Jamie Ludwig

ICE contractor locked an immigrant and her baby at an O’Hare hotel for five days Valentina Galvis' detention at a hotel raises questions about the types of facilities being turned into de facto detention centers as the Trump administration ramps up immigration detention.

A Chicago woman went to immigration court. Her case was dismissed; she and her infant were taken by federal agents who turned her over to contractor MVM. They spent five days confined at the Sonesta O'Hare hotel without communication to the outside world.

My first byline at @injusticewatch.org:

I keep thinking of how in Nazi-occupied Denmark, if a Nazi walked into a bar, everyone would pay up and walk out.

Media Fail to Note Christian Zionist Operative Who Organized Congressional Visit to West Bank Yesterday, House Speaker Mike Johnson, the third-highest ranking US official, visited the Israeli settlement of Ariel, deep in the occupied West Bank, to pledge support for full Israeli annexation of ...

My latest @religiondispatches.org - GOP leader Mike Johnson visited the West Bank yesterday & proclaimed support for Israeli annexation. But few noticed the Christian Zionist operative who has arranged trips like his for decades, driven by Biblical prophecy religiondispatches.org/media-fail-t...

A “Striking” Trend: After Texas Banned Abortion, More Women Nearly Bled to Death During Miscarriage A new ProPublica data analysis adds to the mounting evidence that abortion bans have made the common experience of first-trimester miscarriage far more dangerous.

More women have nearly bled to death during miscarriage under Texas’ abortion ban.

Experts say the trend paints a troubling picture of the harms of unnecessary delays in care.

“This is striking,” one doctor said. “The trend is very clear.”

The problem is far bigger than Jeffrey Epstein | Rebecca Solnit Treating the scandal as an aberration misunderstands the global epidemic of violence against women

"One of the reasons the epidemic of violence against women is so unacknowledged is because cases like these are talked about individually, and often treated as though they are shocking aberrations rather than part of a pervasive pattern that operates at all levels of society."

Just going to pop in to remind everyone that the fascists have intentionally inverted their language in an effort to confuse broader society and inject Philo Semitism into the milieu as a continuing form of radicalization and cooption of the language needed to counter their agenda of hate.

Senate Confirms Conspiracy Theorist To Lead National Counterterrorism Center

Hey no big deal and all but... Senate Republicans just confirmed Joe Kent, a conspiracy theorist with alarming ties to white nationalists and far-right groups, to lead the National Counterterrorism Center. www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-...

Opinion | The Economy Still Isn’t What These 11 Latino Trump Voters Had in Mind (Gift Article) The group discusses the president’s second term so far, focusing on issues such as the economy and immigration.

This article features the current opinions of 11 Latino Trump voters.

When asked how they feel about Democrats, at no point do they mention wokeness, trans stuff, or any culture war nonsense

Repeatedly, they say the Democrats never follow through on their promises to make things better

There's a very real possibility that things are going to get extremely bad for Israel in the next ten years and if they do its hard to see how they have anyone to blame but themselves. Every possible off ramp of the last sixty years has been rejected and the road terminates in a brick wall.

2025 Legislative Sessions to Date: Key Election Policy Trends From surveying the election bills introduced in states this year, it's clear that President Donald Trump’s allies in the states have adopted his blueprint to undermine free and fair elections.

Started my morning with sobering news from Voting Rights Lab's mid-year report.

Their data shows that many of the harmful provisions from the SAVE Act were enacted by state legislatures this year. Federal advocacy is important, but the fight is in the states.

votingrightslab.org/report/2025-...

The Sears Tower looking insanely creepy during a blackout, including the impression of a scary face topped by a crown of spikes. It looks like a giant humanoid evil robot or a demonic Minecraft creature.

"It's ok, honey. The Sears Tower experiencing a blackout won't hurt you!"

The Sears Tower experiencing a blackout:

Fascists Are Using Antisemitic Tropes to Target Other Groups Fascists and other far right groups have found new ways to gain the benefits of antisemitism without the consequences that can come with it. This is their latest iteration.

Due to the simultaneous taboo of explicit antisemitism and the vast increase in conspiracy theories, a new form of antisemitic trope has evolved: that targeting other minority groups.

Trans people. Even Palestinians. This allows the benefits of antisemitic tropes with far less backlash.

My latest.

The calls to stop the starvation are essential.

