Uncle Bud

[hedge]

My political views are almost solely based on whatever causes you the most pain. When that is achieved, I know I'm on the right track..

[Tree]

I think we're all aware that I live in your brain rent free, Mr. Incel. But none of us expected you to just come out and say it, brah.

[hedge]

You're not living rent free "brah," you're paying dearly...

[Tree]

You couldn’t have illustrated my point any better.

[aTm]

Yeah, b/c in these times my definite first impression is going to be that somebody in a MAGA region is telling the truth to "reporters" rather than lying to further a lie they heard the dear leader tell on tv. Turns out some nutjob white women in Ohion (nowhere near Springfield) was recently arrested for eating a cat. Clearly she's lost her marbles but it was so bizarre and grisly that some MAGA somewhere figured we can blame it on immigrants and and make the dems look bad so they posted this nonsense about Hatians on social media and of course that moron Trump picked up on it and ran with it, completely unvetted. He even blurted out "But I saw it on TV!!" when the moderator told him the town manager hadn't gotten any reports about pets being abducted and eater...

I suppose this is real. If so, it seems just as I implied, that doing the “real journalism” was so hard that the media simply just accepted denials from government officials (aka liars lying for a living) who had actually discussed hearing about these types of events in open government meetings since at least six months ago. Shocking.

[innocentbystander]

Yeah, b/c in these times my definite first impression is going to be that somebody in a MAGA region is telling the truth to "reporters" rather than lying to further a lie they heard the dear leader tell on tv. Turns out some nutjob white women in Ohion (nowhere near Springfield) was recently arrested for eating a cat. Clearly she's lost her marbles but it was so bizarre and grisly that some MAGA somewhere figured we can blame it on immigrants and and make the dems look bad so they posted this nonsense about Hatians on social media and of course that moron Trump picked up on it and ran with it, completely unvetted. He even blurted out "But I saw it on TV!!" when the moderator told him the town manager hadn't gotten any reports about pets being abducted and eater...

I suppose this is real. If so, it seems just as I implied, that doing the “real journalism” was so hard that the media simply just accepted denials from government officials (aka liars lying for a living) who had actually discussed hearing about these types of events in open government meetings since at least six months ago. Shocking.

The media HAS TO SAY that there have been no reports of Haitians eating pets. They must say this. They must say this because there simply is no redeeming cultural value the Haitians add to that community. They are fucking parasites. And if any careful, honest examination is made of these filthy people, it only strengthens Donald Trump's re-election campaign. For this media, that is a complete non starter.

So, deny anyone has said anything. And when the truth comes out, everyone will already forget the story. Everyone except the people in Ohio of course. But Trump is winning that state anyway so the media doesn't give a fuck about them.

[hedge]

“Ben, I am writing from Springfield, Ohio, where I was born and raised, and raised my kids. It's a little town in Clark County, Ohio that was named in honor of my ancestor George Rogers Clark, brother of William Clark from the Lewis and Clark Expedition. My little city of 59,000 people, consists mostly of blue-collar workers, day laborers, teachers, nurses, etc. We are the home of the silent film actress Lillian Gish, comedian Jonathon Winters, and of course, the great John Legend.

I never imagined seeing our town as the epicenter of so much conversation, discussion, and debate.

Seriously, I can't turn on the TV without hearing our city mentioned!
The truth is that no one steals our pets, let alone eats them. Our police department has verified this.

Our Haitian population is known to be hard workers, business owners, and good neighbors. One friend said his Haitian neighbors always smile and wave, and that you've never heard Brahm's Lullaby until you've heard sung in French to an infant by a Haitian mother.

My friend who is a construction worker at the Intel plant in Columbus said that many Haitian employees reside in Springfield (more affordable) and travel to Columbus to work...and that they are good people, hard workers, and always on time. Some are taking the opportunity to get training to further their skill set and employability.

What HAS happened in Springfield is an outpouring of xenophobia. There are protests by the Proud Boys on the corners and violent threats to our city hall, colleges, and schools. Our tiny downtown (honestly, if you blink you'll miss it!) has dealt with multiple bomb threats, causing several schools to be evacuated and closed. The college where I teach, Clark State, is going virtual this week (Sept 16-20) out of an abundance of caution. Thumbs up to our college president and other administrators for always making safety a priority.

Why?

Because of Trump's complete lie about our city (a sarcastic "thank you" also to Loomer and Vance).

