39 thoughts on “News/Politics 11-16-24”

  1. “The s*x trafficking allegations against Gaetz first surfaced in 2021 in the New York Times with an anonymous source. For the next 18 months, the DOJ did an investigation. As we all know, these investigations after anonymous leaks to the press are the way that Democrats take down Republicans. After all that was how Russia gate started for Donald Trump.

    Then, after the Democrats run out all their political capital from that pack of lies, the Washington Post ran a story with another anonymous source about how charges were not going to be filed. 18 months later.

    The ethics investigation was started in 2021, almost immediately after the anonymous story came out from the New York Times. Yet for some reason once the charges were dropped, the House ethics investigation was not.

    The DOJ investigation and the house ethics investigation is about the exact same thing. Same claims, same “evidence.”

    And if you look at the history of the ethics investigations in the House of Representatives, they usually don’t begin until the DOJ investigations ends.

    Yet in January of 2024, after the DOJ had concluded its investigation into Gaetz, all of a sudden the house ethics investigation heated up. I’m sure it had nothing to do with the fact that Gaetz was pivotal in ousting speaker McCarthy, who by the way was the first speaker to be ousted.

    McCarthy blamed the ouster on the ethics probe which is preposterous, because according to CNN the ethics probe didn’t heat up until 2024 and McCarthy was ousted in 2023.

    But the Daily Beast revealed that the DOJ was stonewalling the House Ethics Committee requests. Strange.

    So I went and did some research to see how many times the house ethics committee continued an investigation after the DOJ concluded theirs and decided not to press charges.

    In the last 50 years there have only been three instances, George Santos, Vern Buchanan and Matt Gaetz.

    In the case of Vern Buchanan, after the DOJ declined to prosecute, the house ethics committee cleared it.

    So as you can see the Matt Gaetz ethics probe didn’t heat up until long after the DOJ declined to prosecute and coincidentally it didn’t heat up until after he ousted McCarthy speaker.

    Our biggest problem is Republicans and we really all need to understand that because the Democrats will have limited power, but Republicans, that is who we need to bring to heel. And the way to do that is to become extremely informed about who is motivated to do what and why…”

    https://x.com/DefiyantlyFree/status/1857634680348053510?t=dwgZaq-xxSEexOCHA1Ug0Q&s=19

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  3. What this clueless Congressman is proposing is called treason.

    https://x.com/Sassafrass_84/status/1857553283713253490?t=yy9WYwm13Atdgdkhk0oDIg&s=19

    “Wait a damn minute.

    “Congressman Wiley, did you just say what I think you did? A shadow government?

    “We said that during Trumps first term, there was a shadown government. Conspiracy theory.

    “Now you’re openly admitting it?”

    You do realize this is treason, right?! If Kash Patel heads up as the fbi director, none of you are invisible from prosecution.

    I hope you understand what you’re saying.”

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  4. This is why they’re not to be taken seriously.

    https://x.com/MailOnline/status/1857518046434197758?t=hkrS24RC3dM5gthRIXiXEw&s=19

    “CDC warns of measles surge and decline in vaccinations as Trump nominates vaccine-skeptic RFK Jr to head health “

    —-

    https://x.com/Emilio2763/status/1857556367461994712?t=5KZ4pF0JtlxYC4k3EVkaJg&s=19

    “Yes in the 2 Days Since RFKJr was Nominated He’s Already Caused Measles to Surge and It’s Not the Fact Democrats Let In 15 Million Illegals…”

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  5. “Pentagon gently leaking to Axios that the Houthis are now effectively in control over the Red Sea. I read from this that they can now credibly attack US navy vessels.”

    https://x.com/philippilk/status/1857460398724726932?t=6xOBIyIfNHSDfaX52RASow&s=19

    —-

    “But the important thing is that the SecDef who let this happen had four stars in his shoulder, so we know he’s qualified to run the pentagon. Unlike that Hegseth guy.”

