Let’s start with a fact: Jesus wasn’t white. He was a Jew, a Semite, and dark-skinned. American Christians who don’t understand this are delusional. Second, what Trump is employing is called terror. You mention Romans and KKK, but I see ISIS beheading journalists. In her column today Heather Cox Richardson recounts the back and forth policies that had Mexicans encouraged to come to the United States when we needed them and then pushed back. It’s all very well to call them “illegal” but how does one come here legally? Today, I don’t believe there is a way, unless you’re a white South African.
I take issue with the notion that Democrats are being forced into justifying lawless presence in the U.S. The U.S. needs sane, rational immigration and asylum policies. That is certainly not what Trump’s goon squad of masked abductors is perpetrating. Peter mentions deportees being sent to Libya, which is bad enough, but Trump has even sent them to South Sudan, a war zone, and the courts had to step in to prevent him from sending Afghanis who helped us during the war back to the Taliban.
This nation was founded on the belief that all people are created equal and have certain unalienable rights such as Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. Expecting our government to treat humans humanely is nothing we need to apologize for. Trump and his minions are inflicting cruel and unusual punishment on people who are doing the same damn thing all our ancestors did – seeking a better life for themselves and their children. Republicans are the ones who should be ashamed, but they have no shame. Democrats need to loudly and proudly support our founding principles, oppose Trump’s malevolence and work on an immigration system more sensible than “disappearing” and concentration camps.
Here's what happened to an Irish guy who overstayed his visa by three days because of a medical condition:
"Thomas, a 35-year-old tech worker and father of three from Ireland, came to West Virginia to visit his girlfriend last fall. It was one of many trips he had taken to the US, and he was authorized to travel under a visa waiver program that allows tourists to stay in the country for 90 days.
He had planned to return to Ireland in December, but was briefly unable to fly due to a health issue, his medical records show. He was only three days overdue to leave the US when an encounter with police landed him in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) custody.
From there, what should have been a minor incident became a nightmarish ordeal: he was detained by Ice in three different facilities, ultimately spending roughly 100 days behind bars with little understanding of why he was being held – or when he’d get out.
...He and other detainees were placed in an area with dirty mattresses, cockroaches and mice, where some bunkbeds lacked ladders, forcing people to climb to the top bed, he said.
BoP didn’t seem to have enough clothes, said Thomas, who got a jumpsuit but no shirt. The facility also gave him a pair of used, ripped underwear with brown stains. Some jumpsuits appeared to have bloodstains and holes, he added.
Each detainee was given one toilet paper roll a week. He shared a cell with another detainee, and he said they were only able to flush the toilet three times an hour. He was often freezing and was given only a thin blanket. The food was “disgusting slop”, including some kind of mysterious meat that at times appeared to have chunks of bones and other inedible items mixed in, he said. He was frequently hungry."
One of your recent best. Thanks. Also I just read Erich's note, also very good. And am glad that Joe thinks we will come to our senses. I'm not sure about that today. We know that Trump is crazy but he is joined by a crazy Supreme Court majority. I went to am Appalachian Mountain Sunday School and learned very early that Jesus was of dark skin and continue to be grateful that that Sunday School was not crazy.
There was an advantage in the country to ignoring illegal immigration and promoting open borders...until there wasn't. Sudden, large scale disruptions to the status quo unsettle a society or nation. Consequences are unpredictable and can be profound. Civil war, anyone? Maybe too extreme, but it looks like every move the Promoter-in-Chief makes drives half the country insane. Hard to find common ground with such a dynamic. Harder still to see.clearly how we muddle through and salvage any national unity.
There was no such thing as "ignoring illegal immigration and promoting open borders". When COVID restrictions ended there was a huge backlog of immigrants waiting to get in. They waited in Mexico, with the app created by the Biden administration on their phone to let them know when they could get an appointment. But the system was overwhelmed and underfunded, which created a crisis that Trump was happy to exploit. It is unrealistic to expect the majority of Americans to accept the appalling cruelty, lawlessness and corruption of this administration without protest. Common ground will be found when we recover our humanity. I don't know anyone who is okay with the wicked cruelty, but it sounds as though you are not bothered by it.
I'm afraid there is probably about the same proportion of our population that are okay with the wicked cruelty as there were during the days of slavery. We even have one of them who frequently comments here.
Yep. But we will come to our senses.
One day, everyone will have always been against this.
(One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This, by Omar El Akkad)
Perfect observation of how the story of history is remembered.
A rewrite. We all do it, individually, and as nations. We ought to strive differently.
