Black people are scary, but she’s not Black enough. Let’s make her cry, too.
The White House posted a digitally altered image of a woman who was arrested on Thursday in a case touted by the US attorney general, Pam Bondi , to make it seem as if she was dramatically crying, a Guardian analysis of the image has found.
The woman, Nekima Levy Armstrong, also appears to have darker skin in the altered image. Armstrong was one of three people arrested on Thursday in connection to a demonstration that disrupted church services in St Paul, Minnesota, on Sunday. Demonstrators alleged that one of the pastors, David Easterwood, was the acting field director of the St Paul Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office. Bondi announced the arrests on social media on Thursday morning.
The homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem , posted an image of Armstrong’s arrest at 10.21am on Thursday, less than an hour after Bondi’s announcement. The image shows a law enforcement agent, face blurred out, escorting Armstrong, who appears to be handcuffed. Armstrong, dressed in all black, appears to be composed in the picture.
A little more than 30 minutes later, the White House posted another image of Armstrong’s arrest in which she is crying. The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, reposted the image. The image posted by the White House is altered, a Guardian analysis found.
Yeah, Bondi. You’re going to be gone before you hit forty scaramuccies. Nice touch, on the White House’s part, though, equating dark complexion with criminality.
Evidently five-year olds are scary, too.
Vice President JD Vance on Thursday defended the detainment of a 5-year-old boy by federal agents and said the Trump administration does not believe the Insurrection Act is needed amid unrest over immigration enforcement in Minnesota.
Vance’s comments come as outrage swelled over Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents taking into custody four students under the age of 18 in the Minneapolis suburb of Columbia Heights. School officials said Liam Conejo Ramos, a preschooler, and his father were detained in their driveway after school on Tuesday.
When an adult known to the family offered to take Liam, ICE agents refused and instead led the boy to his front door and ordered him to knock – “essentially using a 5-year-old as bait,” according to a news release from Columbia Heights Public Schools .
Bait? Using a child as bait? And what evil did the person they’re fishing for do?
Vance on Thursday said ICE was targeting the boy’s father, an undocumented immigrant from Ecuador, who federal officials accuse of trying to flee from immigration agents. The man’s attorney vehemently denied federal officials’ account of the arrest and said the man was in the country legally, awaiting asylum.
Ah, he committed the crime of following the law by asking for asylum.
Jack Smith will likely need to hire private security now.
Former special counsel Jack Smith, testifying Thursday before the GOP-led House Judiciary Committee, was unequivocal about who caused the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
“Our investigation revealed that Donald Trump is the person who caused Jan. 6, that it was foreseeable to him and that he sought to exploit the violence,” Smith testified. “We followed the facts and we followed the law – where that led us was to an indictment of an unprecedented criminal scheme to block the peaceful transfer of power.”
If you don’t think Rip van Simple’s supporters are violent, let me remind you of the incident Jack Smith was investigating.
Or you can read about the fireworks at the hearing. (The bolding is mine.)
Extremist Ivan Raiklin was in the hearing where Smith was testifying publicly for the first time on his investigations into Trump.
During one of the recesses, Raiklin approached retired Metropolitan Police officer Michael Fanone, who has testified about being beaten and tasered while defending the U.S. Capitol on January 6.
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It all began when Raikin walked up toward Fanone and could be heard saying, “Hey, Michael.”
Fanone glanced over and responded, “Hey, what’s up, buddy?” before saying, “Go f— yourself” as Raiklin introduced himself by name.
“Why do you have to swear at me?” Raiklin kept going as Fanone started to turn away.
“Oh dude, don’t pretend like we’re not mortal enemies,” Fanone responded. “Go f— yourself.”
Raiklin continued to taunt Fanone. He could be heard asking him why he was “so spasmodic.”
At that point, former U.S. Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn quickly stepped in and tried to pull Fanone away as Fanone accused Raiklin of being a traitor to the U.S.
“You’ve threatened my family and you’ve threatened my life. You’re a traitor to this f—ing country. Go f— yourself,” Fanone said in a low voice, pointing his finger at Raiklin.
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“This guy’s threatened my family, threatened my children,” Fanone said. “Threatened to rape my children, rape my children, you sick b-----d.”
Seems as though one judge believes the big beautiful ballroom is one big barrel of bull.
A federal judge heard arguments Thursday in Washington over the legality of the White House ballroom’s construction.
While U.S. District Judge Richard Leon did not rule from the bench, promising a decision next month, his comments during arguments left little doubt about what way he was leaning.
Attorney Thad Heuer, representing the nonprofit National Trust for Historic Preservation, a group that works to protect U.S. historic sites, argued that the president does not have the constitutional authority to tear down the East Wing of the White House and construct a ballroom.
“He’s not the owner” of the White House, Heuer said.
Leon appeared to agree, saying, “He’s the steward.”
There was a great deal of discussion about the funding mechanism for the project. Leon compared it several times to a “Rube Goldberg Contraption,” because of the novel way the Trump administration is avoiding direct congressional authorization for the project.
My favorite part of the article is this comment from the judge. The bolding is mine.
Roth also cited the White House pool President Gerald Ford built in 1975 and the White House Tennis Complex as two structures on the White House grounds that didn’t get direct congressional authorization.
Leon appeared skeptical of that line of argument. “The ’70s Ford pool? You compare that to ripping down the East Wing?” Leon asked. “C’mon, be serious.”
The felon’s selling another country’s oil to, you guessed it, China.
WASHINGTON, Jan 22 (Reuters) - The Trump administration is allowing China to purchase Venezuelan oil but not at “unfair, undercut” prices at which Caracas sold the crude before the U.S. removed President Nicolas Maduro, a U.S. official said on Thursday.
While the oil will be sold in the global marketplace, the administration has required that the majority be sold to the United States, the administration official said on condition of anonymity. The U.S. says it will control Venezuela’s oil sales indefinitely after seizing Maduro on January 3.
Rip puts the “Simple” in “van Simple” (The bolding is mine.)
President Donald Trump was left sputtering for a moment on Wednesday after dramatically backtracking on threats to take over Greenland.
The president was confronted about his announcement that a “framework” had been reached for a future deal regarding the Danish territory.
“Does it still include the United States having ownership of Greenland, like you’ve said you wanted?” asked CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on the sidelines of Davos.
The president paused, then sighed as he tried to figure out how to respond.
“Uhhh, it’s a long-term deal,” Trump said, drawing out the word long. “It’s the ultimate long-term deal , and I think it puts everybody in a really good position, especially as it pertains to security.”
I remind you he’s been convicted of thirty-four frauds. He’s a convicted conman. A conman’s view of the “ultimate deal” is not what one should want to hear from a sitting president.
But, wait, he’s not done wording .
