Alan Braggins

​Newport co-ed cheerleading team is at center of Trump transgender athlete crackdown​Trump admin focuses on swimming, cheerleading in Maine transgender athlete probes The U.S. Department of Education announced a slew of Title IX-related investigations this week that include 2 school districts in Maine.

If anyone was still pretending this isn’t just about excluding trans kids from public life, the Trump administration just opened a Title IX investigation into a Maine school district because a trans student is on a *co-ed* cheerleading squad.

Why ICE Can Kill With Impunity Over the past decade, US immigration agents have shot and killed more than two dozen people. Not a single agent appears to have faced criminal charges.

ICE agents have shot and killed at least 25 people since 2015. Not a single one of them has faced criminal charges. from @lilahassan.bsky.social www.wired.com/story/why-ic...

Is Reform UK putting foreign billionaires ahead of our NHS? A Reform government would look to cut funding to the NHS by £26 billion. At the same time, they are looking to give tax breaks to people who can afford private healthcare

A Reform government would look to cut funding to the NHS by £26 billion. At the same time, they are looking to give tax breaks to people who can afford private healthcare

northeastbylines.co.uk/news/health/...

Exclusive: US gets first $500 million Venezuelan oil deal, holding some proceeds in Qatar The details shared with Semafor mark an initial milestone in the administration’s plan following the ouster of Nicolás Maduro.

The main bank account holding revenue from the Venezuelan oil sales is located in Qatar.

“There is no basis in law for a president to set up an offshore account that he controls so that he can sell assets seized by the American military,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

www.semafor.com/article/01/1...

Historically, we've focused a lot on the brutal actions of authoritarian regimes, and today is no different.

Is she aware it's conspiracy theorist code for "Jews who secretly control the world economy", or is she aware that accusing Starmer of being a puppet for those alleged forces is problematic?

The same ones who want us to join Russia and Belarus in rejecting the European Convention on Human Rights, even more clearly part of Churchill's vision.

Brett Kavanaugh: ICE agents can have a little racial profiling sometimes, as a treat

Roz is a badass. Roz is also an amazing poet. But more than this, Roz is a walking talking reminder of how confected this stupid bloody trans panic of the last few years has been.

She's been a woman for longer than Wes "lickspittle cunt" Streeting has been alive, and she's worth a million of him.

OxRAIL 2040: Plan for Rail OxRAIL 2040: Plan for Rail (the Plan) is Oxfordshire County Council’s bold plan to improve rail transport across the county over the next 15 years. We would like to hear your thoughts on the Plan to u...

I urge everyone in Oxfordshire (or who uses our rail systems) to reply to this consultation on the 2040 plans for rail. I've talked about how improving cycling connectivity up to our stations could be transformative for rail travel AND local communities (1/2)

letstalk.oxfordshire.gov.uk/oxrail-2040

Hundreds of Alligator Alcatraz detainees drop off the grid after leaving site As of the end of August, the whereabouts of two-thirds of more than 1,800 men detained at Alligator Alcatraz during the month of July could not be determined by the Miami Herald.

More than 1800 detainees are missing after the closure of Alligator Alcatraz. Their families and lawyers can’t find them and they’ve vanished from the ICE database. Feels like this should be a much bigger story www.miamiherald.com/news/local/i...

Ukrainian civilians suffer systematic torture in Russian facilities, UN says Russia has systematically tortured Ukrainian civilians in over 100 detention centres in Russia and occupied Ukraine since the start of the war, the U.N. human rights office said on Tuesday.

'Russia has systematically tortured Ukrainian civilians in over 100 detention centres in Russia and occupied Ukraine since the start of the war, the U.N. human rights office said on Tuesday.' www.reuters.com/world/europe...

he says he thought it would be easiest to broker an end to the war in Ukraine because of his relationship with Putin, but war is full of surprises, who knew. he then goes on to say it's just making Russia look bad. the UN camera operator cuts to Zelensky, who looks like he's watching a camel juggle

The Onion: Are you concerned about the rise of political violence in the U.S.? Patel: Yes, it isn’t advancing rapidly enough to justify what we have planned.

The Onion’s Exclusive Interview With Kash Patel https://theonion.com/the-onions-exclusive-interview-with-kash-patel/

Because "the president of the most powerful nation on earth is a lying idiot" affects all of us. It's a shame they can't be that blunt about it.

