Don't Judge Someone by "Their Worst Day"

 7/15/26 KTSP:

Gov. Tim Walz is defending his vote to pardon a man convicted of molesting a 10-year-old child more than 20 years ago.

Last week, the Trump administration deported Tou Lue Vang despite a pardon approved by Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison and Supreme Court Chief Justice Natalie Hudson in their role on the Board of Pardons...

Walz questioned whether Vang’s removal improved outcomes in Minnesota.

“I guess the question I would as is, did that make us any safer? Did that make the children that are left behind any more stable? Did it improve the idea that we can’t all be judged by our worst day?” Walz said.

I think Walz just had his "worst day." 

Vang defended his multi year molestation of a 10-year-old as part of his culture.  

Temporary Protected Status is Temporary

Mullin v. Doe (2026) ruled that the Administration has authority to end TPS as, in their opinion is warranted by changes in the conditions that justified TPS for those nations. TPS for Haitians started in 2010 because of the eathquake. It is no longer 2010. Syrian TPS is from 2012 when the Assad regime's brutal oppression and murders. Millions of Syrians have since returned home.

The TPS law also says that non-constitutional questions about TPS and the President's authority to grant TPS are not subject to judicial review. Clear enough? 

Antifa Does Not Exist and Just Got 30+ Year Sentences

6/13/26 DOJ press release lists a dozen Antifa members sentenced to terms of 100, 70, 50, and 30 years.

Chief Judge O’ Connor said, “The defendants’ violence and terrorism is an assault on Democracy. The defendants’ planning, staging, and execution of the attack led to the attempted murder of an officer who ironically is not even involved in enforcing immigration law.” 

Danger to democracy. Got that Biden. Your boys are the threat   

I Think I See Where the Money Is Going

4/15/26 City Journal:

Last month, we received a report from a whistleblower who claimed that illegal aliens were staying in San Francisco’s homeless shelters. Following up on the tip, we visited numerous publicly funded shelters in San Francisco, and spoke to employees and residents about their policies, sometimes through a translator.

We discovered not only that the shelters were housing illegal immigrants but also that they were apparently housing a population of male-to-female “transgender” illegal aliens, who had hoped to obtain “gender-affirming care.” And, to our shock, state and local governments apparently are providing it.

Not only providing an unnecessary service but for illegals.  According to some that they interviewed, this is widely known back home that break the law to come here and California will do your sex-change for you.  Of course, California's Medi-Cal program (Medicaid but handled by California) is only administered by California. All U.S. taxpayers are paying for it.

Who Woulda Thunk It?

Tuberculosis used to be a big problem in America.  I can still remember very earnest and sober health class films about TB in 8th grade. (The film was already pretty dated; i suspect the public health problem was close to being dated.)

3/29/26 Fox News warns that there is a problem again with TB:

A potentially deadly disease known as "the white plague" has been rising in the U.S. since the pandemic, health officials have warned.

Tuberculosis (TB) gets its nickname from the pale appearance of those affected with the disease in 18th- and 19th-century Europe, according to historical medical literature.

After a dip in 2020 with the onset of COVID – likely due to underdiagnosis and reduced screenings, according to health experts – cases of TB have increased every year since.

Of course the doctors interviewed emphasize COVID-19 screwed up everything (because we panicked over a disease that was really only a serious risk to a small part of the population who needed extraordinary protection). They do finally acknowledge the elephant in the room:

Another factor is a return to international travel and increased migration from countries where TB is more prevalent, according to Vivekanandan.

Gee, do you think admitting millions of people from the Third World without even a pretense of medical screening might increase exposure to a population that has not been immunized could be dangerous. Not as dangerous as losing control of Congress!

Where Worship of Anti-Racism Takes You

Long, profoundly sad, well-sourced 2/4/26 Substack article about how the terror of being called prejudiced against Muslims took Britain to a place that makes Epstein into small potatoes. It should be read in full. Just a couple of excerpts to catch the flavor:

 In September 2012, The Times published an extensive overview of the phenomenon.3 The paper reported that for more than a decade, organised groups of men had been able to groom, exploit, and traffic girls across multiple towns and cities in Britain, often operating with minimal interference from authorities....

