And they're still stalling on the Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia case, hoping we will all forget about the poor guy.
Most of the people involved in the illegal transfer to Libya and multiple other countries aren't getting Kilmar's publicity, but I know some of these nonprofits are working on that.
The Trump regime wants to turn the U.S. into a genocidal state through foreign proxies. People should go to prison for this after we overthrow this government in the midterms. You don't get to say, "I was just following orders."
You know.... in 1937, one of my great-grandfathers was disappeared and, as turned out later, executed on Stalin's orders. He was a high-ranking official at the Ministry of Finance... and Jewish... One day, he went to work and never came back. Hmmmm.... I wonder what made me think of that.
That is horrific. I'm sorry your family had to go through that 😞 I'm outraged that some people in this country are ok with and even support/celebrate the madness, cruelty, and brutality of this regime.
It is horrific. And it's still going on. My parents and a large part of our family still live in Ukraine, and one of our family members is currently a POW in Russian custody. Well... he was in November - we don't even know if he is alive. Today is actually the 80th anniversary of Germany's capitulation in WWII, yet here we are again, fighting those kinds of regimes - more than one of them.
He was very Republican, but he was an Eisenhower Republican, for obvious reasons. He passed away long before the Trump nonsense started. One of his favorites was Senator Charles Percy, a very moderate Illinois Republican that would be considered a communist by MAGA.
My heart is close to this because the software team I worked with for two years, which involved daily stand up meetings on Zoom, included Ukrainians. It was eerie to see them trying to report on their progress on projects while saying that they might not make the next day's meeting because they were making Molotov cocktails at night (this was when everyone thought the Russians might blitz their way all the way to Lviv, where they were located).
We would tell them not to worry about deadlines, but they wouldn't have any of that. One woman did her meeting from Poland with her toddler on her lap in some kind of refugee shelter.
I even made a contribution to the Ukraine military before they received official help. They sent me a cool NLaw sticker in return that is still affixed to my Brita water pitcher.
That is so cool. In addition to supporting my parents, I also contribute to Sprava Hromad. They are a grassroots organization - over the last three years, they've made weekly trips to the front with.... whatever we could raise money for: from sock heaters to portable kitchens and showers to mobile offices, trucks, armored vehicles, etc.
"The Trump regime wants to turn the U.S. into a genocidal state through foreign proxies"
Unfortunately, this didn't start with Trump. We allowed George Bush and Dick Cheney to get away with extraordinary renditions, which are essentially the same thing. Trump is just trying to scale this up.
Yes, the Right has been building the framework for this for at least seventy years, and the Left (at least, the left side of the elected political class) has treated each individual case as its own procedural issue rather than addressing the Master Plan. I don't know if it's really because they're complicit (and honestly don't believe they *all* could be) or if they just never quite gotten enough power to address the larger problem, but it can no longer be ignored or postponed. We need to stop treating it as a partisan issue and start treating it as the existential threat it has always been.
Even worse than that; it's bipartisan. The D administration following Bush continued many of the Bush policies, and actually cranked up at least one I know of (the jailing of journalists).
I'm glad you used that term, Kevin. IANAL, but I used "extraordinary rendition" in this context a week or so ago, and was informed that it doesn't apply to the migrants who are being disappeared. I think that's exactly what it is, as you say: Dubya's tactic writ large.
Since the term was a made up euphemism in the first place, saying "it doesn't apply to XYZ" is a nonsensical claim. If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a duck.
What I was told was that it only applies to people from other countries who come here with the intention of committing acts of terrorism. When they're caught and spirited away to black sites, that's extraordinary rendition. I guess if one defines the term that way, it doesn’t apply to innocent migrants who are simply here to work and get some security.
That applies exactly to Trump's actions. Under Bush, there never was any due process, innocent people got falsely caught up in the accusations, and the Trump admin keeps claiming that the innocent migrants are "terrorists". And, BTW, extraordinary rendition was separate from the black sites. Extraordinary rendition refers to handing over people to foreign governments. Black sites are operated by the US government (usually the CIA).
