Que the right wing paramilitary actors, like the Proud Boys that will come out and operate in tandem and in coordination with these ICE "Interior Ministry" troops. All of this is a recipe basically right out of Dictatorship for Dummies
I wish I could say something more than a) you're probably right about the influencers and b) it's still (particularly) depressing af. I do wish our current media system didn't work like that! Also that the adminsitration weren't all so ruthless and hateful about it. :-(
The Nazis had their moment of final judgement at Nuremberg. I will savior the day that the trial for all these fascists is televised, demonstrating how close America came to becoming a autocratic nightmare of a country.
We really are in a nation/society where roughly half of the population receives its version of reality through a coordinated effort by PR hacks in the employ of the trump administration, designated propaganda outlets, and these sorry-assed “influencers.” And it would seem that it’s only getting worse.
And what, btw, exactly is an “influencer”? I mean, is this considered a career path, or is pursuing an actual career (i.e., one that benefits society and provides personal satisfaction) just a quaint notion that still exists in the antiquated minds of boomers like me? What do these 20 and 30 somethings think they’ll be doing when/if they live to be 60, 70, or beyond? Ah, but maybe “Live large. Die young” is the prevailing ethos among Gen-whatevers. I don’t know. I just don’t know.
And I guess that’s the thing that’s eating at me the most - the apparent nihilism at the core of so much of what is being done and supported today as “The American Dream”(???). As someone who really enjoys happy endings in my movies, I’m not sure I want to hang around to see how this one that I’m regrettably an “extra” in plays out.
The videos made by DHS make ICE look like some kind of made-for-Hollywood SpecOp force. Which in turn convinces me that the only people who must have applied were military wannabes who like the *idea* of the military but hated the commitment, or were actually afraid, or were unwilling to submit themselves to a hierarchy where they were on the bottom.
They *are* all performers who can't or won't realize the enormity of the "game" they're playing. And the *real* people in power, Miller and Vought, just sit back and use the chaos to further their own ends. They're playing a game, too, but it's a war game. It ends with people dead.
This all can only end badly. Trump and his masked ICE thugs are clearly trying everything they can to provoke escalations. And frankly, there is only so much intimidation, threats, destruction, and trampling of personal rights and liberties that people are willing to tolerate. The fuses have been lit and it's just a matter of time - and further needless provocation - until one or more of the "resistance bombs" goes off. Then the hammer of Federal Insurrection Act comes down, and it's anyone's guess where that will lead. Remember LA during the Rodney King riots? That may look quaint before it's all over.
One last, related thought: What type of ICE recruits do you think all these over-the-top ads and videos are aimed at and what does it portend for ICE's future behavior? Not compassionate, restrained law and order types, that's for sure.
In my lifetime I can only think of recruiting government advertisements on TV for 4 armed services branches (I don’t recall a coast guard one but I could be wrong).
I’ve never seen a regular ad airing midday or prime time for joining the FBI or the Bureau of Land Management or any other aspect of the executive government.
Seeing these join ICE Ads on tv consistently that resemble the Army/Marine recruitment videos is indicative of the mission they are trying to shift ICE toward. Which is a shame because ICE did a lot of great things at one point in time but like so much else Trump touches it has been poisoned.
Hey @SarahLongwell25, @Timodc, @samstein — appreciate you three keeping the signal clear while the noise gets deafening.
Adrian’s Bulwark piece nails the national view — DHS turning ICE into a content studio, influencers on rooftops, fear packaged as patriotism.
But here in Portland, it’s personal.
Our mayor, Keith Wilson, just told Kristi Noem and Corey Lewandowski that we won’t be a training ground for federal theatrics. He even floated buying out the ICE facility just to transition ICE out — not keep them here. (h/t KGW, Amy-Xiaoshi DePaola, Oct 8, 2025)
As a resident of said city, I’m tired of all the BS coming out of this administration.
I get that they’re trying to project “order” and maybe even do some good — but they need to cut the shit and stop turning communities into props for propaganda.
Thanks for calling this out before it calcifies into “normal.”
(Sorry, JVL — still love you, but this one’s Big Three business 😅)
Might consider the administration threat that if the Judiciary rules that the deployment to Chicago is unconstitutional, they will simply declare martial law by invoking the Insurrection Act so they have unfettered power.
(FWIW I do not believe that Trump is posting much himself actually. He is a cardboard front man and carnival barker, at most, these days.)
Should just call them Klansmen, they provide the same role. Law officers identify themselves as part of their role to keep people safe, and to maintain the public trust. Goons who wear masks are openly stating that they are not here to keep people safe.
This topic doesn't belong here but I am celebrating and sharing wins where I can. Maria Corina Machado a Venezuelan politician has won the Nobel Peace Prize. That means Trump did not. Oh the sweet ironies. Trump promoting violence on the streets of the US disqualified him, I guess. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/10/venezuelan-politician-maria-corina-machado-wins-nobel-peace-prize
"trump is not the president so much as he is the producer of America’s sickest reality show."
