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‘Moral Rot’: Abbott’s ‘Illegal Immigrants’ Attack on Five Murder Victims Called ‘Dehumanizing’ – It Also May Be False

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Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott is being highly criticized after labeling five family members who reportedly were slaughtered “almost execution style” by a neighbor, “illegal immigrants.” He’s also wrong, according to an immigrants rights activist who posted what he says is the green card of one of the victims, which would mean she was in the U.S. lawfully and legally.

On Friday the suspect – still at large –38-year old Francisco Oropeza, was asked by one of his Cleveland, Texas neighbors to stop shooting off his AR-15 in his front yard, Reuters reports, because it was keeping their baby awake. He then allegedly went to their house and shot to death the mother, her 8-year old son, and three members of their extended family who were at the house at the time.

Abbott waited until Sunday to make his remarks about the massacre, including a $50,000 reward. Friday’s massacre is the 174th mass shooting this year (there have been 10 more since).

The victims are: Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25; Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21; Julisa Molina Rivera, 31; Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18; and Daniel Enrique Laso, 8. Guzman owned the house she and her family members were slaughtered in. Contrary to Governor Abbott’s claim, she is a legal U.S. resident, according to Carlos Eduardo Espina, who posted a copy of her green card to social media. The Houston Chronicle cited the green card post in their reporting.

READ MORE: Texas Lt. Governor Brags Just-Passed Senate Bill Is Bringing ‘Prayer Back to Our Public Schools’

There are unconfirmed reports on social media that at least some of the victims were in the U.S. seeking asylum, which would also mean they were not “illegal immigrants.”

Criticism is coming in hard and fast, with many noting that the victims’  immigration status has absolutely nothing to do with their deaths, and Abbott calling it out dehumanizes them. This latest criticism against Abbott for not recognizing the victims’ humanity echoes criticism he received last year, after his response to the deaths of more than 50 people found in San Antonio locked in a tractor-trailer that crossed the border into the United States. Abbott blamed the deaths on President Biden and his so-called “open-border policies.”

“Nice way to try and blame 5 victims of your gun policies—including an 8 yo, and the two little kids who survived—as the problem, you utter moral stain,” tweeted Mother Jones Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery, who is also the President of the American Society of Magazine Editors.

“How do you honor a family who was just tragically murdered?” asked Democratic strategist Larry Huynh. “Praising the parents who sacrificed to offer their child a better life? Offering condolences to the family members & hundreds of community members mourning their loss? Not if you’re sociopath Greg Abbott.”

READ MORE: Tacopina Requests Mistrial on Multiple Grounds, Including Judge Would Not Let Him Explain to Jury Why His Table Is Bigger

“8 innocent ppl incl. an 8 year old child murdered, but the Gov remains focused on the political benefits of dehumanizing them,” tweeted former President & Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF) Sherrilyn Ifill. “The moral rot that has been revealed in so many political leaders tells me that we are a short distance from having the capacity to do & allow the worst.”

Norman Ornstein, a contributing editor for the Atlantic, responded: “Moral rot. The prefect descriptor for Greg Abbott.”

 

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Family Food Costs Hit Record High Despite Trump Touting Cheaper Holiday Dinner

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As Americans prepare for Thanksgiving, President Donald Trump is promoting Walmart’s 25% cheaper holiday meal as evidence that grocery prices are falling. But the discount reflects a smaller, bargain-focused menu with fewer items and fewer name-brand products — lowering the cost of a one-time holiday feast without addressing the broader fact shoppers are seeing at the checkout line, that overall food prices have hit a record high this year.

The fact-checkers at Snopes reported on Friday that the cost of feeding a family of four for one month hit an all-time high of $1,030 this year. Snopes cited data from the Urban Institute, a Washington, D.C. think tank, whose October American Affordability Tracker compiled figures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

A separate report released Friday by Groundwork Collaborative, The Century Foundation, and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) found that many Thanksgiving basics have risen sharply, contradicting the claim that the Thanksgiving holiday meal is generally cheaper.

READ MORE: Trump to Hold Million-Dollar-a-Plate Fundraisers Amid Affordability Push

“The full holiday meal is up nearly 10% this year, more than triple the overall rate of inflation,” the report found. It stated that onions are up 56%, creamed corn is up more than 20%, butternut squash and collard greens have risen over 12%, and french-fried onion topping for a green bean casserole has climbed 15%.

