ABC broadcast the LAPD Chief's press conference last night and he reiterated that LAPD does not enforce anything ICE is doing - can't stop it, can keep them from being attacked, but not helping.
He said they don't need National Guard and were not informed they were being sent. He said Donald Trump sent the National Guard, not governor of CA.
Yeah I saw that. I had already written the piece by then… but it wouldn’t publish until this morning. But I don’t see LAPD stopping ICE from terrorizing their residents either. I don’t see them de-escalating things. I don’t see them interposing themselves. I do see them continuing to shoot journalists with rubber bullets and using tear gas.
Did you/would you/could you send this proposal to Newsom, sir? Maybe post something formal here and a bunch of us will sign it (perhaps give it a tiny bit more weight)?? I’m being 💯serious.
Yes. You’ve put your finger on the pulse of why your great recommendation will not succeed. I’m afraid that after all these years of trying to correct, there remains a large Daryle Gates faction in the LAPD and will be fully aligned with the MAGAt goons if given the choice.
So the LAPD police chief can truly go fuck himself. Until they get on the side of their own residents? He can go fuck himself. CA residents are facing the abuse of the federal government, not the protesters.
The statement from the LAPD chief is only a way to cover their asses. "We aren't helping them!" Sure looks like it from across the line. If they aren't helping them, and they aren't helping US, well. There's only one group left to protect and its the only one LAPD has ever given a shit about: themselves.
It sounds too good. I think governance is knee jerked into breaking up protests not protecting them as freespeech, so yeah, I think I would do it if I were governor. How's the madness and anger of Trump to be confronted? The career criminal telling the country who is and who isn't criminals, this fuckin' guy!
I think that is much better thought through and expressed than all those people saying 'stay home and be safe, protest peacefully'.
You can protest as peacefully as you like, Trump's goons can and will still attack you and harm you. Much better to have the people whose job it is to protect the civilian population get in the way and clamp down on Trump's people hoping to light a fuse.
This is surely the only reason police forces arm themselves like military units. They don't need all their kit for doing their normal job.
Newsom has the power. CA has the voters to make it work. I am behind him 🇺🇸. COURAGE is defined as holding out one minute longer than your opponent. Winning by a nose is still a WIN. We have nothing to lose and our country to gain. "Freedoms just another word for nothing left to lose." ~Janis Joplin PLEASE NO BLOODSHED. Don't make Americans fight Americans. Let's make the Democracy work for us. We still do have the power. Nokings.org. Be loud. Be determined. Be peaceful and stay safe. We are the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 🇺🇸
Cannot fault the strategy outlined here. One problem is that many of the state forces are MAGA. The gov risks having a substantial portion of them standing down or worse, switching sides.
I normally loathe respectability politics but one buffer to MAGA desertion could be for large numbers of clean cut WASPy types to flood the streets, waving the flag, singing the national anthem. It's hard for Trump to claim he's quelling a migrant "invasion " when the people being shot at look like the nice mee maw down the street.
Love the shield idea. Newsome and Bonta are certainly saying CA doesn’t want the nationalized National Guard or — good heavens — Marines confronting citizens. And they’re suing — not just speaking out. So hope they take the next step and endorse the shield. And hope we stick together!!
A serious question. How do we get this post to the Dem governors, including Newsom? Sending it via the general email route will not work. Calling and suggesting it as a general citizen won’t work. If I do not have a connection, how can I be effective?
The people of California need to demand that their leaders do their jobs. That's the core principle of this piece. The people have a right to expect their civic leaders to provide for their collective defense and their collective security. That is (after all) the purpose of government.
Federalism is not just some idea that Republicans get to use when it suits them.
I saw Newsom this morning. I saw the various discussions and interviews.
It appears we're careening forward towards either morass or perhaps words, spiraling out of control.
I suppose we'll see.
However, the people of California have to demand better from their leaders. If they don't, well, no amount of emails or calls from outside matter.
Thank you. My son, D-I-L and two grandchildren live in LA. I will pass along this information. Neither of them have any political connections, but maybe they can think it through and come up with something. I appreciate your thoughtful replies when I ask my questions.
Excellent piece, but unless the governor’s deputize millions of its own citizens I can’t see our corrupt police forces getting between the citizens and the guard, or military!!