As you know, Haitians are here under protective status. They are not killing and eating our cats and dogs, along with ducks and geese in Snyder Park. It has now become a running joke with an abundance of memes. But the truth is, it's sad and frightening.

Along with teaching college, I have a small Etsy business. A recent customer has been wonderfully patient as I postponed shipment because I hesitate to go downtown to the Post Office (a request of my kids who live in LA, I told them I'd find a different shipping location).

The lies from Trump and his allies are being perpetuated in the city. But fortunately, people are coming to Springfield to support our Haitian businesses!

I can only hope that this little town, which typically leans red, will wake up and see what is in store without a blue wave.”

[hedge]

"Now we have the Springfield City Manager acknowledging on video that they’ve heard of complaints of domestic animals being eaten back in March."

Wow, somebody said it, I guess that means it has to be true. Unbelievable. If there ever were lying liars who lie for a living, it's MAGA. But some nigger hating MAGA redneck said it so it HAS to be true!!!! Real journalism!!!! LMAO...

[hedge]

[Dave23]

“Ben, I am writing from Springfield, Ohio, where I was born and raised, and raised my kids. It's a little town in Clark County, Ohio that was named in honor of my ancestor George Rogers Clark, brother of William Clark from the Lewis and Clark Expedition. My little city of 59,000 people, consists mostly of blue-collar workers, day laborers, teachers, nurses, etc. We are the home of the silent film actress Lillian Gish, comedian Jonathon Winters, and of course, the great John Legend.

I never imagined seeing our town as the epicenter of so much conversation, discussion, and debate.

Seriously, I can't turn on the TV without hearing our city mentioned!
The truth is that no one steals our pets, let alone eats them. Our police department has verified this.

Our Haitian population is known to be hard workers, business owners, and good neighbors. One friend said his Haitian neighbors always smile and wave, and that you've never heard Brahm's Lullaby until you've heard sung in French to an infant by a Haitian mother.

My friend who is a construction worker at the Intel plant in Columbus said that many Haitian employees reside in Springfield (more affordable) and travel to Columbus to work...and that they are good people, hard workers, and always on time. Some are taking the opportunity to get training to further their skill set and employability.

What HAS happened in Springfield is an outpouring of xenophobia. There are protests by the Proud Boys on the corners and violent threats to our city hall, colleges, and schools. Our tiny downtown (honestly, if you blink you'll miss it!) has dealt with multiple bomb threats, causing several schools to be evacuated and closed. The college where I teach, Clark State, is going virtual this week (Sept 16-20) out of an abundance of caution. Thumbs up to our college president and other administrators for always making safety a priority.

Why?

Because of Trump's complete lie about our city (a sarcastic "thank you" also to Loomer and Vance).

As you know, Haitians are here under protective status. They are not killing and eating our cats and dogs, along with ducks and geese in Snyder Park. It has now become a running joke with an abundance of memes. But the truth is, it's sad and frightening.

Along with teaching college, I have a small Etsy business. A recent customer has been wonderfully patient as I postponed shipment because I hesitate to go downtown to the Post Office (a request of my kids who live in LA, I told them I'd find a different shipping location).

The lies from Trump and his allies are being perpetuated in the city. But fortunately, people are coming to Springfield to support our Haitian businesses!

I can only hope that this little town, which typically leans red, will wake up and see what is in store without a blue wave.”

She lost all credibility after “the great John Legend”…

[aTm]

Its obvious theres some cultural tension in this town, but whatever. A government official who says he’s heard no reports to ABC or whoever in September when the government has discussed it since March is a liar. But he’s no different than any of them. Seeking political office should be punishable by death.

[hedge]

Just watched your clip. Very rich that he's heard from people "some stuff" about pets and ducks in the park, but seemingly every one of these people requested anonymity. And we're supposed to count that as evidence?? Interesting. I'm more inclined to chalk up such claims and such people in the same way you seemingly characterize all politicians: they're liars. But since nobody making these claims is willing to identify themselves, they may as well be nonexistent. It's like Trump's "people are saying."

[eCat]

Springfield is about 70 minutes from me. We've gone to Young's Dairy multiple times and Yellow Springs is just down the road , a hippie little town Dave Chapelle calls home.

I don't doubt for a minute that there were a few Haitians that did some crazy stuff, you have 15,000 of them in a city where there are almost zero resources for them.

