About Us
Mission Statement
Rules of Conduct
 
Name:
Pswd:
Remember Me
Register
 

Dangerously Misinformed
Author: Raine    Date: 07/07/2014 13:07:58

Yesterday, on Meet The Press, Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson had to repeatedly correct the host regarding the crisis we are seeing of children coming into the United states from Central America.
DAVID GREGORY: You heard the mayor of Murrieta, “Why now? Why so many?” Is part of the answer that the administration, through some of its executive actions, have said, in effect, “Look, if you come, we’re going to let you in?”

SECRETARY JEH JOHNSON: First of all, David, the reason we’re seeing this influx has to do primarily with the conditions in the three Central American countries that they’re leaving from, the push factor.

DAVID GREGORY: More than– and it’s double, though?

DAVID GREGORY: Could it be 90,000 this year?

SECRETARY JEH JOHNSON: Honduras is in a really bad place right now. El Salvador, Guatemala. The push factor is what is driving this recent influx. In addition, we know that the smuggling organizations, the criminal smuggling organizations, are putting out a lot of disinformation about supposed ‘free passes’ into this country that are going to expire at the end of May, at the end of June. “Just give us your money and we’ll get you into the country by the end of the month.” It’s like a used car salesman saying that the sale’s going to expire at the end of the week.

DAVID GREGORY: But that’s not all misinformation, Mr. Secretary. There is deferred action on some children, passed in 2012, that will allow some children of illegal immigrants to stay.

SECRETARY JEH JOHNSON: Well, that’s the point we keep stressing. The deferred action program is for kids who came to this country seven years ago. It’s not for anyone who comes to this country today, tomorrow or yesterday. And the legislation that the Senate passed, which provides for an earned path to citizenship, is for those who were in this country in 2011. It’s not for those that are coming here today.
That legislation, as the LA times points out
Obama administration officials deny that lenient policies — including a 2012 program that allowed immigrants who had entered the country illegally as minors before June 2007 to apply for deportation deferrals — have encouraged the sudden surge.

They instead blame a 2008 law signed by Bush that made it nearly impossible to repatriate unaccompanied minors to Central America without letting them appear before an immigration judge.

A mounting backlog in immigration courts since then has allowed most Central American minors to stay for years while their cases wend their way through the legal system. Once they are assigned to social workers, as the law requires, the overwhelming majority are sent to live with their parents or relatives in the United States, officials said. Organized crime groups in Central America have exploited the slow U.S. legal process and the compassion shown to children in apparent crisis, according to David Leopold, an immigration attorney in Cleveland.

He said smugglers, who may charge a family up to $12,000 to deliver a child to the border, often tell them exactly what to say to American officials.

"The cartels have figured out where the hole is," he said.(snip)

The sudden surge has surprised officials because illegal immigration has fallen sharply overall. Experts attribute the drop to fewer job opportunities in the U.S. and to the doubling in size of the Border Patrol since 2004, which has made the crossing more dangerous and expensive.
You will recall, The House of Representatives have said they will not bring immigration reform to the floor this year. It wasn't passed in 2007 When it was introduced by Kennedy and McCain and it hasn't passed yet. In 2008, President Bush was able to sign this particular legislation into law. This is a list of what President Obama's predecessor did regarding Immigration reform and border security (interesting tidbit: drones used). The same LA times article explains the reasoning behind this legislation, and it makes sense.
But that isn't always the case. The 2008 law signed by Bush expanded legal protections for young migrants. The changes were intended to prevent immigration officials from inadvertently sending them back to pimps and drug violence. (snip)

The law, for example, expanded the ability of children who were abused or abandoned to be granted "special immigrant juvenile status" to stay in the country, and to eventually apply for lawful permanent residency.

Called the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, the 2008 law was named for the English abolitionist who championed the bill in Parliament that ended the slave trade in the British Empire in 1807.

The U.S. law, which sought to crack down on modern-day slavery and the trafficking of children, passed easily by a voice vote in Congress with broad support from both parties. Bush signed it shortly before he left office in January 2009.

