Sam Brunson

The problem (at least in IL) is not that we have a feckless governor or mayor unwilling "to stand up to Trump." The problem is that over 80 years+ we the people have ceded vast powers to the Fed govt for good and necessary reasons and then, last November, we gave all those powers to Donald Trump.

There is an escalation ladder here and he understands how that is the absolute last step, one you don't touch until all else has failed and you've done a lot of laying the groundwork. Things are bad, heading that way, it's deadly serious. But we're not there yet and he is right to not say it now.

One of the more incredible stories out of LA this year has been how a taco review blog became the best on-the-ground coverage of ICE raids in the city.

They do a dispatch every day, follow-up on the kidnapped people (which almost no media outlet has done), and fact-check government claims.

@lataco.bsky.social first began as a blog documenting local Mexican cuisine. Now, it’s an essential reporting powerhouse to the city as Trump’s mass deportation plot unfolds.

Check out the latest from our friends at Reveal: tinyurl.com/4cm2bsdr

My daughter's AP Gov teacher just assigned the class to answer some questions using the Open Secrets website and honestly, that seems like it alone is worth the cost of admission.

What are the children who were framed by their siblings going to do now?!?

(Also, what a terrible change!)

That’s what I was afraid of …

Like half of their shoes eventually hit Netflix, so maybe then.

I mean, I haven’t had cable in almost 20 years and the reception on the antenna I have in my apartment isn’t spectacular, so I’m mostly a streaming person.

I’ve been curious but you just sold me on it (as long as it streams on a service I have!).

I have actually never owned a TiVo or any other DVR device.

Nice!

This may shock you but some of us have problems with the operation of the federal government that transcends party identification and individual elected officials.

Chicago news media groups file suit against ICE and DHS, alleging excessive force against reporters Chicago news media groups filed suit against ICE and Homeland Security, claiming excessive force against reporters and protesters of immigration arrests.

Chicago news media groups filed suit against ICE and Homeland Security, claiming excessive force against reporters and protesters of immigration arrests.

I had one mission at Costco tonight: buy two bags of Halloween candy (one chocolate, one not).

There was Christmas stuff everywhere, but not a single gigantic bag of candy to be found.

My son thinks this is a case of Trump Take Halloween.

And I can't say for certain he's wrong. #tariffs

And as a Hoosier, it's my duty to remind you that the second Klan's decline started when the leader of the Indiana Klan was convicted of rape.

ICE is doing a hell of a lot of harm in the Chicago area *right now.* I don’t mean to trivialize the national guard stuff, it absolutely is an irresponsible escalation, but the guard-centric convo around this really does understate what’s going on without any guardsmen.

if someone tells you founding era judges didn’t have a role in adjudicating military affairs, what they’re actually telling you is they don’t know anything about the 18th century

But what if I'm the specialist person on the internet and I really really want to make everything just about me? I bet you didn't think of that, did you?!?

@achmatX The KKK was founded in 1865. The United States has had 157 years to register it as a terrorist organization and hasn't. Instead it's a tax exempt religious organization. I'm not at all interest in white people's definition of terrorism.

Just in case the skeet goes away--and it probably should--here's the screenshot it's sharing:

The KKK is bad! It always has been! But we don't need to make up tax statuses, anti-terrorism laws, or 150-year continuity to make it bad! It's bad based on actual facts! 5/5

And, in the early 1940s, the Bureau of Internal Revenue determined that it had never qualified as one, and therefore owed significant back taxes. In fact, that was one of the reasons the KKK shut its doors. (It also had its nonprofit corporate charter yanked by Georgia.) I've written about it: 4/

3. The KKK is not a tax-exempt religious organization. It never has been. It never will be.

The second-generation KKK claimed tax exemption as a fraternal beneficiary society. Back when it did that, there was no mechanism for applying for tax exemption. 3/

2. There's not, afaik, a designation for domestic terrorist organizations, notwithstanding Trump's (pathetic) attempt to designate (the non-existent) antifa as one. So, like, the US has not had 157 years to designate it as a terrorist org. 2/

Like many tweets, literally every word in the screenshotted tweet is wrong. Inter alia:

1. The first generation KKK was founded in 1865. It died. The second was in the early 1910s. It died. The third isn't really a formal organization. 1.

everything about this story has seemed like obvious horseshit from the beginning

The NYC Bar has issued an opinion concluding that the Trump-ordered attacks on Venezuelan fishing boats constitute unlawful summary executions. This is a very big deal. And it explains why the DOD can't find lawyers to say the attacks are lawful. www.nycbar.org/press-releas...

This really makes it sound like a Border Patrol agent tried to kill an anti-ICE activist in Chicago and DHS lied to cover for him

"Shortly after Monday’s court hearing, the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives announced a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the other drivers who followed and boxed in agents Saturday."

PSA: They won't really pay you.

To be absolutely clear: if ICE or DHS says something happened, it almost certainly didn't happen.

And even if it did, at this point, the burden is on them to produce evidence. Anybody who gives them even the least benefit of the doubt hasn't been paying attention.

Claim: 10 cars rammed ICE
Truth: No cars rammed ICE

Claim: She boxed ICE in
Truth: ICE boxed her in

Claim: She shot a rifle at ICE
Truth: She did not have a rifle

Claim: ICE returned fire
Truth: Only ICE fired

Claim: She drove herself to the hospital
Truth: Paramedics found her