Note that with this administration it is always "we" and "they," with We, the People being the "they" and the criminal cabal being the "we." It is perfectly clear our nation is under attack.
It is. Indeed this regime considers We the People to be "the enemy from within, which is yet more projection, the actual enemy from within is the regime. I'm heartened by Jen's post today as well as other stories and images of ordinary people speaking up and taking action against the authoritarian lawlessness.
The president and the GOP (and those influenced by them) as domestic terrrorists? Why not? They are busy tearing down (literally, in the case of the East Wing) democracy, morality, ethics, empathy and the country. Injecting hate isn't winning. Withholding funds for healthcare and food isn't winning. Depriving people of rights and due process isn't winning. None are unless the definition has changed. It hasn't.
Yeah, I would say they're producing all sorts of terror in US cities these days. Unidentified, masked thugs brutalizing people, tossing tear gas, disappearing people to who knows where. That is literally domestic terrorism by definition.
I keep posting. According to Congressman Eric Swalwell (D-CA) Trumpepstein may cause an "Epstein bomb" causing over 100 Republican members to "jailbreak" from Trump.
Cyndi: Yes, so many in Congress are protecting their overblown funding stream. It's also about intimidation, and about the wedded twins: just plain a power and greed.
The files that everyone wants probably don't exist. If they were, anything that implicated Trump would have been released during the last election cycle. If there was anything implicating prominent Democrats, they would have been released by now.
The issue is probably NDAs (Non Disclosure Agreements) between perpetrators and victims. A legally binding document where victims get paid in exchange for keeping quiet. Who knows how many of those are out there.
The papers I am particularly interested in are those from the original prosecution in the early 2000s.
Kevin, as I have repeatedly said in this forum, the Biden administration had those very same files for four years and did absolutely nothing with them. In addition, there was no hue and cry from Democrats or the media for them to be released until Trump was elected. No matter how much you want to blame Trump for this, it just doesn't hold water.
Newsweek, Jun 27, 2024: FBI files pertaining to Jeffrey Epstein will remain sealed after a judge ruled against a media outlet's attempts to release secret documents related to the deceased financier and convicted pedophile. The files were sealed because Ghislaine Maxwell still had a final chance to appeal until this year. That's gone now that the Supreme Court declined to hear it.
Yes, they call us “agitators.” It’s not easy getting in the way of Trump-Noem’s thugs. Below, from an article today in the Chicago Suntimes about an incident in my neighborhood in which Alderwoman Rossana Rodriguez Sanchez got involved (she is the city council member for my community and these are her words):
“They showed up here to terrorize people, and they got a response from the community,” she said. “People did everything they could. … There were a lot of people just trying to put their bodies on the line without blocking them necessarily, which is a really hard balance. We’re seeing that people are getting indicted for supposedly blocking ICE, and the charge is conspiracy, and that’s very serious and dangerous. I think that what they’re trying to do with that is criminalize dissidents and resistance and get people to be more compliant and docile.
“I’m just so heartbroken,” she added through tears. “It’s just difficult to sit with.”
I feel for her. She’s out in the neighborhood trying to protect community members. She drives around blowing her whistle, runs to schools to ensure safety there first, etc. She’s been taken into an alley by ICE agents who warned her not to get in the way. In the incident above, a man was pushed to the ground and detained, supposedly for assaulting ICE agents. He probably just got in their way.
"oppose the violent White nationalist onslaught. Our democracy and democratic values are only as vital as those willing to defend them." These violent White nationalists are not that way in their nature. They act that way because they do not have any other productive activities to serve the community. The governments, federal and local, must offer retraining and education programs for them.
Duck duck go and Startpage are decent alternative browsers. Google lost credibility when it started furnishing an AI "summary" ahead of more truthful and factual information.
I am an adjunct professor at a small rural college in MD. We have received detailed directions on how to handle ICE raids on our campus. They are not allowed in our classrooms unless they have a warrant signed by a judge. We must call the Security personnel should that occur. ICE personnel are to stay in common areas and are not allowed in classrooms or offices. If ICE personnel do not listen and force their way in, we are not to try to stop them. This directive made it real for me; I never thought I would have to experience this travesty in America.
