Killing Kirk Was Wrong - But He Was NOT A Hero Or Martyr!

The American right-wing is now trying to portray Charlie Kirk as a martyr for this country. Donald Trump wants you to believe Kirk was a hero, and plans to give him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Such nonsense! Kirk's killing was a heinous crime, and should be punished harshly. And Kirk, thanks to our freedom of speech, had the right to spread and defend his political views. But he was no hero or martyr, because his rabid right-wing views were both false and anti-democratic.

David Corn (in Mother Jones) tells the truth about Charlie Kirk:

Here’s the problem: Kirk built that movement with falsehoods. And his advocacy was laced with racist and bigoted statements. Recognizing this does not diminish the awfulness of this act of violence. Nor does it lessen our outrage or diminish our sympathy for his family, friends, and colleagues. Yet if this is an appropriate moment to assess Kirk and issue bold statements about his participation in America’s political life, there ought to be room for a true discussion.

Kirk, a right-wing provocateur who founded and led Turning Point USA, an organization of young conservatives, was a promoter of Trump’s destructive and baseless conspiracy theory that the 2020 election was stolen from him. Two days before the January 6 riot, Kirk boasted in a tweet that Students for Trump and Turning Point Action were “Sending 80+ buses full of patriots to DC to fight for this president.” . . .

Even prior to the election, Kirk helped set the stage for Trump’s attempt to subvert the republic. In September 2020, the Washington Post reported that Turning Point Action was running a “sprawling yet secretive campaign” to disseminate pro-Trump propaganda “that experts say evades the guardrails put in place by social media companies to limit online disinformation of the sort used by Russia during the 2016 campaign.” The messages Turning Point generated spread the charge that Democrats were using mail balloting to steal the election and downplayed the threat from Covid. . . .

Kirk’s advocacy of vigorous debate ought not be separated from what he said while jousting in the public square. He hosted white nationalists on his podcast. He posted racist comments on his X account, including this remark: “If I see a Black pilot, I’m going to be like, ‘Boy, I hope he’s qualified.'” He endorsed the white “replacement” conspiracy theory. After the October 7 attack on Israel, he compared Black Lives Matter to Hamas. He called for preserving “white demographics in America.” He asserted that Islam was not compatible with Western culture. He derided women who supported Kamala Harris 2024 for wanting “careerism, consumerism, and loneliness.” Or, as he also put it, “Democratic women want to die alone without children.” When Paul Pelosi, the husband of Rep. Nancy Pelosi, was brutally attacked in 2022, Kirk spread a conspiracy theory about the crime and called for an “amazing patriot” to bail out the assailant. He routinely deployed extreme rhetoric to demonize his political foes. . . .

Moreover, as a movement strategist, he relied upon and advanced lies and bigotry—including falsehoods that fueled violence and an assault on our national foundation. That was not a side gig for Kirk. It was a core component of his organizing. He did not practice politics the right way. He used deceit to develop his movement and to weaken the United States. His assassination is heinous and frightening and warrants widespread condemnation. It should prompt reflection on what is happening within the nation and what needs to be done to prevent further political violence. It should not protect him or others who engage in such politics of extremism from critical review. 

New Poll Shows The Xenophobic Racism Of Republican Voters

 

This chart is from the CBS News / YouGov Poll -- done between January 10th and 12th of a nationwide sample of 786 likely Republican primary voters, with a 4.7 point margin of error.

Basta! Stop The Demonization Of Hispanics In The U.S.

(Photo is from the El Paso Times.)

Enough is enough! The racist, xenophobic, and un-American attacks on Hispanics by Trump, his supporters, and Republican officials must stop! It is unconscionable to hear this kind of hate-speech coming from government officials and other citizens of a country founded on immigration.

The following is an editorial from the newspaper in McAllen, Texas -- The Monitor:

The violence has to stop. It won’t stop on its own; people have to act.

It’s time to say: Basta! — enough!

