Unamerican?
UnAmerican?
No, it turns out it's un-American.
That's the appropriate spelling.
But is un-American a bad thing?
Not always.
For
example? Best chocolate in the world? Many would go with Norway's
Vigdis Rosenkilde or Belgium's Neuhaus or France's Maison du Chocolat or
Mexico's Feliu Chocolate or even Italy's Amedei. They're all great
chocolates and not originating in the United States doesn't change that.
Looking
for the best skis? France's Rossignol and Salomon. Followed by
several others with DPS being the only recognized maker of excellent
skis in the US (Salt Lake City).
One
of the best streaming shows in the US right now?
DOWN CEMETERY ROAD.
This British thriller is amazing. Ruth Wilson plays a woman who lives
in a neighborhood that has an explosion. Things do not seem to be what
they appear so she hires a private investigator played by Adam Godley.
All of the actors mentioned are amazing and worthy of praise. But
Godley's character? His wife has to take over the investigation. And
she's played by Emma Thompson in an amazing performance that should be
topped off with an Emmy. The mini-series has eight episodes and there
are multiple twists and turns in each one. It more than holds your
attention. And it's un-American in that it's a British TV series set in
the UK.
So, again, un-American doesn't have to mean bad.
But sometimes it does.
With
Donald Chump back in the White House and with him doing very
un-American things, it means bad. Very bad. Lawbreakingly bad.
Emily Prescott (KANSAS CITY STAR) reports, "Federal
immigration officers reportedly shot and wounded U.S. citizen Carlos
Jimenez during an enforcement stop near a school bus route, sparking
Democratic outrage. Civil rights groups condemned the shooting as an
example of excessive force. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
confirmed that an internal investigation is underway to determine
whether agents followed protocol."
As is far too often the case, DHS
Assistant Liar Tricia McLaughlin is quoted in the article. We no longer
quote her because she's been revealed as a liar repeatedly (see our "Media: They fail to note the pattern of ICE lies but make time to defend
this year's John Fetterman"). Julianne McShane (MOTHER JONES) notes what happened:
The
victim was a 25-year-old named Carlos Jimenez, who is a father of
three. He was shot after getting out of his car to tell ICE agents, who
had pulled over a vehicle, that children would soon be gathering in that
spot for the school bus, his lawyer, Cynthia Santiago, told the newspaper.
The agents’ cars had blocked a southern lane on the road and jutted
into a second lane, according to the LA Times. “He was telling them,
‘Excuse me. Can you guys please, you know, please wrap this up.’ And
immediately, the masked agent pulls out a gun and exchanges some words,”
Santiago told the newspaper.
That? That's un-American. And it's un-American in a very bad way.
We
have laws and regulations for a reason. But a convicted felon like
Donald Chump doesn't care about those -- as he goes around pardoning one
crook after another, he makes that clear.
And as he lets ICE and the 'border' patrol (Illinois shared no border with
another country) terrorize American citizens and immigrants, he makes
clear just how un-American he is.
We
have freedom of worship in the United States. Donald Chump is trying
to destroy that but we do have the right to worship in this country as
we please (and that choice also includes the right not worship). That's
what makes Charles Thrush's report for BOOK CLUB CHICAGO so dispiriting:
Federal
authorities told demonstrators Friday that there would be “no more
prayer” in front of or inside the Broadview ICE facility, in a move that
mystified local leaders and raised legal questions.
A
federal representative delivered the news to a huddle of faith leaders
and activists standing outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement
facility Friday, speaking after faith leaders were denied entry to the
building for the third time Friday.
Broadview
Police Chief Thomas Mills, whose department helped facilitate the phone
call, said that he was “trying to figure out” in discussions with Mayor
Katrina Thompson and an attorney if a federal agency could legally ban
religious gatherings on land owned by the village. Religious groups
previously have been allowed to practice outside the facility, he said.
[. . .]
Protesters
expressed concern that the direction from federal officials could be in
violation of the First Amendment, which guarantees both freedom of
religion and assembly. The move also comes days after the AP reported that Pope Leo XIV urged authorities to allow pastoral workers to be able to access detained migrants.
Are
we a nation of laws or not? Every day Chump remains president, that
question has to be asked because he disregards every law and regulation
as though they never existed. And what of his MAGA children of the
corn? They're screaming for THE TEN COMMANDMENTS to be posted in
schools but they won't defend the right to pray in Chicago? Seems
hypocritical but if there were no hypocrites in the US, Chump would
never get a single vote in any election.
We grasp that just as we grasp how out of control his gestapo force is. Srijony Das (INQUISITR) reports:
While
the Department of Homeland Security has already warned people about
such activities, the Fullerton Police Department was recently notified
of a surprising incident in which an agent was captured brandishing a
firearm at a female driver.
