Tag Archives: Tennessee

Atlantic: The Shame of Trump’s Parade

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Today’s events are another step in an ongoing effort to turn the U.S. military into a partisan—and personal—instrument of the president.

Today—250 years since the Continental Army officially formed to fight for the independence of the American colonies against the British monarchy—marks a milestone in President Donald Trump’s effort to politicize the U.S. military. Though they are rare, military parades have happened before in Washington, D.C. For the most part, these have been celebrations of military achievements, such as the end of a war. But today is also Trump’s birthday, and what he and his supporters have planned is a celebration of Trump himself.

A mark of a free society is that its public institutions, especially its military, represent the body politic and the freedom-enabling equal rights that structure civic life. If service members and the public begin to believe that the military is not neutral but is in fact the servant of MAGA, this will threaten the military’s legitimacy and increase the likelihood of violent conflict between the military and the public. Today’s events bring us one step closer to this disaster.

And a few lies, none of which are true:

The organizers have made it abundantly clear that today’s purpose is to directly laud Trump and his politics. In promotional materials, they tell us, “Under President Trump’s leadership, the Army has been restored to strength and readiness.” They credit his “America First agenda” for military pay increases, enlarged weapons stockpiles, new technologies, and improvements in recruitment, declaring that he has “ensured our soldiers have the tools and support they need to win on any battlefield.”

As the Trump-aggrandizing bullshit piles up:

Monica Crowley, the State Department’s chief of protocol and a former Fox News host, went on Steve Bannon’s podcast WarRoom to say that the concurrence of the U.S. Army’s anniversary and Trump’s birthday is “providential.” She called it “meant to be. Hand of God, for sure.” She added, “It is really a gift, and we want to be sure that we celebrate in a manner that is fitting, not just of this extraordinary president but of our extraordinary country.” She also expressed hope that the crowd would serenade the president with “Happy Birthday.” Clearly, Trump isn’t merely the guest of honor; he is the reason for the party.

The Shame of Trump’s Parade
Today’s events are another step in an ongoing effort to turn the U.S. military into a partisan—and personal—instrument of the president.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/06/250th-anniversary-army-parade/683162

Law & Crime: ‘Doesn’t speak with precision about things sometimes’: DOJ attorney offers mixed praise for Trump’s communication skills during Abrego Garcia hearing

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An attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice offered some mixed praise of President Donald Trump‘s communication skills during a previously secret hearing in the Kilmar Abrego Garcia case.

A transcript of the hearing was recently released, in redacted form and limited fashion, by U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, a Barack Obama appointee, in response to a motion to unseal several documents in the case filed by multiple news organizations.

While the transcript is not yet available on the public court docket, The New York Times’ Alan Feuer obtained a copy of the document and posted a notable snippet of an exchange between the judge and DOJ attorney Jonathan Guynn in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

“President Trump is you know, is a master messenger in many ways, but he also doesn’t speak with precision about things sometimes,” the government lawyer said. “And I think that this might be one of those situations where perhaps his comments were based on what he was recalling may have been the state of play previously.”

While the transcript is not yet available on the public court docket, The New York Times’ Alan Feuer obtained a copy of the document and posted a notable snippet of an exchange between the judge and DOJ attorney Jonathan Guynn in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

“President Trump is you know, is a master messenger in many ways, but he also doesn’t speak with precision about things sometimes,” the government lawyer said. “And I think that this might be one of those situations where perhaps his comments were based on what he was recalling may have been the state of play previously.”

The DOJ lawyer’s remarks came amid a discussion about the 45th and 47th president’s ability to have Abrego Garcia brought back stateside.

Until the Maryland man was abruptly returned earlier this month, the official position of the government was that the U.S. simply no longer had control of the situation. Attorney after attorney, in courtroom after courtroom, insisted the decision rested with officials in El Salvador.

Xinis appeared suspicious of this claim, based on an April 29 interview of Trump by since-fired ABC News anchor Terry Moran. During that interview, Trump said he “could” just pick up the phone and have the Salvadoran president return Abrego Garcia to the U.S. But, Trump added, “we have lawyers that don’t want to do this.”

The hearing was the very next day — and part of Guynn’s job was cleaning up Trump’s statement, which flatly contradicted the DOJ’s position.

