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Crossing the street on foot the other day, a terrible thought crossed my mind.
It was a vision, actually: of my offspring broiling in a remote tent city under the blazing Southwest sun at the behest of Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
You see, I was committing a crime at the time — jaywalking.
Sure, it’s just a Class A traffic infraction, but I’d better stop it anyway. Based on the “zero tolerance” policy modeled by the Trump administration, one day my family could be ripped away from me for insubordination in the presence of pedestrian signals.
As of this writing, since April about 2,000 children have been separated from their families when they arrived illegally in this country.
Their parents have committed a crime, proclaimed Sessions, grinning as he invoked Romans 13 about obeying the government.
Well. Immigration experts point out that 90 percent of these offenders are charged with misdemeanors. Yikes. Where is that crosswalk?
Previously, back when people with a conscience governed our land, families like these were assigned civil hearings that led to deportation or other remedies. Sounds civil.
Zero tolerance? What the Trump administration is doing is child abuse. It’s the language of bayonets and the Gestapo.
Our president says he hates it. Then he says it’s the fault of laws passed by the Democrats. That’s a lie, or least a claim that can’t be affirmed by any fact-checker not on Fox News’ payroll.
Anyway, Trump has never needed facts to explain anything he does.
Zero tolerance: It sounds velvety tripping off the tongue but invariably results in abrasions and abominations, like a second-grader treated as a criminal for possessing a butter knife at school.
Sessions’ justification of his policy is that it sends a message to potential violators. I can’t argue with that.
Sessions, therefore, would agree with a big-thinker friend of mine who, though he opposes the death penalty, explained that if we wanted no crime whatsoever we would make the most minor of offenses – like littering — punishable by death.
That would send all reasoning individuals a message about the law.
Murder and rape? As my egghead friend pointed out correctly, deranged people aren’t deterred by reason, or the gallows. Jaywalkers, though . . .
The attorney general is no big thinker, but maybe he is onto something.
If the misdemeanor of being in this country illegally merits the dismemberment of one’s family, why not do the same for other misdemeanors – like exceeding the speed limit by 25 mph or throwing a burning butt out one’s car window?
Take those offenders – they broke the law, you know, criminal law – and separate them from their children. Put the children in isolation camps where they can’t even be held by caring adults. Crate them away like artifacts.
Trump supporters: Is this your definition of “pro-life”? Do you check the origination of the child in question, and if it’s from, say, El Salvador, treat that life like a used tire?
As for that Bible thing: Romans 13 has some pretty stern things to say about adulterers — ahem, Mr. President — and various other offenders, even those who missed the memo on circumcision.
Suggest for us, Mr. Sessions, how we shall command such individuals’ attention.
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Jerry Shepherd says
Atrocity. Certainly the POTUS, the USAG and anyone following their orders are committing an atrocity. The cages are not like day camps, nor office partitions. The wire cages are more like concentration camps. If you must quote the bible there is Leviticus 19:33 When a stranger sojourns in your land, you shall do him no harm.
Deuteronomy 27:19 Cursed is he who withhold justice from the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow.
There are many, many more verses about not doing wrong to strangers in your land, but the AG is wrong to quote the Bible since our laws are not from the Bible.
The act of trying to justify an atrocity is evil. These people who order infants and toddlers to be removed from their parents are evil. They would take candy from a baby.
Mike Cessac says
The wire cages were from the Obama administration. There are too many from the political left that are completely lying about this.
Of the 2000, 90% were found to be with human smugglers, not their parents. If the parents and their kids had come to a port of entry to ask for asylum, they would not have been separated. There were another 10,000 kids that came alone, and are in day camps that cost $35k/yr each kid to run.
The evil here, is because of Democrat laws that entice many of these people to come here in order to live off the welfare state we have.
Anthony says
Trump said they are animals and you put animals in cages. Him and his all his suppprters are some sick assholes.We can’t let them get away with treating familys children and babys like animals.Did they think Amercans wouldn’t care -What idiots.