Four Republican politicians held a press conference outside the County Operations Building on Thursday demanding the US-Mexico border be closed, based on a memo circulated on social media purporting to be warning law enforcement about terrorists associated with Palestinian groups crossing the border.
The memo was fake. County Supervisor Jim Desmond, who as of late has been the fear monger-in-chief for the local GOP on social media, was the star attraction at the presser.
He was joined by District 4 supervisor candidate Amy Reichert, 51st Congressional District candidate, El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells, and 49th Congressional District candidate Margarita Wilkinson.
**Reichert, by the way, is campaigning on the christofascist circuit this week at meetings hosted by the local Awaken Church. Being afraid of migrants is a core proposition for those types.
(I have endorsed her opponent, City Council member Monica Montgomery-Steppe, in this year’s general election.)
Via the Union-Tribune:
“Our border system is broken,” Desmond said. “Given mounting national security concerns, the current unsustainable border policies are threatening our community’s and nation’s safety. We must immediately shut down the border to new immigrants, secure it and restore order.”
The UT coverage ends by quoting a suspicious Pedro Rios, director of the American Friends Service Committee’s U.S.-Mexico Border Program:
“It seems to me that Supervisor Desmond is reaching out for anything to project this idea that migrants possibly could cause harm and just using that for political purposes,” Rios said.
Rios pointed out that those seeking asylum are often fleeing violence and harm in their home countries and noted that any border shutdown — even a partial one — would be unlawful.
“The proposal of closing the border just turns back the concept of asylum and the promise to those that are seeking safety from harm,” he added.
Notwithstanding questions of legality or the misinformation presented on the flier, Desmond and his ilk are unlikely to retract their demands, since they worship at the altar of Dear Leader, who thinks laws are for the little people and fake news is something only the deep state engages in.
The CPB memo smelled like a fake to me, but the absence of typos and local authorities’ initial refusal to disavow the document gave it some credibility. Its claims were seemingly ridiculous unless recipients existed within the Fox News fear-driven bubble. Unfortunately the union representing CPB employees exists within that invented-reality.
From my Tuesday post:
Based on the details in the memo, it appears that only one side “may” be sending border crossers. Patches for Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah are displayed so law enforcement officers can keep an eye out for military aged males, or persons with military gear, including weapons, camouflage, or insignia.
Persons with no return plan are to be considered suspicious, along with those professing affiliations with any of the countries involved in the conflict, or allegiance to any of the above-named groups.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve not heard of a refugee fleeing economic or political hardships buying return tickets for the cartel’s open air express trains.
The local Fox News broadcast affiliate received confirmation that the flier wasn’t real.
A flyer allegedly originating from U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s San Diego Office of Field of Operations recently surfaced on social media, warning agents they may potentially encounter foreign fighters of the Israel-Hamas conflict along the Southwest border.
But the flyer, according to the San Diego Border Patrol Sector, “is not a Border Patrol product.”
And the CBP office in Washington, D.C., sent a statement to Border Report saying, “There is no indication of Hamas-directed foreign fighters seeking to make entry in the United States.
A spokesperson for the Border Patrol said agents in the San Diego Sector have also yet to encounter anyone fleeing the war.
(Note the outlet doesn’t use the AP style guide spelling for the type of document.)
It’s a real shame that Republicans are using the Gaza-Israel conflict to enhance their long term propaganda designed to make white people afraid. What everybody needs to fear is yet another round in endless war with civilians as collateral (or intentional) damage spilling into a regional conflict.
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Friday’s Afterthoughts
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Here’s Why Mike Johnson Is More Dangerous Than Donald Trump by David Rothkopf at The Daily Beast
Trump believes in nothing but Trump. The former president leads a faction in the GOP that is either essentially obstructionist—like Jim Jordan or Matt Gaetz—or cynically in search of power at any cost—like Kevin McCarthy or Elise Stefanik—or profoundly ignorant—like Marjorie Taylor Greene or Lauren Boebert or Paul Gosar or Anna Paulina Luna or…well, frankly, too many to list.
But Johnson, although he is seen as part of this group, represents something different. He deeply (and apparently, sincerely) believes in the dominionist idea that the laws of the nation should conform to Christian theology and be rooted in the ideas of the Bible.
As benign as that may sound to those who find solace or inspiration in their Christian beliefs, the desire to institutionalize those beliefs and to impose them upon even those who do not share them is pernicious. It is the way of the Taliban and the mullahs in Iran, of Israel’s hard right and theocratic dictators throughout time. It negates the idea that the citizens of a nation should be the final authority in determining the course and laws of a society. In the name of a “higher authority,” it strips away rights and puts at risk all those who disagree.
Men like Johnson and other members of that movement, a group that includes members of the U.S. Supreme Court and important leaders in the GOP like former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, represent one of the threats those who founded this country most feared. They were imperfect men. But they had learned the lessons of centuries of suffering and horror that were imposed upon the world by theocrats who claimed to be the representatives of the Almighty on earth.
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The far right’s hope for winning the presidency in Argentina ended last night, as candidate Javier Milei appeared on a news broadcast claiming to hear voices and seemingly having a nervous breakdown. (Spanish language video here.)
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What John Belson is doing/thinking/whatever. In honor of the many newsletters publishing TMI personal notes to build reader loyalty, I present a childhood imaginary friend’s thoughts.
John Belson thinks Trader Joe’s GF Pumpkin Streusel Muffins are too gooey.
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People who have embraced evil will do anything diabolical to get their way. We should cease to be surprised that the Guns Over People party due despicable things. Instead, we must be vigilant to call them out, using verifiable evidence and facts.