Yet, event The Times underestimated the scale of this. By early 2015, senior police figures were publicly acknowledging the scale of the crisis. One officer spoke of “tens of thousands” of current victims of grooming gangs. A Member of Parliament, representing a constituency widely associated with the problem, went further, suggesting that the total number of victims nationwide, past and present, could reach as high as one million.4

These figures are almost impossible to comprehend. They refer to school-aged girls systematically identified, isolated, and exploited over many years. And yet, despite the magnitude of the harm, perpetrators were able to operate with remarkable impunity.....

Across policing, social services, local government, and related professions, many officials felt unable to speak frankly about the defining characteristics of the problem. Not because those characteristics were unclear, but because acknowledging them carried perceived risks, to careers, professional standing, and social legitimacy. The boundaries of what could be said narrowed to the point where silence became the safer option.

This produced a self-reinforcing cycle. As fewer people were willing to speak openly, institutional inaction deepened, and the cost of dissent appeared ever higher to colleagues and peers.

In some instances, professionals were directly cautioned against drawing attention to ethnic or cultural patterns. In most, it appears such warnings were unnecessary. The fear of being accused of racism ensured that, for decades, there was little formal recognition of the grooming-gang phenomenon as a distinct and systemic form of abuse.

That the victims were overwhelmingly young white schoolgirls, while the perpetrators largely muslims with darker skin, proved decisive, not in prompting action, but in paralysing it. This dynamic allowed abuse networks to operate with remarkable freedom, even as evidence accumulated.

So again, to ask the central question: how could an abuse network of this scale persist for decades without decisive intervention?

The answer is stark in its simplicity. It was not fear of the crime that silenced authorities, but fear of a word: racist....

To understand the scale and nature of the grooming gang scandal, one must first confront the cultural context from which the perpetrators emerged. The statistical overrepresentation of men from Pakistani and other South Asian heritages in these specific group-based exploitation networks has been documented by multiple inquiries and judicial remarks.6 The abuse is rooted in a specific worldview imported from rural, patriarchal societies where the status of women is determined by rigid codes of honour (sharaf) and where non-Muslim or “out-group” women are viewed through a lens of religious and racial contempt.7

Central to this incompatibility is the existence of a dual morality within the perpetrator networks. While the women within their own communities are often cloistered and protected to maintain family “honour,” Western women, particularly those who are liberated or vulnerable are viewed as “immodest” and therefore “fair game” for sexual predation.8 This perception is reinforced by the use of dehumanising language, such as the term “kuffar” (non-believer) or “khal” (black/outsider), which serves to strip the victims of their humanity and justify their exploitation.9...

Perpetrators in Rochdale were explicitly told by Judge Gerald Clifton that their treatment of victims was influenced by the fact that the girls were “not of your community or religion”.10 This judicial acknowledgment confirms that the selection of victims was not random but was driven by an “us versus them” mentality that prioritised tribal and religious identity over the laws of the host nation. The victims were not only objects of sexual desire but symbols of a “conquered” or “inferior” culture to be dominated.11

The frequent use of racial slurs such as “white trash,” “white slag,” and “white meat” indicates a racialised hierarchy in which the victims were viewed as having no inherent value.12 In Keighley, a victim reported that when she attempted to stop working as a drugs courier for her abuser, she was called a “little white slag” and a “little white bastard” while being raped.13 These terms are ideological markers that define the victim’s place in the perpetrator’s worldview, a place of total subservience and worthlessness.

It is an article of faith in some circles that "outsiders" are only a small part of this problem. The vast numbers in Britain argue otherwise.  Hat tip to Small Dead Animals.

The Strongest Argument Against Billionaires

 2/3/26 New York Post:

Anti-ICE protests in Minnesota may appear to be “grassroots” efforts organized by concerned citizens, but they’re really funded with megadonor money — some coming from China.

A so-called “ICE Out” march drew an estimated 15,000 left-wing political activists to a frozen, snow-covered Minneapolis on Friday, with attendees chanting “ICE out now” and demanding an end to federal immigration enforcement in the city.

