We are under attack. There is no other explanation. Executing innocent people in the street like this was Haiti or Rwanda or South Sudan. I would like someone from the neo-Soviet death cult called MAGA to explain how that is making things "great" (because it really isn't).
What we see—from lethal force to enforced impunity—is an abuse of authority and a hallmark of authoritarian governance. We will not be able to abolish ICE. We can disarm them without much trouble. We must move to disarm ICE. There is no logical reason for them to be armed. They are not ever shot at and if they were they should stop what they are doing and call the FBI, DEA, ATF or state and local police to take care of it.
When the Democrats' progressive wing campaigned with the slogan "abolish ICE" I thought that while I'd have no problem were it to happen, the phrasing was just to inflammatory and worked against the progressive case.
Now not only do I think the slogan is timely, I wouldn't be surprised if the polls revealed it had majority support, or at least support of a sizeable minority, of the population at large.
ICE is little more than Hitler's Brownshirts moved to the 2020s.
yes,. once again, the progressives were right then, and even more right now.
All of us that protested DHS when it was first formed and were told by the 'moderates' that it was necessary - we were right then too.
And yes, polls from recent days show that a majority of US citizens support abolishing ICE...There is no doubt those numbers will increase over the coming days.
I was one of those minority voices. The use of the word "homeland" has always felt beyond creepy to me. And look, here the agency is going WAY beyond creepy.
Knee-jerk reactions (we gotta do something) in general, and to 9/11 in particular don't go well. Long range consequences are never taken into account. DHS, ICE, and the Patriot Act are examples of this. We are now living the long range consequences.
Yes, it creeped me out too that GW Bush was adopting a term used by Hitler. As I was horrified by that 'war on terror' language.. The popularization of the word 'terror' should never have happened.
Ivan, i have been saying, since January last year, that ICE is Trump's version of Hitler's Brownshirts. They are street thugs and bully boys who served no purpose other than to create chaos and intimidation. IMHO, ICE should either be completely restructured with new leadership, starting with Noem, or disbanded altogether. ICE's apparent purpose is facilitate a Trump autocracy with Loose Cannon as authoritarian in chief!
It has to happen. Looking at that photo of strutting brownshirts in Minneapolis, I simply wonder -- who the hell are these little pissants with guns? Who the f--- do they think they are?
Once the fish is poisoned from the head down, you don't keep the body that's already rotten. You chuck the whole thing out and start looking at why your refrigeration system went on the blink.
Disarming them is the better call. Every nation needs good and persons entering their countries to be inspected. Change the name, impose rules for recruitment and training, but if we go the "Defund the Police" route, there will be a backlash we don't need when we're trying to gain supporters.
We already have the Border Patrol, and did have the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) to handle the people entering and remaining in this country. This jack-booted, masked band of thugs is unneeded and presents a foul image of the country.
The current iteration of border control and immigration enforcement does need to go, but we need enforcement bodies. But ones that are constituted to follow the rule of law and rules of decency.
Should a Democrat win the White House in 2028 (from my keyboard to The Lord's eyes) I think that's what we will see-- an executive order banning balaclava masks, requiring them to wear their badges (both might be waived with a warrant signed by a Federal Judge provided there's strong justification), limiting their role and having much better training than the goon squad that ICE is right now.
Executive orders can just be eliminated by the next Administration, I would suggest putting the ban you suggest into legislation which makes it much harder to eliminate and shows who votes for it.
Good point. But executive orders take effect immediately, so it will give a bridge while Congress pulls its thumb out of its butt and actually does something. Don't forget that most times, even with a Democratic majority in both Houses, Congress can barely manage to pass gas, let along pass a law!
There is no reason for ICE to receive any funding.
Trump, Miller and thr GOP have for de ages cynically used immigrants as a political tool in gin up resentment fear and hatred, and to distract their base.
WHY did thr GOP drop their support for a bipartisan immigration bill in 2024? Because Trump didn't like it.
I think most Americans would support thoughtful, sensible immigration reform.
Provide a pathway for undocumented immigrants to become citizens.
Focus a drastically reformed ICE or successor agency (reform recruitment-NO MORE reaching out to thugs; reinstate training based on the rule of law)on cases that involve immigrants convicted of serious crimes.
But first, get ICE and the Border Patrol out of our cities.
I've been teaching the history of the Holocaust and fascism for decades, in HS. My school has made national news many times in the past year because we're the only minority-majority school in one of the very whitest states in the country.
None of this is surprising to me at all. We've been on this track toward fascism since the Florida Recount. And I unfortunately believe it will get worse before it gets better.
Got a protest in 90 minutes. Unfortunately timed with the exact arrival time of our blizzard.
I don't normally like to invoke Hitler, because he truly was singularly evil and it diminishes his evil to compare him to someone else. Normally I use Mussolini as the analogy, but Don the Con is pushing me to invoking Schickelgruber.
