Bethany Letiecq

Feds retract statement about Chester purchase; opponents target realtors involved in deal CHESTER - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Wednesday backtracked on its statement last week that it had purchased the former Pep Boys warehouse in Chest

and now another retraction/reversal in Chester, New York:

midhudsonnews.com/2026/02/18/c...

Opinion | One Man Stole $660 Million. He’ll Never Pay It Back.

“Illiberal governments tend to live or die by their ability to sustain corruption. They rely for support on a network of oligarchs, who in turn are tied to the administration’s success. It happened in Hungary, Turkey, Russia and increasingly, it is happening here.”

www.nytimes.com/2026/02/18/o...

Hegseth invited Christian nationalist Doug Wilson to preach at Pentagon The self-described “paleo-Confederate” has argued that wives should submit to their husbands, women should be denied the vote and Christian enslavers were on “firm scriptural ground.”

Hegseth invited Christian nationalist Doug Wilson to preach at Pentagon

www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

ICE drawdown? Indications point to steady enforcement activity outside the Twin Cities Some people who observe ICE activity are skeptical about a large scale drawdown of agents in the state. There are indications that activity has decreased in the Twin Cities, but has continued outside ...

Two female ICE agents popped the hood of their car and knocked on the door of a mechanic born in Mexico. He went out to help.

“A bunch of agents jump out and tackle him, essentially restraining him, and take him away...His six kids are now without their father." www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...

Let’s go @aft.org + @aaup.org! Let’s fight for inclusion and better working conditions for VA’s higher ed workers.

At @aaupmason.bsky.social, under attack by Trump-Youngkin and a rogue board, we fought for President Washington’s job—and won! All workers at Mason deserve that level of fight!

Black History Month is becoming what it was meant to correct | Opinion Concentrating Black history into the shortest month of the year strips it of context. History becomes episodic instead of foundational.

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

Free Public Child Care and Pre-K Is Popular and Affordable For a fraction of the military budget, the US could provide free public child care for all.

www.peoplespolicyproject.org/project/free...

This is a nice move in an interview www.nytimes.com/2026/02/16/u...

Do Millionaire Surtaxes Lead to Millionaire Exodus? Assessing the Massachusetts millionaire’s tax three years on.

www.peoplespolicyproject.org/2025/11/17/d...

Two-month-old baby 'choking on his own vomit' while detained in Dilley 'His life is in danger,' U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro said about newborn Juan Nicolás. The child fell ill after spending almost a month — or half his life — in a San Antonio-area family detention facility...

‘His life is in danger,’ U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro said about newborn Juan Nicolás. The child fell ill after spending almost a month — or half his life — in a San Antonio-area family detention facility.

"We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both." –Justice Louis Brandeis

Words spoken many years ago that are just as relevant today.

We must continue the fight to get big money out of politics.

Savannah teacher killed in crash by man fleeing from ICE According to the Chatham County Police Department, Monday morning’s fatal crash was the result of a chase between Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and a suspect.

ICE killed a teacher in Georgia today when they chose to chase a man who posed no danger and had no criminal history.

The Pentagon just failed its 8th consecutive audit and still got approved for a $1 TRILLION budget without blinking so I'm gonna need every corrupt hypocritical politician complaining about made up food stamp fraud and forcing drug tests and work requirements on poor people to shut up forever. Thx.

Trump Admin Planning to Spend Over $38 Billion to Buy Warehouses and Convert Them into ICE Jails The Trump administration is planning to spend more than $38 billion to acquire warehouses across the U.S. in order to retrofit them into new ICE jails with capacity for tens of thousands of prisoners.

Trump Admin Planning to Spend Over $38 Billion to Buy Warehouses and Convert Them into ICE Jails

The heads of Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, and Tesla all joined Trump at his inauguration.

Since then, largely thanks to Trump's Big Ugly Bill, their companies have reaped $51B in federal tax breaks — paid for by huge cuts to our social safety net.

This is what oligarchy looks like.

If this country was truly “pro-life,” we would have Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, gun reform, universal child care, and a living wage.

The right-wing agenda isn’t about “life.”

It’s about control.

Our court system is largely working, with the exception of the most important court

Chicago teen whose father was detained by ICE while she fought cancer dies The Torres family story came to public attention after the teen’s father was detained at a Home Depot in Niles.

www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/14/c...

DHS: Our officer was ambushed and beaten with snow shovels and broom handles. This was an attempted murder of federal law enforcement.

ICE says federal agents appear to have lied about confrontation that led to shooting

Agents had initially said that two men — Alfredo Aljorna and Julio Sosa Celis – assaulted them with a broom and a shovel before one of them shot Sosa Celis. But that account was quickly called into question, and prosecutors now say “newly discovered evidence” contradicts the officers’ story.

The default assumption should be that they’re lying

We should be protesting this government in every way possible. Governors—f-ing boycott that WH dinner!

Can we agree that ending ICE and the detention of children and families is priority #1?

Toddler hospitalized with respiratory failure was returned to ICE detention and denied prescribed medication, lawsuit says The 18-month-old was sent back to a South Texas facility after days in intensive care with severe respiratory distress, according to a federal lawsuit.

Incarcerating children is a human rights violation.

www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...

Why do we want collective bargaining rights?

Cc @senbillferg.bsky.social @mddems.bsky.social

Toddler hospitalized with respiratory failure was returned to ICE detention and denied prescribed medication, lawsuit says The 18-month-old was sent back to a South Texas facility after days in intensive care with severe respiratory distress, according to a federal lawsuit.

Incarcerating children is a human rights violation.

www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...

Is it normal for Cabinet officials to have to specify "we left with all of my children" about their past meetings?

"A modern-day concentration camp ... People have been killed by the staff here." Irish citizen Seamus Culleton has been in ICE detention since September, despite having a valid work permit and his own business in the US.

Lawsuit released in Epstein files claims connection to Michigan summer camp The DOJ's release of files related to Jeffrey Epstein included a lawsuit that claimed he met his first known victim at a Michigan summer camp in the '90s.

A woman trafficked by Epstein starting at age 13 in Michigan won a settlement in a 2021 lawsuit. She alleged being taken to Mar-a-Lago where Epstein asked Trump, "This is a good one, right?" Doe's complaint said Trump smiled & nodded in agreement. www.detroitnews.com/story/news/l...

UNC Admin Can Now, Officially, Secretly Record Faculty The new policy prohibits students from recording class without permission but explicitly allows administrators to surveil professors for any “lawful purpose.”

www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...

Pirro should be impeached just for attempting to get an indictment against members of Congress for speech.

Her incompetence is actually useful right now because it negates her malevolence.

From costs to culture: what’s behind falling fertility in rich countries? - Economics Observatory Fertility rates have fallen rapidly in the UK and other high-income countries in recent years. Education, economic uncertainty and changing gender roles are among the factors that have played a part. ...

Nice balanced overview of the many drivers of low fertility across high income countries.

@deadder.bsky.social has so many great cartoons: