Who is supporting the immigrant caravan?

[seacoaster]

It sure seems stupid. But does anyone know if it's legal?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national ... as-border/

"South Dakota Gov. Kristi L. Noem (R) will deploy up to 50 National Guard troops to the southern U.S. border, her office said Tuesday, with a highly unusual caveat — the mission will be funded by a “private donation” from an out-of-state GOP megadonor billionaire.

The Guard members will deploy in response to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s plea to augment border security with law enforcement resources from other states, Noem’s office said in a statement.

Like Abbott (R), Noem is a close ally of former president Donald Trump, whose focus on illegal immigration spurred his controversial deployment of military personnel to the U.S.-Mexico border and remains a pillar of the Republican Party’s political platform. In a statement, she blasted the Biden administration over its immigration policies, which Trump and fellow conservatives have denounced as weak and ineffective.

Privately funding a military mission is an affront to civilian oversight of the armed forces, said military and oversight experts, describing the move — a Republican governor sending troops to a Republican-led state, paid for by a Republican donor — as likely unprecedented and unethical.

“You certainly don’t want our national security priorities up to the highest bidder,” said Mandy Smithberger, a defense accountability expert at the Project on Government Oversight, a nonprofit government watchdog.

About 3,600 service members are already on the border supporting Department of Homeland Security operations, the vast majority of whom are National Guard troops carrying out federal orders, defense officials said. Abbott’s request, and Noem’s fulfillment, is for a separate state-led mission overseen by Texas officials.

Ian Fury, a spokesperson for Noem, said the undisclosed amount was paid to the state of South Dakota by Willis and Reba Johnson’s Foundation, a Tennessee-based nonprofit that donates to various groups, including churches and the National Rifle Association, according to 2018 tax filings. Willis Johnson has donated to GOP campaigns for decades, including at least $550,000 to Trump in 2019 and 2020, filings show.

In a brief interview, Johnson said his donation “100 percent” was meant to fund the border deployment. He declined to say how much he paid the state, or whether Noem approached him or he acted on his own accord.

“I want to protect America and that’s it,” Johnson said.

More than 180,000 people were taken into custody for crossing the border illegally in May, the highest one month total in two decades, as the Biden administration has undone some of Trump’s hard-line policies and struggles to find solutions that will abate the surge.

The South Dakota Guard members are deploying on state active-duty orders, Guard officials said, which means Noem is their commander in chief for the mission. As such, they are permitted to act in law enforcement capacities, which is forbidden for Guard members serving on federal mobilization.

The initial deployment will last 30 to 60 days, Noem’s office said, but it did not provide a further timeline.

But the mission’s political overtones, underscored by the growing speculation that Noem may consider a run for the White House, poses a significant problem for civilian-military relations, said Katherine L. Kuzminski, a military policy expert at Center for a New American Security, a Washington think tank.

If Noem had decided it was a national-security priority to augment border operations, she could have found a lever to federalize her troops to support the DHS-led mission, Kuzminski said. Moreover, the governor’s method — using a private donation rather than taxpayer money — sidesteps potential questions from her constituents about the deployment’s cost and purpose.

“This subverts that the military is the instrument of the people,” Kuzminski said. “This puts a marker on individual soldiers as mercenaries they may not be comfortable with.”

The South Dakota National Guard did not say whether troops will volunteer for the mission, whether they will be involuntarily activated, or whether they have been informed about the nature of the funding.

“They owe the troops some transparency,” said Rachel E. VanLandingham, president of the National Institute of Military Justice and a former Air Force attorney. “I would want to know who is paying me.”

[dislaxxic]

Wait...According to MAGA Nation...Noem is one of the best Governors in the Nation.

...so, if you go out and question this activity, you must hate America...is that the tune we're whistling here?

..

[kramerica.inc]

America has had an increased rise in illegal immigration from Mexico.
Forget checking for criminal history. Should the US screen for illegal racists and homophobes entering the country?
https://www.aol.com/news/mexico-tries-k ... --sow.html

Together with the Mexican first division, Liga MX, the federation has launched a campaign to achieve the seemingly impossible: kick the chant "Eeeeeh, puto!" out of Mexican football.

It will not be easy, as fans proved during Mexico's 3-1 win over Panama last week in Mexico City.

"It's not right to forbid us from chanting it. It's part of our culture. It's not hurting anyone," said Eusebio Valdez, a 52-year-old fan cheering on "El Tri" at Mexico's largest stadium, the Estadio Azteca.

