Weekend Update

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“Where’s Papi?” Annabella, 6, asked concerned neighbors while looking for her father On January 11, 2026. Adonay Mancia Rodríguez had been picked up by ICE while he was trying to get breakfast for his daughter.

William Vermie, an Iraq War vet, was pushed to the ground by ICE, cuffed, and detained for 8 hours. He was denied access to his attorney despite his attorney showing up at the detention facility. Although Vermie was filming ICE agents, ICE had no legal right to detain Vermie.

On Janyary 13, 2025, Six federal prosecutors in Minnesota, who were focused on the state fraud investigation, resigned in protest. They were being pressured to switch gears and look into Renee Good’s wife. Instead, they walked out.

ChongLy ‘Scott’ Thao is a naturalized citizen. He has been for multiple decades and has no criminal record. That didn’t matter. On January 18 ICE broke into his home without a warrant. They pointed guns at his family. They hauled him out of his house in his underwear, sandals, and a blanked around his shoulders, and drove him around Minneapolis for nearly an hour before releasing him. DHS has since put out a statement claiming they were looking for two sex offenders who live with Thao. A lie. Thao, his daughter, his son-in-law, and his grandson are the only people who live at that address. 

Nasra Ahmed, 23, is a US citizen. On January 16 despite showing her ID, ICE agents grabbed her, threw her to the ground, called her racial slurs, shackled her, and held her for two days.

Multiple children, some with parents and some without, are being detained by ICE. In one case the family has an active asylum case and had followed all the rules. In another, they used a five year old boy as bait to get access to his home. A third family, this one from Portland, was taken into custody as they were trying to get their 7 year old daughter medical care. They too have an active asylum case and no criminal records. ICE initially denied the girl medical care. In Spokane, Arnoldo Tiul Caal and his daughter were grabbed and sent to Texas. Again, they were doing everything right and the father has no criminal record. His daughter is only 10. If this is the administration’s definition of going after the worst of the worst we are all in trouble.

Finally for this weekend, a second fatal shooting has occurred in Minneapolis. The day after the ICE OUT walk out tried to draw attention to the out of control DHS thugs who are terrorizing their streets, Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a 37-year old white male, was killed by ICE. The victim was a resident of Minneapolis, a US citizen, and a registered nurse who worked for the VA. He had a legal permit to carry a fire arm and is reported to have been in the area as part of a watch group. One video circulating on social media shows him with his phone camera in his hand before being accosted by ICE agents. Other videos show that multiple shots were fired by one or more ICE agents. No evidence indicates that Pretti drew his own weapon. DHS have actively prevented the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension from accessing and processing the scene.

Chaos in Just Under a Year

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SO far…

  • In January four people–Geraldo Lunas Campos (witnesses say he was strangled by guards), Luis Gustavo Nunez Caceres, and Parady La–have died while in ICE custody.
  • On January 3, 2025 the administration invaded Venezuela, captured their president, Nicolas Maduro, and his wife and brought them to the United States. The president claims that the US will run Venezuela and even posted an image calling himself the acting president. However, on January 5, 2026, former Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, was sworn in as Venezuela’s new president and even cracked down on all pro-America celebrations. The initial operation cost tax payers over $600 million dollars. Our continued presence in the area cost approximately $6.5 million daily.
  • ICE agent, Johnathan Ross killed Renee Good on January 7, 2026. He shot her three times in the head, once through the front windshield and twice through the driver’s side window.
  • On January 9, 2026, at a protest in Santa Ana, California  a DHS agent shot Kaden Rummler in the face with a “non-lethal” round. The shooting left him permanently blind. Another protester was shot in the leg in the same incident.
  • ICE used a battering ram to break down the door of Garrison Gibson on January 12, 2025 so they could arrest him. Three days later the court ordered his release and told ICE that their warrantless arrest was unconstitutional.
  • After the DOJ announced an investigation into Fed Chair, Jerome Powell, Powell put out a blistering statement which refuted the reasons the DOJ gave for the investigation.
  • A significant increase in ICE and Border Patrol agents arrived in Minneapolis. Estimates are that there are nearly 3000 agents. For a little perspective–the entire Minneapolis police department has approximately 600 members.
  • On January 14, 2026 the administration confirmed that a $500 million dollar sale of Venezuelan oil had occurred. At least some of these funds have been put in an off-shore account in Qatar that only the president controls.
  •  María Corina Machado, winner of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize gave her prize to the president while meeting him in the Oval Office on January 15. The Nobel Prize committee put out a statement saying the prize could not be rescinded or transferred.
  • Despite being ordered by the court to release all of the Epstein Files by December 19, 2025, the DOJ still has over a million files that have NOT been released.
  • The school Renee Good’s son attends needed to switch to on-line learning only due to threats they received via email and phone messages.
  • January 15-16, 2026 Military troops and officers arrived in Greenland from France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden to show support for Denmark following repeated threats from the president that the United States would get Greenland one way or another.
  • The president’s response to our allies sending troops to Greenland was to announce he plans to place 10% tariffs beginning in February which will increase to 25% in June on Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. According to the presidents announcement the tariffs will remain in effect until the US is allowed to purchase Greenland.
  • On January 17, 2025 Gov. Walz ordered the State’s National Guard to stand ready to mobilize in order to help local law enforcement if necessary.
  • Not a Headline in America–Despite the US announcing the phase 2 of the cease fire in Gaza Israeli forces have killed at least 463 Palestinians.
  • The first year under the new administration paints a grim economy. Wage growth has slowed. Manufacturing jobs have been lost. Inflation has remained stubborn. Meanwhile, utility costs are increasing.

And on that happy note–the midterms are right around the corner. This madness will not stop unless we get engaged. Talk to your friends and relatives about what’s happening. Stand with protestors. Help register people to vote. Become a poll watcher. Every little bit helps.

ICE Agents Are NOT Police Officers

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As an FYI–This post is not at all a critique of city or state law enforcement. And it isn’t a critique of our military forces. Border Patrol and ICE are not civil law enforcement agencies. They don’t undergo the same rigorous training and they don’t (at least under this administration) hold to the same standards of conduct.

Under the current administration unqualified ICE agents are being hired to grow their ranks so Stephen Miller’s arbitrary quote of 3,000 migrant arrests a day can be met. Their training has been reduced to a total of 47 days and their qualification requirement have been severely lowered. A recent revelation indicates that the AI program used to VET resumes gave applicants credit for policing experience if somewhere in their resume the word officer appeared.

Today’s ICE and Border Patrol agents are not operate with the safety and welfare of the general public in mind despite how much this administration proclaims that is their purpose. And Border Patrol is functioning well outside their 100 mile limit from US borders. The list of their extralegal and illegal behavior is growing. ICE agents continue to stop people without cause, wear masks and refuse to identify themselves themselves, and grab people–including US citizens–without warrants. They’ve taken  individuals to detention centers and failed to provide access to lawyers or family. A recent video on social media shows them taking a 17 year old from Target (where he was working), throwing him to the ground then jamming him into their van. A few blocks later they dropped him in arbitrary parking lot–beaten and shaken. This behavior puts every single American at risk.

The killing of Renee Good was not a one and done incident. It simply got the most headlines because Renee was a white, Christian, mother of three who was shot at point blank range by an agent who was also trying to capture the whole thing on his cell phone like sone kind of souvenir. Dozens of assaults have occurred since her death and hundreds had occurred prior. Six deaths of people in ICE custody have already occurred this year. A total of 30 deaths of people in ICE custody–the highest number ever–were recorded in all of 2025.

The escalation of violence and terror by this administration has got to be stopped! Yes, a number of Democrats in the House have proposed legislation to try to rein in ICE, like the No Secret Police Act and the Protecting Sensitive Locations Act. But enacting laws that take time to implement is not enough! I am thankful for all the citizen groups that are bringing attention to the violence being perpetrated by renegade immigration forces. But we need more. We need more people willing to challenge this administration and its outrageous policies in the media and the public square. We need more people willing to hold the lawless accountable. We need more people willing to help their neighbors. I know these are frightening times. But this administration–the president, Kristi Noem, Stephen Miller, Border Patrol and ICE–will continues to terrorize communities like Portland and LA and Chicago and Minneapolis unless more Americans speak up, stand together, and insist the protections in our Constitution apply to everyone!

