(note embedded video may not play-sorry about that, MA)
Story by Amanda Marcotte
• 3h • 6 min read
Many people mistake cynicism for savviness. So, of course, it took no time at all for some political pundits to rush forward to declare that Donald Trump’s historic 34 felony convictions would somehow “help” him. Republicans rushed to beat their chests and made loud threats that Democrats will rue these convictions, even though it was 12 randomly selected jurors in Manhattan, and not the Democratic Party, that convicted Trump. He falsely claimed that his “poll numbers have gone up substantially” since the verdict. (So far, it hasn’t moved the polls much, though it seems to have made some voters more hesitant to support Trump.) The campaign claimed a $53 million fundraising haul in the aftermath of the verdict, though this should be taken with a grain of salt, as they lie constantly. And, of course, Republicans ran towards every microphone is sight to feign outrage and declare that an upswell of once-skeptical Americans would now vote for Trump. Who knew there was a massive constituency of voters outraged that New York would enforce its laws against criminal conspiracies to defraud the public?
Alas, the GOP theatrics appear to have scared some folks.
Failed presidential candidate Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., called on Gov. Kathy Hochul, D-N.Y., to “pardon” Trump, claiming failure to do so is “[m]aking him a martyr” and “energizing his base.” Future failed presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — pretending still not to be on the right — insisted this will “backfire” on Democrats. (It cannot be stated enough that the Democratic Party did not convict Trump, a jury did.) But even some well-meaning liberals had a nearly superstitious reaction to the celebrations, worried that somehow Trump would find a way to turn this to his advantage.
I don’t want to jinx things, but it seems highly unlikely that Trump will benefit from having “convicted felon” replace “former president” as his most recent title. It doesn’t mean Trump’s presidential bid is doomed, as the polls remain alarmingly tight. But the notion that Trump is going to find some fresh wellspring of support because he’s been proved a grubby little criminal by a jury of his peers? I’m not buying it.
Related video: How Trump’s deny-everything strategy could hurt him at sentencing (The Associated Press)
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Even Jonathan Chait of New York magazine, who tends to be the voice of the Democratic skittishness, had to admit that the MAGA hollering over the Trump conviction has failed to intimidate. He points out that Republicans are always claiming Democrats are forcing them to support an odious policy or candidate. Even 24 years ago, Republicans argued they had no choice but to vote for George W. Bush because Bill Clinton lied about an extramarital affair. Now, of course, they are “forced” to vote for Trump, which they definitely weren’t going to do before, in defense of candidates breaking the law to cover up sexual misdeeds. “Next thing you know, Trump is going to be so angry about his conviction that he will resort to attempting to overturn an election result,” Chait joked. It’s ironic because Chait was one of the loudest quisling voices freaking out over hypothetical backlash when District Attorney Alvin Bragg indicted Trump on these charges in April 2023. So that even he’s not scared of Republican threats says a lot.
But ultimately, it comes down to this: If getting convicted of crimes is so goshdarned awesome for Trump, then why are his allies doing everything in their power to delay Trump’s other criminal trials? If a guilty verdict is such a boon to Trump, you’d think the six corrupt Republicans on the Supreme Court would be eager for the January 6 trial, instead of dragging their feet on releasing a decision on presidential immunity that will likely push the trial until after the election. If Judge Aileen Cannon believed a conviction would boost the man who appointed her to the federal bench, you can bet the classified documents trial would have happened already. Instead, she’s indefinitely delayed it. If felonies give Trump such an edge in the polls, Republicans in Georgia would be rushing forward with the RICO case there, instead of filing frivolous motions against District Attorney Fani Willis to keep the case from trial.
Certainly, the post-conviction Reuters poll showed 35% of Republican voters saying the verdict makes them more likely to vote for Trump, but that’s a number roughly no one is taking seriously. Those are quite obviously people whose political motives are defined entirely by resentment of liberals and feelings of entitlement, i.e. folks who were going to vote for Trump anyway. What’s more interesting is the 10% of Republicans who say they are less likely to vote for Trump now. Conservative media has been downplaying these charges for over a year now, so it’s possible many of these voters are only now just realizing these were serious crimes indeed.
What all this discourse about “the base” is missing is that it’s not just Trump who has a base of supporters to motivate. Trump hasn’t actually risen in the polls. It’s just that President Joe Biden’s support has eroded. It’s not entirely clear why so many people who voted for Biden in 2020 are unhappy. They keep saying “the economy,” even though unemployment is at record lows and inflation has dropped back down to low rates. I agree with Heather “Digby” Parton, however, that the actual reason is the general bad vibes caused by Trump’s continuing presence on the political scene. “For all of Biden’s successes, he couldn’t put an end to the single biggest problem we face,” she writes. Biden, although it’s unfair, is paying the price for our Trump-caused psychological malaise.
