MaryJoanKoch

Note because I was briefly confused on this myself: this is separate from the two other detention/civil rights oversight offices destroyed by DOGE before the shutdown bsky.app/profile/tusk...

"The broader goal is the militarization of major cities before 2026 elections... Next year, I fear that what they're gonna do is deploy these folks to polling places & say they're protecting the vote. Trump knows without these breaches of the Constitution, he's gonna lose Congress." - Gov. Pritzker

“Violence is essentially wordless, and it can begin only where thought and rational communication have broken down. Any society which is geared for violent action is by that very fact systematically unreasonable and inarticulate."

(from Thomas Merton's introduction to Gandhi on Non-Violence)

When all protest is terrorism The groundwork for Trump's free speech crackdown was laid by the War on Terror.

The groundwork for Trump’s free speech crackdown was laid by the War on Terror.

Leah McElrath (@leahmcelrath@mstdn.social) 238 Posts, 229 Following, 9.13K Followers · Politics, intl relations, psychology
Smith College BA, MSW • LSE

I’m still here and have no plans to leave—but, just in case, I’m also on Mastodon:

mstdn.social/@leahmcelrath

Republicans brought the Senate back today to block our bill to lower health care costs and end the shutdown, and to insist on their bill to deprive millions of their health care.

Meanwhile, Republicans in the House decided to remain on vacation.

A.I. Is Homogenizing Our Thoughts Recent studies suggest that tools such as ChatGPT make our brains less active and our writing less original.

Older technologies have aided and perhaps enfeebled writers. “But with A.I. we’re so thoroughly able to outsource our thinking that it makes us more average, too,” Kyle Chayka writes.

I reject American fascism PLUS: Join Ryan Lizza and me for our weekly chat NOW!

I reject American fascism
open.substack.com/pub/stevesch...

The Women’s Refugee Commission Detention Pregnancy Tracker: A Critical Tool for Documenting the Treatment of Pregnant Women in Immigration Detention 🚨 Have you seen a pregnant woman in ICE custody? Submit a report today.

If you have seen a pregnant, postpartum, or lactating woman in immigration custody, please let the Women's Refugee Commission know by submitting a report through the Detention Pregnancy Tracker.

austinkocher.substack.com/p/the-womens...

Trump has to rush his consolidation of power before he’s debilitatingly unpopular. That’s what authoritarians do.

What we do is organize massive, peaceful resistance that unifies the opposition, retakes power, and ushers in an era of accountability & reform: www.nokings.org?SQF_SOURCE=i... #NoKings

President Trump says he would invoke the Insurrection Act 'if it was necessary' Trump said he would consider invoking the Insurrection Act to deploy the military into cities if courts block his deployment of National Guard troops.

Trump is escalating his assault on American cities. His attempt to deploy National Guard troops to Portland and Chicago are unbelievably frightening.

But they’re also a sign that Trump knows he’s rapidly losing time and popular support.

Amicus the owl, the Canadian Supreme Court mascot: Like the justices he is dressed like Santa

(more seriously—SCOTUS seems to have reached an understanding with admin that they can get lower court orders they don’t like blocked so they dont have to openly defy them. They don’t shadow docket reverse every case but it obscures the lawlessness which I fear outweighs benefit

Impeach acting President Stephen Miller (then Kennedy, then Vought)

Actually not only when numbers are different, there‘s been one fatal shooting and several other non fatal ones

very context dependent, probably agent dependent. Crowd not only yelling but I think a couple of them making calculated decision to do more to help the guy at some legal risk, also physical risk when number ratios are different

Most journalism this week has been like, "Legal experts unsure whether Trump shooting man in middle of 5th Avenue is murder..."

Europe’s Elon Musk Problem He and other tech oligarchs are making it impossible to conduct free and fair elections anywhere.

I wrote about the challenges American social media poses to European democracy earlier this year
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...

YouTube video by WION French President Macron Speaks at German Unity Day Ceremony | WION LIVE

President Macron:
“We were very naive to leave our public space to social media networks controlled by US or Chinese companies that don’t share our interests and not interested in survival of our democracies.”
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MggN...

Just an FYI: We’re not facing a “government shutdown.” This is a Trump-MAGA Republican shutdown. Call it what it is.

“Terrible things are happening outside. Poor helpless people are being dragged out of their homes. Families are torn apart. Men, women, and children are separated. Children come home from school to find that their parents have disappeared.”

Diary of Anne Frank
January 13, 1943

the people who told us to calm down because Roe was settled law are the same people now telling us to calm down because the military would never open fire on Americans

Free Greta Thunberg and the rest of the illegally detained flotilla activists.

What’s a true shithole country? One that zip-ties children’s hands and puts them in cages. One that sends people to a mega prison in El Salvador without due process. One where Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents wear face masks to conceal their identities. And so on...

This Week in Democracy – Week 37: Trump Goes Full Fascist and Denounces 'Enemy From Within' Another week of Zeteo's project to document the growth of authoritarianism in Trump's second term.

"This Week in Democracy – Week 37: Trump Goes Full Fascist and Denounces 'Enemy From Within'"

Another week of Zeteo's project to document the growth of authoritarianism in Trump's second term.

Donald Trump’s Sick, Cynical Racial Con—and How to Fight It Professors Hakeem Jefferson and Victor Ray argue that the Trump administration goes way beyond past Republican administrations on racial issues, often explicitly favoring white people in its policies.

At times Trump explicitly favors some racial groups, like white South Africans, while targeting others, particularly African-Americans and Latinos.

Trump is “weaponizing the tools of the Civil Rights Movement” against the people intended to be its beneficiaries. trib.al/NBAG5Lr

Donate to Indivisible Action - Unlimited Show your support with a contribution.

There are over 2,200 peaceful protests planned for October 18. Ensuring all of those events and organizers have the training, support, and resources they need is a massive undertaking. Please pitch in if you can to help make No Kings Day historic!

YouTube video by Rep. Melanie Stansbury Rep. Stansbury: The GOP needs to get to work

The American people are smart. They know when they’re being lied to.

Republicans canceled votes, shut down the House, locked the doors, and are refusing to negotiate.

We’re ready to work. Let’s do this, GOP—reopen the House!

important new reporting—DHS is now dodging questions about whether they had a warrant to forcibly enter homes bsky.app/profile/kris...