Saturday’s mass shooting in El Paso touched the Rio Grande Valley. Pharr-San Juan-Alamo graduate Leonardo Campos Jr. and his wife Maribel were among the 22 people killed in the rampage; more than two dozen others were injured.

Investigators say the suspect targeted Hispanics, and drove more than 600 miles from the Dallas area to El Paso, and it isn’t clear why he picked that city. Given the recent attention the Valley has received with visits by Vice President Mike Pence, Congress members and other officials, he might just as well have decided to head south instead of west.

Previous mass shootings have been random or targeted other groups — blacks, Muslims, Jews, people with non-traditional lifestyles — but it probably was just a matter of time. But animosity toward Hispanics is nothing new. Lou Dobbs and Pat Buchanan railed against Latino immigrants decades ago, falsely alleging they stole jobs and welfare dollars and refused to learn English or assimilate into Anglo society. In 2008 California Congressman Tom Tancredo Sr. came to this area and declared that the border wall should be built north of the Rio Grande Valley. Woody Guthrie was writing songs about the mistreatment of Mexican farm workers back in 1948.

Traditionally Hispanics have endured the abuse, knowing that it comes from a small, albeit vocal and sometimes violent minority. But now that people are driving long distances to kill large groups of people, the time for stoicism might be over.

Basta ya! It’s time to act.

It’s time for Hispanics to fight false racist claims and assert the truth:

Somos Americanos: Many Latinos are descendants of people who lived in New Spain long before it became part of the United States. When people tell them to go back to where they came from, they’re already there.

Somos patriotas: Hispanics have always been among the first volunteers willing to fight for this country; as local historian Jack Ayoub frequently points out, those contributions go all the way back to the U.S. Revolutionary War. To this day, Hispanic representation in U.S. armed forces is higher than any other demographic group. Relative to their share of the overall population, more Hispanics have earned the Medal of Honor than any other group.

Somos contribuidores: According to the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, since 2011 Hispanic-owned businesses have grown at a rate that doubles or even triples the national average, contributing more than $700 billion per year to the national economy.

Hispanic leaders, in the political, entertainment, business and sports realms, should arm themselves with these and other facts, and assert their contributions as one of many rich, beautiful colors and textures that weave into America’s social tapestry.

Such facts stand on their own; there’s no need for spitting contests against those who benefit from falsehoods.

It’s time to be assertive without responding to the violence.

We’ve had too much of that already.

Basta ya.

Trump Shows His Racist Side Again In Nasty Tweets

Humorist Will Rogers once said, "I'm not a member of any organized political party. I'm a Democrat." There's a lot of truth in that. We Democrats love to argue among ourselves, because we are thinkers. We don't get our orders (or beliefs) from the top. We like to tell those at the top what they should be doing. And sometimes, that can make the party look disorganized. But it is also the party's strength.

The latest of these intra-party squabbles is between four progressive women elected to Congress in 2018 (Ocasio-Cortez, Pressley, Tlaib, and Omar) and Speaker of the House Pelosi. The four congresswomen have made it public when they disagree with House Democratic leadership, and Speaker Pelosi is unhappy about that because she wants the party to have a unified stand.

This is nothing new. There have been intra-party fights between progressives and moderates/conservatives for many years. And even though Ocasio-Cortez remarked about Pelosi picking our "women of color", she knows that Pelosi is not racist and she could have phrased her argument in a better way. The media is making a big deal about this, but I don't doubt for a minute that both sides will unify for the next election.

But Trump, with some nasty tweets, has jumped in the middle of this -- and he is a racist. He's trying to divide the Democrats, and at the same time, appeal to his racist followers in the Republican Party. In his tweets (see them above), Trump infers that the four congresswomen are not really Americans. He called for them to go back where they came from.

So, what is "their country"? Ocasio-Cortez was born in New York City. Pressley was born in Cincinnati, and Tlaib was born in Detroit. Only Omar was born outside the U.S., and she has been in the United States for the last 27 years.

They are all American citizens.