But that’s a reason to hope that Trump’s conviction might actually matter. It’s not a cure-all for the corruption and institutional failure that is wearing people down, to be sure. But it’s energizing to have proof that Trump is not invincible. Especially if Democrats can find the discipline to hammer the words “convicted felon” and “jury of his peers” home through brute repetition. It’s not just about reminding voters what a terrible man Trump is. Those phrases are a promise that the system can work, if people put their minds to it. It might actually help put a little pep in people’s steps, all the way to the polls.
Certainly, Trump himself is not acting like a man who thinks things are going great for him. His post-conviction appearance at Trump Tower more closely resembled the ravings of an addled person screaming about demons on the subway than a press conference. Over the weekend, he gave an interview to Fox News that appears to have created a lot of headaches for their talented editing staff.
As many have pointed out, the only way the Trump trial in Manhattan really benefitted him is by keeping him off the campaign trail. Whenever he speaks publicly, the lies and rants are startling, even to people who follow politics closely and are aware that Trump’s already low levels of coherence have fallen through the floor. Beyond just the rabid MAGA base, a lot of Trump’s polling support comes from people who just aren’t paying much attention, and have no idea what Trump is sounding like these days.
The prediction is that once some of these folks hear Trump’s word salad rage dumps, they might rethink their complacent acceptance of a grievance-addicted liar with 34 felony convictions. Certainly, if that theory has any juice, there’s reason to hope they’ll be alarmed, as the guilty verdicts increase the number of truly unhinged statements from Trump. He won’t have the Fox News editing staff around every day to protect him from himself.
We reached out to the Migration Policy Institute to ask what happens to migrants who arrive at the southern border without authorization to enter the U.S. “The short answer is, it depends,” Putzel-Kavanaugh told us.
We’ll start with migrants apprehended while trying to cross between ports of entry.
In the last several years, Putzel-Kavanaugh said, typically migrants will go into U.S. territory and then wait to be apprehended, with the intention of asking for asylum. They are taken to a processing center – “large, tent-like structures” – for 24 to 72 hours to answer questions and provide biometric information.
“While in custody,” she said, “they’re processed, so to speak … the appropriate disposition will be given to them.” Migrants could be released with a notice to appear in immigration court, processed for expedited removal or asked if they want to be returned to Mexico.
For expedited removal, the U.S. would have to have a relationship with the migrant’s country of origin and space on a repatriation flight. ICE would need capacity to hold migrants pending removal.
In fiscal year 2023, 46% of encounters were migrants from Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras, countries that regularly accept repatriation of their citizens. Venezuelans made up 10.7% of encounters. The U.S. announced in October that Venezuela agreed to accept repatriations of its citizens, but in January, the country halted those flights.
For families, “Border Patrol doesn’t want to keep children in custody for very long,” Putzel-Kavanaugh said. Families are “likely to be released quickly with an NTA [notice to appear] to appear in immigration court.”
What happens for border crossers “depends on the day, depends on how many people Border Patrol is processing” and depends on the type of people coming in, such as whether they are traveling as a family. Criminal record checks are conducted, including screenings for prior immigration charges and whether someone is on a terrorist watchlist.
The process at legal ports of entry is different. Most migrants without authorization to enter the U.S. who are processed at ports of entry have appointments through CBP One — an app that in January 2023 began accepting appointments for a limited number of migrants who are in Mexico and want to request asylum or parole. DHS calls this “safer, humane, and more orderly” than processing between ports of entry, where migrants cross the border illegally and wait to be apprehended. Migrants with CBP One appointments get a similar screening and could be subject to expedited removal, but the majority are released into the U.S. with a notice to appear in immigration court, Putzel-Kavanaugh said.
With CBP One, border officers already have a lot of information about the person, including contact information and a photo. But appointments are capped at 1,450 per day. For calendar year 2023, 413,300 people scheduled such appointments, CBP says.
So, those who are released into the U.S. are generally saying they have a fear of returning to their home countries and want to apply for asylum, and releases are especially likely if it involves a family.
The capacity of Border Patrol and ICE facilities is also an issue, with detention reserved “for people who are really presenting a national security threat,” Putzel-Kavanaugh said.
There’s also a humanitarian parole program for people fleeing Haiti, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba, who can potentially stay in the U.S. for two years if they have a sponsor who applies for the program. Through the end of last year, 327,000 people have been granted parole under the program, which launched in October 2022 for Venezuelans and expanded to the other nationalities in January 2023. There are 30,000 slots per month available.
Unaccompanied children are transferred to the Department of Health and Human Services, which is responsible for children who cross the border on their own.
“It’s this giant puzzle of different agencies … that have to work together,” Putzel-Kavanaugh told us.
