“All cruel people describe themselves as paragons of frankness.” ― Tennessee Williams

Children are still in cages, kennels, internment camps, or otherwise incarcerated. The tragedy is not over. The horrific news keeps coming. It’s still wrong. It’s still barbaric. It’s still cruel.

Where are the kids belonging to the adults? In many cases, the parents, and our government, have no clue.

Under a wing-it kind of dishonest guy like Trump, the cruelty he purposely inflicted on these needy humans, will linger — indefinitely for some — because there never was a plan by the racist to return the little people to their big people. Vain brain knows how to do the cruel part but not much else.

Toddlers are standing before immigration judges. Seriously. Is that humane or logical?

And Trump staffers are so totally incompetent they don’t even know how many kidnapped children they have in custody. Two thousand? No, no, now they feel there might be closer to three. Thousand, yes.

These tykes will be traumatized for life. Ask Lance romance if he cares.

This administration is even deporting veterans, current servicemen and legal green card holders with decades of roots. Why?

A thousand years will pass, and the ancestors of those abused will still be cursing the United States and Donald Trump.

For the benefit of people who don’t know, seeking asylum is a right. It’s not against the law. The right is codified in domestic and international law. Previous administrations have not prosecuted those seeking asylum, and asylum seekers don’t have to go a checkpoint. They can ask a border patrol agent, whenever they cross paths. That’s the law, and Trump has broken it.

Our entire history is teeming with refugees and asylum seekers. It’s part of our deal. A chunk of American values. As a country, we’ve tried to show mercy to strangers in search of a better life, although we haven’t been entirely successful. Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses and so forth. Asylum isn’t just for chess players — and Russian ballet dancers.

And, even a 200-foot wall won’t stop people from seeking asylum, if that’s part of the reasoning behind building the hapless barrier. The oppressed will simply go to the checkpoints.

Normally, Republicans would be shouting, “Nyah, nyah, we told you. The government can’t do anything right, amirite?” Maybe they think that the old Little Dutchman handled this one just right. Or they are afraid to step out of line.

Well, I did my due diligence on Donnie a long time ago. It turned out that the great white wad has been a nasty cruel cretin, as far back as media started caring about the rampant narcissist’s “best” words, about 50 years ago. Nothing about his behavior is a secret. He’s always been a publicity hunting New York City trust fund @$$hole.

Trump publicly humiliated his wives. He refused to pay contractors for their work, forcing some out of business. He belittled people. He mocked a disabled person, for crissakes. And taunted a dying war hero. And joked about a recently widowed former president.

Devoid of a conscience, 45 doesn’t suffer from the emotion of shame, or have a hair’s worth of empathy. Sociopath is the common term. He doesn’t have an inner voice, or do any self-examination. Our president is simply a gratuitously cruel person. He’s a dick and doesn’t even know it.

So, now, we have a cruel man in charge, with cowardly quiet fans who rationalize the cruelty, by citing memes, obtusely lying or merely going mute. It’s quite sad.

Then, there is the kook. Defending chain-link fencing for kids, or cages, is only something that could come from the brain of a shameless spinner like Congressman Kevin Cramer.

Only the self-labeled “very influential” Rob Port thought that comparing cages to ballparks was reasonable, but he isn’t too bright.

Nobody else was jumping on Kevin’s chain-link bandwagon. Is the poor deluded oil shill is ready for the Senate? Cramer is an over-his-head backbencher, ranked 145 of House Republicans, in the category of effectiveness. Sounds like a winner.

But whataboutobama? Kids in cages, yes. Under different circumstances, but it’s easy to find what happened during Obama’s time. Obama is not cruel man.

And yes, we (the government acting on the behalf of the citizens) have plenty of cruelty in our past. We’ve enslaved humans and attempted to make the original people extinct. But we’re talking about right now in time.

These poor people didn’t come all of this way because they heard the president was tossing out free paper towels. They are literally running for their lives.

