The Republican spin blog complains that Dana Ferguson spent “half” of her GOP convention recap reporting citizen protest outside the convention of the Republican Party’s policy of torturing immigrant families at our southern border by separating children from their parents. (2,035 children remain harmfully, abusively separated from their parents due to Donald Trump’s evil incompetence.) Ferguson’s article is actually reasonably balanced account of Saturday’s events in Pierre:
- Ferguson gives the GOP’s nomination/coronation ceremonies 271 words. She gives the Missouri River bridge protest 144. The protest didn’t get half of the article; it got barely a third, and only a bit more than half as much coverage as the convention itself.
- Ferguson put all the convention details first, thus stating clearly to readers that, in her editorial view, the Republican coronations were indeed more important news than the protest of family separation.
- Ferguson devotes 196 words (72.3% of the indoors coverage) to the only real uncertainty resolved at the Republican convention, Jason Ravnsborg’s victory over Lance Russell and John Fitzgerald for the nomination for Attorney General.
- Ferguson gives two sentences to Stace Nelson’s half-hearted and doomed challenge to Kristi Noem’s choice of Larry Rhoden as running mate.
- The uncontested nomination of five party apparatchiks is barely news; Ferguson properly limits her reporting of the Barnett, Haeder, Sattgast, Brunner, and Fiegen nominations to a bullet list at the end of the indoors portion of the article.
- That 40-plus South Dakotans gathered to speak truth to the powers assembled at the Ramkota and to demand the United States end its newly adopted practice of torturing children probably deserves far more coverage than Ferguson gave it, as the world could probably use more assurance that America has not crushed its moral compass:
Those assembled called for attendees at the convention to rally the state’s congressional delegation to reunite immigrant families.
“It makes me shake. I’m speechless I’m so upset,” Missy Slaathaug, of Pierre, said of the family separations. “My heart hurts. My heart hurts for those children” [Dana Ferguson, “South Dakota Republicans Pick Nominee for Top Prosecutor Post After Heated Contest,” that Sioux Falls paper, 2018.06.23].
The only major detail missing from Ferguson’s article is the 620 Republican delegates‘ swift and unanimous condemnation of the federal government’s abusive policy of family separation… because the South Dakota Republican Convention issued no such moral statement. They just did their leaders’ bidding, nominated their insiders, and ignored the moral rot of far-from-Grand Old Party.
[Stay tuned: my next post will discuss the minor moral atrocity of South Dakota Republicans’ nomination of Jason Ravnsborg for Attorney General and the gift that nomination hands to Democratic nominee Randy Seiler.]
Wingnuts went with nothing over actual experience for AG? I’m shocked! (actually I am rolling on the floor laffing my u no what off)
btw- are you suggesting Powers is an older, unmarried woman? I’m okay with it.
PP would probably cheer the RC Journal’s coverage of the GOP convention which contains not a single word of the protest in their correspondent Bob Mercer’s coverage.
I personally know and have had considerable experience with Fitzgerald. To say he’s dumber’n a rock probably defames the rock.
I personally know and have had some experience dealing with Russell. To say he’s a malevolent cancerous naked mole rat greatly defames the mole rat.
I know nothing of Ravnsborg. Apparently no one else does, either, because it appears he has done nothing. However, I have no doubt he’s a better choice than either of the morons I referred to above.
They’rer wingnuts so you already start with nothing and it gets considerably worse from there.
Hate to keep harping, but South Dakota needs to hire iowa AG Tom Miller to clean up yer messes. He is running for re election again and this will be like a million years under his guidance. He is the only AG I know of that has successfully prosecuted a South Dakota crook- one of John Thune’s buddies that sold used cars in iowa and elsewhere.
Spel-chek sucks. So does my spelling. I admit it.
The roughly 40 people at the core of the Libertarian Party of South Dakota have put together two extremely well-organized conventions this year, one in Sioux Falls and one two weeks ago in Fort Pierre, just a few yards from the site of the anti-Trump protest discussed above.
At the latter (re)convention we nominated the party’s candidate for governor and listened to an impassioned speech by our nominee for Congress, George Hendrickson, who talked about the suffering being inflicted on children, including his own son, by the federal government’s policies regarding medical cannabis.
George isn’t an illegal alien. He hasn’t violated or attempted to violate our nation’s immigration laws. He’s an American and a South Dakotan, and his son is too. His family’s story is worth more than the 144 words the Argus gave these anti-Trumpers, but 144 words about our state convention would have been a vast improvement over zero.
