We’re living in a topsy-turvy world.
One of our congressmen yelled at the secretary of defense in a hearing about whether the Trump administration could legally send Marines to the streets of Los Angeles.
One of our state’s U.S. senators was physically removed from the secretary of homeland security’s news conference about the federal government’s presence in Los Angeles and thrown to the ground.
What is happening?
U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal took his five minutes of grilling Pete Hegseth as an opportunity to belittle and berate him. Did he deserve it? Maybe. Was it a perfect moment for a soundbite? Absolutely. Did he persuade Hegseth to see things his way? Nope. Did it accomplish anything? It drove the wedge deeper through the topsoil of the United States of America.
But, I’ve gotta say. It was something.
Carbajal called Hegseth an “embarrassment to the United States” more than once during the June 12 hearing about the Marine situation. The man is an embarrassment for many reasons … hello, text messaging details of a military airstrike to randoms.
But, Hegseth also sent 700 Marines to join 4,700 other military personnel who were already deployed in Los Angeles. And they all joined a gigantic police force that had already amassed there with the help of mutual aid from other California cities and counties—including SLO and Santa Barbara counties.
Carbajal served in the Marine Corps: “We are trained to be war fighters, not crowd control,” he told Hegseth.
The initial protest that all of these troops were responding to? It had 250 people, according to Gov. Gavin Newsom. In response to the federal government’s overblown response? It grew to thousands.
What kind of stand-off do you think the Trump administration was looking for? One that could be replayed repeatedly on Fox News for the Trumpkins who watch it incessantly. One that paints California as a liberal bastion of troublemaking, socialist ne’er-do-wells who deserve to be stamped out by the federal government.
Allowing people who disagree with federal policy to practice their First Amendment rights is a slippery slope, you know? One step away from chaos, rioting, and violence. Tsk. Tsk. Send in the troops!
Hegseth was happy to oblige! But Carbajal wasn’t having it. He called the deployment “politicizing our army” and “political theater.”
Carbajal’s not wrong. It feels like we’re living in a reality TV show, a satire about the U.S. But I can’t seem to fall asleep on the couch long enough for the show to actually end.
Our congressman also asked several yes or no questions of the secretary, who refused to respond in kind.
“This isn’t Fox anymore, just yes or no,” Carbajal told him. “You should get the hell out and let someone competent lead this department.”
Carbajal, every opportunity to speak is a potential Fox News clip. Duh!
Our congressman certainly took the opportunity to engage in some political theater of his own. Maybe he was hoping for a spot on the The Rachel Maddow Show or even The Daily Show?
After Carbajal’s little spin at the microphone, everyone in the chamber got a reminder about acting with decorum.
Tsk. Tsk.
U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California) showed up to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem‘s press conference in LA about ICE to ask some questions. Not cool.
As he walked toward Noem and tried to ask a question, the Secret Service grabbed him, he struggled, they pulled him out of the room, pushed him down the hall, and then pushed him to the ground. It’s shocking, scary to think that if someone as powerful as a senator can be detained for questioning the administration, then WTF are the rest of us supposed to do?
Noem claimed she didn’t know he was a senator. She doesn’t know what habeas corpus is either—you know, it’s used to determine whether a prisoner’s detention is legal—so I guess you can’t blame her.
Padilla spoke about the episode with emotion during a hearing about it on June 17.
“You’ve seen the video. I was pushed, pulled, and struggled to maintain my balance. I was forced to the ground, first my knees and then flat on my chest,” Padilla said. “If you watched what unfolded last week and thought what happened is just about one politician and one press conference, you’re missing the point.”
He added that he wanted transparency for the administration but hadn’t received any sort of justification for the ICE raids in LA.
Well, the justification is that the president is demanding 3,000 arrests per day.
Even though Trumplethinskin promised ICE would only be arresting and detaining undocumented immigrants who had committed crimes, turns out they’re pretty hard to find. You know who’s not hard to find? People who have to go to work.
Ironically, what’s going to happen is that all the people who contribute to our economy are going to disappear. What we’ll be left with are all the people who are hard to find. Sounds pretty unjustifiable.
In fact, it’s dangerous. All of it. The precedent-setting that continues to come from the administration. The devolution of our political dialogue. The price we are all paying in devotion to our chosen teams. Seeing others as less than human.
I’m not sure when we will turn everything back around. But I’m ready to wake up now. ∆
The Shredder can’t find the remote. Send one to shredder@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Winning Images 2025.
