Author Archives: M

2 Paragraphs: Congressman Slams Homeland Security: “Spare Me the Fake Outrage

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U.S. Representative Dan Goldman (D-NY) stood outside a Manhattan courtroom this week and reported that he observed an immigration court and “plainclothes officers wearing masks arresting and detaining immigrants who were here to appear in front of a judge as part of their court case.”

Goldman, a former federal prosecutor, said: “This is Gestapo-like behavior, where plainclothes officers wearing masks are terrorizing immigrants who are doing the right thing by going to court, following up on their immigrant proceedings and trying to come into this country lawfully, which is through asylum.”

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Goldman replied: “Spare me the fake outrage DHS. None of these people showing up for court are criminals of any kind. As a prosecutor, I worked with many ICE officers who arrested violent criminals. None of them wore masks. Many of your agents are clearly ashamed to carry out your orders.”

Congressman Slams Homeland Security: “Spare Me the Fake Outrage”
U.S. Representative Dan Goldman (D-NY) stood outside a Manhattan courtroom this week and reported that he observed an immigration court and “plainclothes officers wearing masks arresting and detainin
Congressman Slams Homeland Security: “Spare Me the Fake Outrage”

Daily Beast: Paranoid Kash Patel Polygraphs FBI Agents in MAGA Purge

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Top brass at the agency are being pushed out as the chief continues his obsessive quest to plug leaks.

The FBI has devolved into chaos amid Director Kash Patel’s ongoing efforts to rid the agency of staff disloyal to the Trump administration.

Patel is now subjecting senior executives to polygraphs at a “rapid rate,” The New York Times reports, as part of a wider effort to stamp out embarrassing news leaks from within the agency.

One senior official told the Times in its exposé that he was forced out last month after being subjected to a lie detector test. He believes he was targeted because he hadn’t told Patel about his wife taking a knee during the 2020 protests against police brutality in Washington, D.C.

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Internal critics say the firings, forced retirements, unfair reassignments, and unit shutdowns have not only “obliterated decades of experience in national security” from the agency but also signal that the agency will not brook dissent over the actions of Trump as well as as Vice President J.D. Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the latter two who were caught up in a leak scandal involving commercial messaging app Signal.

The less qualified you are, the more paranoid you become?

Paranoid Kash Patel Polygraphs FBI Agents in MAGA Purge
Top brass at the agency are being pushed out as the chief continues his obsessive quest to plug leaks.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/paranoid-kash-patel-polygraphs-fbi-agents-in-maga-purge

Newsweek: DOGE cuts to cause 2 million extra visits to Social Security offices: Study

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Staffing cuts and office closures at the Social Security Administration (SSA), driven by Elon Musk‘s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), are estimated to force seniors to make nearly 2 million additional annual trips for necessary in-person assistance, according to a new study.

It’s never good to remove options, but for some people this will work out better. Getting through to Social Security by phone can waste many hours of time. Depending on the wait time at your local office and the travel time, it can be more convenient.

In my family’s case the local office was hopeless — the line was out the door and down the block. But we found a suburban office where the waits were much shorter with sufficient indoor seating for everyone.

Nevertheless I expect there will be more losers than winners here.

DOGE cuts to cause 2 million extra visits to Social Security offices: Study
“There’s just going to be a lot of people who are not able to complete this process,” one of the study’s co-authors told Newsweek.

https://www.newsweek.com/doge-social-security-seniors-benefits-elon-2078102

Alternet: Trump gives up the game and tells half of America what he really thinks of them

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Donald Trump opened Memorial Day in the most disgusting way possible, not by praising our fallen heroes but by attacking Democrats. He wrote on his Nazi-infested social media site on Monday morning:

“Happy Memorial Day to all, including the scum that spent the last four years trying to destroy our country through warped radical left minds…”

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It’s also important to note that when Trump calls people who didn’t vote for him “scum,” he’s not just talking about elected officials. He’s talking about more than half the country.

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Once you’ve labeled your opponents as subhuman, how do you work with them? How do you compromise to do what’s best for the country? You don’t.

And that’s exactly the point. He doesn’t want compromise. He wants domination. He wants a political system like in Russia or Hungary, where the only choice is himself.

Trump gives up the game and tells half of America what he really thinks of them

https://www.alternet.org/alternet-exclusives/trump-gives-up-the-game-and-tells-half-of-america-what-he-really-thinks-of-them

Alternet: Trump-capitulating law firms keep losing in a bad deal that is becoming worse by the day | Opinion

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Trump Loses Again

In a 52-page opinion, U.S. District Court Judge John D. Bates—a 2001 appointee of President George W. Bush—rejected the Justice Department’s effort to defend Trump’s executive order targeting Jenner & Block. Trump’s own words doomed it:

Like the others in the series, this order—which takes aim at the global law firm Jenner & Block—makes no bones about why it chose its target: It picked Jenner because of the causes Jenner champions, the clients Jenner represents, and a lawyer Jenner once employed. (Jenner & Block v. U.S. Department of Justice, et al. Civil Action No. 25-916 (JDB) p. 1)

The court left no doubt that Trump had violated the Constitution:

Going after law firms in this way is doubly violative of the Constitution. Most obviously, retaliating against firms for the views embodied in their legal work—and thereby seeking to muzzle them going forward—violates the First Amendment’s central command that government may not “use the power of the State to punish or suppress disfavored expression.” (Id.; citations omitted.)

Describing how Trump’s actions undermine democracy, Judge Bates previewed the fate awaiting similar orders:

This order, like the others, seeks to chill legal representation the administration doesn’t like, thereby insulating the Executive Branch from the judicial check fundamental to the separation of powers. It thus violates the Constitution and the Court will enjoin its operation in full. (Id.; emphasis supplied.)

The firms that challenged Trump remain undefeated in the courtroom.

Trump-capitulating law firms keep losing in a bad deal that is becoming worse by the day | Opinion

https://www.alternet.org/trump-law-firms-2672221371

News Nation: Judge: Harvard researcher charged with smuggling frog embryos was unlawfully detained by ICE

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A federal judge in Vermont on Wednesday released a Russian-born scientist and Harvard University researcher from immigration custody as she deals with a criminal charge of smuggling frog embryos into the United States.

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Petrova, 30, is currently in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service in Louisiana. She is expected to be brought to Massachusetts as early as Friday in preparation for a bail hearing next week on the smuggling charge, lawyers said in court.

Another loss for King Donald & his bully boys!

Judge: Harvard researcher charged with smuggling frog embryos was unlawfully detained by ICE

https://www.newsnationnow.com/us-news/ap-us-news/ap-judge-harvard-researcher-charged-with-smuggling-frog-embryos-was-unlawfully-detained-by-ice

Raw Story: MAGA senator fact-checked over ‘baffling’ list of false Trump accomplishments

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Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) went to X to post some of the triumphs that President Donald Trump had accomplished in just a few short months in office — the only problem is, almost none of what he advertised was actually true.

Even in the U.S. Senate you’ll find a few bozos who are a few cards short of a full deck. Today we pay homage to Senator Bernie “Short Deck” Moreno from Ohio.

Click the links below to read Short Deck’s fanciful recitation of Trump’s achievements:

MAGA senator fact-checked over ‘baffling’ list of false Trump accomplishments

https://www.rawstory.com/bernie-moreno-2672225616

The Conversation: Surge of ICE agreements with local police aim to increase deportations, but many police forces have found they undermine public safety

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Part of that operation includes what’s known as the federal 287(g) program. Established in 1996, it allows U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, whose work is normally carried out by federal officials, to train state and local authorities to function as federal immigration officers.

Under 287(g), for example, local police officers can interview people to determine their immigration status. They can also issue immigration detainers to jail people until agents with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement take custody.

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Since Trump began his second term in January, ICE has increased 287(g) agreements from 135 in 25 states in December 2024 to 628 in 40 states as of May 28, 2025.

As a criminal justice scholar, I believe the surge of 287(g) agreements sets a dangerous precedent for local policing, where forging relationships and building the trust of immigrants is a proven and effective tactic in combating crime. In my view, the expansion of 287(g) will erode that trust and makes entire communities – not just immigrants – less safe.

Surge of ICE agreements with local police aim to increase deportations, but many police forces have found they undermine public safety
History shows that building the trust of immigrants is an effective tactic in combating local crime and making entire communities safer.

https://theconversation.com/surge-of-ice-agreements-with-local-police-aim-to-increase-deportations-but-many-police-forces-have-found-they-undermine-public-safety-255937

Raw Story: ‘Lying!’ Karoline [Bimbo #1] Leavitt derided as she claims to ‘debunk’ budget accusations

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Social media users railed against Press Secretary Karoline [Bimbo #1] Leavitt for saying the House spending bill, aka “the big, beautiful bill,” will not increase the nation’s deficit.

Independent journalist Aaron Rupar was the first to flag the questionable remarks, uttered at an event Thursday.

“[Bimbo #1] Leavitt: ‘I also want to take the opportunity to debunk some false claims that have been circulating in the press. The blatantly wrong claim that the one big beautiful bill increases the deficit is based on the CBO and other scorekeepers who use shoddy assumptions.’”

Spencer Hakimian told his more than 100,0000 followers on X, “Has there ever been a less intelligent press secretary in U.S. history?”

Several more comments followed. Click the links below to read them:

‘Lying!’ Karoline Leavitt derided as she claims to ‘debunk’ budget accusations

https://www.rawstory.com/karoline-leavitt-2672231170