I have lived in CA my whole life. 60 years. This state has become a shit hole under Newscum. I have a right to make that statement because of the amount I am forced to pay in taxes, gas prices and electrify. This is supposed to be a Representative Republic.
Why is gas $4.75 in CA and $2.75 in Oklahoma which I visited a month ago?
Why are the PGE electric rates the highest in the country? Could it be that they are Newscum’s biggest donor and a convicted felon for murder? Could it be the Green scam?
Why was the reservoir empty when the LA fires ravaged the most expensive property in the state?
Why did Newscum lock down the state days after Covid started? Then go to the French Laundry which the average Californian would never be able to get a reservation?
Why is voter ID ILLEGAL in CA?
Why is the Democratic Party a super majority? See voter Id
Why are these “protesters” allowed to wave Mexican flags and burn people’s property?
Why is Bass so corrupt and incompetent yet still in office?
Why did Newscum remove the dams on the Kalamath River last year devastating the salmon, removed lakes used to fight fires and destroy communities and businesses?
Perhaps you should be investigating Newscum just like you do Trump. I am NOT a Trump fan
Appreciate your passion—and you're not alone in your frustration.
California is buckling under decades of structural mismanagement. But the story is bigger—and more unsettling—than just “Newscum” vs. “Trump.”
We’re not watching Democrats fail while Republicans win. We’re watching institutions collapse across the board. Energy policy is captured by monopolies. Voter trust is fractured. Climate adaptation is politicized. Infrastructure decays while elites—left, right, and corporate—retreat to French Laundry-level privilege.
Gas prices, PG&E corruption, water mismanagement, political immunity—this isn’t about one party. It’s the rise of a post-accountability state.
The answers to your questions could fill volumes. I’ve written about many of them. But the throughline is clear: neoliberalism run amok, politics without checks, and the slow-motion breakdown of institutions, restraint, and shared norms.
At The Long Memo, we’re not here to defend any political camp. We’re here to map how the system itself is mutating—and why more Americans like you are asking: what the hell happened to my country?
And just to be clear—my reply about California isn’t a defense of Gavin Newsom. It’s a warning.
You may believe California has been mismanaged. Fair enough—I won’t argue with much of that. But that discussion becomes irrelevant if the core principles of federalism are torched by invoking the Insurrection Act against a state that is not in rebellion.
If that breach happens—if protest is redefined as insurrection, and dissent is treated as sedition—then the whole compact collapses. The Union fractures. What follows is not accountability. It's authoritarianism masquerading as law.
And none of us will be immune. That is the point of my article, which I guess you didn't think was worthy of engagement.
Please don't misunderstand. While you and I do not see eye to eye on everything we agree on many, many things. That is why I am a paid subscriber. I appreciate reading your thoughts because it expands mine. I do agree with most of your article but are you aware the "protesters" PELTED CHP vehicles with rocks which caused them to abandon their cars and run for cover? This is being perpetuated by a very incompetent mayor Bass and Newscum. Newscum is dismantling this state while living in a $9M mansion. How does a career politician live there?
Yes—I’m aware protesters are clashing with CHP. And I’m also aware of why.
LAPD and LASD have a long, ugly track record of brutality. So when I said—half tongue-in-cheek—that maybe now they’ll have to actually protect and serve? That wasn’t sarcasm. That was history.
If the police stopped trying to suppress protest and instead focused on protecting people from ICE raids, much of this violence would likely deescalate. Instead, we’re watching a setup unfold.
Because let’s be real: what’s happening in LA feels engineered. Someone wants a flashpoint. The goal is clear—manufacture a Reichstag moment. Someone takes a shot (or is claimed to). Tensions explode. Federal force is justified. Martial authority consolidates. Precedent is set.
That’s the playbook. It’s not new. And it's not even being done well—just loud enough for effect.
Newsom, for all his many flaws, isn’t wrong about the intent behind this federal provocation. If this were just about deporting undocumented immigrants, there are protocols. Local-federal coordination happens all the time—on drug raids, gang sweeps, fugitive recovery. But that’s not what’s happening.
This isn’t about law enforcement. This is about optics, escalation, and baiting California into a constitutional crisis.