Oh yes we will. If Congress can get off of their collective butts and disband Homeland Security and ICE, it can be done. They formed it, they can deform it. We must demand it.
Where o where is TACO Don? It's time to end your war on America.
Two hundred million Americans want lethally armed ICE and CBP foot soldiers out of US cities. We want local police enabled to do their jobs We want Stephen Miller, Kristi Noem and Don Bovino fired.
In 2024, 16,000 Americas died from gun shots in a homicides. How many of these homicides were a result of illegal immigrant gangs?
And how many were a result of Americans shooting other Americans?
And how many will result from ICE and CBP officers killing Americans exercising their constitutional rights to assembly and free speech?
He can’t; we are not subdued, cowering at his feet yet. Like with Greenland, voluntary compliance (via existing treaties that gave him everything he said he wanted) Is not enough; he has to take it by force, his narcissist ego demands it.
We could also relatively easily make it illegal for officers of the government to do their jobs while wearing masks and other means of hiding their identity. Masked people will do things that they would NEVER do if they were not masked. That has been proven over and over by psychologists. Unmask the thugs!
Exactly. And despite the euphoric lawlessness of the current regime, we DO need a Congress with a conscience passing laws to prohibit this stuff. I doubt in the past people thought we needed a federal law prohibiting law enforcement to mask for facial concealment and hide their identity. But, speaking of lawlessness, until the heartless and feckless Supreme Court majority overturn their bullshit "the president can commit any crimes they want to any time and use the power of the pardon to make lawlessness safe for thugs" decision, there is no reason for anyone who in any way is tied to the Executive Branch to obey any damn law. A ten-year old could understand that. Yet these "learned" idiots (the Justices) seem to have been clueless.
Supreme Court reform is a whole other and worthy topic.
I would start with: 1) term limits (suggest 25 years), 2) age limits (suggest 80), and 3) an enforceable ethics code (desperately needed given Thomas' and Alito's (especially) fondness for all things private, huge, or fast).
They do it--and will continue to do it--because RW media led by FOX News, cheers and normalizes ICE's appalling behavior, and defends the lies Administration flunkies toss out.
Regarding the recent murder of Renee Good, FOX News uncritically parroted the various Administration smears against the deceased, claiming that she was a professional paid agitator who used her vehicle to ram ICE officers; and then presented only the (two) camera clips taken from angles that made it unclear whether Good was trying to hit the officers; and omitting the two recordings that made it perfectly clear she was turning away from the officers when one of them murdered her. They did essentially the same thing with the murder yesterday of Alex Pretti.
Because of FOX News and RW media, MAGA really has no fricking idea what Trump2 is really doing. When Trump's threats against Denmark brought us to the brink of war last week with the 500 million citizens of the NATO alliance, FOX spun it as a brilliant "3d chess move" straight out of an Art of the Deal masterclass.
Until or unless FOX News and RW media can be required to tell the truth, and hold GOP politicians to account when they lie, nothing will change.
It is such a paradox that in this Age of Information: the truth is so hard to come to light! I found Ms. Noem’s composure and perfect make up at her press conference chilling. I’m frightened. The ease which with her words oozed out. I sit and watch the news, frozen—when the story feels so very off. The price of lies is so very high. Paralyzing fear of propaganda. While our president hollers like the red queen in Alice in Wonderland: re the NYTimes, or any of his adversaries: “off with their head! “. I take a deep breath. I tell myself again, something I read in wisdom literature: “everything that is hidden, will be revealed.” I wait in hope. And with gratitude for independent media. Thank you for your coverage!
There aren't many advertisers who still use FOX News; the network makes almost all of its money from carriage fees negotiated direct with the cable companies. Boycott any cable bundle that includes FOX. At least until they start telling the truth.
Just don't watch any sports that are broadcast on Fox or CBS. They are broadcasting today's Conference Championships. Ratings are how they charge for advertising and pay bills. I suggest watching any of The Lion King, Princess Bride, Star Wars, Harry Potter or The Matrix as examples of how good triumphs over evil instead.
Among all the horrors happening now, I hope Contrarian readers also consider this:
Everything we are now seeing - people being abducted off the street and from their homes, citizens being executed in the streets, then labeled terrorists with no evidence....this is just a taste of what the US has been funding and supporting and enabling in the Occupied Territories for generations.
Everything ICE is doing now is normal operation procedure for the IDF.
May I humbly correct you on the use of the term executed. An execution is the final act of punishment for a capital crime after a trial, conviction and verdict. There was no due process for either Renee Good or Alex Pretti. They were murdered in cold blood by operatives of ICE that taxpayers funded. This must cease.
It was a regime sanctioned extrajudicial execution. They don't care about the identity of the person. They have a blanket authorization to execute any of us who dare resist.
I think Agent Orange wants to make all immigrants from "sh**hole countries" feel at home here, adding the US to a growing list of "sh**hole countries".
Speeches on the senate floor won’t do anything. Local officials need to indict and convict the murderers. Murder is a state crime that the orange felon can’t pardon.
