David DeCosse, Catholic theologian, journalist, teacher

07-31-25 - Bishop Brennan's Statement on the Current Immigration Crisis | Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston We are a nation built on the backs of men and women who came from other countries, whether freely or in chains. Now we see our government adopting harsh measures to deport as many immigrants as possib...

Catholic Bishop Mark Brennan of Wheeling, W.Va., on morality and the mass deportation campaign: "I encourage even those whose official duty is to enforce the current Administration’s immigration policies to consider whether a specific action is morally justified."
dwc.org/07-31-25-bis...

If you’re wondering how ICE recruitment and training is going under Kristi Noem—South Park already nailed it.

What American could ever be confident that they will get a fair shake in any court proceeding from this man?

bsky.app/profile/the-.... The comedic #truthseekers_truthspeakers refuse to give up or in.

We the people need to support them so they are not silenced. I hope Colbert & South Park blast the feckless #Repulsive_Republicans & #President_Pedo_Files so much their heads explore. Then...
#Vote_themout

YouTube video by Comedy Central UK Kyle Gets Detained In An ICE Detention Camp | South Park

Love you South Park!

@gavinnewsom.bsky.social: "This party needs to wake up. These guys aren't screwing around... They're assassins when it comes to the way they weaponize grievance and the way they play politics. Enough! What more goddamn evidence do we need? They have rolled back the last half century in real time!"

Josh Shapiro and Rahm Emanuel Fault Zohran Mamdani Over ‘Intifada’ Line

I like Shapiro, Emanuel, and Israel but no way on this speech policing: "globalize the intifada" may be insensitive to some ears but it's a cry for justice that only really bothers people who can't face the consequences of kicking Palestinians off their land in 1948.
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/24/u...

Columbia’s deal with Trump preserves autonomy on admissions, academic speech Columbia will pay the Trump administration $200 million but get back most of the $400 million in federal funding that was cut amid allegations of antisemitism.

This came out better than I had feared. A few reflections - Due process was not followed: This was a coercive shakedown by the federal govt. Cultural identity leftism is a cancer on our campuses. Out of those wrongs may some good come.
www.washingtonpost.com/education/20...

Opinion | JD Vance Claims One of Our Worst Traditions as His Own

Powerful and important piece by @jamellebouie.net on the creedal basis of the America nation - a basis that endures the way truth endures no matter how hard J.D. Vance is trying to bring us back to blood and soil as the basis of belonging.
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/23/o...

And get Maxwell to say something now to get Trump off the hook in exchange for a pardon on Trump's last days in office.

I've spent a lot of time thinking about this fascinating exchange Colbert had with Dua Lipa, when she asked him about the role his faith plays in his comedy.

“So I totally flipped on immigration… people working hard and paying taxes should be able to stay… my girlfriend told me how her family got here, and I said: you know, you might be right.”

Opinion | The GOP scores a win in its long war on government health care Why did the attacks finally succeed this time, when they failed so many times before?

@eduardoelreportero.bsky.social captures GOP electoral politics for the next years: Even more hyped attacks on migrants to hide Medicaid cuts because "the disaffected Americans in their base want retribution more than government help during tough times."
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

After pointing out over and over and over again how this worked as it happened in realtime -- because the same bullshit artists behind this, were behind the 'CeNsoRshIp iNdustriaL coMPleX' game -- it's nice to see someone so elegantly pull it together into a paper.

If you need a dose of true patriotism this July 4 weekend—not the phony mockery of American values promoted by Trump & MAGA—read this piece by an FBI agent who resigned out of duty & an unwillingness to go along with Trump & Patel's weaponization of the bureau.

www.lawfaremedia.org/article/good...

Mamdani does what I've been calling constructive politics: appeals to identity as a building block of solidarity rather than a replacement for it. love to see it

This is how it's done, America.

Zohran Mamdani’s critics are playing identity politics Zohran Mamdani’s triumph in New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary has sent the conservative commentariat into a fit of apoplexy. The Right’s response — portraying him as, at once, a pro-LGBT comm...

Having campaigned as populists, Republicans have spent recent months promoting a new Mideast war and cuts to Medicaid.

Dems following Mamdani's model pose an electoral threat that won't be met by the Right's version of identity politics.

unherd.com/newsroom/zoh...

“I promise you, it would have been a war crime.” that’s what Alejandro Barranco told me what would have happened if he treated a detainee when he was deployed to Afghanistan with the Marines like federal agents treated his father.

I think the masks aren't needed for physical protection but are help ICE agents live more easily with the shame they no doubt feel when they haul off some hardworking man and leave his family wondering where in God's name he's gone. All their macho can't hide their wrong, even to themselves.

THIS x 1,000,000. Honestly I don’t know who this person is (this clip popped up on social media) but I would vote for them tomorrow.

ICE: It is DEEPLY OFFENSIVE and HURTFUL to compare us to the gestapo.

Also ICE: Ach, brothers of the soil, please inform on the hidden vermin in our midst.

“They want arrests. They want to see us fail,” she said. “We need to be peaceful. We need to be eloquent.” So said one protester in LA and I agree: we need a renewed vision of protest. Which means we need to recover for our time something like a love for all persons, including, yes, for ICE agents.

For God's sake, keep this peaceful. It's the right thing to do. And it's the way to defeat Trump. All he's got is hard power. And that's never enough.

‘He’s waging a war on us’: As Trump escalates, Angelenos defend their city Across this vast metropolis, residents denounce what they consider an attack on the very fabric of their city — on their neighbors, co-workers, family members.

I think the Trump people hate the idea of LA, a living, thriving, productive city of amazing diversity that, despite all kinds of struggles, actually works. It's everything that MAGA says is not possible and should not be.
www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/...

It's a good time for all police officers, ICE workers, National Guard folks, and U.S. Marines now in Los Angeles to remember that they are ultimately answerable to their conscience and to the Constitution, and not to the president who is also a convicted felon.

This is the spirit of Los Angeles.

This is California.

Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

#FreeDavidEndRaids

I am in downtown Los Angeles right now and it is completely surreal to hear that Trump is sending Marines here. We are listening to mariachi music. People have dogs. There are teenagers here. It is utterly and completely peaceful. Please tell your friends.