Find a local watch group to learn how you can help. Write your representatives and your local newspapers insisting that we do something to stop the unconstitutional actions of this administration and specifically of ICE. Don’t ignore this problem just because it is not yet at your door. We all know how the poem ends–they will eventually come for you.

What You See Is What You Get

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“Look up the definition of fascist before you toss it around like you know what it means. Trying to sound tough and scary comes off as ignorant and lazy when you don’t understand the definition of the words you use.” That’s the gist of a comment I made on FB recently. The commenter I was addressing had called Democrats fascists–I guess because we’re all so DEI? I literally was shaking my head. Lately, people throw words at each other because they know angry words rile people up and their goal is to goad the other side to anger; they’re not interested in communicating. I should know better than to read the comments but words matter to me. I taught from Huxley’s 1984 back when I was an English teacher and calling Red Green doesn’t sit too well with me.

The truth is America has had some history with Fascism, not as long or terrifying as Europe’s experience, but the Silver Shirts and Charles Lindberg weren’t nothing. Heather Cox Richardson’s Friday, January 9, 2026 letter discusses Fascism and our government’s 1943 warnings about its potential rise in America. I recommend everyone read it.

As a general definition–a fascist is a supporter of a far right, authoritarian political ideology that emphasizes extreme nationalism. A fascist government is led by a dictator and focuses on centralized power, militarism, and the suppression of the opposition. Fascists prioritize nation and race over individual rights. They use triggering slogans and propaganda in order to build a cult-like following, usually around a charismatic leader. The current administration fits this definition to near perfection. Lock Her Up. Build the Wall. America first. The Donroe Doctrine. Soon we’ll be hearing Might Makes Right, again. The president already claims the authority to do whatever he wants despite a Constitution and laws that state the contrary. The president has unnecessarily called on the national guard, in addition to ICE and Border Patrol, to quell peaceful protests. He villainizes hispanic and Somali immigrants, demeans women constantly, and has targeted trans people. He’s bombing boats with no warrants in international waters and threatening to invade Greenland for “security” reasons. Greenland is already an ally–we have military access!

For now at least, the first amendment gives Americans the right to protest–free speech combined with the right to peacefully assemble combined with the right to petition the government. These freedoms are still the law of the land and we must use our voices to continue to resist–peacefully. I apologize to my black and brown friends, neighbors, and community members that it took the death of a white woman to wake some of us up. You have been living with a level of these threats to your freedom and safety your entire lives. And, as a white woman, I still do not face the same degree of threat and risk that you do.

The lie that “leftist leaders” are encouraging or even condoning chaos, violence, and the demonization of law enforcement as an institution is a worn out trope from this administration. Yes, there been complaints of police brutality by civil rights leaders when those complaints were warranted–the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor come to mind. But if the Right is seriously looking for examples of a political leader condoning violence they need to look no further than the current president of the United States who during his first campaign for president told police officers they didn’t need to be so careful when putting suspects in their vehicles; it was okay, to his way of thinking, if their heads hit the door frame. Remember, he told his rally attendants that if they beat up hecklers he’d pay for their legal defense. And his verbiage, like his behavior, has only gotten more brazen in his second term.

Still, the underbelly of the trope: blaming the opposition for what you do, is finally being exposed. And their hypocrisy and lawlessness aren’t pretty pictures. The administration has accused the Left of being soft on crime, wasting tax payers money, creating chaos, and inhabiting the pages of the Epstein Files. But then, the president pardoned all the January 6th rioter, including those who beat Capitol police. He also pardoned Juan Orlando Hernández, the former president of Honduras, who had been sentenced to 45 years in prison for drug trafficking. Then he spent billions of tax payer dollars to invade Venezuela. Why? We were told it was to capture their president so Maduro so he could be brought up on “drug trafficking charges”. We know now that the real reason the president went after Maduro is because he felt mocked by Maduro’s dancing and wants Venezuelan oil. But the 115 people killed by US drones bombing “drug boats” in the Caribbean don’t just go away. More recently, the narrative that Renee Good, a white Christian mother, is a terrorist is actually a hard sell especially when, on the government released video, we hear her tell an ICE agent, “That’s fine, Dude. I’m not mad at you.” And the gunman scream, after shooting her in the head three times, “Fucking Bitch!” Finally (though in reality not the last conflicting narrative from the White House) we have the Epstein files. They were supposed to expose a cadre of bad actor Democrats, and had been sitting on Bondi’s desk just waiting to be released. They are now, according to the president, a democrat hoax. I guess having the manifest of the plane you never flew on list you as a passenger at least 7 time is a bit problematic.

The wheels on the president’s bus may be showing signs of falling off but let’s not be fooled into thinking that will make the bus any more safe. I do not know what’s coming next. If the president feels desperate or under appreciated enough maybe we’ll invade an ally. NATO leaders, minus the US, seem to be bracing for it. Whatever comes, we must be ready to stand up, speak out, and resist.

Renee Good Is Dead

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According to a video circulating on the internet, it took less than 15 seconds from the time two officers got out of their car, ordered Renee Good to get out of her car, and a different ICE agent to shoot and kill her. This incident happened in Minneapolis on January 7, 2025.

While damning–viewers can clearly see that the agent who shot into Good’s vehicle had time to draw his weapon, fire, move to the side of the vehicle and fire two more shots–the video is not the whole story. But it is part of the story. The officer who fired the shots was not hit by Good. A second officer, the one who likely had most of Good’s attention in the moment, had a hold of Good’s car door in an attempt to open it, after shouting an expletive laden order for her to get out of her car. Even though he had reached into Good’s SUV (assumedly to try to unlock the door) he was not pulled off balance or harmed when Good pulled away; he was merely able to let go of the door.

At the start of the longest version of the video I have seen, Good waits in her already running vehicle while a different SUV pulls in front of her and drives away. A gesture out her open window seems to indicate she is allowing another vehicle to pass. When instead that vehicle stops and two ICE agents get out of their truck and begin yelling at Good the tension of the situation escalates. One can assume Good’s main focus is on those officers but we cannot see her face or hear anything she may be saying. For no apparent reason, one or both of the officers (it’s difficult to tell despite multiple viewings of the video) ordered Good to get out of her SUV. Good was not blocking the road as evidenced by the vehicle that drove around her and she was willing to let other vehicles pass as evidenced by her hand gesture. As Good pulled away she made a wide enough turn to avoid the open driver’s side door of a car parked next to her on the passenger’s side of her car. She also turned away from the officer grabbing her door. And as I’ve already stated, the officer who shot her had time to move out of the way of her vehicle. It is my studied opinion that, during the entire video, Renee Good posed no actual threat to anyone around her.

When I said the video was not the whole story I meant a couple different things. First, we must insist that the Minneapolis Police Department conduct a thorough investigation of this shooting. If left to the Feds, given the administration is already lying about the situation, justice is unlikely to be served. Peaceful legal watch protestors must be allowed to continue to show up and record what ICE and Border Patrol agents are doing. It is a right guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States. And, entire communities must have these watchdogs’ backs. That said, the second thing I meant by the video doesn’t tell the whole story is that we must organize to take back our democracy.

In order to get justice, State and City Police must investigate alleged illegal behavior on the part of ICE and Border Patrol agents. We cannot leave it to the Feds. Sadly, the shooting of Marimar Martinez by a Border Patrol agent in Chicago is a case in point. This incident was only investigated by the Feds and Martinez (who was shot five times) and Anthony Ian Santos were the ones brought up on charges. When the case against them was dropped a month later, with prejudice, it was reported that Agent Exum had bragged in a text to friends that he shot Martinez five times and caused seven holes, ending his text with, “Put that in your books boys”. Cases like this, showing heightened violence and aggression toward immigrants and peaceful protestors, are becoming more and more frequent and, of equal importance, they expose a federal agency out of control. We must insist that State and Local authorities protect our communities and stand in solidarity with peaceful protests. Their jobs are to protect and serve their communities.

BUT, it is not enough to defend our friends, families, and community members against wrong doing. We MUST go on offense! It is time to organize, to elect people who represent the will of the people and who will hold authorities accountable at the federal as well as the state level. If we don’t build a strong offense our defenses will become exhausted, demoralized, and less and less effective. It’s not enough to drive down the lane. We must have leaders who are willing to work together and take the shot. We aren’t going to score every time but we will never win if we fail to get in the game!

 

If It Smells like a Skunk

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Flood the zone. Exhaust them. They’ll stop caring. That’s the president’s play book and he and his minions are experts at running it. So, now we’ve invaded Venezuela and captured their president–a very bad man (who ran a country with lots of oil) being charged with running a drug cartel. But is this just a distraction from our illegal bombing of boats in international waters because they were “caring drug that kill millions of Americans” (even though the president just pardoned Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez who was already convicted of drug trafficking under President Biden)? Or, is it a distraction from the Tariffs which “bringing in billions of dollars” (while decimating America’s farmers)? Maybe it’s a distraction from the healthcare crisis. You know, that the Big Beautiful Bill cut “fraud and waste from” while giving billionaires tax cuts, undoing ACA subsidies, and increasing nearly every American’s healthcare premiums. Oh I know, it’s a distraction from all our warrantless ICE raids on people’s home, places of worship, schools, job sites, and immigration hearings so we can “deport the worst of the worst”. Too bad so many if the immigrants were green card holders and even US citizens. The truth is, it’s all a big distraction from the Epstein files–which now are “a hoax” (even though at one point they were on Bondi’s desk ready to exposed a host of democrats but instead mention the president over 100 times.

The problem with all the distractions is that each one is actually more evidence that this administration is corrupt, uninterested in actually solving the problems Americans want solved, and ignoring the rules of law. The President, Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, director of Homeland Security, Attorney General, and Republicans in Congress don’t think Americans care about all their power grabbing, extralegal activities, and dangerous behavior. Just like with the January 6 insurrectionists (all of whom the president pardoned by the way) the administration believes that the American public will believe what he tells them to believe and not what we see with our own eyes. After all, he went on the air and proclaimed that inflation was gone (It’s actually still at 3% and our grocery bills know it).

There are several other things the president would rather we not see. For example, Jack Smith’s under oath testimony before the House Judiciary Committee regarding the president’s involvement in the January 6th insurrection which was just released, clearly explaining the president’s involvement. And the 60 Minutes segment about the CECOT torture prison where the president sent over 100 ICE detained immigrants (most of whom had no criminal records). It was seen in Canada and Americans can see it via social media, despite it being pulled in the US by CBS. Just a little FYI: CBS’s parent company was looking for the FCC to be in favor of a merger so… In addition, the report that we killed two survivors after a US drone strike had already destroyed their boat was made public shortly before our confiscation of an oil tanker and January 3rd extraction of Maduro. Finally, bits and pieces of the Epstein files are also making the rounds, including the fact that the president’s name appears on plane manifests at least 8 times even though the president himself lied saying he’d never been on the plane.

The trouble with continually flooding the zone with bad stuff is that eventually the shit you’re shoveling begins to stink. And once you smell a skunk, it’s hard to unsmell it.

How F#@%ing Dare We?

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116 Venezuela Attack Stock Photos - Free & Royalty-Free Stock Photos from DreamstimeToday, January 3, 2026, American soldiers invaded another sovereign nation, removed it’s president and??? What now? Will we take over Venezuela the way Russia has been trying to take over Ukraine? The president has already been claiming that Venezuela somehow got a hold of our property and he just wants it back–think about that for a second–OUR property in THEIR country!  This administration has become the biggest bully on the planet. And for what? Oil? It has nothing to do with drugs, that’s for sure! This president is so in bed with the billionaire oil industry that it is willing to put American soldiers at risk to get it’s hands on Venezuelan oil. That’s the bottom line. They have something he wants. 

Back in 2007 Venezuela renationalized their oil industry. (They first did so in 1976; Exxon, Mobil, and Gulf oil left the country and lost an estimated $5 billion in assets though they received some compensation). Many more American companies, such as ConocoPhillips left after refusing the new terms set down by the Venezuelan government. This is the situation the president is referring to when he states that Venezuela “stole” American assets. 19 years ago a sovereign nation took over the oil industry in its country. [America does not have jurisdiction in a foreign country and American companies run the risk of situations changing when they do business with foreign entities]. American companies were compensated–not necessarily to their liking–but they were compensated and they left. Notably, Chevron remained under the new agreement.