Except that the Trump administration has exactly claimed that Venezuelan and Salvadoran gang members were coming to the USA to commit terrorism, so that would mean the guys sent to El Salvador with little or no due process were renditioned, rather than deported.
Sure, but the problem with Bush era rendition is the same as what we face now: anyone can just SAY you're a terrorist, and if there's no due process, then no one ever has to prove it. You just disappear because the right people said so. It's the kind of power no one should have, and Trump is one of the worst people to give it to
Every day I am stunned anew by the apparent comfort so many of my neighbors have with unabashed evil. And for what? These people are not criminals. Most are cheerfully taking on the most arduous work that supports our economy, local and national; and for minimum wage. They are students, and allegedly children, some of whom are American born. How do we ever recover as a society having now seen the depths of depravity being applauded.
"Most are cheerfully taking on the most arduous work that supports our economy, local and national; and for minimum wage."
My neighborhood here in Atlanta has gone silent. The constant sound of saws, hammers, nail guns, etc. that you normally here this time of year is completely and utterly gone. Even the leaf blowers are mostly silent. A the house next door, where the neighbors were having construction work done, the small construction area has been abandoned for weeks. The other day, the general contractor stopped by with a couple of big pieces of wood. He and another guy with light skin tried to do something with it, then left. They haven't been back.
One of the big changes we need to make to the Constitution is eliminating the presidential pardon power. Otherwise these awful Nazis he has working for him will just walk free. The Founders simply never imagined a mob boss sitting at the resolute desk.
The presumption here is that DHS will actually defer to court rulings and "suspend" flights whilst various appeals work their way through the judicial system. Who's to say that clandestine flights haven't already taken place, or indeed WILL occur despite TROs or injunctions currently imposed?
To place ANY degree of trust and willingness to comply in this regime is a yuuge ask, and I wouldn't be surprised if more enterprising hackers broke into the data banks of carriers hired by the government to transport deportees to faraway prisons, and found flight logs documenting post-injunctive transports as has already been reported.
This is the gang comprising tRump, Stephen Miller, Tom Homan, et al, right?
Actually, I saw a report this morning that hacker group Anonymous broke into the flight logs of GlobalX which had been tasked with transporting migrants.
No one is to say that, they've already been happening, they've been caught and have not stopped. Telling him to stop has never worked. If anyone in a position of power wants him to stop, they'll have to actually, physically stop him. Arrest him, and if he resists arrest in any way, kill him. Just like any other violent criminal.
Also interesting in this context that the plane of the New England Patriots flew to Guantanamo. Apparently, the sports team allows a charter company to rent out the plane when they don't need it.
If the plane charter company operates from Massachusetts, I wonder if the Attorney General there could seize the asset(s) involved in the human trafficking activity?
In this case, the PR disaster may have been more effective. Seizing the plane would have hurt the Patriots, not the charter company. But as it is, all sports teams, not just the Patriots, are likely to reconsider their charter contracts.
I'd be curious if Trump's own plane also participated in such activities.
Kevin -- the point I wanted to make is that whoever (or whatever company/organization) is complicit in these human trafficking flights(maybe kidnapping is a more accurate legal term) needs to be held accountable. It is very clear that the US DoJ is not going to do so, Even if some "rogue" US District Attorney (SDNY?) were to try to do so by indicting based on Federal statute(s), that DA would be fired & tRump would pardon the complicit people/organization from the Federal Law violation.
If a State AG indicted persons & seized property involved in violating State laws, a presidential pardon would NOT stop the accountability. I wouldn't feel too bad if the billionaire owner of the Patriots (or whoever else owns the chartered aircraft) suffered the sizeable financial loss of losing their aircraft for enabling the "deportations-without-due-process".
Another entity, Avelo Airlines, that has been reported to be getting involved in running deportation flights could also be susceptible to a similar kind of asset seizure. Their route map shows that the fly into/out of 14 states with Democratic Attorneys General (CA, CT, DE, DC, IL, ME, MD, MA, MI, NV, NY, NC, OR, & WA). Some public pressure on those AGs to consider asset seizures of Avelo aircraft would be interesting.