Although framed as a spontaneous uprising of concerned, everyday people, the demonstration — like countless that have regularly metastasized during President Trump’s terms — featured a familiar cast of politically obsessed activists and terminally online characters.

They organize on radical message boards and encrypted texting apps, but are backed by funds created by radical leftist billionaires.

“My team’s best judgement is that it’s the Neville Singham network that is most active [in Minnesota], partly because that’s the most crazy network. But they aren’t alone,” Scott Walter, president of Capital Research and an expert on dark money outfits, told The Post.

Walter was referring to the People’s Forum and the Party for Socialism and Liberation, both funded by China-based former software exec Singham.

Both groups promoted the “ICE Out” protests — which were organized by another group, called 50501 — through social media, and Walter said their members were in attendance, but he noted they have recently been getting their members to blend in more with the crowds.

“What’s new is, we are seeing truly extreme Communist splinter groups showing up alongside an American Federation for Teachers union or the Ford Foundation.

“That’s a disturbing trend for us who follow these things. Normally, they wouldn’t have been cheek by jowl publicly with those people,” Walter said. 

“That kind of self-policing on the left seems to be disappearing.”

Singham, who did not respond to a request for comment, has become a major funder of left-wing activist networks, including protests in Minnesota and other cities, all coordinated from his base in Shanghai.

This is the downside of capitalism.  It creates pockets of guilt-dominated wealth intent on making sure no one else gets that rich. 

ICYMI: Pretti Was Not An Onlooker

 You can watch BBC News coverage at Mediaite where they explain this video from a few days earlier shows Pretti attacking ICE vehicles and generally acting confrontational, leading to him being shoved to the ground by ICE.  He has a gun on him. If they had arrested him for his crimes a few days earlier, he might well be alive today.

1/22/26 CNN now reports that Pretti's family confirms that is Pretti in the video.

I Wonder What Changed?

1/13/26 CNN:

"Homicide rate declines sharply in dozens of US cities, a new report shows"

What changed during 2025? Did we remove large numbers of criminals from our cities?

What Makes Minnesota So Sad Is How Easily This Could Have Been Avoided

Had the Blue states and cities agreed to turn convicted violent illegal aliens over to ICE when they were released, there would have been relatively little public pressure for these large scale raids.

Yes, illegal aliens are a problem for other reasons: driving down wages of lawful residents (many of whom are Hispanic), using Social Security numbers of lawful residents, fairly high rates of crime among single young men (just like single young male lawful residents). But the Democrats insistence that convicted child rapists are victims just shows how far the academic desire to see everyone with brown skin as victims takes you.

Why rhe Left is So Angry at ICE

 ICE Press Release:

Below are the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens that our brave ICE officers arrested, despite the efforts of rioters and sanctuary politicians to protect them: 

Hernan Cortes-Valencia, a criminal illegal alien from Mexico with a final order of removal dated Dec. 1, 2016, who’s been convicted of sexual assault against a child, sexual assault-carnal abuse and four DUIs.

Sriudorn Phaivan, a criminal illegal alien from Laos with a final order of removal from March 8, 2018. He’s been convicted of strongarm sodomy of a boy, strongarm sodomy of a girl, another aggravated sex offense, nine counts of larceny, unauthorized use of a vehicle, four counts of fraud, vehicle theft, two counts of drug possession, obstructing justice, possession of stolen property, receiving stolen property, burglary and check forgery. He also has pending charges for two counts of receiving stolen property, flight to avoid prosecution or confinement and burglary.

Ge Yang, a criminal illegal alien from Laos with a final order of removal from Oct. 16, 2012. He’s been convicted of strongarm rape, strongarm aggravated assault against a family member, aggravated assault with a weapon, an additional sex offense and domestic violence involving strangulation.

Criminal Behavior Has Consequences Even For a Judge

12/19/25 New York Post:

"Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan was found guilty of helping an illegal migrant evade immigration agents as they attempted to serve him with a warrant during a court appearance.