Former U.S. Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-Valley Village), who served from 1983 to 2013, was one of the sponsors of the 2008 law, and defended it this week as necessary to protect children. He blamed the violence in parts of Central America for the influx of children, and said he wasn't sure whether the law needed to be changed.

"What do you do with the ones that come from Central America? Do you load them all on a plane and see who comes and meets them at the airport?" Berman asked in a telephone interview.
WE have a crisis right now, and I understand that opinions are strong and heated on all sides of what is happening, but there is a reality here. These are children; these are human beings. While people like Rick Perry make the absurd claim that this issue is part of a grand Obama Conspiracy this is a real humanitarian crisis that has been building for years.





This is the story not being told. These Stories that the filmmaker of Which Way Home, a 2010 Documentary says in this interview:
USCRI: When you set out to do this documentary, what were you hoping to accomplish?

RC: When you make this kind of film, you want to change the world in a way. You want to make a big impact. And I had three major goals. One was to create a document that allows the U.S. public to really see what's going on and then think about the immigration issue much deeper and make a decision about how they feel about it. But an informed decision. Don't have some pundit just talk at you and tell you what to feel. See the film, look at it, experience it, ask questions, and maybe the U.S. public will come away with a deeper understanding. That's number one. Number two, a film like this has to work toward educating and informing people, including the highest levels of government and law makers. (…) I wanted whatever administration was in to see this film, to learn from it, and to use it as a tool for positive, humane immigration reform. And the third goal was (to inform) families in Central America and Mexico who don’t necessarily understand how dangerous the trip really is. (The documentary) is a prevention campaign in a way... Families can see the film and go, 'Oh, yes, it does seem dangerous. Maybe I will not let the smugglers take my child, or maybe 'I won't let the child go off by themselves.' So that's another goal of the film. To inform rural and indigenous populations about how dangerous (the journey north) is and that they should think twice about what to do.
The bolded part brings me back to the likes of people like David Gregory, who - when informed of the facts of this very bad situation - choose to ignore the information given to him. Instead he repeated the information he was corrected about. It perpetuates mistruths. Watch the video at this link (I cannot embed it here, unfortunately). I won't deny for one minute that this is a heated and deeply divisive problem, but I think it's up to people to understand the underlying issues that allowed this to happen.

"Don't have some pundit just talk at you and tell you what to feel."


Lost in all of this chatter is that many, many of these children were actually apprehended. They're in the custody U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Our border security is actually working. If people want it to work better, it is time to pass meaningful immigration reform. The is a human rights issue as much as it is a matter of national security. Instead of being told that, we are fed a steady stream of what basically boils down to right-wing propaganda. The people making the money off of crises like this, people like Gregory, Hannity (hell all of FOX "News", for that matter) know this. They profit off of this. They tell those who are so adamant against "illegals coming to this country" that they are the true and real patriotic Americans. They create bogey men. This generally comes from a political corner of our nation that used to claim the mantel of personal responsibility, the GOP. Someone pointed this out to me stating "they are so far gone now they don't even try to stake that high ground, they just have become relentlessly obsessed over OTHER PEOPLE'S responsibility, at least what THEY think other people should be responsible for."

It's become mean-spirited and reactionary. They feel victimized by the government and in many cases, liberals (see this story: Conservatives Are Purposely Making Their Cars Spew Black Smoke To Protest Obama And Environmentalists). Too many people in this country believe they are victims and justify hating (for lack of a better word) the "other" for their own indulgences and the guilt that sometimes creates. Too many people in the media fans the flames of ignorance that prevents a real and honest discussion about the problems we really do have, in this case, thousands - literally thousands - of children coming over the border without family.

No one even knows how many children died or were sold in sex trafficking or other atrocities along the way.

Watch the documentary Which Way Home. Have your friends watch it, and let's have a real discussion about this - not the one the talking heads want you to have. They want to divide, they profit mightily from it.

and

Raine
 

45 comments (Latest Comment: 07/07/2014 21:38:39 by Mondobubba)
   Perma Link

Share This!

Furl it!
Spurl
NewsVine
Reddit
Technorati

Add a Comment

Please login to add a comment...