Small town in the midwest here. My daughters are teachers in a very low income district that has in the past had about 10-15% english language learners. Mostly hispanics from various countries, but we've had folks here from Haiti and the Ukraine as well. Since 47 arrived in DC almost ALL of these kids have mysteriously disappeared. Families gone back to Mexico or into hiding. What happens to those poor kids?! It's so upsetting.
it's very sad. I feel for those poor families- they came here for a better life and we give them a life of terror and uncertainty. This is not who we are suppose to be.
It WILL be ultimately them, us by protests or whatever way you can resist by making the Republicans more afraid of us than trump, and winning seats in the midterms.
May I suggest 5 Calls app, joining your local chapters of Indivisible and the Democratic Party, and taking part in our next big protest NO KINGS DAY June 14th.
Digging No Kings. Tailor-made, crisp message dropped right in our laps. I've seen deep-red Republican voters get ALL exercised about that specific thing and break out into chants about it at town halls. Not a super swift idea on Trump's part.
I think it's telling that Don Trump's reputation internationally is so toxic that even Libya doesn't want to openly admit to working with him. Both sides are using 'working with the Trump administration' as an insult to their opposition.
When will this insanity stop?? Why aren’t these people being impeached? Arrested? Such utter bullshit! Are we even in America anymore? What happened to the land of the free and home of the brave? I’m so utterly disgusted by this sham of an administration. Bunch of thugs and despots.
One of the postcard groups I write with is Environmental Voter Project. Last week, I mailed 100 postcards to low-propensity environmental voters in PA.
Activate America (www.activateamerica.vote/postcards) has three postcard campaigns in PA targeting vulnerable GOP congressmen Ryan MacKenzie (PA-07), Rob Bresnahan (PA-08), and Scott Perry (PA-10).
Field Team 6 (https://fieldteam6.herokuapp.com/) has afemale outreach campaign to register new voters in PA in advance of the upcoming PA Supreme Court race.
I keep envisioning Steven Miller foaming at the mouth, filled with hate and rage, driving the efforts to round up, humiliate and deport the immigrants he so despises. This truly evil individual appears to run the show. His pathological hatred of and sadistic cruelty towards those he deems unworthy fuels the trump regime's relentless efforts to do whatever it takes carry out his vengeful crusade. This vile, despicable man is the poster boy for the trump regime.
Or maybe; issue injunctions against the pilots working for the contract carriers who would fly those planes; perhaps they have more respect for the law, at risk for losing their license to fly if they transport immigrants in the face of a court order against deporting them? One could force the military to do transports, raising all sorts of international issues with allowing US military planes to land in 3rd countries for this kind of purpose.
Interesting that Trump claims not to know ... Which suggests that all those various underlings could be sued for their actions in contempt of court, and in breach of the Constitutional rights of the victims, no?
And they're still stalling on the Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia case, hoping we will all forget about the poor guy.
Most of the people involved in the illegal transfer to Libya and multiple other countries aren't getting Kilmar's publicity, but I know some of these nonprofits are working on that.
The Trump regime wants to turn the U.S. into a genocidal state through foreign proxies. People should go to prison for this after we overthrow this government in the midterms. You don't get to say, "I was just following orders."
You know.... in 1937, one of my great-grandfathers was disappeared and, as turned out later, executed on Stalin's orders. He was a high-ranking official at the Ministry of Finance... and Jewish... One day, he went to work and never came back. Hmmmm.... I wonder what made me think of that.
That is horrific. I'm sorry your family had to go through that 😞 I'm outraged that some people in this country are ok with and even support/celebrate the madness, cruelty, and brutality of this regime.
It is horrific. And it's still going on. My parents and a large part of our family still live in Ukraine, and one of our family members is currently a POW in Russian custody. Well... he was in November - we don't even know if he is alive. Today is actually the 80th anniversary of Germany's capitulation in WWII, yet here we are again, fighting those kinds of regimes - more than one of them.
I am SO sorry to hear that. :-(
Thanks for sharing this. My dad was Antifa. He fought in the Pacific during WW 2.
Hero.
