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Dispensing with the commitment to political "civility" that leads so many lawmakers to prioritize good manners over justice, Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) ignored House rules on Friday and played audio of detained immigrant children crying in an effort to highlight the thousands of young kids who have been ripped from their parents by the Trump administration.
"I can't play the ProPublica audio of their cries for help because of 'decorum'? F*ck decorum. Donald Trump engaged in the functional equivalent of kidnapping. The American people need to hear this."
--Rep. Ted Lieu
"I think the American people need to hear this," Lieu said as Rep. Karen Handel (R-Ga.)--who was presiding over the House chamber--repeatedly slammed the gavel and ordered Lieu to suspend his time, citing the congressman's breach of a "decorum" rule barring the use of electronic devices to play sound in the House chamber.
"2,300 kids were ripped away from parents with no real plan to reunite them," Lieu added in a tweet after he ultimately yielded his time and left the House chamber. "I can't play the ProPublica audio of their cries for help because of 'decorum'? F*ck decorum. Donald Trump engaged in the functional equivalent of kidnapping. The American people need to hear this."
Watch:
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |

Dispensing with the commitment to political "civility" that leads so many lawmakers to prioritize good manners over justice, Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) ignored House rules on Friday and played audio of detained immigrant children crying in an effort to highlight the thousands of young kids who have been ripped from their parents by the Trump administration.
"I can't play the ProPublica audio of their cries for help because of 'decorum'? F*ck decorum. Donald Trump engaged in the functional equivalent of kidnapping. The American people need to hear this."
--Rep. Ted Lieu
"I think the American people need to hear this," Lieu said as Rep. Karen Handel (R-Ga.)--who was presiding over the House chamber--repeatedly slammed the gavel and ordered Lieu to suspend his time, citing the congressman's breach of a "decorum" rule barring the use of electronic devices to play sound in the House chamber.
"2,300 kids were ripped away from parents with no real plan to reunite them," Lieu added in a tweet after he ultimately yielded his time and left the House chamber. "I can't play the ProPublica audio of their cries for help because of 'decorum'? F*ck decorum. Donald Trump engaged in the functional equivalent of kidnapping. The American people need to hear this."
Watch:

Dispensing with the commitment to political "civility" that leads so many lawmakers to prioritize good manners over justice, Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) ignored House rules on Friday and played audio of detained immigrant children crying in an effort to highlight the thousands of young kids who have been ripped from their parents by the Trump administration.
"I can't play the ProPublica audio of their cries for help because of 'decorum'? F*ck decorum. Donald Trump engaged in the functional equivalent of kidnapping. The American people need to hear this."
--Rep. Ted Lieu
"I think the American people need to hear this," Lieu said as Rep. Karen Handel (R-Ga.)--who was presiding over the House chamber--repeatedly slammed the gavel and ordered Lieu to suspend his time, citing the congressman's breach of a "decorum" rule barring the use of electronic devices to play sound in the House chamber.
"2,300 kids were ripped away from parents with no real plan to reunite them," Lieu added in a tweet after he ultimately yielded his time and left the House chamber. "I can't play the ProPublica audio of their cries for help because of 'decorum'? F*ck decorum. Donald Trump engaged in the functional equivalent of kidnapping. The American people need to hear this."
Watch: