I was listening to the radio today when I heard someone ask a NYT journalist why the former president would spread lies / conspiracy theories about Haitian immigrants during the presidential debate with VP Kamala Harris, effectively doubling-down — as he often does — when challenged on the facts.

The journalist gave a wordy, unmemorable, polite answer as is common on TV.

But the answer is simple. Mr. Trump is a racist.

In the presidential debate this week, he boasted a lie that Haitian immigrants in Ohio are eating pet cats and dogs, because he is a racist.

In the same debate, he expressed no regrets for calling for the death penalty for 5 Black kids even though they were found innocent in the Central Park Jogger case, because he is a racist.

He began his political career, which had not existed prior, by spreading the Obama birther lie, because he is a racist.

In an Oval Office meeting, he called African countries “shit hole” countries, because he is a racist.

He called neo-nazis “fine people” after they marched in Charlottesville, screaming “Jews will not replace us!” because he is a racist.

He instituted a Muslim ban during his first weeks in office, because he is a racist.

He said that Judge Curiel, the judge in the fraud case against Trump University, could not be impartial because he is of Mexican heritage, because he is a racist.

He shakes his fist about immigration in lieu of working on immigration (a real problem) not because he cares about the economic impact but because he is a racist.

He targeted Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, effectively destroying their lives, because he is a racist.

Mr. Trump is a racist, and he uses his racism to fuel anger, resentment and division for his own personal gain. And his racist behavior provides cover for others.

The fight over Critical Race Theory (CRT) was racist.

Book bans are xenophobic, homophobic and racist.

The fights today over DEI in education are racist, and it is infuriating to watch Kentucky’s universities bowing to the pressure.

In the opening minutes of Mr. Trump’s recent interview with the Association of Black Journalists, he was hostile, vulgar, and disrespectful of the Black women interviewing him and said about VP Kamala Harris, “I didn’t know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black and now she wants to be known as Black. So, I don’t know, is she Indian or is she Black?”

It’s not like there is some looming mystery to solve. He behaved this way and spoke in this manner because he is a racist.

Racist.

Not racially charged, not racially motivated, not tinged with racism. The word you are looking for is ‘racist’.

The two Springfield residents who started the smear against Haitian migrants. I encourage you to read the entire article, and keep in mind that every one of these attacks begins when one shithead decides to open their mouth and spit out some hate.

NewsGuard identified and tracked down the two people central to the claim: Erika Lee, the Springfield resident who wrote the original Facebook post, and Kimberly Newton, the neighbor who had provided her with a third-hand account of the rumor, making Lee’s social media post a fourth-hand account: the alleged acquaintance/cat owner; Newton’s friend; Newton; and Lee, who posted it on Facebook.

In exclusive interviews, NewsGuard spoke both with Lee, a 35-year-old hardware store worker who has lived in Springfield for four years, and Newton, her neighbor and a 12-year resident of Springfield. The interviews reveal just how flimsy and unsubstantiated the rumor was from the beginning — based entirely on third hand hearsay. Yet it quickly gained traction and, remarkably, found its way to Trump’s lips on a national stage.

“I’m not sure I’m the most credible source because I don’t actually know the person who lost the cat,” Newton said about the rumor she had passed on to her neighbor, Lee, the Facebook poster. Newton explained to NewsGuard that the cat owner was “an acquaintance of a friend” and that she heard about the supposed incident from that friend, who, in turn, learned about it from “a source that she had.” Newton added: “I don’t have any proof.”

Not having proof didn’t stop Newton – who likely didn’t hear the story from anyone except her internal monologue – from passing the story along to Lee. After all, Newton claims she was subjected to an unpleasant experience by several Haitians a few years ago.

“I think it was two years ago now, I went to the [Bureau of Motor Vehicles] to renew my license or my tags. I can’t remember, but I was sitting in the BMV, and the only way I know to describe it is I felt like … I was transported, because all around me it was people talking a different language. … I felt like I was the minority,” she said.

That’s her story, anyway.

And there’s Lee, a tRump supporter, who is now claiming that she didn’t mean to do any harm and is upset that people say she’s a racist. She also claims to be scared for her safety and her daughter’s safety.

She and Newton should be more worried that the city of Springfield will present them with a bill for the clusterfuck they caused.

Lee’s since-deleted Facebook post first appeared in a private Springfield Facebook group called “Springfield Ohio Crime and Information” earlier this month (Lee could not recall the exact date). The post said: “My neighbor [Newton] informed me that her daughters [sic] friend had lost her cat. … One day she came home from work, as soon as she stepped out of her car, looked towards a neighbors house, where Haitians live, & saw her cat hanging from a branch, like you’d do a deer for butchering, & they were carving it up to eat.”

How does this shit sound remotely plausible to anyone with two brain cells? It doesn’t. Being plausible, rational or logical isn’t the point. It just has to be about someone the audience hates. If the Republican Party were even a quarter of the political party it once was, this bullshit would have bobbed around the racist right wing toilet bowl before it was flushed to make room for the next dump. But the GOP has peeled off the lid to the septic tank and likes to swan dive into the sewage.

And if you’re wondering what will be next out of the chapped piehole of TFG, I’ll give you a hint: Cannibalism.

The post Let’s hear from the real victims of the anti-migrant attacks in Springfield appeared first on Lawyers, Guns & Money.