He was very Republican, but he was an Eisenhower Republican, for obvious reasons. He passed away long before the Trump nonsense started. One of his favorites was Senator Charles Percy, a very moderate Illinois Republican that would be considered a communist by MAGA.
🫂💙💛
My heart is close to this because the software team I worked with for two years, which involved daily stand up meetings on Zoom, included Ukrainians. It was eerie to see them trying to report on their progress on projects while saying that they might not make the next day's meeting because they were making Molotov cocktails at night (this was when everyone thought the Russians might blitz their way all the way to Lviv, where they were located).
We would tell them not to worry about deadlines, but they wouldn't have any of that. One woman did her meeting from Poland with her toddler on her lap in some kind of refugee shelter.
I even made a contribution to the Ukraine military before they received official help. They sent me a cool NLaw sticker in return that is still affixed to my Brita water pitcher.
That is so cool. In addition to supporting my parents, I also contribute to Sprava Hromad. They are a grassroots organization - over the last three years, they've made weekly trips to the front with.... whatever we could raise money for: from sock heaters to portable kitchens and showers to mobile offices, trucks, armored vehicles, etc.
"The Trump regime wants to turn the U.S. into a genocidal state through foreign proxies"
Unfortunately, this didn't start with Trump. We allowed George Bush and Dick Cheney to get away with extraordinary renditions, which are essentially the same thing. Trump is just trying to scale this up.
Yes, the Right has been building the framework for this for at least seventy years, and the Left (at least, the left side of the elected political class) has treated each individual case as its own procedural issue rather than addressing the Master Plan. I don't know if it's really because they're complicit (and honestly don't believe they *all* could be) or if they just never quite gotten enough power to address the larger problem, but it can no longer be ignored or postponed. We need to stop treating it as a partisan issue and start treating it as the existential threat it has always been.
Even worse than that; it's bipartisan. The D administration following Bush continued many of the Bush policies, and actually cranked up at least one I know of (the jailing of journalists).
What’s your source for that?
I'm glad you used that term, Kevin. IANAL, but I used "extraordinary rendition" in this context a week or so ago, and was informed that it doesn't apply to the migrants who are being disappeared. I think that's exactly what it is, as you say: Dubya's tactic writ large.
Since the term was a made up euphemism in the first place, saying "it doesn't apply to XYZ" is a nonsensical claim. If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a duck.
What I was told was that it only applies to people from other countries who come here with the intention of committing acts of terrorism. When they're caught and spirited away to black sites, that's extraordinary rendition. I guess if one defines the term that way, it doesn’t apply to innocent migrants who are simply here to work and get some security.
That applies exactly to Trump's actions. Under Bush, there never was any due process, innocent people got falsely caught up in the accusations, and the Trump admin keeps claiming that the innocent migrants are "terrorists". And, BTW, extraordinary rendition was separate from the black sites. Extraordinary rendition refers to handing over people to foreign governments. Black sites are operated by the US government (usually the CIA).
I fail to see a difference.
In reality, I don't think there is a difference.
Except that the Trump administration has exactly claimed that Venezuelan and Salvadoran gang members were coming to the USA to commit terrorism, so that would mean the guys sent to El Salvador with little or no due process were renditioned, rather than deported.
You've hit it exactly, Steve
Sure, but the problem with Bush era rendition is the same as what we face now: anyone can just SAY you're a terrorist, and if there's no due process, then no one ever has to prove it. You just disappear because the right people said so. It's the kind of power no one should have, and Trump is one of the worst people to give it to
I understand it's a bipartisan issue. I've been writing about it for years. This is another level and it's what we are discussing now.
Kevin, thank you for remembering and reminding.
Every day I am stunned anew by the apparent comfort so many of my neighbors have with unabashed evil. And for what? These people are not criminals. Most are cheerfully taking on the most arduous work that supports our economy, local and national; and for minimum wage. They are students, and allegedly children, some of whom are American born. How do we ever recover as a society having now seen the depths of depravity being applauded.
"Most are cheerfully taking on the most arduous work that supports our economy, local and national; and for minimum wage."