But....crickets from the GOP is particularly deafening. Just imagine, if you can, the shrieking and grinding of teeth from Hannity, FOX in general, and the GOP if Obama were still in charge.
Congressional Democrats need to go to Minnesota. They need to attend the memorials in force. They need to show solidarity and support for our fellow Americans in Minnesota who have found themselves in the forefront of the fight to preserve the Constitution and our democratic way of life.
Murder is also a Federal crime. What the Feds have done in the past is to charge the criminal at the Federal level and then exonerate or pardon him. The Constitution states that you can't prosecute someone twice for the same crime, so that prevents prosecution at the State level. They tried this in the Ruby Ridge FBI murder case. It failed there.
Democrats need to all stand together (Senators, Governors, AGs, even mayors) and denounce this. Say they stand with Gov. Walz against the terrorism and extortion of the Trump regime. They should call for the impeachment of Kristi Noem and the firing of Homan and Bovino. Get loud and show solidarity. That's what the people of Minneapolis and St. Paul are doing, at the risk of their lives and livelihoods. Surely they can do as much, maybe risking re-election. Although truth be told, I think it would improve their re-election chances in most places.
Ostrich-like behavior is no longer an option. We've seen it happen in cities around the country. A belief that "it can't happen here" should now be impossible. It can and it has, even in our little town of Staunton Illinois.
The only question here is when is enough enough to move the spineless Republican members of congress to finally honor the Constitutional oaths they took and to stop this carnage.
The Administration won’t alter its disastrous trajectory. Trump supporters are just digging in their heels. They’ve now spent so much time defending the indefensible that they can no longer afford to admit error.
Deep down we know that only some final moment of awfulness will be sufficient to blow the top off the Trumpist volcano. January 6th was not enough. DOGE was not enough. Cooperation with Putin and abandonment of Ukraine was not enough. Slaughter on the high seas was not enough. Invading Venezuela was not enough. DAVOS and the denial of NATO was not enough. Greenland was not enough. Renee Good was not enough. Now we get to see if Alex Pretti is enough.
Bob Dylan once asked. “How many deaths will it take until (they) know that too many people have died?” The answer is still ‘blowin’ in the wind’.
I recommend a point made by HCR that Customs and Border Patrol is a separate command from ICE (I do not know if that is correct or not). But I make the point because it appears that CBP personnel were the killers in this instance and were in that of Renée Good. It would appear that CBP is becoming a killer squad to make examples and deliver provocations.
If you want to better understand the Customs & Border Patrol and its history of lawlessness- I highly recommend the documentary “Critical Incident, Death at the Border”.
It’s streaming now on HBO and I think it’s available on Amazon Prime.
It focuses on a 2010 killing by CBP- what struck me is CBP doesn’t consider itself to be law enforcement; they refer to themselves as paramilitary. The film documents CBP lying about the killing, lying about having an internal hit squad used to investigate and cover up murders committed by CBP, and how CBP actively lies to and interferes with local police/ local police investigations of CBP killings. Sound familiar? CBP has been doing this for about 90 years- the difference is they are usually murdering foreign nationals at the border. Now that lawless, violent behavior is being directed at US citizens in our cities and towns in the interior of the country.
If something is broken- you fix it.
If something is broken and can’t be fixed or actively resists being fixed, you get rid of it and replace it with something that works.
CBP & ICE are broken and won’t be fixed- time to tear it all down to the studs and build something that works.
We used to have the INS (Imigration and Naturalization Services). Why did we need to develop the militarized/politicized entities? Homeland Security was always a bad idea; a knee-jerk reaction to 9/11, and the long range consequences weren't examined. We're now living them.
I have been calling my senators and representatives every day this last week urging them to vote no on the budget bill’s provisions for ICE, asking to defund DHS, and this morning I learned that my senator has said he will vote no. I have started calling my state senators and state rep now too because I think we need to take action at the local level in our fight. I looked them up because I had no idea who they even were. I keep a tally of every call I make on my fridge with a motivating message for me to not give up. I am also getting involved in my local church’s community support network to start preparing for helping our neighbors when ICE comes here. As Jen said, we can’t do everything, but we all must do something. Words are not enough. We must take action.
Your senator said that he would vote no. Watch the result of the roll call voting. These people change their minds when it comes to actually voting to support something. In other words, to use a Reagan era phrase, "trust, but verify."
And yet seven House Democrats joined in voting to fund Department of Homeland Security with only token restrictions. That may have been the worse vote of their careers.
Those 7 b*st*rds need to get primaried out of office come primary season!
Henry Cuellar (Texas), Tom Suozzi (New York), Vicente Gonzalez (Texas), Laura Gillen (New York), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Washington), Jared Golden (Maine), and Don Davis (North Carolina).
Maybe a serious primary challenge will help them see things more clearly.
