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Mike Menzie's avatar

Maybe if they didn’t wear masks and act like thugs kidnapping people off the streets they might get a bit of respect. Everyone deserves due process.

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Shahid Buttar's avatar

This post seems to challenge ICE’s efficiency, which makes some sense from a rhetorical standpoint given the emphasis of so many conservatives on efficiency. I can’t help, however, but wonder if we have so abandoned our humanity that appeals to human rights, or law, or the consequences for communities seem to so consistently escape attention?

History offers us a disappointing answer, which might also explain at least some current events. https://shahidbuttar.substack.com/p/its-not-about-kirk-or-kimmel-or-colbert

Ken includes a parallel critique of credibility, but the tendency to obscure should not surprise us given how consistently this administration has lied outright about immigration. I discussed that theme when Trump deployed ICE goon squads to LA and DC. https://open.substack.com/pub/shahidbuttar/p/promises-made-promises-betrayed

Finally, it’s interesting to observe the bravado of the ICE recruitment ads that Ken shared here. To what extent are they intended to appeal to men with fragile egos, like the president? https://open.substack.com/pub/shahidbuttar/p/the-rise-of-the-fragile-tough-guy?r=97w99&utm_medium=ios

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Clif Brown's avatar

"And why would anyone, except those driven by desperation or ideology, want to work for the least popular law enforcement agency in the first place?"

Dan, as you likely know, young men have a thing for power and weapons, particularly in the US where they have little of the first and lots of the second available. The pay for ICE work is fabulous compared to working at Wendy's and you get to carry firearms while dressing up in a menacing way complete with sunglasses and a mask. This puts the most threatening looking Jeep Wrangler deeply in the shade.

On top of this, look at the huge turnout in Glendale AZ of Kirk fans who have little affection for immigrants and non-whites in general while professing epic love of country. As I always remind people, we are a nation of children in adult bodies. ICE has appeal.

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Jeremiah's avatar

ICE is on track for an Abu Ghraib style catastrophe.

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Howie's avatar

Klippenlaw or Bogustein?

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SAM's avatar

i like that i went from reading Kenny, Ryan, Jeremy, Murtaza, Dan, et al in the Intercept to reading them across 3 different publications. Now if only we could drop substack and go back to good old html blogs and RSS.

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