Comments:

Order comments Newest to Oldest  Refresh Comments

Comment by Raine on 07/07/2014 13:13:49
good morning!

Comment by wickedpam on 07/07/2014 13:27:38
Morning

Comment by BobR on 07/07/2014 13:31:59
Morning. Happy Monday...

Comment by Raine on 07/07/2014 13:42:13
I;m sorry the NE got rained out this year.

Comment by Mondobubba on 07/07/2014 13:49:19
Hola mon peeps. Twas a difficult trek to the roller derby on Saturday. The street where the roller rink is was flooded. Tricksy is was to navigate.

Comment by Raine on 07/07/2014 13:50:00
Quote by Mondobubba:
Hola mon peeps. Twas a difficult trek to the roller derby on Saturday. The street where the roller rink is was flooded. Tricksy is was to navigate.
I;m really glad the storm wasn't worse for you as well.


Comment by Mondobubba on 07/07/2014 13:53:41
Quote by Raine:
Quote by Mondobubba:
Hola mon peeps. Twas a difficult trek to the roller derby on Saturday. The street where the roller rink is was flooded. Tricksy is was to navigate.
I;m really glad the storm wasn't worse for you as well.



That was just an energetic thunderstorm. Arthur really didn't do anything here. We had a rip current alert along with high surf advisories for a couple of days.

Comment by Mondobubba on 07/07/2014 13:54:54
Finally finished the blog. A lengthy, but very worthy read.

Comment by Raine on 07/07/2014 14:00:01
Quote by Mondobubba:
Finally finished the blog. A lengthy, but very worthy read.
Thank you. It's nice to finally feel like I can say something without feeling like I am just regurgitating things.


Comment by Scoopster on 07/07/2014 14:00:34
Mornin' all..

Not sure if it showed up or not, but my friend (who linked the black smoke article on FB) said this about it:
I remember when the joke was, "If Obama came out in favor of breathing, thousands of 'conservatives' would suffocate themselves in protest."

Well, we're through the looking glass...


Comment by Raine on 07/07/2014 14:05:26
Comment by Mondobubba on 07/07/2014 14:06:50
Comment by wickedpam on 07/07/2014 14:22:29



I'm with ya there - irony is wasted on them

Comment by Raine on 07/07/2014 15:37:02
http://i.imgur.com/aMdFIk0.jpg


Comment by Mondobubba on 07/07/2014 15:41:13
Quote by Raine:
http://i.imgur.com/aMdFIk0.jpg





Comment by Mondobubba on 07/07/2014 15:42:09
Comment by Will in Chicago on 07/07/2014 15:46:38
Good morning, bloggers!!

Raine, I enjoyed reading the blog about this difficult issue. I would also recommend this recent article from Think Progress, which covers in brief the conditions these young people are freeing from in Central America. Why Kids Are Crossing the Desert Alone to Get to America.

Comment by Scoopster on 07/07/2014 15:51:09

His name is really Richard Kopf.

Dick. Head.



Comment by Will in Chicago on 07/07/2014 15:55:33
In some good news, I should start a good freelance writing assignment soon.

Also, a friend who is a professor in the Boston area wants me to send her a list of places that I applied to so far. She is willing to see what contacts she may have at schools.

Another friend, who teachers in Austin, Texas, said to check there. There are openings, but the license there is expensive and it is Texas.

Comment by Mondobubba on 07/07/2014 16:01:58
Quote by Scoopster:

His name is really Richard Kopf.

Dick. Head.




Why yes it is. But, he's not being a dickhead.


Comment by clintster on 07/07/2014 16:02:47
Quote by Will in Chicago:
In some good news, I should start a good freelance writing assignment soon.

Also, a friend who is a professor in the Boston area wants me to send her a list of places that I applied to so far. She is willing to see what contacts she may have at schools.

Another friend, who teachers in Austin, Texas, said to check there. There are openings, but the license there is expensive and it is Texas.


In its defense, Will, I can say (per my wife) that Austin is a nice blue oasis.

Comment by Scoopster on 07/07/2014 16:05:03
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by Scoopster:

His name is really Richard Kopf.

