You Don't Have to Use a Young Woman's Death to Flog Your

New Post Public Reply Private Reply Replies (2) Message Board

Aug 22, 2018 at 5:12 PM 186

Quote:

You Don't Have to Use a Young Woman's Death to Flog Your Agenda. You Can Be Decent.

Conservative media and ambitious politicians jumped all over the Mollie Tibbetts case.

By Charles P. Pierce
Aug 22, 2018

On Tuesday evening, the body of missing Iowa college student Mollie Tibbetts was found in a cornfield. She had been missing since July 18. An undocumented immigrant named Cristhian Bahena Rivera guided police to her body and he is now being held on $1 million bail on a charge of first-degree murder. And an insupportable tragedy comes to a tragic end, right?

Not when there are crooked politicians willing to exploit tragedy for political gain. Like our president. From CNN:

"You heard about today with the illegal alien coming in very sadly from Mexico. And you saw what happened to that incredible beautiful young woman. Should have never happened. Illegally in our country," he said. "We've had a huge impact but the laws are so bad, the immigration laws are such a disgrace. We're getting it changed but we have to get more Republicans."

The Trumpified conservative media jumped all over this case, and so did ambitious politicians from around the country. Fox News led with the story, nearly dripping with gratitude to not be talking about how the president*'s former campaign manager was convicted and how his former fixer copped a plea. Texas Governor Greg Abbott leaped onto the electric Twitter machine.

Greg Abbott
✔ @GregAbbott_TX

An undocumented immigrant is charged for murder of Mollie Tibbetts, the Iowa college student who went missing on July 18. This is why so many Americans are angry about sanctuary cities. It’s why Texas banned sanctuary cities. It’s about safety

Greg Abbott does not have the class god gave the common goose.

And, as a warning against hubris, as if all of Classical Greek literature wasn't enough, The Des Moines Register reported that Rivera, the undocumented immigrant, worked on a farm owned by the family of a prominent Iowa Republican. The going around and the coming around are happening at an alarming rate these days.

But there's another story of another murder of another resident of Iowa in the year 2018. In June, a high-school student named Manuel Pacheco, brought to this country by his parents from Mexico at the age of three, and a participant in the DACA program, ran into misdemeanor trouble with the law.

He was getting ready to graduate from high school. Instead, ICE officials picked him up and dropped him at the Mexican border, essentially saying he didn't have to go home, but he couldn't stay here. This is called a "voluntary departure." The alternative is to be deported.

The Des Moines Register picks up the story from there.

In Zacatecas, Manuel had gone out to get food with an acquaintance of his cousin's, who apparently was known to the killers, Verduzco said. "He was in the wrong place at the wrong time." Both were killed. Manuel's throat was slit.

There is now a President* of the United States who encourages his audiences to believe that there is no difference between Cristhian Rivera, the alleged murderer, and Manuel Pacheco, a murder victim in a native country he barely knew.

There is an entire political party dedicated to promulgating that that viewpoint, and an entire media universe dedicated to blasting it out to an audience of timid shut-ins who hate punching 1 for English.

The final word should go to Sam Lucas, who identified as one of Mollie's cousins on the electric Twitter machine and, in a counterpunch to Candace Owens, a new celebrity nuisance on the wingnut right right, wrote:

@samlucasss

sam Retweeted Candace Owens

hey i’m a member of mollie’s family and we are not so fucking small-minded that we generalize a whole population based on some bad individuals. now stop being a fucking snake and using my cousins death as political propaganda. take her name out of your mouth.

Indeed.

Newer

Older

Scroll down for more posts ▼

Top 10 Most Recent News Articles

Langford Chosen for Navy Mutual's 2026 Bolles Award

Awarding a Military Financial Educator There's something profoundly rewarding when hard work and dedication get their due recognition. That's precisely what's happened for Lacey Langford, who’s just been awarded the Lieutenant Timothy Dix Bolles Excellency in Education Award by the Navy Mutual Aid Association, or simply Navy Mutual. This isn’t just some...

