Riots in Los Angeles Put Hypocrisy On Display

On one hand the irony is rich, and the hypocrisy comic. 

On the other, human lives, private property, and Constitutional freedoms are at risk. It seems we are in a profoundly precarious historical moment. 

The Anti-ICE riots in Los Angeles and President Trump's decision to call out the National Guard 

In this unfolding, and unflattering clash of politics and lawlessness, the past is indeed prologue.  

In January 2021, 50,000 protesters concerned about the integrity of the November 2020 elections gathered just down the street from the United States Capitol, and they were mad. 

They believed the election had been stolen from their candidate of choice, and they wanted the world to know about it. They also wanted to delay the electoral vote tabulation that would see Joe Biden officially declared the next President of the United States. Of the 50,000, less than five percent decided to illegally storm the Capitol. We all know the hideous toll and casualty list. It was unacceptable by any measure and a disgraceful moment in American history. 

We all knew such a clash was a possibility. Even though Trump had asked for peaceful demonstrations, only a naive moron would not have seen the need to prepare for the worst.  

Unless, of course, the worst was what you wanted.  

The President was not among the naive or the moronic that day. He, in fact, wanted the Washington, D.C. and Capitol authorities to be prepared and protected in the event violence erupted. Trump authorized National Guard participation in the events of that day. A combination of deep state bureaucrats, Capitol police leaders working under the authority of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and the Mayor of Washington all refused to capitulate. The main concern cited - optics. 

There were 2,000 angry protestors and a skeleton crew of passive guards at the Capitol doors. The result, as Yogi Berra might say, was “surprisingly inevitable." 

Even now Trump's political opponents use that day against him. They dramatized and overstated the event, equating it to a disaster on the level of 9/11 or the attack on Pearl Harbor. 

Two thousand unarmed fools vandalized property and engaged in hand-to-hand combat with less than 200 police officers, resulting in less than $3 million in damage. 

That’s not an insurrection. It’s more like a very slow night for the Black Lives Matter rioters of the Summer of 2020. 

If the National Guard had been present January 6th, as Trump had authorized, it’s likely none of it would have happened. 

NONE OF IT. 

Back to the future. Los Angeles, California. 

President Trump and the world are watching as hundreds of masked thugs destroy property and attack Federal immigration officers in the midst of legally rounding up thousands of illegal aliens. In California, a well-known sanctuary state home to countless sanctuary cities, most cooperation with Federal authorities is prohibited. Illegally prohibited in the minds of many Americans. 

So, of course Governor Gavin Newsom is opposed to the presence of National Guard troops to assist in the process and quell the violence among the woefully misguided protestors. 

Unfortunately for the Governor and his sycophants, President Trump is a first-hand witness as to what devilment may erupt when Feds allow locals to impose their local sentimentalities on Constitutional business. What offends Newsom in these matters is not of interest to Trump, nor should it be. The President is the ultimate guardian of our international borders, and the ultimate policeman when it comes to those who break international border laws - no matter where those lawbreakers choose to hide.  

Criminal immigrants shall have no legal sanctuary anywhere on American soil. 

An important note of local interest here, the architect of much of this official White House plan is none other than Major General Bobby Christine, General Counsel to the National Guard. That’s correct -our own Columbia County District Attorney, currently under military activation, is the lead legal mind behind the President's use of the National Guard to protect those enforcing immigration law and allowing them to peacefully do their duty. I’m so very proud of my longtime friend and fellow Westside Patriot. Did I mention he is a Steelers fan? 

Speaking of Trump irony 

Recently, there was quite a stir among Steelers fans when former and current Steelers Rocky Bleier, Mason Rudolph, and Miles Killebrew attended President Trump's rally in the Steel City. They were there celebrating the partnership of US Steel and Nippon Steel, keeping domestic steel workers in the area gainfully employed for years to come. When the Steeler players presented President Trump with a jersey bearing his name and number 47, and declared him an "honorary Steeler," chaos ensued. A lot of anti-Trump animosity blew up on social media, with a few lifelong Steelers fans declaring they were washing their hands of the team forever.  

Unprecedented political involvement, some called it.  

Horse hockey! 

Pictures showing otherwise. 

When the late Steelers President Dan Rooney presented then-candidate Senator Barrack Obama with a similarly fashioned jersey at a  campaign stop in Pittsburgh 2008, there was very little uproar, and virtually no fan exodus. Neither were there screams of unprecedented political involvement.  

Every now and then we need to remind each other that we can have legitimate political disagreements and still carry on with peace and even love. I am reminded of a dear friend of mine who happens to be both a fervent anti-Trump Lefty and a devoted lifelong Steelers fan. Retired Augusta educator Nancy Cisick isn't dumping the Steelers anytime soon, nor is she dumping the adorable little cousin she is seen holding here as a newborn many years ago. 

That little guy is currently wearing #2 on his Steelers jersey. 

His name is Mason Rudolph.