"Every country has its own instantly recognizable chant. They're called war cries," Valdez told AFP.

FIFA, the FMF and the Mexican government disagree.

"Football has a giant megaphone. It has enormous public visibility. If we allow discrimination in football, we're condoning it in other areas, too," said Alexandra Haas, head of the National Council to Prevent Discrimination (CONAPRED), a government body that is working with the FMF on its campaign.

"Puto" literally means a male prostitute. But in Mexican Spanish it roughly translates as "faggot," and is widely used to insult someone's masculinity.

According to the local sports press, Mexican fans first began shouting it at matches in 2003, at a derby between Atlas and Chivas, the two top teams in Mexico's second city, Guadalajara.

The chant spread quickly, soon arriving at Mexican national team matches.

[Matnum PI]

"It's not right to forbid us from chanting it. It's part of our culture. It's not hurting anyone," said Eusebio Valdez, a 52-year-old fan cheering on "El Tri" at Mexico's largest stadium, the Estadio Azteca.

I think gays and others would beg to differ.

As a semi-aside, it's not uncommon for the US National Team captain to wear a rainbow armband to show his and the US team's solidarity and support for the gay community. For yesterday's Germany-England match, both captains wore rainbow armbands. The World Soccer stage is enormous. (Substantially bigger than the NFL.) The number of eyeballs that World Soccer draws is like nothing else. And, though seemingly insignificant, whether the actions being taken are taking a knee before a game (to combat racism), wearing a rainbow armband (to combat homophobia), or meet out punishments for fans that engage in racist, sexist, homophobic, anti-Semitic chants, these actions matter. Big time. People watching the games, especially children, are greatly effected by the actions of the World Soccer stars, what happens on these world stages. As for those who do not support fighting back against racism, sexism, homophobia, etc., it appears that they may be on the wrong side of history. Including Eusebio Valdez.

[seacoaster]

Pretty good critique of Kristi’s public privately funded militia:

https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/amp/ncna127 ... ssion=true

[old salt]

Pretty good critique of Kristi’s public privately funded militia:

https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/amp/ncna127 ... ssion=true

The specter of red state armies vs. blue state armies seemed more than a little ominous.

Will this be the new Ft Sumter ? Will the SD NG have to drive their Humvees through IL, where they could be blocked by Gov Pritzker's IL NG ?

Too bad the DC Mayor does not have command of the DC National Guard. She could send the newly formed DC ANG Capitol QRF to the border to block the arriving South Dakota militia. ...but somebody else would have to pick up the tab for their hotel rooms.

FL & GA have already sent NG troops to augment the TX NG on the border.

States don't control air space, but imagine skirmishes between plane changing red state militia with defending blue state militia in terminals like O'hare.

[old salt]

America has had an increased rise in illegal immigration from Mexico.
Forget checking for criminal history. Should the US screen for illegal racists and homophobes entering the country?
https://www.aol.com/news/mexico-tries-k ... --sow.html

Together with the Mexican first division, Liga MX, the federation has launched a campaign to achieve the seemingly impossible: kick the chant "Eeeeeh, puto!" out of Mexican football.

It will not be easy, as fans proved during Mexico's 3-1 win over Panama last week in Mexico City.

"Puto" literally means a male prostitute. But in Mexican Spanish it roughly translates as "faggot," and is widely used to insult someone's masculinity.

According to the local sports press, Mexican fans first began shouting it at matches in 2003, at a derby between Atlas and Chivas, the two top teams in Mexico's second city, Guadalajara.

The chant spread quickly, soon arriving at Mexican national team matches.

Combined with taking a knee, it could be a powerful message.

[PizzaSnake]

It sure seems stupid. But does anyone know if it's legal?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national ... as-border/

"South Dakota Gov. Kristi L. Noem (R) will deploy up to 50 National Guard troops to the southern U.S. border, her office said Tuesday, with a highly unusual caveat — the mission will be funded by a “private donation” from an out-of-state GOP megadonor billionaire.

The Guard members will deploy in response to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s plea to augment border security with law enforcement resources from other states, Noem’s office said in a statement.

Like Abbott (R), Noem is a close ally of former president Donald Trump, whose focus on illegal immigration spurred his controversial deployment of military personnel to the U.S.-Mexico border and remains a pillar of the Republican Party’s political platform. In a statement, she blasted the Biden administration over its immigration policies, which Trump and fellow conservatives have denounced as weak and ineffective.

Privately funding a military mission is an affront to civilian oversight of the armed forces, said military and oversight experts, describing the move — a Republican governor sending troops to a Republican-led state, paid for by a Republican donor — as likely unprecedented and unethical.