For a visualization of the process, the American Immigration Council referred us to a New York Times infographic it helped the newspaper create on what happens to those coming to the border.
Those seeking asylum must prove “that they meet the definition of a refugee,” the American Immigration Council explains in a fact sheet updated in January. “In order to be granted asylum, an individual is required to provide evidence demonstrating either that they have suffered persecution on account of a protected ground in the past, and/or that they have a ‘well-founded fear’ of future persecution in their home country.”
Because of a backlog of cases, asylum seekers can spend years waiting for a court date. As we explained in a story last month, less than 15% of those seeking asylum were ultimately granted it in fiscal years 2022 and 2023, according to Justice Department statistics. But it is taking four to five years for asylum cases to get to court.
The immigration court backlog was 3 million cases in November, a record, according to a December report from TRAC, a nonpartisan research center at Syracuse University.
As we said, there were 6.5 million encounters at the southern border from February 2021 through October, including a little more than 700,000 migrants who arrived without legal documentation at ports of entry. That’s according to DHS’ Office of Homeland Security Statistics.
About 2.5 million people through October have been released into the U.S. That figure includes 2 million released by Border Patrol, with a notice to appear in court or a notice to report to ICE, or released through prosecutorial discretion or granted parole, which allows people into the country for a temporary period. The 2.5 million number also includes nearly 534,000 paroles processed at legal ports of entry.
In addition to those releases, nearly 367,000 migrants have been transferred to HHS, which is responsible for children who cross the border on their own, unaccompanied by adult family members or legal guardians.
Another 771,000 were transferred to ICE, a figure that includes those subsequently booked into ICE custody, enrolled in “alternatives to detention” (which include technological monitoring and other case management options) or released by ICE.
Of those arriving at the southern border during Biden’s presidency, 2.8 million were removed or returned directly from CBP custody through October, the vast majority of them under the Title 42 public health law during the pandemic. Total DHS repatriations were 3.7 million, which includes removals by ICE.
Under Title 42, the U.S. immediately expelled people encountered at the border, except for unaccompanied children, without giving them an opportunity to apply for asylum — and without imposing criminal penalties. Now that Title 42 has ended, there are fewer expulsions overall, but the number removed from CBP custody under Title 8 has increased. Title 8 laws are the longstanding immigration laws that dictate what can happen to migrants entering illegally and who is inadmissible. Title 8 removals are subject to criminal penalties, including a five-year ban on entering the U.S. again.
In addition to fewer expulsions since the end of Title 42, there is evidence of a decline in the rate and number of gotaways, according to David J. Bier, the associate director of immigration studies at the libertarian Cato Institute. “Since Title 42 was terminated, successful evasions of Border Patrol have declined 79 percent to a daily average of about 500, or 15,500 per month, in January 2024,” Bier wrote, using monthly estimates reported by media outlets.
The gotaway figures can be estimated through observation – such as electronic surveillance of the border – or statistical modeling. “Gotaway data have become more reliable over the past decade because border surveillance has increased dramatically from 2005 to 2023,” Bier wrote.
As we said, some Republicans have claimed that 85% of migrants are being allowed into the country under Biden, citing remarks attributed to DHS Secretary Mayorkas by the Border Patrol Union. (Publicly, Mayorkas said at the time that “the majority of all southwest border migrant encounters throughout this administration have been removed, returned, or expelled.”) But overall under Biden, through October, 35% of those apprehended at the border have been released to await further immigration processing.
Recent Customs and Border Protection figures of those trying to enter the country between ports of entry come close to that 85% number for December, when 77% of the nearly 250,000 apprehensions by Border Patrol were released with a notice to appear in court. But the monthly figures vary. In January, 57% were released with a notice to appear. From June, the first full month after Title 42 ended, through January, 64% of Border Patrol apprehensions were released.
Again, these initial dispositions don’t indicate what ultimately happens.
DHS also publishes lifecycle reports on what happens to migrants over time — since asylum cases and deportation proceedings can take years. The most recent report is for fiscal 2021, which covers less than a year of Biden’s time in office. The latest report shows that cases can be pending for quite some time. It says that 28% of all border encounters from fiscal 2013 to 2021 were still being processed.
Bier calculated release and removal rates for the last two years of former President Donald Trump’s term and the first 26 months of Biden’s, using DHS data, including the lifecycle report, ICE detention statistics and other figures published by the Republican majority on the House Judiciary Committee. Bier wrote in November that his work showed the Biden administration “has removed a higher percentage of arrested border crossers in its first two years than the Trump DHS did over its last two years. Moreover, migrants were more likely to be released after a border arrest under President Trump than under President Biden.”
While the raw numbers are much higher under Biden — 5 million encounters compared with 1.4 million under Trump in those time frames — the percentages for the two administrations were similar: 47% removed under Trump and 51% under Biden. Bier’s estimates are for illegal immigration between ports of entry. (As our bar graph above shows, both administrations had removal rates above 50% when Title 42 was being used to expel people.)