My neighborhood here in Atlanta has gone silent. The constant sound of saws, hammers, nail guns, etc. that you normally here this time of year is completely and utterly gone. Even the leaf blowers are mostly silent. A the house next door, where the neighbors were having construction work done, the small construction area has been abandoned for weeks. The other day, the general contractor stopped by with a couple of big pieces of wood. He and another guy with light skin tried to do something with it, then left. They haven't been back.
I have been theorizing that if ICE agents have hearts, they are made of ice. How else can they live with themselves?
One of the big changes we need to make to the Constitution is eliminating the presidential pardon power. Otherwise these awful Nazis he has working for him will just walk free. The Founders simply never imagined a mob boss sitting at the resolute desk.
Just so!
The presumption here is that DHS will actually defer to court rulings and "suspend" flights whilst various appeals work their way through the judicial system. Who's to say that clandestine flights haven't already taken place, or indeed WILL occur despite TROs or injunctions currently imposed?
To place ANY degree of trust and willingness to comply in this regime is a yuuge ask, and I wouldn't be surprised if more enterprising hackers broke into the data banks of carriers hired by the government to transport deportees to faraway prisons, and found flight logs documenting post-injunctive transports as has already been reported.
This is the gang comprising tRump, Stephen Miller, Tom Homan, et al, right?
Actually, I saw a report this morning that hacker group Anonymous broke into the flight logs of GlobalX which had been tasked with transporting migrants.
Exactly what I'm talking about!
Good. I hope they blow this sky-high.
No one is to say that, they've already been happening, they've been caught and have not stopped. Telling him to stop has never worked. If anyone in a position of power wants him to stop, they'll have to actually, physically stop him. Arrest him, and if he resists arrest in any way, kill him. Just like any other violent criminal.
Also interesting in this context that the plane of the New England Patriots flew to Guantanamo. Apparently, the sports team allows a charter company to rent out the plane when they don't need it.
If the plane charter company operates from Massachusetts, I wonder if the Attorney General there could seize the asset(s) involved in the human trafficking activity?
In this case, the PR disaster may have been more effective. Seizing the plane would have hurt the Patriots, not the charter company. But as it is, all sports teams, not just the Patriots, are likely to reconsider their charter contracts.
I'd be curious if Trump's own plane also participated in such activities.
Kevin -- the point I wanted to make is that whoever (or whatever company/organization) is complicit in these human trafficking flights(maybe kidnapping is a more accurate legal term) needs to be held accountable. It is very clear that the US DoJ is not going to do so, Even if some "rogue" US District Attorney (SDNY?) were to try to do so by indicting based on Federal statute(s), that DA would be fired & tRump would pardon the complicit people/organization from the Federal Law violation.
If a State AG indicted persons & seized property involved in violating State laws, a presidential pardon would NOT stop the accountability. I wouldn't feel too bad if the billionaire owner of the Patriots (or whoever else owns the chartered aircraft) suffered the sizeable financial loss of losing their aircraft for enabling the "deportations-without-due-process".
Another entity, Avelo Airlines, that has been reported to be getting involved in running deportation flights could also be susceptible to a similar kind of asset seizure. Their route map shows that the fly into/out of 14 states with Democratic Attorneys General (CA, CT, DE, DC, IL, ME, MD, MA, MI, NV, NY, NC, OR, & WA). Some public pressure on those AGs to consider asset seizures of Avelo aircraft would be interesting.
Small town in the midwest here. My daughters are teachers in a very low income district that has in the past had about 10-15% english language learners. Mostly hispanics from various countries, but we've had folks here from Haiti and the Ukraine as well. Since 47 arrived in DC almost ALL of these kids have mysteriously disappeared. Families gone back to Mexico or into hiding. What happens to those poor kids?! It's so upsetting.
it's very sad. I feel for those poor families- they came here for a better life and we give them a life of terror and uncertainty. This is not who we are suppose to be.
Kudos to Judge Murphy for trying to uphold the law.
And so we now have a modern version of the Confederacy's threat to sell a slave south. Terror campaign indeed.
Very perceptive comment, Lyle. Just so.
This is the stuff of nightmares. There is no stopping them!