I am urgently requesting that all concerned Americans write to their Congressmen and woman. Now is the time. If they do not respond when fellow Americans are being murdered, they do NOT deserve to be in office. That includes you, Senator Collins of Maine.
Sadly, my SC Congressional representatives basically flick their fingers at me, as they would do when shooing a fly. I write, call and continuously let them know my thoughts and they all send mansplaining letters and emails telling me why I'm wrong. 👿🤬
Then it is time to march down to their offices and insist on representation. The time is NOW. If we fall any further into this terrifyingly corrupt cesspool, America will be gone and there will be no government.
In South Carolina we have a difficult road to travel to get them out. Only a few countries are purple. One county is blue. This is the heart of support for Graham. I want them all votes out. I hope pediatrician candidate Annie Andrews MD will be able to rouse voters to a common sense position. I'm supporting her. Tim Scott is a real puzzle. He seems to want to be a toady for all that is wrong in the GOP. He was mentioned by conservative Christians and Torres the line for Trump. I wish a viable candidate would replace him in the Senate.
In South Carolina we have a difficult road to travel to get them out. Only a few countries are purple. One county is blue. This is the heart of support for Graham. I want them all votes out. I hope pediatrician candidate Annie Andrews MD will be able to rouse voters to a common sense position. I'm supporting her. Tim Scott is a real puzzle. He seems to want to be a toady for all that is wrong in the GOP. He was mentioned by conservative Christians and Torres the line for Trump. I wish a viable candidate would replace him in the Senate.
In South Carolina we have a difficult road to travel to get them out. Only a few countries are purple. One county is blue. This is the heart of support for Graham. I want them all votes out. I hope pediatrician candidate Annie Andrews MD will be able to rouse voters to a common sense position. I'm supporting her. Tim Scott is a real puzzle. He seems to want to be a toady for all that is wrong in the GOP. He was mentioned by conservative Christians and Torres the line for Trump. I wish a viable candidate would replace him in the Senate.
COLLINS - her fecklessness in the face of atrocity pretty much, IMHO, validates the growing consensus that she is unfit for the US Senate and probably always has been.
She is not alone as most of her GOP colleagues seem to be hiding under the porch as well, hoping the current Vance/Miller/Noem storm will blow through.
The two photos astonish me. THIS is the man they killed, smiling in front of the flag? And now ICE agents don't bother with uniforms? Blue jeans?! Multiple different colored tops and pants?!
If ICE agents were held accountable for their illegal brutality, would they tone it down from 11? They MUST be held responsible! States SHOULD be able to prosecute illegal actions on their soil.
Besides being feckless centrists and cowards? Not sure.
Everyone on this list are all usual suspects of back handed supporters of Trump's agenda. Here in NY, I know Tom Suozzi is constantly supporting Trump actions with lame excuses. Cuellar, of course, was just pardoned by Trump for fraud.
We are under attack. There is no other explanation. Executing innocent people in the street like this was Haiti or Rwanda or South Sudan. I would like someone from the neo-Soviet death cult called MAGA to explain how that is making things "great" (because it really isn't).
What we see—from lethal force to enforced impunity—is an abuse of authority and a hallmark of authoritarian governance. We will not be able to abolish ICE. We can disarm them without much trouble. We must move to disarm ICE. There is no logical reason for them to be armed. They are not ever shot at and if they were they should stop what they are doing and call the FBI, DEA, ATF or state and local police to take care of it.
https://hotbuttons.substack.com/p/disarm-ice?r=3m1bs
When the Democrats' progressive wing campaigned with the slogan "abolish ICE" I thought that while I'd have no problem were it to happen, the phrasing was just to inflammatory and worked against the progressive case.
Now not only do I think the slogan is timely, I wouldn't be surprised if the polls revealed it had majority support, or at least support of a sizeable minority, of the population at large.
ICE is little more than Hitler's Brownshirts moved to the 2020s.
yes,. once again, the progressives were right then, and even more right now.
All of us that protested DHS when it was first formed and were told by the 'moderates' that it was necessary - we were right then too.
And yes, polls from recent days show that a majority of US citizens support abolishing ICE...There is no doubt those numbers will increase over the coming days.
I was one of those minority voices. The use of the word "homeland" has always felt beyond creepy to me. And look, here the agency is going WAY beyond creepy.
Knee-jerk reactions (we gotta do something) in general, and to 9/11 in particular don't go well. Long range consequences are never taken into account. DHS, ICE, and the Patriot Act are examples of this. We are now living the long range consequences.
Yes, it creeped me out too that GW Bush was adopting a term used by Hitler. As I was horrified by that 'war on terror' language.. The popularization of the word 'terror' should never have happened.
Ivan, i have been saying, since January last year, that ICE is Trump's version of Hitler's Brownshirts. They are street thugs and bully boys who served no purpose other than to create chaos and intimidation. IMHO, ICE should either be completely restructured with new leadership, starting with Noem, or disbanded altogether. ICE's apparent purpose is facilitate a Trump autocracy with Loose Cannon as authoritarian in chief!
