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Terry Cook's avatar

ICE conducted a sweep of Los Angeles MacArthur Park today.

Officers on horseback sweep across the park, while military personnel and vehicles guarded a parking lot. This was a performative act, as no known arrests were made. What has our once proud nation been turned into?

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Caroline Asebrook's avatar

We are under authoritarian rule.

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Terry Cook's avatar

Only if we submit. A sticker here. A poster there. A flyer somewhere. Small, discreet messages. Words and humor that gets a smile or small chuckle causes a pain in their soul, prick them often.

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Nancy Day's avatar

I live in CENTRAL/Hill Country Texas. We have long been known as flash flood alley. These events are killer. Proper warnings help. Seems a lack of warnings contributed to horrendous fatalities. Hydrologists and geologist confirm beautiful mother is primed. Humans need to be aware. Today I read a brilliant article about The Guadalupe. She is a beautiful river. But she is a river. I grew up loving Lake Tahoe, and this year magnificent storm stunned me. Is this our climate changing? My heart is broken. Have we totally destroyed the finest planet?

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Caroline Asebrook's avatar

I read a beautiful article from Jenna Bush-Hagar. Her mother, former first lady Laura Bush had been a camp counselor at the camp that was hit.

I don't know what we have done. I'm so incredibly scared.

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Dawn Sweredoski's avatar

We need people to help keep an eye on Mother Nature!

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Charles G Haacker's avatar

We did. The lunatics fired them.

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Caroline Asebrook's avatar

I think they want us to die. I'm not sure why. Are they going to sit in mansions and look at their money? That sounds exciting!

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Patris's avatar

Brokenhearted over the lost children -over all lost in the floods. Having lived in Texas have driven through miles of country with signs at different intervals stating how many lost in that spot in a flood. What can be done to mitigate these tragedies are engineered solutions. Major projects. Maybe some of the billionaires living in Texas can pony up some cash to back infrastructure that would prevent these things in the future - at the very least put systems in place that would alert and evacuate at risk populations with enough advance notice.

To begin with we must restore funds and personnel to our weather service - and increased.

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Charles G Haacker's avatar

So far as I know right now, the damned fools are still insisting that they are going to end FEMA, end NOAA, end everything, all of it, and relax with a Diet Coke at Mar-a-Lago. Everyone knows there is no money for services. We pay taxes directly to the Überrich, who, in turn, deny funding for frivolous things like flood warning systems that require many buoys to be wired together or something. Those things cost serious money, and how often does a hundred-year flood happen anyway, right? What? Climate change? Are you serious? 🤣

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Patris's avatar

It’s criminal as far as I’m concerned. How they could lay off so many and contemplate ending FEMA is a nightmare.

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Terry Cook's avatar

The Lord works in mysterious ways.

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Patris's avatar

He drowned the world - or so they say.

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Caroline Asebrook's avatar

I so agree!! I keep hearing this is a "once in a lifetime event". Well, yea. Once it happens, there ends the lifetime!!!

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Caroline Asebrook's avatar

None of that is going to happen any time soon as long as MAGA is in charge. They don't care if we die.

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Patris's avatar

In fact they’re hoping most of us do I believe

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Caroline Asebrook's avatar

Why? What do they gain from it? I feel so stupid for saying this, but I never thought before that I'd live in a country where my government wanted to kill me. I get it now. I feel so incredibly naive.

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Patris's avatar

It’s a faction of what can only be seen as sociopaths. Who I believe see no value in human beings unless they contribute to their bottom line.

Not all are that depraved.

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Charles G Haacker's avatar

The loss of the kids makes everything worse. "Any man's death diminishes me," but those kids had their lives in front of them. I am 83; there is vanishingly little in front of me, but I've had it pretty good, and I have a ten-year-old granddaughter who could have been sleeping peacefully at Camp Mystic. I can NOT imagine the pain of the survivors. There is hardly anything worse than the deaths of children.