And along with them inside this statement are some signs of a huge shift.

“Despite PM Netanyahu's calls to ignore these full [far-right] members of his cabinet, their presence in this government has consistently morally compromised Israel's actions…”

Reform Jewish Movement Statement on Starvation in Gaza July 27, 2025 - The ongoing crisis in Gaza is a devastating reminder of the immense human cost of war. Nearly two years into Israel's war against Hamas, Israelis are still waiting for the return of their loved ones held hostage, and innocent Palestinians are caught in a mounting humanitarian catastrophe. Hamas has repeatedly demonstrated its willingness to sacrifice the Palestinian people in its pursuit of Israel's destruction, but Israel must not sacrifice its own moral standing in return. Neither escalating military pressure nor restricting humanitarian aid has brought Israel closer to securing a hostage deal or ending the war. While long-delayed and not-yet-certain to be more effective than previous efforts, we are encouraged by Saturday night's announcement that the Israeli military would revive the practice of dropping aid from airplanes and make it easier for aid convoys, including those from the UN's World Food Program, to move through Gaza along "designated humanitarian corridors," and to temporarily cease fighting in Gaza for a humanitarian pause. No one should be unaffected by the pervasive hunger experienced by thousands of Gazans. No one should spend the bulk of their time arguing technical definitions between starvation and pervasive hunger. The situation is dire, and it is deadly. Nor should we accept arguments that because Hamas is the primary reason many Gazans are either starving or on the verge of starving, that the Jewish State is not also culpable in this human disaster. The primary moral response must begin with anguished hearts in the face of such a large-scale human tragedy. Our tradition teaches that all people are created b tzelem Elohim — in the image of God. One consequence of this is the moral priority, which is affirmed throughout the Bible and rabbinic tradition, of feeding the hungry - both for the individual and for the self-governing Jewish community. More than a few members of t…

Despite PM Netanyahu's calls to ignore these full members of his cabinet, their presence in this government has consistently morally compromised Israel's actions. Starving Gazan civilians neither will bring Israel the "total victory" over Hamas it seeks, nor can it be justified by Jewish values or humanitarian law. It's hard to imagine that this tragic approach will bring home the 50 remaining hostages, including the 20 who we pray are still alive. It's imperative that the Government of Israel ensures that the recently announced plans to deliver humanitarian aid succeed as Israel works with international partners to ensure its safe and sustained delivery and do whatever possible to reduce or eliminate the shootings and other injuries sustained at food distribution centers. We applaud Israel's green light for foreign nations to resume providing humanitarian aid to the Gaza population desperate for food and are confident that they will do all they can to ensure that such aid does not fall into the hands of Hamas. As Israel has effective control of 70% of Gaza, with the intent to remain in significant swaths of it, even if only temporarily, it should be directly involved, facilitate and cooperate with the international community, international humanitarian NGOs, and regional friends, to take urgently needed actions, such as these suggested by Israeli Reform rabbi and Member of Knesset Gilad Kariv: • To prevent the alarming number of civilian deaths in and around the food and humanitarian aid distribution sites. • Opening a significant number of food distribution centers at various locations across the Gaza Strip. • Large-scale entry of infant formula (especially liquid formula) and ensuring safe delivery to both functioning medical centers and the few remaining international aid facilities. • Establishing secure methods - potentially through cooperation with regional countries - for delivering food supplies to aid organizations and international agencies. • Resuming su…

Finally, while it is imperative that Israel and the U.S. resume diplomacy to bring home all hostages and end this war, denying basic humanitarian aid crosses a moral line. Blocking food, water, medicine, and power- especially for children- is indefensible. Let us not allow our grief to harden into indifference, nor our love for Israel to blind us to the cries of the vulnerable. Let us rise to the moral challenge of this moment. Union for Reform Judaism Shelley Niceley Groff (she/her) North American Board Chair Rabbi Rick Jacobs (he/him) President Central Conference of American Rabbis Rabbi David A. Lyon (he/him) President Rabbi Hara Person (she/her) Chief Executive Officer American Conference of Cantors Cantor Josh Breitzer (he/him) President Rachel Roth (she/her) Chief Operating Officer

INBOX: Union for Reform Judaism, Central Conference of American Rabbis & American Conference of Cantors issue a lengthy statement declaring:

"Starving Gazan civilians neither will bring Israel the 'total victory' over Hamas it seeks, nor can it be justified by Jewish values or humanitarian law."