-Lee Hale
Que the right wing paramilitary actors, like the Proud Boys that will come out and operate in tandem and in coordination with these ICE "Interior Ministry" troops. All of this is a recipe basically right out of Dictatorship for Dummies
I wish I could say something more than a) you're probably right about the influencers and b) it's still (particularly) depressing af. I do wish our current media system didn't work like that! Also that the adminsitration weren't all so ruthless and hateful about it. :-(
The Nazis had their moment of final judgement at Nuremberg. I will savior the day that the trial for all these fascists is televised, demonstrating how close America came to becoming a autocratic nightmare of a country.
Eeeny, Meeny, Miny .. NO! https://bsky.app/profile/opsan.com/post/3m2kumxi2us2m
"Everything we’re seeing is a performance, but with real guns and destroying real people’s lives.”
This is absolutely right. I know we aren't supposed to draw parallels with the Nazis, but in this case they would drool with envy.
This is so f**king depressing to me.
We really are in a nation/society where roughly half of the population receives its version of reality through a coordinated effort by PR hacks in the employ of the trump administration, designated propaganda outlets, and these sorry-assed “influencers.” And it would seem that it’s only getting worse.
And what, btw, exactly is an “influencer”? I mean, is this considered a career path, or is pursuing an actual career (i.e., one that benefits society and provides personal satisfaction) just a quaint notion that still exists in the antiquated minds of boomers like me? What do these 20 and 30 somethings think they’ll be doing when/if they live to be 60, 70, or beyond? Ah, but maybe “Live large. Die young” is the prevailing ethos among Gen-whatevers. I don’t know. I just don’t know.
And I guess that’s the thing that’s eating at me the most - the apparent nihilism at the core of so much of what is being done and supported today as “The American Dream”(???). As someone who really enjoys happy endings in my movies, I’m not sure I want to hang around to see how this one that I’m regrettably an “extra” in plays out.
The videos made by DHS make ICE look like some kind of made-for-Hollywood SpecOp force. Which in turn convinces me that the only people who must have applied were military wannabes who like the *idea* of the military but hated the commitment, or were actually afraid, or were unwilling to submit themselves to a hierarchy where they were on the bottom.
They *are* all performers who can't or won't realize the enormity of the "game" they're playing. And the *real* people in power, Miller and Vought, just sit back and use the chaos to further their own ends. They're playing a game, too, but it's a war game. It ends with people dead.
This all can only end badly. Trump and his masked ICE thugs are clearly trying everything they can to provoke escalations. And frankly, there is only so much intimidation, threats, destruction, and trampling of personal rights and liberties that people are willing to tolerate. The fuses have been lit and it's just a matter of time - and further needless provocation - until one or more of the "resistance bombs" goes off. Then the hammer of Federal Insurrection Act comes down, and it's anyone's guess where that will lead. Remember LA during the Rodney King riots? That may look quaint before it's all over.
One last, related thought: What type of ICE recruits do you think all these over-the-top ads and videos are aimed at and what does it portend for ICE's future behavior? Not compassionate, restrained law and order types, that's for sure.
In my lifetime I can only think of recruiting government advertisements on TV for 4 armed services branches (I don’t recall a coast guard one but I could be wrong).
I’ve never seen a regular ad airing midday or prime time for joining the FBI or the Bureau of Land Management or any other aspect of the executive government.
Seeing these join ICE Ads on tv consistently that resemble the Army/Marine recruitment videos is indicative of the mission they are trying to shift ICE toward. Which is a shame because ICE did a lot of great things at one point in time but like so much else Trump touches it has been poisoned.
An army of Leni Riefenstahls. God help us.
Hey @SarahLongwell25, @Timodc, @samstein — appreciate you three keeping the signal clear while the noise gets deafening.
Adrian’s Bulwark piece nails the national view — DHS turning ICE into a content studio, influencers on rooftops, fear packaged as patriotism.
But here in Portland, it’s personal.
Our mayor, Keith Wilson, just told Kristi Noem and Corey Lewandowski that we won’t be a training ground for federal theatrics. He even floated buying out the ICE facility just to transition ICE out — not keep them here. (h/t KGW, Amy-Xiaoshi DePaola, Oct 8, 2025)
As a resident of said city, I’m tired of all the BS coming out of this administration.
I get that they’re trying to project “order” and maybe even do some good — but they need to cut the shit and stop turning communities into props for propaganda.
Thanks for calling this out before it calcifies into “normal.”
(Sorry, JVL — still love you, but this one’s Big Three business 😅)
#Bulwark #Portland #InformationIntegrity #DemocracyIsLocal
Might consider the administration threat that if the Judiciary rules that the deployment to Chicago is unconstitutional, they will simply declare martial law by invoking the Insurrection Act so they have unfettered power.
(FWIW I do not believe that Trump is posting much himself actually. He is a cardboard front man and carnival barker, at most, these days.)
Should just call them Klansmen, they provide the same role. Law officers identify themselves as part of their role to keep people safe, and to maintain the public trust. Goons who wear masks are openly stating that they are not here to keep people safe.
Can't invoke the Insurrection Act without an insurrection, now, can we? Reichstag fire, anyone?