    https://x.com/Heminator/status/1857798418740973792?t=oPce3SoPrEP2PZCGYgAnxw&s=19

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  6. Time to reign in the idiocy that’s causing our govt agencies to bleed money, and stray far from their intended mission.

    https://x.com/OwenGregorian/status/1857756802445619396?t=Scc7Ik5zOeyRoWVeL63zsw&s=19

    “NASA staff beg Elon Musk to ‘clean house’ after agency spent millions of Americans’ money on DEI agenda | Daily Mail

    NASA staff are calling on Elon Musk to ‘clean house’ as it is revealed the agency blew millions of taxpayer money on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs.

    Spending reports from 2020 to 2024 showed NASA awarded grants to universities and consulting firms to support ‘environmental justice’ and initiatives that ’embrace greater diversity and inclusive practices.

    ‘LMI consulting received over $2 million in 2023 for NASA to ’embark on a venture to incorporate and deeply engrain diversity, inclusion, equity and accessibility in the culture and business.’

    Another $3 million went to Booze Allen Hamilton in March to support NASA’s ‘office of diversity and equal opportunity DEI data analytic specialty,’ and $ 7 million was announced last month for six ‘minority-serving institutions.’

    Amid these expenditures, staff have voiced concerns online about budget shortages, citing struggles with ‘limited funds’ due to ‘wasteful spending.’ Software engineer Kyle Sorensen told he hopes Musk will ‘clean house.’

    Musk, along with former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, was tapped to lead the Department of Government Efficiency that aims to ‘slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures and restructure Federal Agencies.’

    A former NASA employee told DailyMail.com that NASA’s DEI is ‘destroying America’s ability to compete with China in space because the Biden-Harris administration will only fund programs that feature it.

    ‘NASA receives, on average, about 0.4 percent of what the US government spends each year, but is still given a budget of at least $20 billion.

    While the space agency has dished out millions for DEI, it’s data showed it generated more than $75.6 billionin economic output across all 50 states and Washington, D.C., in fiscal year 2023.

    Yet, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) laid off five percent, 325 employees, of its workforce this week and a previous 530 that were let go in February.

    The American space agency began incorporating diversity and equal employment opportunity elements into supervisors’ performance plans in 2005 but did not hold leaders fully accountable until 2021.

    This shift coincided with the Biden-Harris Administration’s executive order, emphasizing diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility within the federal workforce.”

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  7. “The Most Chilling Moment From Dinner With Donald Trump Last night I had dinner next to Donald Trump at Mar A Lago.

    After being welcomed to the dining area with thunderous applause Trump got out his iPad and began to DJ – as he is known to do. The first song Trump played gave the entire club chills…

    Trump played “Justice For All” a patriotic song he recorded with the J6 Prison Choir, a group of 20 men imprisoned after the riot at the United States Capitol.

    The profits from the song are dedicated to the legal aid for political prisoners incarcerated by the Biden regime. The entire club stood in reverent silence as the haunting song rung out across the cavernous halls.

    This was a defiant message from President-Elect Trump to January 6th political prisoners: ‘We have not forgotten you. Hold on. Justice is coming…’”

    https://x.com/bennyjohnson/status/1857822330031911310?t=fs_x1mP-2iE-tPKEOKKApg&s=19

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  8. Sorry Trey, lies won’t help your case in defense of the FBI..

    https://x.com/seanmdav/status/1857643437056516583?t=51u4PJDC4B1yCpWS4J8OvA&s=19

    “Trey Gowdy Didn’t Even See Documents He Claims Exonerate FBI On Spygate: Reports”

    https://thefederalist.com/2018/05/30/trey-gowdy-didnt-even-see-documents-he-claims-exonerate-fbi-on-spygate-reports/

    “Although Gowdy intimated that the information he received in a briefing last week made clear the FBI did nothing wrong, numerous reports from multiple news outlets indicated that the lawmakers DOJ invited to the briefing were not given access to all of the records HPSCI subpoenaed. Other comments Gowdy made during recent television interviews raise questions about how firm a grasp he has on the investigation and concerns the investigation has raised.”