By this time, I figured that DT had been cruel enough to get a tongue lashing from at least a few North Dakota GOP lawmakers. All I saw was one lame meme trying to justify the cruelty.

Yes, I’m writing the word cruelty quite often on purpose.

Then, one legislative candidate took issue with my “The Congressman With the Chain-Link Head” column, and figured he would set me straight. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

So, here is our email exchange, from June 22-26, with no editing. He’s a pastor and wants to make North Dakota District # conservative again. Yes, again. I’ll refer to him as Conservative Candidate X.

I don’t claim this man speaks for the entire North Dakota Republican Party, but how would anyone know? If someone can point me to a letter to the editor or a Facebook post that I’ve missed, please do.

The original email

Ron Schalow: The Congressman With the Chain Link Head

Some pundits have suggested that this shameful episode is Trump’s Katrina. No. 4,600 Americans have died in the decimation of Puerto Rico by hurricane Maria because the jackass chose to limit the government response. They got a small fraction of the resources dedicated to Texas for recovery from hurricane Harvey. All on DT’s watch.

Caging children is in a despicable category of its own. Some of these kids will never see their parents again. They’ll be scarred for life. The parents will live this nightmare, over and over. That’s fine with the Trump cult, including sycophant prince Kevin Cramer.

King nitwit and his administration have offered over a dozen reasons why these kids were being shipped here and there, without their parents. They blamed everyone but the racist in chief, the dumb one, when Eric isn’t present. They lied and lied. Then lied some more.

And Kevin Cramer parroted the horseshit, because he has staked his entire political future on the sex offending blowhard, who has no clue on how to do his job. So, Kev has morphed into the silhouette of the bloated Bronx dung beetle. Cramer knowingly told the same lies as the pompous pork loin and then made up some baloney of his own.

RON SCHALOW: The Congressman With The Chain-Link Head

Conservative Candidate X.

Hi Ron:

I heard that the pictures of the children in cages were from 2014, is that true?

thanks

Xxxxx

Me

xxxx —

Our history is not one of kindness. I don’t think that excuses the current cruelty. I can send you recent pictures of children in cages, if you would like. Do you approve of this policy?

Thanks … ron

Conservative Candidate X.

No, not at all. But it is just that the facts get distorted when you send emails like this. He has changed it.

He needed 60 percent to do it by Congress and the Democrats held it up. It originated with Bill Clinton.

I don’t think there are many — if any — kids that are more than temporarily away from their parents. I would like to see an original source that states that a child is taken permanently other than from a parent who is a serious criminal.

For that, we do that in America in our prison system. If you rob a bank, murder or rape, etc, you go to jail and your kids don’t come with you.

I just am curious at why the venom when it looks as though Trump is the good guy in this situation when all the facts are in

xxxx

Me

It was policy he made, and he could have made a call to fix it. There was no law held up by the Democrats. He lied.

They don’t even have a plan to reunite the kids with family. They’re spread over 15 states. Some will never see their parents again.

When a bank robber is jailed, we don’t put his kids in a cage. Kevin Cramer didn’t like the bad press, so he comes up with a wild chain link fence story.

All of the facts are in, and Trump is not the hero. He started the whole thing. Every religion in the country has spoken against his actions, including the Pope, as have responsible Republicans. I’m quite aware of the facts, thanks. … I’m sad that the NDGOP has been hijacked by this huckster.

Cruel deserves venom, as do the constant lies. It’s all documented, videotaped, or recorded.

You should write an LTE to the Forum. They would print it in all of their N.D. papers. And send a copy to the Minot Daily, Bismarck and Williston. Put the facts, as you know, out there. Tell Oley to do the same. No one else in the party has spoken up in any way … ron

Conservative Candidate X.

Are you saying that the photo was not from 2014?