They are all duly-elected members of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Whether you agree with their politics or not, they deserve to be treated with respect. They did not deserve the racist and xenophobic rant from Donald Trump. Trump should be ashamed, and if he was decent, he would apologize to these four ladies. Unfortunately, Trump has repeatedly demonstrated that he has neither decency nor shame.

Border Patrol Officers Shame Themselves (And The Nation)

With their treatment of both adults and child refugees in the border camps, the Border Patrol has not covered itself in glory. Their treatment of those individuals has violated even the most basic of human rights.

That would be bad enough, and would be cause for Congress to investigate what is going on at the border. But a few thousand Border Patrol officers have gone even further by participating in a Facebook page for officers, where they displayed their worst misogynistic and xenophobic views. They shamed themselves and the nation.

Here is how the nonprofit news service ProPublica reported what they found:

Members of a secret Facebook group for current and former Border Patrol agents joked about the deaths of migrants, discussed throwing burritos at Latino members of Congress visiting a detention facility in Texas on Monday and posted a vulgar illustration depicting Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez engaged in oral sex with a detained migrant, according to screenshots of their postings.

In one exchange, group members responded with indifference and wisecracks to the post of a news story about a 16-year-old Guatemalan migrant who died in May while in custody at a Border Patrol station in Weslaco, Texas. One member posted a GIF of Elmo with the quote, “Oh well.” Another responded with an image and the words “If he dies, he dies.”

Created in August 2016, the Facebook group is called “I’m 10-15” and boasts roughly 9,500 members from across the country. (10-15 is Border Patrol code for “aliens in custody.”) The group described itself, in an online introduction, as a forum for “funny” and “serious” discussion about work with the patrol. “Remember you are never alone in this family,” the introduction said. . . .

ProPublica received images of several recent discussions in the 10-15 Facebook group and was able to link the participants in those online conversations to apparently legitimate Facebook profiles belonging to Border Patrol agents, including a supervisor based in El Paso, Texas, and an agent in Eagle Pass, Texas. ProPublica has so far been unable to reach the group members who made the postings. . . .

The Border Patrol Facebook group is the most recent example of some law enforcement personnel behaving badly in public and private digital spaces. An investigation by Reveal uncovered hundreds of active-duty and retired law enforcement officers who moved in extremist Facebook circles, including white supremacist and anti-government groups. A team of researchers calling themselves the Plain View Project recently released a hefty database of offensive Facebook posts made by current and ex-law enforcement officers.

And in early 2018, federal investigators found a raft of disturbing and racist text messages sent by Border Patrol agents in southern Arizona after searching the phone of Matthew Bowen, an agent charged with running down a Guatemalan migrant with a Ford F-150 pickup truck. The texts, which were revealed in a court filing in federal court in Tucson, described migrants as “guats,” “wild ass shitbags,” “beaners” and “subhuman.” The messages included repeated discussions about burning the migrants up.

Several of the postings reviewed by ProPublica refer to the planned visit by members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, including Ocasio-Cortez and Rep. Veronica Escobar, to a troubled Border Patrol facility outside of El Paso. Agents at the compound in Clint, Texas, have been accused of holding children in neglectful, inhumane conditions. . . .

One member encouraged Border Patrol agents to hurl a “burrito at these bitches.” Another, apparently a patrol supervisor, wrote, “Fuck the hoes.” “There should be no photo ops for these scum buckets,” posted a third member.

Perhaps the most disturbing posts target Ocasio-Cortez. One includes a photo illustration of her engaged in oral sex at an immigrant detention center. Text accompanying the image reads, “Lucky Illegal Immigrant Glory Hole Special Starring AOC.”

Another is a photo illustration of a smiling President Donald Trump forcing Ocasio-Cortez’s head toward his crotch. The agent who posted the image commented: “That’s right bitches. The masses have spoken and today democracy won.”

The posts about Escobar and Ocasio-Cortez are “vile and sexist,” said a staffer for Escobar. “Furthermore, the comments made by Border Patrol agents towards immigrants, especially those that have lost their lives, are disgusting and show a complete disregard for human life and dignity.”

