Dani Welch

Almost nothing makes the city safer than when the nypd is feeling mad enough to do a slow down.

I welcome their displeasure.

My friend Tareq and his family all survived to see a ceasefire, which feels like a miracle.

But Tareq's family, like so many others, remains in survival mode. Not only was their home destroyed, their entire neighborhood was erased. Everything they had is gone. They are starting over & need help.

One of the least flattering photos of him to date. I am impressed.

Looks like the news is out. May her memory be a blessing. Miss Major, Presente!

Rollover Tide

MAGA Implodes over Kristi Noem’s “Stare Down” with Man in Chicken Suit A good New York Times piece on Portland nevertheless demonstrates how the conventions of objective reporting fail to accurately capture the bad faith driving pro-Trump propaganda.

Absolutely crucial point here by Greg Sargent. When we don’t call propaganda what it is, we co-produce it, and hasten disaster.
newrepublic.substack.com/p/maga-implo...

Aw, thanks! I count myself very lucky to be in this profession, notwithstanding the many Cassandra-esque moments.

Members of the force's sports squad, responsible - among other tasks - for policing the 170 miles of tunnels, caves, galleries and catacombs that underlie large parts of Paris, stumbled on the complex while on a training exercise beneath the Palais de Chaillot, across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower. After entering the network through a drain next to the Trocadero, the officers came across a tarpaulin marked: Building site, No access. Behind that, a tunnel held a desk and a closed-circuit TV camera set to automatically record images of anyone passing. The mechanism also triggered a tape of dogs barking, "clearly designed to frighten people off," the spokesman said. Further along, the tunnel opened into a vast 400 sq metre cave some 18m underground, "like an underground amphitheatre, with terraces cut into the rock and chairs".

There the police found a full-sized cinema screen, projection equipment, and tapes of a wide variety of films, including 1950s film noir classics and more recent thrillers. None of the films were banned or even offensive, the spokesman said. A smaller cave next door had been turned into an informal restaurant and bar. "There were bottles of whisky and other spirits behind a bar, tables and chairs, a pressure-cooker for making couscous," the spokesman said. "The whole thing ran off a professionally installed electricity system and there were at least three phone lines down there." Three days later, when the police returned accompanied by experts from the French electricity board to see where the power was coming from, the phone and electricity lines had been cut and a note was lying in the middle of the floor: "Do not," it said, "try to find us."

In 2004, Parisian police were conducting a training exercise in the french catacombs and found, after moving past a desk and a tape playing audio of snarling dogs, a fully functional movie theater and bar. When they returned 3 days later, the equipment was gone, with a note: “Do not try to find us.”

I’m a US citizen and a veteran. ICE arrested me for no reason. Jailed for three days without an explanation or ability to notify anyone, George Retes argues the only path to healing starts with the government taking accountability for its actions.

“I spent three nights and three days in federal custody. During that time, I was never told what I was charged with, was not allowed to shower despite being covered in tear gas and pepper spray, had no phone call to my family, and no access to an attorney.” - George Retes, U.S. citizen and veteran.

At so many junctures, defenders and other guardians of civil rights and liberties warned about the growing police state. The shrinking and then vanishing accountability. The outrageous overfunding and militarization.

They were never doing any of that that to protect the average local resident.

I know I start a lot of commentary with "Public Defenders have been warning about this type of stuff for years," but it bears repeating.

Arresting kids for no clear reason isnt new.
Hiding them from parents isnt new.
Violating their rights isnt new.
Cooperating with ICE isnt new.

I have never worn an inflatable costume, so Grain of Salt, but it seems like a hydration pack should work (the sort generally used for running/hiking/biking.)

Whoever chose this picture is doing excellent work.

"Stunned."

The NYPD's Watchdog Is Tossing Out Lying Cop Cases—Then 'Hiding' the Data from the Public The agency tasked with holding the NYPD accountable is letting cops accused of lying to its own investigators off the hook.

