There are a few other subtle differences between Bush and Obama’s use of ICE compared with Trumps, mhaze.

Neither ever declared that those on the "wrong" side of politics were "the enemy within." Bush used that language for terrorism after 9/11, not for Democrats, journalists, or civil servants. Obama went the opposite direction entirely, insisting that there were no red states or blue states. He faced bitter opposition, but he never portrayed conservatives as traitors to be hunted down.

Trump has crossed that line repeatedly, and now his government acts on it. He has literally sent ICE into Democratic-run cities to dramatise "lawlessness," using televised raids to brand those areas as havens for criminals. Bush’s ICE did visa enforcement; Obama’s focused on violent offenders; Trump’s ICE is a stage prop for culture war - weaponised for partisan theatre.

No previous administration used a federal agency to demonise entire electorates for voting the "wrong" way, or to intimidate critics through mass surveillance. That’s the difference between law enforcement and political enforcement.

Bush and Obama built ICE as a flawed but recognisable bureaucracy. Trump has turned it into a tool of domestic propaganda - and, increasingly, repression.

So when people insist "every president did it," they’re not offering context. They’re laundering the difference between imperfect democracy and creeping authoritarianism.

Getting back to Gaza, it'll be interesting to see how keen Trump is to continue work there given that a Nobel Prize is no longer on the cards. If he does continue, it will only be so that he can show to America that they need him to resolved the chaos he's caused in the first place.

"You’d call it "realpolitik" if it came from anyone else."

Yes it realpolitik. But that doesn't mean its not true and the speaker sincere.

As to ICE. They have a mammoth task in reversing the 10-20million illegal alien invasion permitted under the previous cabal. You might not like it but most USians support it and its getting done. Can't help but notice you revert to the Nazi slurs (Gestapo, really?) whenever you can't find a valid argument. Again shows you understand neither the actions of ICE or what the Gestapo was used for.

"Obama's third term aka the Bush Regime."

Misspoke there. Meant... "Obama's third term aka the Biden Regime."

Hi mhaze,

"Thus we have AC dreaming of Iran destroying Israel before Christmas!! Wow. Iran who got thoroughly humiliated by the Israeli air force are going to completely reverse the tables with a few months. Quite the fantasy land AC inhabits."
- I don't dream of Iran destroying Israel by Christmas, I don't support the harm of non-combatants, I'd prefer diplomacy, dialogue and compromise over conflict, and a genuine resolution of the conflict.

But I won't lie there is a part of me that would probably say
'Eat shite, reap what you sow Israel' if it did.
(But I don't really want innocent people harmed)

"Iran who got thoroughly humiliated by the Israeli air force"
- I read the events differetly.
Israel, after attempting a decapitation strike to take out IRGC commanders as well as Khamenei ad Pezeshkian, but failed to take out the latter and Iran quickly replaced IRGC commanders and regrouped, launching drone and missile strikes the likes of which Israel has never seen... Israel soon found itself getting smacked across the face like it never has before, and the Israeli people were losing their minds after a week of so of facing less than that which they had been dishing out in Gaza, soon found themselves short on air defense interceptors.
U.S. had to accept a direct strike on the worlds largest military base without responding, to put an end to the mess Israel had created and Trump had been talked into.

"Wow"
- Wow what?

[Cont.]
"Bottom line is that Venezuela is a basket case because of their failed policies and were already a failing economy before the US started issuing sanction."
The U.S. has been trying to have it's way in that place since Hugo Chavez and probably longer, and it needn't be that way for them, and U.S. sought to take action that would make things worse.

Liberal democracy is weaponised with liberal intervention.
"Equally, the last election was clearly won by the opposition and, now Nobel winner, Machado and was stolen by what is now an illegitimate government. So the US efforts to oust Maduro aren't regime change but regime correction."
Machado should've been disqualified from running, what she does equates to foreign interference, while aligning herself with a foreign nations interests.

"There are lots of ways to piss off the Trump Derangement Syndrome crowd. This is one of the best...."
- You and ttbn might've done better if you had've pointed out she is also aligned with Israel and promised to move the Venezuelan Embassy to Jerusalem. Foreign agent X 2.

As for some of the recent Gaza comments.
I'd like to remind you all of UN Chapter 1 Article 1-2

http://www.un.org/en/about-us/un-charter/chapter-1

'To develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, and to take other appropriate measures to strengthen universal peace;'

Re Venezuela: Liberal interventionism and the right to self determination aren't exactly cut from the same piece of cloth.
I oppose sanctions and overthrows.

Sincerity isn't the issue, mhaze.

//Yes it [is] realpolitik. But that doesn't mean it's not true and the speaker sincere.//

Survival is.

When praise aligns perfectly with self-preservation, sincerity becomes irrelevant. You're the one trying to frame it as ideological validation - I'm simply reminding you that diplomacy doesn't require shared beliefs, just shared interests.

That's what realpolitik is.

//They [ICE] have a mammoth task in reversing the 10-20 million illegal alien invasion permitted under the previous cabal.//

There's no credible evidence of a 20 million figure - not even under Trump. Most estimates (Pew, Cato, Migration Policy Institute) still sit around 10-11 million - including long-settled, tax-paying, non-criminal residents. Using militarised raids and warrantless surveillance to target them is not "law enforcement." It's political theatre - aimed not just at immigrants, but at the cities that welcome them.

//You might not like it but most USians support it and it's getting done.//

Not anymore. I suggest you update your knowledge there.

Either way, public support doesn't sanctify government overreach. History is full of regimes that did horrific things with majority approval. And ironically, a lot of Americans supported ICE less under Trump than before - precisely because of the masked raids, the family separations, and the shift from immigration control to domestic intimidation.

//Can't help but notice you revert to the Nazi slurs (Gestapo, really?) whenever you can't find a valid argument.//

Except it wasn't just me. It was a Reagan-appointed judge who made the Gestapo comparison - precisely because of ICE's masked officers and intimidation tactics. If you want to argue with a US District Court, be my guest. But don't pretend I pulled the term out of thin air.

(I was waiting for you to go there.)

//Meant... 'Obama's third term aka the Biden Regime.'//

Noted. But Biden hasn't greenlit any of the ICE surveillance contracts I cited. Those were signed under Trump, funded in his 2025 budget, and quietly expanded just weeks ago.

This is your guy, mhaze, not "Obama 3.0."

Hi AC,

I was reading your comments and reflected on Germany and renewable energy. I'm toying with the notion that the renewable energy transition is nothing more than a planned economy, which would explain why it has been a monumental disaster.

You have the idea of Venezuela being the victim of a conspiracy, but the following commentary also explains how central planning played a part.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ufj5R7Eiu88

Australia's renewable energy transition is a planned economy, although I wouldn't rule out Chinese influence to maintain sales of turbines and solar panels. The disaster is unfolding and worsening.