>>> "Over the weekend, ProPublica reported the identities of the two agents who shot Alex Pretti. Both are longtime veterans of Customs and Border Patrol, not new recruits. The gung-ho, low-constraint border enforcement culture of that agency has now been deployed into America’s streets."
This is why reform is impossible. Abolishment is a moral necessity. The infection is deep; it is cultural and ethical gangrene. We must amputate before all of society has sepsis.
I spent 10 years in uniform as a naval aviator, another 14 years as an advisor at the service chief level. When you have a bad unit, you erase it. Transfer everyone out, prosecute the criminals, get rid of the logos, get rid of the names. Make it shameful, disgraceful, embarrassing. Make it a lesson learned - accountably.
We need humane and lawful border patrol. We must have a humane and fair process if we are going to let people in this country. It can not be done by people who will shoot a nurse in the back. They belong to prison, so does their chain of command.
At some point, there is no way to fix a bad organizational culture. It will reinforce itself at some point. Decent humans leave because they will not tolerate being part of the organization. Everyone remaining perpetuates the problems, and will re-create the culture if allowed to do so. Law enforcement is necessary, but law enforcement agencies that answer only to themselves will always be corrupt.
I agree with that, with the asterisk that the Right will add it to the "replacement theory/open border etc. farrago. "They oppose enforcing immigration and customs laws."
Thank you. These people are loyal only to Trump, and if we are not vigilant he will use them to stay in power and turn the US into a true dictatorship.
For posterity, let's call them out: The murder Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and the murderer Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez.
the Border Patrol has a long history of being pretty awful. Behind the Bastards did a series of podcasts on its 100+ years of terrible actions, highly recommend checking them out.
They think that since they do their master's bidding against their own people that they'll be considered the "good ones". They're too stupid to realize that when they've disposed of the old enemy, they'll become the new enemy.
Many second generation Mexican Americans have a very hostile attitude toward 'illegals'. It's an attitude that shocked me when I was working in Salt Lake. Part of it seemed to be generated by divergent attitudes about Domestic Violence, especially in 2nd Gen women.
That falls beneath the umbrella that many Hispanic migrants are socially conservative because of the dominance of Catholicism in their origins. I do think that Democrats assumed the new arrivals automatically veered left; wrong.
I can't speak of other religions but it seems as though Christianity grooms its followers to willfully accept authoritarianism, etc. Some actually try to follow Christ's teachings but too many of the Christian sects have turned their backs on Jesus and his teachings. They don't want that "librul woke shit" in their churches. As Gandhi so perfectly stated, “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”
That's true, but Mexico did vote for a woman as president before the US. I think that says more about the US level of misogyny that it does anything else....or the power women now have in family dynamics in the US and that certain male cultures don't particularly like it.
This fact is causing me a good bit of uncomfortable cognitive dissonance. When I protest, it’s against fascism. But there’s an overlay of protecting the very people who delivered Trump to us. I am quite angry about that. And unsure how to express it.
I got the sense it had more to do with what was legally prohibited in the US as opposed to Mexico. In general the Catholic immigrants felt their women and children were safer in the US. Salt Lake to this day is a blue city with more Catholics than Mormons. The LDS have moved to the suburbs between Salt Lake and Provo.
And there were Africans who sold other Africans to slave traders. I guess there is a list of similarities in history. I find myself wondering if that’s a male trait more than female; hard to know, since males usually have the power.
The Rational League here on Substack did an interesting deep dive into the motivations of MAGA women. Basically racism and a sense of ‘protection’ which could be an illusion because MAGA districts have higher rates of domestic violence.
That said, Trump’s support skews heavily male, in the big picture, I think.
Psychologically speaking, there's plenty of folks with self-hatred that drives them to go after people of their own demographic, whether that be racially, religiously, or sexual identity. They can't wash off the obvious so they try to erase reminders of it.
This whole Trump era is a massive toxic psychological stew. Probably the same as every other authoritarian movement in history, but it feels novel on an individual basis. The speed has certainly caused whiplash.
Sadly, the psychological damage is not just that of these policy-makers and agents, but the significant trauma that is being inflicted. Imagine Liam Ramos ... and extend that to his whole school, as four other students from that school have been disappeared by ICE. Extend that any children in Minnesota and throughout the country who are asking their parents who is safe? No longer can you teach your children that if they are lost to find a policeman ... how would they know who is or isn't trustworthy? We're going to be treating more people with PTSD experienced at the hands of our own government than the generation of service veterans damaged by the war on terror.
The worst fascist enforcers have a grim history in South America. The terrible torture and murder of 10s of thousands of men, woman and children by their uniformed soldiers.
An uncomfortable reminder. And look how those places thrive now - not. But I truly think Stephen Miller et al would choose to suffer themselves as long as the rest of us are suffering more.
NO group is monolithic. Consider that Hispanic/Latino is a catch all term for people who come from so many different Spanish-speaking countries.
These two men might come from the "I followed the rules to come to the
U. S., everybody needs to do the same", or the "I got mine and I'm pulling the ladder up behind me" category. There have been several articles about Latino/Hispanic Trump voters who seem surprised that Trump's definition of the worst of the worst comes very, very, very close to ALL Hispanics/Latinos.
It may be more scrambled after one reads the bigoted comments which follow yours. ICE is a product of an authoritarian regime. The current efforts in Congress to limit the damage is as much as we can hope for at the moment. The next step is to alter the composition of Congress in the fall so that we have some chance of keeping the administration and its sycophants, grifters, toadies in check.
Same thing with Renee Good's killer. Ross also did an stint in CBP before switching to ICE. If these guys represent CBP leadership there is no changing the culture. The sadism and lawlessness have been trained into, and allowed to flourish through decades of abuses at the border...on browns and blacks. The attacks on whites most likely comes from being held accountable to a very different standard.
Miller has ordered them to be more aggressive and assured them they have complete and total immunity. Not a defense, but did these guys shoot anyone while they worked under Biden or Obama?
There is no reason whatsoever to talk about “abolishing” an agency unless there is public support for doing so. Right now that means ICE and nobody else.
Do I even need to explain how it’s political malpractice for Democrats to uniformly oppose something called “border control”?
In a campaign, you can just mutter a bunch of platitudes about a “strong border,” say you want “reform,” and then go in and totally clear house. You don’t need people to check a permission box in the voting booth to do that. You just have to win.
Why are liberals obsessed with hard pushes on messaging aimed at people who already hate President Trump?
>>> "Do I even need to explain how it’s political malpractice for Democrats to uniformly oppose something called “border control”?"
Who said that? I didn't say that.
>>> "In a campaign, you can just mutter a bunch of platitudes about a “strong border,” say you want “reform,” and then go in and totally clear house. You don’t need people to check a permission box in the voting booth to do that. You just have to win."
Sure. But what is meaningfully different between "totally clear house" as you write and "abolishment" as I write? Or are you mainly focused on the semantics of possible political messaging? If so, then it sounds like we agree on the underlying issue -- i.e. the moral irredeemability of the agencies, used as they are now and formatted as they currently are now. As far as the messaging, to be fair, I think we actually agree. However the Dems want to package it to get it done, so long as they get it done -- cool.
The difference is that when people hear “abolish” they they don’t hear “make a more functional agency,” they hear “don’t have people do that thing anymore.” Did we learn nothing from abolish the police? It’s essential people believe Dems will enforce the border.
It’s about semantics and not policy, 100%. I would accept pretty much any level of administrative dismantling, as long as the work ends up being done by somebody. I don’t oppose the idea of “abolition” but the word itself is something of a third rail.
We need something like CBP. However, the CBP we need for the most part doesn’t operate in cities (San Diego, El Paso and Detroit the only notable exceptions). They lack the urban police training to operate constitutionally in cities.
Folks should seriously look into how to work as a poll worker. It's a long day, it can be both equally parts exciting and extremely boring, but it is also extremely rewarding. Get to know your neighbors. Do a service for the country.
My wife and I have been working elections for years. We wind up in different locations because we go where needed. The trading of our own separate battle stories at the end of the day long after polls close and we've closed down locations is one of my favorite election rituals.
This will sound somewhat insanely conspiratorial, but I'm concerned that the election theft will happen in Republican-controlled states well before November. Given the "supporting terrorists" and similar language about Democrats that we've heard Republicans use, could there be a push for such states to disallow Democrats from electoral eligibility? Trump asked for redistricting, and several Republican states hopped to it. If TX and a couple other states did this, it would be enough for the R's to keep congressional control.
Invaluable side benefit is the education on really impressive election security at the poll level.
My serious question to my Supervisor this year is, IF you were going to break the election, HOW would you do it and what is the smallest number of coconspirators who could pull it off? What positions (authority, access) would they require?
For all of the bellowing about fraud and stolen elections, I have yet to hear an even remotely plausible explanation as to HOW such a feat could be accomplished in such a decentralized system. I'm not saying it can't be done, but I don't think such a conspiracy can be kept hidden.
If you have the availability, please contact your local election board and volunteer to be a poll worker. We need lots and lots of good people to make sure everything is fair and honest!
They will steal the election AFTER election day. People should be more worried about the counting and certification of the vote. If there is a theft, that's where it will take place.
Eight states and Washington, D.C., allow all elections to be conducted entirely by mail: California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Vermont and Washington state.
source National council of state legislatures
So we know that theses states will have the ballots seized and 'recounted " or be ordered to re-do elections in person (which we in OR at least havent done in many ears )
I already took time off of work so I can work polls. I live in Las Vegas, NV. We are one of the cities he’s going to try and intimidate the vote. Sucks to use my vacation time for something that doesn’t involve margaritas, but I just can’t do nothing while The Constitution is being broken.
My hope is that maybe, perhaps, the Dems in the Senate are waking up to the fact that this isn't "business as usual". Trump already tried to steal one election. Stop acting as if it's 2006.
Commenters on The Bulwark have been talking about this for a year regarding ICE and election interference; how is it that folks in power are only now thinking about this?
A question my bestie and I ask text each other AT LEAST 3 times a week!! They are either too stupid to govern or they are complicit….or both. It is way past time to replace a lot of Democrats in power, too.
Ashley, never miss an opportunity to add a descriptor or two, such as serial rapist or convicted felon or whatever you can think, which judging by your discussion I'm sure you can, when writing about Orange Tanline.