“These numbers highlight how difficult it was even for the most determined administration in US history to expel everyone who enters illegally,” Bier wrote.
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| The one remaining problem can’t be dealt with through higher interest rates. It needs vigorous antitrust enforcement. ROBERT REICH FEB 2 Friends, It’s the economy, stupid. Thus spoke my friend James Carville, one of Bill Clinton’s campaign managers, in 1992. He was correct then and he’s been right ever since. Today, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the U.S. economy added 353,000 jobs in January, and the unemployment rate remains at 3.7 percent. The BLS also revised upward the two prior months, bringing the average monthly job gain in 2023 to 255,000. Even manufacturing, which has been in the doldrums, added 23,000 positions. Average hourly earnings grew 0.6 percent from December. Few economists expected job gains to remain this strong when high interest rates were needed to bring down inflation. But inflation is way down. Larry Summers (with whom I worked in the Clinton administration) predicted that the Fed would have to cause excessive joblessness to tame inflation (Summers also called the 2021 American Rescue Plan the “least responsible” fiscal policy in 40 years). He was wrong. Jobs growth continues to roar. Economic growth is good. Wages are moving in the right direction. Yet despite all the good news, 71 percent of Republicans say the economy is getting worse, and Donald Trump is once again claiming that the unemployment numbers are fake. |
Jose Pagliery
Thu, March 7, 2024 at 3:31 AM CST·3 min read
“Bannon, with the aid of his counsel, has, for months, done nothing but intentionally stall and delay plaintiff’s enforcement of its valid money judgment,” the law firm that previously represented him wrote to a New York state judge last month, employing an underline to show their heightened frustration.
Bannon, who was once Donald Trump’s White House chief strategist and played an active role in the former president’s Jan. 6 coup attempt, is already trapped in a precarious position. He’s a convict trying to avoid serving his four-month prison sentence for ignoring a congressional subpoena that sought to question him over his role in the MAGA insurrection. And the Manhattan District Attorney is putting him on trial in May for duping nativist donors to “We Build The Wall” who wanted to support a privately built U.S.-Mexico border barrier.
But now he’s making it even worse on himself.
It’s been seven months since a New York state judge ordered the conspiracy-spewing right-wing political agitator to pay the $484,197 he owed the defense lawyer he stiffed, Bob Costello.
Steve Bannon Admits Bank Account May Have Evidence of Fraud
But since then, according to court filings, Bannon has been dodging the ordered judgment and ignoring follow-up subpoenas. That has put the aggrieved New York City law firm of Davidoff Hutcher and Citron in the awkward position of asking the judge to intervene yet again, citing what they called “a last ditch effort concocted by Bannon to game this court.”
In its attempt to get a readout of Bannon’s personal finances and his ability to pay the bill, the law firm tried to question him under oath and sent subpoenas to learn more about his businesses and what’s in his personal bank accounts. Emails show that Bannon’s new lawyer, Harlan Protass, initially agreed in November to schedule a deposition and turn over materials—provided that they first sign a “simple and straightforward” confidentiality agreement.
But as the months went by, nothing happened.
Then, in January, Bannon suddenly put up resistance and claimed he couldn’t possibly answer questions or turn over bank records. Doing so would potentially reveal evidence of fraud that could ruin his attempt to overturn his federal conviction or even bolster the Manhattan DA’s case.
“DHC’s taking of post-judgment discovery from Mr. Bannon poses a significant risk of compromising Mr. Bannon’s Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination,” Protass wrote in court filings.
It was an unwelcome surprise. On Feb. 6, Costello’s law firm told the judge that Protass has been toying with them and engaging in “a feeble attempt at stalling.” Joseph N. Polito, a senior counsel at Costello’s firm, wrote that the excuse “is beyond any and all logic.”
Steve Bannon’s Lawyer Sues Him Over Unpaid Bills
Polito then took the relatively rare and aggressive approach of asking that New York Supreme Court Justice Arlene P. Bluth hit the right-wing influencer and his lawyer each with $10,000 sanctions—the highest allowable fine “for engaging in intentional dilatory litigation tactics.”
“Bannon’s intentional bad faith conduct has left plaintiff with no other choice but to seek civil contempt and sanctions. Without this relief, Bannon will be further emboldened to continue his dilatory tactics that have, and continue to, severely prejudice plaintiff in its efforts to satisfy the substantial money judgment that remains outstanding,” Polito wrote.
But Polito went even further, asking the judge to also tack on the cost he incurred “for having to address Bannon’s frivolity,” an eloquent insult used to describe the hours he’s wasted chasing down the conservative media figure.