Tucker Carlson tells a story that appears to blame Jews for killing Jesus (they didn’t) and also killing Charlie Kirk.

The simple metal box that could change the world - Healthy Debate This quiet, repairable metal air cleaner is an inexpensive long-term disease prevention tool for public spaces.

The PC fan air cleaner above is described in our article on Healthy Debate /2

In a month of lows, tonight's Newsnight was a new one. I felt very sorry for @davidfrum.bsky.social trying to explain the first amendment to a panel, incredibly, trying to both-sides a Trump administration nakedly, explicitly, and on-record blackmailing media companies into silence. WTAF

Madison Square Garden, 1939:

Understanding Ranked Choice Voting Understanding Ranked Choice Voting Author: Josh Martin (@JoshMartinMpls); Last Updated 1/30/25 Note: If you want a simpler explainer with less reading and more pizza, check out this video from Minnea...

I've heard people wondering about ranked choice voting, so I'm reposting my explainer from 2021. The TLDR version is just rank your three favorite (or least unfavorite) candidates in order. But you can read this if you want a deep dive.

docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Trump and Vance’s contradictory messages on these killings:

1: Our glorious military carried out hyper-precise attacks on dastardly drug smugglers.
2: If you’re an innocent fisherman, watch out because we might kill you by mistake!

‘Law & order’ latest.

Literally fascism. Literally what the Nazis did with Horst Wessel.

Heard from a friend at Disney+ that there are multiple levels of freakout internally, both from internal dissatisfaction, concerns about subscription cancelations, and of course the big one: concern about a boycott spilling over into parks and cruises.

Page 1: Flyer from The Heritage Foundation Oversight Project titled “Transgender Ideology-Inspired Violent Extremism (TIVE): Background and FAQs on Need for an FBI Domestic Terrorism Designation.” The page defines “Transgender Ideology” and “TIVE,” outlining beliefs allegedly associated with them. It claims such ideology justifies violence against opponents or frames opposition as violence. The text references the alleged assassination of Charlie Kirk, urging the FBI to classify TIVE as domestic terrorism.

Page 2: Continuation of flyer with a section titled “Recent Instances of TIVE-Motivated Acts of Domestic Terrorism.” Lists multiple violent events from 2018 to 2025, attributing them to transgender ideology. Includes mugshots of two alleged attackers. Followed by a “Frequently Asked Questions and Key Terms” section, addressing whether transgender people are terrorists, comparing TIVE with “Nihilistic Violent Extremism,” and discussing FBI designations.

Page 3: Flyer continues with questions about Antifa and FBI terrorism classifications. States that Antifa and TIVE are separate categories. Lists ways the FBI classifies domestic terrorism and identifies typical characteristics of “TIVEs,” such as targeting Christians, mental illness, and online radicalization. Includes images: a “Trans Antifa” logo, a pink-blue-white-striped slogan image reading “Protect Their Right to Exist,” a photo of Audrey Hale with a firearm, and a close-up of a magazine with the words “Where is your God?”

Page 4: Section titled “Terminology Used by TIVE.” Defines terms including cisgender, deadnaming, Gillick competence, misgendering, “Right to Exist,” “Trans genocide,” and a phrase “You either have a live boy or dead girl, you choose.” Each is presented as terminology used in or associated with TIVE. Page layout is text-heavy, no additional graphics.

Heritage Foundation has released an absolutely insane policy proposal to label all trans people as domestic terrorists. It uses completely made up instances of terrorism and made up statistics but facts don't matter to them.

They want us all eradicated.

A master plan to exterminate trans people would have this document as a stepping stone.

It is from the Far Right Heritage Foundation - who Labour Ministers have chosen to meet.

This is a 9-0 Supreme Court decision from just last year.

Dam been writing a book about this and she just TikToked it in 90 seconds.

Chicago Starbucks Worker Did Not Write 'Loser' On Order Honoring Charlie Kirk, Company Says A Starbucks spokesperson said time-stamped surveillance footage shows an employee did not write the note, which had prompted online outrage and the store's temporary closure this week.

"Outrageous incident" turns out, in fact, to be manufactured outrage by, checks notes, a right-wing individual. Twisted on so many levels, including the fact that people could have been hurt. The store had to close because of threats based on disinformation.

blockclubchicago.org/2025/09/19/v...