I’m not sure Micah Beckwith knows what “due process” means. In fact, I’m pretty sure he doesn’t.
Indiana media has reported on our “Christian” Nationalist Lieutenant Governor’s most recent display of constitutional ignorance–his insistence that people in the U.S. illegally are not entitled to due process–and his ludicrous comparison of those immigrants to the Japanese who bombed Pearl Harbor. (Hey–no one ever accused Beckwith of logic…)
The Constitution clearly grants the right to due process to “all persons” on American soil, so Beckwith’s assertion is flat-out wrong. But his statement hints at an even more egregious ignorance: I’m pretty sure that he couldn’t define “due process” if his life depended on it.
Let me clarify it for Beckwith and his equally ignorant ilk.
Let’s say authorities take a person into custody, in the belief that the person is undocumented. Before that person can be confined or expelled or otherwise sanctioned–due process simply requires the government to demonstrate that the person is, indeed, undocumented, that they’ve got the right guy. The government needs to prove that the arrest was proper–not a mistake. If there is no requirement to demonstrate the lawfulness of an arrest or the accuracy of an identification–if it is simply adequate to accuse any detained person of being “illegal”–or guilty of any other crime–without offering probative evidence that the label is correct, then anyone can be swept up by a fascist government and deported or imprisoned…or “disappeared.”
Even Micah Beckwith.
Several months ago congressperson Spartz either in Muncie or Zionsville stated “you violate the law, you are not entitled to due process”. This is how ignorant republicans are!
Kkenna: Ignorance = Republican … of every stripe. They’ve completely sold out to lies, disinformation and a confirmation bias that borders (sometimes over the line) on utter insanity. There is no hope for the people who deny facts and truth in order to keep their neurotic house of cards in tact.
In addition to his due process ignorance, his pride in the WW2 internment camps is indefensible.
Congress passed the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 which was later signed into law by President Ronald Reagan. The Act acknowledged and apologized on behalf of the United States government for the injustice done to Japanese-Americans through internment; it additionally created a public education fund to inform on Japanese internment to American school children and offered restitution of $20,000 to those who were interned. Reparation payments began in 1990 under the direction of President George H.W. Bush – since then the United States has furthered its commitment to discouraging similar instances of bias and injustice towards minority communities and done more to advance the dedication to protecting human rights.
https://reagan.blogs.archives.gov/2023/02/24/apologies-and-forgiveness-for-executive-order-9066-february-historical-events/
Kkenna – yep, Westfield town hall. I was there.
“Due process” endeavours to make sure (essentially) no mistakes are made. Of course, for this to matter to you, you have to _care_ about not making mistakes in this area. Which the GOP do not. Hence their various seemingly-ignorant comments.
Kkenna, that was in Muncie’s City Hall where Spartz made that declaration. She also said she would only vote for bills that reduce our deficit because it’s “out of hand.” Several months later, she voted for the OBBB that adds over $3 trillion to the deficit. I’ve seen graphs of the breakdown of who got tax breaks, and all Republicans should be held accountable for the lies they peddle. They are both ignorant and liars.
Kristi Noem couldn’t answer the question about “due process” either. She was asked in Congress what it meant, and her response was, “The POTUS can arrest and deport whoever he wants.” In other words, due process gives the POTUS ultimate powers. I am sure that is the oath she took to get her appointment from Trump.
This ‘act first and then beg for permission later’ is impressive to watch. This advice was given to Trump by his mentor, Roy Cohn. If you spend a little time on Google Search, you’ll see that everything Trump is about was given to him by Cohn. Interestingly, Cohn was homosexual but would vehemently deny it until his death. He also had blackmail on many judges and politicians to help him get his way. This is why I think the Epstein videotape material is in Trump’s control, because releasing the perps would eliminate the leverage the tapes possess. 😉
More on that later…Republicans like Beckwith don’t have to be smart or evenly much higher than ignorant because their base are so grossly ignorant that they won’t be held accountable. Also, how often has an entertainer from Fox News pressed Republicans on the comments they make?
When a Congressperson claims Biden let in criminals from jails so they can vote for Democrats (a tactic famously used by Musk on X), how often do they get challenged for proof or evidence? How often are they told that immigrants can’t vote until they become citizens? If you make the elected official look stupid, you will never get another interview. You may even get fired!