Yes, they need to play hardball. Maybe start with this party platform: "Trump doesn't care about Americans - he is too busy protecting pedophiles and murderers." Hang this around his neck every single day, at every single appearance, from every single Democrat. Rinse and repeat. The more you repeat something, the more believable it becomes. Republicans have been using this theory of coordinated talking points successfully for decades and it has worked to promote their lies. Democrats can do the same and benefit from the fact that what they will be repeating happens to be the truth.
I fear I am losing my capacity to be shocked by Trump’s grift. When I read about the UAE pouring money into the Trump family crypto, it felt very routine. I experienced nothing at all. I am a bit more shocked by Trump suing our own IRS for a billion; that got my attention.
Should we all send paper-check tax payments, written out directly to DJT?
Tim, they paid EXTRA to DJT for those chips, so...you know, once we (meaning non-Bulwark members) get the Donald J Trump Tariff Bonus Checks we'll all be grateful they have those AI Chips!
The one good thing about all of this is the GOP can no longer bear the mantle of being the "national security" party. This entire fucking administration is a living, breathing example of an insider threat who is selling out the national security for a buck. Whether the Democrats can capitalize on this remains to be seen. But when little Marco runs for POTUS in a couple of years, I hope to God someone stuffs that poltroon in a locker with substantial vigor and force.
Tim that assumes that folks are savvy enough to understand what's actually happening or care what is happening. I think what we're learning here is that folks are willing to let in authoritarianism if they think it is in THEIR best interest, with their best interest not extending much farther than their own navel. Meaning, they'll welcome Weyland-Yutani as their overlords just so long as their day-to-day life is seemingly "normal".
This assumes that there won't be a national security incident between now and the 2028 election. There's a non-zero chance there will be, and because not only is the administration compromised but incompetent, that non-zero probability is not insignificant. And when the previously apathetic, amoral voter gets a taste of that, they'll come around.
Oh, there's incidents aplenty on the horizon: Trump declaring martial law in a pivotal swing state just ahead of an election. China invading Taiwan. Grok gaining consciousness and commandeering Starlink and Tesla vehicles. Etc. Etc.
I'm not optimistic is that, short of some national or global existential threat, any change will come provided the average suburbanite is able to live a mostly "normal" life. Consider, as a point, Russia. Your typical Russian puts on their pants and lives their day, every day. Objectively they, and everyone, would have greatly benefitted by just having them sign up for the normal world order, but they did not opt for that. Now, alas, those days are no longer an option. I think the same could happen here.
He says he will give the money to a "charity." I'm guessing that most taxpayers who will have to pay the price for this debacle do not wish to donate to his charity through their IRS payments. He wants to force Americans to give up their hard-earned dollars for a total farce. He is an ignorant stooge. He doesn't understand, when he brags about billions of dollars flowing into the treasury from his tariffs, that the money is being bled from Americans who pay for the tariffs, and definitely not coming from other countries. And he doesn't understand that if he contributes his lawsuit money to some charity that it is still just taking money, unnecessarily, from American taxpayers. What a dolt. His ignorance is appalling.
I just finished reading *Autobiography of a Recovering Skinhead* by Frank Meeink. Wanting to know some about him in the years since the book was published, I learned something I hadn't heard before. In 2020 he testified to the House's Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties of the Committee on Oversight and Reform. He told them about how white supremacist groups actively encourage their members to get jobs in law enforcement and the military. Here's his testimony: https://docs.house.gov/meetings/GO/GO02/20200929/111003/HHRG-116-GO02-Wstate-MeeinkF-20200929.pdf.
That's been long known as a problem in Portland, OR. Right wing thugs from outside the city basically run the PPD, apart from the (elected) chief, and have a hatred of the cities in Oregon, bkz they keep the state going blue at the prez and Senate levels.
During BLM, they cracked down as hard as they could on the BLM protesters, but moved gates out of the way for pro-Trump/Proud Bois/etc parades, etc.
Growing up in Philadelphia we used to call their police force the Gestapo when it was run by Frank Rizzo, first as police chief, then as mayor. Those boys just loved busting heads! It wouldn't surprise me in the least if they were all Nazis at heart.
Have you read the book? Frank is from Philly. He's now a practicing Jew and has traveled the country for years, speaking about his experiences and spreading his love. It sounds a little dorky the way I put it, but that's truly what he does. It's amazing what he overcame, what's he done to make amends, and what a good person he is. Key to his change of heart is that he used his critical thinking skills to realize what BS his indoctrination was.
"DeSantis, for readers who might be too young to remember, is a politician who was once thought of as the Next Big Thing in Republican politics, before Trump trampled him like a parade of elephants in the 2024 GOP presidential primary. Since then, DeSantis has receded from the political consciousness, leapfrogged in the 2028 conventional-wisdom sweepstakes by figures like JD Vance and Marco Rubio. But he has something Rubio and Vance lack: Unlike them, he isn’t lashed to the wheel of the current administration. If Trump keeps floundering around and shedding support, guys like DeSantis might smell opportunity—the sort of opportunity that could incentivize them to start encouraging the party to finally move beyond the era of The Donald."
Just wait until measles runs amok down in Florida and kids start dropping dead because that's coming, all in the name of "freedom". And besides, the base didn't want Ron. They wanted Trump and the insanity, cruelty, and transgression.
Also, as a resident Bulwark Florida man around here, the Desantises (Both Ron and Casey) are wrapped up in an absolutely fubarred legal and financial scandal where they stole medicaid reimbursement money, laundered it through Casey DeSantis's Hope Florida slush fund, and spent it on their political projects, then appointed the director of their political committees as Attorney General to prevent state investigations into the fraud.
The moment the state gets an ethical Attorney General, both Ron and Casey should be charged with the various crimes they seem to have committed.
There's also no love lost between Trump and Ron. If Ron gets out over his skis in Florida criticizing Trump, Bondi will send the sycophantic Feds after Ron and Casey. Ron is a bully, and like most bullies, Ron is also an absolute coward, so my guess is he will be extremely muted as the Trumpists point to the sword of Damacles that Ron and Casey helpfully have suspended above their own heads.
I've read about this through Rick Wilson and I'm waiting for the law to visit Ron and Casey. To be honest, though, I'm not holding my breath.
The sad part about this is my wife and I used to love going to Sarasota once a year for a week, but given all the corruption and insanity, we've lost all desire to go. The state has lost its moral bearings.
Yeah, and as a resident of Florida, it is enraging that the opposition party is so scattered and incompetent that they cannot even put together a winning message with this sort of scandal in their quiver.
A few years back, we stayed in Naples for a week and one day and we took a drive near Rick Scott's place. The opulence of the neighborhood was something to behold, and the thought that kept crossing my mind is these people will do *anything* to hold onto living like this, even if it means reelecting an insurrectionist pedophile.
Yeah, I have a nitpick with "Trump trampled him ... in the primary." Trump didn't bother to show up for the primary. Didn't even waste his time. The voters trampled DeSantis because they wanted Trump and DeSantis wasn't Trump. Something for Vance to keep in mind. And everyone really: nobody wants imitation rapists, they want real rapists. They have imitation rapists at home. Trump, on the other hand, has street cred.
Not only something for Vance to keep in mind, but every prospective GOP candidate. I think it'll come down to who's willing to be the biggest moral degenerate.
Tim I read something today that I have not been able to verify suggesting that Rubio is revealed by something in the Epstein files to have been one of the parties initiating the Steele Dossier. Good of course be utter bs, but maybe de Santis started this rumour. These people are all inept and conniving, but Trump is the only one who is, up to this point, able to con a large chunk of the population.
The GOP is a nest of vipers. And I personally believe Ron with get away with his corruption. After all, Rick Scott did. In the GOP, the only sin is lack of party loyalty.
This is one reason why I'm not heading back there anytime soon. The state has lost its fucking mind. When kids start dropping dead, it'll be on Florida and its residents.
‘Frustrating and Demoralizing’: The Measles Comeback Gets Worse… The disease is exploding in South Carolina, we’re about to lose elimination status, and RFK Jr.’s team says it’s just the “cost of doing business,”
Darwin could predict the outcome of this. Let's hope the results are confined to vaccine-deniers.
If you received your measles vax decades ago, please ask your doctor to Rx a lab test of your immunity titers. You can get a booster if your immunity has waned over the years.
People still look at me like I might be confused when I say I never had the vaccine, I had measles! I remember my mother being so happy b/c I had all the childhood diseases - measles, mumps, chickenpox, etc. - before starting school.
Last year, as soon as this ridiculousness started, I had my dr. test me just to make sure I was still protected. My antibodies - or whatever the blood test measures - were very high. A good friend who doesn't remember whether he had the vaccine or the disease is getting tested tomorrow.
"Let's hope the results are confined to vaccine-deniers."
It's measles, FFS. It's going to infect innocent CHILDREN. A few of whom will be scarred for life and a few of whom will die. So, you're imagining the parents of unvaxed victims have some genetic trait such that we can write off those deaths as natural selection?
Measles is one of the most contagious diseases in the world. It took teams of professionals working around the clock to keep it in check: all gone now. Also, measles causes immune amnesia to other diseases:
"Children’s Health Defense (CHD): This anti-vaccine nonprofit, formerly led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., partnered with local activists to raise over $16,000 via online fundraisers to provide "essential vitamins and supplements" like cod liver oil and Vitamin A to measles patients in West Texas."
RFK Jr. makes money when kids die of measles, and yet John Roberts wanted this for us enough to break the law repeatedly.
There's a high probability that ICE will be surging in Springfield, Ohio, population 60,000. The Temporary Protection Status for 15,000 Haitians living there will expire, midnight February 3. There have been multiple talks between Ohio state government officials, including Governor Michael DeWine, and federal government officials.
This isn't speculation or guesswork. Timothy Snyder wrote a long article about this potential surge in substack, 2 days ago.
A city of 60,000 people cannot absorb the amount of chaos and social entropy that may be happening this week. They don't have the infrastructure of a large metropolitan area.
So far, Springfield is not receiving much news coverage, yet. I hope it doesn't come down to that. Springfield's food bank is called, Second Harvest. You can find them online. They are a very efficient and very organized food bank. I have visited there.
It's heartbreaking. Springfield, OH was dying until the immigrants revitalized the town. A town will go back to the metaphorical hospice ward, because hatred feels so good.