I also never expected this to happen in the United States of America. The country my parents brought us to in 1961 could not even have imagined this. This police state tactics is why we, like so many others, escaped from to come to America.
It is still there. The protests prove it. But the overlay of power and misdirection, and the continuing failure of media to say the obvious obscures the fact that we still have the potential we had before.
Please don't forget that in the last 70 years we have empowered marginalized communities to vote, we have increased women's rate of pay relative to men, we have begun to recognize that our indigenous people know more than we do about managing our environment, and we have begun to address homelessness and hunger.
Yes, all that is in danger, and I am as scared as anyone that we will lose what we have gained. I am angry and frustrated and downright disgusted with what is going on. It makes me more determined to stay the course.
Even though the chances are I will not live to see us entirely back on course, I hope to at least be able to see the time we turn around. All of us, supporting each other. Each of us, doing what we can.
I needed that, Anne. I started watching the 2016 series "Mad Men" and am sickened by the misogyny and racism it highlights, but it does show how far we have come in 50 years. We have to hang onto that and do all we can to prevent the backsliding of such important progress in all of our lives.
Another feature of that show is the utter artifice of every character. They know the status quo is BS, and they must "act" to preserve it, no matter how much it personally harms them. They all look miserable. Lesson: equality benefits us all.
I am a proud Chicagoan and thank you for highlighting all that residents are doing to fight back against the trump regimes militarization of our streets and neighborhoods. There is no more fierce opponent than a pissed off Chicagoan!
It is happening to us all. We all lose the contributions of immigrants, nationwide. I'm a former Chicagoan turned Oregonian; we are losing our agricultural workers, from farms to vineyards. These aren't just grunt jobs; immigrant laborers gain expertise just like anyone else, and Oregon vineyards have actively educated and promoted the careers of mostly Hispanic migrant and resident workers on the ground. Upshot: wine production will decrease, prices will increase, and that will be just one more hard decision regarding what is left of our discretionary spending money.
Extrapolate to your fruit, vegetables, and meat. Extrapolate to the service sectors like roofing and painting that are increasingly filled by Hispanic immigrants or first-generation Americans. Don't forget that so many pay into the Social Security that we draw from. My list, I'm sure, is just the beginning.
I know there is a part of the nation's electorate who think Dan Bovino is doing God's work. But there is a larger part of the electorate that thinks he's comparable to the worst of the Brown Shirts in the 1930s. I wonder what his family thinks?
Bovino is a case. I find it odd that everytime they move him somewhere, something goes wrong and it is not long before they move him somewhere else or "adjust" his job responsibilities. Wonder what is going on there. If he is that bad, why isn't he just dismissed?
We are fortunate to live in a small town that is off the ICE radar screen, but I am totally moved by the bravery and tenacity of people like Vargas who are blowing the whistle on the illegal and out of control actions of ICE agents in Las Vegas. Sooner or later the entire non-Maga country will realize that the private army of goons has to go, and the power of public opinion will make them go away.
A surprising number of people don't have an opinion yet and aren't aware of what's going on. Various kinds of actions can affect the opinions of persons who might never have taken action before but might decide to do so in the current situation. Someone who sees their neighbors yelling "ICE is here!" and taking video of a detention on their street might be more inclined to take action themself, even if in the past they've thought "I'm not political." It can be a process of going from "what are they talking about?" to "this doesn't affect me" to "this is outrageous!" to joining with others to do something about it.
It's not even cerebral; it's a pit of the stomach feeling. This is why there is worry that the protests be peaceful. Adrenalin can flow. It seems to me that ICE is in hate and adrenalin themselves- uncontrolled.
You described that well, Potter. I think ICE shares those characteristics in common with so-called "militias"- many of whose members are either joining or cooperating with ICE now. ICE appears have essentially become T&Co"s private militia. We need to do what we can to keep the state Nat Guards from being sucked into that maw.
I agree and this is very worrisome. It's amazing how peaceful the protests were. Credit to everyone who decided to have a good time ( and in costume) and hold their anger. The humor and camaraderie were/are an antidote to fighting back with anger and violence. No weapons against their weapons and plenty of cameras rolling.They want violence so that they can declare an insurrection. They are asking for violence- testing us- and we in turn we test them by refusing this.
People will say protests mean little or nothing. This is absolutely not true. If nothing else- and there is a lot more-this brings hope and solidarity, communal feeling that we are in this together. Erzra Levin of Indivisible has been a great leader and low key himself. But re ICE and others that Trump, Inc
may call in, these are vetted hate-filled, propaganda filled, tough guys (and women) people, disrespectful and lawless because Trump has their backs.
As far as the National Guards or even the military go, they would be more difficult for Trump to control and order to do what is illegal or lawless. WE will see. But the best protesters can do is protest peacefully and fearlessly.
Agree fully with your analysis of how essential the kind of protests we are doing are to the overall resistance against authoritarianism and violent retribution. I want to add to your comment about the courts, though. I see both these things as being parts of a whole. Yes, the court cases take time, but in this case that is good. We know that the decisions are solidly thought out and written. They are standing the test of being challenged, which makes them more powerful. As a result, T&Co's lawyers are backing the admin into corners, and they are having to stretch their version of the law too thin. It is discouraging other attempts to try the same, and the legal foundation for democracy is holding. One of the other pillars of the resistance is helping people make sure they are registered to vote, and getting them the information that clarifies the distortions that maga media spreads. As each of us contributes whatever action we can, I am hopeful that it will combine to protect the legitimate democratic processes we are working for.
I live in a small town in a small northern state that has been essentially occupied by ICE and BP for years. It is no secret, and years ago we formed assistance organizations to help protect migrants (and people who look like they might be). The kind of targeted violence you are just now seeing have been common here for a long time. ICE has been out of control from its inception. We have been trying to get people outside to understand, but it took Trump's insane overreach in urban areas for people to finally grasp that these are not criminals or violent people who are being grabbed. They are good people, hard workers, trying to take care of their families. It will take more than the power of public opinion to make this change. It will take active resistance, peaceful but consistent and persistent and ongoing to even begin to move the trajectory we are in now. It will not be easy, and it could be scary at times, as it is already where I live and in other places. Please do not make the mistake of thinking that "public opinion" alone will change that. It will take action and commitment, no matter where you live.
"We are fortunate to live in a small town that is off the ICE radar screen"
Do not bet on this! In rural downstate Illinois, in a town of 4,932 (Staunton) ICE agents appeared and took a man into custody without due process, reason or warrant. A twenty-year resident of the community, a restaurant owner with two kids has now been "disappeared" into a confinement center. This is an outrage close to home.
Who is making traffic stop-arrests and by whose authority? That is the purview of the local police departments when local laws are broken. ICE and National Guards are out of their jurisdiction. These stops are harassment and illegal if they are the ones who are doing them..
An update on the Staunton, Illinois arrest - the response to this illegal action brought a rally of close to 1,000 people. The sidewalks on both sides of the main street were packed for blocks. Signs varied, but the cry from all that went in a wave from one end of the Main Street to the other was "BRING HIM HOME! which welled up many times. It was a peaceful and joyful coming together of people from a number of area communities who saw the injustice and spoke.
I fervently hope that Americans, by and large, will realize how wrong, wrong, wrong this Administration is and will vote accordingly on all levels. People do not live by bread alone.
The trump regime’s Ministry of Propaganda is working 24/7 to lie about what is happening on the ground in Chicago. Speaking as a proud resident of Chicago, here is a critical fact- according to research done by NBC Chicago, since the immigration raids began on September 9, 84% of those arrested have NO CRIMINAL HISTORY. This in spite of the government telling us repeatedly that they are arresting the “worst of the worst”, “rapists, murders and pedophiles”.
This why we have to start posting FACTS gained from credible sources all over social media and even more important (and way harder 🙄) TALK to our friends and neighbors. For my part I'm not even going to try with my Evangelical family members - there are those who are simply LOST TO THE CULT. More fertile fields are found with those who simply don't vote - let's remember this was the majority in the 2024 presidential election. Another important point to think about is that Republican politicians BANK ON the fact that most people receiving SNAP benefits and Medicaid don't vote. Their daily struggles just to get by doesn't provide them with the bandwidth to deal with politics. And today's politics is so mean-spirited it's easy to understand why the conflict averse tune-out. We need to help those folks to assimilate the FACT that their vote matters.
Insightful and compassionate, Godess. Thank you. I hope that more people will start looking at others in this way and start recognizing that many people who seem disengaged are simply doing what they can to get by. We drive them away by defining them as enemies instead of as neighbors.
My wife immigrated over 50 years ago from Asia at the request of US authorities who needed to address the serious shortage of physicians in small town America. She naturalized and did great work for decades. She loves this country and will never return to her homeland. A few days ago an ICE vehicle pulled across the road and blocked her car, for no reason other than to prove what a big and brave man was behind the wheel. He waited to see if she would try to drive around him or “flee” in the opposite direction. She waited. Finally, this courageous, patriotic snowflake left, and my wife, worth more than five of his worthless hide, continued on her shopping trip. Local news was informed but didn’t think it was worth mentioning that evening. Thanks, MAGA dip——s.
I have no experience with demonstrations, civil unrest, or any of that stuff. In the 1960s, when Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) was running daily demonstrations, I was one of the hippies lounging across the street watching and thinking they were wasting their time. I was amazed when mass demonstrations were effective in helping to convince Lyndon Johnson to drop out of the 1968 Presidential election. Paying attention to events since then has convinced me that mass demonstrations can be a powerful tool for public dissent.
From that perspective--of someone who "don't know nothin'" about demonstrating--it seems that one thing even the most introverted and disconnected person can do should they notice the arrival of ICE or CBP gangs, is to dial 911. They can report that "There's a bunch of masked thugs walking around in the street carrying what look like weapons. They're masked to hide their identities, so they must be up to no good." One can give one's name, or report it anonymously. The Emergency Response folks will respond (or at least record the call) either way. If every time ICE or CBP shows up, the 911 lines light up, local authorities will eventually have to push back.
What an excellent description: ""There's a bunch of masked thugs walking around in the street carrying what look like weapons. They're masked to hide their identities, so they must be up to no good."
Note that with this administration it is always "we" and "they," with We, the People being the "they" and the criminal cabal being the "we." It is perfectly clear our nation is under attack.
It is. Indeed this regime considers We the People to be "the enemy from within, which is yet more projection, the actual enemy from within is the regime. I'm heartened by Jen's post today as well as other stories and images of ordinary people speaking up and taking action against the authoritarian lawlessness.
The president and the GOP (and those influenced by them) as domestic terrrorists? Why not? They are busy tearing down (literally, in the case of the East Wing) democracy, morality, ethics, empathy and the country. Injecting hate isn't winning. Withholding funds for healthcare and food isn't winning. Depriving people of rights and due process isn't winning. None are unless the definition has changed. It hasn't.
Yeah, I would say they're producing all sorts of terror in US cities these days. Unidentified, masked thugs brutalizing people, tossing tear gas, disappearing people to who knows where. That is literally domestic terrorism by definition.
I keep posting. According to Congressman Eric Swalwell (D-CA) Trumpepstein may cause an "Epstein bomb" causing over 100 Republican members to "jailbreak" from Trump.
Massive Congressional visits November 18.
https://www.instagram.com/flare.usa/p/DP_mdOyjdiG/ Visit Congressional
Republicans.https://www.mobilize.us/indivisible/event/851451/
I continue to be exasperated by the parties and lawyers with cases when justices and judges who have dispositive records of bribery and prejudice are not challenged. At SCOTUS, Roberts opened the door in November, 2023. https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/Code-of-Conduct-for-Justices_November_13_2023.pdf
https://blueprint.democrats.org/
For the Epsteinth time, when will the files be released??
THE ISSUE IS WHEN WILL CONGRESS RETURN?
In a vote, Houae Republicans will have to self identify.
Between the rock and the hard place. A vote to protect Trump?
