What if they weren’t mistakes, but intentional?

When NPR interviews a Republican or conservative I usually turn my radio off for the duration of the segment. For example, yesterday (I think) they talked to Steve Bannon. I turned it off. But today I kept the radio on the whole six minutes while host Michel Martin talked to Tricia McLaughlin, Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, which makes her the top spokesperson. Perhaps I wanted to tally McLaughlin’s lies and exaggerations. First, McLaughlin said they were doing what they do because of the “mandate the American people gave him.” The word “mandate” is said a lot. But that tiny margin of victory in last November’s election is not a mandate. And her usage implies that a large majority of Americans are behind that mandate while polls show less than half of Americans agree with their immigration/deportation policies. It brings to mind the Shakespeare line from Hamlet that she “doth protest too much.” Yeah, I had to verify where it came from. Second, she blamed Biden – the ICE agents have been “hamstrung for the last four years.” That dismisses Biden’s efforts to lower the number of migrants attempting to cross the border. Yeah, the numbers have gone down since Biden left office. But he also brought them down while in office. Of course, that assumes stopping migration into the US is a good thing, and I doubt it is. Third, she talked about getting “criminal illegal aliens off of our streets.” Of which there are very few. Most crime in America is committed by Americans. The statement is just to make us fear immigrants. Fourth, she played games with the meaning of “due process,” which deportees are supposed to get before being deported. She said if the detainee is a member of a terrorist organization what is “due” in “due process” “is going to look different.” That implies less than what our Constitution and traditions require. Fifth, she said they knew they would have to “battle” activist judges. So they will use every tool they have to execute the mandate of the American people, implying one of those tools is defying judicial orders. Sixth, she said when they mistakenly arrest the wrong people they do an internal investigation to make sure they don’t make that mistake again. She did not say they release those wrongfully detained or return those already deported. She also didn’t define “wrong people” or “mistake.” I’m sure a careful reader could come up with several more ways she lied or clouded the issue. McLaughlin is very good at sticking to the propaganda script. Alas, NPR didn’t follow this segment with a Democrat giving a rebuttal. Steve Inskeep of NPR discussed with Democratic Rep. Adam Smith what the House Republicans are doing about Signalgate. That’s the scandal where Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth discussed a military attack on the unsecured Signal app. Then did it again. Smith has a lot to say on the topic, too much for me to quote. So I’ll summarize. Smith filed a resolution of inquiry, to force an investigation. Republicans responded by disallowing resolutions of inquiry. That frustrates the democratic process by not allowing an open public discussion. Republicans can’t defend Hegseth so won’t talk about it and will prevent Congress from doing its oversight of the Pentagon and over a dangerous person. Democrats haven’t welcomed demands for investigation by Republicans but they recognized the minority needs to be heard. True even if it is Democrats losing the later vote. But Republicans are shutting of debate. A representative government is supposed to have debates. Lisa Needham of Daily Kos wrote about some of the mistakes made by the nasty guy administration. Kilmar Abrego Garcia sent to the El Salvador gulag by a mistake and not brought back. Children who are citizens deported with a parent being deported (one two years old, another a four-year-old with late stage cancer). They deservedly get negative attention. We believe they must be mistakes (and in the Abrego Garcia case the mistake was admitted) because they are so awful. Needham posed the questions: But what if they weren’t mistakes? What if they were intentional decisions that have become policy? Needham answered by saying if they were mistakes they would have been fixed. Also, when a similar situation arises and the same “mistake” is repeated. In the case of the children the administration said the parent being deported wanted their citizen child to be deported with them. By the time a judge was able to issue instructions to interview the parent to verify that is what they wanted the government said, “Whoopsie, too late” – the plane deporting the parent and child has already departed and out of US airspace. Yep, that’s the same excuse given for why the first batch of deportees sent to El Salvador weren’t given a chance to challenge their deportation and why the government is saying they can’t get Abrego Garcia back. This isn’t a mistake. There was no mistake when they arrested the judge accused of protecting an immigrant from deportation. It wasn’t a one-time goof. They plan to repeat.

