Honoring Elian’s raiders

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A grateful nation will pay tribute next week to the brave men who rid our shores of one of the great scourges of the new millenium: Elian Gonzalez. No, it’s not exhausted TV watcher who will be presenting the awards to the federal agents who snatched the overexposed six-year-old Cuban refugee from the home of his Miami relatives — it’s Immigration and Naturalization Service Commissioner Doris Meissner, reports LATINOLINK.

“They were people who did an extraordinary job under extraordinary circumstances,” said an INS spokesperson of the 130 INS agents who snatched Elian from his Little Havana hideaway in order to reunite him with his father. Some agents will even get extra vacation time — so long, presumably, as they don’t spend it in Cuba.

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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