Tag: Homeland Security

DHS Barbie Out On Her Ass

Noem has been fired…..I am surprised for being such a Donny enabler that she might weather this storm after her days testifying….I was mistaken.

She is gone and we await the next d/bag in line for the hallow halls of DHS.

Kristi Noem’s turbulent run atop the Department of Homeland Security is ending with a reassignment and a replacement drawn from the Senate. President Trump announced Thursday that Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma will take over as DHS secretary, calling him “highly respected,” while saying Noem will shift to a new post as “Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas,” part of a Western Hemisphere security push the White House says it will roll out Saturday. The change takes effect March 31.

  • Months of speculation. The firing follows months of speculation about Noem’s future as public support for Trump’s aggressive deportation drive has eroded and even some Republicans questioned her leadership.
  • Trump “not a happy camper.” The president was unhappy with Noem about DHS’s heavily criticized surge in Minnesota, where two US citizens were fatally shot by officers, and about Noem’s Senate testimony on Tuesday defending a $200 million ad campaign that prominently featured her, sources tell the Washington Post. Noem told senators Trump had approved the campaign. GOP Sen. John Kennedy said Trump was “not a happy camper” when he spoke to him later that day. “The president’s recollection and her recollection are distinctly different,” he said.
  • Her new role. The White House says the Shield of the Americas is a regional policy initiative, guided by Trump’s “Donroe Doctrine,” to ensure security for the Western Hemisphere, the Hill reports. Noem’s role, like her role at Homeland Security, will include dealing with issues like illegal immigration and drug trafficking. Noem didn’t mention her ouster during an appearance at an event in Nashville on Thursday, but she later thanked Trump in a post on X. “In this new role, I will be able to build on the partnerships and national security expertise, I forged over the last 13 months as Secretary of Homeland Security,” she wrote.
  • Mullin. In a post on X, Mullin, whose appointment needs to be confirmed by the Senate, said, “I look forward to earning the support of my colleagues in the Senate and carrying out President Trump’s mission alongside the department’s many capable agencies and the thousands of patriots who keep us safe every day.” Mullin “has been a fighter for Oklahoma and will fight to keep our nation secure,” Gov. Kevin Stitt said in a statement, per the Oklahoma Voice. “There isn’t a better choice to lead the Department of Homeland Security.” He said he would appoint a “strong, small government conservative voice” to replace Mullin.
  • Democrats welcome the news. Democrats largely cheered her departure, the Post reports. Independent Sen. Angus King, who caucuses with Democrats, called Mullin “an upgrade, absolutely,” adding that “pretty much anybody is.” Sen. Cory Booker said Noem should still be “held to account for the corruption that she has shown with the contracting” and for what he described as violations of Americans’ constitutional rights. The Los Angeles-based Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights said her departure is “long overdue,” the AP reports. “For immigrant communities across the country, her leadership represented a dangerous escalation of policies that treated families and workers as targets rather than as human beings,” the advocacy group said, adding that her replacement must ensure agencies like ICE treat immigrants with “basic human respect.”

Her ousting was more about taking the heat off Donny than her….she will not go far for as an enabler Donny needs her close.

I do not believe this will be a new chapter for DHS just a continuation of the Donny policies.

Whatcha you think?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Is DHS Barbie On The Ropes?

DHS and its Goon Platoon have been wrecking havoc across many states in the last year…..and now after her testimony there is rumblings that Donny has had enough of her antics.

Is Kristi Noem’s job in jeopardy as head of Homeland Security? Punchbowl News reports that President Trump has been “quietly” calling top Republicans on Capitol Hill to ask if he should fire her. The development comes after Noem spent two grueling days being grilled by the Senate and House judiciary panels over DHS tactics, including the fatal shooting of two protesters. The outlet reports that House Speaker Mike Johnson also has mused behind closed doors about the possibility of a shake-up at DHS.

