Ron DeSantis is launching his Fascism political campaign

In other words, Ron DeSantis cannot break out from the political vice created by the former guy over the GOP Fascist cult; so, instead, he made a cruel political move by "out Fascism-ing" the mainstream evil Fascists. 

Attorney: Migrants were kidnapped
Ms. Self, and attorney, says she and other immigration attorneys believe actions were illegal.

American Fascism: It Has Happened Here

Republican Fascism and Naziism - stereotyping human beings as illegals when it is the politicians that are violating their human rights! An echo report published in the Martha's Vineyard Times, by George Brennan.  

An attorney who specializes in immigration law says what happened to the 50 people brought to Martha’s Vineyard may be considered kidnapping.

Rachel Self, an Island attorney, issued a statement saying that she is looking at potential legal avenues after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis took credit for sending the 50 people to Martha’s Vineyard on two planes.

“The response to this crisis among the legal and humanitarian communities, and the Martha’s Vineyard community at large, has been nothing short of incredible,” Ms. Self wrote. “The people who arrived last night are not alone, and we will make sure they know it – this is what our community is all about. We welcome them, and we are deeply grateful for the opportunity to help them in any way we can.”  

Ms. Self said she will pursue all legal remedies. “We believe they are victims of kidnapping, and the perpetrators of this breathtakingly cruel political stunt should know that it may well result in every individual who was induced onto those planes by fraud becoming eligible for a U visa. A U visa is a nonimmigrant visa granted to victims who cooperate with law enforcement, prosecutors, or other authorities in the investigation of a crime, and in the First Circuit (the Federal jurisdiction which includes Massachusetts), people with pending U visas are protected from deportation,” Self wrote. “We call on federal, state, and local authorities to collect and preserve evidence, beginning with the tail numbers of the aircraft used in the commission of this offense. Using human beings – families and children – as political pawns says far more about Governor DeSantis’s callousness and disregard for human life than it does about the people of Martha’s Vineyard. He sent those planes here hoping to expose hypocrisy; he does not believe anyone when they say they care about people like migrants fleeing an oppressive socialist regime in Venezuela, because he himself cannot conceive of caring about them. He’s made it perfectly clear he views them as subhuman. He has revealed nothing but his own heartlessness – and the truth that the people of Martha’s Vineyard are as good as it gets and better embody the moral values he purports to have.”

On Thursday night, Self and other immigration attorneys from Lawyers for Civil Rights met with reporters after speaking with some of the migrants a little after 7 pm. According to Lawyers for Civil Rights staff attorney Miriam Albert, they met with nearly all of the migrants in collaboration with pro bono attorneys “who have rapidly mobilized to provide free legal support.”

“We have seen family and children who have lived through a harrowing experience and today we are providing them with an overview of what they could expect as they go through the immigration process,” Albert said. The next steps are connecting migrants with attorneys to provide them “ongoing legal representation.” Albert said all civil and criminal legal options will be explored to “hold the perpetrators accountable and to prevent this injustice from repeating itself.”

“We are keeping all options on the table and we certainly want to make sure what happened here does not repeat again,” Lawyers for Civil Rights executive director Iván Espinoza-Madrigal said. “No one should be transported across the country without knowing exactly how they’re going to be received, where they’re going to be received. They are blessed to have landed in a place that is incredibly welcoming and warm, and they are extremely grateful to have the support. But, things could have gone very differently. This is a human rights violation, this is a constitutional violation, and we will hold the states and perpetrators accountable to the fullest extent of the law. This will not go unanswered.”

During the question and answer session, Self said the migrants have a kind, grateful demeanor and “they just want to do everything right.”

“Their biggest concern today is that many of them have dates to appear in San Antonio Monday morning. Tacoma, Washington Monday morning. Washington, D.C. Monday morning,” she said. “Their biggest concern is compliance.”

Self also held up maps that vaguely showed the migrants where they were being taken on the planes. One map showed the entire United States with a straight line from Texas to Massachusetts. The other showed a map of Martha’s Vineyard and said “you are here” and “welcome to Massachusetts.”