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  13. Playing hardball, which is the will of Trump voters, the victors. Let’s dig into their finances and out the dirty and compromised, which is half the R party and 3/4 of Democrats.

    https://x.com/realdogenews/status/1857858050649903554?t=8DmdDr8oc4qfNINlBAHiwA&s=19

    “If the US Senate prevents Matt Gaetz from being Attorney General then we will bring Gaetz into the Department of Government Efficiency.

    We will give him the task of auditing the FEC reports of the US Senators who opposed him.

    Check mate!”

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  15. “Here is the hidden reason why Senate Republican turncoats are trying block Trump’s cabinet picks.

    The selection of @MattGaetz for attorney general, although controversial, is a blessing in disguise.

    Trump has pulled off a master stroke to smoke out the corrupt senators who are in the backpockets of the deep state.

    You can bet after Uniparty hacks backed disastrous AG Merrick Garland by a count of 70-30, they don’t have any ethical problems with DOJ weaponization.

    It’s just that they fear that their attack dogs will fall into the hands of Donald Trump.

    You can tell by the way Merrick Garland defied congressional subpoenas only to get a few sternly worded letters from Senate Republicans.

    AG Garland escaped the standard of “justice” that he set, despite overseeing a ruinous lawfare campaign against former President Donald Trump that was undertaken for the purpose of election interference.

    Remember: Peter Navarro and Steve Bannon were *JAILED* for defying congressional subpoenas.

    It is my belief most senators are mortified that the surveillance apparatus has career-ending dirt on them. If these compromised senators dare to defy the intelligence community, then they risk the world learning about their dirty deeds.

    This power struggle over cabinet picks will only serve to further illustrate what Donald Trump has shown to be true since the moment that he first came down that escalator.

    The U.S. government is rotten to its foundation. The only thing left to do is uproot the bad actors who have hijacked our government and return control of it to the American people.

    This will not be an easy fight. It will be an ugly one.

    But Donald Trump seems to be up to the challenge.”

    https://x.com/kylenabecker/status/1857911346949439536?t=MS870CY-iWp2aVd9d-U3dQ&s=19

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  17. Turns out that Tweet about proposing a shadow government was for real. Here are Rep Nickel’s suggestions for the shadow cabinet presented on the floor of the House.

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  19. Time to clean house. And Hegseth will do just that.

    “Department of defense official laughs in Jon Stewart’s face when questioned about the waste, fraud and abuse there.

    https://x.com/MAGAResource/status/1857954968579584026?t=0YU-snRMgmPDF4gy1Lp9yg&s=19

    Stewart is a liberal but is stunned at Democrat Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks’ smug answer when he questions her about the rampant waste, fraud and abuse at the department of defense.

    The DOD has failed seven consecutive audits.”

    —-

    Shut them down.

    https://x.com/CollinRugg/status/1858177918238662749?t=gWPPhZk7l9Nh8numOa_pDQ&s=19

    “Vivek Ramaswamy says entire government agencies will be axed under DOGE, says cuts will be achieved through executive action.

    “Over half a trillion dollars that’s spent every year right now was not even authorized by Congress in the first place.”

    “The Pentagon has just failed its seventh consecutive audit, nearly a trillion dollars of budget. They can’t even tell you where it goes.”

    “So I think part of this is exposing for the public, the extent of that rot and waste, but then to take steps first through executive action…””

    ——

    It’s long overdue.

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  20. The rats are getting nervous. 🙂

    https://x.com/Patri0tContr0l/status/1857833305166446816?t=Xp7ftXsR3QVw0KhMeLYFIA&s=19

    “Andy McCabe, the guy who helped launch the Russiagate hoax against Trump and Flynn, says Kash Patel would not run the FBI “faithfully, ethically, and legally”.

