TUESDAY MAY 13, 2025
McEnany misgenders: Frost wrote of "a house which is no more a house," located in "a town which is no more a town."
Right here, in our own present day, his formulation might be helpful. We Americans live in a nation which is no more a nation—a former nation serviced by public spokespersons who are no more any such thing.
To appearances, Tricia McLaughlin may be one such person. To his credit, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) has now said this about the Homeland Security spokesperson who seems to be something else:
Hakeem Jeffries Angrily Condemns ‘Joke’ DHS Spox For Threatening Arrests of House Democrats
[...]
Jeffries cut in, “It’s a red line. It’s very clear. First of all, I think that the so-called Homeland Security spokesperson is a joke. It’s a joke.”
For the full report from Mediaite, you can just click here.
Jeffries called McLaughlin a joke. Was he perhaps being kind? As we noted yesterday, this is what "the so-called Homeland Security spokesperson" told the world last Friday afternoon, in an official release:
Members of Congress Break into Delaney Hall Detention Center
NEWARK, NJ –Today, as a bus of detainees was entering the security gate of Delaney Hall Detention Center, a group of protestors, including two [sic] members of the U.S. House of Representatives, stormed the gate and broke into the detention facility. Representatives Robert Menendez, Jr. and Bonnie Watson Coleman and multiple protestors are holed up in a guard shack, the first security check point.
“Members of Congress storming into a detention facility goes beyond a bizarre political stunt and puts the safety of our law enforcement agents and detainees at risk. Members of Congress are not above the law and cannot illegally break into detention facilities. Had these members requested a tour, we would have facilitated a tour of the facility. This is an evolving situation,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin.
And so on from there.
In that initial release, McLaughlin misnumbered the numbers of Congress who were present on the scene. She did name two such members, including Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (R-NJ), who is eighty years old.
McLaughlin claimed that Rep. Coleman "stormed the gate and broke into the Newark detention facility." Also, she claimed that the two congressional reps were "holed up in a guard shack, the first security check point," even as she typed.
That was Friday, in real time. The following day, upon reflection, the "spokesperson" who seems to be something different made the story that much better in a statement to CNN:
DHS spokesperson threatens arrests of House Democrats who were at N.J. ICE facility
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security on Saturday suggested the Trump administration could pursue arrests of the House Democrats involved in an incident at a New Jersey Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility on Friday and accused them of assaulting ICE officers.
“I think that we should let viewers know there will likely be more coming,” DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told CNN on Saturday morning.
“We actually have body camera footage of some of these members of Congress assaulting our ICE enforcement officers, including body-slamming a female ICE officer,” McLaughlin said.
[...]
She added that ICE was in possession of video evidence documenting the incident.
By now, McLaughlin almost surely knew that three (3) members of Congress had been present at the scene. By now, their behavior had become even more reprehensible:
"Some of these members of Congress" had actually "body-slammed a female ICE officer," McLaughlin now actually said. She added that ICE had video evidence which documented this unlikely claim.
As of today, no such videotape has been provided. Question:
How likely is it that "some" (2?) members of Congress "body-slammed" a female officer before, or possibly after, they "holed up in a guard shack?"
Presumably, Jeffries was (in part) denouncing McLaughlin for having made those claims. If anything, he may have been too kind in his assessment of McLaughlin
Below, we'll show you the pitiful way McLaughlin has now responded to what Jeffries said. First, we'd like you to see what Kayleigh McEnany said and did yesterday in a guest spot on The Five.
An utterly pointless bit of videotape had already been played. It "documented" exactly nothing. It was a strikingly brief piece of tape.
The various children of The Five began reciting on behalf of their corporate owners. But if McLaughlin had had no idea what she was talking about on Friday, McEnany may have been even more clueless a full three days later.
She was filling in for the dearly departed Judge Jeanine, who's been asked to serve in Washington. No more an actual person, McEnany actually offered what's shown below as that tiny bit of videotape continued to play on the screen:
MCENANY (5/12/25): ...I love the excuse given by Watson Coleman. She's one of the Congresspeople you're watching—or I think it's a "he."
Whatever. I'm sorry if I misgendered.
But they said if there's any body-slamming kind of footage, that footage is manufactured for a certain purpose.
OK! So we're back to cheap fakes. "Don't believe what you're seeing." ....
What viewers were seeing was that very brief bit of videotape, in which no "body slam" exists.
What we were hearing was a graduate of Harvad Law School who didn't have the first freaking idea what she was propagandizing about. Believe it or not, three days later, this was the state of her knowledge:
She seemed to think that Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, an 80-year-old woman, was actually someone named "Watson Coleman," who she seemed to think was a man! Three days after the incident in question, she seemed to have no earthly idea of what had occurred—but she did know what she was being paid to say about the events in question.
