Texas is an evil state, with some of its powerful inhabitants relishing the opportunity to slice up immigrants with razor wire. I’m less worried about the immigrants than I am the existence of Texas Republicans.
But maybe I’m being unfair to Texas. After all, South Dakota, the state uncomfortably close to me, has a governor who is entirely sympathetic to the idea of slashing brown people with razor wire and wants to send the state’s national guard and a bunch of money to help out.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said Wednesday that her administration is considering boosting its support for Texas’ efforts to deter immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border, such as sending razor wire and security personnel.
The second-term Republican governor blasted conditions at the border in a speech to a joint session of the Legislature, a gathering she requested Monday after visiting the border last week. Noem, once seen as a potential 2024 presidential candidate, has made the border situation a focus during her tenure.
South Dakota does not have any border with any other country, unless you count the People’s Republic of Minnesota. Maybe they could worry about Canada, except they do have a buffer state of North Dakota, but Mexico is not of any concern. The only southern immigrants they’ve got are being hired by the farming citizenry who like cheap labor. But this is Kristi Noem’s focus? I kind of suspect the motivation is more racism than defending the border.
Fortunately, the Oglala Sioux Tribe has a solid response to that.
At least one person in South Dakota did not appreciate Noem’s glib demagoguery. That person was Frank Star Comes Out, which is in fact his extremely cool name and not the title of a YA novel about a teenager coming to terms with his sexuality. (We checked.)
Star Comes Out is the president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, and he was infuriated by the naked xenophobia and obvious cry for Donald Trump’s attention as his search for a vice presidential candidate ramps up. So he penned a letter to Noem informing her that starting immediately, she is persona non grata on his tribe’s land.
Read the letter. It’s a point-by-point response to every claim Noem has made. President Star Comes Out sees right through her: “I don’t see our Indian people and reservations used as a basis to create a bogus border crisis just to help Trump get re-elected as President and Governor Noem his running mate as Vice-President.”
Only barbarians would consider drowning immigrants to be humane…and to be a good strategy for getting votes. Unfortunately, we have lots of barbarians all up and down this country.
wzrd1 says
I’ve been considering some long term employment issues that are now quite important. Our Army is currently idle and needs some work to do. Perhaps, visiting these scofflaw states in force would remind them of federal supremacy and well, if it can’t be done peaceably, it can be accomplished by main force of arms.
Perhaps, starting with surrounding said scofflaw governors mansions with triple standard concertina wire, with nuclear landmines on tripwires, to contain a national danger…
Yes, such devices actually were made. They were all dismantled, but we don’t have to tell the idiots that, just bury a box and put a shit ton of signage up.
And since the GOP misleadership hates food so much, ensure any blockade removes all foodstuffs entering said mansions.
muttpupdad says
I would usually say that it would be cruel and unusual to do this, then I remember who you where going after and now have to agree with you.
HidariMak says
Since it’s often the Republican states which have the worse record in employment, it would be great if reducing the number of immigrants meant increasing the need for hiring locals. As the fields and slaughterhouses get more unemployed Republicans filling those new vacancies, increasingly forced to work there thanks to pressure from the Republican lobbyists, the price of that meat and produce would increase, felt in the pocketbooks of other Republicans.
Not an ideal measure by any stretch, but it’s more likely than the MAGA politicians being forced to do the job for a week.
wzrd1 says
HidariMak @ 3, the only problem is, they’d refuse utterly to work for that pay. Worse, it’s likely that they’d destroy the business when their wage demands remain unanswered.
Then, blame Democrats and migrants for the lack of food.
Remember, these are the very same braintrusts that demanded entire schools be razed during moral panics about mythical satanic churches beneath the single floor schools, then griped about their taxes being raised to build a replacement school.
tacitus says
There has to be a significant level of compartmentalization in the minds of conservatives. How can they otherwise endure living in a perpetual state of existential dread?
garydargan says
The obvious solution to this is to surround Kristi Noem and other hateful bigots with razor wire. There’s plenty to spare at the Mexican border and enough to wrap up Trumpfarce One.
gijoel says
@3 and 4 No, they’ll force prisoners to work in those hell holes for a pittance that not even those most desperate of immigrants would accept. Oh, wait they’re doing that now.
birgerjohansson says
Ironically a South African anti-apartheid author wrote a novel called “Waiting För the Barbarians” about colonial who were worse than whatever they expected go fight.
muttpupdad says
They are already doing this and they know that they have an neverending supply of others that they can pick off the streets to fulfill their quotas.They have been doing this since 1865 when they discovered that their free workforce suddenly disappeared.