So let’s be clear: arresting a sitting governor under the pretense of "obstructing" federal law while his police are actively aiding federal agents would be a fatal breach of federalism. It would obliterate the Tenth Amendment and set a precedent for authoritarian centralization.
And while I don’t think California is well-run—hell, I’ve said as much—I also don’t mistake Newsom’s incompetence for justification to torch the Constitution. Frankly, his political career is probably over after this anyway. Same for Harris. Neither of them seems capable of handling this moment.
But that doesn’t mean the alternative is legitimate.
The deeper issue isn’t Newsom or Bass. It’s the post-1903 reality that the National Guard is no longer truly a state militia. It’s a federally-controlled paramilitary force—and that has consequences. What you’re seeing now is what the Founders feared when they debated standing armies on domestic soil.
This moment—ironically—is exactly what the Second Amendment was about.
A "well-regulated militia" wasn’t just about deer hunting or weekend target shooting. It was a failsafe against federal overreach. And now, in the state with the most aggressive gun control in America, we may be staring down the barrel of that very logic.
Again, we agree on far more than we disagree. I say the same things in different ways. I tell my wife that many people (including family and close friends) are in for a real surprise because their heads are buried in the sand. It truly scare the shit out of me. I will tell you what action I have taken so you know I am serious. 7 years ago next month we bought 10 rural acres. We do batches of meat chickens. We put 75 in the freezer in April. We have American Wagyu cattle. I have learned to slaughter and butcher animals. We have solar and a well. I am actively working on building a (larger) butcher shop. Far too many people are diving and lazy. I don’t know how this can be combatted. If I had a legit solution for bigger than me I would apply it
I don’t think you get California. I too have lived here my whole life, 60 years. The best thing about this state, which has led to broad prosperity and literally paying the bills of much of the rest of the country, is that most of us are live and let live. You cite legitimate issues, but also I bet you have had a decent career and live well today. All these people being rounded up and threatened by ICE have been employed by us and contribute to the economy. They build things, care for our children and elders, provide much of the state’s enormous food supply. I love the fact that I hear multiple languages and have access to a crazy number of cuisines. And regardless of your beef with the Governor or our liberal tendencies, I’m guessing you wouldn’t support Trump calling up our military to use against us. Please take a step back from “get off my lawn” to consider what is at stake.
You are hilarious. I don’t get CA. I will make the same deal I offer all my libritard friends. You pay my taxes, electric bill and fill my tank. Then you can do whatever you like. Yes, I have Worked and studied to have a 33 year career in IT. I EARNED IT. I also live in the Central Valley. We grow our own food (cattle). If I want to go sell said cattle at the farmer’s market that is illegal. Perhaps you would like to address the points I made vs telling me I don’t get why Newscum is the worse and most corrupt governor in our lifetimes?
“Which is precisely why, of course, the Democrats probably won’t do it” : Reading your good logic, I was thinking in the background, Newsome seems likely to tightrope his way through not confronting 47 with shield defense; possibly why the fascist mafia state is focusing on LA / first hard confrontation & not Boston.
Waaaay back in 1970 I was a political researcher for a New Jersey Senatorial candidate (he lost) and I discovered what we all know by now: WE BLUE STATES SUBSIDIZE THE LOSER RED STATES BY UP TO 30% OF THEIR REVENUE. Newsome hinted at what sounds like a great idea: threaten NOT to send their federal tax $$$ to the government and watch the RED states shrivel up. I wish all BLUE state governors would hint/threaten to do the same!
As a former California employer, I can tell you that federal withholding deposits do not go through the state of California but are made directly to federal banks. I guess I don’t see how the state can practically prevent that unless they ask depositors to send them to Sacramento. That places the employer in an awkward position, one I doubt they’ll assume.
ABC broadcast the LAPD Chief's press conference last night and he reiterated that LAPD does not enforce anything ICE is doing - can't stop it, can keep them from being attacked, but not helping.
He said they don't need National Guard and were not informed they were being sent. He said Donald Trump sent the National Guard, not governor of CA.
Yeah I saw that. I had already written the piece by then… but it wouldn’t publish until this morning. But I don’t see LAPD stopping ICE from terrorizing their residents either. I don’t see them de-escalating things. I don’t see them interposing themselves. I do see them continuing to shoot journalists with rubber bullets and using tear gas.
Sooooo mixed bag at best.
Did you/would you/could you send this proposal to Newsom, sir? Maybe post something formal here and a bunch of us will sign it (perhaps give it a tiny bit more weight)?? I’m being 💯serious.
Yes. You’ve put your finger on the pulse of why your great recommendation will not succeed. I’m afraid that after all these years of trying to correct, there remains a large Daryle Gates faction in the LAPD and will be fully aligned with the MAGAt goons if given the choice.
http://youtube.com/post/Ugkx3xWjV927VTlUFR0im2qJKZWqxF8nPEe1?si=zZfzp6bewKUtcr1Y
Look at the uniforms in those pics.
That’s not ICE or DHS.
So the LAPD police chief can truly go fuck himself. Until they get on the side of their own residents? He can go fuck himself. CA residents are facing the abuse of the federal government, not the protesters.
The statement from the LAPD chief is only a way to cover their asses. "We aren't helping them!" Sure looks like it from across the line. If they aren't helping them, and they aren't helping US, well. There's only one group left to protect and its the only one LAPD has ever given a shit about: themselves.
Hopefully one of your substack readers can pass along your excellent analysis and recommendations to the Governor and/or his staff.
It sounds too good. I think governance is knee jerked into breaking up protests not protecting them as freespeech, so yeah, I think I would do it if I were governor. How's the madness and anger of Trump to be confronted? The career criminal telling the country who is and who isn't criminals, this fuckin' guy!
Well said Nick!!
I think that is much better thought through and expressed than all those people saying 'stay home and be safe, protest peacefully'.
You can protest as peacefully as you like, Trump's goons can and will still attack you and harm you. Much better to have the people whose job it is to protect the civilian population get in the way and clamp down on Trump's people hoping to light a fuse.
This is surely the only reason police forces arm themselves like military units. They don't need all their kit for doing their normal job.
Newsom has the power. CA has the voters to make it work. I am behind him 🇺🇸. COURAGE is defined as holding out one minute longer than your opponent. Winning by a nose is still a WIN. We have nothing to lose and our country to gain. "Freedoms just another word for nothing left to lose." ~Janis Joplin PLEASE NO BLOODSHED. Don't make Americans fight Americans. Let's make the Democracy work for us. We still do have the power. Nokings.org. Be loud. Be determined. Be peaceful and stay safe. We are the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 🇺🇸
Cannot fault the strategy outlined here. One problem is that many of the state forces are MAGA. The gov risks having a substantial portion of them standing down or worse, switching sides.
I normally loathe respectability politics but one buffer to MAGA desertion could be for large numbers of clean cut WASPy types to flood the streets, waving the flag, singing the national anthem. It's hard for Trump to claim he's quelling a migrant "invasion " when the people being shot at look like the nice mee maw down the street.
This is brilliant! Send it to the gov or a staff member NOW.
Love the shield idea. Newsome and Bonta are certainly saying CA doesn’t want the nationalized National Guard or — good heavens — Marines confronting citizens. And they’re suing — not just speaking out. So hope they take the next step and endorse the shield. And hope we stick together!!
You have got to make sure your proposal get to the DGA and to Newsome individually! Please!
Well, I personally just applaud. Someone who is thinking about solutions instead of just as he said “screaming at the sky”
A serious question. How do we get this post to the Dem governors, including Newsom? Sending it via the general email route will not work. Calling and suggesting it as a general citizen won’t work. If I do not have a connection, how can I be effective?
The people of California need to demand that their leaders do their jobs. That's the core principle of this piece. The people have a right to expect their civic leaders to provide for their collective defense and their collective security. That is (after all) the purpose of government.
Federalism is not just some idea that Republicans get to use when it suits them.
I saw Newsom this morning. I saw the various discussions and interviews.
It appears we're careening forward towards either morass or perhaps words, spiraling out of control.
I suppose we'll see.
However, the people of California have to demand better from their leaders. If they don't, well, no amount of emails or calls from outside matter.
You (outsiders) can want it more than they do.
Thank you. My son, D-I-L and two grandchildren live in LA. I will pass along this information. Neither of them have any political connections, but maybe they can think it through and come up with something. I appreciate your thoughtful replies when I ask my questions.