SAMILBIO Gambles on 'Chaeyun' Launch With November Events

Can SAMILBIO's New Products Make a Splash? In a world where skincare is more competitive than a hot dog stand outside a vegan festival, here comes SAMILBIO with their latest offerings. Launching a whitening cream and an acne-fighting gel under the 'Chaeyun' brand, this company isn't just sticking to digital—it's diving into face-to-face consumer interaction. I mean,...

Fashion and Philanthropy Unite at UBCF Kick-off Party

Exclusivity and Dedication Mix at UBCF Event When fashion and philanthropy get together, you better believe it's more than just a pleasant evening. The Frederick Anderson Collection is hosting a swanky cocktail reception, kicking off the United Breast Cancer Foundation's (UBCF) highly-anticipated Think Pink Gala, and it's shaping up to be a unique affair wrapped in...

NIDS Aims Global with CES 2027, Boosts Sensor Supply

Pushing Boundaries at CES 2027 Kicking into high gear, NIDS Co., Ltd. is eyeing the CES 2027 stage like it's their personal gold rush. Already a heavyweight in environmental sensors, the company is all set to seize fresh international opportunities and expand their B2B supply footprint worldwide. Already Turning Heads Founded back in 2000, NIDS ain't new to the sensor...

XPeng Hits New Monthly Delivery Record in October

XPeng Smashes Delivery Records Yet Again Ah, the green light’s on for XPeng, and it's a bright one! This October, we learned that XPeng hit the throttle hard with a new record of 50,237 vehicles delivered. Now, that's a sizable rally—a 22% climb month-over-month and shooting 20% higher than last October. For a company like XPeng, which resembles a bulldog with its...

iTLC Traffic Systems Expand Global Reach at APTA 2026

APTA 2026: The Launchpad for Intelligent Traffic Control Forget the days of manual traffic chaos—by the sounds of it, smart intersections are ready to rule the roads. Today's chatter at APTA 2026 in Chicago was a whirlwind of ideas, all centered around how ICP DAS and Towards Buddha Co., Ltd. plan to shake up traffic management globally with their iTLC Intelligent...

Context Labs Unveils AI Distillery for Enterprises

Rethinking AI with Sovereignty in Mind A bouquet of tech buzzwords lands on every investor's doorstep with the unveiling of Context Labs' latest contraption. We’re talking about the AI Distillery™, which promises enterprises a way to run sovereign AI systems by keeping data in-house. Now, if you’re nodding along to the buzz, let's cut through the clutter....

SCANOLOGY's AirGO Pad Revolutionizes On-Site Inspections

Mobile 3D Scanning — Finally, Some Real Innovation Gone are the days where engineers had to cart around bulky laptops just to finish a simple inspection. SCANOLOGY has thrown a real game-changer into the mix with their new AirGO Pad. It's essentially a slick tablet that keeps your scanning, inspecting, and reporting all in one place, right beside whatever tangled hunk...

Race for Life Rescue Logs 200 Flights for Shelter Pets

Airborne Lifelines for Vulnerable Animals Ever picture an airplane filled with hope? Well, Race for Life Rescue isn't just carting metal through the sky; they're lifting spirits, one furry passenger at a time. Picture this: a nonprofit turning a clunky Beechcraft into a flying ark, whisking away 112 at-risk pets from Louisiana to fresh starts in the Northeast. And guess...

OlloBot's Emotional AI Robots Connect Beyond Tasks

OlloBot Eyes Emotional Bonds, Not Just Robotics Power Is it just me, or is OlloBot onto something deep with their emotional AI companions? They've set a course that might just redefine how we perceive home robotics. At IFA Berlin 2026, they didn't just strut their technical stuff. Nope, they took it beyond gears and gadgets, turning heads with a robot that does more than...