Xinis was not, however, the only judge to be struck by Trump’s admission about Abrego Garcia during the ABC News interview.

During a May 7 hearing in the initial Alien Enemies Act case before U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, a jurist who got his start under George W. Bush and was then promoted by Barack Obama, the president’s words were put directly to DOJ attorney Abhishek Kambli.

“Is the president not telling the truth, or could he secure the release of Mr. Abrego Garcia?” Boasberg asked the government lawyer.

The DOJ attorney tried to sidestep the question by launching into a broader argument about the government’s case. But he was quickly brought back on track by Boasberg, who interjected to say he wanted his questions answered first….

Click the links below for more mumbo jumbo from Trumpski & his attorneys:

‘Doesn’t speak with precision’: DOJ attorney has mixed praise for Trump’s communication skills
“President Trump is you know, is a master messenger in many ways,” the DOJ lawyer said.
‘Doesn’t speak with precision about things sometimes’: DOJ attorney offers mixed praise for Trump’s communication skills during Abrego Garcia hearing

NBC News: As immigration raids continue, ICE protests spread coast to coast

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Activists plan more events Tuesday in New York, Chicago, Dallas and Atlanta. A curfew was imposed across downtown L.A. until 6 a.m.

Activists had also gathered in New York, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Atlanta and elsewhere, rebuking the Trump administration’s tough stance against migrants and its aggressive round-up efforts, which Democratic leaders in California have criticized as contributing to a sense of fear across communities.

NBC News has counted at least 25 rallies and demonstrations coast to coast since Monday. Some involved only a few dozen people, while others attracted thousands.

The protests took place as federal immigration raids continued nationwide Tuesday, including a “targeted enforcement operation” in Los Angeles, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as well as a raid at a meat processing facility in Omaha, Nebraska.

Anti-ICE protests held coast to coast after L.A. unrest as national movement grows
Activists plan more events Tuesday in New York, Chicago, Dallas and Atlanta.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/anti-ice-protests-held-coast-coast-l-unrest-national-movement-grows-rcna211980

NBC News: ICE protests held coast to coast as national movement grows after L.A. unrest

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Activists plan more events Tuesday in New York, Chicago, Dallas and Atlanta.

The protests that have roiled Los Angeles seem to be spreading across the country, as activists gathered Tuesday in New York, Chicago, Dallas, Atlanta and elsewhere.

Rallies protesting ICE raids and the government’s immigration policies have been planned across California and beyond this week. A series of so-called No Kings demonstrations is planned nationwide for Saturday.

…

Since Monday, NBC News counted at least 25 rallies and demonstrations coast to coast. Some involved only a few dozen participants, while others attracted thousands to make a stand against the detention and removal of suspected undocumented migrants.

Lots more …

  • California and the West Coast
  • New York and the East Coast
  • Texas, the South and the Midwest
As immigration raids continue, anti-ICE protests spread coast to coast
Activists plan more events Tuesday in New York, Chicago, Dallas and Atlanta. A curfew covering a compact area of downtown Los Angeles is likely, the city’s mayor said.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/rcna211980

NBC News: Anti-ICE protests held coast to coast after L.A. unrest as national movement grows

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Activists plan more events Tuesday in New York, Chicago, Dallas and Atlanta.

The protests that roiled Los Angeles over the weekend were set to spread Tuesday across the country, as activists planned demonstrations in New York, Chicago, Dallas, Atlanta and elsewhere.

Rallies protesting ICE raids and the government’s immigration policies have spread across California and beyond this week. A series of so-called No Kings demonstrations are planned nationwide for Saturday.

…

NBC News counted at least 25 rallies and demonstrations coast to coast. Some of them involved only a few dozen participants, while others attracted thousands to make a stand against the detention and removal of suspected undocumented migrants.

Many protesters across the country were trade unionists calling for the release of SEIU California President David Huerta, who was arrested on Friday.

Bimbo #2 is still too dense to get the message:

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi [Bimbo #2] Noem signaled on Tuesday that she would continue the agency’s program of raids and deportations despite the widespread protests.

“ICE will continue to enforce the law,” [Bimbo #2] Noem said.

