Today In: Ain't We Proud?!

[ousdahl]

I guess it was Roosevelt who said, “speak softly and carry a big stick,” right?

A stark contrast with Trump’s philosophy of “don’t do shit but tweet about how big my stick is”

[PhDhawk]

I guess it was Roosevelt who said, “speak softly and carry a big stick,” right?

A stark contrast with Trump’s philosophy of “don’t do shit but tweet about how big my stick is”

yeah, I mean when you think about presidents and timeless quotes you have stuff like:

FDR saying "there's nothing to fear but fear itself"

JFK said "We choose to go to the moon not because it is easy, but because it is hard"

Lincoln said, "Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves"

I think it's tough to imagine Trump saying anything that will have more staying power than "grab them by the pussy."

[ousdahl]

you're probably right, though "I'm fucked" also came to mind

as did covfefe

[Shirley]

Congressional Democrats on Monday condemned postings made in a secret Facebook group for U.S. Border Patrol agents that targeted migrants and some prominent lawmakers with attacks that the chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus called “vulgar, disgusting and vile.”

The posts sparked special outrage among a delegation of more than a dozen House members who had just started a tour of federal immigration facilities in Southwest Texas when ProPublica broke the story.

Some of the Facebook posts discussed throwing burritos at the visiting lawmakers, while others joked in profane language about the deaths of migrants and included a vulgar illustration of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) being forced to engage in a sexual act by President Trump, according to images of the posts obtained by ProPublica...

House Homeland Security Chairman Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.), who did not participate in Monday’s border visits, said in a statement that the Facebook group is “truly abhorrent and shameful” and that those who participated in the attacks “seem empowered by President Trump and seem all too willing to take his anti-immigrant rhetoric to the next level when they think no one is watching.”

As the furor over the posts mounted, Trump supporters gathered outside the Clint detention center while the Democrats were inside. At a news conference afterward, the lawmakers struggled to be heard as protesters shouted them down.

“Build a wall; deport ’em all,” one shouted. “That’s the way we get rid of this problem!”

When Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), one of three Muslim members of Congress, stood at the event, a protester shouted: “We care about Jesus Christ. We don’t care about Sharia law.”

[...]

[Geezer]

MERICA!!!!

[Deleted User 89]

my god could beat up your god

[twocoach]

Congressional Democrats on Monday condemned postings made in a secret Facebook group for U.S. Border Patrol agents that targeted migrants and some prominent lawmakers with attacks that the chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus called “vulgar, disgusting and vile.”

The posts sparked special outrage among a delegation of more than a dozen House members who had just started a tour of federal immigration facilities in Southwest Texas when ProPublica broke the story.

Some of the Facebook posts discussed throwing burritos at the visiting lawmakers, while others joked in profane language about the deaths of migrants and included a vulgar illustration of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) being forced to engage in a sexual act by President Trump, according to images of the posts obtained by ProPublica...

House Homeland Security Chairman Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.), who did not participate in Monday’s border visits, said in a statement that the Facebook group is “truly abhorrent and shameful” and that those who participated in the attacks “seem empowered by President Trump and seem all too willing to take his anti-immigrant rhetoric to the next level when they think no one is watching.”

As the furor over the posts mounted, Trump supporters gathered outside the Clint detention center while the Democrats were inside. At a news conference afterward, the lawmakers struggled to be heard as protesters shouted them down.

“Build a wall; deport ’em all,” one shouted. “That’s the way we get rid of this problem!”

When Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), one of three Muslim members of Congress, stood at the event, a protester shouted: “We care about Jesus Christ. We don’t care about Sharia law.”

[...]

That's just private lockerroom talk, right?

[DrPepper]

Again, why aren’t we letting the UN run these refugee camps in the US? Some would say we have paid the UN plenty. Cutting out the cronies in the industrial prison complex of the US seems the obvious thing to do.

[Shirley]

Again, why aren’t we letting the UN run these refugee camps in the US? Some would say we have paid the UN plenty. Cutting out the cronies in the industrial prison complex of the US seems the obvious thing to do.

Although it would almost certainly be preferable to the inhumanity we're currently witnessing, I wouldn't hold my breath.

Why would Trump/republicans try to fix a problem that allows them to take advantage of their base's nativistic bigotry and racism? To endlessly rally their ignorant jingoistic base with one of their most reliable tropes, "fear of the other"? Like abortion, republicans don't want to and would never actually do what's necessary to "solve" our nation's broken immigration system, because, as they've proven over and over the last several decades, they care more about holding onto power than they do about what's best for our country.

You might as well ask the "Fiscal Responsibility Party" to stop balancing every federal budget, and the "Pro-Life Party" to try to solve our nation's gun problems and ban the death penalty.

#itaintgonnahappen

[chiknbut]

The Qanon thing is fascinating to me. Stay tuned for some big news today apparently involving JFK Jr.

[Shirley]

WTF has America become? Abject cruelty as American policy, over and over again. smfh

US Customs and Border Patrol agents at a migrant processing center in Texas allegedly attempted to humiliate a Honduran migrant by making him hold a sign that read, "I like men," according to emails written by an agent who witnessed the incident.

The emails -- obtained by CNN -- were sent to the agent's supervisor and outlined the March 5 episode in which a Honduran man was forced to hold a piece of paper that said, "Me gustan los hombre(s)," which translates to "I like men," while being paraded through a migrant detention center.

The incident is one of many, per the emails, in which the CBP agent allegedly witnessed several colleagues displaying poor behavior and management's failure to act.

According to the emails, the agent, on-duty at the El Paso Processing Center, saw another agent give a handwritten note to a Honduran migrant and instructed him to walk in front of a group of other migrants who had also been apprehended.

An image, also obtained by CNN, shows a note with the words that read, "Me gustan los hombre(s)."



The witnessing agent saw the note, approached an agent responsible for writing it and another agent who was laughing. The witnessing agent told them their behavior was unprofessional, the emails say. Neither agent responded.

Seeing that the Honduran man was upset, the witnessing agent took the note away from him and provided him another without the derogatory phrase on it.

The witnessing agent in the emails names two senior Border Patrol agents and five other agents who also saw the alleged incident occur. The witnessing agent took the note to the senior agent in charge that night but the senior agent took no action, the emails said.

The allegations of the agents' conduct come on the heels of a report by ProPublica this week that revealed a closed Facebook group for current and former Border Patrol agents that featured jokes about migrant deaths and derogatory comments about Latina lawmakers...

[twocoach]

I have been going to Troy, Kansas, a small town of less than a thousand folks just west of St. Joseph, MO since I was born. My father grew up there and our family farm has been there since the early 1930s.

Yesterday we celebrated the 4th there and part of the celebration is always a parade down Main St. with some old cars, cheerleaders being hauled behind pickups on flatbed trailers throwing candy. The whole small town shtick. It's cute and fun and a nice break from my norm.

Yesterday's celebration also included what I believe was my first sighting of a Confederate flag in person. It was flown proudly in the back of some old restored Ford pickup participating in the parade. I was shocked and stunned when I saw it, having never seen anything like this in little Troy, KS before. I also noticed that the Color Guard that used to use old timey guns that appeared to be decorative only also matched out there with bookend AR-15s with the magazines removed from them.

I am sure it's just a coincidence that it happened during this President's term. Just America getting great, I suppose...

[DrPepper]

Lord, help us.

[Shirley]

Again, why aren’t we letting the UN run these refugee camps in the US? Some would say we have paid the UN plenty. Cutting out the cronies in the industrial prison complex of the US seems the obvious thing to do.

GENEVA (8 July 2019) - UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said on Monday she is appalled by the conditions in which migrants and refugees - children and adults - are being held in detention in the United States of America after crossing the southern border. She stressed that children should never be held in immigration detention or separated from their families.

The High Commissioner stated that several UN human rights bodies have found that the detention of migrant children may constitute cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment that is prohibited by international law.*”

“As a paediatrician, but also as a mother and a former head of State, I am deeply shocked that children are forced to sleep on the floor in overcrowded facilities, without access to adequate healthcare or food, and with poor sanitation conditions,” High Commissioner Bachelet said.

“Detaining a child even for short periods under good conditions can have a serious impact on their health and development - consider the damage being done every day by allowing this alarming situation to continue.” The High Commissioner noted that immigration detention is never in the best interests of a child.

[...]

[Shirley]

[Shirley]

[Shirley]

[Shirley]

Please DOJ lawyers, submit said "affidavits".

[Shirley]

[seahawk]

Bless her heart.