(Bret) Bradford — a darling of right-wing deportation coverage, from the New York Post to Fox News — touts his determination to “restore law and order in our communities.” He recently lauded “the brave men and women at ICE Houston” for their “unwavering dedication,” and for working “tirelessly every day to enhance public safety.”
Scores of internal documents reviewed by The Intercept paint a different picture and suggest a commitment to safety and law and order may stop at the entrance to ICE’s Houston Field Office.
The files lay out a series of allegations against Bradford and other top Houston ICE officials, including retaliation against a whistleblower who reported being intimidated with an “8-inch tactical knife” by a fellow ICE officer in a facility that does not allow weapons. The whistleblower also alleges another supervisor knowingly lied on an official document.
An email from the whistleblower sent to the Congressional DOGE Caucus earlier this year reported “corruption” among top Houston ICE officials. Bradford “turned a blind eye to the criminal activity and has taken no action against the officials,” wrote the whistleblower. The allegations of retaliation are further detailed in public documents from the Merit Systems Protection Board, which reviews cases of government employees who are contesting demotions or terminations.
I go to the range a lot and take firearm safety incredibly seriously and it makes me lose my fucking mind at how fucking stupid people are at the range, almost every time I go. Its fucking sickening how many people who own firearms in the US have no control over their ego
If you pick a gun up to stoke your ego, you have already admitted you shouldn’t have picked up the gun in the first place since ego does nothing for your accuracy, ability to judge whether you have identified a target, or to reframe your perspective on an unfolding conflict in order to best respond.
Can you imagine what those range idiots who are all jacked up on anger and fear ready to start a fight at a… gun range (where everybody has a gun…?)… would be like in an actual war? Either they wouldn’t be able to handle it or they would get the creepiest fucking smile on their face. Either answer disgusts me because it points out the damning fact that these people are obsessed with violence itself, not the tools and history that surround it, the violence and power trip at the heart of it is the drug for them.
Notice those people and make sure you are always more skilled than they are at whatever they are doing :).