Protass did not respond to a request for comment, but he is expected to file a formal reply in court records later this week. Polito did not reply to an email asking about the case.
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Trump says Black voters relate to criminal prosecutions, prefer the ‘white guy’ to Obama
USA TODAY
COLUMBIA, S.C. − Former president Donald Trump, campaigning in South Carolina Friday, brought the issue of race into the campaign by comparing his legal battles to the injustices Black Americans face in the legal system and saying Black voters would prefer him over his predecessor, “Black president” Barack Obama.
Speaking to an audience of mostly Black Americans, Trump suggested − inaccurately − that he is popular with African American voters. He said his 91 criminal indictments and mug shot were part of the reason.
“A lot of people said that’s why the Black people like me, because they have been hurt so badly and discriminated against, and they actually viewed me as I’m being discriminated against,” he told an event sponsored by the Black Conservative Federation where about two-thirds of the crowd were Black Americans and one third were white people.
“It’s been pretty amazing but possibly, maybe, there’s something there,” he said of his theory that his criminal woes are something that makes him relatable to Black voters.
At another point, Trump squinted at the crowd and said: “The lights are so bright in my eyes I can’t see too many people out there. But I can only see the Black ones. I can’t see any white ones. That’s how far I’ve come.”
Prep for the polls: See who is running for president and compare where they stand on key issues in our Voter Guide
In disparaging President Barack Obama over the costs of a new Air Force One, Trump “Would you rather have the Black president or the white president who got $1.7 billion off the price?”
As the crowd cheered that remark, Trump said: “I think they want the white guy.”
A USA TODAY Suffolk poll published on Jan. 1 showed Trump with the support of only a small sliver of Black voters – 12%.
PollingA fraying coalition: Black, Hispanic, young voters abandon Biden as election year begins
His support among Black Americans has not increased and is identical to what he garnered in the 2020 election.
Trump’s primary opponent, Nikki Haley, blasted him over the comments.
“It’s disgusting,” Haley told reporters Saturday. “But that’s what happens when he goes off the teleprompter.”
Former Congressman Cedric Richmond, co-chair of the Biden-Harris 2024 campaign, blasted Trump’s comments.
“Though I may be disgusted, I am not at all surprised that Donald Trump would equate the suffering and injustice of Black people in America to consequences he now faces because of his own actions,” Richmond said, in a statement. “Donald Trump claiming that Black Americans will support him because of his criminal charges is insulting. It’s moronic. And it’s just plain racist.”
Trump’s remarks were defended by Diante Johnson, president of the Black Conservative Federation.” Our community supports the policies of President Donald J. Trump and knows full well that life was better four years ago under his administration,” Johnson said. He said that Black voters will cast their ballots in November “for safer streets, a better financial well-being, a secure border, and a complete rejection of Joe Biden’s disastrous tenure.”
| DAN RATHER AND TEAM STEADYJAN 23 |
Here it is January 2024, and we find ourselves reminded anew that we are in a difficult, dangerous, and deepening political reality. As the first primary ballots are being cast in New Hampshire, the country is forced again to face the fact that one man has fundamentally changed us. Simply stated, it’s as sobering and unsettling as that.
He has changed what was until recently considered unacceptable behavior for our leaders. He has normalized bigotry, misogyny, racism, ageism, ableism, sexism.
He has changed our relationships with facts. Now there are phony “alternative facts.” And, lest we forget, wave after wave of outright lies. Scientific truths are scoffed at if they don’t fit his extremist narrative. Rational discourse is a thing of the past, because how can you argue with someone who, in effect, refuses to accept that two plus two makes four.
He has changed the lives of every woman in America whose bodily autonomy has been severely curtailed by a Supreme Court he stacked with anti-choice jurists.
He has changed how we show our discontent, unleashing long-held furies and granting permission to behave badly. Because he does. Can you imagine any other president heavily encouraging, if not outright creating, the January 6 insurrection — and then praising those who stormed the Capitol?
He has changed how we socialize in public places. If politics comes up in conversation, we’re more often inclined to speak softly, if at all, and glance around to make sure we aren’t overheard. Not because we are ashamed of our views, but because we are concerned for our safety.
He has changed the lives of millions who lost loved ones to COVID-19 (400,000 American deaths by the time he left office) because he a) didn’t act to stem the rise of the virus and b) actively made things worse.
He has changed how we interact with family members. We now have to remember which uncle or cousin is a MAGA supporter and make sure to stay away from any topics other than weather and sports at Thanksgiving dinner or a 4th of July barbecue.
He has changed our ability to fight climate change by rolling back policies and bowing out of international agreements at a moment when we don’t have time to backtrack.
He has changed how safe we feel driving in our cars. We hold the steering wheel just a little tighter when a giant pickup truck pulls up alongside us adorned with inflammatory bumper stickers.