The head of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Joaquin Castro, reviewed the Facebook discussions and was incensed. “It confirms some of the worst criticisms of Customs and Border Protection,” said Castro, a Democrat who represents San Antonio. “These are clearly agents who are desensitized to the point of being dangerous to migrants and their co-workers.” He added that the agents who made the vulgar comments “don’t deserve to wear any uniform representing the United States of America.”

Trump Won't Criticize White Nationalists Because He Is One

Yes, there is a pattern. White nationalists, white supremacists, KKK members, and other racists and bigots love Donald Trump. They love him because he won't criticize them.

Why? There are a couple of reasons. First, he couldn't afford to do that. His approval numbers have been upside-down since he was sworn into office. He can't afford to anger any of his base -- and a large portion of his base are the racists.

But perhaps the most important reason he won't criticize them is because he is a racist and white nationalist himself. He has a long history of this. It started back in the 1970's, when the federal government admonished him repeatedly for refusing to rent to Blacks. And it has continued to this day as he tried to ban muslims from entering this country, and wants to build a wall to keep Hispanics from entering. His only reliable policy is his racism and xenophobia.

And he's not going to change. After the murders in New Zealand by a white nationalist, Trump was asked if he thought white nationalism was a growing danger in the world. He said he didn't think so. That was demonstrably false. And the FBI would be happy to set him straight, if he would listen to them.

The following is just part of an excellent article by Judd Legum at Popular Information:

Donald Trump says white nationalism is not a growing threat. He's wrong. 

Over the last ten years, according to data analyzed by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), "73.3% of all domestic extremist-related killings have been perpetrated by right-wing extremists, compared to 23.4% perpetrated by terrorists motivated by Salafi-jihadism and 3.2% by left-wing extremism."

Last year, domestic extremists killed at least 50 people in the United States and "every one of the perpetrators had ties to at least one right-wing extremist movement," and "[w]hite supremacists were responsible for the great majority of the killings." These attacks are on the rise. "The number of terrorist attacks by far-right perpetrators rose over the past decade, more than quadrupling between 2016 and 2017," according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI jointly produced a report in 2017 entitled "White Supremacist Extremism Poses Persistent Threat of Lethal Violence." That report proved prescient when a white nationalist, anti-immigrant, and anti-Semitic man murdered 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue last October. 

In addition to violence, white supremacists have also rapidly increased their recruitment and visibility. ADL data "shows white supremacists’ propaganda efforts increased 182 percent, with 1,187 distributions across the U.S. in 2018, up from 421 total incidents reported in 2017."

It is a global phenomenon. In Europe, "far-right attacks" jumped "43% between 2016 and 2017." While "deaths resulting from terrorism decreased 27% worldwide" the "the threat of far-right political terrorism is on the rise."

Trump Doesn't Just Dislike "Dreamers", But ALL Immigrants

(This caricature of Donald Trump is by DonkeyHotey.)

We must not forget, in the light of Trump's executive order removing protections for "Dreamers" by nullifying DACA, that it's not just the "Dreamers" that Trump opposes -- he dislikes all immigrants.

The following article (part of which is posted below) is by Matt Bai at Yahoo News. He reminds us of this, and asks whether Trump's view is supported by other Republicans (or whether they support the traditional view that immigrants help this country). Personally, I think the modern Republican Party has already answered that question -- by electing and supporting a xenophobic, bigoted, racist as their leader.

Mr. Bai writes:

You also have to look at Trump’s enthusiastic support, in a speech at the White House last month, for a plan that would slash legal immigration, overturning decades of bipartisan measures that made it easier for immigrants to bring their relatives to the country and that opened America’s borders to refugees from persecution.

We’re not talking about potential terrorists here, or drug mules tunneling under the desert in the dark of night. We’re talking about the kind of industrious, risk-taking immigrants without whom most of us wouldn’t be here to debate these things today. . . .

Trump is not a guy who resents illegal immigration because it’s unsafe for the country and unfair to the hardworking, law-abiding immigrants who embrace our laws and ideals and who give up everything they’ve known for their children’s future.

