The person who has been appointed to oversee immigration in this country is a world-class moron, and is obviously unfit for the job.
In a recent Senate hearing, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem made a concerning misstatement regarding the constitutional principle of habeas corpus. When Senator Maggie Hassan inquired about its meaning, Noem responded:
“Habeas corpus is a constitutional right that the president has to be able to remove people from this country.”
Senator Hassan promptly corrected her, stating, “That’s incorrect.”
If you know what habeas corpus is, raise your hand. Congratulations, you’re better qualified for appointment to the highest positions of authority in the United States than is Kristi Noem.
I think “habeas corpus” is the nickname she gave to the open gravel pit behind her house where she has the corpses of her family pets and horses.
I wonder if she’s deliberately lying to give a sound bite to push Trumpers further into their shared fantasy world.
@ #1: My working assumption with pretty much everybody in the Trump admin at this point is that they are not only stupider than you imagine, but stupider than you can imagine. I understand the impulse to look for some kind of “reasonable” explanation for why they do and say the things they do, and I realise that it’s upsetting to see your country being dragged to hell in a handbasket by a bunch of people who apparently shouldn’t be allowed to use cutlery unsupervised, but eventually you have to look at the totality of the broader pattern of behaviour and conclude that no, these people really are just complete fucking idiots. Evil, selfish, narrow-minded idiots, but idiots nonetheless.
The only qualifications for a Federal government job in your country seem to be the ability to fluently lie in a way that badly educated people will fall for. Any ability to speak the truth, or actually do the job seems to be a disqualification.
Sadly, it looks to me like badly educated people are in a near majority in your country, and a worryingly big minority in mine.
@Dunc: Yeah. It’s just staggering to see such fundamental incompetence rise to the top. We’re in a genuine kakistocracy.
She fits perfectly into the tRUMP established requirements to run this evil, police state, plutocratic, magat government. She has proven many times that she is vicious, stupid and craves publicity and power just so she can do all she can to destroy what is left of this death spiral country!
I don’t think it’s an either/or. Some Trumpists really are as stupid as a box of rocks. Others are cold, calculating manipulative sociopaths who know Trump is full of shit but don’t care so long as they’re making money on it. Albert Speer and Adolph Eichmann both said that they never really bought into Nazi ideology but supported Hitler because it was good for their careers.
Strangely enough, Kristi Noem was a popular governor in South Dakota.
This poll is from a year ago, when she was finishing up as governor and running for president in the GOP primaries.
This is saying something about the sort of people who live in South Dakota.
And, why I have no intention of ever setting foot in that state.
One thing that I keep thinking back to is social studies and history in grade school. Once in fifth grade, we were split into groups and had to come up with small acted sketches that would demonstrate the importance of the Bill of Rights. I don’t remember much, but one team put on a show of the Fourth Amendment in action. Corrupt cop (but modern me repeats myself) tries to harass a citizen by demanding to search her home without a warrant. Student playing the law-abiding citizen keeps the door closed and cites the Fourth Amendment.
Sometimes I wonder if my small public school somehow gave me an exceptional education that others didn’t receive. Other times I wonder how many people coasted, cheated, or just plain forgot their lessons.
From the same poll.
38% of South Dakota residents think it is OK to shoot a dog that does not do what you want it to do.
I never saw any evidence that Noem even tried to train her dog to be a bird hunting dog.
Blaming a dog for your own failures just doesn’t seem right to me.
But what do I know?
I have a cat and she doesn’t do much of any thing.
At one time native american tribes in that state banned her from access to their land.
“Blaming a dog for your own failures just doesn’t seem right to me.”
I was saddened by that story when I read it then and I’m saddened by it now. I went into dog train kind of suspecting I wouldn’t be the best of trainers and I wasn’t. But what I didn’t realize and I know realize is of crucial importance is every interaction a person has with their dog is one of communication. Your dog is constantly looking to you for signals and feedback and every action shrug non-action act of indifference will be read by her and she will try constantly to interpret its meaning. I’m still not a great trainer but, man, do I listen to and communicate with my dog and she with me and I just can’t help but love her achingly.. We can do the important things. (She’s got this really cute way of looking at me when she’s asking permission to do something “Is this what you want? Can I do this?” which an enthusiastic nod with eye contact give her the okay, and a slow turning away means a no. And she’ll go off to her kennel when asked. I think she’s eager to show she can be good and it gives her a sense of all being right in the world to do so even though she doesn’t really like being in her kennel.)
Meanwhile this this story just seems tragic and cruel and she doesn’t even recognize the degree to which she failed the dog. The poor dog must have been so confused and lost all the time.
@#3
That really only applies for the politically-appointed posts. Everyone else has to be qualified and also lucky enough to not be fired in the name of “efficiency.”
People without empathy or an awareness of their shortcomings. Some of them are genuinely stupid. Some would score high on the psychopathy scale.
I don’t think you can have a well-rounded personality and want to stay in that environment.
As for their enablers in congress, they are yellow, or just do not care. Either way, they have shown they do not stand up for the constitution they pretend to worship. They deserve not even the pretense of respect.
