Kidnapping useless pols is a trend I would like to see rise in popularity.
Or outright assassination by people who have reached the "nothing to loose" stage. I agree with the story assessment that it will be small, unaffiliated groups or individuals carrying out such actions. The State will try to smear political groups like the Tea Party with the actions of these individuals, and of course use it to bolster thier "home-grown" terrorism angle. Of course the only people being terrorized will be the politicians - not the general public..
I will not overly dwell on the timeline and particulars, but waiting until 2020 for significant push back to start given our current sorry state is depressing.
I found that timeline quite convincing - these things will happen only when people feel trapped - and things have to be bad for that to happen. So final phase of the collapse being 2016 or so when the petrodollar arrangement with OPEC fails, due to war, caliphate interference, or a big BRICs currency deal (or all three) and inflation really beings to ramp-- may NOT be hyperinflation either - maybe "just" 15-20% a year... All of the TPTB - foreign and domestic want a slow burn..so they can get maximum return from their hoarded dollars, so they will use every trick to prevent this turning into Hyperinflation. But 4 years of that and you are at 2020, with most squatting in their houses, eating only what EBT will buy, and suffering at the hands of gangs and thugs because the police are underfunded , ill paid and no longer willing to risk their lives..
Nullification and rampant inflation/devaluation seem likely but the chaos ensuing seems underplayed and the corresponding strength and authority of Fedville overplayed.
I agree. The Feds would have been loosing power continuously. They probably couldn't field or feed an Army. The folks in Maine would have more problems with Gang/raiding party activity crossing their borders than Fedcoats... I do expect mostly rural areas to remain outside most of the havoc. Everyone is armed, everyone usually knows everyone else by sight if not by name, and they have a much better idea who the outsiders are.. as Gas grows expensive travel becomes more difficult and this just increases that effect. But there is such a thing as too rural and not rural enough. I suspect Maine is in the latter category - East cost population density is still too damn high.
And I found the infiltration of LEO & military units (in general) to be overstated. And with the ruined economy I don't think the Feds could field much in assets and personnel unless they allow them autonomy to forage and plunder and rape at will, and in that event the risk of a coup grows.
They had even infiltrated some media outlets.. and I don't believe it. AT best our LEO and Military filtration will be 50% to start and declining as people resign, are booted out or simply offed - and that process has ALREADY started.
But the biggest flaw - at no point in this timeline was there an attempt at gun, gun accessory and ammo ban/seizure.
Well, no, that is not a flaw. This is the optimistic scenario where the Political Class as a whole has no real political agenda is just trying to hold onto their power and position , and there isn't a concerted and coordinated effort by some ideologically true-believer Cabal to subdue Americans under a police state. The scenario describes has several humors anecdotes where their ideology is what is tripping them up...( 42nd Division etc) though one could argue that for such a cabal, ideology could be a cover for their power grab - not the end goal.
If we are just dealing with incompetence, and Gun registration and gun confiscation remain political hot topics - the poll driven politicians won't touch it. They will just ride the gravy train till it stops, be thankful for their good run and retire to some nice island somewhere. I think this becomes especially true at more local levels of government.
I admit still possible that Obama and his handlers really have no agenda beyond enriching themselves, and enough ideology that they just bumble around hurting Americas with the best of intentions. (but I don't believe that)
Instead I believe the Obama administration is very likely a ideologically driven cabal with evil intent, and many local Leftist Fascists were emboldened by that - and did not realize that they could be recalled or forced to resign, and their party wouldn't be able to protect them.
If your main goal in life is to maintain power and position, you are going to notice when other party members are asked to fall on their swords, and be more careful in the future of endeavors that might lead you to the same result. Part of Obama's congress problem are the Democrats themselves. He and their leadership told them - trust me - Vote for Obamacare, it will be great. They did, and now it hangs like an albatross around most of their necks. The true believers are happy they did it of course. Those who just want the perks and power and a good long run on the gravy train, are less pleased. Not all Democratic (or GOP) politicians are true believers-- its probably not even a majority.. and power hungry narcissist sociopaths ( because all politicians are) make poor foot soldiers for the "true believer" cause. Who knows how many do what they do simply because the Dems run like "The Firm", and have NSA dig up dirt and threaten to expose it if a member gets out of line.
In a scenario where most politicians are just running out the clock and getting what they can before midnight, you won't find a lot of volunteers for suicide missions - and gun control/confiscation is a suicide mission. This is why you see Obama relying more and more on Federal might and executive orders.
Even if the Cabal can execute -- A gun round up is a sure fire way to start the 2nd revolution - and not just with some fringe extremist group in Maine or a rebellious state, but with 1/3 of the American people. They won't go there until things are so bad that they can justify martial law, and even then I doubt they can get away with it - unless they are going full Nazi and willing to kill 30-40 Million at minimum... as in the Ebola, report to the FEMA Camp for treatment scenario.
Otherwise, after living in what amounts to a war zone for a few weeks, very few people are going to surrender their only defense and "trust" the National Guard or Army can restore order and protect them. Boston and other rich liberal enclaves may comply, but by and large its not going to happen. Any real attempt makes it open season on badges if word gets out. Badges who are NOT fighting for a cause, are paid poorly, and who have their own families to worry about.
SO really, I think a forceful gun confiscation is unlikely in either scenario - at least if the Cabal is not so blinded by its reflexive pursuit of ideology to ignore the reality on the ground. If it is so blinded (as they were in this story) , they will be easy to defeat.
Its far more likely they would spread ebola ( or an ebola-like) disease and then use NSA records to sort out who they wanted to keep, and who they wanted to kill and then use quarantine powers to legitimately arrest those who were "infected" with a love of freedom( which is usually indicated by a compulsive need to cling to guns and bibles.) That way there is reasonable doubt about government intentions ( they are just trying to help and protect the public) and more people will comply. They can explain why large areas are going radio dead (communications were cut off to prevent a public panic) , and target just the folks on their list. None of us here would comply I think, and would take one with us, but I suspect that we are a minority, and not enough to stop this thing in its tracks. They may just throw a canister of real ebola ( or nerve agent ) into any house that resists (or is expected by their NSA records to resist) and just report 4 found dead of Ebola and move on. The could just firebomb /nuke /gas large areas they they feel are too conservative to process. (Opps, plague wiped them all out. Too bad. ) There really isn't any reason to really let a real pathogen get loose.. you just need the fear involved with one. I suspect the problem they would fight with is getting the sheep to understand there is a danger and get them to pay attention long enough to panic. After all - a financial collapse wasn't enough..