    That’s rich coming from him.

    He then says Kash is unqualified: “At the end of the day, Kash Patel is profoundly incapable of running the FBI. He is absolutely unqualified for that position. He’s never run anything in his life that I’m aware of.”

    Lastly, he says Kash wouldn’t receive any respect from law enforcement: “The idea that Kash Patel would walk into a room of police chiefs and sheriffs and command any level of respect and recognition is absurd.”

    Panic harder, Andy. Treason doesn’t pay well in the end.”

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  23. This is old news. Anyone paying attention already knew this. The entire FBI has been politicized, and needs an exterminator to remove the rats.

    https://x.com/JMichaelWaller/status/1857987420991475893?t=d6mIX9M6-Yl-A0s7SJ1bPg&s=19

    “Straight out of FBI Headquarters: An FBI official warned the House Judiciary Committee “that the bureau’s security clearance division is politicized and can’t be trusted to screen President-elect Donald Trump’s nominees for top administration jobs.”

    —-

    https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2024/nov/16/whistleblower-warns-fbi-trusted-background-checks-/

    “The official said the security clearance process has been “contaminated by the political agendas of [Security Division] officials and other executives in the FBI.”

    The process is also subordinate to the same FBI executives who Mr. Trump has promised to sweep out of the agency, according to the whistleblower.“

    FBI SecD has been politicized, and both Director [Christopher] Wray and Deputy Director [Paul] Abbate have the ability to examine the background investigations of anyone who is having a security clearance done,” said the disclosure, which was submitted on Saturday.

    The FBI whistleblower said lawmakers need to know that the background investigations are conducted by SecD, the same office that has been accused of weaponizing the process and using it to retaliate against FBI employees because of their political views, including conservative and pro-Trump views.”

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  27. “The White House: We’re unable to track $6.2 billion dollars sent to Ukraine.

    California: We’re unable to track $24 billion dollars spent to combat homelessness.

    The Pentagon: We’re unable to track $2.3 trillion dollars of military spending.

    The U.S. Treasury: We’re unable to track $5 trillion dollars of pandemic spending.

    The IRS: We know you sent $601.57 to your friend, you better report it or you’re going to jail.

    There’s a lot of material for @elonmusk and @VivekGRamaswamy at @DOGE for sure.”

    https://x.com/alifarhat79/status/1857886071062700340?t=cUhf7tXNZpe-WndVybIlYA&s=19

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  28. The controversy surrounding Gaetz is easily solved – release the House report. Speaker Johnson is wrong when he says this breaks precedent; reports have been released before even after a member resigned. And in Gaetz’s case he’s basically transferring to another gov’t job. Can you imagine the outcry if a teacher resigned from one school to be a principal at another school and the board closed the investigation without releasing the report?

    Gaetz is the swamp — he wants to hide his own mess.

    hrw

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  29. Proposing a shadow government with assigned critics is pretty normal in a parliamentary democracy. The concept of loyal opposition is common in any democracy. The Republicans say similar things when a Democrat is elected president — they were committed to opposing anything Obama proposed. Not because they were disloyal but because they thought they had a better idea for the direction of the government. Without an opposition, you drift into authoritarianism.

    hrw

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  30. I find RFK interesting. He’s definitely a kook and without his last name nobody would’ve taken him seriously. His vaccine ideas are completely wrong especially with common childhood illness we’ve managed to avoid for the last two or three generations. Not too mention wiping out smallpox.

    However, he has very good points when it comes to the food industry and processed foods. The North American food industry is near evil. There are chemicals, food dyes, preservatives, sugars, salts, etc in our food that the EU won’t let near a grocery store let alone the food. The food is healthier and better tasting in the EU. If he cleans up the food industry, it might be worth a bit of vaccine hesitancy.

    My real concern is the Secy’ of Defence nomination. From his own writings and actions, it appears he wants to start Armaggadon or at the very least give Israel a green light for more genocide. A third temple?? Hopefully Rubio reins in both Negseth and Huckabee.

