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Notes -
ICE Needs Better Uniforms
Everyone's in favor of immigration enforcement until the masked goons in unmarked SUVs show up. Are a lot of these complaints pretextual? Sure. But it is hard to deny that ICE looks unprofessional. Law enforcement must command respect, or failing that, fear. Why are they in camo pants? Are they hunting illegals from covered positions with tranquilizer darts like deer? Such attire projects weakness. Our officers must be dignified, projecting the full power and majesty of the federal government, the greatest instituion God ever gave man.
There is an idea in the water supply that cool uniforms are fascism. People are far too afraid of ever doing anything that the Nazis might also have done. Still, aesthetics that conjure images of 1930s Germany are to be avoided (that means you Greg). I propose looking back even further for inspiration. 1914 was the last time regular armies in battle uniform looked cool. This sort of style would both pay homage to the heritage that the DHS Twitter account seems to think it is protecting, and project an aura of seriousness and respect.
Because it's 2026, I have created a small album of AI-generated concept art. Feel free to offer your own suggestions.
I can squint and see where the comparisons are coming from, but Bovino's coat looks much more like an M1939 US Army wool overcoat (link is to reproduction) than any German historical examples I can find, which seem to all have different lapels and mostly aren't olive green. And WWII US army issue kit is as definitionally anti-fascist as you can get. This page has a picture of Japanese-American troops in the highly-decorated 442nd wearing these coats.
It's kind of curious in this context that the US national eagle adorning the entrance of the Epinal American Cemetery, as pictured on that site, is an almost perfect copy of the Nazi imperial eagle. (The eagle decorating the entrance of the Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery in Belgium, on the other hand, is pretty much a copy of the Nazi Party eagle. The difference is kindly explained on Wikipedia.)
Aren't there also literal fasces in some of the US government buildings?
Indeed, but unlike these eagles, those predate the Italian fascist movement.
The ceiling painting in the Painted Hall in Greenwich, London is an allegorical depiction of the Hanoverians bringing the blessings of liberty to Europe and trampling Tyranny (as represented by Louis XIV) underfoot. The angels blessing him hold fasces, which was seen as a sign of ordered liberty at the time, by analogy with the Roman Republic. The docent who provided this explanation was not embarassed by it, although some of the other tourists were.
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