Speaking of Moral Bankruptcy

The same night a competent woman eviscerated a fear-mongering, angry old man yelling at clouds - most notably when he hollered "THEY'RE EATING THE DOGS!" - the admirable father of 11-year-old Aiden Clark, a "caring soul" killed last year in a car accident involving a Haitian immigrant, appeared before his city commission to demand the old man and his "reprehensible" cohorts stop using his son's name and death for racist political gain. On their "vomiting hate," he said, "This needs to stop now."

In the aftermath of the madness that was likely our only presidential debate, fact-checkers who should have been on site in real time for it to have any value whatsoever popped up, better late than never, to document the stunning lies spewing from a "vile, florid, stupid," "staggeringly dishonest" carnival barker who obviously - per the campaign sign "Harris For President, Obviously" - should never have been up there, or visible anywhere in the public domain ever, for us to suffer through. As usual, princely among the truth-tellers was the intrepid Daniel Dale, who while barely taking a breath reeled off a four-minute litany of at least 33 lies ranging from "massive exaggerations" to "total fictions"; Harris had one misrepresentation. Still and all, Trump claimed improbable victory while whining about unfair moderators: "Everything I said was debunked, but my stuff was right." Right.

With no audience and few scrambled brain cells left, the clear consensus was that Trump sounded like a loser and jester who thinks the Taliban leader is some dude named Abdul (not). Responses ranged from a faux report on post-birth abortion - "Woman right now killing a baby in his 78th year" - to Four Seasons Total Landscaping mock announcing, "While we are not a hotel, we are a concept of a hotel" - to variations on, "If someone said this stuff interviewing for a job at Applebee's, they'd call police." After he saw a racist AI image posted by ImmigrantSlaughter1488, many cited what became an inadvertent riff on Bill Hader's famous Stefon: "This debate has everything - dog eating, baby killing, transgender operations on illegal aliens in prisons." Trump's imagined Day in the Life of an immigrant: "Wake up in jail, get your transgender operation, for breakfast, dog, take over Seattle, for dinner, cat."

The night of the debate, in sober, searing contrast, one victim of his racist rhetoric stepped up to reject it. On the morning of Aug. 22, 2023, the first day of school in Springfield, Ohio, 11-year-old Aiden Clark was killed when a min-van driven by Haitian immigrant Hermanio Joseph struck the school bus Aiden was riding in. Both vehicles went off the road, and the bus rolled over. Nearly half the 52 students on the bus were sent to hospitals; Aiden was the only fatality. On Tuesday night, almost exactly a year later, Aiden's father Nathan appeared before the Springfield City Commission to urge GOP ghouls to stop using his family tragedy to score political points against immigrants. "I wish my son Aiden (was) killed by a 60-year-old white man," he began. "I bet you never thought anyone would ever say something so blunt. But (then) the incessant group of hate-spewing people would leave us alone."

Standing with Aiden's often-tearful mom Danielle - both parents are schoolteachers - Clark zeroed in on the "reprehensible" racists "using Aiden as a political tool." Leading off with, "Speaking of morally bankrupt," he specifically name-checked Trump, Vance, Texas Rep. Chip Roy and Ohio Senate GOP nominee Bernie Moreno. "The last thing that we need is to have the worst day of our lives violently and constantly shoved in our faces," he said. "And that’s not good enough for them. They take it one step further. They make it seem as though our wonderful Aiden appreciates your hate. That we should follow their hate. And look what you’ve done to us. We have to get up here and beg them to stop." Last year, Clark had said "one of the worst feelings in the world" was not being able to protect his son. Now, he said, "Even worse, we can’t even protect his memory when he’s gone.""

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Unsurprisingly, it was vile Vance who kicked off this racist madness, part of a GOP anti-immigrant assault that, thanks to their lack of any actual policies, has become an ugly mainstay of the campaign. Weeks ago, Vance cited "reports"- see bonkers post from random troll ImmigrantSlaughter1488 - that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, most of them legal, were abducting and eating people's pets. Vance also threw in the claim they were causing a rise in TB and HIV cases, because, you know, black people. When the claims were mocked by observers and denied by city officials, he doubled down, then conceded the rumors "may or may not be true," then mindlessly fought back, snarling, "Do you know what isconfirmed? That a child was murdered by a Haitian migrant who had no right to be here." (The father of said child, pointedly: "My son, Aiden Clark, was not murdered. He was accidentally killed."

Trump, who's never met a racist trope he didn't like, has naturally latched onto the lies. “In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs!” he screeched at the debate out of nowhere, as Harris smirked and rolled her eyes. "The people that came in, they’re eating the cats! They’re eating the pets of the people that live there! And this is what’s happening in our country. And it’s a shame." In truth, there are many things that are a shame: That this bozo is up there spouting racist gobbledegook, that he unfathomably keeps going lower and weirder, that what he's attempting to use for his own loathsome purposes is a human tragedy affecting and possibly endangering already vulnerable, traumatized and marginalized people. Hermanio Joseph had an Ohio ID and temporary protected legal status; he was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and vehicular homicide, and will serve up to 13 years in prison.

Most devastatingly are the other victims: An inquisitive boy who loved growing vegetables with his father, studying other countries and cultures, playing "old-school” board games, doing word searches by flashlight in bed, playing outdoor sports inside, chasing his dog Daisy Mae, and snuggling "with anyone." Of the tragedy, said a father with more heart, wisdom and humanity than an entire political party, "Don't spin this towards hate. In order to live like Aiden, you need (to) accept everyone, choose to shine (and) be the inspiration." "They have spoken in my son’s name and used his death for political gain," he said. "This needs to stop now. They can vomit all the hate they want (about immigrants, the border, eating "fluffy" pets). However, they are not allowed nor have they ever been allowed to mention Aiden Clark from Springfield, Ohio. I will listen to them one more time, to hear their apologies."