Meanwhile, citing “the highest inflation in decades,” CNN reported on Friday that the “Trump administration’s unprecedented tariffs, the immigration crackdown and global natural disasters have rattled the food supply chain. Grocery prices rose in August at their fastest pace in three years and increased again in September, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.”

“This is coming on the heels of the highest inflation in decades,” the news network noted.

Americans should not expect grocery prices to drop before Thanksgiving, The New York Post revealed on Friday.

“Grocery prices will remain stiff across the board through Thanksgiving despite President Trump’s recent cancellation of tariffs on beef, bananas and more — and coffee drinkers shouldn’t expect relief until after Christmas.”

READ MORE: Trump State Department to Focus on God-Given Rights

 

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Trump to Hold Million-Dollar-a-Plate Fundraisers Amid Affordability Push

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As President Donald Trump and his administration continue their focus on touting affordability — insisting prices for many everyday food items have dropped while consumers lament grocery store prices — the President will be hosting two one-million-dollar-a-plate fundraisers for his super PAC early next year.

Inflation remains high at 3.0%. The unemployment rate is now the highest it’s been in nearly four years. Prices for items like beef, coffee, and bananas have increased by double-digit percentages. Major corporations have announced plans to lay off thousands or tens of thousands of workers. And millions of Americans are seeing their health care premiums for next year skyrocket, as Congress leaves D.C. for Thanksgiving break.

The president, meanwhile, has insisted there is little to no inflation, and calls affordability a Democratic “con job,” as he hosted the crown prince of Saudi Arabia this week for a lavish black-tie White House dinner.

READ MORE: ‘Very Serious Violation of the Law’: Trump Says Military Looking Into Democrats’ Video

“President Trump, who has been hosting fund-raising dinners at a pace unseen by any second-term president, is scheduled to hold two more early next year, according to copies of the invitations seen by The New York Times,” the Times reported on Friday. “Mr. Trump is slated to attend two high-dollar ‘candlelight dinners’ — one at Trump National Golf Club near Washington on Jan. 31, the second at Mar-a-Lago, Mr. Trump’s private club in Palm Beach, Fla., on Feb. 27.”

The Times also reports that politicians’ super PACs generally spend funds on the politicians’ own elections, but Trump is term-limited, according to the U.S. Constitution. While he has flirted with running for a third term, he recently acknowledged it is not permitted.

The White House has said Trump will be more focused on the cost of living in the new year.

Last month, a local CBS affiliate reported that “President Trump is expected to headline a $1 million-per-person candlelight dinner at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Oct. 17. The event is hosted by the Trump-aligned super PAC, MAGA, Inc., which raised $177 million in the first half of the year. The event is expected to have an impact on next year’s midterm elections.”

READ MORE: Trump State Department to Focus on God-Given Rights

 

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‘Very Serious Violation of the Law’: Trump Says Military Looking Into Democrats’ Video

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One day after calling for six Democratic lawmakers to be arrested for “seditious behavior,” President Donald Trump is now claiming the military is looking into a video they recorded reminding members of the U.S. Armed Forces and Intelligence Community of their duty to refuse unlawful orders.

“I think it’s a very serious violation of the law,” President Trump told Fox News Radio.

“I know they’re looking into it militarily,” Trump claimed.

“I think Pete Hegseth is looking into it, too,” he said of the Secretary of Defense. “I don’t know for a fact, but I think the military is looking into it — the military courts.”

READ MORE: Trump State Department to Focus on God-Given Rights

The six lawmakers — four House Democrats and two Senate Democrats — in a recorded video said, “No one has to carry out orders that violate the law, or our Constitution.”

Trump lashed out on Thursday.

“It’s called seditious behavior at the highest level,” he charged. “Each one of these traitors to our Country should be Arrested and put on trial. Their words cannot be allowed to stand – We won’t have a Country anymore!!! An example must be set.”

“Seditious behavior, punishable by death!” he continued.

Some of the Democrats are speaking out.

READ MORE: ‘Mob Shakedown’: Trump Ukraine Peace Plan Blasted as ‘Surrender to Putin’

On Friday, U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), who is one of the six lawmakers, was asked if she believed illegal orders have been given.

“Well, what I will say is that over the last nine or ten months, about 600 pieces of lawsuits have been filed in response to executive orders or orders in general, that this president and this administration has made. Of those, 150 or so have been ruled as being unlawful, many of them by judges that have been appointed by President Trump.

“So, yes, you know, those kinds of things are going on,” she noted.

READ MORE: ‘Sundown’: Trump Shows ‘Shocking’ Noticeable Mental Decline Journalist Says

 

Image via Reuters

 

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