BTW I am disgusted with the Democrats who praised Trump for pitying the Biden family. They know damned well Trump and the other Republicans just put on a performance. Every time the Democrats play along and pretend everything is ok, they normalise what should never be normalised.
IANAL but this is still an important Public Service Announcement reminding everyone here that habeas corpus rights DID NOT IN ANY WAY originate with the US Constitution, and it is only the specific application of those rights within the US that is, in principle, within the scope of our judiciary.
Perhaps this may seem like a distinction without a difference, but whenever discussing this issue, we need to take special care to avoid broadcasting unchallenged any ahistorical lies implicitly claiming that the US Constitution’s Framers actually created habeas corpus rights.
Otherwise we would become dupes, allowing ourselves to be tricked into carrying water for MAGA legal “theories.”
Dunc @2:
I’m afraid this is not new or unique to this Administration. Just be glad you never had to say the words “Posse Comitatus prohibits that” to a law-enforcement management-level person during the War on Drugs, and then rely on an appointed official for backup…
And loathe as I am to defend “gummint employees,” one can draw one very clear distinction — the problem is with the political appointees (and political promotees) far more than it is with government employees as a whole. That is, it’s the captains and first mates, not the whole crew (or even the whole leadership).
The first part of her answer was correct, But, how on earth did she come up with the second part ? It makes no sense.
Dunc @ #2 – I think you’ve got it with one caveat: You must be dumber than the boss. You know who that is, and therefore, how stupid the person has to be.
This kind of crap makes law students cry.
Fetal position
I thought “Habeas corpus” is what they announce in Vatican when the Pope dies.
The iussive subjunctive has a lot to answer for.
I dunno, I think cruelty is the main qualification for being head of DHS. Kristi Noem is head, that tracks.
This country would be better off if that entire department and all of its agencies were dissolved.
beholder @21: Can’t help wondering who would head DHS under Kamala Harris. Satan?
beholder @21: I’m all in favor of abolishing DHS itself — but “all of its agencies” means almost all, if not all, of the pre-existing agencies we need to enforce the law and maintain order; all of which would probably do a much better job if they hadn’t been rolled up into that one big “Department of Bureaucratic-Reshuffling Homeland Security Theater” that Bush Jr. created right after 9/11.
The cruelty is the point, so viciousness is the qualification
I flatly disagree that these people are stupid. Venal, yes. Cynical, yes. But stupid? No, at least not the ones toward the top. Yes, they are saying and doing objectively stupid and damaging things, no argument there, but they are doing exactly what the top people said they would do, and that’s “flood the zone with shit”. Constantly saying outlandish and outrageous things creates a whirlwind of confusion and chaos. It’s practically impossible to keep up with it all, and unfortunately, some of it will either slip by or become normalized. It’s the crazy politics version of a Gish Gallop.
For example, Rump says he’s placing 145% tariffs on China. People say “that’s crazy”. Then he backs it down it to 30% and many (maybe most) people breathe a sigh of relief, forgetting that 30% is still completely insane. So of course Rumpers are going to say something like “Habeas corpus is at the discretion of the president”. They expect one of two responses/outcomes: 1. No real backlash, and they get this by default (Yay! Christmas came early!). 2. Major backlash, so they notch it down to something like “No habeas corpus if you’re not a white, natural born US citizen”, and people start saying, “Well, that’s not as bad”.
I will grant that many of the foot soldiers may well be stupid and probably craven, but not the folks at the top. They see personal advantage in this, and to them it’s just a game. Calling them stupid makes them pawns rather than what they really are, which is sociopaths that will do or say whatever they feel they have to in order to get ahead in the game, and everyone else can screw off. What they do is stupid (and mean and cruel), but calling them stupid lets them off the hook. They know what they’re doing and definitely need to answer for this.
DK = Dog killer or Dunning-Kruger?
She’s photogenic.
I’m not going to look it up, but I believe as Governor of South Dakota she made for herself a little TV studio.
We’ve still got Hegseth as Sec Def. I think it was reported he commandeered a room at the Pentagon for hair and makeup.
Calling them stupid makes them pawns rather than what they really are, which is sociopaths that will do or say whatever they feel they have to in order to get ahead in the game, and everyone else can screw off.
the Game is gain money and power so you can do what you want at any time all driven by massive resentment. Certainly not for the betterment of the country nor the people in it
I can not help wonder what kind of stock trading some of the insiders have been and will continue to be making as time goes by. all little bullies attaching themselves to the big dumb guy for power, control, fame and riches
freeline@6–
Speer and Eichmann only made those claims on trial for their crimes. Both minimised their role in decision-making, but Speer was a member of Hitler’s cabinet and Eichmann was a participant in the Wannsee Conference in charge of writing up the report, which can be read here in English translation. It is not the work of someone just doing their job. And this is not the face of someone struggling with their conscience. The defence of being merely career bureaucrats failed both of them in court.
One may be a sociopath and still be stupid, I know that I am. Good luck to tke good ship Earth and all who sail in her. We will all need it.(both luck and earth).
Woozy #11 you are killing me killing me … this…I wept when I read about Cricket. Oh god. I will not sleep tonight.
Are you sure you aren’t missing a couple of commas in the last sentence?