Today, after lying to the American people for months about narcoterrorist, after blowing up boats in international waters claiming we were going after drug runners, after murdering over 100 people, the truth has come out. All that other stuff–just a test–would anyone stop us? The answer was NO. So, today, our government engaged in an act of unprovoked war. We do not know how many people were murdered. We do not know whether or not American soldiers have died. And, we do not know whether or not this action will lead to an American initiated war with Venezuela. What we do know is that if Americans do not immediately stand up and object, if our elected officials do not take immediate action to condemn this administration’s action, we are all complicit in the most heinous act of aggression toward an autonomous nation America has ever perpetrated and we should prepare for vehement condemnation from around the world!

I have never been more ashamed to be an American than I am right now and believe me I was already ashamed yesterday. I hope this is the atrocity that finally breaks through. Sadly however, I am not holding my breath.

Why Did We Show Up?

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For at least a week leading up to October 18th  Republicans desperately tried to rebrand the NO KING’S RALLIES as a hate America, Soros funded, Antifa organized, Hamas allied, insurrection oriented, events. In the end, their rally rebranding efforts failed as spectacularly as their attempts to paint Portland as violent while ICE officers pointed guns at blow-up frogs. So what was the Republican response? The president posted a video of himself flying a bomber jet labeled KING TRUMP, wearing a crown with an incorrectly positioned oxygen mask, and dumping brown liquid on protesters. His goal was to humiliate, and embarrass his opposition. But the bomber plane backfired. In a big beautiful visual the president of the United States told the world exactly what he thinks of Americans. There’s no defending it: this would-be Emperor has no clothes no matter how desperately the Republicans in Washington try to cover him up.

Honestly–none of us should be surprised.

On October 18th an estimated 7 million people let the president and his enablers know what we think: Americans have had enough! We’re sounding the alarm and we’re ready to fight! More and more of us have been impacted by the administration’s dangerous healthcare cuts and radical immigration policies, including sending military forces into US cities. Few, if any, of us ever believed giving more money to the already wealthy made any kind of sense. And, most of us are angry about all his illegal or extralegal activities–demolishing the East Wing of The White House; bombing boats in the Caribbean AKA murdering 27 people in international waters without producing a shred of evidence of their wrong-doing; extracting bribes from colleges and universities, media outlets and corporate entities, as well as foreign countries; weaponizing the DOJ for personal political gain, and playing chicken with the economy by yo-yoing tariffs, deregulating financial protection agencies, and bailing out Argentina–to the tune of $40 billion dollars.

For the Democrats in Congress the Republican’s healthcare cuts were a bridge too far. They finally stood up. The message was clear: ALL Americans deserve accessible, affordable healthcare. The government shutdown. Republican’s continue to try and blame Schumer and Jeffries and democrats in general. BUT THE PEOPLE UNDERSTAND: Republicans have control. Republicans voted to take healthcare away. Republicans refuse to negotiate! Republicans shutdown the government. And the president and his minions are dismantling Democracy as fast as they can!

That’s why THE PEOPLE SHOWED UP!

And from here on out, if change is going to happen in the mid-terms, Democrats nation wide need to continue to show up. Each and every candidate must connect their talking points to what average Americans are experiencing. And every talking point must also have an action point! Americans are not only tired of a wannabe king they’re sick of a Do-nothing Congress.

  • The president’s illegal tariffs destabilize our economy. Investors become nervous and job creation slows down. Congress MUST take back its role of the purse.
  • Hardened criminals and drug lords don’t work at Home Depot or the local pizzeria. Stop targeting hard working immigrants. We must build realistic pathways to citizenship and go after criminals.
  • Tax cuts for the wealth don’t lower the price of coffee and bacon. They line the pockets of the already rich. It’s time for the wealthy to pay out of their abundance and share the wealth.
  • A cap on Social Security unduly burdens the middle class. Remove the cap.
  • Frivolous law suits against the president’s enemy list are a waste of taxpayer dollars and a distraction from our actual problems. Return the DOJ’s political independence.
  • Federal troops are NOT trained law enforcement and do not belong on American streets. Their presence suppresses every day activity, creates an atmosphere of fear, and costs taxpayer billions. Recall the National guard.
  • Warrantless ICE raids go against the Constitution, threaten every American’s, and terrorize entire communities. ICE must follow regular police procedures.

