Remember back when Trump kicked off the Gerrymander War by demanding redistricting in Texas? That was just over a year ago. The Texas gerrymander was based on the results of the 2024 election, when there was a big swing of Texas Latino voters to Trump. And even then some pundits were saying that the Texas Latino voters were swinging back away from Trump. They may be swinging even further from Trump now.
Last week’s murder of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo by ICE agents has roiled Houston Latino neighborhoods, per the Texas Tribune. See “ICE is everywhere”: In Houston, fear and grief permeate Latino neighborhoods after fatal shooting by Alejandro Santos Cid.
By Friday, rage and grief were boiling in East Houston. Residents with American citizenship or their papers in order gathered on Canal Street and improvised an altar to honor Salgado Araujo. They organized vigils, lit candles, mourned together and urged ICE to free the witnesses of Salgado Araujo’s shooting, among them his brother.
James Talarico, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, has spoken about the shooting of Salgado Araujo.
I can find no statement at all from Ken Paxton. The Texas GOP as a whole is currently being slammed for ignoring the shooting.
I can’t say I am intimately acquainted with what’s going on in Texas, but I have a hard time believing Texas Latinos are feeling warm fuzzies for the GOP right now. Note that approximately 40 percent of the population of Texas is Latino. And it’s not beyond belief that some of the not-Latino population is upset about the shooting also.
Now let’s look at Maine, another state with a contested Senate seat going into the midterms. Maine voters are being reminded of Susan Collins’s votes to fund ICE. And in the hours after the shooting of Joan Sebastian Guerrero, protesters swarmed Collins’s office in Biddeford, some chanting “vote her out.” Susan Collins’s reaction to the shooting was very Susan Collins. She says that she asked Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to halt ICE-initiated traffic stops. (Yesterday there were reports that traffic stops would be paused for a while, but now Trump is asking they be resumed, so who knows?) Also:
Collins has rejected protestors’ demands, telling Fox News after the fatal shooting that “there’s no doubt that ICE needs to improve its performance,” but that “those who are calling for ICE to be abolished are ignoring absolutely vital safety work that ICE does.”
I mean, is that Susan Collins, or what? I am not following the Maine re-nomination process closely, but I understand some candidates have put themselves forward for the Senate nomination, and all of them are slamming Collins on this issue.
And yes, today Trump really did call for ICE traffic stops to continue. So they probably will continue. Nothing will change. Current polls show about 60 percent of Americans disapprove of ICE, and about 50 percent want it abolished.
Of course, it’s possible that if ICE can manage to not murder any more innocent people in the streets between now and the midterms it won’t be that much of a factor. But it is potentially a huge factor in Texas and Maine, and possibly other places. Trump appears to be oblivious to this.
In other ICE news — and this was a big surprise to me — evidence in the Renee Good and Alex Pretti shootings in January has been released to prosecutors in Minnesota, finally. I figured the feds would sit on that stuff until Trump was out of office, at least. I don’t know what changed. The newly released evidence includes Renee Good’s car, body cam videos, and witness statements. And other stuff, I understand. So maybe prosecutors can go ahead and prosecute.
Minneapolis is in Hennepin County, Minnesota. In May, Hennepin County prosecutors charged an ICE agent named Christian Castro with four counts of second-degree assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime. Castro was arrested in Texas and shipped to Minnesota, where I understand he is being held without bail. So they’re fired up to do some prosecutin’ in Minneapolis.
Minnesota hasn’t had its primaries yet. The governor’s seat and one U.S. senate seat are up for grabs. One of the people running for the Republican nomination for governor is Mike Lindell. This morning Trump endorsed Mike Lindell. It’s not like Lindell has a shot at ever being elected governor, but in Minnesota I would think an endorsement from Trump would be a kiss of death.
Just for fun a few days ago I looked up what was going on with Lindell’s pillow business. It’s close to dead, as you might imagine, although I don’t know that it’s entirely dead. It was a lucrative company at one time, but its revenues have dropped by about 95 percent, He’s been unable to pay vendors and shippers and is behind on property taxes. I remember saying a few years ago that Lindell’s adult children should probate the guy and take the company away from him before he kills it, but too late now.
So however bad a day you’re having, just remind yourself, At least I’m not Mike Lindell.
Talarico isn't the candidate for governor, he's running for the Senate.
Thanks for the catch. I knew that. I must have had a brain short-circuit there.
Alas, Lindell kicked crack, and started doing Trump, and it was the latter that killed him.
Poetic, but, as you say, very sad. And you know, I have a feeling that Lindell knew that Trump was, at heart, a cheap crook, but, I feel just a tiny bit sad that Trump didn't live up to Lindell's already extremely low opinion of him. Damn it, a man who gets people to bleed themselves dry, both literally and metaphorically, should be a better man. One more reason to eschew excessive attachment.