Thanks to Cory for providing the only serious reporting—more than 400 words—on the LPSD convention.
It is a shame the Libertarians stand for little more than the demon weed. Think how many people would flock to their flock if they weren’t just about toking up.
“grudznick” writes:
At the risk of overstating the obvious, George Hendrickson is making tremendous personal sacrifices to create a world in which other children won’t have to suffer the way his son has, and “grudznick” is a garbage human being.
grudgenutz: it’s is clear to those with a pulse that Fitzgerald and Russell defeated themselves with their generations-long defamation of rocks and mole rats. The SD repubs wisely chose to cauterize the stigmas. Ideally they will quietly go away. Yet they haven’t read that memo, or changed, in decades.
What’s the difference between a republican and a puppy??
The puppy eventually quits whining.
You fellows just need to mellow out a little bit.
And vote Seiler. grudznick encourages it.
grudznick needs to suck on some hemlock
tonight’s #goatwinner is grudznick
The subject of the separation of families at the border was discussed but since the EO was issued ordering the practice to stop, and to put the children in jail with their parents instead, it seemed like the problem has been resolved, sort of. Except these families keep coming, and are going to continue to keep coming, until US troops invade Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador, establish martial law and spend the next 100 years engaged in “nation building.” It’s going to be fun, right?
This will take a bit of propaganda to get Americans to approve of the plan, but I’m sure you’re Up to it.
No, Annie. Democrats are going to take power, annex Central America and we’ll all be one big happy family. You can be the crazy Aunt that doesn’t come downstairs anymore. :)
We already invaded Central America and overthrew legal governments and set up dictators. The US proudly created this refugee crisis by destroying stability and creating chaos in those countries.
Pat Powers sure likes to act like a snowflake. Hey Anne, how about instead of addressing the symptom, we take a look at the cause of the flood of immigrants? They come here for work, so why don’t we punish employers and take the jobs away? One day in jail per illegal per day they work plus $10000 per day. They hire 300+ illegals for a couple years like the meatpacker Trump pardoned…the employer will spend roughly 600 years in jail and we can fine them $6,000,000. Throwing them out of the country just seems to cater to the uneducated republican base so i suppose they will just stick with that.
Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador—funny Anne Beal should mention those countries in an effort to distract from her party’s moral rot. U.S. interventions in those countries have happened more often under Republican Administrations. The record is mixed on U.S. intervention in Nicaragua. But don’t forget Reagan’s adventure in Grenada, Bush’s regime change in Panama….
What was your partisan point again, Anne? And does whatever you were trying to say about prospects for “nation building” at all change the moral atrocity of the Trump Administration’s separation of children from their families?
Daniel is excellently on point. How about we just automatically deport employers at any plant where ICE agents find workers who aren’t carrying passports or green cards?
https://reason.com/volokh/2018/06/25/a-quick-due-process-lesson-for-the-presi and
https://reason.com/reasontv/2018/03/23/trump-wall-immigration-borders-illegal
Good reading.
There is a significant problem with Daniel’s comment that I have addressed in the past and will do so again here. He thoughtlessly (I hope) demeans human beings as “illegals.” The only apparent rational for this slur is that these human beings either committed, or are accused of committing a federal misdemeaner by crossing the border at improper points of entry, or the administrative offense of overstaying a visa, which are technically “illegal” acts.
Although not an immigrant, I will admit that in the past I have either commited, or have been accused of committing, more than one illegal act, so that makes me an “illegal,” who apparently, in Daniel’s view, also should be prevented from working to support myself and my family. Indeed, in a past discussion another commentor demanded that I leave SD due to my “illegal” status, but failed to indicate where I should be deported since I was actually born in SD.
As “illegals,” however, the people labeled by Daniel have plenty of company. Possession of marijuana or hemp remains a serious federal crime regardless of state law. That makes every single sick child who has been treated with any federally illegal variation of medical marijuana in each state that permits it even more of an “illegal” than me or my immigrant companions. The lowest federal misdemeanor penalty for possession of marijuana carries a maximum sentence of one year, while border crossing has a maximum federal penalty of only six months in jail and overstaying a visa is not even a criminal offense. And for the parents of those sick kids, the crime is much worse as they are distributing federally illegal marijuana to children, which is a felony offense.
https://norml.org/pdf_files/state_penalties/NORML_US_State_Penalties.pdf
Wow, with all of us “illegals” around, employers are going to have a tough time finding any workers. And that is just counting the marijuana “illegals.” And think about jobs held by the traffic offenders, like Kristi Noem and the late Bill Janklow, who also qualify as “illegals.” Where will employers find non-“illegal” people who are snow white with no criminal past nor administrative violations?
bcb…go fly a kite. Undocumented, illegal, who gives a flying f… The point stands and if you are caught up with the terminology, then you aren’t even worth my time. You are warping it to fit your view and your attempts to morph the phrase into including others not pertaining to immigration is just as laughable. We are talking about those who enter the country illegally. Pound sand, troll.