    Why are we concerned about the Houthis and the Red Sea. I thought it was America First and isolationism. No more warmongers. Let the Saudis take care of it.

    hrw

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  31. Musk cleaning house is amusing. They had to create a new agency just for him — there’s gov’t waste right there. And he can’t even monitor Twitter properly. Although everybody knows military spending is corrupt – but that pays for reelection when you can spread it out to your district.

    Gowdy is the newest victim of the purity regime. The Republican party will run out of members soon.

    Votes are still being counted. We’re now at almost 151 presidential votes. Only 4 million short from 2020s record. Trump is at 50.1%

    Canada has really short easy ballots — only one vote to count for a federal election. We hand count them. Sometimes a district will take longer than others even into a few weeks. With the long and complicated ballots some American states have I’m not surprised it takes this long. As long as every vote is counted.

    hrw

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  32. HRW,

    The ethics report is a hit job and extortion attempt by a man currently in prison for using the same smear on others. That’s why the DoJ wouldn’t touch it. It was unfounded. But now those crying for its release do so as a means to further the slander, truth be damned. It’s all about slinging mud. Ya’ll oughta be ashamed.

    https://x.com/MZHemingway/status/1858235849097252872?t=lQeiw9A_ozvvyI2mNMZFUg&s=19

    “Guy who made salacious claims about Matt Gaetz is currently in federal prison for making up same claims about someone else.”

    —-

    https://thefederalist.com/2024/11/17/house-probe-into-matt-gaetz-relies-on-witnesses-doj-found-lacked-credibility/

    “The report comes years after DOJ dropped its investigation into the same claims on the grounds that the two central witnesses had serious credibility issues. Yet these are the same two central witnesses the House Ethics Committee has relied on for its critical report of Gaetz—the same report it is leaking to compliant reporters as part of a coordinated effort to thwart his nomination as President-elect Donald Trump’s next attorney general.

    The two witnesses have massive credibility problems. The claims arose from Joel Greenberg, “one of the most corrupt Florida politicians of all time,” according to Florida reporter Marc Caputo, who is now with the anti-Trump media outlet The Bulwark.

    Among many things the former Seminole County tax collector admitted to as part of a wide-ranging case for which he is currently serving 11 years in prison was falsely accusing local political opponent Brian Beute of having sex with a minor, similar to the outlandish claim he made against Gaetz. Greenberg also reportedly later attempted to frame his own attorney with pornographic images of children. One New York Times writeup of Greenberg was headlined, “Like the Tiger King Got Elected Tax Collector.“

    According to the Washington Post, Greenberg admitted to “fabricating allegations against a schoolteacher who was running against him to be a tax collector. Greenberg had sent letters to the school falsely claiming the teacher had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a student — a similar allegation to the Gaetz case.” U.S. District Judge Gregory Presnell, appointed by President Bill Clinton, said Greenberg’s actions against that innocent victim were “downright evil.”

    Too Ridiculous For Even The DOJ

    The politicized employees at DOJ have shown themselves willing to explore novel legal theories and bend federal rules to the breaking point in pursuit of their most reviled political opponents, most notably former and future President Trump. Gaetz has a reputation as one of the most tenacious cross-examiners of DOJ officials from his perch on the House Judiciary Committee.”

    ——

    This is the grossest type of political character assassination out there. The people who support this sort of thing, or play along quietly on the fence, knowing it what for what is, but not saying a word, are rank political opportunists.

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  33. HRW, I haven’t “followed” RFK all that closely, but he does say strongly that he is not anti-vax, that his own children are fully vaccinated, but that he had hesitancy on the requirement to be vaccinated with an unproven vaccine–a perfectly reasonable hesitation in which he is not alone, and which has proven over time to have been a wise hesitation.

