Brian Gocial

CHICAGO — Outside an elementary school during dismissal… horrifying. What have we become?

I can’t believe this is real.

Fascists are desperate for violent disruption they can use an excuse for state violence and power grabs.

They have trouble with mockery, goofiness, and fun.

That holds across just about every type of authoritarianism. They like being feared for cruelty. They hate being laughed at and humiliated.

What we are doing to people is unforgivable.

This video of Chicagoans intervening to save a man from being abducted off the streets by ICE is making the rounds on Instagram.

Community action works.

Source: www.instagram.com/reel/DPZL2AL...

@Sec_Noem on X: Chicago, we’re here for you.

If you showed this tweet to James Madison, he would be like, "yes, this is why I wrote the 2nd Amendment"

Macron remarks are notable- some quotes: "We have been incredibly naive in entrusting our democratic space to social networks that are controlled either by large American entrepreneurs or large Chinese companies, whose interests are not at all the survival or proper functioning of our democracies."

“This is how it happens. Not all at once, but through a series of choices—individual and collective—to look away, to accommodate, to suffer what seems survivable rather than risk the unknown consequences of resistance.”

The Sufferable Evil Chicago and the End of American Liberty.

“Blackhawk helicopters. Flash bangs. A chainsaw to cut through fencing. Doors blown off hinges. Holes in walls. An entire building’s worth of American citizens treated as enemy combatants in a warzone.

This happened. In Chicago. In America. This week.

And we’ve already moved on to the next story.”

Alt text: Screenshot of a Fox News Digital article reporting that Apple removed the ICEBlock tracking app from its App Store after the Department of Justice raised safety concerns. The article states DOJ officials, under Attorney General Pam Bondi, asked Apple to take down the app, claiming it endangered law enforcement officers and shielded illegal immigrants. Bondi confirmed the removal in a statement, saying ICEBlock put ICE agents at risk and emphasized DOJ’s commitment to protecting federal officers.

This was done at the direction of Pam Bondi. The US government is now dictating what apps you can have on your phone.

The underlying threat here is if Apple didn't comply, they'd slap billions in tariffs on Apple products.

From 1939-1945 German officers also listened to speeches from civilians about how the laws of war didn’t apply to them. And then they participated in the Holocaust, starved millions of prisoners of war, destroyed villages and cities, and were defeated.

Today marks the first day in the 55-year history of PBS and 54-year history of NPR that public media has broadcast to its audiences without federal funding. But even though lots of local outlets are at risk, PBS and NPR are still here, providing fair, accurate news coverage and will not be silenced.

Weak, broken, insecure men who get power and use it to cosplay.

That's what we have.

It’s depressing to come to the realization that if there was social media in the 1940s we would all be watching Jews being rounded-up in real time and nothing would have changed.

But the price of eggs….

I can’t believe this is my country. 😞

reason #3 is my bet: He will stage a purge, perhaps involving a loyalty oath or something similar that requires personal presence.

Free Speech and Me Speech A helpful distinction

“Free speakers will not need cults or oligarchs. …They are respectful, because they know they always have something to learn. And they are empathetic, because they know that they will learn only from those whose lives have been different than their own.”

It is as if our government has decided that there is no crime in the country worth pursuing other than immigration enforcement.

"Show me your papers" did not end well last time.

“The 4th Amend protects every individual’s constitutional right to be free from arbitrary interference by
law officers. After today, that may no longer be true for those who happen to look a certain way, speak a certain way, and appear to work
a certain type of legitimate job that pays very little.“

“The Government…has all but
declared that all Latinos, U. S. citizens or not, who work
low wage jobs are fair game to be seized at any time, taken away from work, and held until they provide proof of their legal status to the agents’ satisfaction.”

This point cannot be over-emphasized enough. When I left the FBI in June, I said that if the destruction stopped that day, it would take a decade to repair. Talking now to friends still there, I think I was being too optimistic. We are witnessing the self-immolation of a great country.

At DOJ, at DOD, at the FBI….literally everywhere, this is what you hear over and over again.

The "one big trick" that every aspiring authoritarian in the 20th century has learned is that you don't have to get people to agree with everything you say, you just have to get them to mistrust anything that anyone other than you says. Widespread cynicism is corrosive to democracy.

How many more warning do American elites and masses need?

Science Under Siege: A Talk With Peter Hotez and Michael Mann Lysenko comes to America

“The United States is no longer in a position to address pandemic threats or to address the climate crisis. So we're heading towards an apocalypse, unless we can figure this out.”