Dick. Head.


Why yes it is. But, he's not being a dickhead.

Oh yeah I know.. I did have to do a double take and verify that he's a real sitting judge.

Comment by Will in Chicago on 07/07/2014 16:07:54
Quote by clintster:
Quote by Will in Chicago:
In some good news, I should start a good freelance writing assignment soon.

Also, a friend who is a professor in the Boston area wants me to send her a list of places that I applied to so far. She is willing to see what contacts she may have at schools.

Another friend, who teachers in Austin, Texas, said to check there. There are openings, but the license there is expensive and it is Texas.


In its defense, Will, I can say (per my wife) that Austin is a nice blue oasis.


I will see about getting the funds out of some freelance work. Things are a bit tense here and the Chicago Public Schools keeps on cutting jobs and flooding the market further. (At this point, I almost have to know where a superintendent has hid the bodies for the last 25 years in order to get a teaching job.)


Comment by Mondobubba on 07/07/2014 16:15:31
Comment by Raine on 07/07/2014 16:17:22
Quote by clintster:
Quote by Will in Chicago:
In some good news, I should start a good freelance writing assignment soon.

Also, a friend who is a professor in the Boston area wants me to send her a list of places that I applied to so far. She is willing to see what contacts she may have at schools.

Another friend, who teachers in Austin, Texas, said to check there. There are openings, but the license there is expensive and it is Texas.


In its defense, Will, I can say (per my wife) that Austin is a nice blue oasis.
Much like Atlanta is an Oasis.


Comment by Mondobubba on 07/07/2014 16:22:04
Quote by Raine:
Quote by clintster:
Quote by Will in Chicago:
In some good news, I should start a good freelance writing assignment soon.

Also, a friend who is a professor in the Boston area wants me to send her a list of places that I applied to so far. She is willing to see what contacts she may have at schools.

Another friend, who teachers in Austin, Texas, said to check there. There are openings, but the license there is expensive and it is Texas.


In its defense, Will, I can say (per my wife) that Austin is a nice blue oasis.
Much like Atlanta is an Oasis.



;sigh: I wish I lived in such an oasis.

Comment by Raine on 07/07/2014 16:23:15
Does it ever end???


Comment by Scoopster on 07/07/2014 16:57:13
I really have no words for this.

Okay I lied.. hey ladies if you're in your mid-30s and you follow the advice of these misogynistic morons, you probably won't find a husband. But by chance if you do, he'll be a total asshole. And you'll have begged for it.

Comment by Raine on 07/07/2014 17:29:31
Quote by Scoopster:
I really have no words for this.

Okay I lied.. hey ladies if you're in your mid-30s and you follow the advice of these misogynistic morons, you probably won't find a husband. But by chance if you do, he'll be a total asshole. And you'll have begged for it.
Funny that, I met my husband in mid 30's.

You know why it's hard for middle age women? Misogyny, to be quite honest. the constant selling that only women with a perfect body image (imagined by a male oriented scene in the advertising industry years ago, and still today -- again to be honest) are worthy.

I;m not blaming men here, it am blaming misogyny -- and this woman perpetuates it. Feminists? No we are not the problem, we shine a light on the issues and ask for people to work towards solving them.

I am a suffragette. They were feminists.

Comment by wickedpam on 07/07/2014 17:34:30
Quote by Raine:
Quote by Scoopster:
I really have no words for this.

Okay I lied.. hey ladies if you're in your mid-30s and you follow the advice of these misogynistic morons, you probably won't find a husband. But by chance if you do, he'll be a total asshole. And you'll have begged for it.
Funny that, I met my husband in mid 30's.

You know why it's hard for middle age women? Misogyny, to be quite honest. the constant selling that only women with a perfect body image (imagined by a male oriented scene in the advertising industry years ago, and still today -- again to be honest) are worthy.

I;m not blaming men here, it am blaming misogyny -- and this woman perpetuates it. Feminists? No we are not the problem, we shine a light on the issues and ask for people to work towards solving them.

I am a suffragette. They were feminists.


Amen sista.