    (I “waited” to get vaccinated since we were in isolation anyway, and by the time I would have gone forward with getting one, I didn’t see any point. The side effects sounded more dangerous than the weakening Covid itself at that point, and the shot didn’t do much good and needed to be repeated frequently. Definitely one of those things that you make up your own mind rather than being required to participate!)

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  34. “Yet even the DOJ was unwilling to exploit Greenberg’s unsubstantiated claims — apart from leaking them to the press to hurt Gaetz’s reputation. They announced their closure of the investigation in 2022.

    The House Ethics Committee, however, decided to pick up the dropped and deflated ball and run with it a full year after DOJ dropped the investigation. The fact that the disgraced Greenberg was cooperating with the House Ethics Committee was shared for publication with The New York Times and other media outlets.

    The news media “should not be laundering smears from people in prison,” a Gaetz spokesman said at the time. Gaetz speculated that the House ethics investigation was punishment for his leading role in the controversial defenestration of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a move that angered many of his Republican colleagues.”

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  35. HRW, I agree with you about the food industry. Perhaps RFK can shake it up.

    About the vax, what Cheryl said. No one should be forced to take an unproven vax. And the lies about those who wouldn’t the ake it are obnoxious.

    And Gaetz can probably be a recess appointment and save us all the hoopla. But, if you insist on the popcorn, maybe Tulsi’s confirmation circus will provide the show—-her being a “Putin puppet” and all. I heard a talking head call her a Manchurian candidate yesterday.

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  36. I agree with HRW about the food and vaccine mandates. I’d also like to see a major reduction in vaccines given to infants, particularly all at the same time.

    For the rest of it— interesting.

    M

    Liked by 2 people

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  37. Taaa…. Daaaaa!

    Magic!

    —-

    “We’re saving you 40%” by starting to charge $9 to enter Manhattan instead of $15 as we originally planned; “this lower toll will save daily commuters nearly $1,500 annually.”

    https://x.com/brithume/status/1858248848310735313?t=JRZg3o-LUPqesjXbH8MQrg&s=19

    We’re now charging you $9. Before this it was $0. On what planet is the math so bad that you think you’re saving the constituents money?

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  38. The hand wringing has begun with one of the political rags here in CO. Not sympathetic at all…obey our laws and problem solved

    President-elect Donald Trump’s promise to kick off a mass deportation of immigrants living in Colorado illegally is setting up a showdown in a state with more than a half-million immigrants — a state that leans toward inclusion rather than exclusion, and that relies on immigrants for a healthy economy.

    In Colorado, 1 in 10 residents is an immigrant of one sort or another: illegal with no permission to be in the country; with green-card status; working with visa permits; brought here as children with “Dreamer” protection; and naturalized citizens.

    All are now under an immigration crackdown cloud as some in Trump’s orbit are publicly stating that America is now only for Americans. Trump has said that millions of immigrants across the country stand to be deported and that immigrant roundups will begin with “Operation Aurora,” a sweep in the Colorado city that Trump has falsely claimed has been taken over by criminal immigrant gangs Nope…he did not falsely claim this, the liberals falsely claim that it is false!!

    Gov. Jared Polis is taking a tightrope approach to the possibility of federal officers and troops coming to Colorado to round up immigrants.

    “We are always appreciative of federal assistance to make Colorado safer by prosecuting and deporting dangerous criminals. But we will not support deporting hardworking Americans and targeting innocent children and families,” said Eric Maruyama, a spokesperson for Polis. There they go with their false narrative of the innocent children again!

    Maruyama also addressed the economic devastation mass deportations would bring to Colorado. He said Polis is calling it “a recipe for a major recession” if farm and construction workers are deported.

    Maruyama will not say how Polis plans to respond if Trump sends federal law officers to do a widespread immigration sweep in Colorado.

    The talk of mass deportations has struck fear in the many organizations across the state that work with immigrants.

    “Obviously there are no guardrails now,” said Kate Leslie, who works with an 

    Afghan resettlement organization that has brought more than a dozen families to the Boulder area and about 2,000 across the state.

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