Me

In 2014, a large group of unaccompanied minors crossed the border and were detained like you saw, for a short period, if that’s the only photo you saw. Cramer took offenses to cages being called cages, in the present tense, which is the topic. 2014 has nothing to do with Trump’s policy of family separation, but many people seem to be fixated on four years ago, to rationalize the current current cruelty and incompetence.

Conservative Candidate X.

OK, I am interested in reading his policy. Do you have a copy of that? How is it different

Me

It is simply a zero tolerance policy that no other president considered humane. There are thousands of stories on the Internet explaining it. The actual wording may be on the White House website. People are fleeing a burning building and believed the U.S. was welcoming to the persecuted, and their children. Good luck.

Conservative Candidate X.

Found some …

“According to the Department of Homeland Security, the Flores agreement allows the agency to detain unaccompanied minors for only “20 days before releasing them to the Department of Health and Human Services, which places the minors in foster or shelter situations until they locate a sponsor.”

But in a controversial decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, the most liberal in the country, has interpreted the settlement agreement to apply to “both minors who are accompanied and unaccompanied by their parents.”

In other words, it is the 9th Circuit’s misinterpretation of the Clinton administration’s settlement agreement that doesn’t allow juvenile aliens to stay with their parents who have been detained for unlawful entry into the country.

Of course, if those parents would simply agree to return to their home countries, they would be immediately reunited with their children. So those who come here illegally are themselves to blame for their children being assigned to foster care or to another family member or sponsor who may be in the country.

The executive order signed by President Donald Trump directs the attorney general to file a request with the federal court in the Flores case to modify the settlement agreement to allow the government “to detain alien families together throughout the pendency of criminal proceedings for improper entry or any removal or other immigration proceedings.”

Me

They are arresting them, whether they agree to turn around or not. Then DT revoked his own order, but they still don’t know where they sent all of the kids. You can agree with his former policy, if you wish. I’m sure not expecting to change the mind of any Republicans, but I won’t stop writing about this incompetent man. Even George Will, and a bevy of others, have jumped this ship.

Conservative Candidate X

Yes, I agree if that is true.  I am not sure you are considering the context. With all due respect, your (sic) losing some credibility.  We have a serious problem with criminals bringing children across the border. It is not true that they don’t know where they are at. That is distorted. The fact is parents of these kids are not showing up, to the tune of 80 percent, for court after breaking the law.  A law promotes by the last four presidents.  Now the media is reporting them as missing. Again, a distorted lie.

Me

If you cannot see the difference in the Trump policy, I’m sorry. And I’m not sure why you’re defending it, but if that’s your opinion, you’re free to have it. Also, I’m not sure of your sourcing, but I see multiple reputable sources reporting the same thing, and confusion in the White House.

It is not true that major media papers and stations like CNN are just making stuff up. It’s saddening to know how many people believe Trump lies.

Google this: “no plan to reunite immigration kids with parents” Trump has told more than 3,000 verifiable false lies, since inauguration. I not worried about me credibility.

“You could easily end up in a situation where the gap between a parent’s deportation and a child’s deportation is years,” said former Acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director John Sandweg.

Previously, when federal agents separated children from their parents it was usually because they believed the children’s welfare was in danger.

Sandweg told NBC News earlier this week that some separations of migrant kids and parents may be permanent.” — NBC

Conservative Candidate X.

OK, for discussion sake, I will believe what you are saying, then ask, “is this the first time kids have been separated.” That doesn’t make it OK, but it gives context.

Me

No, it’s not, but not on a wholesale level. If a parent is carrying drugs, or obviously not fit, children have rightly been removed. But, you could have found this out, easily.

Trump is driven by a base, that wants neither legal, nor illegal, immigration. Fifty-five percent of Republicans weren’t bothered by the crying of infants and toddlers.

Conservative Candidate X.

Me

It says unavailable.

Conservative Candidate X.

So far, 83 percent of the children were not even with a parent.  Will be good to find out how many of the others were with a trafficker or a parent who committed a crime

Me

You are trying to rationalize this cruel behavior. Why don’t you, or the other two, make your views public on Facebook, and let voters know how you feel? My views are public.