Who was it said "I like men, they just don't seem to like me."? I feel like that very much.


Comment by Raine on 07/07/2014 17:50:41
Tri, ASSCHUB.

Comment by Raine on 07/07/2014 17:56:40
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Raine:
Quote by Scoopster:
I really have no words for this.

Okay I lied.. hey ladies if you're in your mid-30s and you follow the advice of these misogynistic morons, you probably won't find a husband. But by chance if you do, he'll be a total asshole. And you'll have begged for it.
Funny that, I met my husband in mid 30's.

You know why it's hard for middle age women? Misogyny, to be quite honest. the constant selling that only women with a perfect body image (imagined by a male oriented scene in the advertising industry years ago, and still today -- again to be honest) are worthy.

I;m not blaming men here, it am blaming misogyny -- and this woman perpetuates it. Feminists? No we are not the problem, we shine a light on the issues and ask for people to work towards solving them.

I am a suffragette. They were feminists.


Amen sista.

Who was it said "I like men, they just don't seem to like me."? I feel like that very much.
You and I --- along with Vel and Aunt azalea (and our quiet women) are fortunate in that we are blessed with some very special intelligent men with our presence on this blog.

Women like that one in that post are not helping. She's decisive.



Comment by livingonli on 07/07/2014 18:05:24
Good day, folks. I wish I could hit the jackpot so that maybe I could go back to a normal schedule.

Comment by Raine on 07/07/2014 19:21:42
Quote by livingonli:
Good day, folks. I wish I could hit the jackpot so that maybe I could go back to a normal schedule.
Good afternoon sir.

Comment by Scoopster on 07/07/2014 19:53:44
Comment by Raine on 07/07/2014 20:47:32
apropos of todays blog ( i asked this if BobR over the weekend) has any -- ANY -- progressive ever gotten as rich as the likes of Hannity, Beck, O'reilly, and Limbaugh? To the best of my knowledge, I am going with no.

No one has every become rich by being a progressive media radio or TV personality.

The closest I can see we get it Michael Moore.

His TV show was cancelled.

Comment by wickedpam on 07/07/2014 20:51:52
omg I just checked into my old ancestry.com account and someone had sent me a link to my dad's father's grave info - in the findagrave.com some this was also listed on his page

New York Times - December 18, 1979

The New York State Service Employees Council, Service Employees International Union, AFL-CIO, representing 150,000 service employees, notes with profound sadness the loss of a beloved friend and brother. Anthony Weinlein was one of the pioneers of our international Union whose intellect and humanitarianism were wonderously welded into strength which he drew upon to win economic progress for service employees. He will be missed by all whose lived he touched.

As Secretary-Treasurer of SEIU and throughout a life dedicated to securing dignity and justice for all working people, Anthony Weinlein has left an inspiring legacy of good work which will endure in the future.


Comment by wickedpam on 07/07/2014 20:52:53
Quote by Raine:
apropos of todays blog ( i asked this if BobR over the weekend) has any -- ANY -- progressive ever gotten as rich as the likes of Hannity, Beck, O'reilly, and Limbaugh? To the best of my knowledge, I am going with no.

No one has every become rich by being a progressive media radio or TV personality.

The closest I can see we get it Michael Moore.

His TV show was cancelled.


I don't know how rich he is but what about Donahue?


Comment by Raine on 07/07/2014 21:21:03
Quote by wickedpam:
omg I just checked into my old ancestry.com account and someone had sent me a link to my dad's father's grave info - in the findagrave.com some this was also listed on his page

New York Times - December 18, 1979

The New York State Service Employees Council, Service Employees International Union, AFL-CIO, representing 150,000 service employees, notes with profound sadness the loss of a beloved friend and brother. Anthony Weinlein was one of the pioneers of our international Union whose intellect and humanitarianism were wonderously welded into strength which he drew upon to win economic progress for service employees. He will be missed by all whose lived he touched.

As Secretary-Treasurer of SEIU and throughout a life dedicated to securing dignity and justice for all working people, Anthony Weinlein has left an inspiring legacy of good work which will endure in the future.
wait… NY? This is your dad? that is amazing cool!