As you can see on the videotape from The Five, McEnany was reading from what seemed to be her producer's notes as she tried to determine the gender of the congressional rep to whom she referred. It would be hard to be more clueless than this—or to engage in a more obvious act of fraud against the American people.
At one time, McEnany was a person. Also, she has no lack of basic smarts.
At one time, she was a person! As is often the case, the chase for celebrity, cash and conquest has left her no more a reliable human. She's a graduate of Harvard Law who now lives to repeat the claims she's handed by her owners.
Three days later, McEnany didn't seem to have any idea who she was talking about. That said, it can get even dumber and worse!
As reported by Mediaite, here's the way McLaughlin has responded, this very day, to what Jeffries said:
DHS Spox Snaps Back After Jeffries, AOC Warn Against Arresting House Democrats...
[...]
McLaughlin said:
"I’d like to lay out the facts. The fact that it was these three members of Congress who trespassed, broke the law, and stormed that ICE detention facility. They put law-enforcement at risk. They put our detainees at risk and they put our staff at risk. Had they asked for a tour we would facilitated one for them, but there was no notice. And the fact that they put hands—body-slammed, body-rammed, pushed, shoved, whatever you want to call it, it was an assault on ICE agents and it’s unacceptable."
As of today, the three (3) members of Congress had "body-slammed ICE agents." Those agents are newly plural!
They'd still body-slammed those agents—or maybe they'd simply "shoved" them! With that, McLaughlin offered the watchword of the age:
It's whatever you want to call it!
Will someone please frog-march this former person away? Tribal fury being what it is, she seems like a reliable source no more.
Two final points: Many factual claims remain "undocumented" at this point in time, perhaps for the obvious reason.
For example, did the three members of Congress really "storm the facility?" As she abandons her "body slam" claim, the public servant who's no more any such thing is clinging to that assertion!
As for the Harvard Law School graduate—in the course of one brief shining moment, she went from a "she" to an "it" to a "he" to a "they" as she tried to "gender" a certain member of Congress. All in all, she didn't seem entirely clear about what had actually happened.
Back then, she went to Harvard Law. Today, she's committing fraud against the American people as part of a discourse which is no more a discourse, within a broken, braindead land which is no more a land.
They're being paid to behave these ways. Over here in Blue America, our highly educated press elites maintain their magisterial silence.
At the top of Blue America's press, no one wants to report this state of affairs. Is all of this who we are?
So you have DHS reporting that Ice was assaulted ( to whatever extent was possible for McIver, Menendez and Coleman) but a politically aligned talk show was supposed to hold their powder on this story?
ReplyDeleteIce assaulted them. Jerk.
DeleteAnonymouse 7:11pm, neither one of us knows that. We do know that some politicians and regular joes trespassed onto government property and were impeded by law enforcement.
DeleteTrespassed? Congress people ARE the government.
DeleteAnonymouse 7:50pm, fine. Let them and their voter base go bust into CIA offices or Fort Knox.
DeleteThe video corroboration that "storming the facility" occurred is as likely to be made publicly available as the Epstein tapes.
DeleteIf you believe what DHS or ICE report without video evidence, I have some knuckle tattoos to sell you. Come to think of it, it can’t be their video evidence.
Delete"We do know that some politicians and regular joes trespassed onto government property"
DeleteDo we?
They didn’t name McIvers.
ReplyDeleteI’m not sure McIver wasn’t named. She seems to be busting it up right here.
ReplyDeletehttps://x.com/bubblebathgirl/status/1920989822417604790?s=46&t=oYvKLjVc8YzJIvwKoQTYBQ.
"Also, she has no lack of basic smarts."
ReplyDeleteIs that right?
QiB, are you suggesting that Bob committed political sacrilege by saying that McEnany has “basic smarts” or that McEnany is too dumb to be culpable?
ReplyDeleteMcEnany graduated from Georgetown and had further education at Oxford.
DeleteSo she knows full well she is lying and propagandizing, DiC.
Delete7:41 George W. Bush got degrees from Yale and Harvard.
DeleteLiterally shaking that David Hogg is under attack by the DNC for being too masculine to represent the party.
ReplyDeleteI'm outraged that the liberal media doesn't see how useful the plane from Qatar will be in helping Trump drain the swamp.
DeleteQatar could have just been honest about Republican voters being all bigots, if they wanted to give Trump a gift.
DeleteCynical Publius's opinion: This EO is a big deal. Trump is forcing the federal government to spell out everything that is a crime under federal law. The other thing the EO does is to force the government to add a "mens rea" element to most of these "crimes"; i.e., you have to be aware of the fact that you are committing a crime in order for it to be a crime.