“You certainly don’t want our national security priorities up to the highest bidder,” said Mandy Smithberger, a defense accountability expert at the Project on Government Oversight, a nonprofit government watchdog.

About 3,600 service members are already on the border supporting Department of Homeland Security operations, the vast majority of whom are National Guard troops carrying out federal orders, defense officials said. Abbott’s request, and Noem’s fulfillment, is for a separate state-led mission overseen by Texas officials.

Ian Fury, a spokesperson for Noem, said the undisclosed amount was paid to the state of South Dakota by Willis and Reba Johnson’s Foundation, a Tennessee-based nonprofit that donates to various groups, including churches and the National Rifle Association, according to 2018 tax filings. Willis Johnson has donated to GOP campaigns for decades, including at least $550,000 to Trump in 2019 and 2020, filings show.

In a brief interview, Johnson said his donation “100 percent” was meant to fund the border deployment. He declined to say how much he paid the state, or whether Noem approached him or he acted on his own accord.

“I want to protect America and that’s it,” Johnson said.

More than 180,000 people were taken into custody for crossing the border illegally in May, the highest one month total in two decades, as the Biden administration has undone some of Trump’s hard-line policies and struggles to find solutions that will abate the surge.

The South Dakota Guard members are deploying on state active-duty orders, Guard officials said, which means Noem is their commander in chief for the mission. As such, they are permitted to act in law enforcement capacities, which is forbidden for Guard members serving on federal mobilization.

The initial deployment will last 30 to 60 days, Noem’s office said, but it did not provide a further timeline.

But the mission’s political overtones, underscored by the growing speculation that Noem may consider a run for the White House, poses a significant problem for civilian-military relations, said Katherine L. Kuzminski, a military policy expert at Center for a New American Security, a Washington think tank.

If Noem had decided it was a national-security priority to augment border operations, she could have found a lever to federalize her troops to support the DHS-led mission, Kuzminski said. Moreover, the governor’s method — using a private donation rather than taxpayer money — sidesteps potential questions from her constituents about the deployment’s cost and purpose.

“This subverts that the military is the instrument of the people,” Kuzminski said. “This puts a marker on individual soldiers as mercenaries they may not be comfortable with.”

The South Dakota National Guard did not say whether troops will volunteer for the mission, whether they will be involuntarily activated, or whether they have been informed about the nature of the funding.

“They owe the troops some transparency,” said Rachel E. VanLandingham, president of the National Institute of Military Justice and a former Air Force attorney. “I would want to know who is paying me.”

“The South Dakota Guard members are deploying on state active-duty orders, Guard officials said, which means Noem is their commander in chief for the mission. As such, they are permitted to act in law enforcement capacities, which is forbidden for Guard members serving on federal mobilization.”

How is Noem going to command her troops in law enforcement activities in another state along a federal border? What will the “rules of engagement” be?

Nothing to go awry here...

[old salt]

Pretty good critique of Kristi’s public privately funded militia:

https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/amp/ncna127 ... ssion=true

The specter of red state armies vs. blue state armies seemed more than a little ominous.

Will this be the new Ft Sumter ? Will the SD NG have to drive their Humvees through IL, where they could be blocked by Gov Pritzker's IL NG ?

Too bad the DC Mayor does not have command of the DC National Guard. She could send the newly formed DC ANG Capitol QRF to the border to block the arriving South Dakota militia. ...but somebody else would have to pick up the tab for their hotel rooms.

FL & GA have already sent NG troops to augment the TX NG on the border.

States don't control air space, but imagine skirmishes between plane changing red state militia with defending blue state militia in terminals like O'hare.

I'm surprised that the Biden Admin, acting through DoD, did not find a way to block the FL & GA NG deployments.
Maybe they're so gun shy about their border failure, they don't want to draw any more attention to it.
Maybe they're grateful for the added manpower, without having to answer to AOC & the squad.
Given the SD NG funding issue, I doubt they can continue to ignore these deployments much longer & not try to block them.
The TX DPS can put these additional Guardsmen to work rescuing migrants before they drown.

[cradleandshoot]

"It's not right to forbid us from chanting it. It's part of our culture. It's not hurting anyone," said Eusebio Valdez, a 52-year-old fan cheering on "El Tri" at Mexico's largest stadium, the Estadio Azteca.

I think gays and others would beg to differ.

As a semi-aside, it's not uncommon for the US National Team captain to wear a rainbow armband to show his and the US team's solidarity and support for the gay community. For yesterday's Germany-England match, both captains wore rainbow armbands. The World Soccer stage is enormous. (Substantially bigger than the NFL.) The number of eyeballs that World Soccer draws is like nothing else. And, though seemingly insignificant, whether the actions being taken are taking a knee before a game (to combat racism), wearing a rainbow armband (to combat homophobia), or meet out punishments for fans that engage in racist, sexist, homophobic, anti-Semitic chants, these actions matter. Big time. People watching the games, especially children, are greatly effected by the actions of the World Soccer stars, what happens on these world stages. As for those who do not support fighting back against racism, sexism, homophobia, etc., it appears that they may be on the wrong side of history. Including Eusebio Valdez.

I began to question how sincere the outrage was in the gay community after that TV show " queer eye for the strait guy" you can't pick and choose what phrases are slanderous and what ones are cool. In my day queer was the thing as calling someone a f****t.

[Matnum PI]

...you can't pick and choose what phrases are slanderous and what ones are cool. In my day queer was the thing as calling someone a f****t.

You can pick and choose (words are complicated, some words have power, and some words can be vicious) and words meanings change over time. In your day, gays were treated horribly.

[cradleandshoot]

...you can't pick and choose what phrases are slanderous and what ones are cool. In my day queer was the thing as calling someone a f****t.

You can pick and choose (words are complicated, some words have power, and some words can be vicious) and words meanings change over time. In your day, gays were treated horribly.

Back in the late 70s gay people were treated terribly by my generation. Certain terminology suddenly becomes acceptable and i don't understand why. In the late 70s queer and hag were interchangeable derogatory terms used against gay people. If you use the term f****t today you will be judged as a racist/homophobe. You can use the term queer and that is somehow in someway acceptable and almost cute. Maybe I am just too old to differentiate between the 2 terms. Queer eye for the strait guy is one of those examples that still confounds me. What an insulting name for a TV show but nobody said boo about it.

[Matnum PI]

Maybe I am just too old to differentiate between the 2 terms.

Not too old. Just old so you've seen changes. And, today, you see the difference, you see where the sensitivities lie. That's good.

[Matnum PI]

FWIW, like you, I also don't use the word queer...

[cradleandshoot]

FWIW, I also don't use the word queer...

Neither do I. When i was in HS a close friend of mind was gay. The worst day of his life may have been our senior prom having to take a girl to the dance and pretend it did not bother him.

[cradleandshoot]

Maybe I am just too old to differentiate between the 2 terms.

Not too old. Just old so you've seen changes. And, today, you see the difference, you see where the sensitivities lie. That's good.

I think so too.

[Matnum PI]

Neither do I. When i was in HS a close friend of mind was gay. The worst day of his life may have been our senior prom having to take a girl to the dance and pretend it did not bother him.

he was out in HS? Or just out with you (and few others)?

[cradleandshoot]

Neither do I. When i was in HS a close friend of mind was gay. The worst day of his life may have been our senior prom having to take a girl to the dance and pretend it did not bother him.

he was out in HS? Or just out with you (and few others)?

Just with me and a few friends. He would have been terrified to come out in 1976.

[Matnum PI]

Neither do I. When i was in HS a close friend of mind was gay. The worst day of his life may have been our senior prom having to take a girl to the dance and pretend it did not bother him.

he was out in HS? Or just out with you (and few others)?

Just with me and a few friends. He would have been terrified to come out in 1976.

And for good reason. That's super impressive Old Salt. Courageous guy and there must be something special about you that he trusted you with this information. That's great.

[MDlaxfan76]

Neither do I. When i was in HS a close friend of mind was gay. The worst day of his life may have been our senior prom having to take a girl to the dance and pretend it did not bother him.

he was out in HS? Or just out with you (and few others)?

Just with me and a few friends. He would have been terrified to come out in 1976.

And for good reason. That's super impressive Old Salt. Courageous guy and there must be something special about you that he trusted you with this information. That's great.

I think you're talking to cradle, not Old Salt.

Good story, cradle. I didn't have any friends who were 'out' in '76, though the following year a friend visited our college with his singing group and told me, though it's not as if it had been difficult to guess. Very good guy, well liked in HS, just not 'out'; went to NYC, on stage, acting, singing, directing...died at tail end of HIV. Tragic. Several others came out much later...had a very tough time in HS. One, very angry about it, I persuaded to come to our 25th reunion party at our home...sure enough warmly accepted, he's now very much re-engaged with our school, as well as class. Times change.