A good German bureaucrat would call the Department of Homeland Security the Geheimstaatssicherheitsbüro, which the media and general population would very quickly call the Gastabü. Those echoes of the last century’s Geheimstaatsicherheitspolizei (better known as Gestapo) are both deliberately ironic and all too accurate.
@21. Trump enabler and in reality Trump voter beholder : “This country would be better off if that entire department and all of its agencies were dissolved.”
This country and the entire planet would have been vastly better off under a Kamala Harris administration. There’s no doubt of that – there never was. We all know that. Yet pre-election you did everything you could to discourage people voting for the Democratic party & Kamala Harris. You then in practice, in reality, in effect voted for Trump. So you are seeing the results that YOU, beholder, voted for here. Kristi Noem is Secretary of Homeland Security because of you and your choices and I and others warned you of this at the time. There is blood on your hands beholder. Whether you face and accept that reality personally or not.There is.
Fuck’s sake Stevo!
Do you have any relatives you can contact to stage an intervention? This degree of obsession is not healthy dude. :-/
@ ^ Silentbob : Says you who have spent years obsessively attacking John Morales here. I notice you have failed to answer my questions for you here :
https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2025/05/16/mokele-mbembe/#comment-2265477
Also you fail to address the actual points I’ve raised regarding beholder’s conduct here – & very likely elsewhere which has resulted ultimately in, well, see title of OP here.
@3:
That’s only for political appointees. At least under this administration anyway. It really should be a lot more than that for them but no one seems to care anymore. The Federal Government is about 3 million people, most of whom have the job because they want to help the people of the country – whether through keeping food and water safe or stopping criminals or the boring bureaucracy of ensuring social security checks make it to the mail on time. It’s not a glamorous job but most of the people in it are there because they earned the job through a lot of hard work.
It’s just a shame the upper echelons seem to be made up of people who said nice things about Trump…
@23:
There are an awful lot of duplicative agencies in the DHS. I can’t shed a tear for CISA because there’s a whole cyber security team in the FBI…
Jaws @ 33. Why ‘Geheim’ which derives from ‘Geheimnis’ , ie secret ? Do you perhaps mean ‘Heimat’? If you left it out you’d have ‘Staatssicherheitsbüro’ which is very reminiscent of the Stasi who weren’t always the most pleasant people.
@33 I don’t know any German to speak of, but I have always hated all this “Homeland” talk. It sounds too much like the Nazis, and their “Fatherland.”
This was not a display of ignorance. It was a display of contempt.
#6
They think that since Lincoln suspended Habeaus during the ACW, Trump should be allowed to in order to fight the “invasion of illegals.”
This whole question of habeus corpus has baffled and concerned me since I first heard that the administration intended to suspend it. It’s obviously no surprise that the unmistakably fascist executive currently in charge of the US wants to remove one of the most fundamental rights in western common law, but it’s still strange to me that a constituency which will not shut up about individual liberty and the restrained power of the state is happy to cheer for the removal of arguably the only thing which prevents the state doing whatever it damn well pleases.
Fascists never did care to make sense.
On the bright side, I now know more about the Magna Carta than I did previously.
With respect to Noem’s shooting of her dog and a goat, isn’t cruelty to animals often regarded as symptomatic of psychopathic behavior? What is worrying, but not surprising, is how Christian conservative “pastors” are aligning themselves with Musk’s view that empathy is an exploitable weakness and we should be hardening our hearts against it. He fails to notice that he and the current administration are one of the most sociopathic in recent history.
“With respect to Noem’s shooting of her dog and a goat, isn’t cruelty to animals often regarded as symptomatic of psychopathic behavior?”
Often, by some, yes.
Horses for courses; in her case, it was also an encomium to the powers that be, and thus she is now the Secretary of Homeland Security.
“What is worrying, but not surprising, is how Christian conservative “pastors” are aligning themselves with Musk’s view that empathy is an exploitable weakness and we should be hardening our hearts against it.”
Nah. Mad dogs need to be put down, etc.
(Do you empathise with Kristi? Same thing)
“He fails to notice that he and the current administration are one of the most sociopathic in recent history.”
Since there were more sociopathic administrations in recent history, then if sociopathy is considered a bad thing, this administration is not the worst in recent history, according to you.
(Which was allegedly worse than this one?)
PZM,
“The person who has been appointed to oversee immigration in this country is a world-class moron”
Amanda Marcotte has an article out today saying something similar: https://www.salon.com/2025/05/23/kristi-noems-proud-maga-bimbo-act-builds-on-the-legacy-of-sarah-palin/
I could not disagree more. This woman is a classical psychopath, in the clinical sense of the word.
Definition:
“Psychopathy, or psychopathic personality, is a personality construct characterized by impaired empathy and remorse, along with bold, disinhibited, and egocentric traits. These traits are often masked by superficial charm and immunity to stress, which create an outward appearance of apparent normalcy.”
It’s not just the puppy, it’s the posing at CECOT in front of inmates, the “suck it” tweet, what she’s doing at Harvard now, really any word she utters. That woman is not stupid, and btw I reckon she knew exactly what habeas corpus means.