It feels odd to put a "like" on your comment, but you have your finger right on the truth of the matter. It's a sad truth. I live close by and have friends that live close by.
And what do those friends have to say about this? Still want to vote MAGA so that this stuff continues?
I was talking to a buddy of mine over the weekend, a veteran. He uses the VA quite a lot. He said, now, the waiting rooms over at the VA are REALLY quiet. No one says anything. People aren't chatty like they were. No red hats. He said he thinks it's because EVERYONE there has been taken care of by a guy like Alex Pretti. When no one else would help, the VA doctors and nurses helped. And the guy they voted for sent an armed mob into an American city and murdered one of those people. They ain't happy. And they're not making excuses for him.
Don't worry, the sanctity of girls' sports will re-emerge as a wedge issue. Or something else will be found. MAGA is really good at keeping their guys on their side.
I have a solution for that problem. We have learned that gender is different than sex. Why not specify that what are now designated as women's leagues and competitions are organized according to sex, not gender? I would also encourage that as many sports as possible be come-one-come all. (My wife and I played co-ed softball and it was flat out a blast.)
Good on this guy for coming around, but I know for sure that Kamala (or Obama, or Biden) ever one time came for anyone's gun, or ever advocated for men in women's restrooms. Do these guys really believe that a "Women's'" sign on a door would stop a rapist? "I'd go in there and commit a heinous crime, but the sign says I'm not allowed!"
Wow, that is a powerful statement and I hope a thumbnail look at how many, many Republican voters are feeling. Again, I will say it, I HAVE HOPE! The only thing that scares me is how far Trump will go to stop the next elections. States need to be making plans right now on how to protect the integrity of their voting systems.
The ICE/CBP playbook will be the same wherever they go, but one thing's struck me about all this that I didn't expect. My sister lives near Minneapolis. I live near Chicago. Our experiences were the same, but she hadn't really heard any of the details of what happened here: gassing little kids in a Halloween parade, sitting outside Emergency Rooms waiting for brown people to bring in sick kids so they could nab the parents, roving groups of agents blocking traffic and banging on windows looking for nervous brown people to get on a Kavanaugh Stop, conducting "operations" inside daycare centers, etc.
For all the talk about how social media is keeping everyone up to speed on what's actually happening out there, it doesn't really seem to be happening.
So, yeah, brace for it, Springfield. They're coming. They're going to be kicking in the wrong doors because they can't read. They'll be using administrative warrants instead of judicial ones. They'll be camped out in front of schools and hospitals and churches and daycare centers and ethnic grocery stores. They'll be harassing people on the streets and at places like car washes and The Home Depot. They'll be grabbing random kids in Target and body slamming them. They'll be grabbing people, carting them around for a while and then dumping them off miles away, letting them figure out how they're going to get home. They'll be dragging people out of their cars, leaving them unlocked (or even running) and just letting other people figure out what to do with them. It's all coming. It's all perfectly legal now, too. Thanks, Ohio. You voted for this.
I've tried to get in contact with Second Harvest, the food bank, and there's no one answering phones. They have a special message on their voicemail. It's clear that they are bracing for the worst.
Here is information related to the groups who are poised to help the Haitians this week:
G92 Springfield (Coalition of Churches)
This is the central network coordinating "boots-on-the-ground" volunteer efforts, including rapid response training and food deliveries for families hunkering down.
If you or someone you know needs to report ICE activity or needs immediate legal guidance:
Ohio Immigrant Alliance Hotline: (419) 777-4357
The "Whistle Packets": Being distributed by community leaders at St. John Missionary Baptist Church to help neighbors document and report activity safely.
Both Timothy Snyder and Thomas Zimmer have referred to it as an ethnic cleansing attempt. It's an act of fascist, genocidal white supremacy.
Not lost on many folks: they will be starting this attack on the Haitian community in Springfield to coincide with the start of Black History month. ffs.
"Although DHS’s post casually accuses the woman of committing multiple felonies, they eventually just decided to drop her off without further incident—an odd move, if those felonies actually occurred" EQUALS "these dangerous narco-terrorists were going to kill 24,000 Americans so we blew up their boat and then we picked two of them out of the water and sent them home." These people...
they must make shit up. the media I got it from first was a small city newspaper
near where happened. MankatoFreePress, which is NOT FREE, other sites quickly added the video. they got some points wrong at first, but Kristol Egger et al got it right in this article
the video is quick and I love what she said , get your ------ hands off me. I believe they
knew about her, she is , I think , a local interpreter and all around helper, a trailer park
in that town. so, in my opinion, targeted and to frighten her. was purposeful.
the detail one or two articles said like the sheriff pulled them over, which was not true.
my reaction, was cynical that day, was she had a friend in a high place, I have trouble
Ironically, Trump apologists have used the mantra "Pay no attention to what he says; just watch what he does," meaning that he says crazy things all the time, but his policies are awesome.
Of course, the truth is that when Trump and his allies promise something good, it's a lie; when they threaten something bad, they mean it.
Re: World Liberty Financial. WLF's stablecoin, USD1, is tiny by comparison to others, yet it was chosen as the vehicle for UAE sovereign wealth fund MGX to purchase a $2 billion stake in Binance. As a result, the Trump family, Witkoff, and, as we now see, at least one UAE actor, earn about 4% on the US dollars put on deposit to close the deal*. That's $80 million per year until and unless the stablecoins are redeemed. And, of course, Chengpeng Zhao, a principal owner of Binance, got a Trump pardon, for an offense which would have meant 15 years in the pen. To think that during Trump1 we were talking about "stay to play" as the height of corruption.
The sympathetic view is that governments can manipulate the value of their fiat currencies via monetary policy. Crypto was supposed to fix that.
Right now, the advantage in using crypto, including stablecoin, is avoiding regulatory red tape. Of course a lot of the tape regards preventing money laundering and other crimes.
Here's the page from Etherscan depicting USD1's Blockchain. Noting that there are a mere hundred or so transactions over a little over a year, with many tiny transactions and several mind-bogglingly large ones... .
Re: "...ProPublica reported the identities of the two agents who shot Alex Pretti."
Okay. So what? (And I sure hope they got this right because otherwise there'll be hell to pay, and rightly so.)
My prediction is that absolutely nothing is going to happen to these two clowns, just like nothing's going to happen to Jonathan Ross. None of them will ever see the inside of a courthouse, let alone a prison.
But here's the thing for me. Until now, the notion's been that all this happened because these guys are completely untrained and start from a baseline of ignorance and stupidity that would disqualify them from any real law enforcement job.
That doesn't appear to be the case. They're not rookies. So how does that change what happens here? You can't credibly say they didn't know the mission or understand their roles or were unfamiliar with agency policies. It'd be hard to make the case that they got scared and this was all just a tragic error by inexperienced officers put in a very challenging environment, right?
So what's their play now? I'm guessing it's just delay and obstruction and lies, but can that work?
This was my takeaway too, but from the other side. These clearly aren't rookie "mistakes", they are saying the quiet parts out loud with lethal force. So what do we do? Is there even a chance we win in '28 by a large enough margin to even be able to tackle the problem of armed federal agents who hate the people they are supposed to protect and serve? Is there a willingness to acknowledge it?
I do think just a few, simple changes could make a big difference. No masks. Big thing there. Body cameras. Name tags. Judicial warrants. Requirement that there be a articulable reason to stop and detain someone. Maybe some restrictions on where CBP people can work: customs houses, within 25 miles of an international border, etc.
And then every one of them has to sign off on some document saying they understand the rules. When one of them violates a rule, there are consequences of some kind.
No more roving bands of armed, masked Federal agent running around pepper spraying people, threatening them, killing them and getting away with it.
That guy that was recorded saying, "If you raise your voice, I will erase your voice." That sounds pretty threatening to me. What happened to him? My guess: nothing. (Maybe they bought him a cake at his "Agent of the Month" ceremony, but who knows?)
I think those are some great restrictions. I'd also like to see some stricter limitations (with teeth) on how they can interact with people while doing their jobs. Like, if an IRS agent sees someone jaywalking while they're on their way to an audit, they can't whip out a gun and cuffs. Theoretically ICE and CBP are there to apprehend "criminal illegal aliens". Yet they mostly seem to be doing a lot of harassment of local citizens. That should be something that gets them fired and placed on some sort of LEO blacklist.
Federal agents shouldn't be treating citizens (or anyone domestic) worse than our soldiers were treating people in Iraq or Afghanistan, but here we are. They are acting like a belligerent occupying force in conquered turf.
My friend, the catch is there is no one in authority over the agents who wants to enforce your shoulds & shouldn'ts. Perhaps if there were a different president? Perhaps a much more assertive congress? ...but there's some difficulties in congress controlling executive branch employees at micro level. We're in a difficult spot when these are not isolated bad apples or rogue operators, but actually broadly carrying out the wishes of their chain of command all the way up. Unfamiliar situation for our system
Living 10 years in the borderlands, you see & hear of some BP agents doing pretty awful stuff - no masks, name badges on, articulable reasons always ready (doesn't mean true). Def have some culture problems. Reform & oversight's long overdue, and long before Trump. There are decent people wearing the green too; not sure how they handle what they see BP doing away from borders this past year
I'd like to think there are decent people working for CBP and there probably are. I friend of mine, a Texas resident, has a neighbor who works for CBP. "Nicest guy you'd ever want to meet," is his assessment.
Okay, so that "good person" is going along with all this? What's he saying? Anything? Or just keeping his head down and hoping this all blows over or SOMEONE ELSE does something about it? That, I think, is the problem. A "good person" would do something. Is quitting the answer? Maybe. Maybe not. The "good person" could easily just be replaced with another Proud Boy (if there are any that haven't become ICE or CBP officers already). That wouldn't be good. But how can any "good person" work for an organization like this? I couldn't.
On Border Patrol, may I offer 'The Line Becomes A River' by Francisco Cantú. His book well describes his inner journey as a young man of Latino heritage joining then eventually leaving the BP. He's a good person... I vouch from his book, from his spirit when he speaks (my privilege to have experienced in public talks) as he comes across here for e.g.: https://orionmagazine.org/article/francisco-cantu-orion-questionnaire/
On "good person" more generally - Last few weeks I've been plugging away at 'I will bear witness' - the diary of Victor Klemperer, volume 2 covering 1942-45, his daily experiences as a Jew living in Dresden. I don't have his stamina, only manage a few pages some days. No ONE horrible thing, but the relentless accumulating weight plus the dread of what I expect must be coming... the next week, next month, or in the very next diary entry?
