agents are in jeopardy, there are no “war ravaged” streets, yet Trump still insists he needs to spend millions of taxpayer dollars to send in troops to solve a problem that doesn’t exist. Why? To show the “warrior ethos” that his bully boy Hegseth loves to rant about. He’s telling Americans that don’t agree with his policies that he can kick their asses anytime he wants.

The problem is that a federal judge blocked the deployment, so the post was inaccurate. But the worst part was the direct lie that the images presented of fire in the streets and a large police presence. The images were not of Portland at all. The photo is actually of South American riot police in 2018 (hence, “Policia” on their shields). The other image was a 2017 demonstration photographed by a Brazilian photographer (“Republicans Busted Using Stock Photos to Hype Trump’s Oregon Crackdown”). Nothing to do with Portland.

Even more disturbing is that Trump admitted he got the idea to invade Portland after watching a report on Fox News that featured footage from 2020. Trump said, “I spoke to the governor, she was very nice. But I said, ‘Well wait a minute, am I watching things on television that are different from what’s happening? My people tell me different.’ They are literally attacking and there are fires all over the place…it looks like terrible.” So, rather than check with intelligence sources that he has access to, he made a decision based on a bogus report he watched on Fox. That’s how presidential decisions are made?