@styweard.bsky.social
He/Him | Michigander Art / Fantasy / History / Politics
The military is preparing target sets for lethal strikes against cartel targets in Mexico.
The strikes were discussed at a July meeting at NORTHCOM HQ in Colorado Springs led by Colby Jenkins, Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations:
www.kenklippenstein.com/p/military-p...
So the conservative host on NewsNation, Leland Vittert, lost it when I brought up January 6th and Trump's failure to prevent violent crimes that day, and his refusal to send in the National Guard that day.
He cut me off and then ended the interview!
Full interview: www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9bR...
The defunding of public media, the gutting of the Washington Post and LA Times, and the cancelation of Stephen Colbert by Paramount is all connected. It's part of a hostile takeover of our entire information space by the oligarchs.
www.thedissident.news/the-oligarch...
The first time Charlie Chaplin used his voice in a film, he wielded it to forcefully condemn the rising forces of fascism around the globe.
Will we listen to his words today?
TERF island vs Trans-inclusionary radical misogynist hexagone
21.04.2025 00:23 — 👍 12 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
New from 404 Media: ICE is planning a central database of health, labor, and housing agency data to find targets for deportation. The tool, called ATrac or Alien Tracker, already has data from Social Security Administration. Is used to send targets to teams in field
www.404media.co/ice-plans-ce...
Wilmer only found out his son had been detained after receiving a phone call on March 15 from his nephew, Luis, who lives with them. That morning was their last time together; they had gone around the corner to do their laundry. Later that day, Wilmer said that his son met with a friend to get help with some errands at the American Red Cross. He learned this from Luis, who looked at the situation from inside the apartment: when his son was on his way back, just steps from his home when ICE agents stopped him. “The officers grabbed him and two other boys right at the entrance to our building. One said, ‘No, he’s not the one,’ like they were looking for someone else. But the other said, ‘Take him anyway.'” That moment marked the beginning of Wilmer’s search for answers — answers he’s still waiting for.
One of hundreds of people abducted by ICE and sold to slavery in El Salvador was a 19 year old with no criminal record in the US or Venezuela and no tattoos of any kind.
An ICE kidnapper who grabbed him outside his house said, "He's not the one."
The other said, "Take him anyway."
So they did.
My God we have oligarchs burning this country to the ground and you think the problem is what gender POTUS is?
Like no shit HRC & Harris would be better than Trump, but if the politics they represent meaningfully addressed the country's needs we wouldn't have a Trump in the first place.
Bruh the problems our country is facing are bigger than one party. Decisions made with both parties' support have crushed ppl's faith in govt and the social contract and led us to the oligarchic hellscape we're living in.
04.04.2025 16:59 — 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Never in my decade of filing FOIA requests have I gotten a response like this. Customs and Border Protection denies my request, saying "Due to law enforcement sensitivities we can neither confirm nor deny the existence of records." No exemption cited, no name of who wrote this.
03.04.2025 00:57 — 👍 7729 🔁 2183 💬 303 📌 141
ALIEN ENEMIES ACT: ALIEN ENEMY VALIDATION GUIDE In the case of: ________________________________ A-File No:__________________ 1. The person named above is fourteen years or older: 2. The person named above is not a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States: 3. The person named above is a citizen of Venezuela: If any of these three requirements are not satisfied, the person named above shall not be ordered removed under the Alien Enemies Act (AEA). In such a case, you should consult your supervisor and the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and, where applicable, initiate removal proceedings under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). 4. The person named above is validated as a member of Tren de Aragua (TDA), as determined by reference to the following evaluation form: Instructions: Complete the following validation evaluation form for each suspected alien targeted for removal under the AEA, or, following apprehension, for each alien potentially subject to an AEA removal. After accounting for the two comments below, aliens scoring 8 points and higher are validated as members of TDA; you should proceed with issuing Form AEA-21B, titled, “Notice and Warrant of Apprehension and Removal under the Alien Enemies Act.” Aliens scoring 6 or 7 points may be validated as members of TDA; you should consult with a supervisor and OPLA, reviewing the totality of the facts, before making that determination; if you determine an alien should not be validated at this time as a member of TDA, when available, you should initiate removal proceedings under the INA. Alien scoring 5 points or less should not be validated at this time as member of TDA; when available, you should initiate removal proceedings under the INA.