He has changed how we start relationships. We now have to find out where a new acquaintance falls on the political spectrum to make sure we align enough to even bother moving forward with a friendship.
He has changed how we educate our children, giving revisionists carte blanche to sanitize history and remove even dictionaries from school libraries.
He has changed where we feel comfortable living. He has divided us to such an extent that some feel compelled to move to other states because of the extreme politics he has fomented and the state laws passed in the wake of such severity.
Why are we allowing this one man to remake us — as individuals and as a country?
As we ponder that question, we remember that Republicans in New Hampshire are widely expected to vote today for this man to return to the White House.
Even if he is upset by Nikki Haley in New Hampshire, he will remain a heavy favorite for the nomination because he and those who support him are enthusiastic, organized, and focused.
For those who oppose Donald Trump? It will take all of their collective efforts to make sure he doesn’t return to the Oval Office.
I’m sure you have your own thoughts. Feel free to join in the respectful conversation below.
Reuters Videos
Sat, January 20, 2024 at 12:50 PM CST
STORY: The wife of a Russian soldier delivered an emotional appeal for his return from Ukraine on Saturday at the election headquarters of President Vladimir Putin, a defiant gesture in a country where open criticism of the war is banned.
“So what’s next? The Ministry of Defence has spent its money, now we need to squeeze everything out of our guys, get the last life out of them? So that they come back to us just as stumps? Will they give me the stump? What will I get back? A man without legs, without arms, a sick man? Don’t you know what’s happening there?”
The heated exchange came after Maria Andreyeva was told by a woman at Putin’s election base that Russian soldiers in Ukraine were defending the motherland and that she should pray for them.
It showed the depth of anger and despair among some soldiers’ families as the war grinds on, with no end in sight after nearly two years.
“I think we need to come en masse, write similar appeals – instructions – in order to force them by weight of numbers. Previously we went to lawmakers, we wrote letters, I think now is exactly the moment when we need to act. If not know, when?”
Andreyeva belongs to an organization of soldiers’ wives called “The Way Home” that is campaigning for the return of their husbands from Ukraine.
Last month, Putin chose a gathering with soldiers to announce his plan to run for a new six-year term at an election in March, where supporters and opponents alike see his victory as a foregone conclusion.
He has said that Russia was in a strong position across the entire front line in Ukraine and would press ahead to meet the goals of what he calls a “special military operation.”
Texas governor pushes on immigration, caring little about the law or the people he hurts in the name of politics
By BRIAN KAREM\
Columnist
PUBLISHED JANUARY 22, 2024 5:45AM (EST
To rule is easy, to govern difficult.
-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
At the end of the day, you have to wonder if Texans are comfortable being a part of the United States.
I’m not just talking about the Dallas Cowboys, who have choked so often in the NFL playoffs that they need the Heimlich maneuver when they step on the field, particularly at home against the Green Bay Packers. I mean, in general, you have to question it.
Governor “Hey, Abbott!” – with apologies to Lou Costello – Greg Abbott is certainly among those who think that Texas is still its own country. He has stood stupidly defiant against the federal government for the last few months on the issue of Southern border security and kept the Border Patrol from doing its job while claiming the state of Texas has the right to defend its “sovereignty.”
Abbott’s “Operation Lone Star” has bused more than 35,000 immigrants to Washington, D.C, New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, Denver and Los Angeles since April of 2022. He claims that the operation “continues to fill the dangerous gaps created by the Biden administration’s refusal to secure the border.” More on that in a moment.
Now Abbott seems to be making the case for going it alone again in the Lone Star state.
Two of my sons were born in Texas, and I am often reminded that anyone can become an American, but you have to be born a Texan. I used to think that was cute and funny – like the businessman I knew in the early 90s whose wife went into premature labor while they were visiting New York. He had a San Antonio neighbor overnight him 10 pounds of dirt from his backyard that he then placed into a container, so when his son was born he could legitimately say his son’s ass first touched Texas soil. Turns out, what I find cute and funny is deadly serious in Texas. They take their state pride seriously – even if there are (or once were) a sizable number of people in Texas who don’t support much of the lunacy from the state’s Republican Party. When it comes to Texas, they still fully believe they live in their own country.
As recently as December, Newsweek reported on a strong separatist movement in the Lone Star state. The Texas Nationalist Movement, an organization that supports Texas’ independence from the U.S., warned the GOP they have enough signatures to force a vote on the question of whether Texans support secession. Texas nationalists have for years pushed for a referendum on Texas secession, despite the fact there is no provision in the U.S. Constitution for a state to do so. Of course, that hasn’t kept the wildly independent Texans from doing whatever they want. The state first seceded from Mexico in 1836 and spent nine years as its own nation (remember the Alamo!) before it became the 28th U.S. state on Dec. 29, 1845. Texas also seceded from the U.S. in 1861 before being readmitted following the end of the Civil War.