Trump is a guy who resents immigrants, period. He is a neo-nativist. His “America first” actually means “Americans only.”

His story about combating furtive outsiders who steal jobs and menace communities is a simplistic story meant to arouse age-old passions and prejudices. His aim isn’t to restore order and lawfulness, but to incite disorder and fear — to harvest cheap adoration from those who fear the unfamiliar.

This is why, long before he ever ran for president, Trump made a crusade of falsely attacking Obama’s lineage. It wasn’t only because he was trying to fuel his own political ambitions. It was because when you fundamentally believe that outsiders are the cause of economic and social disruption, it stands to reason that the president you disdain must be an outsider, too.

This is a worldview, not incidentally, that puts Trump outside the mainstream of his Republican predecessors. Ronald Reagan signed legislation extending amnesty to millions of undocumented immigrants. George H.W. Bush expanded legal immigration. George W. Bush made outreach to immigrants a centerpiece of his “compassionate conservatism.”

The intellectual argument for cultural conservatism, with its rejection of identity politics and diversity-by-quota, idealizes our tradition of assimilating immigrants. It holds that we are still the melting pot society, accepting anyone who will adopt our national customs and credos, assuring equality of opportunity but not equality of outcomes.

That’s not where Trump is. He seeks to restore the Buchananite faction of the party. (Pat, not Daisy.) He doesn’t believe there’s room for a melting pot in a world where factories relocate or shutter, where terrorists loom in the darkness and where most of the immigrants aren’t white.

These aren’t simple issues. Immigration is a harder sell in an imperiled empire than in a thriving incubator of the middle class. It’s not coincidence that Trump’s moment coincides with the rise of other nationalist movements in the world, where workers feel threatened by declining industries and porous borders.

But Republicans, in particular, have a choice to make. They can hold firm to the traditional conservative argument, or they can allow their party to be transformed by Trumpism. They can stand up for our essential identity as a nation of immigrants, or they can blame outsiders for all that ails the society.

What you can’t do, anymore, is tell me that somehow this president does both.

Our Tweeter-In-Chief Tried To Demagogue The London Attack

There was a new attack by terrorists in Great Britain -- this time in London. At least seven people were killed and dozens more wounded. Most responsible world leaders sent their sympathy to the victims and assured Great Britain that they would stand beside them. Our "leader" took a different tack. He tried to demagogue the attack -- use it to scare people into supporting his own xenophobic and bigoted policy. He used the tragedy to tweet that the courts should approve his travel ban.

Trump wants Americans to believe that his silly and unconstitutional travel ban would protect the U.S. from terrorist attacks -- and that those attacks will surely come without that travel ban. It's time to look at some facts that Trump and his bigoted right-wing friends like to ignore.

* Deaths from terrorist attacks are rare in the United States, and our law enforcement agencies are doing a very good job of preventing them. In fact, you have a much better chance of being hit by lightening (or shot by a toddler) than dying in a terrorist attack.

* Of the few terrorist deaths in the United States, more have been from attacks by right-wing home-grown terrorists than by islamic terrorists.

* Refugees from the six countries in Trump's travel ban (Libya, Sudan, Syria, Iran, Yemen, and Somalia) have never engineered a terrorist attack in the United States. The 9/11 attack was carried out by 15 from Saudi Arabia, 2 from the United Arab Emirates, 1 from Egypt, and 1 from Lebanon -- all countries that Trump considers to be our friends. The San Bernardino attack was done by an American-born person and a person from Pakistan (who had lived most of her life in Saudi Arabia). The Orlando shooter was born and raised in the United States. I repeat -- none of these attackers (or any others) were from any of the countries on Trumps's travel ban list.

* The travel ban violates the First Amendment of the Constitution by targeting a religious group (thus violating the religious freedom provision).

The truth is that there is no proof at all that the refugees from the countries on Trump's list pose any more danger to Americans than people from any other country -- and those allowed to emigrate to the U.S. have gone through a rigorous vetting process (that can take up to two years).