Earlier this month, Trump publicly backed Noem and said her job was safe, Politico reported at the time. “They were saying about Kristi Noem yesterday … ‘Sir, are you going to relieve Kristi Noem from her duties?’ No. Why would I do that?” Trump said. “We have the strongest border in the history of our country. We have the best crime numbers we’ve ever had, going back to the year 1900, that’s 125 years.”

But Punchbowl News, citing anonymous Republicans, suggests the sentiment is shifting as the bad press continues. What appears to have especially irritated Trump: Noem’s insistence under questioning from Sen. John Kennedy this week that the president personally signed off on a $220 million national ad campaign that prominently features her. The spots, filmed at Mount Rushmore and produced by a firm run by the husband of a former DHS spokesperson, have been criticized as boosting Noem’s political profile on the taxpayers’ dime. Kennedy warned the campaign put Trump “in a terribly awkward spot.”

Shake up the DHS?  What crap!

DHS is doing the hard lift for Dear Donny so what would a DHS shake up look like?

Personally I do not think she capable of independent thinking so anything she has done is the track Donny envisions.

Any thoughts?

I Reads, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The ICE Man Goeth

There has been a shake up as well all know within ICE…..some think it is because of the massive protests and public outcry…..I am skeptical to be honest…..but there are some changes that seem to be for the better….like ICE Goons will be wearing body cams now…..they may wear them but will they be turned on?

Body cameras are about to become standard gear for federal immigration officers working the streets of Minneapolis, NBC News reports. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced Monday that every DHS officer in the field there will now be equipped with body-worn cameras, a move she framed on X as a step toward greater transparency. She added that DHS plans to expand the program to agents across the country as money becomes available. She promised a “rapid” rollout of the program nationwide, CNN reports.

The decision follows intense criticism of immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis, where federal agents have been conducting what officials call a “surge.” Two US citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were shot and killed in separate encounters with federal officers on Jan. 7 and Jan. 24, respectively. Bystander recordings from both incidents have raised questions about earlier descriptions from Noem and other officials regarding what happened.

Sorry but I do not trust any of these fools.  How about you?

Part of the growing concern for ICE accountability has been shown by a court statement….where it is said that they, ICE, has violated a 100 or so court orders while in Minneapolis.

Then there are the complete LIES that the morons keep telling and the idiots keep believing….like Vance who said…..

JD Vance just got outed pushing an allegedly bogus account of an encounter between immigration enforcement agents and protesters in Minnesota.

“When I was in Minneapolis, I heard a number of crazy stories,” the vice president posted this week, outlining one incident “near the top of the list.”

Vance claimed that off-duty ICE agents and officers with Customs and Border Protection had stopped for dinner at a restaurant in the Twin Cities earlier this month.

According to him, they were “doxed and their location revealed, and the restaurant was then mobbed,” with the federal agents then supposedly “locked in” at the premises as “local police refused to respond to their pleas for help.”

“This is just a taste of what’s happening in Minneapolis,” Vance wrote.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/jd-vances-crazy-story-about-ice-agents-in-minneapolis-shredded-as-total-bs/

Then the mastermind of ICE, Noem, out to be outdone by the slow witted Vance stated….and hers is even more disjointed….

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wildly claimed in an interview with Fox & Friends that DHS operations have “saved hundreds of millions of lives” over the past year, even after ICE and Border Patrol agents shot and killed two individuals in Minneapolis this month.

“We’ve got the Department of Homeland Security, which is coming off its most successful year, under his leadership, in the history of the department,” she began.

“We have secured the border. We have driven down the murder rates and the crime rates to historic lows in this country, saved hundreds of millions of lives by interdicting drugs across the country and at our maritime borders,” she added.

https://www.themirror.com/news/politics/kristi-noem-wildly-claims-hundreds-1656528

Everything she stated is nothing more than wishful thinking…..and what sane person thinks that ICE has had a productive year?

It just keeps getting worse.   Where will ICE Goons hit next…..which city will become a battleground against these fascist POS?

Time for the public to act…..the time for passive onlooking is gone….you either love this country or you bow down to Donny and the racist pigs around him.

Which will it be?