Also, getting to the core of it, DeWine has a conflict of interest - he supports a charity that educates Haitian children. They gave $400k in 2023 to the charity. So whatever he says in defense of Haitians should be taken with a grain of salt, but his actions say otherwise - when you have to bring in State Police from around the rest of the state to help maintain order in the town, you've got problems.

Also you have quotes from nameless business owners who say they love the Haitians working for them with "I wish we could hire 100 more of them". You know that is some bullshit propaganda - they have 15K of 'em in the city. I mean who wouldn't want an immigrant who struggles with the language, has the lowest education attainment of all immigrants and native born citizens and are the most impoverished. There only so many of them that can work at Burger King

Regardless of whether anyone catches a goose or a cat, the bigger issue here is politicians making a decision to change the demographics of a city without any long term plan on how to support it - which is indicative of the current immigration plan of the current administration.

They simply don't prioritize American citizens and you have to ask why - especially when they are attempting to pump these people into states like Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Michigan and Florida

Its not a great melting pot when you change the demographics of a region. There is nothing diverse about changing the population of a city in 4 years bringing in higher crime, incidents of civil disorder and gutting the services provided to residents in housing, education and healthcare

[hedge]

"when you have to bring in State Police from around the rest of the state to help maintain order in the town, you've got problems."

Indeed, problems with yahoos who Trump and Vance have stirred up with lies who are now calling in bomb threats and shutting shit down...

[eCat]

"when you have to bring in State Police from around the rest of the state to help maintain order in the town, you've got problems."

Indeed, problems with yahoos who Trump and Vance have stirred up with lies who are now calling in bomb threats and shutting shit down...

If you are going to believe the officials when you say they aren’t eating geese then believe them when they say the bomb threats are originating outside the United States

[hedge]

This sounds a little more local than that:

“… On Aug. 10, a group wearing ski masks and carrying swastika flags and rifles marched in Springfield. The ADL identified them as Blood Tribe, which it describes as a growing neo-Nazi group claiming to have chapters across the U.S. and Canada.

On Aug. 27, during the routine public-comment portion of the Springfield City Commission meeting, a man identifying himself as a Blood Tribe member said: “I’ve come to bring a word of warning. Stop what you’re doing before it’s too late. Crime and savagery will only increase with every Haitian you bring in.” (Hmm, does that sound familiar? Almost verbatim Trump)

Rue, the mayor, interrupted him, saying “You sound threatening to me,” and asking police to peacefully remove him.

And recently, roughly 20 individuals claiming to represent the Proud Boys marched in the town.

Springfield NAACP President Denise Williams said residents are on edge from visits by the groups. “I’m saying to our people near and far to please stand down and don’t approach these guys—they are armed,” she said. “It’s quite dangerous.”

[Then Vance and Trump took it national]

… Blood Tribe took a victory lap for its presence in the town, boasting on Sept. 11, “We are on the ground in Springfield weekly—we even showed up to their City Council Meeting.”

Vance, meanwhile, has continued to defend his claims.

… A Vance spokesperson on Tuesday provided The Wall Street Journal with a police report in which a resident had claimed her pet might have been taken by Haitian neighbors.

But when a reporter went to Anna Kilgore’s house Tuesday evening, she said her cat Miss Sassy, which went missing in late August, had actually returned a few days later—found safe in her own basement. …

[Meanwhile, even Vance shifted from pet eating to increased disease claims are misleading w/r/t HIV cases and otherwise a lie] …

Information from the county health department, however, shows a decrease in infectious disease cases countywide, with 1,370 reported in 2023—the lowest since 2015. The tuberculosis case numbers in the county are so low (four in 2023, three in 2022, one in 2021) that any little movement can bring a big percentage jump. HIV cases did increase to 31 in 2023, from 17 in 2022 and 12 in 2021. Overall, sexually transmitted infection cases decreased to 965 in 2023, the lowest since 2015. …”

[hedge]

City Manager Bryan Heck fielded an unusual question at City Hall on the morning of Sept. 9, from a staff member of Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance. The staffer called to ask if there was any truth to bizarre rumors about Haitian immigrants and pets in Springfield.

“He asked point-blank, ‘Are the rumors true of pets being taken and eaten?’” recalled Heck.

“I told him no. There was no verifiable evidence or reports to show this was true. I told them these claims were baseless.”