It has to happen. Looking at that photo of strutting brownshirts in Minneapolis, I simply wonder -- who the hell are these little pissants with guns? Who the f--- do they think they are?
Once the fish is poisoned from the head down, you don't keep the body that's already rotten. You chuck the whole thing out and start looking at why your refrigeration system went on the blink.
ICE is Agent Orange's dream of recreating the uprising of Jan 6 to a daily livestream.
We need a "night of the long knives."
Disarming them is the better call. Every nation needs good and persons entering their countries to be inspected. Change the name, impose rules for recruitment and training, but if we go the "Defund the Police" route, there will be a backlash we don't need when we're trying to gain supporters.
We already have the Border Patrol, and did have the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) to handle the people entering and remaining in this country. This jack-booted, masked band of thugs is unneeded and presents a foul image of the country.
The current iteration of border control and immigration enforcement does need to go, but we need enforcement bodies. But ones that are constituted to follow the rule of law and rules of decency.
That is understood, but to expect it out of this congress and administration is a bridge too far.
It appears that the officers involved in this murder were members of Border Patrol.
Then back to the border with them. They have no place in our cities.
Should a Democrat win the White House in 2028 (from my keyboard to The Lord's eyes) I think that's what we will see-- an executive order banning balaclava masks, requiring them to wear their badges (both might be waived with a warrant signed by a Federal Judge provided there's strong justification), limiting their role and having much better training than the goon squad that ICE is right now.
Executive orders can just be eliminated by the next Administration, I would suggest putting the ban you suggest into legislation which makes it much harder to eliminate and shows who votes for it.
Unfortunately, laws and legislation are meaningless to this group of thugs, from the administration down!
Good point. But executive orders take effect immediately, so it will give a bridge while Congress pulls its thumb out of its butt and actually does something. Don't forget that most times, even with a Democratic majority in both Houses, Congress can barely manage to pass gas, let along pass a law!
There is no reason for ICE to receive any funding.
Trump, Miller and thr GOP have for de ages cynically used immigrants as a political tool in gin up resentment fear and hatred, and to distract their base.
WHY did thr GOP drop their support for a bipartisan immigration bill in 2024? Because Trump didn't like it.
I think most Americans would support thoughtful, sensible immigration reform.
Provide a pathway for undocumented immigrants to become citizens.
Focus a drastically reformed ICE or successor agency (reform recruitment-NO MORE reaching out to thugs; reinstate training based on the rule of law)on cases that involve immigrants convicted of serious crimes.
But first, get ICE and the Border Patrol out of our cities.
And firmly tell Bondi to Fuck off.
I've been teaching the history of the Holocaust and fascism for decades, in HS. My school has made national news many times in the past year because we're the only minority-majority school in one of the very whitest states in the country.
None of this is surprising to me at all. We've been on this track toward fascism since the Florida Recount. And I unfortunately believe it will get worse before it gets better.
Got a protest in 90 minutes. Unfortunately timed with the exact arrival time of our blizzard.
SO sick of this shit.
Little more? meaning they are somehow superior to the Brownshirts and the Gestapo?
Well, they're better armed than the Brownshirts and they don't dress as nicely as the Gestapo.
right, they have no uniforms making them more unidentifiable
except bovino with his creepy SS coat
I don't normally like to invoke Hitler, because he truly was singularly evil and it diminishes his evil to compare him to someone else. Normally I use Mussolini as the analogy, but Don the Con is pushing me to invoking Schickelgruber.
"We will not be able to abolish ICE."
Oh yes we will. If Congress can get off of their collective butts and disband Homeland Security and ICE, it can be done. They formed it, they can deform it. We must demand it.
Where o where is TACO Don? It's time to end your war on America.
Two hundred million Americans want lethally armed ICE and CBP foot soldiers out of US cities. We want local police enabled to do their jobs We want Stephen Miller, Kristi Noem and Don Bovino fired.
In 2024, 16,000 Americas died from gun shots in a homicides. How many of these homicides were a result of illegal immigrant gangs?
And how many were a result of Americans shooting other Americans?
And how many will result from ICE and CBP officers killing Americans exercising their constitutional rights to assembly and free speech?
It's past time for you to STAND DOWN.
He can’t; we are not subdued, cowering at his feet yet. Like with Greenland, voluntary compliance (via existing treaties that gave him everything he said he wanted) Is not enough; he has to take it by force, his narcissist ego demands it.
We could also relatively easily make it illegal for officers of the government to do their jobs while wearing masks and other means of hiding their identity. Masked people will do things that they would NEVER do if they were not masked. That has been proven over and over by psychologists. Unmask the thugs!
and make them wear uniforms
a lot of them show up in jeans
Spot on!!!
This is being acted out in Minnesota as a pretext to delcare a national emergency and invoke marshal law and cancel the elections.