If House Republicans are to frightened to serve their constituents and uphold the oath of office, they should resign forthwith. Do it.
Not necessarily Trump. He has something he is holding over them, on the individual level. They are protecting themselves or someone else.
They are also terrified of crossing him and drawing the ire of his cultists.
They are protecting their donors.
Cyndi: Yes, so many in Congress are protecting their overblown funding stream. It's also about intimidation, and about the wedded twins: just plain a power and greed.
The files that everyone wants probably don't exist. If they were, anything that implicated Trump would have been released during the last election cycle. If there was anything implicating prominent Democrats, they would have been released by now.
The issue is probably NDAs (Non Disclosure Agreements) between perpetrators and victims. A legally binding document where victims get paid in exchange for keeping quiet. Who knows how many of those are out there.
The papers I am particularly interested in are those from the original prosecution in the early 2000s.
The issue is that Trump and his pals are all over the files.
Kevin, as I have repeatedly said in this forum, the Biden administration had those very same files for four years and did absolutely nothing with them. In addition, there was no hue and cry from Democrats or the media for them to be released until Trump was elected. No matter how much you want to blame Trump for this, it just doesn't hold water.
Trump and the Republicans were the ones demanding the release of the Epstein files. People expect them to keep their promises.
They exist...the reason they're being buried is obvious.
Newsweek, Jun 27, 2024: FBI files pertaining to Jeffrey Epstein will remain sealed after a judge ruled against a media outlet's attempts to release secret documents related to the deceased financier and convicted pedophile. The files were sealed because Ghislaine Maxwell still had a final chance to appeal until this year. That's gone now that the Supreme Court declined to hear it.
Yes, they call us “agitators.” It’s not easy getting in the way of Trump-Noem’s thugs. Below, from an article today in the Chicago Suntimes about an incident in my neighborhood in which Alderwoman Rossana Rodriguez Sanchez got involved (she is the city council member for my community and these are her words):
“They showed up here to terrorize people, and they got a response from the community,” she said. “People did everything they could. … There were a lot of people just trying to put their bodies on the line without blocking them necessarily, which is a really hard balance. We’re seeing that people are getting indicted for supposedly blocking ICE, and the charge is conspiracy, and that’s very serious and dangerous. I think that what they’re trying to do with that is criminalize dissidents and resistance and get people to be more compliant and docile.
“I’m just so heartbroken,” she added through tears. “It’s just difficult to sit with.”
I feel for her. She’s out in the neighborhood trying to protect community members. She drives around blowing her whistle, runs to schools to ensure safety there first, etc. She’s been taken into an alley by ICE agents who warned her not to get in the way. In the incident above, a man was pushed to the ground and detained, supposedly for assaulting ICE agents. He probably just got in their way.
"oppose the violent White nationalist onslaught. Our democracy and democratic values are only as vital as those willing to defend them." These violent White nationalists are not that way in their nature. They act that way because they do not have any other productive activities to serve the community. The governments, federal and local, must offer retraining and education programs for them.
Trump is fond of the royal "we," as in "we had an MRI."
Not being evil is good. Doing good work in the face of evil is spectacular.
That's why if don't use Google if at all possible. They took the phrase "do not be evil" out of their corporate values in 2013!
Duck duck go and Startpage are decent alternative browsers. Google lost credibility when it started furnishing an AI "summary" ahead of more truthful and factual information.
I use DuckDuckGo almost exclusively
Oh wow, that's a little on the nose!
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."
Love this. Thank you for your beautiful thoughts.
I am an adjunct professor at a small rural college in MD. We have received detailed directions on how to handle ICE raids on our campus. They are not allowed in our classrooms unless they have a warrant signed by a judge. We must call the Security personnel should that occur. ICE personnel are to stay in common areas and are not allowed in classrooms or offices. If ICE personnel do not listen and force their way in, we are not to try to stop them. This directive made it real for me; I never thought I would have to experience this travesty in America.
I also never expected this to happen in the United States of America. The country my parents brought us to in 1961 could not even have imagined this. This police state tactics is why we, like so many others, escaped from to come to America.
