Jon Von

Sign of the times : keeping some Narcan next to the sound board.

Human Toys publicity team is hard at work ! See you Friday in New Orleans, Saturday in Memphis and Sunday in NYC !!! Thanks Stoo !

Human Toys day off in Chicago.

WOO HOO !!! WE'RE IN THE USA !!! Human Toys are coming to your town !!!

Superb expo of the brilliant Leigh Bowery at the Tate Modern. Click to learn more about Leigh : www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tat...

Zohran Mamdani offered New Yorkers a political revolution – and won | Bhaskar Sunkara Now the New York mayoral candidate he needs to ensure an electoral win that translates into tangible improvements in people’s lives

Can the Dems learn a lesson ? Young energetic candidate focused on pocketbook issues and quality of life, and criticizing Trump fascism, won against big money and influence. Would be nice to have one of these in France too.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Posted on X by DHS.

Weaponized Stupidity How Nonsense Became a Strategy of Control

Nice essay. Check it out. "It is the performance of incoherence, deliberately crafted to overwhelm logic, disarm the listener, and leave nothing standing but power. Donald Trump didn’t stumble into this style. He perfected it."
www.closertotheedge.net/p/weaponized...

Why are Trump's flagpoles 88 feet high ? eu.usatoday.com/story/news/p...
Via Matt Howe.

A White Nationalist Wrote a Law School Paper Promoting Racist Views. It Won Him an Award.

Turning over the country to “a nonwhite majority,” Damsky wrote, would constitute a “terrible crime.” Damsky, 29, was given the “book award,” for the best student in the class. The Trump-nominated judge who taught the class, John L. Badalamenti, declined to comment.

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/21/u...

Trump’s war with Iran signals perilous shift from showman to strongman The emergence of Hawk Trump dismayed some of his Maga base but students of US adventurism were unsurprised

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

"Turning over the country to “a nonwhite majority,” Damsky wrote, would constitute a “terrible crime.” Damsky, 29, was given an award for the best student in the class. The Trump-nominated judge who taught the class, John L. Badalamenti, declined to comment for this article."

Senator Alex Padilla handcuffed and forcibly removed from Kristi Noem’s LA press conference Video shows Padilla being restrained and ejected as he tries to question homeland security secretary at press event

Slide into autocracy 23 : “Hands off!” said Senator Padilla. Pinned to the floor and placed in handcuffs.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

I made this meme myself. The handy guide is by ChatGPT. Note that there are two spelling mistakes made by ChatGPT, but otherwise this looks relatively accurate.

Democracy is in Jeopardy ! I'll take Fascism for $1000.

Know Your Rights | Protesters’ Rights | ACLU

Going out Saturday ? 👍 Read this. 🤔 Thanks ACLU.

www.aclu.org/know-your-ri...

California union leader faces federal charge after arrest at immigration enforcement operation David Huerta was charged federally with one count of conspiracy to impede an officer before he was released from custody on Monday.

Huerta said, "What happened to me is not about me. This is about something much bigger. Hard-working people, and members of our family and our community, are being treated like criminals. We all collectively have to object to this madness because this is not justice.”
www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/n...

Opinion | This Is What Autocracy Looks Like

Slide into autocracy 22 : "If you saw all this in any other country — soldiers sent to crush dissent, union leaders arrested, opposition politicians threatened — it would be clear that autocracy had arrived. Now, can Americans who hate tyranny be roused to respond?"

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/09/o...

As Marines deploy to Los Angeles, California’s Newsom says ‘a red line’ is being crossed As the Pentagon crafts rules of engagement for Marines deployed to an American city, it's clear that the president is playing with fire.

Slide into autocracy 21 : “The Secretary of Defense is illegally deploying [Marines] onto American streets so Trump can have a talking point at his parade this weekend. It’s a blatant abuse of power. This is a red line—and they’re crossing it. WAKE UP!” Gov. Newsom.
www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

We are witnessing the first stages of a Trump police state | Robert Reich The national guard’s deployment in Los Angeles sets the US on a familiar authoritarian pathway. History shows the results

Slide into autocracy 20 : "History shows that once an authoritarian ruler establishes the infrastructure of a police state, that same infrastructure can be turned on anyone. Trump and his regime are rapidly creating such an infrastructure, in five steps."