+++This is in!+++

Federal immigration agents are starting to leave Minnesota. Border adviser Tom Homan said Wednesday that roughly 700 federal agents will be pulled out of the state, part of a broader effort to wind down “Operation Metro Surge” in Minneapolis, which has brought more than 3,000 agents into a city with just 600 local officers, per NBC News. Homeland Security officials say about 3,000 undocumented immigrants have been arrested during the two-month operation. The drawdown, accompanied by a consolidated chain of command in Minneapolis, follows nationwide protests and intense scrutiny after federal agents fatally shot two US citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

Top officials initially labeled Pretti a “domestic terrorist” before any full investigation; Trump later called the killing “very unfortunate” and spoke of “de-escalation,” though he went on to describe Pretti as an “agitator and, perhaps, insurrectionist” on Friday after video showed Pretti kicking an immigration enforcement vehicle. Homan cited increased collaboration and “a safer environment” for the change, per the AP. But tensions remain high, with near-daily viral videos of clashes in the city. On Tuesday, immigration agents drew guns as they arrested activists who’d been tailing them. Former CNN anchor Don Lemon was previously arrested while covering a protest in a church, raising fears about First Amendment violations. There have also been reports of tear gas used on peaceful protesters and children.

Good riddance!  Most of these Goons belong in prison!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Farm Raids Back On

Just last week the DHS was told to cut farmers some slack on raids looking for those dangerous workers….and as usual Donny has done what he does best….waffle!

A week after telling agents not to conduct immigration raids at farms, hotels, and restaurants, the Department of Homeland Security has done a U-turn. On Monday, the agency told staff at 30 field offices across the country that the guidance had been reversed, coming in line with President Trump’s calls for mass deportations of anyone in the country without legal status, per the Washington Post. The change reportedly came after DHS leadership was informed the White House did not support the policy. It was initially shared after Trump indicated he was sympathetic to concerns that mass deportations would upend the nation’s agriculture and hospitality industries, which rely on migrant workers.

Some farmers warn a drop in agriculture workers could trigger “pandemic-era food supply chain disruptions,” reports NPR. Last week, Trump vowed “changes are coming” to protect farmers from losing workers. “We can’t take farmers and take all their people and send them back because they don’t have maybe what they’re supposed to have, maybe not,” he said. But there are no actual policy changes in the works, per the Post. By Sunday, Trump had ordered ICE officials to deliver “the single largest Mass Deportation Program in History.” A day later, DHS assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin made clear “there will be no safe spaces for industries who harbor violent criminals or purposely try to undermine ICE’s efforts.”

What kind of demented mind cannot come up with a policy and stick with it?

I am beginning to think there is more going on than just a simple change of thought.

There have been memes flying all around that crazy source we call social media about the mental stability of Dear Leader…..there are times that I think there may be something there….I do not want to believe that there is mental instability but the more he changes his tiny mind the more it is not looking good.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

He Is Just Not Qualified!

Closing thought–17Aug20

That seems to be a major theme running throughout the Trump administration…..at this point we could be talking about many within the White House

Trump has an actor from a TV show as an economic adviser….He has a family member that is his foreign policy adviser that would not recognize foreign policy if it bit him in has ass…..then there is a major donor that gets the Postal Service…….. and the list goes on and on…..

The latest unqualified person to get a seat at the big table in the White House is the newly appointed Secretary of Homeland Security, Chad Wolf……

The top two officials in the Department of Homeland Security were improperly appointed to the posts under federal law by the Trump administration, a nonpartisan congressional watchdog said Friday. The Government Accountability Office says acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf and his acting deputy, Ken Cuccinelli, are ineligible to run the agency under the Vacancy Reform Act, per the AP. GAO said it has asked the DHS inspector general to review the situation and determine if the violation affects decisions they have taken at a time when Homeland Security has been at the forefront of key administration initiatives on immigration and law enforcement. Both men should resign, said the Democratic chairs of the House Committee on Homeland Security and the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.

“GAO’s damning opinion paints a disturbing picture of the Trump Administration playing fast and loose by bypassing the Senate confirmation process to install ideologues,” Reps. Bennie Thompson and Carolyn Maloney said in a statement. DHS had no immediate comment. The GAO analysis traces the violation back to a tumultuous period at DHS in 2019 when Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen resigned. It found that she was improperly replaced by Kevin McAleenan under the rules governing succession in federal agencies. McAleenan altered the rules of succession after he was subsequently removed, but GAO’s legal analysis concluded that the later appointments of Wolf and Cuccinelli were invalid. DHS is the third-largest Cabinet agency, with about 240,000 employees.

https://www.businessinsider.com/watchdog-says-acting-dhs-chief-not-legally-eligible-serve-role-2020-8

The only qualification one needs to be part of the Trump White House is to be an ass kisser and a yes man…

And now you know why our standing in the world sucks so bad….we have NO ONE capable of putting this country on the right path….or even to return it to it’s former self.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Those Terrorists Remain

Protests….Racism…..Pandemic…..all of the top stories from the MSM in the last couple of months…..even though they are out of mind of the media by no means they are gone….defeated….or any other term one would care to employ.

To illustrate this is the testimony before the House Committee on Homeland Security…..

Thomas JoscelynJune 24, 2020Foundation for Defense of Democracies3www.fdd.org•Al-Qaeda has survived the post-9/11 wars and America’s counterterrorism campaign. The group’s base has spread from South Asia into multiple other countries. Several organizations, often described as al-Qaeda “affiliates,” serve as regional branches. These branches are each led by an emir who swears his allegiance to the head of al-Qaeda. Since Osama bin Laden’s death in May 2011, that leader has been Ayman al-Zawahiri. The official al-Qaeda branches are: al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent,and al-Shabaab in Somalia. To thislist we can add the “Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims” (Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, or JNIM), a wing of AQIM.Hurras al-Din in Syria is also part of al-Qaeda’s network, as are other groups based in Idlib. But al-Qaeda’s chain-of-command in Syria has been upset by a number of internal rivalries, power struggles,and arguments over jihadist strategy.2In addition, al-Qaeda works through other groups that are not official al-Qaeda branches but are nonetheless part of its web. Such groups includethe Pakistani Taliban.Still other jihadist organizations are closely allied with al-Qaeda.•ISIS and al-Qaeda remain locked in a competition for the fealty of jihadists around the globe. Much of this competition will take place at the local level, but international terrorism could play a role in the rivalry, as these groupslook to outbid one another for the affection of would-be jihadists. While there may be some cooperation between individual commanders, the two mother organizations are at odds. ISIS has developed an institutional hatred for al-Qaeda. In some areas, such as Iraq, ISIS is definitively stronger. In other areas, such as Somalia and Yemen, al-Qaeda has the upper hand. In West Africa, the two are currently close in strength, though that can change. Any assessment of relative strength in Syria is difficult due to al-Qaeda’s management problems and other factors. And an assessment of their relative positions in Afghanistan is complicated by the fact that al-Qaeda and affiliated groups areembedded within the Taliban-led insurgency. Al-Qaeda has deliberately sought to mask the extent of its operations in Afghanistan.

Click to access Thomas-Joscelyn-ISIS-AQ-testimony.pdf

Now this is a report issued by the Dept. of State……

Click to access Country-Reports-on-Terrorism-2019-2.pdf

My point is that these groups are not so much in the news these days….but they by NO means have disappeared……

Both reports are worth the read if you think that terrorism is not so much a problem these days…..

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Domestic Terror

Is the chance of a domestic terror attack unlikely?  Will it be a thing of the past?

Most of the terrorist attacks in this country have mostly been from homegrown terrorists….and not all have been zealots…..more than our Fearless leader wants to admit have been Right wing nutcases…..sadly whether you believe it or not our President is not helping the situation………….