Oh, there is. It just won't be Congress or the courts.
It WILL be ultimately them, us by protests or whatever way you can resist by making the Republicans more afraid of us than trump, and winning seats in the midterms.
May I suggest 5 Calls app, joining your local chapters of Indivisible and the Democratic Party, and taking part in our next big protest NO KINGS DAY June 14th.
LFG! 💪🏽
Digging No Kings. Tailor-made, crisp message dropped right in our laps. I've seen deep-red Republican voters get ALL exercised about that specific thing and break out into chants about it at town halls. Not a super swift idea on Trump's part.
https://www.nokings.org/
The Indivisible weekly call is in an hour (3pm ET). Sign up here:
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You can watch a replay on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/@indivisibleteam/videos
I think it's telling that Don Trump's reputation internationally is so toxic that even Libya doesn't want to openly admit to working with him. Both sides are using 'working with the Trump administration' as an insult to their opposition.
When will this insanity stop?? Why aren’t these people being impeached? Arrested? Such utter bullshit! Are we even in America anymore? What happened to the land of the free and home of the brave? I’m so utterly disgusted by this sham of an administration. Bunch of thugs and despots.
I fear America as we knew it is forever gone. If we the people can't stop these criminals in our government ..
If we don't fight, it will be. Do NOT obey in advance!!!
Are you calling your representatives? Are you writing letters? Are you protesting? Everybody can do something!!
Yes, I'm doing all of the above, over and over. I'm tired. But I have to do it. Everybody who cares about democracy has to do all the things you list.
Plus as the general election will come up here fast, we all have to do work to Get Out The Vote.
Every election, every vote.
One of the postcard groups I write with is Environmental Voter Project. Last week, I mailed 100 postcards to low-propensity environmental voters in PA.
Activate America (www.activateamerica.vote/postcards) has three postcard campaigns in PA targeting vulnerable GOP congressmen Ryan MacKenzie (PA-07), Rob Bresnahan (PA-08), and Scott Perry (PA-10).
Field Team 6 (https://fieldteam6.herokuapp.com/) has afemale outreach campaign to register new voters in PA in advance of the upcoming PA Supreme Court race.
I fear the same
More showing up in the streets and in your congressional offices. Keep fighting until we win.
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? Nobody, and therein lies the answer to your query.
Thank you Jay for the update. You’re so appreciated.
I keep envisioning Steven Miller foaming at the mouth, filled with hate and rage, driving the efforts to round up, humiliate and deport the immigrants he so despises. This truly evil individual appears to run the show. His pathological hatred of and sadistic cruelty towards those he deems unworthy fuels the trump regime's relentless efforts to do whatever it takes carry out his vengeful crusade. This vile, despicable man is the poster boy for the trump regime.
Or maybe; issue injunctions against the pilots working for the contract carriers who would fly those planes; perhaps they have more respect for the law, at risk for losing their license to fly if they transport immigrants in the face of a court order against deporting them? One could force the military to do transports, raising all sorts of international issues with allowing US military planes to land in 3rd countries for this kind of purpose.
Interesting angle.
Interesting that Trump claims not to know ... Which suggests that all those various underlings could be sued for their actions in contempt of court, and in breach of the Constitutional rights of the victims, no?
Oh, he knows alright, regardless of what he says.
Everything that comes out of his mouth is a lie.
Yep, all lies. But take him at his word—long enough to charge and convict and imprison those lower-level folks he claims are doing all the evil deeds!
Each day I tell myself it can’t get any worse and the next day it gets worse than the day before. Disgusting.
Hi, Jay --
I would like to suggest a small correction to your final sentence:
"When people say of the Trump administration, “The cruelty is the point,” this is exactly what they mean."
Should be -- "When people say of the Trump REGIME [all capitals to emphasize the editing] “The cruelty is the point,” this is exactly what they mean."
I think this sort of wording should be used routinely to avoid "sane-washing" tRump's (& his enablers') words & actions.
100% agree with the "regime" wording.
No souls, no care. Just pure hatred.
Enjoying others fear and pain. Despicable insects.
Ugh. The awfulness of this administration continues.