Now Abbott seems to be making the case for going it alone again in the Lone Star state. There’s little practical chance of that, however. The federal government owns and operates 15 military bases in the state with an economic impact of more than $100 billion. San Antonio alone has four bases, with others being scattered from Corpus Christi to El Paso, and other points north and south throughout the state.
Still, it’s a touchy subject for Abbott. I tried all this week to get someone to speak to the issue in the governor’s office. My emails were ignored and when I finally reached someone by phone in Abbott’s press office, they hung up on me. Nothing like transparency in Texas. But, this isn’t unusual, I once got thrown out of the Texas Senate for asking a senator to move so my station’s news photographer could get a better shot. Texans can be arrogant and ignorant – and in government they are often that way all the time.
The Biden administration is deeply frustrated with Abbott’s moves – and while he continues to play politics with a very serious issue, the federal government – including the U.S. Border Patrol which is far from a bastion of liberals – has tried to get Abbott and Texas to see reason. The general counsel for the Department of Homeland Security recently sent state officials a letter, portions of which read, “Texas’s actions are clearly unconstitutional and are actively disrupting the federal government’s operations. We demand that Texas cease and desist its efforts to block Border Patrol’s access in and around the Shelby Park area and remove all barriers to access in the Shelby Park area,” of Eagle Pass.
DHS gave Texas until January 17 to “cease and desist” its efforts to block the Border Patrol’s access to the park and to remove all barriers to access to the U.S. – Mexico border before referring the matter to the Department of Justice “for appropriate action and (to) consider all other options available to restore Border Patrol’s access to the Border.”
Sounds ominous, but what other options are there? Abbott certainly doesn’t think the Border Patrol will fire upon Texas law enforcement working the border, does he? No rational human being thinks so. That would be disastrous, and yet, we are still at a tipping point in Texas. God only knows what the lunatics may do – and there are plenty of gun-happy lunatics in Texas.
During the 80s I was assigned to cover a story when members of the KKK showed up on the border after President Reagan claimed godless Sandinistas were just a two-hour plane ride away from our southern border. There were many guns on the border on that day. And Texans, of course, love to take matters into their own hands. There’s a long history of that.
As the current drama in Texas was playing out, The Hill reported, “The House on Wednesday approved a resolution condemning the Biden administration’s border and immigration policies, a move by GOP lawmakers to maintain pressure on the politically polarizing issue in the weeks ahead. The legislation pins the blame on President Biden’s “open-border policies”, highlighting the stark partisanship behind immigration and border policy. It passed 225-187, with 14 Democrats voting in favor.”
The Biden administration has angrily accused the GOP of duplicity, noting that Biden has proposed reforms to immigration that include hiring more Border Patrol agents, but the GOP has refused to take up the issue. Of course, it’s hard to get the GOP to do anything in Congress – they can barely pass legislation for funding the government.
On Wednesday, Biden met with members of Congress to talk about additional funding for Ukraine – something GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson said is linked to immigration reform. After the meeting, Biden was asked – as he walked to Marine One on the South Lawn – what the sticking points were on immigration reform. Biden said, “I don’t think we have any sticking points left.”
When Johnson and other members of Congress came out to the sticks on the North Lawn to talk to reporters, Johnson shut the door on “comprehensive immigration reform,” telling reporters, “I don’t think now is the time for comprehensive immigration reform, because we know how complicated that is.”
Of course, there won’t be reform – it would ruin the GOP’s chances to run on that issue if they solved the problem. This is a true do-nothing Congress. The GOP doesn’t want to solve problems – it wants to blame Democrats for problems in order to get elected.
You’ve got a better chance of the Dallas Cowboys winning the Superbowl than finding any common sense in Congress as Republicans continue to speak out of both sides of their mouth. While Johnson said there obviously won’t be any long term reform he also said, “We must insist that the border be the top priority. I think we have some consensus around the table. Everyone understands the urgency of that.” Try to wrap your mind around that lack of logic.
Senator Chuck Schumer saw things differently. He told reporters, “We also talked about the border and how it’s so important to deal with the border. The President himself said over and over again that he is willing to move forward on the border. And so we said we have to do both. There were a couple of people in the room that said let’s do the border first. We said we have to do both together.”
The response in Texas?
Texas authorities arrested migrants at Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, Texas, late Wednesday evening and charged them with criminal trespassing, marking the first arrests of migrants since the state took control of the area at the US-Mexico border last week, an official said. In response to the federal government’s cease-and-desist letter, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton admitted that Border Patrol has “warrantless access to land within 25 miles of the border, but only ‘for the purpose of patrolling the border to prevent the illegal entry of aliens into the United States.’”
