So trump national budget is starting to become visible: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-39108194 Good news: No cuts to social security and medicare... yet Bad News: cuts to environment and foreign assistance (no surprise) WTF news: raise for the military... to fight who? Didn't he campaign on ending foreign intervention?
Probably wants to sure up the military to use them to squash rebellions and insurrections as he continues to piss everyone in the US off... after all, we have seen a return of for-profit prisons alongside a stated crackdown on marijuana (even when states have legalized it)... seems like the intent is to start making bank off the backs of non-violent drug offenses again.
All dictators, whether they have aspirations abroad or not, buy off the army. Not all armies stay bought in all circumstances.
Jeeves & Kittamaru, So basically you two are thinking he is going to turn the military on its own citizens if need be?
Basically, my fear is the edit I made to your quote - it won't be a matter of "need", but a matter of "doing it for the corporate interest". After all, empty prisons don't generate profits...
As much as it would be interesting to see how the Trump crowd reacts to wholesale violation of the Posse Comitatus laws they are so fond of, it seems more likely that Trumps would direct his regular military ventures outside the country where the President has more of a free hand - some National Guard or Swat Team abuses domestically, directed at protestors from the standard targeted groups, seems what to expect.
Oh, sure, that's an option never very far from any mad king's mind. But the US has plenty of heavily militarized police. In the case of civil disturbances, they can cope very well (brutally) and no law has restrained them very much so far. (They'er uneven: some police forces get on quite well with the citizenry; some would as soon shoot a taxpayer as step on his neck. They're even less likely to be restrained once the press is effectively muzzled - and this is where the volunteer Twitter thugs are so handy: they're completely unfettered by law, ethics, sobriety or reason. However, the police may not be up to mass roundups, deportations and enclosures. The vigilanties, being wholly undisciplined, are no help in such cases. State militias have already been badly depleted by the wars, occupations and terror-scares; border patrols are stretched thin already. What do you suppose will happen if a. there is real concerted, armed resistance to some of the above (somewhat likely) and/or b. there is a massive natural disaster like Katrina, (very likely) or a massive man-made one like the Gulf oil spill (all but inevitable)?
Well, I think you are a little dated there Jeeves. The US is no longer spread as thin as it once was. It's no longer fighting two wars. The vast bulk of troops have been withdrawn from Iran and Afghanistan. Civil militias are doing quite well now. I don't think there is anything in and of itself insidious in Trump's military build up. Now if he changes the oath all members of the military take, I'll have a very different view of the matter. Having served in our military, I have great confidence in our military. They are sworn to uphold and defend the Constitution and not a person. I do find his war on the free press very disturbing. I find his ignorance, incompetence, narcissism, and complete lack of a moral compass deeply disturbing. There is must to be disturbed about with The Donald, but I don't think the military is one of them. In fact, of the few things which give me some optimism is the fact that Trump has selected a few generals so serve in his cabinet, General Mattis, and General Kelly to be more specific. I also fear Trump will use a Russian created terrorist event in order to maintain his power. That would have sounded crazy a few years ago. Now, it's a possibility. That's how Putin secured his grip on power. Trump is a fascist, there should be no doubt about it. Trump's Russian connections are very troubling. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_Russian_apartment_bombings
You're right, I haven't heard much lately. That's good. They're usually more reliable for serving and protecting than some police forces. What kind of people are they recruiting now; how much have they been affected by the general desensitization? (I think you know what I mean. People who seem normal and nice, going "meh" when they hear about the pepper-spraying of handcuffed students, or tazering of a kid with Down's syndrome.) How eager will they be to load Mexican families into cattle trucks? How many will choose their allegiance to a state that might defy a presidential edict? Not of itself, no. In conjunction with his many ominous pronouncements, some. And when you look at where the money's coming from and project the hardship these cuts - and the many more to follow - will cause large numbers of people, you can imagine the civil unrest that's bound to result. Trump probably doesn't think that far ahead, but I bet there are some evil bastards close to him who do. The military personnel are far less worrying than the weapons. Most worrying of all is the commander in chief. Not so much a loose cannon, as a time-bomb with a loose wire. Well, yes, that's the hope, isn't it? That armies don't always stay bribed. They certainly have been known to rip into the civilian population of their countries; but they have also been known to turn on bad commanders and refuse bad commands. Also, I expect the general staff is better informed on both international and domestic situations than El Supremo... well, I mean, so is the average Mississippi middle-schooler, so that's not saying much but seriously, the US military surely has excellent intelligence capability. They may not be able to get him to listen or understand any of it, but they can use their own judgment, even about the Russian connection (and I'm also sure those old boys have their own sentiments regarding Russia and Putin) I wonder how many Trump-related contingency scenarios are churning through underground computer banks right this minute.