"Dugan was busted in April on felony obstruction and misdemeanor charges after she helped Mexican national Eduardo Flores-Ruiz and his lawyer sneak out a back jury door when ICE agents showed up at the courthouse to detain him, prosecutors said."

Especially for a judge the consequences should be severe.  Will Gov. Walz reappoint her to the bench once she is out? Count on it.

Parts of Labour Party Faces Reality; Others Do Not

 11/16/25 Guardian:

Shabana Mahmood has warned Labour MPs that “dark forces are stirring up anger” over migration, amid growing alarm among senior party figures over the most sweeping overhaul of refugee rights in a generation.

On Monday, Mahmood will announce controversial new laws to overhaul refugee status, which must be reassessed every two years, as well as curbing asylum appeals and toughening the approach to rights to family life.

The home secretary warned in an article for the Guardian that anger about illegal migration could turn on second-generation immigrants such as her and rupture community relations.

“I know that a country without secure borders is a less safe country for those who look like me,” she said.

Unsurprisingly, other Labour Party MPs are prepared to risk "dark forces" coming to power to stop the Pakistani rape gangs. Certainly Labour does not care enough.

See! Progressives Can Learn

 11/14/25 Telegraph:

Migrants granted asylum will no longer automatically get a permanent right to stay in the UK, Shabana Mahmood is to announce.

The Home Secretary will unveil reforms on Monday to increase deportations and reduce Britain’s attractiveness to migrants, describing the reforms as “the most significant changes to our asylum system in modern times”.

At present, asylum seekers granted refugee status are given automatic permanent settlement in the UK after five years, with some rare exceptions.

Under the new proposals, refugees will only be granted a temporary right to stay subject to regular review. They will be sent home if officials deem that their country is safe to return to.

The changes are inspired by Denmark, which initially gives refugees only a temporary two-year stay. The country’s centre-Left government has reduced the number of asylum applications to their lowest in 40 years and successfully removed 95 per cent of rejected asylum seekers.

Planaria can learn from electric shock, and even Labour can learn from Nigel Farage's success.  American progressives seem to not learn from the shock of Trump.

Aren't You Glad the Left is Concerned About the Suffering of Others?

 10/13/25 EMS1:

PORTLAND, Ore. — Air ambulance vendors who transport patients to Oregon Health & Science University decided not to land at the hospital on Saturday night, an OHSU spokesperson said, a precaution while a flyer circulated encouraging people to shine lasers at helicopters.

The flyer, posted anonymously last week to a blog that describes itself as an “anarchist counter-info platform” in Portland, encouraged people to play “laser tag” with helicopters on Saturday. Shining lasers at aircraft is a federal crime.

“Every night for weeks we are forced to listen to the threatening rhythm of helicopter blades as the federal regime spies on us,” the flyer said. “The only limit power knows is our refusal to submit.”

Government helicopters have kept watch on the South Waterfront Immigration & Customs Enforcement Facility, the site of daily protests of varying sizes, since at least early October. The government choppers are audible well into Southeast Portland and have prompted a litany of noise complaints.

That facility is less than a mile, as the helicopter flies, from the OHSU helipads.

Sara Hottman, associate director of media relations for OHSU, warned Saturday that the “extremely dangerous activity” of shining lasers at helicopters could hurt patients.

Various air ambulance vendors decided not to land at the OHSU helipads on Saturday night, Hottman said. In an emergency, they would have needed to land at another airport and transport patients by vehicle, which could add up to an hour to patients’ commutes, Hottman said. That could be dangerous for trauma patients or others with urgent concerns, Hottman wrote Saturday.

Let's hope none of the trust fund babies need emergency airlifts.

 

News That Boggles the Mind

 Not The Bee (which carries news so weird that you might mistake it for Babylon Bee):

British judge gives men who protested against migrant sex offender longer jail sentences than migrant sex offender...

Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu from Ethiopia entered the UK by boat and made his way to the town of Epping, England. Once there, he decided that he wanted to have sex with all the teenage girls.

No, really, within a few days of arriving in England, he sexually assaulted multiple girls....