I wondered about the release of evidence to MN about the Good & Pretti murders. My guess is that there's a miscalculation on the part of Miller and Co. that the 'average' voter is so terrified of foreign rapists that they will ignore the murders of liberal activists who put themselves at risk for people with a dark complexion. Again, it's not like I got a memo, but these folks are high on their own supply, completely misreading how it's registering with voters.
There was such a backlash after what happened to two US citizens in the twin cities in the winter, but I think they overtly and deliberately misread the lesson to be that they CAN murder foreigners of dark complexions, but they outcry was that both victims were white. Miller and Trump are racist – ICE is recruiting based on bigotry, IMO. But most Americans are not racist. The new murders are not gonna be OK.
Again, my opinion, but I think the release of evidence is an invitation to charge the ICE shooters, which the administration will spin as liberal weaponization of the legal system against ICE. Problem: ICE is throwing their own people under the bus for talking points. The average ICE thug has been taught he has 'double-o' status, like James Bon and a license to kill. If Trump 'allows' MN to charge, try, convict, and imprison, then it will take the fun out of the job. (Trump can't prohibit the prosecution for murder except in DC, but I think ICE apes are told they can do anything.)
We will see what Trump's speech tomorrow is, but I think it's gonna be mostly about Trump seizing control of the midterm elections. They still may be trying to sneak something through under reconciliation. I have my doubts they can pass anything and even less confidence that the federal courts will allow it. Red states will go along, but Trump has to federalize the entire process in every city in any purple state.
I'll be VERY curious how much of the speech is about the war in Iran. (War?, what war?) But it will be very heavy about communists infiltrating the country and stealing elections. I'm not sure I can watch – I'm not being rhetorical. It upsets me. But I will read the transcript with great interest.
BTW, Trump reversed the policy of being the great pirate nation that will charge a 20% fee for using the Straight of Hormuz. I guess the international blowback was massive. Trump was screwing over our allies, like the ones who gifted Trump a 400 million dollar 747. But the incident illustrates how DJT just pulls stuff out of his… close to his back pocket, OK?
This fucking guy has completely lost what little mind he had to begin with. This is real, not the onion! unfuckingbelievable
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgZcCV7LIeM
Other than as a performative force for Trump vengeance, ICE adds little value in the area of law enforcement. Trump lies and says crime is down because of ICE, but theyre not getting violent criminals off the streets. Over 90% of those arrested or detained by them have been non violent people without criminal records, and many of them were here legally while going through the process to gain legal residency or citizenship. On balance, thuggish ICE agents have likely committed more crimes and violated more rights than the actual criminals they may have detained. Ten people have died at the hands of ICE, either from shootings or mistreatmwnt in their detention centers. Calls to abolish them may actually make sense if you're measuring effectiveness vs cost-benefit. Obama deported more people legally without all the killing and violaion of eights, and drama. Speaking of drama, this is why Trump insisted they continue the traffic stops because he likes the drama, chaos and terror. He gets off on knowing he's causing pain and devastation. In the ten years he's been around, in office and out, Trump never ceased to remind he's been a net negative for this country.
There is a pill for every ill.
Illegal immigrant problem, take this ICE pill.
The side effects are worse than the immigrant problem.
Hang on, I think we have a new pill that does wonders for those nasty side effects.
To be continued…stay bought in.
You seem to be responding well. You see how small that immigrant problem has gotten in comparison to your new problem. Don't forget to praise us for our miracle cure.
Yep csm, unfortunately what you see is not an illusion. The "treatment" may be worse than the problem un-treated.
From Salon:
New York Times journalists face contempt of court after refusing to name sources on Qatari jet story
I understand the Grand Jury was supposed to meet today but there are no details. CNN is talking about the WH effort to find who told the NY Times that the gift plane is seriously deficient in terms of defensive capabilities.
I'm expecting a manure storm of BS Thursday evening. Just my prediction, not based on any information.
Regarding small peter hag's-breath and his TRT program for the military, that's a PED that is banned in most professional sports; even in professional wrestling, although in that form of theater, there is a loophole if you can get a corrupt MD to declare you have a sub-standard level of the natural thing.
I looked up what was going on with Lindell’s pillow business. It’s close to dead, as you might imagine, although I don’t know that it’s entirely dead. It was a lucrative company at one time, but its revenues have dropped by about 95 percent
I remember one of his very first commercials. He made the dubious claim his pillows could cure sleep apnea. Cure it. There were complaints and he had to change his commercials to drop that lie.
I understand it’s possible he could win the Republican nomination for governor in Minnesota, but I can’t imagine he’s got a shot at winning the general. They generally are not that crazy in Minnesota.