Excellent piece, but unless the governor’s deputize millions of its own citizens I can’t see our corrupt police forces getting between the citizens and the guard, or military!!
William…several EO’s were signed while LA was distracting everyone. Interested in your take on the following post https://open.substack.com/pub/loricorbetmann/p/breaking-trump-signs-executive-orders?r=4dewtb&utm_medium=ios Thanks.
I have lived in CA my whole life. 60 years. This state has become a shit hole under Newscum. I have a right to make that statement because of the amount I am forced to pay in taxes, gas prices and electrify. This is supposed to be a Representative Republic.
Why is gas $4.75 in CA and $2.75 in Oklahoma which I visited a month ago?
Why are the PGE electric rates the highest in the country? Could it be that they are Newscum’s biggest donor and a convicted felon for murder? Could it be the Green scam?
Why was the reservoir empty when the LA fires ravaged the most expensive property in the state?
Why did Newscum lock down the state days after Covid started? Then go to the French Laundry which the average Californian would never be able to get a reservation?
Why is voter ID ILLEGAL in CA?
Why is the Democratic Party a super majority? See voter Id
Why are these “protesters” allowed to wave Mexican flags and burn people’s property?
Why is Bass so corrupt and incompetent yet still in office?
Why did Newscum remove the dams on the Kalamath River last year devastating the salmon, removed lakes used to fight fires and destroy communities and businesses?
Perhaps you should be investigating Newscum just like you do Trump. I am NOT a Trump fan
Appreciate your passion—and you're not alone in your frustration.
California is buckling under decades of structural mismanagement. But the story is bigger—and more unsettling—than just “Newscum” vs. “Trump.”
We’re not watching Democrats fail while Republicans win. We’re watching institutions collapse across the board. Energy policy is captured by monopolies. Voter trust is fractured. Climate adaptation is politicized. Infrastructure decays while elites—left, right, and corporate—retreat to French Laundry-level privilege.
Gas prices, PG&E corruption, water mismanagement, political immunity—this isn’t about one party. It’s the rise of a post-accountability state.
The answers to your questions could fill volumes. I’ve written about many of them. But the throughline is clear: neoliberalism run amok, politics without checks, and the slow-motion breakdown of institutions, restraint, and shared norms.
At The Long Memo, we’re not here to defend any political camp. We’re here to map how the system itself is mutating—and why more Americans like you are asking: what the hell happened to my country?
And just to be clear—my reply about California isn’t a defense of Gavin Newsom. It’s a warning.
You may believe California has been mismanaged. Fair enough—I won’t argue with much of that. But that discussion becomes irrelevant if the core principles of federalism are torched by invoking the Insurrection Act against a state that is not in rebellion.
If that breach happens—if protest is redefined as insurrection, and dissent is treated as sedition—then the whole compact collapses. The Union fractures. What follows is not accountability. It's authoritarianism masquerading as law.
And none of us will be immune. That is the point of my article, which I guess you didn't think was worthy of engagement.
Please don't misunderstand. While you and I do not see eye to eye on everything we agree on many, many things. That is why I am a paid subscriber. I appreciate reading your thoughts because it expands mine. I do agree with most of your article but are you aware the "protesters" PELTED CHP vehicles with rocks which caused them to abandon their cars and run for cover? This is being perpetuated by a very incompetent mayor Bass and Newscum. Newscum is dismantling this state while living in a $9M mansion. How does a career politician live there?
Yes—I’m aware protesters are clashing with CHP. And I’m also aware of why.
LAPD and LASD have a long, ugly track record of brutality. So when I said—half tongue-in-cheek—that maybe now they’ll have to actually protect and serve? That wasn’t sarcasm. That was history.
If the police stopped trying to suppress protest and instead focused on protecting people from ICE raids, much of this violence would likely deescalate. Instead, we’re watching a setup unfold.
Because let’s be real: what’s happening in LA feels engineered. Someone wants a flashpoint. The goal is clear—manufacture a Reichstag moment. Someone takes a shot (or is claimed to). Tensions explode. Federal force is justified. Martial authority consolidates. Precedent is set.
That’s the playbook. It’s not new. And it's not even being done well—just loud enough for effect.