Politics quickly eclipsed horror after Robert Bowers allegedly gunned down 11 worshipers at a Pittsburgh synagogue in October. The shooting, the worst anti-Semitic attack in American history, almost immediately became intertwined with Donald Trump’s divisive presidency. While the president appropriately condemned a “wicked act of murder” and anti-Semitism in general, he also quickly veered toward his own domestic political agenda, telling reporters that the shooting was not related to permissive gun laws and, in fact, “if they had some kind of a protection inside the temple, maybe it could have been a very much different situation, but they didn’t. And he was able to do things that unfortunately he shouldn’t have been able to do.”

Progressive Jews in Pittsburgh expressed their anger at the president, circulating a petition asking him not to visit the city because he had failed to condemn white nationalism and had targeted minorities in general. Trump then, of course, tweeted against the “Fake News” media for how they were covering the story.

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/01/right-wing-terrorism-trump-rhetoric.html

Trump’s Department Of Homeland Security has decided that since there are NO domestic terrorists they will shutdown the department that tries to isolate and stop any attacks on the Homeland……..

The Department of Homeland Security has disbanded a group of intelligence analysts who focused on domestic terrorism, The Daily Beast has learned. Numerous current and former DHS officials say they find the development concerning, as the threat of homegrown terrorism—including white supremacist terrorism—is growing.

In the wake of this move, officials said the number of analytic reports produced by DHS about domestic terrorism, including the threat from white supremacists, has dropped significantly. People in and close to the department said this has generated significant concern at headquarters.

“It’s especially problematic given the growth in right-wing extremism and domestic terrorism we are seeing in the U.S. and abroad,” one former intelligence official told The Daily Beast.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/homeland-security-disbands-domestic-terror-intelligence-unit

Maybe this was a duplication of effort…if so then it needs to go….but that is about the only reason I can think of right now……

I know I feel so much safer with Trump in the lead…(that is sarcasm)….how about you?

The Day America Was Attacked

Nope…….. has little do with Pearl Harbor and December of 1941.

Today, Saturday the 21 July, we will celebrate the attack on the US Mainland……as the Gap Band sang…..”Drop A Bomb On Me”……

I know the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and that is the only time America was attacked……well that is a falsehood in all its glory……but then falsehoods are all the rage these days.

The attack occurred on 21 July….100 years ago today…..the Germans attacked the mainland US……..(Do I have your attention now?)

Over 3,000 miles from the trenches and battlefields of the Western Front, where many hundreds of thousands had already died, residents of Orleans, Mass., were enjoying a typical summer morning on July 21, 1918, waiting for the fog to lift off the shore. Then suddenly, a German U-156 submarine broke the surface and brought World War I home. Orleans became the only part of the United States to be shelled by the enemy. For a brief moment, “over there” had become “over here,” the AP reports. Just after 10:30am, the heavy thump of something hitting land signaled the first attack on American soil in 100 years. Nobody was killed and the shells fired at the town landed in a marsh, but a tugboat was badly damaged and three of the four barges it was towing sank.

“I don’t know if it was the first shot or the sound of my feet hitting the floor,” the late Ruben Hopkins, then a 22-year-old guard at Orleans’ lifesaving station No. 40, recalled in a recording. “I was out of my bunk up there in seconds flat.” The submarine escaped as American bombers and flying boats attacked. To this day, it remains a mystery why such an advanced submarine would attack a target that had no real value. While instilling fear in the American public by attacking shipping was a tactic, going so close to shore seemed an undue risk. One theory is that the sub had hoped to cut the underwater communications cable that ran from Orleans to France. A commemoration is planned for Saturday afternoon on Nauset Beach to mark the 100th anniversary.

And now you know more than the average American about the history of their country.

Have a good day….be well, be safe….chuq

Pick And Choose The Intel

Our intel agencies have a plethora of analysts…none of which insert politics into their reports….they only give facts and analyses….that is until we elected a clown as president.