Klemperer describes occasional interactions where a fellow German citizen (his frequent term is Aryan) treats him with kindness or goes out of their way to extend some small grace. From these events, he determines that many of the non-Jewish population really don't know the extent of the depredations being imposed on their Jewish neighbors. I wonder is theirs a willful ignorance, or perhaps being fair preoccupied by their own stresses of living daily lives in an authoritarian, chaotic, wartime society?
Some people decide to be a nail - to stand tall and risk the attention of the hammer. Some choose to lay low. My opinion is my own, usually made without knowing each one's inner workings. If The Judge exists, it's not me. There's a possibility that each go-along-to-get-along person might occasionally use the cover of their compliance to throw some small spanner into the works of the regime. Net effects could add up. The universe is vast enough for me to allow for this possibility... dare I say, to hope?
"Democrat Taylor Rehmet, a 33-year-old union leader and Air Force veteran, won by more than 14 points in a Republican district that Donald Trump won by 17 points in November 2024."
Let's see...carry the 1...that's a 31-point swing!
I'm old enough to remember when a 13-point swing in the Tennessee special election last year was described as a political earthquake.
I want to paraphrase a line from Peter Jackson's "The Two Towers," spoken by King Theoden facing the Uruk Hai at Helm's Deep: "What can men do against such reckless wealth?" From the WaPo front page this morning: "The Democratic Party on the national level has a mere fraction of what Republicans have heading into the 2026 midterms."
Does it help to realize that the Republicans spent $2.4M in Saturday night's race and LOST to the Democrat who spent only $200K in Texas' State Senate District 9? trump won that district by +15 in 2024, while the Democrat Saturday night won by +16.
Money isn't always the end-all, be-all. A disadvantage for certain, but not always the deciding factor.
That is a source of distress to me, as my email and text apps are overwhelmed with requests for campaign money. It hammers home to me, that money is my voice, and it isn’t much compared to the tech bro oligarchs.
If you think the “corrupt businessman” trope is the whole story, you’re reading the wrong scripture. This is the scaffolding of a private state being bolted together in real time, while the country argues about the color of the bolts.
History never pretended the Praetorian Guard existed to protect Rome. It existed to protect the money, to protect the patronage, to protect the continuity of the purse. The uniforms are different now. The logic is identical. When you start hearing talk of “security” used as a solvent for elections, when intelligence machinery gets pointed inward like a spear, you’re not watching policy. You’re watching the future being pawned off, one crisis at a time, for the comfort of men who need the republic weak enough to own.
This is how “order” gets manufactured. First you inflate the threat. Then you deputize the appetite. Then you build a culture around enforcement that treats restraint as weakness and brutality as virtue. You don’t need jackboots when you can get volunteers. You don’t need a coup when you can get a bureaucracy to do it with a smile and a pension.
While the chattering class hyperventilates over special elections and blue “waves,” the executive wing is busy wiring a psychological detonator into the national nervous system. The real weapon is not a bill. It’s a story. A forced Muduro narrative. A televised “confession” squeezed out of a broken strongman, staged as proof, packaged as destiny. Not because it’s true, but because it’s usable. A Reichstag Fire for the algorithm age. A moral oxygen tank for every dormant fanatic who’s been waiting for permission to feel righteous while doing evil.
Once you sell people “evidence” that the past was stolen, you don’t just rewrite history. You weaponize the future. You teach the faithful to view the next election not as a civic process, but as a battlefield. You turn ballots into targets. You turn neighbors into traitors. You turn “democracy” into a word that means nothing except whatever the strongman needs it to mean that week.
That’s the synthesis we’re watching: an armed enforcement culture fused to a hallucinated narrative of betrayal. When fabricated proof collides with real weapons and institutional cover, the consequences aren’t “unrest.” They’re terminal. This is not a shift in governance. It’s mobilization. It’s civil bloodshed laundered through official channels, sanctified by badges, and fed by men who traded their oath for a cult and call it patriotism.
The cliff isn’t coming. We drove off it a while ago. What’s ahead isn’t a road. It’s a thresher, humming patiently in the dark, waiting for the next manufactured emergency to feed it.
I am sure more background info will be dug up regarding these "agent's" past actions. I would bet that there may be at least one incident that would make them, and probably many more, unsuited to the roles they are currently playing. Any grand jury viewing video and drawn a frame by frame analysis would not hesitate to recommend indictments in the Good and Pretti cases.
It is my sincere wish to see Miller, Bovino, Bondi, Patel, Homan, and Noem (others!) squirm in a court of law under oath. After testifying under oath to a couple of televised congressional committees.
Your subtitle is wrong. It implies it is somehow not Trump making these decisions. "cannot tame the monster he made" suggests he is trying to tame the monster. He isn't.
Republicans aren't either, because they are in lockstep with those decisions. They figure it is the only way they will stay in power now. They all need ICE to scare the voters.
Stop pussy footing around what is clearly forming right in front of you. Deal with it directly.
>>> "Over the weekend, ProPublica reported the identities of the two agents who shot Alex Pretti. Both are longtime veterans of Customs and Border Patrol, not new recruits. The gung-ho, low-constraint border enforcement culture of that agency has now been deployed into America’s streets."
This is why reform is impossible. Abolishment is a moral necessity. The infection is deep; it is cultural and ethical gangrene. We must amputate before all of society has sepsis.
I spent 10 years in uniform as a naval aviator, another 14 years as an advisor at the service chief level. When you have a bad unit, you erase it. Transfer everyone out, prosecute the criminals, get rid of the logos, get rid of the names. Make it shameful, disgraceful, embarrassing. Make it a lesson learned - accountably.
We need humane and lawful border patrol. We must have a humane and fair process if we are going to let people in this country. It can not be done by people who will shoot a nurse in the back. They belong to prison, so does their chain of command.
At some point, there is no way to fix a bad organizational culture. It will reinforce itself at some point. Decent humans leave because they will not tolerate being part of the organization. Everyone remaining perpetuates the problems, and will re-create the culture if allowed to do so. Law enforcement is necessary, but law enforcement agencies that answer only to themselves will always be corrupt.
It's very sad for people like you who are military or civilian police who are professional and want to do a good job.
at least split them up, seems logical. Thanks for being so open about that Luke.
I agree with that, with the asterisk that the Right will add it to the "replacement theory/open border etc. farrago. "They oppose enforcing immigration and customs laws."
Thank you. These people are loyal only to Trump, and if we are not vigilant he will use them to stay in power and turn the US into a true dictatorship.
I almost pressed "like" to respond. I do not like. I do agree with you.
I totally get it! I read comments that are so disturbing and completely true. Its impossible to like. They should have "agree".
For posterity, let's call them out: The murder Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and the murderer Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez.
the Border Patrol has a long history of being pretty awful. Behind the Bastards did a series of podcasts on its 100+ years of terrible actions, highly recommend checking them out.
And maybe I’m a naive infant, but both men who shot Pretti have Hispanic names. I have a lot to learn. My sense of righteousness is scrambled.
They think that since they do their master's bidding against their own people that they'll be considered the "good ones". They're too stupid to realize that when they've disposed of the old enemy, they'll become the new enemy.
Many second generation Mexican Americans have a very hostile attitude toward 'illegals'. It's an attitude that shocked me when I was working in Salt Lake. Part of it seemed to be generated by divergent attitudes about Domestic Violence, especially in 2nd Gen women.
That falls beneath the umbrella that many Hispanic migrants are socially conservative because of the dominance of Catholicism in their origins. I do think that Democrats assumed the new arrivals automatically veered left; wrong.
I can't speak of other religions but it seems as though Christianity grooms its followers to willfully accept authoritarianism, etc. Some actually try to follow Christ's teachings but too many of the Christian sects have turned their backs on Jesus and his teachings. They don't want that "librul woke shit" in their churches. As Gandhi so perfectly stated, “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”
Male authority. My favorite theological precept, when men define God as male, males are gods.
Totally agree with this. And I do think it applies across many religions. “Religion”gets perverted to “power” in a nanosecond, historically speaking.
Terrific regression analysis (today) by Prof. Ryan Burge ("Graphs About Religion"): religious tradition as predictor of voting behavior. Faith group membership eclipses income level. https://open.substack.com/pub/ryanburge/p/why-religion-not-income-predicts
A majority of hispanic men voted for Trump. They have always loved the "strong man leader" .
That's true, but Mexico did vote for a woman as president before the US. I think that says more about the US level of misogyny that it does anything else....or the power women now have in family dynamics in the US and that certain male cultures don't particularly like it.
This fact is causing me a good bit of uncomfortable cognitive dissonance. When I protest, it’s against fascism. But there’s an overlay of protecting the very people who delivered Trump to us. I am quite angry about that. And unsure how to express it.
I got the sense it had more to do with what was legally prohibited in the US as opposed to Mexico. In general the Catholic immigrants felt their women and children were safer in the US. Salt Lake to this day is a blue city with more Catholics than Mormons. The LDS have moved to the suburbs between Salt Lake and Provo.
My quick check says that LDS is just under 50% in SLC, while Catholics make up a minority. But that still came as a surprise to me.
Very wrong and clueless.
Yes, Hitler purged the Brownshirts.
Sounds plausible. Maybe a version of Stockholm Syndrome.
There were Jews who helped round up other Jews for the concentration camps. Some things normal people will never understand.
And there were Africans who sold other Africans to slave traders. I guess there is a list of similarities in history. I find myself wondering if that’s a male trait more than female; hard to know, since males usually have the power.
Hard to say; look at the women who have continued to support Trump.
It's a, human failing, not confined to one gender.
The Rational League here on Substack did an interesting deep dive into the motivations of MAGA women. Basically racism and a sense of ‘protection’ which could be an illusion because MAGA districts have higher rates of domestic violence.
That said, Trump’s support skews heavily male, in the big picture, I think.
Goons come in all colors
Psychologically speaking, there's plenty of folks with self-hatred that drives them to go after people of their own demographic, whether that be racially, religiously, or sexual identity. They can't wash off the obvious so they try to erase reminders of it.
This whole Trump era is a massive toxic psychological stew. Probably the same as every other authoritarian movement in history, but it feels novel on an individual basis. The speed has certainly caused whiplash.
Sadly, the psychological damage is not just that of these policy-makers and agents, but the significant trauma that is being inflicted. Imagine Liam Ramos ... and extend that to his whole school, as four other students from that school have been disappeared by ICE. Extend that any children in Minnesota and throughout the country who are asking their parents who is safe? No longer can you teach your children that if they are lost to find a policeman ... how would they know who is or isn't trustworthy? We're going to be treating more people with PTSD experienced at the hands of our own government than the generation of service veterans damaged by the war on terror.
The chain response to trauma is true. I feel devastated, even though my daily life is so far unchanged, except for regular protests.
It's the ticket they bought to get in with a white society.
I think you are right. On some level we all do some version of it. I “trauma fawn” on males all the time. It translates to “please don’t hurt me”.
The worst fascist enforcers have a grim history in South America. The terrible torture and murder of 10s of thousands of men, woman and children by their uniformed soldiers.
An uncomfortable reminder. And look how those places thrive now - not. But I truly think Stephen Miller et al would choose to suffer themselves as long as the rest of us are suffering more.
No doubt.
NO group is monolithic. Consider that Hispanic/Latino is a catch all term for people who come from so many different Spanish-speaking countries.
These two men might come from the "I followed the rules to come to the
U. S., everybody needs to do the same", or the "I got mine and I'm pulling the ladder up behind me" category. There have been several articles about Latino/Hispanic Trump voters who seem surprised that Trump's definition of the worst of the worst comes very, very, very close to ALL Hispanics/Latinos.
It may be more scrambled after one reads the bigoted comments which follow yours. ICE is a product of an authoritarian regime. The current efforts in Congress to limit the damage is as much as we can hope for at the moment. The next step is to alter the composition of Congress in the fall so that we have some chance of keeping the administration and its sycophants, grifters, toadies in check.
the other day asshole trump casually mentioned that perhaps as many
as fifty percent may be he used the word latino , maybe, course what
he says need to be taken with a grain of salt. right ?
Same thing with Renee Good's killer. Ross also did an stint in CBP before switching to ICE. If these guys represent CBP leadership there is no changing the culture. The sadism and lawlessness have been trained into, and allowed to flourish through decades of abuses at the border...on browns and blacks. The attacks on whites most likely comes from being held accountable to a very different standard.
The Zimbardo Prison Study at Stanford seems relevant here.
https://www.simplypsychology.org/zimbardo.html
Miller has ordered them to be more aggressive and assured them they have complete and total immunity. Not a defense, but did these guys shoot anyone while they worked under Biden or Obama?
There is no reason whatsoever to talk about “abolishing” an agency unless there is public support for doing so. Right now that means ICE and nobody else.
Do I even need to explain how it’s political malpractice for Democrats to uniformly oppose something called “border control”?
In a campaign, you can just mutter a bunch of platitudes about a “strong border,” say you want “reform,” and then go in and totally clear house. You don’t need people to check a permission box in the voting booth to do that. You just have to win.
Why are liberals obsessed with hard pushes on messaging aimed at people who already hate President Trump?
>>> "Do I even need to explain how it’s political malpractice for Democrats to uniformly oppose something called “border control”?"
Who said that? I didn't say that.
>>> "In a campaign, you can just mutter a bunch of platitudes about a “strong border,” say you want “reform,” and then go in and totally clear house. You don’t need people to check a permission box in the voting booth to do that. You just have to win."
Sure. But what is meaningfully different between "totally clear house" as you write and "abolishment" as I write? Or are you mainly focused on the semantics of possible political messaging? If so, then it sounds like we agree on the underlying issue -- i.e. the moral irredeemability of the agencies, used as they are now and formatted as they currently are now. As far as the messaging, to be fair, I think we actually agree. However the Dems want to package it to get it done, so long as they get it done -- cool.
The difference is that when people hear “abolish” they they don’t hear “make a more functional agency,” they hear “don’t have people do that thing anymore.” Did we learn nothing from abolish the police? It’s essential people believe Dems will enforce the border.
It’s about semantics and not policy, 100%. I would accept pretty much any level of administrative dismantling, as long as the work ends up being done by somebody. I don’t oppose the idea of “abolition” but the word itself is something of a third rail.
Agree. At the very least, CBP should be restricted to the border, as their name suggests!
I clicked on all the ' red letters' in this article, a lot in there about both
agencies, CBP and ICE, how over the years they have devolved. In St. Paul the
other morning an agent, I think from CBP was found passed out, covered in
throw-up ( a better word ) he got ticketed for a DWI, which is worse than a DUI in MN
but the article said, he may be back on the job, it was in Bring me the news, MN
at times one has to click on MN after opening the website, lot of daily updates.
this was for JF and others
🤬
We need something like CBP. However, the CBP we need for the most part doesn’t operate in cities (San Diego, El Paso and Detroit the only notable exceptions). They lack the urban police training to operate constitutionally in cities.
We are absolutely going to need all hands on deck to prevent Trump was stealing the midterms.
Remember, it’s always projection and confession with him, so everything he has said about the Democrats is because he fully intends to do it himself.
So the Democrats better be ready to play hardball over the DHS funding in the next two weeks. Period.
Folks should seriously look into how to work as a poll worker. It's a long day, it can be both equally parts exciting and extremely boring, but it is also extremely rewarding. Get to know your neighbors. Do a service for the country.
My wife and I have been working elections for years. We wind up in different locations because we go where needed. The trading of our own separate battle stories at the end of the day long after polls close and we've closed down locations is one of my favorite election rituals.
If they steal the election, it will be after Election Day. Sorry to say the work done on Election Day won't matter much.
That's my thinking, too. Just cry fraud. Much easier than deploying goons on every blue precinct.
And then there is widdle mikey, I can't imagine him seating democratic winners. There will be irregularities to be investigated. 🙄🌊
This will sound somewhat insanely conspiratorial, but I'm concerned that the election theft will happen in Republican-controlled states well before November. Given the "supporting terrorists" and similar language about Democrats that we've heard Republicans use, could there be a push for such states to disallow Democrats from electoral eligibility? Trump asked for redistricting, and several Republican states hopped to it. If TX and a couple other states did this, it would be enough for the R's to keep congressional control.
There are a lot of points at which things could go wrong; the more of those points that are staffed by honest and conscientious people, the better.
Invaluable side benefit is the education on really impressive election security at the poll level.
My serious question to my Supervisor this year is, IF you were going to break the election, HOW would you do it and what is the smallest number of coconspirators who could pull it off? What positions (authority, access) would they require?
For all of the bellowing about fraud and stolen elections, I have yet to hear an even remotely plausible explanation as to HOW such a feat could be accomplished in such a decentralized system. I'm not saying it can't be done, but I don't think such a conspiracy can be kept hidden.
Commercial time...
If you have the availability, please contact your local election board and volunteer to be a poll worker. We need lots and lots of good people to make sure everything is fair and honest!
They will steal the election AFTER election day. People should be more worried about the counting and certification of the vote. If there is a theft, that's where it will take place.
Exactly! The cheating will happen out of sight.
Eight states and Washington, D.C., allow all elections to be conducted entirely by mail: California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Vermont and Washington state.
source National council of state legislatures
So we know that theses states will have the ballots seized and 'recounted " or be ordered to re-do elections in person (which we in OR at least havent done in many ears )
I already took time off of work so I can work polls. I live in Las Vegas, NV. We are one of the cities he’s going to try and intimidate the vote. Sucks to use my vacation time for something that doesn’t involve margaritas, but I just can’t do nothing while The Constitution is being broken.
I'm ready for a fight at my precinct!
Of course it's easy for me to talk tough, my precinct is as boring as it gets.
I’m ready, too, but also super boring precinct!
My hope is that maybe, perhaps, the Dems in the Senate are waking up to the fact that this isn't "business as usual". Trump already tried to steal one election. Stop acting as if it's 2006.
Commenters on The Bulwark have been talking about this for a year regarding ICE and election interference; how is it that folks in power are only now thinking about this?
A question my bestie and I ask text each other AT LEAST 3 times a week!! They are either too stupid to govern or they are complicit….or both. It is way past time to replace a lot of Democrats in power, too.
Ashley, never miss an opportunity to add a descriptor or two, such as serial rapist or convicted felon or whatever you can think, which judging by your discussion I'm sure you can, when writing about Orange Tanline.
Such a good reminder!! I can’t believe I only referred to him by his name today. 🙈🙈
You mean Donald " romper room " trumper .
Democrats need to play hardball full stop. When they are back in charge, let the players know there will be consequences to any footsie with MAGA.
Yes, they need to play hardball. Maybe start with this party platform: "Trump doesn't care about Americans - he is too busy protecting pedophiles and murderers." Hang this around his neck every single day, at every single appearance, from every single Democrat. Rinse and repeat. The more you repeat something, the more believable it becomes. Republicans have been using this theory of coordinated talking points successfully for decades and it has worked to promote their lies. Democrats can do the same and benefit from the fact that what they will be repeating happens to be the truth.
THIS. All day, every day, THIS.
I fear I am losing my capacity to be shocked by Trump’s grift. When I read about the UAE pouring money into the Trump family crypto, it felt very routine. I experienced nothing at all. I am a bit more shocked by Trump suing our own IRS for a billion; that got my attention.
Should we all send paper-check tax payments, written out directly to DJT?
That’s 10 billion, but I get that when the grift crosses the billion mark we are making Ponzi look like an amateur.
OMG you’re right! A billion here, a billion there. Pretty soon it’s more than pocket change.
Just wait until our most advanced AI chips end up in the hands of the Chinese and the Russians.
Rest assured, they're in the mail already!
Tim, they paid EXTRA to DJT for those chips, so...you know, once we (meaning non-Bulwark members) get the Donald J Trump Tariff Bonus Checks we'll all be grateful they have those AI Chips!
The one good thing about all of this is the GOP can no longer bear the mantle of being the "national security" party. This entire fucking administration is a living, breathing example of an insider threat who is selling out the national security for a buck. Whether the Democrats can capitalize on this remains to be seen. But when little Marco runs for POTUS in a couple of years, I hope to God someone stuffs that poltroon in a locker with substantial vigor and force.
