robertdobalinaivJul 15, 2023
Dan Gillmor

DeSantis' Florida is creating a state-run, brownshirt "militia".

https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2023/07/14/florida-state-guard-desantis-national-guard-training/

At least some honorable people there are saying, "No way will I be part of this."

But America's new fascists are more and more brazen. And if the rest of us don't start taking the threat they represent more seriously, they could prevail.

Veterans quit DeSantis’ Florida State Guard over militialike training

One retired Marine Corps officer called the police on instructors, alleging abuse.

Tampa Bay Times
Jul 15, 2023 at 12:33amWeb
Show threadJeber @ TwitJul 15, 2023
@dangillmor It’s the Bull Connor era again.
Show threadPeter PrincipleJul 15, 2023

@dangillmor

"On the first day of training, Newhouse said he was escorted off the base after lodging several complaints, including that the National Guard’s schedule required training on Sundays,"

Heh. He should sue. Wonder what the GOP's SCOTUS 6 would say about that.

Show threadJohn ShirleyJul 15, 2023

@dangillmor That month, state lawmakers and the governor revealed that they wanted to assign the State Guard $89 million to buy boats, planes and helicopters. They wanted a specialized unit within the guard to have police powers and the ability to carry weapons.

And they wanted to boost the State Guard to 1,500 members. Instead of being activated only during emergencies within Florida, they could be sent to any state to “protect and defend the people of Florida from threats to public safety.”

Show thread@stevewfoldsJul 15, 2023
@JohnShirley2023 @dangillmor The Guard will probably show up in other states to block women’s healthcare.
Show threadJohn ShirleyJul 15, 2023
@stevewfolds @dangillmor Perhaps the idea is, DeSantis shows such a militia can be raised at a state's expense, and then other right-wing-controlled states do it. Then...
Show thread@stevewfoldsJul 15, 2023

@JohnShirley2023 @dangillmor
A SLC housekeeper’s side note: Mormons have recommended months of food storage for emergencies. There is also a recommended number of rounds of ammunition for each month’s food.

Armed religions, what could go wrong?

Show thread@batyalee 🌿Jul 15, 2023
@stevewfolds @JohnShirley2023 @dangillmor You’re probably right.
Show threadgavinisdie Jul 15, 2023
@JohnShirley2023 @dangillmor great, war between states is now a realistic possibility 💀
Show threadJessica CheeriJul 15, 2023
@JohnShirley2023 @dangillmor Rogue state behavior. Also I assume they'll stop 12 short of that planned 1500
Show threadmjfgatesJul 15, 2023
@dangillmor You can't spell "DeSantis" without "death squads," apparently?
Show threadstoicmikeJul 15, 2023
@dangillmor What he really needs is a militia that are strong swimmers, because the state is going to be underwater!
Show threadDwight Williams (💉 x9)+😷🇨🇦Jul 15, 2023
@stoicmike @dangillmor Literally, given the expected consequences of climate derangement.
Show threadStephen Michael KellatJul 15, 2023
@dangillmor And yet not every state is going the way of the incipient dystopia in Florida. The Ohio Cyber Reserve, a cadre of response specialists in the event local governments and key infrastructure like hospitals get hit with ransomware again, is organized here alongside the Ohio Military Reserve and the Ohio Naval Militia. The ONM and OMR have been organized and operational since World War I. https://www.ong.ohio.gov/special-units/cyber/ohcr/index.html
Show threadtoxtethogradyJul 15, 2023
@dangillmor We but the previous army of fascist was more brutally efficient. Given their lack of leadership right out of the box. It's like if the Keystone Kops were brownshirts...
Show threadChookMother 🇦🇺🦘Jul 15, 2023
@dangillmor Fascism all the way down.
Show threadC0ppertopJul 15, 2023
@dangillmor they’ll be needed to inforce whatever laws the thug regime imposes to stop protests against their lack of leadership/action on climate change
Since there will soon be no insurance companies left willing to insure against storm damage and rising sea levels, there are going to be some extremely angry people demanding help from the State.
Passing laws to ban books and harass gays, is not going to distract people from the coming hell-scape.
That state is beyond screwed
Show threadDwight Williams (💉 x9)+😷🇨🇦Jul 15, 2023
@dangillmor DeSantis knows what's happening. And it's what he wants to happen.
Show threadScott GrimmettJul 15, 2023
@dangillmor I was wondering when Florida's Kristallnacht will fall and then remembered reading earlier today the legacy of the Pulse Nighclub massacre. If you put guns in the hands of the irresponsible and fear in the hearts of the irrational, you don't actually need to organise Kristallnacht. Kristallnacht will organise itself.
Show threadmooncubeJul 15, 2023
@dangillmor no way they even gave them brown shirts, how much more on the nose could it possibly get? scary af 😬💀
Show threadStarkJul 15, 2023

@dangillmor

The #US needs to be afraid of #DeSantis. Unlike #Trump, he is actually smart. He was a #JAG and has many other accomplishments and qualifications, which makes him a dangerous man with his beliefs.