By then, Vance had already posted about the rumors to his 1.9 million followers on X. Yet he kept the post up, and repeated an even more insistent version of the claim the next morning.

That night, former President Donald Trump stood on a Philadelphia debate stage and shot the rumor into the stratosphere.

… It was the culmination of a spectacular collision of forces that thrust Springfield into the heart of the U.S. presidential election.

Over the summer, outside neo-Nazi groups—which specialize in exploiting local controversy to foment outrage about migrants—had seized on a local controversy and fanned the narrative of pet-eating Haitians.

Then the Trump campaign blasted those rumors to the world—and kept pushing them even after they were exposed as lies. The Trump campaign continues to run hard at the controversy. Trump last Friday said he planned “large deportations” from Springfield—whose Haitian community is overwhelmingly in the country legally.

Trump campaign surrogate Vivek Ramaswamy plans to host a town hall in Springfield this Thursday. Vance said on Tuesday that Trump would like to visit Springfield, too, at some point.

Attempts to contain the damage in Springfield were quickly overwhelmed despite city leaders’ racing from meeting to meeting trying to stem the tide.

The Ohio state police were called in to protect local children as they returned to school. A security tower with cameras was erected outside City Hall. Thirty-six bomb threats had been logged as of Tuesday evening. …”

[hedge]

“… It’s in the middle of the middle of the U.S., with a name so generically American it was used in the classic sitcoms “Father Knows Best” and “The Simpsons.”

The town sprung up along the Old National Road, the first highway built by the federal government. From the beginning, it was a place of immigrants: first the Irish, who traveled the road westward in the early 1800s, then the Germans, who founded the town’s flagship Wittenberg University in the 1840s, and eventually a wave of Black Americans fleeing the South in the mid-20th century.

This recent wave of Haitian immigrants was initially welcomed. The town’s fortunes had declined alongside those of the rest of the Rust Belt, with the population dropping from 83,000 in 1960 to 59,000 in 2020. The pandemic created a crunch in the available labor force as many workers stayed home out of choice or necessity, collecting stimulus checks. [My side note — never change, WSJ, stimulus to the working class is the great evil that ruined work ethic, we get it]

Haitians were fleeing danger in their increasingly lawless country, particularly after the assassination of their president in 2021. In Springfield, they were welcomed by evangelical groups and employers alike. Friends and family members followed loved ones there.

… They were able to immigrate legally under a Biden administration policy granting Temporary Protected Status to Haitians as part of a program created by Congress in 1990 to protect immigrants from countries deemed too dangerous to return to.

The local economy boomed. Business owners said they were grateful to have workers eager to work long shifts and do what it took to meet production goals. New subdivisions sprung up in the cornfields outside town. New restaurants opened. The Haitian flag flew at City Hall.

Growth came with growing pains. The number of non-native English speakers in the public schools quadrupled to more than 1,000 children. The local clinic and hospital were overwhelmed with people fleeing a country where healthcare had been scant. Traffic increased, as did frustration with drivers more accustomed with the chaotic streets of Port-au-Prince than the orderly grid of Springfield.

… an evangelical pastor named Carl Ruby, who ran an “immigrant integration” not-for-profit organization, sought out a local GOP leader who had criticized him online. Ruby said he shook the hand of Mark Sanders, who had become a leading critic in town of the influx of immigrants—and wouldn’t let go until he agreed to meet.

… Ruby offered to share tax documents for his organization that would dispel rumors he was getting rich from his nonprofit. He also said he didn’t own rental properties or benefit from a local employment agency that has employed Haitians, as had been rumored.

Sanders, who has likened Ruby to a “coyote” who makes money from helping people cross into the U.S. illegally, agreed to take down some of his online posts but the two men haven’t spoken since.

“I think he believed me, but I don’t think it fits his narrative,” Ruby said. He’s not interested in another get-together. “Logic and truth just don’t matter at this point to that group.”

Sanders, a retired engineer, had started working as a school bus driver to comfort his daughter, who had been scared to get back on the bus after Aiden Clark’s death. He said he would be open to another meeting because he believes he can show ways that the Haitians have hurt the city. “I can show you the detriments,” he said. “Show me the benefits.” …”

[aTm]

Lets get this thread back on track. Anybody got any good dog recipes?

[hedge]

I bet RFK Jr. does. Kind of ironic that the only person who has actually eaten a dog is working for Trump's campaign...