ReplyDeleteThus, if you decide to build a pond on your property and the EPA has some obscure regulation saying that is a crime, you would need to be aware of the criminal nature of the act before you did it in order to be guilty of anything.
Here's the EO itself https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/05/fighting-overcriminalization-in-federal-regulations/
I wonder whether the President has the legal power to unilaterally change all these regulations.
Sounds patently ridiculous. Claiming ignorance of the law does not confer immunity.
DeleteTrump lifts sanctions on Syria after Syrian President pitches a “Trump tower Damascus”
ReplyDeleteThat’s how it’s done, my friend. Good governance, caudillo style.
That an 80-year old woman can push around the entire modern conservative movement, like it was a 85 pound weakling, is not news.
ReplyDeleteThis is the same group of people who have been collecting arms to fight government tyranny, and are now hiding under their beds shaking in fear that someone might call them "woke", if they try it.
DeleteI miss AC/ MA pretending he isn't woke.
ReplyDeleteIt would be better to use the traditional descriptions for the concept of “woke”— pretentious, performative, hippy-dippy, faddish, posturing.
ReplyDeletePoor AC/ MA. Called out for his performative, posing and posturing as an anti-woker, because he can't tell us exactly which group of people shouldn't have their rights protected.
DeleteI haven't been lied to like this, since I was told there is a Republican voter who isn't a bigot.
Delete"I was told there is a Republican voter who isn't a bigot."
DeleteThe Right isn't even trying to win the debate anymore.
Once they get you to believe in something as ridiculous as God, getting you to believe there is a Republican voter who isn't a bigot, is a cakewalk.
DeleteAnonymouse 9:05am, lucky for you, because the rest of us have to watch you scam and posture here every day.
DeleteCecelia,
DeleteThat's why they pay you the big money.
Cecelia thought his job would be ice cream, candy, and pretending there is a Republican voter who isn't a bigot.
DeleteHe's just finding out there is more to it.
They pay me in Walmart coupons.
DeleteAnonymouse 9:24am, no, I was always fully aware that I’d have to wade thru anonymouse droppings.
DeleteOf course. That’s part of your job description, Cecelia. Otherwise, you wouldn’t “have” to do anything at all about the comments here.
DeleteAnonymouse 10:00am, I’m aware of that. I’m here because I like it. It’s not for a paycheck or a political cause.
DeleteThere is nothing a Right-winger enjoys more than playing the victim.
DeleteWho knew?
While corrupt elitist Trump celebrates the saudis, there’s this:
ReplyDelete“Manahel al-Otaibi: Saudi women's rights activist jailed for 11 years”
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-68934913
These gangsters are doing terrible things -- murder, drugs, extortion. Getting them off our streets is indeed important.
ReplyDeleteA group of gunmen fired into a crowded bar, hitting five Venezuelan migrants suspected of being members of the Tren De Aragua gang. Two of the TDA members died during the attack, while three others sustained injuries.
Local journalist Carlos Jimenez reported that the five victims are known TDA members and that the Venezuelan gang had been working with the local cartel La Unión de Tepito. The attack is believed to have been carried out by the Anti-Union gang. This criminal organization has been fighting with La Unión de Tepito for control of drug distribution territories and extortion rackets.
As Sowell loves to point out, everything is a tradeoff. More comprehensive civil liberties procedures also means more murders, extortions and drug deaths.
This happened in Mexico City. Is there some reason why you didn't state that, David? These are not "our streets".
DeleteDavid, this is an "act of fraud" on your part.
DeleteThanks 10:33. I didn't notice that. But, my point still stands. These gangsters do terrible things.
Deleteyou're such a dishonest little cunt, David.
DeleteThis happened in Mexico City. Is there some reason why you didn't state that, David? These are not "our streets".
DeleteYes, there's a reason. Although, I figured that out anyway, since it didn't make the news.
Here's one that did happen in the US
Deletehttps://nypost.com/2025/05/14/us-news/south-carolina-arrests-six-illegal-migrants-in-murder-of-mom-larisha-sharrell-thompson/
I don't expect much of a media fuss. Liberals should be particularly upset because the innocent victim was a black woman. But, liberal morality is based on a scale of victimhood. They may consider illegal immigrants to be bigger victims than black Americans.
No one has ever claimed that undocumented migrants never commit crimes, nor that they aren't people, as are those born here or coming legally. All murders are tragic, no matter who commits them. The fact remains that illegal migrants commit far fewer crimes, especially violent crimes, than legal immigrants and about half as many as native born citizens of the US.