As a veteran myself, 1/12FA, I can say that being a veteran doesn’t somehow imbue a person with magical powers or some innate quality that sets one’s self above others. What it does do is demonstrate actual sacrifice, the ultimate sacrifice for some, and the ability to back up one’s professed love for country with actual action. This stupid bickering between our unpopular Rep. Salud Carbajal and DefSec Pete Hegseth is actually disgraceful and tarnishes the men and women of our military services. As much as I can’t stand certain public figures who are veterans, Tim Walz, I will never question their patriotism or call them an “embarrassment to the United States” as our local and unpopular, grandstanding Rep. Carbajal. Mr. Carbajal is in do position to call anyone a “disgrace to the United States.” The real “disgraces to the United States” are the members of his party or adjacent to it burning American flags and waving foreign flags as they do it in large American cities. The “disgrace to the United States” are anyone who comes to this country legally or illegally and expects to not have their welcome worn out by throwing blocks of cement at federal agents as the work to remove the millions of illegal aliens in our country. You aren’t American unless you were born here or swore an oath to the United States as part of the naturalization process. Anyone else is either a guest here or here illegally. The real “disgrace to the United States” are those who vote for war. The real “disgrace to the United States” is the vote Rep.Salud Carbajal cast against the DHS Restrictions on Confucius Institutes and Chinese Entities of Concern Act [https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congre…] This Act would have restricted funding to an institution of higher learning that has a relationship with the Confucius Institute. The Confucius Institute is simply billed as an organization that promotes cross cultural exchange but in reality is a front group for the CCP. This group monitors Chinese students on campus and other nefarious activity. At a time when Chinese nationals get busted arriving or departing with undeclared biological items or stolen technology on a daily basis, Salud Carbajal voted against a Chinese Communist Party front group. At a time when our biggest economic competitor continues to close their markets to our farmers and Finance Insurance Real Estate sectors, communist China’s biggest friend, Rep. Carbajal, insults our Defense Secretary and encourages their presence on college campuses by voting against H.R. 881. When American’s in Rep. Carbajal can’t find work in a factory anymore because factory jobs have been exported to China and when the building trades no longer pay a living wage because they have been taken over by illegal immigrants, you can thank Salud Carbajal. I would encourage every single American in his district to vote him out of office at the earliest opportunity. He and his party have no interest in the well being of actual Americans. Despite what Donald Trump may be about to do and possibly permanently destroy America by waging war with Iran, I will never vote Democrat again. We cannot let Salud Carbajal and others just like him, put the well being of people that shouldn’t even be in the United States ahead of those already here. There aren’t enough jobs for Americans, why should we be letting millions of immigrants in to compete with what is left?
Regarding sending the National Guard into LA to defend federal agents, does anyone really think John F. Kennedy actually needed George Wallace’s permission to send in active duty or national guard troops into Alabama to enforce racial integration? No.
*Correction:
“…Salud Carbajal voted against a Chinese Communist Party front group.” Should read “…voted FOR a Chinese Communist Party front group.”
Going blind, typing with cellphone.
Despite Iran’s sordid history with the US to include facilitating to bombing of Marine Corp barracks, holding Americans hostage, etc., it has a right to atomic energy. As much as I count Israel as one of our best allies, if with the collusion of the US, Israel attacks Iran, both Israel and the US will be guilty of a war of aggression. This would be similar to Nazi Germany invading Poland.
Attacking Iran will spell the end of Israel and Israeli cities will look like the Gaza strip. It will also end what is left of our economy. Public services will end, the government will (finally) go after concentrated wealth, all to fund another contrived war. Martial law, a general draft of military age men will occur, and curfews will happen. Secret police will be given extraordinary power and certain racial groups will be targeted. America will look like Nazi Germany and Orwell’s “1984” combined. Our economy will come to dead stop and banks will collapse, bread lines, ration coupons, and price controls will be enacted to prevent runaway inflation and a serious black market will develope along with an explosion of crime.
This is it, ladies and gentleman. America’s hail Mary before complete implosion. Might as well start buying war bonds and growing a victory garden. The kids can collect scrap metal for the war department.
Thank You Shredder for your excellent observations and analysis! It is a “topsy turvy world” indeed.
The chaos and distraction is much like what we see in Russian media and propaganda.
Putin has taught his reality TV star and puppet very well.
It sure looks like Putin gave his playbook on how to overthrow a democracy in 900 easy steps, in the form of Project 2025, to Trump and the Heritage Foundation. And they are implementing every word.
Thanks again Shredder!
It’s official, I just updated and changed my party affiliation from Democrat to Republican though I voted Republican last cycle.
Further, due to my union’s support for recently arrested David Huerta of the SEIU as explained in a letter to union members, I am proudly in the process of withdrawing my membership.
It’s sad it has gotten to this point but how can one tolerate watching a bunch far leftists, ethno-centrists from south of the border, stomp on, burn, and tarnish the very flag of the very country that has given them sustenance? I’ve got as much of an ax to grind as any of them, foes nothing but alienate them from the rest of America. Should we abandon California all together? I can’t tell you how many people I know who have left.