When a reporter brought up the point that these maps show the migrants were notified where they were headed, Self replied, “you tell me how they know where this is. Really. Have you ever heard the tourists who say ‘I’m going to the Cape and Islands this summer’ and they spell it Capon? Many people don’t know where they are right now, but we’re going to make sure they know where they are and they absolutely know there’s community here, they absolutely know they’re not alone, and we’re going to make sure they are able to comply and do everything right because that’s all they’re trying to do.”

Self said this is a “minute by minute” situation, but at this point the situation is not a crisis and is under control. She also gave a shout-out to Trader Fred’s in Edgartown for donating underwear.

There were some answers Self did not have available, such as whether the agencies she mentioned were collaborating with the perpetrators, who was exactly to blame, or whether more migrants will arrive.

State Sen. Julian Cyr, D-Truro, arrived at St. Andrew’s Church Thursday evening just before 6 pm and said “human trafficking” or “other crimes” were at play in how the migrants were treated and brought to the Vineyard.

While the migrants' lawyers say their clients were duped, while Florida officials (lie!) and say they provided housing & food to homeless & hungry people who voluntarily went on the trip.

Self told The Times in a text message Thursday night that opportunity and reward was somehow falsely pitched to the migrants.

“Accounts from the migrants who arrived last night make it clear that they were lied to again and again and fraudulently induced to board the planes,” Self wrote. “They were told there was a ‘surprise present’ for them, and that there would be jobs and housing awaiting them when they arrived. This was, obviously a sadistic lie — not only did those responsible for this stunt know that there was no housing and no employment awaiting the migrants, they also very intentionally chose not to call ahead, to any single office or authority on Martha’s Vineyard, so that even the most basic human needs arrangements could be made. Ensuring that no help awaited the migrants at all was the entire point.”

Self wrote that she believed the migrants were duped in a scheme rigged in such a way they would be thrown out of the country.

“They were provided with a cartoonishly simple map of Martha’s Vineyard and the United States, and a brief brochure containing snippets from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts website—and instructions to report their change of address to USCIS when they relocated,” Self wrote. “This is especially troubling, as anyone with even the most basic understanding of immigration proceedings knows that USCIS was not the agency with whom the migrants would have to record their address, and has nothing to do with their cases in any way. It is clear this was an intentional attempt to ensure the migrants were removed in absentia when they failed to change their address with the proper agency. This was a purposeful derailment designed to prevent people from complying with federal immigration policies. This is problematic because the state should not be interfering in federal immigration policy. Before they boarded the planes, the migrants were processed by agents of the Department of Homeland Security, who listed falsified addresses on the migrants’ paperwork. Agents apparently chose random homeless shelters all across the country, from Washington State to Florida, to list the migrants’ mailing addresses, even when told by the migrants that they had no address in the U.S. According to the paperwork provided to them, the migrants are required to check in with the ICE office nearest the fake address chosen for them by DHS, or be permanently removed—with some required to check in as soon as this coming Monday. It couldn’t be clearer that this is an attempt to ensure that these people are ordered removed, even if they can comply with the instructions provided to them. There is no other reason to list as someone’s mailing address a homeless shelter in Tacoma, WA and then ship them to Massachusetts. It is sickeningly cruel.”

Self described the migrants’ treatment as “inhuman” and pledged they will be supported on the Vineyard.

“Throwing obstacles in the way of people fleeing violence and oppression, some of whom walked through ten countries in hope of finding safety, is shameful and inhuman,” Self wrote. “Many of these victims are deprived of medical care despite clear existing injuries. These people are human beings who were deprived of basic human rights. To the people who find themselves plane wrecked on our Island, I have a message for you. You are not alone. We have your backs. We got you. If the intention of those who perpetrated this horrendous act was to create a crisis, they have failed.”

Self repeated her points during her comments Thursday night.