It’s only just begun! 🙂

Anti-ICE protests held coast to coast after L.A. unrest as national movement grows
Activists plan more events Tuesday in New York, Chicago, Dallas and Atlanta.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/anti-ice-protests-held-coast-coast-l-unrest-national-movement-grows-rcna211980

Latin Times: Nashville Mayor Responds to DHS Allegations He Put ICE Agents at Risk by Releasing Their Names: ‘The Interest Here Is Just in Transparency’

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Mayor Freddie O’Connell is also under federal investigation for allegedly obstructing the work of ICE agents

Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell denied intentionally releasing the names of immigration agents, as alleged by Republican lawmakers and the Trump administration, which claimed the disclosure put agents’ lives at risk.

At a Friday press conference, O’Connell explained that the names were unintentionally included in a report produced under an executive order requiring city employees to notify the mayor’s office of all interactions with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

It’s more a matter of ICE thugs not being able to handle well-deserved examination and criticism:

Unrelated to the name disclosures, O’Connell is now under investigation by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) following his public condemnation of ICE operations in Nashville earlier this month. In May alone, nearly 200 immigrants were detained, many without criminal records. The mayor called for the release of their names and charges earlier this month.

If ICE thugs can’t handle the heat, ICE thugs should get out of the fire. Better yet, ICE thugs shouldn’t light the fire in the first place.

Nashville Mayor Responds to DHS Allegations He Put ICE Agents at Risk by Releasing Their Names: ‘The Interest Here Is Just in Transparency’
Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell denied intentionally including the names of ICE agents in a recently filed report.

https://www.latintimes.com/nashville-mayor-responds-dhs-allegations-put-ice-agents-risk-releasing-names-584109

Wired: The Trump Administration Wants to Create an ‘Office of Remigration’

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“Remigration”—a far-right European plan to expel minorities and immigrants from Western nations—may soon have a dedicated office following a Trump administration reorganization of the State Department.

As part of a sweeping reorganization of the State Department, the Trump administration is creating an Office of Remigration. Remigration is an immigration policy embraced by extremists that calls for the removal of all migrants—including “non-assimilated” citizens—with the goal of creating white ethnostates in Western countries.

The details of the plan are contained in a 136-page notification document sent by the State Department to six Congressional commitees—including the House Foreign Affairs and Appropriations Committees and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee—for approval by July 1, according to a copy reviewed by WIRED.

“The Office of Remigration will serve as the [Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration]’s hub for immigration issues and repatriation tracking,” the document reads. “It will provide a policy platform for interagency coordination with DHS and other agencies on removals/repatriations, and “for intra-agency policy work to advance the President’s immigration agenda.”

The notification says that the Office of Remigration “will also actively facilitate the voluntary return of migrants to their country of origin or legal status,” which is a key aim of remigration ideology.

There are three phases to “remigration”:

On [Martin Sellner’s] site, he lays out a three-phase plan to implement remigration. The first phase, dubbed the “Immediate Stabilization of Asylum Chaos,” has striking similarities to Trump’s current immigration policies.

…

The second phase of Sellner’s plan, following the initial removal of undocumented immigrants, includes the removal of “migrants who entered the country legally and have a residence/work permit, or temporary visa, but are an economical, criminal or cultural burden.”

The final phase targets citizens who are seen as “non assimilated,”and it involves passing laws to “target parallel societies with economic and cultural pressure” and entice citizens to migrate abroad with the use of loans, payments, and other assistance. The plan, Sellner claims, will allow “the wounds of multiculturalism to heal.”

This is like Hitler’s Mein Kampf, all laid out in writing and scarcely anybody is paying attention.

The Trump Administration Wants to Create an ‘Office of Remigration’ to Kick Immigrants Out of the Country
“Remigration”—a far-right European plan to expel minorities and immigrants from Western nations—may soon have a dedicated office following a Trump administration reorganization of the State Department.

https://www.wired.com/story/trump-office-remigration-state-department-europe-far-right

Latin Times: MAGA Green Card Holder Detained by ICE at Final Citizenship Interview Denied Bail

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A Danish green card holder and father of four was denied bail after being detained by ICE during what was supposed to be his final citizenship interview in Tennessee.