It's getting very hard to recognize the country that I was born in in 1948.
It is still there. The protests prove it. But the overlay of power and misdirection, and the continuing failure of media to say the obvious obscures the fact that we still have the potential we had before.
Please don't forget that in the last 70 years we have empowered marginalized communities to vote, we have increased women's rate of pay relative to men, we have begun to recognize that our indigenous people know more than we do about managing our environment, and we have begun to address homelessness and hunger.
Yes, all that is in danger, and I am as scared as anyone that we will lose what we have gained. I am angry and frustrated and downright disgusted with what is going on. It makes me more determined to stay the course.
Even though the chances are I will not live to see us entirely back on course, I hope to at least be able to see the time we turn around. All of us, supporting each other. Each of us, doing what we can.
I needed that, Anne. I started watching the 2016 series "Mad Men" and am sickened by the misogyny and racism it highlights, but it does show how far we have come in 50 years. We have to hang onto that and do all we can to prevent the backsliding of such important progress in all of our lives.
Another feature of that show is the utter artifice of every character. They know the status quo is BS, and they must "act" to preserve it, no matter how much it personally harms them. They all look miserable. Lesson: equality benefits us all.
Yes!! Contrarians one and all! Even the Pope!
I am a proud Chicagoan and thank you for highlighting all that residents are doing to fight back against the trump regimes militarization of our streets and neighborhoods. There is no more fierce opponent than a pissed off Chicagoan!
Downstate Illinois here, and I applaud, appreciate, and support the actions of our governor, the mayor and the people of Chicago.
We thought that we were safe from ICE due to our rural location. A town just south of us (Staunton) saw an ICE raid take place. It CAN happen here.
It is happening to us all. We all lose the contributions of immigrants, nationwide. I'm a former Chicagoan turned Oregonian; we are losing our agricultural workers, from farms to vineyards. These aren't just grunt jobs; immigrant laborers gain expertise just like anyone else, and Oregon vineyards have actively educated and promoted the careers of mostly Hispanic migrant and resident workers on the ground. Upshot: wine production will decrease, prices will increase, and that will be just one more hard decision regarding what is left of our discretionary spending money.
Extrapolate to your fruit, vegetables, and meat. Extrapolate to the service sectors like roofing and painting that are increasingly filled by Hispanic immigrants or first-generation Americans. Don't forget that so many pay into the Social Security that we draw from. My list, I'm sure, is just the beginning.
I know there is a part of the nation's electorate who think Dan Bovino is doing God's work. But there is a larger part of the electorate that thinks he's comparable to the worst of the Brown Shirts in the 1930s. I wonder what his family thinks?
Hope they are like Miller's family who long ago disowned him for his cruelty.
That would be fitting.
Did anyone else notice how close his name comes to bovine - in other words, cow?
more like a dumb ass
It actually means cow in its native Italian...
Love cows-the alive ones.
Bovino is a case. I find it odd that everytime they move him somewhere, something goes wrong and it is not long before they move him somewhere else or "adjust" his job responsibilities. Wonder what is going on there. If he is that bad, why isn't he just dismissed?
Yah, kinda like Devin Nunes. He learned to hunker down and count his shekels.
Bovino doesn't seem to grasp the concept of "hunkering down". Which is why I am curious that he is still around in spite of constantly screwing up.
He is still around because he is "obeying in advance," by doing more than what Trump asked. (See Timothy Snyder's book.)
Think of it this way: at least he makes a good target. Sooner or later, he'll be picked off. Metaphorically speaking, of course.
Hmmm... there's a thought. Now if we could only figure out something to do with Mike Johnson....
I'm letting his Jesus take care of that :)
We are fortunate to live in a small town that is off the ICE radar screen, but I am totally moved by the bravery and tenacity of people like Vargas who are blowing the whistle on the illegal and out of control actions of ICE agents in Las Vegas. Sooner or later the entire non-Maga country will realize that the private army of goons has to go, and the power of public opinion will make them go away.
not only opinion- that we have plenty of. Action is needed.