She’s not alone. Jules Bernstein, a Chilmark attorney who has argued labor law before the U.S. Supreme Court, also called the actions by DeSantis potentially criminal in a letter to The Times citing a federal law that makes it illegal for anyone who “transports, or moves or attempts to transport or move such alien within the United States by means of transportation or otherwise.”

Edgartown Police Chief Bruce McNamee and Oak Bluffs Police Chief Jonathan Searle told The Times there is no active local criminal investigation and they doubt that it’s in their jurisdiction. Island emergency personnel have been concentrating on getting the individuals what they need, McNamee said.

Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O’Keefe questioned whether there was anything criminal.

“We prosecute, in the DA’s office, criminal activity. If somebody alleges that a crime has been committed, and there is probable cause to believe it, the police would take action by way of conducting an investigation. And then present the matter to the DA’s office if they were concerned about whether they had enough to proceed criminally.”

In response to Self’s allegation that crimes have been committed, including kidnapping, O’Keefe questioned, “what evidence does this attorney have?’”

When asked by The Times if the individuals on the plane, having been transported to a location unbeknownst to them, would be deemed criminal, O’Keefe asked if those complaints have been filed with local law enforcement. He said it would be up to the towns — and sheriff — to “amass any evidence.”

O’Keefe said criminal charges could potentially be pursued “If [local law enforcement] amassed any evidence that would show somebody was kidnapped or be brought to a place to be put into some kind of slavery or somethign of that nature.” He said “in order for there to be any consequence from that, there’d have to be an investigation by the police, and the amassing of some evidence.”
 
O’Keefe said he has not heard any suggestion that a crime has been committed, “or that [the migrants] are fearful.”

U.S. Rep. Bill Keating D-Bourne, who is a former Norfolk County DA, told The Times onThursday afternoon he couldn’t recall any criminal statute that would apply to the migrant’s plight. “I’m curious as to why everyone aboard thought they were going to Boston,”

Keating said, “and all of a sudden it was diverted to the Vineyard. So I think it would be interesting to find out how that occurred or if that was the destination in the first place … beyond that I don’t think it’s a crime.”

Nonetheless, Keating deemed what the migrants have been subjected to as repugnant. Keating went on to say the migrants “were told they would have jobs and housing” and were led to “a vacant parking lot near Community Services.”

Keating said the migrants “were very anxious to leave” from what he’s learned has become a “crowded” situation.

“They thought they were heading to Boston,” he said. Some of those people, he said, “had other connections planned from Boston.”

In response to comments that Martha’s Vineyard does not have an existing infrastructure or plan to handle a situation such as this, and is not set up in a way that allows the Island to be prepared for an influx of migrants, O’Keefe responded, “and Arizona and New Mexico are?”

“My respectful suggestion would be to talk to the police and see whether or not they are conducting an investigation with respect to whether there’s a violation to a Massachusetts statute here.”

O’Keefe said he has not been engaged by any entities regarding the unfolding situation prior to speaking with The Times.

When The Times asked on Thursday night whether Ms. Self had any comment about O’Keefe’s reluctance to call the migrants’ situation a kidnapping, she said, “I think he might not be familiar with the federal statutes that are available to these people.”

U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins told The Boston Globe editorial board that “nothing is off the table.” According to the Globe, Rollins plans to speak with colleagues in other jurisdictions “looking for a uniform response.”

Just before the buses left Friday morning from Edgartown, Domingo Garcia, president of the League of Latin American Citizens, spoke to reporters. “These are human beings,” he said. “They’re just being treated like disposable human beings for political purposes.”

The migrants were lured with promises of jobs and housing, he said. “We’re filing a complaint with the Department of Justice asking them to review possible charges and civil rights violations,” Garcia said. A letter has been sent to the U.S. Attorney General asking for an investigation into the tactics being used by DeSantis and Governor Greg Abbott of Texas. “Some of the immigrants told me they were promised they were going to get three months of work. They were going to get free housing and free transportation and it was all a terrible lie.”

Reporters Abigail Rosen and Rich Saltzberg contributed to this report.