The Fullerton
Police Department said it did not assist the customs officer who pointed
a firearm at a female cyclist. The incident occurred around noon at the
intersection of Santa Ana Boulevard and Shelton Street. An officer from
the police department noticed a man stepping out of his vehicle and
pointed a gun towards a woman who was riding her bike behind him. The
police officer immediately took action and approached the man, without
knowing the man’s identity or what had actually happened.
An
officer from the Fullerton Police Department asked the man for
identification, and he revealed that he was an ICE officer. He explained
that he drew his firearm because the woman had been following and
recording him for a long distance. An excerpt from the statement read:
“The Fullerton Police Officer informed the agent that he could not
assist with someone following or recording him if no crime had occurred,
and that local law enforcement (Santa Ana PD) was en route.”
The
incident was recorded and uploaded to Instagram, where the agent is
clearly seen holding the firearm near his chest and pointing it towards
the woman. The lady is later revealed to be a community watch member.
The ICE agent then can be seen approaching the police officer, while the
woman reprimands the former, saying, “What are you doing? What the
[expletive language] is your problem?” In response, the agent shouts
back, “You can’t be following us like that”. The woman responds, “I live
here! It’s okay to pull your gun on a woman? What the [expletive
language]?”
As
recorded in the Fullerton Police Department’s statement, the woman then
left the scene shortly after. The police officer also made it very
clear to the ICE agent that he would not assist him if no crime had
actually taken place. Their statement further mentioned “ICE is a
federal law enforcement agency, and Fullerton Police Officers will
assist them, and any other local, state, or federal law enforcement
agency, in situations involving immediate officer safety.
No,
ICE, it doesn't work that way -- no matter what the idiot Chump tells
you, it does not work that way. You're (limited) training did not come
with a certificate to bully American citizens.
This litany from Alex Woodward (INDEPENDENT) describes abuse and terror, not law enforcement:
In Chicago this week, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents dragged a teacher known as “Ms. Diana” from inside a preschool and placed her inside an unmarked car.
Earlier
this year, a 12-year-old boy was abandoned on the street in Waltham,
Massachusetts, after an immigration raid, and in Oregon, an officer smashed the car window of a chiropractor who was taking his child to daycare.
Last month, families with children were pulled out of their homes in a Chicago apartment building, crying and screaming, in an overnight raid that led to the arrests of 37 people.
These
are the actions of a force reorting to a tin horn dictator, not an elected president who is
supposed to manage -- for four years -- a democracy.
Illinois has been especially targeted by Chump's gestapo. Sophia Tareen (AP) reports:
A
suburban Chicago father and his 1-year-old daughter were pepper-sprayed
at close range as they headed grocery shopping over the weekend and
happened upon federal immigration agents, the family said.
Rafael
Veraza said the incident happened in a Sam's Club parking lot in Cicero
on Saturday, amid escalating clashes that day between immigration
agents and frustrated area residents. The suburb shares a border with
the Chicago neighborhood of Little Village, a largely Mexican enclave
that has frequently been at the center of a federal immigration
crackdown that began two months ago in the nation's third-largest city.
Again,
this is not law enforcement. This ia renegade group of bullies being
told that they can s**t on citizens and there will be no legal
consequences. That's why JB Pritzker, the state's governor (whom we
both know and like) calls for people to continue to protest these
outrageous (and illegal) actions and to document what is happening in
their areas, "This
is hugely important because recent cases have been overturned from
gathered evidence from bystanders -- rulings against ICE and CBP for
using tear gas and other methods during detainments." Pritzker is among the governors who has shown true leadership in these very troubled times.
So thank goodness for our governors Thank goodness also for our judges. Rulings
against ICE and 'border' patrol are increasing. Why? Because they
keep lying and, unlike Chump, they're getting held accountable for
lying.
A
federal judge called out Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino for lying as
she dealt another legal defeat to President Donald Trump's crackdown on
immigrants.
U.S. District Court Judge Sara
Ellis ordered a preliminary injunction granting "complete relief" to
Chicago residents and others who accused the Department of Homeland
Security of using "extreme brutality" to violate their First Amendment
rights, and she said during a court hearing Thursday that she found the
testimony of Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement
agents "not credible," reported WTTW-TV.
“The
government would have people believe, instead, that the Chicagoland
area is in a vice hold of violence, ransacked by rioters and attacked by
agitators,” Ellis said before announcing her ruling. “That simply is
untrue, and the government’s own evidence in this case belies that
assertion.”
The judge singled out Bovino, who
she said admitted to lying about whether a rock had struck him before
using tear gas on protesters last month in Little Village.
They have earned a reputation for lying -- and judges don't like liars.
You
know who else doesn't like liars? Tax payers who are the ones footing
the bill for these employees who turn around and lie to the American
people and to the courts.
Setting out to deceive the court? That's actually a crime. And that's un-American.