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

‘History will judge us as cowards or heroes’: Ras Baraka, the mayor arrested by Ice, won’t be intimidated The politician, who’s been labeled ‘too progressive, too Black’ in the race for New Jersey governor, reflects on Trump, immigration and the power of poetry

Slide into autocracy 19 : “It’s all trying to prove that they’re in charge, like regular bullies do.” - Ras Baraka, mayor of Newark, arrested by ICE, then charges were dropped.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

DC prepares for Trump's military parade with 18 miles of fencing and 175 magnetometers As Washington, D.C., cleans up from the weekend’s culmination of World Pride, the capital city’s focus now shifts straight into a very different mass event — the June 14 military parade to honor the 2...

Slide into autocracy 18 : “We have a robust plan for civil disobedience.” - Matt McCool, Secret Service

apnews.com/article/trum...

How can Trump use the national guard on US soil? The US president says he’s deploying 2,000 troops to Los Angeles amid immigration protests. Here’s what to know

Slide into autocracy 17 : "This is a manufactured crisis. [Trump] is creating fear and terror to take over a state militia and violate the U.S. constitution." - Gov. Gavin Newsom

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

US immigration officers ordered to arrest more people even without warrants Exclusive: Ice officers told to get ‘creative’ with arrests, including of undocumented people encountered by chance

“If it involves handcuffs on wrists, it’s probably worth pursuing,” one email said, with staff encouraged to come up with new ways of increasing arrests and suggesting them to superiors. Noem and Miller pressed ICE to arrest at least 3,000 people a day.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Trump’s Flurry of Pardons Signals a Wholesale Effort to Redefine Crime

Slide into autocracy 15 : Trump uses his power to redefine criminality to suit his needs — using pardons to inoculate criminals he happens to like, downplaying corruption and fraud as crimes, and seeking to stigmatize political opponents by labeling them criminals.

www.nytimes.com/2025/05/29/u...

U.S. May Strip Harvey Milk’s Name From Navy Vessel

Slide into autocracy 14 : Ships concerned are named for Harvey Milk, as well as Thurgood Marshall, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Harriet Tubman, Lucy Stone, Medgar Evers, a civil-rights leader who was assassinated by a member of the Ku Klux Klan; Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/03/u...

Exclusive: US veterans agency orders scientists not to publish in journals without clearance Move that seeks political control of doctors’ and scientists’ published research fits a pattern of censorship by the Trump administration, veterans advocates say

Slide into autocracy 13 : Scientists must get clearance from political appointees of Donald Trump before publishing or speaking to the public.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Trump Official Behind Controversial Russia Decision Has Kremlin Ties Darren Beattie dismantled a key agency fighting Russian propaganda. There’s a reason why.

Trump appointee Darren Beattie dismantled the office that countered disinformation from Russia, China, and Iran. “Competent white men must be in charge if you want things to work,” he wrote. On X, he told people to “learn their places” and “take a knee” to MAGA.

newrepublic.com/post/196029/...

Trump and Allies Sell Domestic Policy Bill With Falsehoods

The House bill will reduce federal spending on Medicaid by at least $600 billion over a decade and reduce enrollment by about 10.3 million people, according to a preliminary estimate from the CBO. But most changes have little to do with waste, fraud or abuse.
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/02/u...

Joni Ernst’s ‘Well, we all are going to die,’ and the GOP’s flippant defenses of Trump’s agenda | CNN Politics One of the reasons politicians don’t often engage in massive overhauls of the American economy is that it’s very difficult to defend a massive overhaul of the American economy. However good any given ...

A constituent at a town hall shouted that “people will die” from Republican Medicaid cuts. Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) replied, “Well, we are all going to die.” The next day, Ernst released a video purporting to be an apology.

edition.cnn.com/2025/05/31/p...