Nurses call to care for migrants- an ethical imperative

This echo nursing opinion by Leah Curtin was published in American Nurse Today. 

From Where I Stand on the last page opinion column:  

Must nurses care for migrants?

To deny basic human right to any person for any reason is ipso facto* unethical!

Basic human rights apply to everyone.

There seems to be much controversy about giving healthcare to "undocumented" immigrants- or even "documented" ones. In fact, some people believe that anyone who doesn't have health insurance has no right to healthcare. According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, they are wrong. And what's even worse is when a government not only doesn't uphold the right but actually violates it.  For example, the treatment of migrant children on the U.S. southern border is a gross violation of these children's basic rights on several levels.  Period. Full stop. It isn't a matter of politics or party. It's a matter of basic human rights. Nothing that their parents do or fail to do has any bearing on their rights as human beings.

How dare I say such a think?  Let's go back to the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights, of which the United States is a signatory. What follows comes directly from the declaration:

"Article 1:  All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.  They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood."

"Article 2:  Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.  Furthermore, no distinction shalt be made on the basis of the political jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty."

"Article 25: Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical are and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control. Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection."

Perhaps it is worth the time to refresh our understanding about human rights. Human rights are just claims to the fulfillment of fundamental, universal human needs. They don't depend on any legal jurisdiction, but they do need to be claimed, but you aren't less human if they're violated. No one can live a full human life, without them and in some cases they can't live at all without them.  

Human rights can be violated, but they don't go away because they're violated.  In act, their violation demands retribution. They don't disappear when one crosses state or national boundaries- whether or not that state or nation recognizes and protects them in their existing jurisdictions.

So, if you want to know if nurses have an ethical obligation to care for undocumented immigrants, the answer is a resounding "yes". To refuse to care for them is, ipso facto, unethical.

By Leah Curtin, RN, ScD (h), FAAN
Executive Editor, Professional Outreach
American Nurse Today

*ipso facto: Latin meaning "by the very fact".

Hillary Clinton quote:  "....human rights are women's rights, and women's rights are human rights, once and for all...."

“I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” Matthew 25:35

Syrian Children and Christians Killed by Chemical Weapons - Regime Change is Morally Justified

Senator John McCain has pleaded with Americans about Syria for several years.  He's been correct, of course. 

Now, President Bashar al-Assad has pushed the world too far to continue to ignore Senator McCain's prophetic summons. It's time we rise above American instincts to recoil at more war and save the Syrian Christians from genocide.

In fact, Senator McCain deserves extraordinary praise for standing up for the Syrian people, especially in the face of public opinion that's decidedly against American intervention in any wars.

Now, the situation has tragically worsened.  

Innocent children are being victimized by the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad because they will grow up to become part of the army fighting for his regime change.

The number of registered child refugees fleeing Syria's violence has topped the 1 million mark in another grim milestone of the deepening conflict, two U.N. agencies said Friday.

President Bashar al-Assad must clearly be infected with evil, because he allowed his army to commit genocide against the children of families who are opposing his regime.  Images of dead children lined up in a make shift Syrian morgue are too horrific to include in this blog.  But, seeing those small dead bodies on the news conjures up an image, in my mind, of President Assad hanging by a rope after sentencing by a human rights trial.  

Although Senator John McCain has seen this genocide coming, his prophetic voice has not resonated with the American public.  This is because every war Americans became involved in, since President Clinton intervened in Kosovo, and even before, has turned out badly. International terrorism has appeared to grow as a result of American peace keeping interventions.  

Americans, to say the least, are war weary from fighting unresolved wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Our world leadership doesn't deter terrorist groups like Al Qaeda. Our war on terrorism is especially frustrating when we found our international Enemy Number One Osama Bin Laden hiding in plain sight in  Abbottabad Pakistan, and not in Iraq or Afghanistan.  

Fundamentally working against American involvement in more wars on terrorism are the basic numbers - the terrorists appear to outnumber us.  