The following alt-text is excerpted of a larger checklist, as the whole page doesn't fit within alt-text character limits. Comment 2: For purposes of validating an alien as a member of TDA, at least one scoring category must involve conduct occurring, or information received, within the past five years. Valuation Explanation Category Definition Explanation Points Judicial Outcomes and Official Documents a. Subject has been convicted of violating Title 18, United States Code, Section 521 or any other federal or state law criminalizing or imposing civil penalties for activity related to TDA 10 b. Court records (e.g., indictments, criminal complaints, sentencing memorandums) identifying the subject as a member of TDA, describing specific activity of TDA 5 Self-Admission a. Subject self-identifies as a member or associate of TDA verbally or in writing to law enforcement officer, even if that self identification to a law enforcement officer is unwitting, e.g., through lawful interception of communications. 10 Criminal Conduct and Information a. Subject participates in criminal activity (e.g., narcotics trafficking, human smuggling, etc.) with other members of TDA, including preparatory meetings and significant incidents directly attributed to TDA 6 b. Law enforcement or intelligence reporting identifying subject as a member of TDA, to include Bureau of Prisons validations and reliable foreign partner information. 4 c. Credible testimonies/statements from victims, community members, or informants that affirm the subject’s membership in or allegiance to TDA. 3 d. Detailed open-source media (e.g., newspapers, investigative journalism reports) that describe arrest, prosecution, or operations of a subject as a member of TDA 2 e. Subject conducts and/or facilitates business with TDA (e.g., money laundering, mule, service provider) 2 Documents and Communications
Final page: Association a. Surveillance documentation that a subject is frequently observed closely associating with known leaders and members of TDA 2 b. Subject part of group photos with two or more known members of TDA 2 c. Subject presently resides with known members of TDA 2 Total Points VALIDATION DETERMINATION Note: If any of the four requirements are not satisfied, do not complete this validation determination. Based on the validation guide and instructions above, including Comments 1 and 2, I find that the person named above, _______________________________________________: 1. Is fourteen years or older; 2. Is not a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States; 3. Is a citizen of Venezuela; and 4. Is a member of Tren de Aragua. Accordingly, the above-named person is validated as an Alien Enemy. _____________________ _________________________ __________________ Name of Agent/officer Signature of agent/officer Date completing the form completing the form ______________________ _________________________ ____________________ Name of Supervisor Signature of Supervisor Date
NEW: @aclu.org obtained ICE's "Alien Enemies Act Validation Guide," confirming all it takes to be sent to rot in prison in El Salvador is being Venezuelan and 1) having a tattoo an ICE officer says is a "gang tattoo" and 2) displaying "logos," "symbols" or clothes an ICE officer says are gang signs.
30.03.2025 16:37 — 👍 13564 🔁 6760 💬 539 📌 673The latest crazy just proves what we all know. They are discussing everything on Signal to avoid any discovery or FOIA or archival laws. So illegal but here we are.
24.03.2025 18:56 — 👍 47763 🔁 11814 💬 819 📌 546
Trump just signed an EO consolidating ALL federal payments under the treasury and requiring a pre-certification to be able to receive any and all federal payments. This would enable the Trump admin to cut off funding at any time for any reason to any institution.
www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...
That JB Pritzker sounds relevatory reflects how far a whole generation of Democratic politicians strayed from the absolute basics of electoral politics: say what you mean, act like you sincerely like your constituents, and don't constantly bring up how much you like and agree with your opponents.