Comment by Raine on 07/07/2014 21:24:00
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Raine:
apropos of todays blog ( i asked this if BobR over the weekend) has any -- ANY -- progressive ever gotten as rich as the likes of Hannity, Beck, O'reilly, and Limbaugh? To the best of my knowledge, I am going with no.

No one has every become rich by being a progressive media radio or TV personality.

The closest I can see we get it Michael Moore.

His TV show was cancelled.


I don't know how rich he is but what about Donahue?
Phil was fired. I Am wondering if we have any people in the progressive movement that have reached the finical levels of the people mentioned above.

Phil was fired, and Dan rather was as well, and to be very honest, Rather never put himself ou there as a progressive…

hannity and the others are proud conservatives. They are also very rich.

Comment by wickedpam on 07/07/2014 21:30:02
Quote by Raine:
Quote by wickedpam:
omg I just checked into my old ancestry.com account and someone had sent me a link to my dad's father's grave info - in the findagrave.com some this was also listed on his page

New York Times - December 18, 1979

The New York State Service Employees Council, Service Employees International Union, AFL-CIO, representing 150,000 service employees, notes with profound sadness the loss of a beloved friend and brother. Anthony Weinlein was one of the pioneers of our international Union whose intellect and humanitarianism were wonderously welded into strength which he drew upon to win economic progress for service employees. He will be missed by all whose lived he touched.

As Secretary-Treasurer of SEIU and throughout a life dedicated to securing dignity and justice for all working people, Anthony Weinlein has left an inspiring legacy of good work which will endure in the future.
wait… NY? This is your dad? that is amazing cool!



My paternal grandfather. IKR - my aunt Lisa had told me about him being inducted into some Labor Hall of Fame a few years ago but I did not know about this.

Comment by wickedpam on 07/07/2014 21:31:48
Quote by Raine:
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Raine:
apropos of todays blog ( i asked this if BobR over the weekend) has any -- ANY -- progressive ever gotten as rich as the likes of Hannity, Beck, O'reilly, and Limbaugh? To the best of my knowledge, I am going with no.

No one has every become rich by being a progressive media radio or TV personality.

The closest I can see we get it Michael Moore.

His TV show was cancelled.


I don't know how rich he is but what about Donahue?
Phil was fired. I Am wondering if we have any people in the progressive movement that have reached the finical levels of the people mentioned above.

Phil was fired, and Dan rather was as well, and to be very honest, Rather never put himself ou there as a progressive…

hannity and the others are proud conservatives. They are also very rich.


I was thinking Phil before the firing - like the early day of the talk show. But you're right, no one current is that rich and spouting opinion as news.


Comment by Mondobubba on 07/07/2014 21:34:13
Quote by Raine:
Does it ever end???



At some point, yes.


Comment by Mondobubba on 07/07/2014 21:36:28
Quote by Raine:
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Raine:
apropos of todays blog ( i asked this if BobR over the weekend) has any -- ANY -- progressive ever gotten as rich as the likes of Hannity, Beck, O'reilly, and Limbaugh? To the best of my knowledge, I am going with no.

No one has every become rich by being a progressive media radio or TV personality.

The closest I can see we get it Michael Moore.

His TV show was cancelled.


I don't know how rich he is but what about Donahue?
Phil was fired. I Am wondering if we have any people in the progressive movement that have reached the finical levels of the people mentioned above.

Phil was fired, and Dan rather was as well, and to be very honest, Rather never put himself ou there as a progressive…

hannity and the others are proud conservatives. They are also very rich.


I don't think that Hannity is that proud of being conservative, if there was money to be made by being a professional liberal talker, he would do it. I don't think the man has an actual soul.


Comment by Mondobubba on 07/07/2014 21:38:39
My family is starting a closely held corporation, a supplier of Halloween costumes and crafts called Beelzebub Club. Our corporate religion will be Satanic. Because of our sincerely held religious beliefs there will be no benefits, obscenely low pay, bad hours, and no holidays or overtime. That's because we're fucking evil.


Friend's status update.