Newsom, for all his many flaws, isn’t wrong about the intent behind this federal provocation. If this were just about deporting undocumented immigrants, there are protocols. Local-federal coordination happens all the time—on drug raids, gang sweeps, fugitive recovery. But that’s not what’s happening.
This isn’t about law enforcement. This is about optics, escalation, and baiting California into a constitutional crisis.
So let’s be clear: arresting a sitting governor under the pretense of "obstructing" federal law while his police are actively aiding federal agents would be a fatal breach of federalism. It would obliterate the Tenth Amendment and set a precedent for authoritarian centralization.
And while I don’t think California is well-run—hell, I’ve said as much—I also don’t mistake Newsom’s incompetence for justification to torch the Constitution. Frankly, his political career is probably over after this anyway. Same for Harris. Neither of them seems capable of handling this moment.
But that doesn’t mean the alternative is legitimate.
The deeper issue isn’t Newsom or Bass. It’s the post-1903 reality that the National Guard is no longer truly a state militia. It’s a federally-controlled paramilitary force—and that has consequences. What you’re seeing now is what the Founders feared when they debated standing armies on domestic soil.
This moment—ironically—is exactly what the Second Amendment was about.
A "well-regulated militia" wasn’t just about deer hunting or weekend target shooting. It was a failsafe against federal overreach. And now, in the state with the most aggressive gun control in America, we may be staring down the barrel of that very logic.
History doesn’t repeat. But it rhymes like hell.
Again, we agree on far more than we disagree. I say the same things in different ways. I tell my wife that many people (including family and close friends) are in for a real surprise because their heads are buried in the sand. It truly scare the shit out of me. I will tell you what action I have taken so you know I am serious. 7 years ago next month we bought 10 rural acres. We do batches of meat chickens. We put 75 in the freezer in April. We have American Wagyu cattle. I have learned to slaughter and butcher animals. We have solar and a well. I am actively working on building a (larger) butcher shop. Far too many people are diving and lazy. I don’t know how this can be combatted. If I had a legit solution for bigger than me I would apply it
I don’t think you get California. I too have lived here my whole life, 60 years. The best thing about this state, which has led to broad prosperity and literally paying the bills of much of the rest of the country, is that most of us are live and let live. You cite legitimate issues, but also I bet you have had a decent career and live well today. All these people being rounded up and threatened by ICE have been employed by us and contribute to the economy. They build things, care for our children and elders, provide much of the state’s enormous food supply. I love the fact that I hear multiple languages and have access to a crazy number of cuisines. And regardless of your beef with the Governor or our liberal tendencies, I’m guessing you wouldn’t support Trump calling up our military to use against us. Please take a step back from “get off my lawn” to consider what is at stake.
Thanks for your input Robin!!
You are hilarious. I don’t get CA. I will make the same deal I offer all my libritard friends. You pay my taxes, electric bill and fill my tank. Then you can do whatever you like. Yes, I have Worked and studied to have a 33 year career in IT. I EARNED IT. I also live in the Central Valley. We grow our own food (cattle). If I want to go sell said cattle at the farmer’s market that is illegal. Perhaps you would like to address the points I made vs telling me I don’t get why Newscum is the worse and most corrupt governor in our lifetimes?
Do you believe in one person\one vote? Governor Newsom was elected by the people exercising their popular franchise.
“Which is precisely why, of course, the Democrats probably won’t do it” : Reading your good logic, I was thinking in the background, Newsome seems likely to tightrope his way through not confronting 47 with shield defense; possibly why the fascist mafia state is focusing on LA / first hard confrontation & not Boston.
Waaaay back in 1970 I was a political researcher for a New Jersey Senatorial candidate (he lost) and I discovered what we all know by now: WE BLUE STATES SUBSIDIZE THE LOSER RED STATES BY UP TO 30% OF THEIR REVENUE. Newsome hinted at what sounds like a great idea: threaten NOT to send their federal tax $$$ to the government and watch the RED states shrivel up. I wish all BLUE state governors would hint/threaten to do the same!
As a former California employer, I can tell you that federal withholding deposits do not go through the state of California but are made directly to federal banks. I guess I don’t see how the state can practically prevent that unless they ask depositors to send them to Sacramento. That places the employer in an awkward position, one I doubt they’ll assume.
Gavin.newsom@gov.ca.gov. If lots of people use this email, they will notice.