Instead of being deported, or perhaps executed as a public example of what civilized countries do to foreigners who try to rape their children, Kebatu received a measly year in jail.

Meanwhile, a crowd of 500 locals protested outside the Bell Hotel, which is one of many across the country housing migrants on the British taxpayers' dime, on July 17. These Englishmen, upset that their government was importing rapists from other countries into their community, had signs saying "protect our kids."

50 counter-protesters came out to defend the rights of migrants to live in free housing in England. As tensions grew, police struggled to maintain peace, leading to several arrests.

Now, the protesters did break the law:

for "kicking out at an officer" and climbing onto the roof of a school as he made his way onto the hotel roof, where he "attempted to ring the bell thereon."...

for kicking a police officer and "throwing a can."...

"punching an officer's [riot] shield." 

Breaking the law deserves punishment.  But sentences of two years when the illegal immigrant received 12 months for sexual assault?  See 9/23/25 BBC. 

Not Our Fault!

10/30/25 ABC News:

The Des Moines Public Schools board announced Friday it intends to pursue legal action against a consulting firm it says it hired in 2023 to conduct a search for a new superintendent, claiming the firm failed to "properly vet candidates" after the district's now-former superintendent was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents last week.

Federal authorities said the superintendent, Ian Roberts, is not in the U.S. legally and has not had any work authorization in the U.S. since 2020. He had served as the superintendent of the Des Moines school district since July 2023 until his resignation this week following his detainment.

This is bizarre.  Every employer of mine since 9/11 has required proof of citizenship or other legal employable status.  So Des Moines School District did not?  How many other employees slipped through the cracks?

Left is Turning Up the Heat

10/4/25 WBEZ:

Federal agents shoot woman they say 'boxed in' authorities on Chicago's Southwest Side

Authorities were on patrol when they were “rammed by 10 cars,” according to a statement from the Department of Homeland Security. The woman who was shot “was armed with a semi-automatic weapon,” prompting officers to open fire, DHS said. She was taken in fair condition to Mount Sinai Hospital.

UPDATE: Does this qualify as "insurrection " as in Insurrection Act?

Immigration Fraud

10/1/25 New York Post:

This week, federal officials made an astounding announcement: Nearly half of all immigrants in greater Minneapolis were found to have committed some form of immigration fraud.

"The fraud, uncovered in a September sweep, came in all kinds — sham marria

ges, fake death certificates and “other bizarre schemes,” as US Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Joseph Edley put it.

Of course, how else do you get Rep. Ilan Omar (D-MN)? 

How to Lie By Indirection

 10/1/25 AP:

A vote to end the government shutdown hours after it began failed Wednesday, as Democrats in the Senate held firm to the party’s demands to fund health care subsidies that President Donald Trump and Republicans refuse to provide....

Health care demands: Democrats want the health care subsidies extended now, for Republicans to reverse the Medicaid cuts that were enacted over the summer, and for the White House to promise not to rescind congressional spending. Republicans say there’s still time to negotiate on health care this year, but stopgap funding for the government is the priority. Republican claims that Democrats want to provide free health care to immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally are false.

If you click through the "are false" link you get a 10/1/25 AP news story that almost says that. 

But immigrants in the U.S. illegally are not eligible for any federal health care programs, including insurance provided through the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid.

Hospitals do receive Medicaid reimbursements — which would be reduced under Trump’s mega-bill — for emergency care that they are obligated to provide to people who meet other Medicaid eligibility requirements, but do not have an eligible immigration status, according to KFF, a nonprofit health policy research polling and news organization. This spending accounted for less than 1% of total Medicaid spending between fiscal years 2017 and 2023.

So, not direct aid but hospitals treat illegals knowing they will get reimbursed.  The requirement that all hospitals that have ever received national government assistance must provide emergency medical care is a humane requirement.  At the same time, knowing that you will receive such care has to act as an encouragement to stay here.  That the amount of spending is small really means somewhere below $8.8 billion.  In the larger scheme of things this is not huge.  But we are running a huge deficit.  Americans are fairly sympathetic to those in need.  That includes those in need who have a right to be here.