From the AP: The AP acquired internal Department of Homeland Security data on the program, covering the period of April 19 to May 31. Over that time span, 1,995 children were taken from their migrant parents at the border. That’s an average of roughly 48 kids separated from their families per day, often sent into foster homes or held in detention centers.

Conservative Candidate X.

Quite public. I am simply pointing out how you are being misled. I have no problem criticizing Trump when I am convinced by truth. But taking things out of context, exaggerating,  and attacking the person with generalities gets nowhere, and loses credibility with me. How about debating an actual policy or principle, … you strike me as a smart person, so that could go somewhere

Me

Being misled by who? Calling chain link not a fence, is pretty specific. And, I’ve already been there, thanks. Still waiting for your statement on FB.

Conservative Candidate X.

Funny that you don’t even know where I stand yet. If you read an earlier response I gave you June 23, I said I agree with you if what you are presenting is actually true.

Not sure that is such an earthquake, but if it would make you feel better, I could post that on FB.

I have asked good probing questions of you and mostly get trump bashing.

You haven’t explained that, over 80 percent of the children were not separated by the US border patrol.

Nor have you been able to dispute that the Flores Act actually created a mass human trafficking problem on our border.

This is what conservatives call “context.”

You have made the Border Patrol out to be a bunch of child-hating, abusive people. Talk about exaggeration. Totally misleading.

Not sure that will floor anyone that, being openly conservative, would put that out.

But look for it today.

Me

The percent isn’t the issue. Twenty-three hundred have been separated. I have made no claims about the Border Patrol. This is all on Trump. I await your public opinion. Other than Cramer, no R has made a peep about this cruel policy.

These things you call context were dealt with humanely by previous administrations. And Trump is willing to send asylum seekers back to their deaths, including the kids. Good politics in N.D.

Trump is responsible for things he says and does. I am free to disagree, as do most Americans. You should ask some good probing questions of yourself.

Conservative Candidate X.

Funny. I just did put out my statement on FB.

Conservative Candidate X.

I will give you this, you are a good spinner. Do you live in minot? We should just meet face to face somewhere

Conservative Candidate X.

Another point.  If 80 percent means nothing to you, it is even more sad you have made NO mention of disgust toward the Mexican government.

There should be two walls, one on our CD side and one on theirs. That would guarantee this problem solved.

Immigrants would actually come through the gates, be vetted and then welcomed as it should be. What a concept?

Me

We’ll just let innocent people die in their home countries. And they are vetted. Maybe we should vet everyone who is already here. I know some Norwegians that are up to no good.

The ones who have come through gates have been arrested, during Trump’s policy.

BTW: Most undocumented people are here because they overstayed their visa. And most are Canadian, but that’s OK. Many more than survive the trip to the southern border save their families.

I don’t see your statement. Did you make it public on your political page? I used to live in Minot, when the Republicans weren’t in a race to see who is more conservative. Like Andy Maragos, who I used to do business with.

All of these kids you’re worried about were caught. By the agents, without an impractical wall. They are already seizing land from private citizens.

Me

Nothing here: https://www.facebook.com/ndgopx/

— End of email string —

But, Conservative Candidate X did make his opinion known on his personal Facebook page June 26. Nothing since, so I guess the search for context is still on.

“I have asked probing questions, aimed at finding a context of facts on the border issues and children of illegal immigrants. I mostly get trump bashing.

Haven’t heard it explained that, over 80 percent of the children were not separated by the U.S. Border Patrol.

Nor has someone been able to dispute that the Flores Act actually created a mass human trafficking problem on our border.

So, what really are the facts? My position is, “know the context.” If Trump did something wrong, we should call him out.” But …

Using this as an opportunity to just bash him and exaggerate the actions of our border police is sad.

I am still waiting for some solid context before jumping to conclusions.

So far, this points to a need for a wall.” — Conservative Candidate X.