24.03.2025 20:49 — 👍 8744 🔁 1616 💬 77 📌 44As someone with pre-existing conditions I'm super grateful for the ACA.
But also ACA being the Dems' biggest accomplishment in a generation when it just subsidized the system w/o addressing its core issues says a lot about Dem inadequacy.
It can be both good and not enough.
By moving to the “center,” Democrats have failed to fight the forces that led us to Trump: widening inequality and the unchecked power of billionaires.
There's no "center" anymore between a takeover of the government by oligarchs and true freedom.
Dems need to learn this.
There are so many examples of this that you really have to conclude their very clear intent is to not ever be out of power again.
19.03.2025 22:43 — 👍 8362 🔁 1485 💬 339 📌 76
WHAT WE FOUND We found that the bureau does not have effective strategies to address staffing gaps and high vacancies in FR positions. Specifically, the bureau did not: • Meet its staffing goals for ACS, CPS, and NCVS. • Implement a process to track and assess vacancy information from the regions. Without a workforce plan, the bureau lacks a comprehensive strategy to ensure it has the necessary FR staff to help accomplish its mission of providing high-quality data. Unaddressed FR staffing gaps increase the risks of lower response rates on surveys and higher attrition of other field staff, who bear the burden of increased workloads. Developing and implementing a workforce plan for FRs will help the bureau address the issues we identify in this report.
NEW: The Census Bureau hasn't been recruiting and retaining enough interviewers for three key surveys, including the source of the monthly job report, and lacks a plan for building up a field representative staff, the bureau's internal watchdog, Commerce OIG, finds
www.oig.doc.gov/wp-content/O...
These are the senators who collaborated with the GOP.
Schumer
Fetterman
Cortez Masto
Durbin
King
Shaheen
Gillibrand
Schatz
Hassan
Peters
Don’t let them forget it. No peace for them.
A very chilling and important @leahlitman.bsky.social explainer on how a sleeper Supreme Court case—you probably haven't heard of it—could open the door to *criminal prosecution* of entities that practice and promote DEIA. slate.com/news-and-pol...
13.03.2025 20:58 — 👍 207 🔁 91 💬 9 📌 4Wouldnt it be something if Democrats acted with the same sense of urgency expressed in their fundraising emails
14.03.2025 03:53 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0The institutional Democratic Party is guided by an almost pathological level of conflict avoidance in almost every direction. “What can we do to make the least number of people mad?” is just a bankrupt way to operate.
13.03.2025 22:23 — 👍 78904 🔁 15218 💬 3518 📌 1492No, Mr. President, you cannot illegally arrest and detain legal US residents because of their political views or opinions.
In America, we have a little something called the First Amendment.
Throwing protesters in jail is yet another step on the path to authoritarianism.
Public opinion is downstream of politics.
You look at public opinion to see how well your messaging is doing. You don’t look at public opinion to see what your stances on issues should be.
This is the basic, fundamental failure of establishment democrats.
10.03.2025 19:31 — 👍 13324 🔁 1796 💬 155 📌 49
BREAKING: DHS Detains Lead Negotiator of Columbia Gaza Solidarity Encampment After Online Campaign by Pro-Israel Groups
Mahmoud Khalil, who was detained on Saturday, is being held at an ICE detention facility.
www.dropsitenews.com/p/dhs-detain...
Yes. If DHS can barge in, say your visa was revoked, be told you have a green card, say it's revoked too, and then disappear you so that neither your lawyer nor your family can find you, then all the guardrails are gone. There is no policy, practice, or law protecting anyone.
09.03.2025 22:30 — 👍 25182 🔁 9246 💬 238 📌 254
The Guardian is reporting that Trump is openly violating a court order, and has transferred multiple transgender women to men's facilities.
We know in Florida, transgender women are having their hair shorn, feminine items confiscated, and pulled off medication.
This is inhumane and illegal.