A surprising number of people don't have an opinion yet and aren't aware of what's going on. Various kinds of actions can affect the opinions of persons who might never have taken action before but might decide to do so in the current situation. Someone who sees their neighbors yelling "ICE is here!" and taking video of a detention on their street might be more inclined to take action themself, even if in the past they've thought "I'm not political." It can be a process of going from "what are they talking about?" to "this doesn't affect me" to "this is outrageous!" to joining with others to do something about it.
There is nothing as valuable as bearing witness to make someone really see.
It's not even cerebral; it's a pit of the stomach feeling. This is why there is worry that the protests be peaceful. Adrenalin can flow. It seems to me that ICE is in hate and adrenalin themselves- uncontrolled.
You described that well, Potter. I think ICE shares those characteristics in common with so-called "militias"- many of whose members are either joining or cooperating with ICE now. ICE appears have essentially become T&Co"s private militia. We need to do what we can to keep the state Nat Guards from being sucked into that maw.
I agree and this is very worrisome. It's amazing how peaceful the protests were. Credit to everyone who decided to have a good time ( and in costume) and hold their anger. The humor and camaraderie were/are an antidote to fighting back with anger and violence. No weapons against their weapons and plenty of cameras rolling.They want violence so that they can declare an insurrection. They are asking for violence- testing us- and we in turn we test them by refusing this.
People will say protests mean little or nothing. This is absolutely not true. If nothing else- and there is a lot more-this brings hope and solidarity, communal feeling that we are in this together. Erzra Levin of Indivisible has been a great leader and low key himself. But re ICE and others that Trump, Inc
may call in, these are vetted hate-filled, propaganda filled, tough guys (and women) people, disrespectful and lawless because Trump has their backs.
As far as the National Guards or even the military go, they would be more difficult for Trump to control and order to do what is illegal or lawless. WE will see. But the best protesters can do is protest peacefully and fearlessly.
The courts have been helping- but slow.
Agree fully with your analysis of how essential the kind of protests we are doing are to the overall resistance against authoritarianism and violent retribution. I want to add to your comment about the courts, though. I see both these things as being parts of a whole. Yes, the court cases take time, but in this case that is good. We know that the decisions are solidly thought out and written. They are standing the test of being challenged, which makes them more powerful. As a result, T&Co's lawyers are backing the admin into corners, and they are having to stretch their version of the law too thin. It is discouraging other attempts to try the same, and the legal foundation for democracy is holding. One of the other pillars of the resistance is helping people make sure they are registered to vote, and getting them the information that clarifies the distortions that maga media spreads. As each of us contributes whatever action we can, I am hopeful that it will combine to protect the legitimate democratic processes we are working for.
I live in a small town in a small northern state that has been essentially occupied by ICE and BP for years. It is no secret, and years ago we formed assistance organizations to help protect migrants (and people who look like they might be). The kind of targeted violence you are just now seeing have been common here for a long time. ICE has been out of control from its inception. We have been trying to get people outside to understand, but it took Trump's insane overreach in urban areas for people to finally grasp that these are not criminals or violent people who are being grabbed. They are good people, hard workers, trying to take care of their families. It will take more than the power of public opinion to make this change. It will take active resistance, peaceful but consistent and persistent and ongoing to even begin to move the trajectory we are in now. It will not be easy, and it could be scary at times, as it is already where I live and in other places. Please do not make the mistake of thinking that "public opinion" alone will change that. It will take action and commitment, no matter where you live.
"We are fortunate to live in a small town that is off the ICE radar screen"
Do not bet on this! In rural downstate Illinois, in a town of 4,932 (Staunton) ICE agents appeared and took a man into custody without due process, reason or warrant. A twenty-year resident of the community, a restaurant owner with two kids has now been "disappeared" into a confinement center. This is an outrage close to home.
Kristi Noem was in Indiana boasting about arresting over 200 people in traffic stops. They want to spread the terror everywhere.
Who is making traffic stop-arrests and by whose authority? That is the purview of the local police departments when local laws are broken. ICE and National Guards are out of their jurisdiction. These stops are harassment and illegal if they are the ones who are doing them..