My idle associations with dying—the smell of decay, the proverbial light going out, the coroner’s office, corpses in the sewers under Las Vegas, Halloween, my grandfather’s last, unpleasant, frustrating months confined to a bed—had nowhere to go when I first started learning about Earth, a Washington-based company that recently opened their second human composting facility here in Las Vegas. Visiting their website, I felt like I’d stumbled across a standard conservation group, or maybe a slightly pretentious yoga studio. There were pleasant, neutral-colored serif fonts, a looping video of moss and trees and sunlight breaking through a forest canopy and people happily trudging through the undergrowth in slow motion. The vibe isn’t death so much as what death might yield: greenery, abundance, a new purpose. Earth, a name I continue to smile at, provides what they prefer to call “transformations”: a human body is “gently” turned into soil via a proprietary machine, which accelerates the decomposition process by monitoring and manipulating the climate conditions inside. 

To illustrate the simplicity and non-invasive nature of Earth’s procedure, the company provides an easy-to-read graphic whose brevity borders on condescension. First, the freshly-washed body is placed in a biodegradable shroud. Then the body is placed in the vessel, which is lined with a blend of organic mulch, wildflowers, and woodchips. Over the course of anywhere from 30 to 45 days, the body is then broken down on a molecular level, the temperature inside the vessel reaching as high as 131 degrees. Both temperature and moisture content are monitored to ensure the decomposition, and elimination of pathogens, is complete. At the end, the mulch combined with the body’s decomposed matter yields around 300 pounds of compost. Up to five quarts of compost are returned to the family. The remainder is carted off to one of Earth’s two conservation lands in the Olympic Peninsula in Washington or the Sierra Foothills in California. All of this sounds fairly straightforward, which is the point. 

Seattle’s most recent citywide election happened in 2023. Kshama Sawant, my beloved rabblerousing socialist council member, resigned after a decade on the dais. Many of the more progressive incumbents lost their seats. The so-called liberal city of Seattle elected 7 new right-leaning members, their seats bought by business groups. Since then, this council has taken steps to roll back laws that help renters and low-wage workers. Tammy Morales has consistently pushed back against her colleagues. Her housing proposal that was years in the works and had widespread support lost 7-1. That same day, she was the lone vote against a costly and dangerous jail contract. The council blocked a vote on a popular initiative for housing paid for by corporate taxes. Morales spoke up about how their actions violated the city’s charter, to no avail. The council tried to cut off funding already awarded to BIPOC-led organizations in the South End (South Seattle). The council tried to approve sub-minimum wages for restaurant workers. They voted to cut student mental health funding in half a mere two months after a school shooting. Morales criticized the council’s moves in every case.

I’ve been making public comments against some of these racist and corporate-centric votes. The council is now trying to reinstate “stay out” zones to push unhoused people and sex workers out of parts of the city. We used to have these laws and they created more problems than they solved. The council repealed these laws in 2020. Police were using them to intimidate people of color and harm sex workers. There’s a final vote this Tuesday for these SOAP and SODA zones. If you live in Seattle, please contact your council member or testify to vote against these bills. Even in the face of well-organized protests, I fear that Morales will again be the sole vote of reason.

This had me wondering what it must be like to be in that position. The council members are ignoring testimony, downplaying studies, and arresting protestors. They vote against Morales’ amendments. They even appointed her opponent in the 2023 election into a vacant seat. Speaking up in spaces like this, when nobody agrees with you, can feel like talking to statues. I’ve written before about knowing when it’s time to leave a fight that could go on forever. Some people in this situation would check out or withdraw. But what if you can’t? What if you have no choice but to tough it out? When none of our arguments move our colleagues, how can we deal?

how we could deal

Check our compass. Are we sure we’re right? This is my need for self-awareness talking. I believe people have an obligation to stand up for their morals. Silence is not support. But it’s always possible that our convictions are out of date or misguided. They may unintentionally uphold oppression or white supremacy. Before we continue our fight, check this first!

Win where we can. Within an oppressive system, I’m pushing in many different directions. They may not all pan out. A lot of people have a vested interest in maintaining existing power structures. Changing those structures is difficult but it’s always possible. We may find new tactics, new allies, or shifting political winds. This year, strippers and sex workers in Washington won the passage of a Strippers’ Bill of Rights. It took years of organizing and setbacks to get to this point. It’s now the first bill of its kind in the nation.

Support new systems. I was talking about the city’s housing bills with Nicole, a new consulting colleague of mine. She’s worked in and around Seattle politics on housing and environmental justice issues for several years. The way she sees it, the conservative city council is not the only game in town. “People are advocating with county government, too. And change at the state level is what really interests me.” In my own work, I try to support alternative organizations to the ones I’m working to rebuild.

Wait for the tides to change again. Change is constant. Whether we decide to stay put, the time will pass anyway. Seattle had a primary for the seat that Morales’ former opponent, Tanya Woo, sits. In the August primary, Woo came in second to her more progressive opponent, Alexis Rinck (50-38%). Two progressives on a 9-seat council isn’t a majority, but it’s better! More people could lose their seats in the 2025 elections.

when the statues crack

As I was thinking about the situations, I asked myself a question that often comes to me. What do we owe each other? Why do I subject myself to a world that is often indifferent to these kinds of moral sacrifice? Most people would have a personal answer to that, but I do it because I have to. I push against my own statues in many situations. That’s how I live with the privileges I enjoy in an unjust world. To me, the universe isn’t cold and uncaring as long as we’re in it. Not everyone can put themselves in the struggles I do. Likewise, there are things I can’t do that others do with ease. I think that’s why we need each other.