DeleteYour race baiting is noted. It would make more sense if there were anyone here or anywhere else saying the things you attribute to liberals. For example, who has said that illegal immigrants are bigger victims than black murder victims? Or black Americans? No one to my knowledge.
Using this poor woman's death as a platform for your own racism is despicable.
Note that the arrest of these six people does not mean they are necessarily guilty. They should be tried to determine their guilt. Somerby used to be a stickler for referring to accusations as "alleged" instead of saying they did it. In this case, the same bullets were found at two separate crimes, one of which had a video of the men and boys attempting to rob a convenience store. Proving that the same gun was used in both crimes is necessary to tie these 6 people to the random murder. If they threw away the gun, then anyone could have found it and used it in an unrelated crime. That remains for the trial to explore.
You say "here's one that did happen in the US" but the question is, here is one what? There is no suggestion of gang involvement, nor any sign of professionalism in their actions (as described by police and the NY Post).
When are we going to do something abut the violent, criminalizing toxic masculinity problem this nation is soaking in?
DeleteAlso, is there a reason the Right uses such narrow paint brushes?
The story David posted bears watching.
DeleteThe NY Post picked up their report from Fox News, according to their byline. It's not clear if the sensational lede reporting that the suspects are "illegal immigrants" was added by Fox or the Post.
The story the Post ran repeats much of the information from a local South Carolina Fox affiliate. Both stories quote the local sheriff's department saying, "All six arrested or detained are subject to removal from the United States under federal immigration law based on their immigration status."
That could mean they're in the country illegally. Then again, it might not. DHS has recently attempted to deport several people "based on their immigration status" who were not in the country illegally.
Hold your water until we see the facts.
I haven't seen much follow up on the story where the sheriff walked into the judge's office -- the judge was a friend of his -- and shot him to death. Yet another crime committed by non-illegal immigrants! Outrageous that we are not up in arms about that.
DeleteThese immigrants who stand accused of murder will be tried and incarcerated in the US -- because they are subject to jurisdiction of thereof. This implies that immigrants kidnapped and imprisoned in El Salvador had committed no crimes.
Compare: ICE left a 12-year old boy stranded, although he got home safely. Gangsters shot several people to death in a bar. (see above.) These are not of equal importance.
ReplyDeleteMy comment describing the ICE actions has apparently been disappeared again. Thank you for referencing it, David, since Somerby apparently doesn't want to see any more descriptions of ICE overstepping and harming innocent people.
DeleteThis morning I also got banned from Political Wire for disagreeing with Taegan Goddard over Biden's fitness while in office. He is promoting Tapper's new book attacking Biden's presidency. It doesn't appear until May 20, but is already on the NY Times bestseller list, suggesting that lots of people are buying it before its release. I found out that there are several other anti-Biden hit books with less backing and interest. I hope these guys are proud to be listed among the worst partisan garbage churned out by the right wing. I hope the money was worth it.
Somerby often disappears my posts which show the Right isn't arguing in good faith.
DeleteMust be a habit of "we liberals", I haven't been taught yet.
So, ICE agents are not as bad as gangsters? Well, that's encouraging, albeit still debatable.
DeleteIt is crazy that my state welcomes people who come here illegally. It is crazy that I, as a taxpayer, cover their medical costs. The state is billions of dollars in the hole. But, our Governor understands the problem. It's Trump's fault. "The changes are part of Newsom’s May revise to be unveiled Wednesday and aimed at addressing a $16 billion shortfall blamed on President Donald Trump’s tariffs, as well as..."
ReplyDeleteRead more at: https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article306354656.html#storylink=cpy
You benefit an order of magnitude above the miniscule taxes you may pay for medical costs by these migrant workers in California.
DeleteAn incisive analysis of how misinformation can be weaponized to undermine public trust. The evolution of the narrative surrounding the incident at the New Jersey detention facility highlights the dangers of unchecked rhetoric and the importance of accountability in public communication. It's crucial that we demand transparency and integrity from those in positions of power to preserve the credibility of our institutions.
ReplyDeleteFor those interested in enhancing their digital presence and ensuring their voices are heard, I recommend Greaterdhan, a digital marketing agency in Coimbatore. They specialize in SEO, social media marketing, and content strategies tailored to thought leaders and organizations aiming to make a positive impact.
Somerby, please remove this commercial spam.
DeleteWith all due respect, go peddle your goddamn crap elsewhere. We prefer dealing with honest trolls.
DeletePlease don’t remove it, Bob. Don’t lift a finger.
DeleteThis information awesome guide for us. D.
ReplyDeleteGood work! D.
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ReplyDelete