Tim that assumes that folks are savvy enough to understand what's actually happening or care what is happening. I think what we're learning here is that folks are willing to let in authoritarianism if they think it is in THEIR best interest, with their best interest not extending much farther than their own navel. Meaning, they'll welcome Weyland-Yutani as their overlords just so long as their day-to-day life is seemingly "normal".
This assumes that there won't be a national security incident between now and the 2028 election. There's a non-zero chance there will be, and because not only is the administration compromised but incompetent, that non-zero probability is not insignificant. And when the previously apathetic, amoral voter gets a taste of that, they'll come around.
Oh, there's incidents aplenty on the horizon: Trump declaring martial law in a pivotal swing state just ahead of an election. China invading Taiwan. Grok gaining consciousness and commandeering Starlink and Tesla vehicles. Etc. Etc.
I'm not optimistic is that, short of some national or global existential threat, any change will come provided the average suburbanite is able to live a mostly "normal" life. Consider, as a point, Russia. Your typical Russian puts on their pants and lives their day, every day. Objectively they, and everyone, would have greatly benefitted by just having them sign up for the normal world order, but they did not opt for that. Now, alas, those days are no longer an option. I think the same could happen here.
He says he will give the money to a "charity." I'm guessing that most taxpayers who will have to pay the price for this debacle do not wish to donate to his charity through their IRS payments. He wants to force Americans to give up their hard-earned dollars for a total farce. He is an ignorant stooge. He doesn't understand, when he brags about billions of dollars flowing into the treasury from his tariffs, that the money is being bled from Americans who pay for the tariffs, and definitely not coming from other countries. And he doesn't understand that if he contributes his lawsuit money to some charity that it is still just taking money, unnecessarily, from American taxpayers. What a dolt. His ignorance is appalling.
Agree. And Trump’s idea of “charity” is very close to his own finances/ego. Maybe his presidential library? Maybe the Arc de Trumph?
I find it hard to believe that Trump has EVER given ANYTHING to charity.
Why did I think that I had already heard about this shortly after it happened? Must have been some other grift or graft! 🤷♀️
Exactly the same for me! “Old news”.
Flood the zone. It works.
I just finished reading *Autobiography of a Recovering Skinhead* by Frank Meeink. Wanting to know some about him in the years since the book was published, I learned something I hadn't heard before. In 2020 he testified to the House's Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties of the Committee on Oversight and Reform. He told them about how white supremacist groups actively encourage their members to get jobs in law enforcement and the military. Here's his testimony: https://docs.house.gov/meetings/GO/GO02/20200929/111003/HHRG-116-GO02-Wstate-MeeinkF-20200929.pdf.
That's been long known as a problem in Portland, OR. Right wing thugs from outside the city basically run the PPD, apart from the (elected) chief, and have a hatred of the cities in Oregon, bkz they keep the state going blue at the prez and Senate levels.
During BLM, they cracked down as hard as they could on the BLM protesters, but moved gates out of the way for pro-Trump/Proud Bois/etc parades, etc.
Growing up in Philadelphia we used to call their police force the Gestapo when it was run by Frank Rizzo, first as police chief, then as mayor. Those boys just loved busting heads! It wouldn't surprise me in the least if they were all Nazis at heart.
Have you read the book? Frank is from Philly. He's now a practicing Jew and has traveled the country for years, speaking about his experiences and spreading his love. It sounds a little dorky the way I put it, but that's truly what he does. It's amazing what he overcame, what's he done to make amends, and what a good person he is. Key to his change of heart is that he used his critical thinking skills to realize what BS his indoctrination was.
Dropped a bomb on a row house... .
That was Wilson Goode as mayor but same police gestapo. trump was right on one statement, "Bad things happen in Philadelphia".
Both my parents grew up in South Philly. When I was a tyke, my grandfather took me to *Philadelphia Athletics* games.
"DeSantis, for readers who might be too young to remember, is a politician who was once thought of as the Next Big Thing in Republican politics, before Trump trampled him like a parade of elephants in the 2024 GOP presidential primary. Since then, DeSantis has receded from the political consciousness, leapfrogged in the 2028 conventional-wisdom sweepstakes by figures like JD Vance and Marco Rubio. But he has something Rubio and Vance lack: Unlike them, he isn’t lashed to the wheel of the current administration. If Trump keeps floundering around and shedding support, guys like DeSantis might smell opportunity—the sort of opportunity that could incentivize them to start encouraging the party to finally move beyond the era of The Donald."
Just wait until measles runs amok down in Florida and kids start dropping dead because that's coming, all in the name of "freedom". And besides, the base didn't want Ron. They wanted Trump and the insanity, cruelty, and transgression.
Also, as a resident Bulwark Florida man around here, the Desantises (Both Ron and Casey) are wrapped up in an absolutely fubarred legal and financial scandal where they stole medicaid reimbursement money, laundered it through Casey DeSantis's Hope Florida slush fund, and spent it on their political projects, then appointed the director of their political committees as Attorney General to prevent state investigations into the fraud.
The moment the state gets an ethical Attorney General, both Ron and Casey should be charged with the various crimes they seem to have committed.
There's also no love lost between Trump and Ron. If Ron gets out over his skis in Florida criticizing Trump, Bondi will send the sycophantic Feds after Ron and Casey. Ron is a bully, and like most bullies, Ron is also an absolute coward, so my guess is he will be extremely muted as the Trumpists point to the sword of Damacles that Ron and Casey helpfully have suspended above their own heads.
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article313630394.html
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article312367971.html
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article312510797.html
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article314501896.html
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article311619075.html
I've read about this through Rick Wilson and I'm waiting for the law to visit Ron and Casey. To be honest, though, I'm not holding my breath.
The sad part about this is my wife and I used to love going to Sarasota once a year for a week, but given all the corruption and insanity, we've lost all desire to go. The state has lost its moral bearings.
Yeah, and as a resident of Florida, it is enraging that the opposition party is so scattered and incompetent that they cannot even put together a winning message with this sort of scandal in their quiver.
Maybe David Jolly has a shot to win this year?
was myself invited to visit Florida in 2007 for a ' maybe' cushy stay, for
two + months, guess at that time besides the dewpoint/humidity
I turned it down flat. I had the time, the money and some fairly good companionship
chances, truth be told, I thought is was corrupt at that point, some areas dangerous, others run amok with crime, also the racism.
A few years back, we stayed in Naples for a week and one day and we took a drive near Rick Scott's place. The opulence of the neighborhood was something to behold, and the thought that kept crossing my mind is these people will do *anything* to hold onto living like this, even if it means reelecting an insurrectionist pedophile.
Florida wouldn’t be Florida if the local pols weren’t skimming off federal healthcare dollars. Ask Rick Scott.
Mr. "I take the 5th."
That’s the MAGA/GOP motto.
Sounds to me like a deliberate set of actions to try to win over the MAGA faithful 🤣
Couldn’t happen to a more deserving couple. The occasional news that reaches me from Florida is not encouraging.
Yeah, I have a nitpick with "Trump trampled him ... in the primary." Trump didn't bother to show up for the primary. Didn't even waste his time. The voters trampled DeSantis because they wanted Trump and DeSantis wasn't Trump. Something for Vance to keep in mind. And everyone really: nobody wants imitation rapists, they want real rapists. They have imitation rapists at home. Trump, on the other hand, has street cred.
Not only something for Vance to keep in mind, but every prospective GOP candidate. I think it'll come down to who's willing to be the biggest moral degenerate.
Tim I read something today that I have not been able to verify suggesting that Rubio is revealed by something in the Epstein files to have been one of the parties initiating the Steele Dossier. Good of course be utter bs, but maybe de Santis started this rumour. These people are all inept and conniving, but Trump is the only one who is, up to this point, able to con a large chunk of the population.
The GOP is a nest of vipers. And I personally believe Ron with get away with his corruption. After all, Rick Scott did. In the GOP, the only sin is lack of party loyalty.
“Florida Republicans advance bill to weaken vaccine protections for children”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/01/florida-bill-advances-weaken-vaccine-protections-children
DeSantis isn’t much of an improvement.
This is one reason why I'm not heading back there anytime soon. The state has lost its fucking mind. When kids start dropping dead, it'll be on Florida and its residents.
Yep. Sad. What’s wrong with these people?
‘Frustrating and Demoralizing’: The Measles Comeback Gets Worse… The disease is exploding in South Carolina, we’re about to lose elimination status, and RFK Jr.’s team says it’s just the “cost of doing business,”
Darwin could predict the outcome of this. Let's hope the results are confined to vaccine-deniers.
If you received your measles vax decades ago, please ask your doctor to Rx a lab test of your immunity titers. You can get a booster if your immunity has waned over the years.
That's a good recommendation. I skipped the test and went straight to getting a new measles+ vax
People still look at me like I might be confused when I say I never had the vaccine, I had measles! I remember my mother being so happy b/c I had all the childhood diseases - measles, mumps, chickenpox, etc. - before starting school.
Last year, as soon as this ridiculousness started, I had my dr. test me just to make sure I was still protected. My antibodies - or whatever the blood test measures - were very high. A good friend who doesn't remember whether he had the vaccine or the disease is getting tested tomorrow.
"Let's hope the results are confined to vaccine-deniers."
It's measles, FFS. It's going to infect innocent CHILDREN. A few of whom will be scarred for life and a few of whom will die. So, you're imagining the parents of unvaxed victims have some genetic trait such that we can write off those deaths as natural selection?
SMH.
Measles is one of the most contagious diseases in the world. It took teams of professionals working around the clock to keep it in check: all gone now. Also, measles causes immune amnesia to other diseases:
https://hms.harvard.edu/news/inside-immune-amnesia
There are many reasons we targeted measles and polio for eradication. These diseases are incredibly dangerous.
"Children’s Health Defense (CHD): This anti-vaccine nonprofit, formerly led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., partnered with local activists to raise over $16,000 via online fundraisers to provide "essential vitamins and supplements" like cod liver oil and Vitamin A to measles patients in West Texas."
RFK Jr. makes money when kids die of measles, and yet John Roberts wanted this for us enough to break the law repeatedly.
There's a high probability that ICE will be surging in Springfield, Ohio, population 60,000. The Temporary Protection Status for 15,000 Haitians living there will expire, midnight February 3. There have been multiple talks between Ohio state government officials, including Governor Michael DeWine, and federal government officials.
