Dr. Ricardo J. Valencia

“This is minimal when it comes to healthcare—you can easily spend $25 thousand in a single weekend at the hospital.”

Trump Calls Somalis ‘Garbage’ He Doesn’t Want in the Country

Racist, xenophobic narratives are nothing new in the U.S.—only the targets change. Chinese, Irish, Mexican, and Italian immigrants were once smeared as ‘rats’ and ‘threats.’ It’s shameful that the president is now the one spreading this hate.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/02/u...

Please don't compare California with Texas.

Lawmakers voice bipartisan support for congressional reviews of Trump's boat strikes Lawmakers from both parties said Sunday they support congressional reviews of U.S. military strikes against vessels suspected of smuggling drugs in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean, citing ...

Honduras’ geography—two coasts and key transit corridors—makes it pivotal in drug-trafficking routes, and a new gov could further streamline U.S. operations, including boat strikes
www.pbs.org/newshour/amp...

n, Honduras could become central to U.S. mass-deportation logistics. A Trump–Asfura alignment would tighten cooperation. Trump tried something similar with Bukele, but Bukele backed off once negative coverage of Venezuelan deportations hurt his image.

if Asfura wins, Honduras could become a new pressure point against Ortega’s Nicaragua—Cold War logic repackaged for 2025.https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1986/12/08/honduras-sandinistas-bombed/5bd6af6d-564d-4b09-b52c-279965faedb2/

Trump’s push in Honduran election and his backing of Asfura reflect a mix of 1980s-style anti-communism and geopolitical opportunism 🧵https://www.elnuevoherald.com/noticias/america-latina/article313274743.html?taid=692d2589c7c4790001ec12ba&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

OU College of International Studies professor reportedly arrested by ICE U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement reportedly arrested an OU professor at Will Rogers International Airport Saturday.

My colleague, Dr. Vahid Abedini, was illegally detained by ICE on Saturday. He is currently being held without a court date in sight, despite being in the country legally. Please spread the word! We must ensure his due process rights are upheld. www.oudaily.com/news/ou-prof...

Opinion | James Carville: Out With Woke. In With Rage.

You mean Social Democracy on steroids?

www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/o...

Invading Venezuela is the most stupid, unpopular, and counterproductive action that the U.S. can take.

I’m pretty sure I’ll be putting together a class on Media and Immigration.

Piercing the Propaganda Bubble in El Salvador - WOLA Ricardo Valencia explains why the current popularity of El Salvador’s authoritarian president rests on a surprisingly fragile foundation.

Thanks to Adam Isaacson for the invite to the
@wola-org.bsky.social podcast! We discussed how the Bukele propaganda bubble was created and how we can fight to protect democracy against dictators like him.
www.wola.org/multimedia/p...

Journalist Mario Guevara speaks on deportation and time in ICE custody: "They destroyed my family" Journalist Mario Guevara says the separation from his family following his deportation has left him devastated.

Mario Guevara’s deportation was cruel and unjust. But don’t expect him to back exiled journalists — in the U.S., he served the powerful. In El Salvador, he might do the same for Bukele as a propaganda asset.
www.cbsnews.com/amp/atlanta/...

I am proud to be born a Muslim.
I am proud to be born in Somalia.
I am proud to have become an American.

None of you can change that no matter how much you rage tweet.

Drink some water and touch grass.

Censorship Is the Authoritarian’s Dream The right to free expression must include the right to say horrible and evil things.

"More professors in the United States have been fired for controversial views in the past week than any other week in all of American history."
www.insidehighered.com/opinion/colu...

Germany updates: Talks with Taliban ongoing for deportations – DW – 09/15/2025 Germany's interior minister has confirmed direct talks with Afghanistan's rulers to facilitate "regular" deportations. Meanwhile, Chancellor Merz has declared 'war' on antisemitism. Follow for the lat...

This explains why the German Chancellor almost called Trump a full-blooded German
www.dw.com/en/germany-u...

Supreme Court allows Trump to fire FTC commissioner Trump's actions are in direct tension with a 1935 ruling that upheld restrictions on the president's ability to remove FTC commissioners without cause.

👀 Brown skin? 🗣️ Speaking Spanish? 🧹🛠️ Working in manual labor or low-wage jobs? 📞 Call ICE.
www.nbcnews.com/politics/sup...

Chema Tojeira, a vital figure in El Salvador’s history, has passed. In 1989, he bore the heavy task of identifying the UCA martyrs, killed by a military squad.As a student at UCA, I got to know his wisdom and humility through a small reading group. His quiet strength made me want to be a Jesuit.

Great piece by @lrb.co.uk
Torture chambers like Bukele's CECOT aren't unique—nor is their use by global powers. What’s unique is that he keeps his in plain sight, even turning it into a tourist attraction. Bukele himself has posted on social media the very evidence of his decay.

www.lrb.co.uk

Column | The political ‘diploma divide’ now applies to members of Congress A new study shows that over the past 50 years, fewer and fewer Republicans have attended elite colleges, while an increasing share of Democrats attend those schools.

This explain a lot.

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

Professional liers. I lived in DC and did all that.

Weird that two of the cities with the highest homicide rates in the US are in Red states, but don't get presidential threats

At Harvard, Trump administration cuts hit young scientists hard More than 700 graduate students and nearly 800 postdoctoral researchers at Harvard get salaries, stipends or tuition support from federally funded research.

It's interesting to see how heavily elite universities rely on federal funding for their research. While I support this investment, perhaps a larger share should go to state schools, which educate the vast majority of Americans.

www.washingtonpost.com/education/20...

We are the luckiest species because we have dogs as friends. We don't deserve them. They are angels.

No. I will be jumping, winning one of three.

Good!

Bukele, el dictador que vende orden pero siembra incertidumbre El 31 de julio de 2025, la Asamblea Legislativa de El Salvador —controlada en su totalidad por el presidente Nayib Bukele y sus aliados— aprobó una reforma constitucional que autoriza la reelección pr...

Mi opinion en El Faro: "Hoy, la principal exportación de Bukele es un modelo de represión brutal, empaquetado como éxito gubernamental. El problema es que esa propaganda, eficaz en redes sociales, también lo expone a procesos internacionales por crímenes de Estado".
beta.elfaro.net/opinion/buke...

La frontera, el borde,

Apparently, the new way to travel as a brown person is carrying a passport—even within California.

Canada is trying to salvage its relationship with Mexico after falling out with Trump Prime Minister Mark Carney is scrambling to save his country's relationship with Mexico after it disintegrated late last year when Canadian officials suggested they'd be better off negotiating a trade deal with the Trump administration alone.

Apparently, Sheinbaum’s pragmatic approach to Trump has proven far more effective than the one led by emotionally driven Canadian men

www.reuters.com/world/americ...