Yet, Americans must save Syrian children from genocide atrocities by their own government.  We just aren't "getting it" that innocent people, massacred in Syria, are largely Christians.  

Think about this: if we were committing genocide against Syrian Muslims, there'd be a Jihad, a summons for Muslims to struggle against all Westerners, as a result.  It makes no sense that the world would likely rise up against the innocent slaughter of Muslims (after all, Jihad has been declared as a result of political cartoons!) but doesn't seem equally affected by attacks on Christians.

Moreover, our US Congress is too deadlocked on issues still resonating from the 2012 Presidential election to make any decisions.  

Nonetheless, the blood of those dead Syrian children can't be ignored because Republicans don't want to implement Obamacare or provide Food Stamps to the poor.

Although there's no way of predicting how our Syrian intervention will impact the international war on terrorism or American world leadership, we simply can't allow millions of innocent children to suffer and die because we can't afford more war.  

President Obama has made an ineffective attempt to deter Syrian genocide against its own people.

In a press conference last August, Obama put Assad on notice that the U.S. would respond if Assad escalated from conventional warfare against his own people, saying:

“We cannot have a situation in which chemical or biological weapons are falling into the hands of the wrong people . . . a red line for us is, we start seeing a whole bunch of weapons moving around or being utilized.”

Unfortunately, Mr. President, it's urgently time to act.  We must lead the world and initiate a regime change in Syria. President Assad must be forced to face what has done, during his evil pursuit of tyranny to maintain political power.  

American must provide moral and, sadly, military leadership. 

Thank you, Senator John McCain, for your prophetic leadership on behalf of helping the Syrian people.  Your voice, spoken from the desserts in Arizona, has echoed in the unfulfilled lives of millions of desperate Syrian children.

A Proposed Twenty First Century Bill of Rights

After 220 years, Americans might consider updating the US Bill of Rights.  Although many amendments have been added to the Constitution since 1789, the Bill of Rights, the original 10, are nearly sacred to those who adhere to the literal intent of law. They're sort of like a revised Ten Commandments of the Old Testament.  So, since the original 10 were adopted in 1789, let's modernize this valuable document, to assure newly identified inalienable human rights are protected, 
....beginning with voting rights.

In fact, our nation's Founding Fathers and authors of the Bill of Rights even foresaw the need for revisions.  Upon reading the 10 amendments to the US Constitution, it occurs to me the 10th tenet opens the door to revisions and updates, as needed:  

Tenth Amendment

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

Here are the original 10, adopted in 1789. Following the original are some recommended updates, consistent with my interpretation of the intention of the last phrase of the tenth:

First Amendment

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

 Second Amendment

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Third Amendment  (maybe this one could be eliminated in a proposed update?)

No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Fourth Amendment

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

 Fifth Amendment

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

 Sixth Amendment

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.

Seventh Amendment

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

 Eighth Amendment

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Ninth Amendment

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Tenth Amendment

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

Second Amendment proposed modernization - A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. All right authorized by the right to bear arms shall be consistent with protecting public safety and shall not infringe on the right of law enforcement to protect the public from preventable harm caused by aggressive gun violence.

Eleventh Proposed Amendment- Every American citizens has the right to vote, when each can provide the least restrictive or onerous proof of such right. Americans shall have access to voting in an expedient environment or such place deemed publicly and safely accessible to support the freedom to vote.

Twelfth Proposed Amendment - Every American citizen is guaranteed the right to access health care including reproductive health care.

Thirteenth Proposed Amendment: - American citizens are provided freedom from discrimination for age, race, religion, gender, perceived or actual disabilities and social status, for the purposes of employment and to receive benefits consistent with quality of life and as beneficiaries of actuarial products.

Fourteenth Proposed Amendment:  All children living in the United States are guaranteed the right to access education consistent with the values put forth by the US Constitution and incorporating these principle amendments forthwith.

Fiftieth Proposed Amendment:  Americans must be assured the right to public safety through support of interventions to protect against preventable illnesses and violence from military assault weapons owned by civilians who are not employed by a militia.