Originally published at: Watch Michael Flynn endorse Trumper's call for a Myanmar-style coup in the US | Boing Boing
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If a recently retired General is willing to say this shit in public then how many active duty officers would entertain the idea in private?
I don’t think most Americans have any concept of just how close Trump came to destroying the republic or just how precarious our current situation remains.
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A message posted to a Parler account used by Flynn on Monday claimed Flynn’s words had been twisted and that he was not calling for a coup.
No, fascist, we heard you the first time when the adulation of the crowd caused you to reveal your true self:
“No reason, I mean, it should happen here. No reason. That’s right,” Flynn responded […]
[bolded for the benefit of apologists for Putin’s sockpuppet]
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Cross-posting from the Empty Greene thread, but this situation is very much a predator-prey scenario, in which the predator can lose the race repeatedly, the prey can only lose it once. Unless we can get a level playing field and pass For The People and John Lewis, we will be the prey, and eventually, given enough tries, they will win one. We cannot allow this to continue.
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Good analogy.
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Not mine originally. Any Wheel of Time fans will recognize it as the rationale that Elan Morin Tedronai used to justify turning to the Dark One and becoming Ishamael. (Yes, I am that nerd)
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He then, of course, completely denied that he said what he was captured on video saying. Meanwhile, Louis Gohmert spoke at the event while his staff denied he was even there. I guess traitorous Republicans gonna Republican.
I mean, really. What kind of bullshit gaslighting is this? There’s no other interpretation for what he said. This is up there with MTG’s “When I talked about Jews being gassed by the Nazis, I wasn’t talking about the Holocaust.” (Except in MTG’s case, it’s conceivable that she doesn’t actually know what “the Holocaust” actually is.)
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Meanwhile in Myanmar…
this is the future in store for us folks if these people are not held responsible for 01/06…
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I guess it’s par for the course that neither a MAGA dope or Flynn has an actual clue what happened in Myanmar. It was no more a coup than I am a sailor (I am not a sailor). Myanmar is currently being run by the military and has been for decades, even with Aang San Suu Kyi as figurehead for a brief stint. The way it is set up is that the military gives permission for the State Counsellor (a PM with no actual authority and a role that was made up specifically for her to appease the voters) to establish a government, but the military was firmly in charge at every moment; they just rescinded the limited authority of the State Counsellor. This is why the world was outraged by the Rohingya genocide because it appears that Aang San Suu Kyi was ignoring their plight when, in reality, she had no authority to do anything but beg the military not to massacre people. Even a public denouncement would have gotten her shitcanned instantly. That’s not to exonerate her for her inaction, but the situation in Burma was never even close to being a democracy.
This is also the power that Flynn and the US military do not enjoy. Unless there was a massive breakaway faction that suddenly formed against the world’s most powerful and heavily-armed government (they would be ground to dust), they have zero authority and chain of command will easily imprison and prosecute dissenters. I’m not saying a coup can’t or won’t happen in this country, but it almost certainly won’t be from a military-driven coup – the leadership is decentralized for a reason. If anything, they would take a hands-off approach like they announced they would after the election when things were getting heated.
No, what will happen is that the majority of democracy-loving Americans will simply wait it out and thereby surrender their democracy. Not with a bang, but a whimper.
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These guys always talk about “freedom” but if the various militias got together and staged an outright coup, does anyone think we would have a more free society under their leadership?
When they talk about freedom they mean their own freedom to stomp on other people’s freedom.
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Especially if Merrick Garland and the Joint Chiefs fail to address extremism in the ranks. Per my above post, it won’t be the US military that forms against the US, but factions like this.
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Keep reminding ourselves that “it can’t happen here”…
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Aren’t they though? I thought they announced they were working to ferret them out. Of course the government saying they will do something, and then actually doing it are often two different things.
At least for now, it seems the heads of the military (or most of them) have no interest in a coup and have an earnest interest in preserving democracy. Had they been willing to do things like crack down on the BLM protests with tanks or armed units en masse, then we would be in an even more precarious spot. (Or worse, made a show of force WITH the protestors on Jan 6th.)
I am not saying we should relax by any measure. Only that it doesn’t appear people like Flynn are in charge. And Jesus Christ, between this and his ties to Turkey to lobby for them… what an absolute goon.
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At what point do they get stood in front of a drumhead trial and then against a wall?
“No wait! We didn’t win this time either, had my fingers crossed, so I’m still a tourist!” It seems that none dare call it treason even if it fails miserably.
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They did, and godspeed to them. White supremacists and anti-government zealots in the military have been a major issue for a long time and hopefully 1/6 is the impetus to put down credible and enforceable guidelines for removing extremism from the ranks. It’s long overdue.
Yeah, the fact that trump had to go shopping around the Fed for goons made me extremely proud and not the least bit relieved. You never know how these things are going to break until they do. Hopefully, the biggest impact Flynn and the 10% of 1/6 terrorists who were current or ex-military has is to highlight just how urgent the threat is and recognize that they have fewer than 500 days to do something about it. Nov. 2022 is going to be a major flashpoint.
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found this interesting development in this story:
would be sweet poetic justice if Col. Vindman were able to prosecute Gen. Flynn for his overtly seditious talk of a coup to overthrow the government he (Flynn) was sworn to protect.
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Minamar? Sounds like a Trump resort.
Does this officer and gentleman draw a pension?
And if so, why?
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this is from a few years back, but basically - because he’s retired - it’s very unlikely. he’s still receiving his military benefits after being convicted so…
https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_5a219b9fe4b0a02abe90ff6
“Flynn could commit murder today, and be convicted … and still retain his retired general status with pension,” one expert said.
( edits because the post button so often appears under the cut and paste buttons on my phone. and the bbs and firefox rarely agree on click/edit input location. )
not that it isn’t worth trying though. he’s getting more than 100k a year while giving traitorous speeches.
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Can a general be stripped of rank after retirement? Asking for a friend…
I hope you have friends in high places that can make it happen, then
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