The four current Republican U.S. House members representing Minnesota are Brad Finstad, Tom Emmer, Michelle Fischbach, and Pete Stauber.
There was a general strike on Saturday. More to come.
Minnesota is home to Republican major donors. They have outsized influence.
We need to pressure them.
The face masking and name badge concealing tell you all you need to know about their motivations.
Exactly. And despite the euphoric lawlessness of the current regime, we DO need a Congress with a conscience passing laws to prohibit this stuff. I doubt in the past people thought we needed a federal law prohibiting law enforcement to mask for facial concealment and hide their identity. But, speaking of lawlessness, until the heartless and feckless Supreme Court majority overturn their bullshit "the president can commit any crimes they want to any time and use the power of the pardon to make lawlessness safe for thugs" decision, there is no reason for anyone who in any way is tied to the Executive Branch to obey any damn law. A ten-year old could understand that. Yet these "learned" idiots (the Justices) seem to have been clueless.
You're right.
Supreme Court reform is a whole other and worthy topic.
I would start with: 1) term limits (suggest 25 years), 2) age limits (suggest 80), and 3) an enforceable ethics code (desperately needed given Thomas' and Alito's (especially) fondness for all things private, huge, or fast).
They do it--and will continue to do it--because RW media led by FOX News, cheers and normalizes ICE's appalling behavior, and defends the lies Administration flunkies toss out.
Regarding the recent murder of Renee Good, FOX News uncritically parroted the various Administration smears against the deceased, claiming that she was a professional paid agitator who used her vehicle to ram ICE officers; and then presented only the (two) camera clips taken from angles that made it unclear whether Good was trying to hit the officers; and omitting the two recordings that made it perfectly clear she was turning away from the officers when one of them murdered her. They did essentially the same thing with the murder yesterday of Alex Pretti.
Because of FOX News and RW media, MAGA really has no fricking idea what Trump2 is really doing. When Trump's threats against Denmark brought us to the brink of war last week with the 500 million citizens of the NATO alliance, FOX spun it as a brilliant "3d chess move" straight out of an Art of the Deal masterclass.
Until or unless FOX News and RW media can be required to tell the truth, and hold GOP politicians to account when they lie, nothing will change.
It is such a paradox that in this Age of Information: the truth is so hard to come to light! I found Ms. Noem’s composure and perfect make up at her press conference chilling. I’m frightened. The ease which with her words oozed out. I sit and watch the news, frozen—when the story feels so very off. The price of lies is so very high. Paralyzing fear of propaganda. While our president hollers like the red queen in Alice in Wonderland: re the NYTimes, or any of his adversaries: “off with their head! “. I take a deep breath. I tell myself again, something I read in wisdom literature: “everything that is hidden, will be revealed.” I wait in hope. And with gratitude for independent media. Thank you for your coverage!
boycott all fox advertisers. but one must watch fox to figure out who they may be.
There aren't many advertisers who still use FOX News; the network makes almost all of its money from carriage fees negotiated direct with the cable companies. Boycott any cable bundle that includes FOX. At least until they start telling the truth.
Just don't watch any sports that are broadcast on Fox or CBS. They are broadcasting today's Conference Championships. Ratings are how they charge for advertising and pay bills. I suggest watching any of The Lion King, Princess Bride, Star Wars, Harry Potter or The Matrix as examples of how good triumphs over evil instead.
Among all the horrors happening now, I hope Contrarian readers also consider this:
Everything we are now seeing - people being abducted off the street and from their homes, citizens being executed in the streets, then labeled terrorists with no evidence....this is just a taste of what the US has been funding and supporting and enabling in the Occupied Territories for generations.
Everything ICE is doing now is normal operation procedure for the IDF.
May I humbly correct you on the use of the term executed. An execution is the final act of punishment for a capital crime after a trial, conviction and verdict. There was no due process for either Renee Good or Alex Pretti. They were murdered in cold blood by operatives of ICE that taxpayers funded. This must cease.
You are correct, murder is the better term.
It was a regime sanctioned extrajudicial execution. They don't care about the identity of the person. They have a blanket authorization to execute any of us who dare resist.
Rubbish. Call it what you will, it was sanctioned cold-blooded murder. Without due process, it's murder.
I think Agent Orange wants to make all immigrants from "sh**hole countries" feel at home here, adding the US to a growing list of "sh**hole countries".
Speeches on the senate floor won’t do anything. Local officials need to indict and convict the murderers. Murder is a state crime that the orange felon can’t pardon.
But....crickets from the GOP is particularly deafening. Just imagine, if you can, the shrieking and grinding of teeth from Hannity, FOX in general, and the GOP if Obama were still in charge.
Hypocrisy, thy standard bearer is Republican.
Hypocrisy and irony are absent in their uneducated brains, as are humanity and decency!
They've been replaced by loyalty to party.
Congressional Democrats need to go to Minnesota. They need to attend the memorials in force. They need to show solidarity and support for our fellow Americans in Minnesota who have found themselves in the forefront of the fight to preserve the Constitution and our democratic way of life.
