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THE VIEW FROM HERE -
Insurrection Act § 332 states:
“Whenever the President considers that unlawful obstructions, combinations, or assemblages, or rebellion against the authority of the United States, make it impracticable to enforce the laws of the United States in any State or Territory by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings, he may call into Federal service such of the militia of any State, and use such of the armed forces [e.g. Marines], as he considers necessary to enforce those laws or to suppress the rebellion. (Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 15.)” [Bold added]
Notice that Section 332 places no restriction of the President’s consideration as being reasonable or being tether to the reality. Section 332 has no requirement that the President has to state a single fact; he only needs to say, “I consider that California cannot enforce the law.”
California Prop 50 redraws the voting districts to replace many GOP voting districts with Dem voting districts. See Your District The tradition has been to make a reassessment after each decennial US Census count. Due to Trump’s following the advice of racist Stephen Miller and the obnoxious victimization of hard-working immigrants rather than remove only the worst of the worst of criminal illegals, polls show that Trump would lose GOP members in the House of Representatives. Therefore, Trump ordered Texas to redraw its districts to change Dems districts to GOP districts. That required Texas to immediately redo all its voting districts in 2025 rather than after the 2030 Census.
California followed the time-honored rule that what is good for the goose is good for the gander and it proposes to change California GOP districts into Dem districts by redistricting in 2025. Because California had taken redistricting away from politicians, it needs voter approval to do the redistricting now. Texas did not need voter approval because Texas restricting has always been done by political hacks.
While no one can predict the future, there are trends which are more or less reliable. The President’s party tends to lose members in the House of Representatives in the non-Presidential election years, e.g. 2026. Trump needlessly shot himself in the leg by listening to Joseph Goebbels’ (Stephen Miller’s) anti-immigrant ranting and raving. On the other hand, Trump appears to have planned to run for a third, unconstitutional, term as President in 2028. It appears that is why Trump appointed Pig Hegseth as Secretary of Defense. It is foreseeable that state governors in 2007-2008 will direct their state militias to ignore Trump’s invocation of the Insurrection Act. Thus, Trump wants to make certain he has a Secretary of Defense (which is the proper name and not Department of War) to call out the Marines if the state militias refuse to confiscate ballot boxes. That appears to be the game plan behind the atrocious abuse of immigrants and Trump federalizing the national guards and his murder of innocent people in boats in the Caribbean.
When German Nazis ordered the murder of the first Jews, the military did not complain. Then, he ordered thousands to be murdered, and then he had the Final Solution where 6 million were murdered. When these tactics are applied to underage children for sexual abuse, we call it grooming, but the same type of grooming occurs when citizens become used to the military in the streets and military officers carry out criminal orders to murder. Today, it is faceless innocents in boats far away, soon it may be your undocumented neighbors and then you. How quickly we forget Martin Niemoller – first they came for the Jews and I did not complain, then they came for the trade unionists and I did not complain . . .. When they came for me, there was no one left to complain.
Lest one thinks that this is hyperbole, presently there are top military brass carrying out Trump’s order for the US military to murder innocent people because they are in boats in the Caribbean Sea. Assuming these boats were bringing illegal drugs to the United States, and they had been arrested, prosecuted, and convicted – they still would not get the death penalty! Is it such a big step from a General who will murder faceless and helpless innocents in the Caribbean and that same General opening fire on US citizens in Los Angeles?
The Timing of Trump’s Invoking the Insurrection Act
Californians have already started voting by mail on Prop 50. Since GOP have a higher voter turnout rate than Dems, it is possible that Prop 50 will not pass. Thus, it would not be prudent to deploy the US military to confiscate ballots prior to the votes being counted. He can wait and invoke the Insurrection Act only if Prop 50 passes.
Whether Trump invokes the Insurrection Act now or right after the 2026 elections probably depends on whether the GOP loses control of the House. The Dems fail to admit that Woke DEI is still hated by the vast majority of Americans and if Mamdani should win in New York City, that could result in a significant rightward shift away from the Dem Party elsewhere. On the other hand, GOP should not count on the Middle East deal remaining popular.
Presently, tens of thousands of Gazans are leaving the south where Hamas has no control to go Gaza City where Hamas has control now that the IDF has withdrawn. In the south, Gazans at least have tons and tons of food will enter through the Rafah Gate in contrast to the north where there are no tens and all aid will be confiscated by Hamas. Hamas is already policing Gaza City and setting up a new government; it has appointed 5 governors. As soon as the IDF left, Hamas had 300 uniformed security guards who murdered 27 members of the Dughmush clan. Hamas Murders More Gazans Anyone who thinks that Hamas will not continue to run Gaza with the support of most Gazans lives in fantasy land.
Just as Hamas will cling to power, so too will Trump. The Unitary Executive approaches !
(Richard Lee Abrams is a former Los Angeles-based attorney, an author, and political commentator. A long-time contributor to CityWatchLA, he is known for his incisive critiques of City Hall and judicial corruption, as well as his analysis of political and constitutional issues. Abrams blends legal insight with historical and philosophical depth to challenge conventional narratives. A passionate defender of civic integrity and transparency, he aims to expose misuse of power and advocate for systemic reform in local government. You may email him at [email protected])