In 2019, voters empowered the Civilian Complaint Review Board to bring misconduct charges against cops who lied to the agency's investigators. But the board is tossing those cases out at a surprising rate, and public data conceals that fact. What gives?

The deportation order is based on Vedam’s conviction for murder—a crime he did not actually commit and for which he’s now been wholly exonerated. He entered the US at 9 months old and was a legal permanent resident before his conviction. We are so, so, so far from the light of justice.

Always good when you have to wonder if Measles is a musical act or if it's a concert + measles party hybrid event.

My friend Tareq and his family all survived to see a ceasefire, which feels like a miracle.

But Tareq's family, like so many others, remains in survival mode. Not only was their home destroyed, their entire neighborhood was erased. Everything they had is gone. They are starting over & need help.

"Outside the ICE building, demonstrators ... have blown bubbles at ICE agents, formed a flash mob to dance the “Cha-Cha Slide,” held formal afternoon tea services and gone 'ICE fishing' — tying doughnuts to poles and pretending to lure federal officers with the pastries. "

Salvation Army seen feeding ICE today. For anyone who doesn't already know about their bigotry, here is more, No need to give them your money this Christmas, or ever.

For more information about the Friday night massacre at CDC, I wrote up an analysis of who got terminated and what that means for public health.

Grateful to @saveamericamvmt.bsky.social for supporting and amplifying. We are in really terrible trouble.

rasmussenretorts.substack.com/p/the-death-...

aaand we are officially in the hide-your-neighbors stage

Jim Lee Says DC Comics Will Never Support Generative AI So long as Lee is president of DC Studios, the company will not have its heroes drawn or written by AI.

Both DC and Marvel have expressed that gen AI has no place in their comic books.

That’s significant.

I hope they go further and enshroud that in contracts if they haven’t already. #CreateDontScrape

DC:
gizmodo.com/dc-comics-ji...

Marvel:
bleedingcool.com/comics/nycc-...

The Constitution. The Declaration. The Spirit of '76. No Kings.

You know, America haters.

This 4-year-old's heart is failing. A federal grant that might help him was canceled A Cornell University researcher has been developing an artificial heart for children for more than 20 years. Now, his research is on hold and his lab is shut down.

An artificial heart for children with congenital heart defects was almost finished. Families had waited for years it.

Then, Trump canceled billions in grants for universities — including the grant for this device.

The cruelty is endless. www.npr.org/2025/10/09/n...

In Chicago they are shooting priests in the face and zipping little kids and loading up parents in vans separated by race.

In Portland they can be held back by inflatable costumes.

Chicago is 35% white
Portland is 70% white

The following is REAL footage from Portland, 2025. Viewer discretion is advised.

I know this case is all over - & it should be - but Turning Point USA has waged a harassment campaign against faculty for more than a decade. I know of at least a half dozen other faculty, personally, who have received death threats and several of those who felt so unsafe they too left their homes

New Yorkers know Attorney General James for who she is: a champion for justice who fights relentlessly for the people. Donald Trump knows her only as an obstacle to his corruption. No one should be surprised that Donald Trump is employing fascist tactics—prosecuting his opponents, weaponizing the federal government, and attacking the very fabric of our democracy. And Trump should not be surprised when millions of Americans stand up to his authoritarianism and his greed. If Trump wants to leverage baseless charges to visit political retribution on New York’s Attorney General, he’ll have to go through New Yorkers first. The Attorney General has had our back, time and again. We have hers.

New Yorkers know Attorney General James for who she is: a champion for justice who fights relentlessly for the people. Donald Trump knows her only as an obstacle to his corruption.

My full statement:

A staffer on Stephen Colbert's show wanted to ask the first ever Muslim candidate for mayor in the history of New York City to play a game of thumbs up, thumbs down about an ongoing genocide.

Apparently the need to make billions of dollars with a product that is built on theft, literally poisoning the earth, contributes nothing, and actively makes tech worse is a more important need than *checks notes* meeting basic needs while impoverished in 2025 USA.