Kasper Eriksen, 32, came to the U.S. in 2009 as a student and later married his high school sweetheart, Savannah, with whom he settled in rural Mississippi, according to the Daily Beast.

After receiving his green card in 2013, he began the naturalization process, but unknowingly missed a key immigration filing deadline in 2015—around the same time the couple suffered the stillbirth of their first child.

On April 15, 2025, Eriksen was detained in Memphis, Tennessee, without warning by ICE agents during his scheduled naturalization interview. He was later transferred to the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Jena.

“Kasper was detained for a paperwork miscommunication from 2015, and I was sent home with no explanation and no idea where my husband had been transported,” Kasper’s wife said. “I was 22 weeks pregnant at the time, and as I drove the 3-hour journey back to Sturgis, Mississippi, to say I couldn’t control my emotions would be an understatement.”

ICE claims his failure to submit Form I-751 to remove conditions on his green card a decade ago voided his path to citizenship. At a court hearing on May 28, an immigration judge agreed to reopen Eriksen’s case but denied him bond, meaning he must remain in detention.

If he failed to file an I-751 (Removal of Conditions) 2015, that means his original 2013 green card was a conditional two-year green card. He is not presently a green card holder.

I hope they get this worked out, but it does appear that he has been here illegally for the past ten years.

And he’s a MAGA supporter? 😀 As the old commercial goes, “You asked for it! You got it! Toyota!” It looks like you’ll just have to experience what you wished on others.

MAGA Green Card Holder Detained by ICE at Final Citizenship Interview Denied Bail
ICE detained a Danish MAGA supporter at his citizenship interview over a paperwork error, and a judge has now denied him bail despite no criminal record and four U.S.-born children.

https://www.latintimes.com/maga-green-card-holder-detained-ice-final-citizenship-interview-denied-bail-584002

Daily Mail: Democrat Mayor of Nashville under investigation for helping illegal migrants evade ICE

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When asked about what specifically he was accusing the mayor of doing, the congressman told reporters, ‘Well that’s why we’re going to have an investigation,’ but failed to name any crimes.  

The Democrat has denied any wrong doing while pushing support for the Belonging Fund.

‘The Belonging Fund supports families known to be impacted as a result of activities related to immigration, but the entire point is family supports, cost of living, those kinds of things,’ O’Connell told the local outlet. 

‘It’s not even intended to be about legal services, so it is about people who have identified food insecurity as a result of possibly losing somebody who was an earner in the household, it is about childcare, it is about basic family needs.’

Democrat mayor under investigation for helping migrants evade ICE
A Democrat mayor is under federal investigation, accused of helping illegal immigrants escape ICE.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14754825/nashville-mayor-freddie-oconnell-ice-investigation-migrants.html

Guardian: US police officer resigns after wrongfully arresting undocumented teen

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A Georgia police officer resigned from his job on Friday after erroneously pulling over a teenager, causing her to spend more than two weeks in a federal immigration jail, and leaving her facing deportation.

The officer, Leslie O’Neal, was employed at the police department in Dalton, a small city more than an hour north of Atlanta.

His arrest of college student Ximena Arias-Cristobal not only led to a domino effect that could lead to her deportation – it also engendered anger and criticism, especially given the circumstances of her immigration-related detention.

Though Dalton’s municipal government did not provide any information about why O’Neal resigned, his wife posted his resignation letter on Facebook, which said he believed the local police department did not adequately defend him.

Why should they defend him? He made a mistake that is turning that poor girl’s life upside down. If he can’t take the heat, he should get out of the fire, which apparently he’s done. 🙂

And I have no sympathy for cops who destroy other people lives with their “mistakes”. Screw them!

“The department’s silence in the face of widespread defamation has not only made my position personally untenable but has also created an environment where I can no longer effectively carry out my duties within the city of Dalton without fear of further backlash from the community,” O’Neal wrote in the letter.

But I’m curious: How did she get a Mexican driver’s license? I doubt she’s crossing the border for driver training, road test, etc. How would Mexico know she’s qualified to drive?

US police officer resigns after wrongfully arresting undocumented teen
Leslie O’Neal of Georgia pulled over college student who then spent more than two weeks in federal immigration jail

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/25/georgia-police-officer-resigns-arrest-undocumented-student