If Trump could convince his followers to commit treason on Jan 6 and convince his country he had nothing to do with it, imagine what De Santis could do.

#US #politics

Show threadJiří Fiala Total LandscapingJul 15, 2023
@Stark9837 @dangillmor but MAGA don't want smart. They want an asshole similar to them.
Show threadStarkJul 15, 2023

@stooovie @dangillmor

Exactly. They are too stupid to realise that he sees them for the idiots they are. But the insane thing is that he believes what they believe and more. So they support him. He will put bills into a place that 10000 Trump supporters wouldn't be able to think about.

Show threadJiří Fiala Total LandscapingJul 15, 2023
@Stark9837 @dangillmor I understand but you're thinking about policy. MAGA doesn't actually vote for policy. DeSantis is not a shit-stirrer they'd like, no matter how hard he tries
Show threadBookfairiecymruJul 15, 2023
@dangillmor 😱😱😡😡😡😡😡
Show thread@batyalee 🌿Jul 15, 2023
@dangillmor It looks like #DeSantisIsEvil is building a state military force that will attack people on American soil, by using pretexts like random emergencies and immigrant “invasions.” Doesn’t this look like a direct challenge to the authority of the federal government?
Show threadgavinisdie Jul 15, 2023
@batyalee @dangillmor won't be suprised if Florida does a "Special Military Operation" in a state like New York or California
Show thread@batyalee 🌿Jul 16, 2023
@gavinisdie @dangillmor I'd like to see him try. Gov Newsom wouldn't back away from that fight.
Show threadMike KnellJul 15, 2023
@dangillmor Doesn’t even look like a very well-regulated militia to me.
Show threadGrandpa DonJul 15, 2023
@dangillmor
I wish newspapers would understand that not everyone who is interested in one or two articles they publish is going to subscribe. I started to read, an ad popped up to subscribe; I dismissed it; it said "we hope you enjoyed your free article." So I won't read it after all. I bet they get near-zero sales that way, and they paid some brain-dead web developer to code it. It is as autocratic an attitude as the article is criticising desantis for.
Show threadTomJul 15, 2023
@dangillmor “We investigated ourselves and determined that ‘no offense was committed’ in the obvious assault and battery of a Merine veteran.”
Show threadKerri LevineJul 15, 2023

@dangillmor

#FightGOPFascism

Show threadKerri LevineJul 15, 2023

@dangillmor

#DeFascist

Show threadWETinNCJul 15, 2023
@dangillmor
Big government at it's worst. We would all be better off if Floridians were anti-fascist instead of anti-woke.
Show threadSex Crazed SaltShaker of DeathJul 15, 2023
@dangillmor
Cut them off, build a wall on the Ga. border. If they want to be independent, let them.
Show threadgavinisdie Jul 15, 2023
@dsmdexter @dangillmor just like Texas, they'd become a mixture between nazi Germany and North Korea if given independence
Show threadSex Crazed SaltShaker of DeathJul 15, 2023
@gavinisdie @dangillmor
Unlike texas, they don't have oil. Cut off their tourism and federal money and see how quickly they collapse.
Show threadHelchoseJul 15, 2023
@dangillmor I'm thinking DeSantis' ultimate goal here is to try to secede Florida from the Union. He and the FL Legislature are trying their best to chase as many people with whom they are ideologically opposed out of the state as possible to establish a "competitive autocracy".
Show threadEarthlingJul 15, 2023

@dangillmor
Seems suspicious to have so many leaders and recruits leaving one way or another, especially this way:

“In June last year, DeSantis named a decorated Marine and Purple Heart recipient from Miami as director of the State Guard. He died by suicide in October, with post-traumatic stress disorder a contributing factor, according to a police report.”

Show threadYingtaiJul 16, 2023
Boosting the above for my followers @dangillmor
Show threadnobodyzhome Aug 28, 2023

@dangillmor

Good thing we have the 2A maybe.