This isn't speculation or guesswork. Timothy Snyder wrote a long article about this potential surge in substack, 2 days ago.
https://open.substack.com/pub/snyder/p/ethnic-cleansing-in-ohio?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=9qk0x
A city of 60,000 people cannot absorb the amount of chaos and social entropy that may be happening this week. They don't have the infrastructure of a large metropolitan area.
So far, Springfield is not receiving much news coverage, yet. I hope it doesn't come down to that. Springfield's food bank is called, Second Harvest. You can find them online. They are a very efficient and very organized food bank. I have visited there.
It's heartbreaking. Springfield, OH was dying until the immigrants revitalized the town. A town will go back to the metaphorical hospice ward, because hatred feels so good.
It feels odd to put a "like" on your comment, but you have your finger right on the truth of the matter. It's a sad truth. I live close by and have friends that live close by.
And what do those friends have to say about this? Still want to vote MAGA so that this stuff continues?
I was talking to a buddy of mine over the weekend, a veteran. He uses the VA quite a lot. He said, now, the waiting rooms over at the VA are REALLY quiet. No one says anything. People aren't chatty like they were. No red hats. He said he thinks it's because EVERYONE there has been taken care of by a guy like Alex Pretti. When no one else would help, the VA doctors and nurses helped. And the guy they voted for sent an armed mob into an American city and murdered one of those people. They ain't happy. And they're not making excuses for him.
Cool, but will they keep voting for him and his minions?
Don't worry, the sanctity of girls' sports will re-emerge as a wedge issue. Or something else will be found. MAGA is really good at keeping their guys on their side.
I have a solution for that problem. We have learned that gender is different than sex. Why not specify that what are now designated as women's leagues and competitions are organized according to sex, not gender? I would also encourage that as many sports as possible be come-one-come all. (My wife and I played co-ed softball and it was flat out a blast.)
I got the sense the answer is no.
There's a caveat, of course. Democrats can't make themselves so odious that they simply can't.
Listen to this guy. (It's short...)
https://youtu.be/00IiJjWFklU?si=gBlDeQVKEQWAqrjF
This is the guy. Listen to what he wants to hear from Democrats. You want this guy? You need to meet at least some of his needs.
Good on this guy for coming around, but I know for sure that Kamala (or Obama, or Biden) ever one time came for anyone's gun, or ever advocated for men in women's restrooms. Do these guys really believe that a "Women's'" sign on a door would stop a rapist? "I'd go in there and commit a heinous crime, but the sign says I'm not allowed!"
Please.
Wow, that is a powerful statement and I hope a thumbnail look at how many, many Republican voters are feeling. Again, I will say it, I HAVE HOPE! The only thing that scares me is how far Trump will go to stop the next elections. States need to be making plans right now on how to protect the integrity of their voting systems.
hey, that just made me think, my one brother does not wear caps
( other than an occasional stocking hat ) the other brother has
dug our his older veteran caps without all the googly shiny nonsense
and this year, no sticker on his bumper... both supported the useless guy
I think it's fine to "like" someone saying an awful situation is awful. 😀
The ICE/CBP playbook will be the same wherever they go, but one thing's struck me about all this that I didn't expect. My sister lives near Minneapolis. I live near Chicago. Our experiences were the same, but she hadn't really heard any of the details of what happened here: gassing little kids in a Halloween parade, sitting outside Emergency Rooms waiting for brown people to bring in sick kids so they could nab the parents, roving groups of agents blocking traffic and banging on windows looking for nervous brown people to get on a Kavanaugh Stop, conducting "operations" inside daycare centers, etc.
For all the talk about how social media is keeping everyone up to speed on what's actually happening out there, it doesn't really seem to be happening.
So, yeah, brace for it, Springfield. They're coming. They're going to be kicking in the wrong doors because they can't read. They'll be using administrative warrants instead of judicial ones. They'll be camped out in front of schools and hospitals and churches and daycare centers and ethnic grocery stores. They'll be harassing people on the streets and at places like car washes and The Home Depot. They'll be grabbing random kids in Target and body slamming them. They'll be grabbing people, carting them around for a while and then dumping them off miles away, letting them figure out how they're going to get home. They'll be dragging people out of their cars, leaving them unlocked (or even running) and just letting other people figure out what to do with them. It's all coming. It's all perfectly legal now, too. Thanks, Ohio. You voted for this.
I've tried to get in contact with Second Harvest, the food bank, and there's no one answering phones. They have a special message on their voicemail. It's clear that they are bracing for the worst.
Here is information related to the groups who are poised to help the Haitians this week:
G92 Springfield (Coalition of Churches)
This is the central network coordinating "boots-on-the-ground" volunteer efforts, including rapid response training and food deliveries for families hunkering down.
Email: advocacy@ohiog92.org (Best for rapid volunteering or coordination)
Key Contact: Pastor Carl Ruby (Central Christian Church)
Donation Link: G92/Central Christian Giving Page (Funds go directly to Haitian families in need).
The Nehemiah Foundation
They act as a central connector for Christian ministries in Springfield and manage the "Care Portal" to meet specific needs for families.
Phone: (937) 325-6226
Email: info@nehemiahfoundation.org
Address: 102 West High Street, 3rd Floor, Springfield, OH 45502
Website: nehemiahfoundation.org
Haitian Support Center & Community Help
These centers are led by the Haitian community themselves and are primary hubs for social services and documentation.
Phone: (937) 408-6194 or (937) 408-8251
Email: contact@haitiansupportcenter.org or haitianhelpcenterspringfield@gmail.com
Address: 1530 S Yellow Springs St, Springfield, OH 45506
President: Pastor Viles Dorsainvil
St. Vincent de Paul (Springfield District)
Focused on emergency financial assistance, food, and helping children of Haitian immigrants obtain U.S. passports/documentation.
Phone: (937) 322-0838 or (937) 325-8880
Email: svdp@svdpspfld.org
Address: 2415 E High St, Springfield, OH 45505
Executive Director: Casey Rollins
The AMOS Project
They are organizing the "Know Your Rights" trainings and community safety meetings at local churches like Zion Hill Baptist.
Phone: (513) 505-1960
Email: info.amosproject@gmail.com
Website: amosprojectohio.org
Urgent Resources
If you or someone you know needs to report ICE activity or needs immediate legal guidance:
Ohio Immigrant Alliance Hotline: (419) 777-4357
The "Whistle Packets": Being distributed by community leaders at St. John Missionary Baptist Church to help neighbors document and report activity safely.
Quite a few years ago I had heard some negativity about 2nd Harvest,
not maltreatment, but privacy. Now that was in 2006-2008 maybe
they have cleaned up their act. MN, Willmar
I had heard all of that around Chicago, all of it. Mn resident
Both Timothy Snyder and Thomas Zimmer have referred to it as an ethnic cleansing attempt. It's an act of fascist, genocidal white supremacy.
Not lost on many folks: they will be starting this attack on the Haitian community in Springfield to coincide with the start of Black History month. ffs.
The fact that this city is so small and will be overrun by thugs is nauseating. The racial nature of this action cannot be overstated.
Pretty sure that’s why they targeted Minneapolis too - to target the Somali immigrant and Somali-American community.
"Although DHS’s post casually accuses the woman of committing multiple felonies, they eventually just decided to drop her off without further incident—an odd move, if those felonies actually occurred" EQUALS "these dangerous narco-terrorists were going to kill 24,000 Americans so we blew up their boat and then we picked two of them out of the water and sent them home." These people...
they must make shit up. the media I got it from first was a small city newspaper
near where happened. MankatoFreePress, which is NOT FREE, other sites quickly added the video. they got some points wrong at first, but Kristol Egger et al got it right in this article
the video is quick and I love what she said , get your ------ hands off me. I believe they
knew about her, she is , I think , a local interpreter and all around helper, a trailer park
in that town. so, in my opinion, targeted and to frighten her. was purposeful.
the detail one or two articles said like the sheriff pulled them over, which was not true.
my reaction, was cynical that day, was she had a friend in a high place, I have trouble
believing anything any longer.
Lev Parnas keeps saying Pay no attention to what they say, watch what they do. I am totally unsurprised by ICE's "new" behavior.
Ironically, Trump apologists have used the mantra "Pay no attention to what he says; just watch what he does," meaning that he says crazy things all the time, but his policies are awesome.
Of course, the truth is that when Trump and his allies promise something good, it's a lie; when they threaten something bad, they mean it.
"Handsome is as handsome does." as the Hobbits say.
Re: World Liberty Financial. WLF's stablecoin, USD1, is tiny by comparison to others, yet it was chosen as the vehicle for UAE sovereign wealth fund MGX to purchase a $2 billion stake in Binance. As a result, the Trump family, Witkoff, and, as we now see, at least one UAE actor, earn about 4% on the US dollars put on deposit to close the deal*. That's $80 million per year until and unless the stablecoins are redeemed. And, of course, Chengpeng Zhao, a principal owner of Binance, got a Trump pardon, for an offense which would have meant 15 years in the pen. To think that during Trump1 we were talking about "stay to play" as the height of corruption.
*What makes stablecoin stable
This shows we are up against a global enterprise of massive corruption. The oligarchs are trans-national. Stateless.
Yep. Crypto is a radical libertarian play. They want to destroy fiat currencies and the governments that issue them.
I "love" how crypto is good, and government issued currencies are "bad." How crypto fixes the problems of fiat currency elude me.
The sympathetic view is that governments can manipulate the value of their fiat currencies via monetary policy. Crypto was supposed to fix that.
Right now, the advantage in using crypto, including stablecoin, is avoiding regulatory red tape. Of course a lot of the tape regards preventing money laundering and other crimes.
The only reasons I can see for crypto are: a medium to exchange currencies, and iillegal transactions. Hardly a ringing endorsement.
ALL crypto is a ponzi scheme. All of it.
We need another reply to a comment in addition to 'like'. I'm thinking 'WTF' would be a pretty good choice.
I vote yes for a WTF option!
Crypto is a boon for grifters. Untraceable.
The off ramps to cash are the only choke point. Without that it's the wild west..
Here's the page from Etherscan depicting USD1's Blockchain. Noting that there are a mere hundred or so transactions over a little over a year, with many tiny transactions and several mind-bogglingly large ones... .
https://etherscan.io/token/0xC824Bf014539F6bdE6b81ABAaca0D626C2AC5985
Re: "...ProPublica reported the identities of the two agents who shot Alex Pretti."