"Naturally! This is what I shall have intended to do." --King Mongkut, The King and I
Let’s start with a fact: Jesus wasn’t white. He was a Jew, a Semite, and dark-skinned. American Christians who don’t understand this are delusional. Second, what Trump is employing is called terror. You mention Romans and KKK, but I see ISIS beheading journalists. In her column today Heather Cox Richardson recounts the back and forth policies that had Mexicans encouraged to come to the United States when we needed them and then pushed back. It’s all very well to call them “illegal” but how does one come here legally? Today, I don’t believe there is a way, unless you’re a white South African.
I take issue with the notion that Democrats are being forced into justifying lawless presence in the U.S. The U.S. needs sane, rational immigration and asylum policies. That is certainly not what Trump’s goon squad of masked abductors is perpetrating. Peter mentions deportees being sent to Libya, which is bad enough, but Trump has even sent them to South Sudan, a war zone, and the courts had to step in to prevent him from sending Afghanis who helped us during the war back to the Taliban.
This nation was founded on the belief that all people are created equal and have certain unalienable rights such as Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. Expecting our government to treat humans humanely is nothing we need to apologize for. Trump and his minions are inflicting cruel and unusual punishment on people who are doing the same damn thing all our ancestors did – seeking a better life for themselves and their children. Republicans are the ones who should be ashamed, but they have no shame. Democrats need to loudly and proudly support our founding principles, oppose Trump’s malevolence and work on an immigration system more sensible than “disappearing” and concentration camps.
Well, Mike, that's the rub. 'Democrats need to...work.' Do you see any sign of that? Anyone you've heard of putting forward a more sensible system?
Yes. The Senate did just before the 2024 election, but Trump forbid Republicans from supporting it.
Here's what happened to an Irish guy who overstayed his visa by three days because of a medical condition:
"Thomas, a 35-year-old tech worker and father of three from Ireland, came to West Virginia to visit his girlfriend last fall. It was one of many trips he had taken to the US, and he was authorized to travel under a visa waiver program that allows tourists to stay in the country for 90 days.
He had planned to return to Ireland in December, but was briefly unable to fly due to a health issue, his medical records show. He was only three days overdue to leave the US when an encounter with police landed him in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) custody.
From there, what should have been a minor incident became a nightmarish ordeal: he was detained by Ice in three different facilities, ultimately spending roughly 100 days behind bars with little understanding of why he was being held – or when he’d get out.
...He and other detainees were placed in an area with dirty mattresses, cockroaches and mice, where some bunkbeds lacked ladders, forcing people to climb to the top bed, he said.
BoP didn’t seem to have enough clothes, said Thomas, who got a jumpsuit but no shirt. The facility also gave him a pair of used, ripped underwear with brown stains. Some jumpsuits appeared to have bloodstains and holes, he added.
Each detainee was given one toilet paper roll a week. He shared a cell with another detainee, and he said they were only able to flush the toilet three times an hour. He was often freezing and was given only a thin blanket. The food was “disgusting slop”, including some kind of mysterious meat that at times appeared to have chunks of bones and other inedible items mixed in, he said. He was frequently hungry."
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/15/irish-tourist-ice-detention
Gee, I wonder why the U.S. is losing billions in tourist dollars.
Wow. Peter that was powerful. On mark I'm afraid
One of your recent best. Thanks. Also I just read Erich's note, also very good. And am glad that Joe thinks we will come to our senses. I'm not sure about that today. We know that Trump is crazy but he is joined by a crazy Supreme Court majority. I went to am Appalachian Mountain Sunday School and learned very early that Jesus was of dark skin and continue to be grateful that that Sunday School was not crazy.
There was an advantage in the country to ignoring illegal immigration and promoting open borders...until there wasn't. Sudden, large scale disruptions to the status quo unsettle a society or nation. Consequences are unpredictable and can be profound. Civil war, anyone? Maybe too extreme, but it looks like every move the Promoter-in-Chief makes drives half the country insane. Hard to find common ground with such a dynamic. Harder still to see.clearly how we muddle through and salvage any national unity.
There was no such thing as "ignoring illegal immigration and promoting open borders". When COVID restrictions ended there was a huge backlog of immigrants waiting to get in. They waited in Mexico, with the app created by the Biden administration on their phone to let them know when they could get an appointment. But the system was overwhelmed and underfunded, which created a crisis that Trump was happy to exploit. It is unrealistic to expect the majority of Americans to accept the appalling cruelty, lawlessness and corruption of this administration without protest. Common ground will be found when we recover our humanity. I don't know anyone who is okay with the wicked cruelty, but it sounds as though you are not bothered by it.
I'm afraid there is probably about the same proportion of our population that are okay with the wicked cruelty as there were during the days of slavery. We even have one of them who frequently comments here.