It would indeed be good to see this happen. From your mind and words....
Murder is also a Federal crime. What the Feds have done in the past is to charge the criminal at the Federal level and then exonerate or pardon him. The Constitution states that you can't prosecute someone twice for the same crime, so that prevents prosecution at the State level. They tried this in the Ruby Ridge FBI murder case. It failed there.
Democrats need to all stand together (Senators, Governors, AGs, even mayors) and denounce this. Say they stand with Gov. Walz against the terrorism and extortion of the Trump regime. They should call for the impeachment of Kristi Noem and the firing of Homan and Bovino. Get loud and show solidarity. That's what the people of Minneapolis and St. Paul are doing, at the risk of their lives and livelihoods. Surely they can do as much, maybe risking re-election. Although truth be told, I think it would improve their re-election chances in most places.
Ostrich-like behavior is no longer an option. We've seen it happen in cities around the country. A belief that "it can't happen here" should now be impossible. It can and it has, even in our little town of Staunton Illinois.
“First they came for Chicagoans and I did not speak out; I’m not from Chicago.
Then they came for Minnesotans…”
Yes indeed.
Ah yes, the words paraphrased from Rev. Martin Niemöller; as true then as they are today.
Yes! Let's see a panel with ALL of them and let's hear some real opposition!
The only question here is when is enough enough to move the spineless Republican members of congress to finally honor the Constitutional oaths they took and to stop this carnage.
The Administration won’t alter its disastrous trajectory. Trump supporters are just digging in their heels. They’ve now spent so much time defending the indefensible that they can no longer afford to admit error.
Deep down we know that only some final moment of awfulness will be sufficient to blow the top off the Trumpist volcano. January 6th was not enough. DOGE was not enough. Cooperation with Putin and abandonment of Ukraine was not enough. Slaughter on the high seas was not enough. Invading Venezuela was not enough. DAVOS and the denial of NATO was not enough. Greenland was not enough. Renee Good was not enough. Now we get to see if Alex Pretti is enough.
Bob Dylan once asked. “How many deaths will it take until (they) know that too many people have died?” The answer is still ‘blowin’ in the wind’.
Thank you for a lovely and true summary of our times!
I recommend a point made by HCR that Customs and Border Patrol is a separate command from ICE (I do not know if that is correct or not). But I make the point because it appears that CBP personnel were the killers in this instance and were in that of Renée Good. It would appear that CBP is becoming a killer squad to make examples and deliver provocations.
If you want to better understand the Customs & Border Patrol and its history of lawlessness- I highly recommend the documentary “Critical Incident, Death at the Border”.
It’s streaming now on HBO and I think it’s available on Amazon Prime.
It focuses on a 2010 killing by CBP- what struck me is CBP doesn’t consider itself to be law enforcement; they refer to themselves as paramilitary. The film documents CBP lying about the killing, lying about having an internal hit squad used to investigate and cover up murders committed by CBP, and how CBP actively lies to and interferes with local police/ local police investigations of CBP killings. Sound familiar? CBP has been doing this for about 90 years- the difference is they are usually murdering foreign nationals at the border. Now that lawless, violent behavior is being directed at US citizens in our cities and towns in the interior of the country.
If something is broken- you fix it.
If something is broken and can’t be fixed or actively resists being fixed, you get rid of it and replace it with something that works.
CBP & ICE are broken and won’t be fixed- time to tear it all down to the studs and build something that works.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt39222512/
We used to have the INS (Imigration and Naturalization Services). Why did we need to develop the militarized/politicized entities? Homeland Security was always a bad idea; a knee-jerk reaction to 9/11, and the long range consequences weren't examined. We're now living them.
The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada is another good one.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0419294/?ref_=fn_i_1
Thank you for this. I agree completely that we need to tear it all down.
I have been calling my senators and representatives every day this last week urging them to vote no on the budget bill’s provisions for ICE, asking to defund DHS, and this morning I learned that my senator has said he will vote no. I have started calling my state senators and state rep now too because I think we need to take action at the local level in our fight. I looked them up because I had no idea who they even were. I keep a tally of every call I make on my fridge with a motivating message for me to not give up. I am also getting involved in my local church’s community support network to start preparing for helping our neighbors when ICE comes here. As Jen said, we can’t do everything, but we all must do something. Words are not enough. We must take action.
I am very grateful and thankful for people like you.
Your senator said that he would vote no. Watch the result of the roll call voting. These people change their minds when it comes to actually voting to support something. In other words, to use a Reagan era phrase, "trust, but verify."
And yet seven House Democrats joined in voting to fund Department of Homeland Security with only token restrictions. That may have been the worse vote of their careers.
Those 7 b*st*rds need to get primaried out of office come primary season!
Do we have a list of their names?
I was wondering the same thing. So I googled it
Henry Cuellar (Texas), Tom Suozzi (New York), Vicente Gonzalez (Texas), Laura Gillen (New York), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Washington), Jared Golden (Maine), and Don Davis (North Carolina).