10 Years of Infinite Dissolution

A decade ago, we released Infinite Dissolution, a meditation on extinction, erosion, and what it means to vanish.

Thank you to everyone who’s listened, shared, or carried this music with them over the years.

Wow—I can’t believe it’s been so long. Happy anniversary! The record’s themes feel even more poignant now than 2015, but glad we’re all still here to fight another day. 🖤 💪

Trump's new executive order about AI states that companies' models must not incorporate the idea that trans people exist as a concept. Seems bad.

YouTube video by MLB LAD@CHC: Ozzy Osbourne sings Take Me Out To the Ballgame at Wrigley Field

Did you ever consider that maybe these are the real lyrics and it’s the rest of us who got it wrong all these years? RIP 🖤 youtu.be/0TPYI_Y3pWw

I hear you! It’s like when Lemmy died. A single person can change the fucking world.

RIP indeed. Feels surreal just thinking about impact he’s had on so many lives — there are so many friendships I never would have made if he/Sabbath never existed.

Epstein Coverage Largely Ignores Trump’s Assault on E. Jean Carroll This seems like relevant context

mainstream media is writing about trump & epstein...but those articles don't inform readers that trump was held liable for sexual assault.

that's because they're covering epstein as a MAGA rift story, not as a story about trump's character or fitness. www.everythingishorrible.net/p/epstein-co...

"Americans are weak and stupid they won't do shit to stop Trump" stop it. Log off.

Meaningful resistance in LA and other cities. Millions activated and hitting the streets. Plummeting polls. Simmering anger

And instead of encouraging it you tell ppl it's hopeless. The fuck is wrong with you

Elon Musk’s xAI is hiring someone to make anime girls “Fullstack Engineer – Waifus,” is the job title.

If a fraction of the time and resources spent on developing this shit was instead invested in helping men develop a single social skill, there might not be such a demand for AI girlfriends in the first place. mashable.com/article/elon...

Trump to sue Murdoch over Epstein letter? Without Fox News, Trump is toast. | Opinion The unfolding Jeffrey Epstein scandal has Donald Trump threatening to sue Rupert Murdoch, the father of Fox News.

Trump to sue Murdoch over Epstein letter? Without Fox News, Trump is toast.

My column on the scandal engulfing and terrifying Trump, and his flailing inability to extinguish it:

www.usatoday.com/story/opinio...

The End of Public Radio Music? Bob Boilen writes about the importance of public radio music amid looming cuts.

"More than 23 mill listeners tune in to 687 public radio music stations. It would affect almost all programming, incl AAA stations with genres such as independent rock, bluegrass, folk, jazz, gospel, country, soul, hip-hop, local music. 96% of all classical music is played on public radio stations."

Documenting / reporting is one thing, but there’s gotta be some sort of Karmic retribution for people who get their shits, giggles, and page views off other people’s suffering.

I bought my toddler niece her first drum kit over the weekend. Taking bets on whether I’ll be invited over to hear her play, or if I’ll be banished until her next birthday.

Earning enough from a prison job is nearly impossible: The average prison wage maxes out at 52 cents per hour, according to @aclu.org, and many people make pennies per hour. A $3 tube of toothpaste can take days of work to afford — if you’re paid at all.

🎥: @bychrisvazquez.bsky.social

8TH ANNUAL Chicagoland Health Fiesta Tour July 12, 2025 10 am - 3 pm Thank you to our community partners ROSSANA RODRIGUEZ 33RD WARD ALDERMAN BRIDGET DEGNEN GRACIELA GUZMAN RESOURCES FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY FREE/LOW-COST MEDICAL SERVICES HEALTH SCREENINGS & WELLNESS ACTIVITIES ZUMBA, COOKING DEMOS & KIDS' FUN REDETERMINATION BY COUNTYCARE FINANCIAL ADVICE & ELDER CARE INFO JOIN US FOR FREE RESOURCES, GIVEAWAYS, AND EXPERT ADVICE! Albany Park ROOSEVELT HIGH SCHOOL 3436 W WILSON AVE www.ViveTuVidaEnForma.org Health, Fun & Family - All in One Day!

This is going on at Roosevelt High School, Chicago (at the end of the Brown Line) right now, until 3 pm