An update on the Staunton, Illinois arrest - the response to this illegal action brought a rally of close to 1,000 people. The sidewalks on both sides of the main street were packed for blocks. Signs varied, but the cry from all that went in a wave from one end of the Main Street to the other was "BRING HIM HOME! which welled up many times. It was a peaceful and joyful coming together of people from a number of area communities who saw the injustice and spoke.
Our MAGA governor, Braun, told the state police to work with DHS.
And THAT ought to be challenged.
I fervently hope that Americans, by and large, will realize how wrong, wrong, wrong this Administration is and will vote accordingly on all levels. People do not live by bread alone.
With the shutoff of SNAP and other programs, quite a few are even going to have a hard time getting bread and other staple needs of life.
The trump regime’s Ministry of Propaganda is working 24/7 to lie about what is happening on the ground in Chicago. Speaking as a proud resident of Chicago, here is a critical fact- according to research done by NBC Chicago, since the immigration raids began on September 9, 84% of those arrested have NO CRIMINAL HISTORY. This in spite of the government telling us repeatedly that they are arresting the “worst of the worst”, “rapists, murders and pedophiles”.
This why we have to start posting FACTS gained from credible sources all over social media and even more important (and way harder 🙄) TALK to our friends and neighbors. For my part I'm not even going to try with my Evangelical family members - there are those who are simply LOST TO THE CULT. More fertile fields are found with those who simply don't vote - let's remember this was the majority in the 2024 presidential election. Another important point to think about is that Republican politicians BANK ON the fact that most people receiving SNAP benefits and Medicaid don't vote. Their daily struggles just to get by doesn't provide them with the bandwidth to deal with politics. And today's politics is so mean-spirited it's easy to understand why the conflict averse tune-out. We need to help those folks to assimilate the FACT that their vote matters.
Insightful and compassionate, Godess. Thank you. I hope that more people will start looking at others in this way and start recognizing that many people who seem disengaged are simply doing what they can to get by. We drive them away by defining them as enemies instead of as neighbors.
We the People can be the largest, most powerful cavalry in the nation if we collectively choose to be.
Providing this kind of content on small scale resistance is SO important, Jen♥️
Please keep it coming
💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻
My wife immigrated over 50 years ago from Asia at the request of US authorities who needed to address the serious shortage of physicians in small town America. She naturalized and did great work for decades. She loves this country and will never return to her homeland. A few days ago an ICE vehicle pulled across the road and blocked her car, for no reason other than to prove what a big and brave man was behind the wheel. He waited to see if she would try to drive around him or “flee” in the opposite direction. She waited. Finally, this courageous, patriotic snowflake left, and my wife, worth more than five of his worthless hide, continued on her shopping trip. Local news was informed but didn’t think it was worth mentioning that evening. Thanks, MAGA dip——s.
Kudos to your wife — more stories like this are bound to emerge. Thank for highlighting yours.
I have no experience with demonstrations, civil unrest, or any of that stuff. In the 1960s, when Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) was running daily demonstrations, I was one of the hippies lounging across the street watching and thinking they were wasting their time. I was amazed when mass demonstrations were effective in helping to convince Lyndon Johnson to drop out of the 1968 Presidential election. Paying attention to events since then has convinced me that mass demonstrations can be a powerful tool for public dissent.
From that perspective--of someone who "don't know nothin'" about demonstrating--it seems that one thing even the most introverted and disconnected person can do should they notice the arrival of ICE or CBP gangs, is to dial 911. They can report that "There's a bunch of masked thugs walking around in the street carrying what look like weapons. They're masked to hide their identities, so they must be up to no good." One can give one's name, or report it anonymously. The Emergency Response folks will respond (or at least record the call) either way. If every time ICE or CBP shows up, the 911 lines light up, local authorities will eventually have to push back.
What an excellent description: ""There's a bunch of masked thugs walking around in the street carrying what look like weapons. They're masked to hide their identities, so they must be up to no good."
I would change the word "thugs" to just "guys". You would still be accurately describing what's going on without prejudicing the police report.
TY for this bit of hope.
Thank you for this article. Made my day.
Thank you to our heroes.
Continue to be defiant!