The ideals expressed in our Declaration of Independence and US Constitution–free speech, the right to assemble, personal autonomy, and judicial accountability–are worth the fight. To reach these ideals, we must acknowledge the tension between where we have stood and where we should be. We will progress toward these ideals by learning from the past and refusing to stand still. And we will win our fight by joining together. 7 million protestors showed up to sound the alarm. Millions more stand in the wings. According to these patriots–fascism cannot have the United States of America without a fight, even when the enemy of our ideals comes at us from within. “We should not have to protect Democracy from a wannabe king”–but we will!

Who Foots the Bill?

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The Federal Government has shut down. Without a doubt the most vulnerable–the poor, the infirm, those without homes, those on fixed incomes, veterans, children, and the elderly–will bear the brunt of the closure. But here’s the rub–their suffering was already in the works. This administration and the GOP enablers in Congress have already shown us–they don’t care about the vulnerable among us. In fact, they seem pretty determined to make even more people vulnerable. Republicans decided, with their BIG BILL to keep their president happy by threatening the healthcare of Americans, by give tax breaks to the wealthy, and by completely over fund the brutality of an unaccountable ICE agency. These priorities mattered to them more than their constituents.

The reason Democrats could not, in the end, vote for the CR to keep the government open is because they were never included in the budget discussions. Republicans simply refused to negotiate. They wouldn’t even consider extending the ACA subsidies or reversing cuts to Medicaid. Their decision, if left unchallenged, would leave hundreds of thousands of Americans without insurance and millions with considerably higher premiums. So, Dems picked one issue–out of the many they could chose from–to focus the country’s attention on: Healthcare.

With the country watching, Dems have one chance to communicate to the American people just how damaged our country is under the current administration. Republicans are counting on their ability to lie and point fingers (AKA blame undocumented migrants even though it is impossible for them to qualify for any of the services Dems are talking about) to keep their constituents in line. After all, lying and blaming is a strategy that’s worked for the GOP in the past, why not try it again?! 

Of the 31 states that receive more money from the federal government than they send to the federal government 18 are considered Red states. If fully enacted, the Republican budget bill will strip those states of federal healthcare dollars. Rural hospitals will close (if they haven’t begun to do so already), and healthcare premiums will sky rocket, some by as much as 300%. 

Blue states typically send more money to the federal government than they receive from the federal government. Red states do just the opposite. (There is at least a 7% differential). In a recent announcement from this administration, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Russell Vought, is impounding already approved federal funds for projects in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington. (The states in bold are among those that send more money to the federal government than they receive). Not only is this action illegal, it is a calculated attempt by the Federal Government to inflict pain on US citizens in Blue states. 

Given this administration’s desire to weaponize the federal government against Blue State, in combination with their preferred tactic of shoving the financial burden for all kinds of programs onto the states, it sure would be nice if Blue States could refuse to pay federal taxes and instead just decide to take care of their own. When federal dollars began to dry up completely, especially for the 18 Red states that depend on it, I bet we would see at least a few of those Red states turning Blue. It is a crime, however, to refuse to pay our taxes.

Still, taxation without representation was enough to cause a revolution when this nation was birthed. Will it be enough to cause the people to rise up in protest today? To support the Democrats who are willing to take a stand? Can we amass the famed 3.5% of the people needed to topple an authoritarian regime? Are we willing to foot the bill for legitimate representation in Congress and for the health and welfare of our families, our friends, and our communities? We will soon find out. In the meantime, get ready to meet the needs around you. If you have–give. If you have not–join together. We are better together.

Who Will Stand Up? 

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The current administration is breaking the law. It is stripping Americans of healthcare. It is taxing all of us via tariffs. It is militarizing our streets, and has physically assaulted peaceful protesters and bystanders. It is murdering people in international waters. And, it is turning the Department of Justice into the president’s personal vendetta machine.