Texas is inching closer to a confrontation and a clash that can never occur and both sides do not want to recognize the root cause of the problem: American politics.
Illegal immigration has been a problem for nearly half a century because of the Mexican oil economy crash in the 70s as well as the US demand for cheap labor and cheap drugs. In the 1980s the US, during the Reagan administration, made some steps toward solving the problem, but there has been nothing done since then by both political parties. The truth is Big Business wants and demands cheap labor – as do most Americans. No one wants to pay $10 for a tomato, and the demand for cocaine, heroin and even fentanyl remains huge, so Big Business holds up a welcome sign while politicians act disingenuously about solving a problem they all had a part in creating.
Thus, Abbott is willing and able to use the poor and downtrodden to skewer Democrats by saying immigrants are lazy and living off of the welfare state, while at the same time claiming they take all of the jobs. The Christian Republicans scream the loudest about this – ignoring the teachings of the Jesus they claim to worship and ignoring the fact that the nation was built by immigrants – or as Bill Murray reminded us in Stripes, “We’re Americans, with a capital ‘A’, huh? You know what that means? Do ya? That means that our forefathers were kicked out of every decent country in the world. We are the wretched refuse. We’re the underdog. We’re mutts!” And those that weren’t immigrants were brought here as slaves, but that’s another issue.
American hypocrisy has never been so evident as in how we deal with new arrivals to our shores.
Protect our borders from caravans of foreign illegal immigrants? When Native American tribes tried to stem the tide of illegal immigration it didn’t go so well – and it won’t go well for us now either.
Friday, top U.S. and Mexican officials met in Washington to discuss strengthening cooperation and continuity in addressing the migration issues at the U.S.-Mexico border. This occurred as several Border Patrol sectors on the Southern Border, including Tucson and parts of Texas are reporting a decline in illegal immigration during the last few weeks. The decline is widely attributed to Mexican government efforts, and while the Biden administration wasn’t promising anything concrete from the Friday meetings, they were “cautiously optimistic,” that things will continue to get better on the border.
“That’s the irony of the Texas situation,” a Biden official told me on background. “They’re doing this when the numbers are relatively low.”
This matters little in the world of politics today.
Maybe at the end of the day, the federal government ought to send in Matt LeFleur and the Green Bay Packers. Governor Abbott wouldn’t stand a chance. Like the Dallas Cowboys, he’s all hat and no cattle!
Expert warns about dangers of common laundry product most Americans have on the shelf: ‘I recently stopped’
Doric Sam
Wed, January 17, 2024 at 7:00 PM CST·2 min read
Fabric softeners are typically considered a necessity while doing laundry, but a TikToker warned that the popular products are actually more harmful than beneficial.
The scoop
TikTok cleaning expert Renae (@renduh) explained in a 51-second video that fabric softeners are flammable and, thereby, can increase the flammability of clothing. She displayed a warning included on a bottle of fabric softener that is frequently ignored but explicitly states the potential danger of the product.
“Liquid fabric softeners contain various emulsifiers made from silicones, oils and alcohols, all of which are flammable,” Renae says. “Most of these ingredients can get washed away in the rinse cycle, but if you’re in the habit of using too much fabric softener, it’ll stay inside your clothes, which you then put inside a machine that creates heat.”
She even reveals that fabric softeners don’t even really serve their intended purpose.
“Even aside from its flammability, fabric softener isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, anyway,” she says. “It doesn’t actually soften the fibers of your clothes, it just coats them in a fabric softener buildup. That softness you’re feeling, that’s not actually softer fabric, that’s just the fabric softener buildup you’re feeling in your clothes.”
Renae ended the video by warning against online trends that promote the use of fabric softener over other conventional cleaning products.
“If you’ve seen the viral hack that tells you that you can replace your dryer sheets with fabric softener-soaked sponges, yeah, maybe don’t do that,” she said.
How it’s helping
The warnings against fabric softeners can help shine a light on cheaper and more natural cleaning alternatives. Multiple experts have taken to social media to point out that there are more effective options to achieve the same goal as fabric softeners.
The primary alternative is plain white vinegar, a natural fabric softener that is kinder to the environment and typically more affordable than other cleaning products. White vinegar can brighten clothes and remove nasty odors, and it won’t leave behind the pungent vinegar smell after washing.
This guide can help you find natural cleaning alternatives such as baking soda, wool dryer balls, and plain detergent, which are all safer than fabric softener products.
What everyone’s saying
Many TikTokers said they have already begun reducing their use of fabric softeners after discovering the harmful side effects.
“I recently stopped using softener, scent beads and dryer sheets because of one of your videos,” one user commented. “Vinegar in the rinse made a huge difference!”
Another user said: “I think you recommended white vinegar and OMG I could feel the difference! So freaking soft.”
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