[BCB is not a troll; he is a conscientious commenter with a sincere and long-standing complaint about certain terminology.]
Cory asks a provocative question about deporting employers. Since our president now wants to get rid of due process and automatically and immediately deport those who violate immigration rules, such a thing would be possible. It wouldn’t matter if the employer wasn’t deportable under current statute, say because they are a US-born citizen and aren’t from somewhere else they can be sent back to. The lawyers and courts would be suspended. There would be no trial or hearing or other venue to make their case. They would just be gone – somewhere.
They are illegal immigrants. End of story.
Hey, Danny. Trump goes back to catch and release. lol Welcome to Loserville. Population …YOU – end of story
If they seek asylum, as many have, they cannot be illegal as they are entitled to the same rights as every American citizen, at least until their claim is adjudicated.
Turning asylum seekers away is not supposed to be a legal, or moral, tool for Drumpf to use.
Porter, I’ve never been a fan of Trump and his immigration plan and I’m all for a better way to get people here. In the meantime, they are illegally crossing the border and I have no problem stating that. I want harsher punishments for the enablers that Trump supports. You guys are taking a single term and trying to lump me in with someone I don’t agree with….Further indicating your intelligence when you get caught up with a single term that isn’t even debatable. Congrats Porter on bringing back the position of village idiot to this blog.
And now SCOTUS ruled in Trump’s favor in the Hawaii case, essentially affirming him the broadest possible interpretation of power as it pertains to aliens. Feels so good to be terrified of each other, doesn’t it?
Great to learn more about you, Danny. Feel free to share whenever you get lonely.
@Dicta … This court is taking USA to a place we shouldn’t be. Once we get power again there should never be another Republican judge allowed to fill a Supreme Court vacancy. Precedent has been set to deny appointment and “payback’s a bitch”.
Immigration and arrests for illegal crossings is at a 45 year low and declining more. Why, all f a sudden is there this rush to disrupt immigrants lives the way Drumpf has done?
Remember, Drumpf has said the separations of families is a tool to use to bargain for his wall that is unnecessary and not needed. Stats claim most of the so called ‘illegals’ crossed legally and then overstayed their visas.
This administration knows not what it is doing. The WH scrambled to reinstate zero tolerance as soon as they heard Border Patrol stopped arresting people.
I mean, it is pretty clear why he is doing it. This is a hot-button issue for his base and will galvanize them whether the xenophobia is based on facts or boogeymen. Driving it this hard in an election year is simply him betting that it will drive turn out.
If you are in America unlawfully, you are not a criminal. It is not a crime to be here unlawfully. It is a civil penalty, like getting a parking ticket. The worst that can happen to people here is they are subject to deportation….unless…..they are here unlawfully after having been deported. That is a federal offense.
Drumpf has had asylum seekers turned away at the border crossings where they were supposed to turn themselves in. To press their claims they may have had to enter at other points illegally. Was it illegal for Drumpf to deny asylum seekers their shot at asylum?
The Aryan King wants us to be afraid of MS-13. Better to be afraid of the Aryan King.
~ The idea that MS-13 is a centrally-controlled and coordinated international organization is an exaggeration.
To allege MS-13 members are “sending” members here from Central America is both unfounded, and ignorant of the gang’s history. –
SNOPES 2018
Daniel, it is good to hear that you are not a fan of Trump’s immigration policies. And I certainly did not mean to lump you in with anyone else by my objection to using the term “illegal” to describe people.
I oppose more than the term “illegal” when it is used to dehumanize others. I also object to other dehumanizing terms such as labeling people “animals,” “vermin,” “infesting,” “cockroaches,” “breeders,” “anchors,” etc.
The reason I object to the use of such language is two-fold. First, when we describe other people in such dehumanizing manners we are sending a message to ourselves that such people deserve to be hurt, punished, or even eliminated. Second, when other people hear us use that type of language it adversely affects their thinking. Anyone called an “illegal,” may develop a self-doubt or self-hatred, especially young, impressionable people. And people, especially our children, who hear the terms used to dehumanize others gradually begin to think of these dehumanized others as less than human, as enemies, as undeserving of decent treatment, compassion or empathy.
For example, in the RC Journal and elsewhere, the folks who submit posts or comments supporting this child seperation policy (and resulting infliction of harm on children) and blame the parents who are seeking protection from domestic violence and gang violence rarely use terms like “child, children, family, moms and dads.” Instead, they tend to use many of the above labels I have objected to in an effort to convince themselves and others that these kids and parents deserve to be hurt.
Words matter and using derogatory labels can hurt people. Doing so intentionally is cruel and heartless. Doing so inadvertently is simply laziness and also can harm others.
And as a practical matter, using the term “illegal” to describe a human being is inaccurate, even where that human has committed a crime. Our Country simply has not outlawed any person, hence no person can correctly be called an “illegal.” Our laws have made many acts “illegal,” but to the best of my knowledge we have never enacted a law making any human being illegal. Perhaps that is why when criticizing “employers” for violating immigration hiring law (as in your above comment) we don’t refer to these employer as “illegal employers,” or even “illegals.”
So just let your smaller towns die out, South Dakota. I know Aberdeen and Huron’s economies have been helped by the influx of immigration. I will sure tell refugees to not to come to your racist state, Anne.
Let your small towns die, as if I care. I am actually worried about the refugees that live in South Dakota currently, as they are surrounded by Trumpsters, and the meaness and racism will only continue if Trump keeps this hatred up.
Treat others the way you want to be treated. I guess when you have a sociopath as President, people’s true colors come out, and boy has it ever.
SD Catholics, listen to the nuns and the Pope and read up on your Social Teachings. Don’t abandon refugees, the downtrodden, the poor.
“Do not abandon the vulnerable and the voiceless” – Pope Francis
It is a crime to enter the US illegally.
mproper Entry Is a Crime
To be clear, the most common crime associated with illegal immigration is likely improper entry. Under federal criminal law, it is misdemeanor for an alien (i.e., a non-citizen) to:
Enter or attempt to enter the United States at any time or place other than designated by immigration officers;
Elude examination or inspection by immigration officers; or
Attempt to enter or obtain entry to the United States by willfully concealing, falsifying, or misrepresenting material facts.
The punishment under this federal law is no more than six months of incarceration and up to $250 in civil penalties for each illegal entry. These acts of improper entry — including the mythic “border jumping” — are criminal acts associated with illegally immigrating to the United States.
Like all other criminal charges in the United States, improper entry must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt in order to convict.
Unlawful Presence Is Not a Crime
Some may assume that all immigrants who are in the United States without legal status must have committed improper entry. This simply isn’t the case. Many foreign nationals legally enter the country on a valid work or travel visa, but fail to exit before their visa expires for a variety of reasons.
But mere unlawful presence in the country is not a crime. It is a violation of federal immigration law to remain in the country without legal authorization, but this violation is punishable by civil penalties, not criminal. Chief among these civil penalties is deportation or removal, where an unlawful resident may be detained and removed from the country. Unlawful presence can also have negative consequences for a resident who may seek to gain re-entry into the United States, or permanent residency.
Both improper entry and unlawful presence should be avoided by any immigrant to the United States, but an illegal alien cannot be criminally charged or incarcerated simply for being undocumented. To learn more, check out FindLaw’s section on Immigration Law.
https://blogs.findlaw.com/blotter/2014/07/is-illegal-immigration-a-crime-improper-entry-v-unlawful-presence.html
If I say one cross word about Donald Trump’s son, I will be (probably correctly) lambasted for using a child to score political points. But Donald Trump can use over two thousand children as actual hostages for political leverage against Congress and in the mid-term elections, and he gets a pass from our Republican Congressional delegation and other apologists for torture and human rights abuses.
I received a response to my email inquiry about this sick policy from Senator Rounds yesterday. He stated no one wants to see families separated and praised Trump for recinding the separation policy that Trump started. As for Round’s position, here is what he emailed me:
Nary a word to date from Thune in response to my earlier inquiry and none of the promised follow up from Noem.
“Like it or not, these aren’t our kids. Show them compassion, but it’s not like [Trump] is doing this to the people of Idaho or Texas. These are people from another country.”
— Brian Kilmeade
Compassionate wingnutism at its finest.
Another bought and paid for scotus ruling- Supreme Court Sides With California Anti-Abortion Pregnancy Centers
anti -preg centers don’t have to disclose their true purpose. Tricking women into not getting abortions.