Meanwhile Democratic leaders have been wringing their hand, unsure about what they should do and how they should talk about it. The pundits and political commentators have gone on talkshows and podcasts and debated the pros and cons of a government shutdown. Is this a fight Dems can win? What do they do if it goes more than a couple days? How do they explain their position to the voters when the Republicans lie and blame the whole thing on them? They’re really bad communicators, you know. And, what about the midterms?

Democracy, the rule of law, the freedom of speech, the freedom to assemble, and the freedom of the press are more than at risk. These foundational principles of a functioning FREE and civil society are being destroyed. Right. Before. Our F#@%ING. Eyes! I know it’s not popular to be WOKE, but for God’s sake people: Wake Up!

Did some unknown voices say some inappropriate things about Charlie Kirk’s death? Absolutely. But while every Democratic leader, from former presidents to current talking heads, spoke out strongly condemning political violence, the president, vice president, members of his cabinet, the speaker of the house, Fox News, and others blamed, threatened, and turned up the heat. People in and outside of government, educators, and media personalities have been fired or suspended because of their comments, not because they’ve broken the law but rather, because they were critical of Kirk, made light of Charlie’s death, or horror of horrors, criticized the president. US citizens can’t be on the streets in certain areas of the country for fear unidentified ICE agents will grab them or assault them. Yet, the president just issued an EO that could make the mere “calling for ICE agents to be unmasked” the equivalent of doxing which is prosecutable as a federal crime.

Do Dems really need talking points for why the government should be shut down? How about: WE WON’T BE COMPLICIT IN THE ILLEGAL ACTIVITY OF THIS ADMINISTRATION! Or maybe: Until this administration and the Republican Congress decide the needs of the average American outweigh those of the Billionaire class and actually come to the negotiating table in earnest, Dems will call out their bullsh!#.

The president’s doublespeak is straight out of Orwell’s 1984 and the general public is just as disengaged as Orwell’s society. For the love of God, folks, the president is calling the left terrorists while holding our country hostage. He promised to end the wars in Gaza and Ukraine but has done nothing to hold the aggressors accountable. He promised to bring down inflation yet his on again off again on again tariffs (on everyone but Russia) have destabilized economies across the world and kept prices high in America. He’s manipulated mass media to “see things his way” through bogus, personal, lawsuits they have willingly settled and by threatening (via the US government) their FCC licenses. He has accepted bribes from foreign countries in the form of planes and a gold plaque not to mention investments in his families crypto currency, while blocking all US foreign aid that had already been promised. And then there’s the fact that he’s paying (with our tax dollars) countries, like El Salvador, to imprison unprocessed deportees from America. The criminality of all his behavior is in plain sight but he wants the Epstein files kept under lock and key.

My rant is not hyperbole. The damage, the immorality, the criminality, is right out in the open. And the Democratic leadership acts as if it’s business as usual–find a talking point that’s easy to communicate and all will be fine. WE ARE NOT FINE! NONE OF THIS IS FINE!

I personally doubt the current Democratic leadership has the backbone for this fight. I hope they surprise me but I’m not holding my breath. So, if we are going to turn the tide, if this is the moment the pursuits of self determination, freedom from oppression, and justice for all renew their hold on the American psyche, it will be up to the people to make it happen. I believe standing against a corrupt wannabe king (He’s changing the name of everything else, why not change the name of the president.) is a fight worth the risk. I hope others do as well.

That said, I must admit less privileged Americans than I will suffer more greatly than I should the shutdown, like the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, last indefinitely. The administration thinks a shutdown will make their goals–firing everyone who is not absolutely loyal to them and rebuilding the government in their own image–easier. We must prove them wrong.

We can feel overwhelmed or we can fight back. People will be hurt either way. Those of us who have, must help those who lack. Like many faith communities–early day Christians, the Jews in the holocaust, and Muslims during the occupation of Sarajevo–we must be ready to band together, to meet one another’s needs, and to stay in it for the long haul. The midterms aren’t the end goal; they’re merely one sign post on a very long journey.