Okay. So what? (And I sure hope they got this right because otherwise there'll be hell to pay, and rightly so.)
My prediction is that absolutely nothing is going to happen to these two clowns, just like nothing's going to happen to Jonathan Ross. None of them will ever see the inside of a courthouse, let alone a prison.
But here's the thing for me. Until now, the notion's been that all this happened because these guys are completely untrained and start from a baseline of ignorance and stupidity that would disqualify them from any real law enforcement job.
That doesn't appear to be the case. They're not rookies. So how does that change what happens here? You can't credibly say they didn't know the mission or understand their roles or were unfamiliar with agency policies. It'd be hard to make the case that they got scared and this was all just a tragic error by inexperienced officers put in a very challenging environment, right?
So what's their play now? I'm guessing it's just delay and obstruction and lies, but can that work?
This was my takeaway too, but from the other side. These clearly aren't rookie "mistakes", they are saying the quiet parts out loud with lethal force. So what do we do? Is there even a chance we win in '28 by a large enough margin to even be able to tackle the problem of armed federal agents who hate the people they are supposed to protect and serve? Is there a willingness to acknowledge it?
I would hope so, but who knows.
I do think just a few, simple changes could make a big difference. No masks. Big thing there. Body cameras. Name tags. Judicial warrants. Requirement that there be a articulable reason to stop and detain someone. Maybe some restrictions on where CBP people can work: customs houses, within 25 miles of an international border, etc.
And then every one of them has to sign off on some document saying they understand the rules. When one of them violates a rule, there are consequences of some kind.
No more roving bands of armed, masked Federal agent running around pepper spraying people, threatening them, killing them and getting away with it.
That guy that was recorded saying, "If you raise your voice, I will erase your voice." That sounds pretty threatening to me. What happened to him? My guess: nothing. (Maybe they bought him a cake at his "Agent of the Month" ceremony, but who knows?)
I think those are some great restrictions. I'd also like to see some stricter limitations (with teeth) on how they can interact with people while doing their jobs. Like, if an IRS agent sees someone jaywalking while they're on their way to an audit, they can't whip out a gun and cuffs. Theoretically ICE and CBP are there to apprehend "criminal illegal aliens". Yet they mostly seem to be doing a lot of harassment of local citizens. That should be something that gets them fired and placed on some sort of LEO blacklist.
Federal agents shouldn't be treating citizens (or anyone domestic) worse than our soldiers were treating people in Iraq or Afghanistan, but here we are. They are acting like a belligerent occupying force in conquered turf.
My friend, the catch is there is no one in authority over the agents who wants to enforce your shoulds & shouldn'ts. Perhaps if there were a different president? Perhaps a much more assertive congress? ...but there's some difficulties in congress controlling executive branch employees at micro level. We're in a difficult spot when these are not isolated bad apples or rogue operators, but actually broadly carrying out the wishes of their chain of command all the way up. Unfamiliar situation for our system
Living 10 years in the borderlands, you see & hear of some BP agents doing pretty awful stuff - no masks, name badges on, articulable reasons always ready (doesn't mean true). Def have some culture problems. Reform & oversight's long overdue, and long before Trump. There are decent people wearing the green too; not sure how they handle what they see BP doing away from borders this past year
I'd like to think there are decent people working for CBP and there probably are. I friend of mine, a Texas resident, has a neighbor who works for CBP. "Nicest guy you'd ever want to meet," is his assessment.
Okay, so that "good person" is going along with all this? What's he saying? Anything? Or just keeping his head down and hoping this all blows over or SOMEONE ELSE does something about it? That, I think, is the problem. A "good person" would do something. Is quitting the answer? Maybe. Maybe not. The "good person" could easily just be replaced with another Proud Boy (if there are any that haven't become ICE or CBP officers already). That wouldn't be good. But how can any "good person" work for an organization like this? I couldn't.
I appreciate your thoughts on this.
On Border Patrol, may I offer 'The Line Becomes A River' by Francisco Cantú. His book well describes his inner journey as a young man of Latino heritage joining then eventually leaving the BP. He's a good person... I vouch from his book, from his spirit when he speaks (my privilege to have experienced in public talks) as he comes across here for e.g.: https://orionmagazine.org/article/francisco-cantu-orion-questionnaire/
On "good person" more generally - Last few weeks I've been plugging away at 'I will bear witness' - the diary of Victor Klemperer, volume 2 covering 1942-45, his daily experiences as a Jew living in Dresden. I don't have his stamina, only manage a few pages some days. No ONE horrible thing, but the relentless accumulating weight plus the dread of what I expect must be coming... the next week, next month, or in the very next diary entry?
Klemperer describes occasional interactions where a fellow German citizen (his frequent term is Aryan) treats him with kindness or goes out of their way to extend some small grace. From these events, he determines that many of the non-Jewish population really don't know the extent of the depredations being imposed on their Jewish neighbors. I wonder is theirs a willful ignorance, or perhaps being fair preoccupied by their own stresses of living daily lives in an authoritarian, chaotic, wartime society?
Some people decide to be a nail - to stand tall and risk the attention of the hammer. Some choose to lay low. My opinion is my own, usually made without knowing each one's inner workings. If The Judge exists, it's not me. There's a possibility that each go-along-to-get-along person might occasionally use the cover of their compliance to throw some small spanner into the works of the regime. Net effects could add up. The universe is vast enough for me to allow for this possibility... dare I say, to hope?
maybe get a six suspension and a little money for their valor. Now, personally I
have faith that Minn will go after Ross and these other two, as well. Still believe that
no matter how long it takes or where they hide or lie low.
"Democrat Taylor Rehmet, a 33-year-old union leader and Air Force veteran, won by more than 14 points in a Republican district that Donald Trump won by 17 points in November 2024."
Let's see...carry the 1...that's a 31-point swing!
I'm old enough to remember when a 13-point swing in the Tennessee special election last year was described as a political earthquake.
I’m that old too!
I want to paraphrase a line from Peter Jackson's "The Two Towers," spoken by King Theoden facing the Uruk Hai at Helm's Deep: "What can men do against such reckless wealth?" From the WaPo front page this morning: "The Democratic Party on the national level has a mere fraction of what Republicans have heading into the 2026 midterms."
Does it help to realize that the Republicans spent $2.4M in Saturday night's race and LOST to the Democrat who spent only $200K in Texas' State Senate District 9? trump won that district by +15 in 2024, while the Democrat Saturday night won by +16.
Money isn't always the end-all, be-all. A disadvantage for certain, but not always the deciding factor.
I'll take hope anywhere I can get it. :)
Time for Democrats to start cutting adds saying it is the billionaires that supported Epstein who are now funding the Republican party.
Look at all the Democratic money and ad buys in 2024. Just throwing money at the same consultants and TV ad buys doesn't guarantee wins.
That is a source of distress to me, as my email and text apps are overwhelmed with requests for campaign money. It hammers home to me, that money is my voice, and it isn’t much compared to the tech bro oligarchs.
If you think the “corrupt businessman” trope is the whole story, you’re reading the wrong scripture. This is the scaffolding of a private state being bolted together in real time, while the country argues about the color of the bolts.
History never pretended the Praetorian Guard existed to protect Rome. It existed to protect the money, to protect the patronage, to protect the continuity of the purse. The uniforms are different now. The logic is identical. When you start hearing talk of “security” used as a solvent for elections, when intelligence machinery gets pointed inward like a spear, you’re not watching policy. You’re watching the future being pawned off, one crisis at a time, for the comfort of men who need the republic weak enough to own.
This is how “order” gets manufactured. First you inflate the threat. Then you deputize the appetite. Then you build a culture around enforcement that treats restraint as weakness and brutality as virtue. You don’t need jackboots when you can get volunteers. You don’t need a coup when you can get a bureaucracy to do it with a smile and a pension.
While the chattering class hyperventilates over special elections and blue “waves,” the executive wing is busy wiring a psychological detonator into the national nervous system. The real weapon is not a bill. It’s a story. A forced Muduro narrative. A televised “confession” squeezed out of a broken strongman, staged as proof, packaged as destiny. Not because it’s true, but because it’s usable. A Reichstag Fire for the algorithm age. A moral oxygen tank for every dormant fanatic who’s been waiting for permission to feel righteous while doing evil.
Once you sell people “evidence” that the past was stolen, you don’t just rewrite history. You weaponize the future. You teach the faithful to view the next election not as a civic process, but as a battlefield. You turn ballots into targets. You turn neighbors into traitors. You turn “democracy” into a word that means nothing except whatever the strongman needs it to mean that week.
That’s the synthesis we’re watching: an armed enforcement culture fused to a hallucinated narrative of betrayal. When fabricated proof collides with real weapons and institutional cover, the consequences aren’t “unrest.” They’re terminal. This is not a shift in governance. It’s mobilization. It’s civil bloodshed laundered through official channels, sanctified by badges, and fed by men who traded their oath for a cult and call it patriotism.
The cliff isn’t coming. We drove off it a while ago. What’s ahead isn’t a road. It’s a thresher, humming patiently in the dark, waiting for the next manufactured emergency to feed it.
Two CBP Agents Identified in Alex Pretti Shooting
https://www.propublica.org/article/alex-pretti-shooting-cbp-agents-identified-jesus-ochoa-raymundo-gutierrez
I am sure more background info will be dug up regarding these "agent's" past actions. I would bet that there may be at least one incident that would make them, and probably many more, unsuited to the roles they are currently playing. Any grand jury viewing video and drawn a frame by frame analysis would not hesitate to recommend indictments in the Good and Pretti cases.
It is my sincere wish to see Miller, Bovino, Bondi, Patel, Homan, and Noem (others!) squirm in a court of law under oath. After testifying under oath to a couple of televised congressional committees.
Nothing will happen to any of them in this country. This will require Hague/Nuremberg level trials.
Your subtitle is wrong. It implies it is somehow not Trump making these decisions. "cannot tame the monster he made" suggests he is trying to tame the monster. He isn't.
Republicans aren't either, because they are in lockstep with those decisions. They figure it is the only way they will stay in power now. They all need ICE to scare the voters.
Stop pussy footing around what is clearly forming right in front of you. Deal with it directly.