Maybe a serious primary challenge will help them see things more clearly.
I am urgently requesting that all concerned Americans write to their Congressmen and woman. Now is the time. If they do not respond when fellow Americans are being murdered, they do NOT deserve to be in office. That includes you, Senator Collins of Maine.
Sadly, my SC Congressional representatives basically flick their fingers at me, as they would do when shooing a fly. I write, call and continuously let them know my thoughts and they all send mansplaining letters and emails telling me why I'm wrong. 👿🤬
Then it is time to march down to their offices and insist on representation. The time is NOW. If we fall any further into this terrifyingly corrupt cesspool, America will be gone and there will be no government.
Nancy Mace will not open her doors. And I doubt Scott or Graham will either.
If they will not respond to their constituents and honor their constitutional oath, they must be voted out.
In South Carolina we have a difficult road to travel to get them out. Only a few countries are purple. One county is blue. This is the heart of support for Graham. I want them all votes out. I hope pediatrician candidate Annie Andrews MD will be able to rouse voters to a common sense position. I'm supporting her. Tim Scott is a real puzzle. He seems to want to be a toady for all that is wrong in the GOP. He was mentioned by conservative Christians and Torres the line for Trump. I wish a viable candidate would replace him in the Senate.
In South Carolina we have a difficult road to travel to get them out. Only a few countries are purple. One county is blue. This is the heart of support for Graham. I want them all votes out. I hope pediatrician candidate Annie Andrews MD will be able to rouse voters to a common sense position. I'm supporting her. Tim Scott is a real puzzle. He seems to want to be a toady for all that is wrong in the GOP. He was mentioned by conservative Christians and Torres the line for Trump. I wish a viable candidate would replace him in the Senate.
Repressive legislators aren't endured indefinitely. Please keep up the good fight. It will take time, yes, but you will win.
In South Carolina we have a difficult road to travel to get them out. Only a few countries are purple. One county is blue. This is the heart of support for Graham. I want them all votes out. I hope pediatrician candidate Annie Andrews MD will be able to rouse voters to a common sense position. I'm supporting her. Tim Scott is a real puzzle. He seems to want to be a toady for all that is wrong in the GOP. He was mentioned by conservative Christians and Torres the line for Trump. I wish a viable candidate would replace him in the Senate.
Toes the line...
COLLINS - her fecklessness in the face of atrocity pretty much, IMHO, validates the growing consensus that she is unfit for the US Senate and probably always has been.
She is not alone as most of her GOP colleagues seem to be hiding under the porch as well, hoping the current Vance/Miller/Noem storm will blow through.
I think their response can be summed up in two words: cowardice and stupidity!
Well.... for some, venality as well. Look no further than Tommy Tuberville
Abolish ICE and hold every Democrat accountable. The GOP under Trump and his cabal of white nationalists is beyond redemption.
The two photos astonish me. THIS is the man they killed, smiling in front of the flag? And now ICE agents don't bother with uniforms? Blue jeans?! Multiple different colored tops and pants?!
Even the Nazis all wore the same brown shirts.
Fascist clowns with guns…
Scott, they aren't clowns. They are unrestrained, lawless thugs.
If ICE agents were held accountable for their illegal brutality, would they tone it down from 11? They MUST be held responsible! States SHOULD be able to prosecute illegal actions on their soil.
The whole ICE culture needs to change!
Where does the buck stop? Every damn one of the members of Congress who enable this need to be replaced and held accountable as well.
Thank you. Trump wants voting files. Says it all. They no longer feel the need to pretend..
Three branches of government?
The Senate can STOP THE MADNESS TODAY, TOMORROW, AND EVERMORE.
OUR BETTER ANGELS MUST PREVAIL.
We are in very deep shit. But, we still have the numbers.
I am distraught and sickened again.
George Floyd and many more, showed the signs. Will human hearts prevail?
Who are the seven House Democrats who voted to fund ICE?
Tom Suozzi (New York)
Henry Cuellar (Texas)
Don Davis (North Carolina)
Laura Gillen (New York)
Jared Golden (Maine)
Vicente Gonzalez (Texas)
Marie Glusenkamp Perez (Washington)
Primary every one of them.
I wonder what Jared Golden thinks of his vote now that his own state has been invaded?
I see he released this tepid statement:
https://golden.house.gov/media/press-releases/golden-statement-on-day-3-of-increased-ice-operations-in-maine
A master of wishy-washy, I see.
Thats charitable, I’d say “coward” and “complicit”.
Did any of them give any explanations on why they supported funding ICE?
Besides being feckless centrists and cowards? Not sure.
Everyone on this list are all usual suspects of back handed supporters of Trump's agenda. Here in NY, I know Tom Suozzi is constantly supporting Trump actions with lame excuses. Cuellar, of course, was just pardoned by Trump for fraud.