Trump is simply playing politics, and he doesn't mind using victims of terrorism in other countries to further his own political agenda -- an agenda aimed at nothing more than making himself look good. He should be ashamed of himself, but unfortunately, the part of his brain where shame should reside has been filled with an overflowing narcissism.

Making matters even worse is the fact that Trump is more dangerous to many living in the United States than terrorists ever will be. If Trumpcare is enacted, then thousands of people will die because they can no longer afford health insurance (and no longer are able to get preventative care). About 17,000 people a year die because of a lack of health insurance and preventative care (thanks to many GOP states refusing to expand Medicaid). Trumpcare, by taking insurance away from 23 million people, would double or triple the number of deaths.

Then we have his cuts to the EPA (of 25% to 30%), which will undoubtably make our air dirtier -- and endanger the lives of those with asthma and other respiratory diseases (especially children). And his refusal to stay in the Paris Accord and fight global climate change, which will surely increase the number and severity of storms, droughts, floods, and other natural disasters -- costing many lives unnecessarily. And that's before we even talk about his mean-spirited budget that cuts food stamps and other things that help people to survive.

The number of deaths that Trump's policies will cause make the terrorists look like amateurs. But he might get away with it by making people fear terrorism -- taking their eyes and minds off his policies. He needs to cut the things that help ordinary Americans to live and survive, because it's the only way he can give massive tax cuts that only help him and his rich friends. If you are worried about terrorism, he hopes you won't see the deaths he is causing to reward the rich.

I'm not saying terrorism shouldn't be dealt with. It should be, and our law enforcement and intelligence agencies are doing that. Just remember there is a far greater danger to Americans lives than terrorists -- and his name is Donald Trump.

There Have Been Over 400 Reports Of Hateful Intimidation And Harassment Since The Election Of Donald Trump

(Cartoon image is by Clay Jones at claytoonz.com.)

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is reporting that there has been at least 437 incidents of intimidation and harassment against members of minority groups between November 9th and November 14th -- only a six day period following the election of Donald Trump (or about 73 incidents each day).

After watching Trump spout racist, bigoted, and xenophobic values for moths while campaigning, this should surprise no one -- although it should disgust everyone. Religious bigots, immigrant-haters, and white supremacists have been encouraged by Trump's campaign of hate, and feel vindicated by his election.

They now see their sick views as being the norm in the United States, and believe the public is now on their side. Sadly, they may well be true for a large segment of the population. It's hard to see how Trump could have been elected without that.

We can expect to see these hateful actions to increase in the coming days and months. The haters haven't felt this good in years, and they will take the opportunity to get back at the minorities they hate, and they people they see as having held them down (i.e., liberals).

But this is not a time for decent Americans to stop the fight for equality. In fact, there has never been a time when that fight has been needed more.

The chart below is from the SPLC:

Most of the reports involved anti-immigrant incidents (136), followed by anti-black (89) and anti-LGBT (43). Some reports (8) included multiple categories like anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant. The "Trump" category (41) refers to incidents where there was no clear defined target, like the pro-Trump vandalism of a "unity" sign in Connecticut. 

Trump Wins - America Loses

(Caricature of Donald Trump is by DonkeyHotey.)

Donald Trump has won the presidency. That is not a good thing. It means:

Xenophobia has won.
Racism has won.
Misogyny has won.
Religious bigotry has won.
Hatred and division have won.

And Putin has won.

This used to be a melting pot country. That is no longer true. Those who would divide us have won the day, and the biggest culprits are white voters. They have shown that they don't want a country where everyone is equal. They want their white privilege back, and they have elected a president they think will do that. I have never been more ashamed of my race (that majority of whites that oppose equality and praise hate).

The economy is also a big loser. Trump is a believer in the failed "trickle-down" policies of Reagan-Bush. He will give the rich and the corporations massive tax breaks while cutting necessary programs for the poor and working classes. He has said that will produce massive growth and job creation. It won't. It will destroy the economy and balloon the deficit and the national debt.

I have never been more afraid for this country.