It isn’t an accident that the administration has harmed people with sympathetic stories. Making 4-year-olds with cancer the antagonist of your immigration crackdown isn’t just morally repugnant. It also looks terrible and sparks immediate and widespread disapproval. Telling the world you’ve got no problem arresting judges doesn’t land super well, either. But that’s the point. The administration wants everyone to know that nothing will protect you. There’s no bridge too far, no line they won’t cross. If they’ll deport 2-year-olds and not give it a second thought, if they’ll leave someone in a violent prison overseas, if they’ll roll up on a judge and arrest her at the courthouse, they’ll do anything. The fear is absolutely the point.

In a pundit roundup for Kos Chitown Kev quoted Nadine Yousif of BBC News who noted that in the recent election in Canada the overall election went the liberals the youth vote went to the conservatives. They were more concerned about housing not being affordable, the cost of living, and crime and hadn’t seen improvement under the liberals. Kev added that youth voting for the far right is an issue in more than Canada. It was also a factor in recent elections in South Korea, Japan, Argentina, across Africa, and across Europe (though not in Mexico and India). Kev next quoted the Harvard Youth Poll done by the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics. This year they surveyed 2,096 Americans between ages 18 and 29 during March 14-25.

"From significant economic concerns to dramatic feelings of social isolation, and from growing mental health challenges to mounting distrust in the government and both parties, young Americans have apprehensions about what would have seemed unimaginable just a few short years ago," said IOP Director Setti Warren. "These findings are a stark reality check and leaders across the country would be wise to pay close attention." "This is a generation that's weathered pandemic isolation during formative years, entered an unstable economy, and faced skyrocketing housing and education costs—all while being told they're not resilient enough," said John Della Volpe, Director of Polling at the Institute of Politics. "What Gen Z needs isn't another lecture, but genuine recognition of their struggles and leaders willing to listen before they speak." "Amid financial hardship and a devastating crisis of community, young Americans are increasingly disillusioned with the world as they struggle to find their place in it," said Jordan Schwartz, Student Chair of the Harvard Public Opinion Project. "This generation doesn't expect politics to solve their problems, but as young Americans continue to lose faith in government institutions, the need for politicians to listen to and learn from young people has never been greater."

Down in the comments is a tweet by Garry Kasparov, who quotes Aaron Rupar. Rupar included a video of the nasty guy presiding over a cabinet meeting. At ever cabinet position around the table is a red MAGA hat. Rupar quotes AG Pam Bondi saying: “President, you first 100 days has far exceeded that of ANY other presidency in this country. Ever. Ever. Never seen anything like it. Thank you.” I heard elsewhere that every cabinet secretary said something similar. Kasparov wrote:

If you are competent, or even know anyone who is competent, you know how impossible it is to perform a real job competently when this is the type of feedback you must provide to your boss. Nepotism and sycophancy turn autocracies into corrupt, failed regimes and economies.

And exlrrp posted a meme of Sen. Ted Lieu saying:

The fact that we even have to introduce an amendment that says ICE cannot deport U.S. citizens is bats--- crazy. This should not even be a discussion.

Further down Todd Alcott posted a Tom the Dancing Bug cartoon by Ruben Bolling. This uses Peanuts characters to reinterpret the Halloween story in which Linus wishes the Great Pumpkin to come. This version shows the Great Pumpkin has arrived and is fascist, making Linus quite happy. Yesterday, I included a meme about Jeff Bezos: “Trump bullied me. Now I’m afraid to show what you will pay for tariffs.” Demonstrating how far behind I am in my reading of news... On Tuesday Emily Singer of Kos reported that Amazon will show the tariff costs beside the cost of each item so consumers can see how much more they are paying because of the nasty guy’s trade policy. And, yep, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt went into attack mode saying the move is “a hostile and political act by Amazon.” And, citing a story by Reuters, she said “Amazon has recently partnered with a Chinese propaganda arm, so this is another reason why Americans should buy American.” Nice way to treat a guy who donated to and attended the inauguration. Singer wrote that a big reason for the attack is that showing the “import fees” proves the nasty guy’s claim that the tariffs are paid by China is a lie. Though Amazon was just testing the waters other companies are already listing “import fees.” A big one is the China-based online retailer Temu. Yeah, that’s not an example of an American company listing fees. Big box stores warned the White House that tariffs will lead to big price spikes and product shortages. And UPS announced cutting 20,000 jobs because tariffs will reduce the volume of packages being shipped.