The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution tells us that Americans are safe from illegal search and seizure. It tells us that law enforcement cannot invade our homes without a judicial warrant. It’s just one of the legal restraints that make America a very special place in which to live. But it’s also something that makes it difficult for law enforcement, whether good, bad, or indifferent, to operate in the real world. That’s why it’s so important that our federal operatives are trained properly. That’s why it is so outrageous that our president and his cronies are willing to skimp on the training of the very busy, and outrageously inept, forces of ICE.
There’s no reason why ICE should be so badly trained except that neither Trump nor his gang of inept plotters care how little they know about what they are doing and how to do it.
Trump learned one very important lesson from his first term in office. If you hire the right person for the job you’re filling, he will make it impossible for you to be a functioning dictator. So, this time around, he hired yes men and ass kissers, who are only interested in getting a raise and a better job and couldn’t care less that their boss is breaking the law and wants them to break it, too.
*****
Attorney General Pam Bondi was once again exposed on the tube as a non-qualified farce, whose only qualification for her job seems to be an ability to agree with Donald Trump no matter how outlandish his position.
But it’s not just her professional short-comings that stand out anytime she appears in public, it’s also her lack of presentation as a functioning human being. Bondi is what is historically known as a “bimbo,” plain and simple. She is lacking in those qualities that are taught in kindergarten so that we may survive the everyday trials and tribulations that make life what it is. She goes forth unarmed in the battle of human experience. Basically, she needs to go, but she won’t as long she is able to remain a barrier between Trump and the world.
*****
But Bondi isn’t alone in her blundering incompetence. She is accompanied by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, who seems to have been appointed only to make Trump look competent. Hegseth’s latest blunder is wrapped around his attempt to reduce the rank and paycheck for retired Captain Mark Kelly for telling military officers that they didn’t have to obey orders that were illegal. This is something that Hegseth should have known anyhow because everyone except Hegseth and Trump already appear to know it. Certainly, the judge who ruled Hegseth a dunce knew about it and now Hegseth is standing in e middle of the city of D.C. wearing a tee shirt that reads, “MORON.”
*****
This week, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Lee Zeldin, announced that the Trump administration had junked the environmental legislation that empowered the government to control violations of climate change regulations. By doing this, Trump is not only kissing the ass of Big Oil, but he is also endorsing another cheap racist shot at former President Barack Obama.
That’s right. Remember in 2016 when Trump had a lot of trouble pronouncing Obama’s name and claiming that he was from another country as part of a whole racist campaign plan? Well, he’s still at it, only this time he’s included Michelle in his tasteless attack. It’s amazing but his followers still don’t seem bothered by this kind of racist shit, which definitely identifies them as racists themselves.
*****
This week on Face the Nation, Tom Homan tried foolishly and unsuccessfully to defend the actions of ICE, wearing masks, ignoring the necessity of judicial warrants, and invading personal property without legal paperwork. Obviously, it was unsuccessful, as was the attempt to unmask the ICE thugs.
Despite my holding an FFL for over thirty years, I have always been one of those people who is adamant about most people not being legally allowed to possess guns for any reason other than limited hunting.
I don’t know about you, but despite my firm position on this, if someone rings my doorbell at four o’clock in the morning, the first thing I do after rising to answer that ring is to pick up my shotgun, check the load and slip off the safety. If the man at my door has a proper warrant, I surrender my weapon and allow him entry. If, on the other hand, he is masked and tries to push past me, he is invading my home and must face the consequences.
Law enforcement must respect and maintain the law in order to legally enforce it.
*****
I watched Fareed Zakaria interview the NY Times opinion columnist, Ezra Klein. Right there you have two of the smartest guys in media and it was such a pleasure and so informative to watch the pair that I would have been satisfied to stay with them all day. Klein’s interpretation of what is happening inside the Trump administration is clever and intriguing and even when he and Zakaria disagree, it’s a joy to listen to why they do.
*****
Anne Applebaum was interviewed on GPS, and she spent most of her time explaining that world leaders are involved in a negotiation that our people aren’t equipped to win. So, who are our people? Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, former National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, and Ambassador and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. Wait … who?
See, that’s the problem. Too many people, including the Russians, are going to be asking that question. There are already hints that a twelve trillion—that’s right a twelve trillion-dollar number—will be involved as part of the bribe that will buy Ukraine for Russia. That’s four times the Russian GNP and Witkoff has no history of dealing with Russia. Do you see the money going into Trump’s overseas accounts and the Dombas going to Russia? I do.
*****
The Trump administration’s attempt to step on a young candidate for the senate from Texas seems to have blown up in their face. His name is James Talarico, and he had scheduled an interview on CBS that the power boys in Greg Abbott’s office decided to stop. They did, and you know what hit the fan, and now it’s all over their faces. Talarico is the hottest item on the tube right now. He’s become a money-raising machine and is threatening to take this traditionally Republican seat for the first time in Texas memory. All because Abbott is so used to operating as a bully, he just can’t function any other way.