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Caroline Asebrook's avatar

I'd give my life gladly to save just one.

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Ruthie Nathan's avatar

So much of what happened didn't need to. Lack of warnings. Trump owns that. And yes, this lunatic fired them.

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larry patriquin's avatar

this house of reps is as guilty as Trump. Do they think they will be exempt from the police state he is building? time for them to wake up. every vote that is making these things

possible, makes them enemies of the constitution they swore to protect and serve.

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Caroline Asebrook's avatar

I'm scared. I've never been scared of my country before but I am scared now. I have two adult sons who were adopted from Russia and are naturalized citizens. Both doing well. I'm scared they could be deported. My youngest is biracial. He's smart and in college but he's "not white". I'm 62. I can't help them. I can't get them out of a concentration camp. I'd give my life for any one of them. I'm so scared.

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Judith Stone's avatar

we in New England are not familiar with the Texas Hill Country, but those folks are our fellow Americans and they are suffering, just as ICE separating families breaks our hearts..children belong to everyone, and we are all responsible for them..I was fortunate enough to meet Mother Thereesa when I adopted one of her children many years ago..she made an unannounced visit to Boston, where I live, and asked to meet with those of us who were adopting "her children" - I explained to her that the child would be raised as a Jewish child, so she would fit in with the rest of the family..she could have cared less, and was mostly interested in cuddling the newly arrived babies, and checking out their gorgously dressed oufits..you can only imaginr how these babies were outfitted to meert Mothe T, as she was called..I begged her to hurry up my adoption because I was afraid that my baby could contract Polio..she kept telling me not to worry -could I argue with her? No way..we need to remember her during this ugly time of hatred and divisiveness..WWMTDO? What would Mother T do? What would Mother T do?

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Laura Havranek's avatar

Thank you Liza. The TX flood is a horrible tragedy. Praying for peace and healing for everyone involved. Let government have enough funds and courage to protect this area appropriately with warning sirens and accurate weather forecasts

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bob buchanan's avatar

thanks for the heartfelt words regarding the flooding in texas and the growing dangers of ice liza.i offer some comments that complement yours

.yes yes the deaths in texas are tragic and likely may have been avoidable.

and i am saddened to say that sudden violence and death has been central to the lived history of so many others

it is not a stretch to say this country HAS been akin to a police state since the slave ships arrived circa 1619.

reflect on the history we all know. think centuries of slavery; civil war; sharecropping; jim crow; kkk; lynching; workplace violence; segregation and massive imprisonment, urban impoverishment for blacks and our brown and red sisters and brothers.

yes there have been advances since the 1950s but life for the majority of our sisters and brothers is coercive, rich with violence and often ignored by our white culture and systems of power

where to go?? try princeton's eddie glaude--he is open, accessible and invaluable. i grew up as a white kid always drawn to malcolm, king and so many other freedom fighters. thanks for your art and wisdom liza. we are touched by your wordsand drawings. deep thanks

we're battling indiscriminate kidnappings of farmworkers up here in vt. google: migrant justice for info.; and homeless friends are being pushed out of motels and into the streets.

unity and cooperative efforts are needed now more than ever. thnx to all who share this site. our efforts are enriched by our dialogue.

take to the streets--in a peaceful organized manner. trump et al have power but are the minority

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Thomas M Gregg's avatar

You know, this kind of irresponsible rhetoric is very likely responsible for the ambush of Border Patrol officers in Texas. Two police officers and a Border Patrol officer were wounded. I’m glad to say, however, that the shooter was killed. Good riddance to him.

Denouncing the Border Patrol and ICE as Nazi stormtroopers & etc. may send a thrill up the legs of Resistance warriors, but it has real-world consequences in the form of violent terrorism. Is that how you propose to defend “our democracy” here, in America, in 2025?

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Helen Palmer's avatar

so sad. hope these camps will not be rebuilt in flood plain areas. a very hard lesson learned.

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