He wants the intel to reflect his words and policies…he does not think that facts are needed before implementing policy….his now infamous immigration ban is one of these times……

A new source of friction has emerged between President Trump and US intelligence officials, this time over his travel ban. A report out of an office in the Department of Homeland Security challenges Trump’s assertion that blocking travelers from seven Mulsim-majority countries will make the nation any safer, reports the AP. The report concludes that “country of citizenship is unlikely to be a reliable indicator of potential terrorist activity,” per the Wall Street Journal. A White House spokesman, however, dismissed the report as shoddy and politically motivated, and said the president is awaiting a more complete one that is “driven by data and intelligence and not politics,” says spokesman Michael Short.

A spokesman for the DHS acknowledged the authenticity of the report by the Office of Intelligence and Analysis, but characterized it as “commentary,” adding, “It is clear on its face that it is an incomplete product that fails to find evidence of terrorism by simply refusing to look at all the available evidence.” With his initial travel ban blocked by federal courts, Trump has promised to issue a revised order next week. And it does appear that a different intel assessment is in the works: Earlier this week, CNN quoted a senior White House official who said the DHS and the Justice Department “are working on an intelligence report that will demonstrate that the security threat for these seven countries is substantial.” The Journal is skeptical. It found that of 180 people charged with “jihadist terrorism-related crimes” in the US, only 11 were from the seven nations in question (Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Yemen, Sudan, and Somalia).

This whole issue is the result of a person that refuses to listen before he speaks or acts……NOT the way to drive policy!

The malignant toads in his camp will illustrate their hatred and bigotry under some bullshit of a cautionary tale of what will happen….none of which is accurate!

Fusion–Word Of The Day

We have added a word to the vocabulary that is a bit confusing…..FUSION.

Most people immediately think of nuclear power and such when the word is mentioned……We have Fusion food, the combining of several different cultures for a unique flavor…..then we have Fusion Jazz, to some it sounds like the musicians are all playing a different song but it is more improv than anything….and finally we have a Fusion Center.

Okay now…what is a Fusion Center?

Basically it is a program under the auspices of the Dept. of Homeland Security……

“A fusion center is a collaborative effort of two or more agencies that provide resources, expertise and information to the center with the goal of maximizing their ability to detect, prevent, investigate, and respond to criminal and terrorist activity.”

Fusion centers contribute to the Information Sharing Environment (ISE) through their role in receiving threat information from the federal government; analyzing that information in the context of their local environment; disseminating that information to local agencies; and gathering tips, leads, and suspicious activity reporting (SAR) from local agencies and the public. Fusion centers receive information from a variety of sources, including SAR from stakeholders within their jurisdictions, as well as federal information and intelligence. They analyze the information and develop relevant products to disseminate to their customers. These products assist homeland security partners at all levels of government to identify and address immediate and emerging threats.

Beyond serving as a focal point for information sharing, fusion centers add significant value to their customers by providing a state and local context to help enhance the national threat picture. Fusion centers provide the federal government with critical state and local information and subject matter expertise that it did not receive in the past – enabling the effective communication of locally generated threat‐related information to the federal government. Integrating and connecting these state and local resources creates a national capacity to gather, process, analyze, and share information in support of efforts to protect the country.

Now that there is a general definition and description of what these are…I shall move one…..this story is by the Future of Freedom Foundation….keep in mind it has a Libertarian tilt to their reporting….

When it comes to mindless excess in the war on terror, it is difficult to compete with the 70+ fusion centers bankrolled by the Department of Homeland Security. They began to be set up around the nation shortly after 9/11 as federal-state-local partnerships to better track terrorist threats. But the centers have been a world-class boondoggle from the start.

Fusion centers have sent the federally funded roundup of data on Americans’ private lives into overdrive. As the Brennan Center for Justice noted in 2012, “Until 9/11, police departments had limited authority to gather information on innocent activity, such as what people say in their houses of worship or at political meetings. Police could only examine this type of First Amendment-protected activity if there was a direct link to a suspected crime. But the attacks of 9/11 led law enforcement to turn this rule on its head.”

Source: A Billion Dollars of Federally Funded Paranoia – The Future of Freedom Foundation

Oh goodie….another government program that gets lots of cash and accomplishes little……the American way.