Furthermore, why not lie and make shit up since the press will not correct you and there are no consequences in the court system? No harm, no foul. Oops, it was an accident. The last time I checked, the court system was an equal branch of government, but it is so corrupt, its rulings so ridiculous, that they can’t be taken seriously. They are subservient to the same oligarchy. We now have a Red or Blue State judiciary just like we have a Red and Blue State press. I’m sorry, but the truth doesn’t have stripes.
The truth should cut right through all the bullshit peddled in this country if these “REPRESENTATIVES” actually worked for the people. Assuming, of course, that we are a functioning democracy. [Hint: We are a flawed democracy.]
p.s. The defunding of public broadcasting has been occurring for years by Congress because it can’t control public media. If their news were more masterful, they’d be the most watched news networks. According to polls, public broadcasting is the most trusted institution. However, because the government controlled their funding, it is likely that their consequences would have been severe if they talked about the corrupt politicians and jurists. It happened anyway…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PBS#:~:text=PBS%20is%20funded%20by%20a,influence%20from%20the%20funding%20source.
How in blazes did Spartz pass the test to become a US citizen????
Can’t argue with stupid, especially insistent stupidity.
Victoria Spartz was one of my accounting students at IUPUI. She was intelligent and diligent. That’s how she passed the test. You are not likely to meet a nicer human being. However, growing up in the USSR shaped her beliefs. I cannot approve of her votes or agree with her beliefs. The one Budget Busting Bill is the prime example of how many decent people put their own transitory power over the well-being of the citizens they are supposed to serve. I am very sorry she was one of those people.
If fascism replaces liberal democracy here and now I’m sure that most of those who bring it about will remain in full earnest surprise about what they gave away, why, how, when, where, and to whom much like Africans who went from freedom to slavery in an instant.
I Disagree! Emotions- Fear- Trauma- lead to Patriarchy (affecting less women than men)- “Higher Truths “- Christian Nationalism- worshipping Wealth Power- Beckwith and Noem aren’t highly intelligent but a cousin of mine Emiratis Distnguished Prof – university in Todd’s town- Doesn’t “get” the Facts of current Genocde- in the sense that Beckwith- worships DT- my cousin Deeply Believes the Lies of Gaza and Israel- he may care but not for the Children of Gaza and Israel’s Non-Jews.
Pete, if the CIA hadn’t gotten its hands in the Congo, African people might have been better off. Fearing a Communist government would come from the same leaders, we must not let them have power. Patrice Lumumba is the best example. He was the first Prime Minister of the Republic of the Congo. He had his country moving in the right direction. He was assassinated in 1961. It wasn’t that the dog caught the bus. This dog was driving the bus, but it scared the wrong people.
like the early nazis,brownshirts the history is written. they would just point and “they” disappeared. no one with a sane mind says otherwise. with the largest police force being assembled in America(ice) there is no other reason but to deny and get rid of the rightwings so called enemy. its the same today in L.A. and other cities as it was in nazi growth. history isnt just repeating itself, its just a continuation of governments that sadiscally refuse human rights. when the republicans went to hungry a few years back, they asked to be interned into the peoples take over. follow the trails and the news papers,check, the college protests,check, the one line sensorship,tracking,check, etc. today tech tracks us relentlessly. if you open your i pad and seek safari, advanced,open it and find google has no,less than 10 trackers,and many joint venture with all other search engines. every line in that colum is tracking you. the government doesnt need to go far and get that info, thru our joke courts we have voted for.
this is just a take over and were taking way too lightly..
Todd:
trump is a corp monger, and thats how he wants to run America, like a chair person who decideds who lives and dies.
Our job is objectively revealing the risks and recruiting people away from MAGA.
Trump is helping us now by demonstrating how ill-considered his ambition is, day by day.
Many will remain out of objective reach, but every brain capable of seeing the light needs to know it is welcome to follow it.
No matter what any of us do, we could have to escalate the response, but not giving it our all means we didn’t do enough.
We screwed up collectively and we can save the day the same way, together.
I don’t think it is ignorance but rather nefarious. I think they know what Due Process means; but they don’t care. Plus, saying the same thing over and over again, the uninformed and ill informed public will believe that the ‘others’ do not have the right to due process and so the imprisonment and attacking the ‘others’ by the masked goon squad will continue and will be cheered by the ignorant masses.
I agree, Elaine. They’re not as ignorant as much as they just don’t give a damn as long as Orange Jesus isn’t pissed off at them. Power is more important than integrity.
I call it willful ignorance. Anything else is just plain lying.