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Survivor of war-ravaged, bike-riding hell-hole of Portland
Further

Hezbollah and MS-13 'R Us, Naked On Bikes In Frog Ears

Despite court losses, public antipathy, ridicule, a shutdown they ignore, the nascent police state lurches on with its daft apocalyptic narrative of an America in flames. Their victims include brown parents torn from kids, a minister shot, an 87-year-old veteran tackled, a beloved Black school official. Each time, their allies plead for "radical empathy." Each time, ICE declines, stonily citing "public safety." Joseph Goebbels: "It would not be impossible to prove with sufficient repetition (that) a square is in fact a circle."

In another up-is-down, whitewashing moment, on Monday the regime marked "Columbus Day," thus reclaiming from "the ashes of left wing arsonists" the explorer's noble, white Christian nationalist legacy of "faith, courage, perseverance and virtue" - not Indigenous Peoples Day's theft, exploitation and genocide of almost 100 million Native people - to celebrate "the triumph of Western civilization, such as it is. In its name, Trump continues waging his war on free speech, political opposition, constitutionally protected rights, brown people and anyone who disagrees with him in ongoing efforts to become the man-child king of an authoritarian hell-hole most Americans don't want.

While Trump has declared eight national emergencies to justify his draconian powers, courts are largely holding the line, or at least a standoff, against the insanity. In Oregon, a three-judge panel ruled 200 National Guard troops called up can remain federalized but can't yet be deployed in Portland. In Chicago, a judge temporarily blocked deployment of 500 National Guard from Texas already in nearby Elwood; a judge also banned ICE agents from using "riot control weapons" against protesters there. On Tuesday, a Rhode Island judge slammed the government for defying an order banning them from withholding FEMA funds from states that won't cooperate with ICE crackdowns, calling them out for "a ham-handed attempt to bully."

How far the regime will go to defy court orders may depend on vengeful Nazi mastermind Goebbels/Miller, who calls every court decision they lose "legal insurrection"; his heartbroken relatives, in turn, call him "the face of evil." The ever-seething Miller describes protests as "domestic terrorist sedition" and the use of troops against them as "an absolute necessity to defend (our) government, public order and the Republic itself." Last week, saying the quiet part out loud, Miller lied the president has "plenary” or absolute power under Title 10 of the US Code; then he blinked and glitched out, reflecting what experts call "cognitive overload" in the "reptilian" brain, often when mistakenly saying something damning.

When not freezing, he furiously sputters out attacks on a "campaign of terrorism (that) will be brought down" by his righteous mission "to dismantle terrorism and terror networks." At Charlie Kirk's memorial/rally, Miller thundered, "We are the storm" in a demonic, Nazi-esque speech that posited "them" - "You are nothing. You have nothing. You are wickedness, you are jealousy, you are envy, you are hatred...Our enemies cannot comprehend our strength, our determination, our resolve'" - against "us": "Our lineage and our legacy hails back to Athens, to Philadelphia...Our ancestors built the cities...built the industry. We stand for what is good, what is virtuous, what is noble.”

Last week, trying to maintain momentum in the face of enduring resistance, Trump called an "Antifa Roundtable" - in fact a rectangle - to follow his declaration of Antifa as a "domestic terrorist organization" 'cause he still doesn't get it's neither terrorist nor an organization, but simply anyone anti-fascist. Gathering flunkies and far-right influencers to help, per one headline, "Protect Americans From Dancing Unicorns," they repeated like an incantation the notion of "terrorism" and "insurrection" to make it so. In rhetoric echoing Press Barbie's vow Trump will "end the Radical Left’s reign of terror in Portland once and for all," a press release referenced an imaginary "Antifa-led hellfire" and "a wasteland of firebombs, beatings, and brazen attacks."

Trump opened the meeting declaring, "The epidemic of Antifa-inspired terror has been escalating for nearly a decade." He claimed “paid anarchists” want to "destroy our country," and "many people" have died in leftist violence; the correct number is one, in 2020, followed by three deaths on the left. He raved about "flag-burning mobs," "degenerates" and, without irony, "people that want to overthrow government" before occasionally nodding off, Everyone agreed with him about everything. "This is not activism, it's anarchy," intoned Pam Bondi before vowing to take "the same approach" to Antifa as to drug cartels: "We're going to take them apart," and then presumably, summarily kill them from above?

A suitably icy ICE Barbie vowed to "eliminate Antifa from existence." "They are just as sophisticated as MS-13, as TDA (Tren de Aragua]), as Isis, as Hezbollah, as Hamas, all of them," she said. They are just as dangerous. They have an agenda to destroy us." Despite that peril, she later bravely ventured to war-torn Portland, where protests cover about a block of its 135 square miles. There, MAGA podcaster Benny Johnson gushed, she survived mean signs - "Molotovs Melt Ice" - and, from a rooftop, "stared down an Antifa army," aka a few protesters/enemy combatants and a guy in a chicken costume. Also in her entourage was a (pardoned) Jan. 6 rioter who'd just texted a friend, “We need a war, bro."

At a Cabinet meeting later that week, Noem claimed city, state and police officials - "all lying, disingenuous, dishonest people!" - were "absolutely covering up the terrorism hitting their streets" because otherwise why was the city so quiet? Sen Ron Wyden: "Thoughts and prayers to Cosplay Cop Kristi who had to endure the dogs, farmers' markets, capybaras (at Debbie Dolittle's Petting Zoo") and marathon runners of Portland." Wrote Portland City Council member Angelita Morillo: "I never thought renowned puppy-killer Kristi Noem would be so afraid of protesters wearing frog costumes, but here we are...There is no terrorism happening here. I think that they are just a very scared people."

To the press later, Trump praised Noem and promised to punish people who create mean signs. In one hilarious, terrifying moment, he was asked if, given all the terrorism, he'd given more thought to suspending habeas corpus, the constitutional protection from unlawful detention. "Uh, suspending who?" he asked. "Habeas corpus." "I dunno," he said. "I’d rather leave that to Kristi - what do you think?” Kristi: "Umm..." George Conway: "President Non Compos Mentis has no idea what the writ of habeas corpus is.” Still, Trump yammered, Portland is "a burning hellhole...You don’t even have stores anymore. They don’t put glass up. They put plywood. Every time I look at that place it’s burning down. There are fires all over the place.”

Federal agents face off against an inflatable frog in Portland. Federal agents face off against an inflatable frog in Portland.Photo by Mathieu Lewis-Rolland/AFP via Getty Images

Somehow, despite their noise and power, Americans still aren't buying it. Last week, the White House bragged a video of Noem blaming the shutdown on Dems was “currently playing at every public airport in America." Not: Multiple airports are refusing to play it, citing the Hatch Act and opposing "using public assets for political propaganda. Immigration lawyer Aaron Reichlin-Melnick: "Can you think of a single movie in which there's a government video denouncing its political opponents playing on a loop in public spaces (and) that government was the good guy?” In Chicago store fronts have started displaying signs that read, "ICE do not have consent to enter this business unless they have a valid judicial warrant."

And mockery rejecting the right's ludicrous narrative is rife. "This is JB Pritzker reporting from war-torn Chicago," began one video from the governor. "It’s quite disturbing. The Milwaukee Brewers have come in to attack our Chicago Cubs. I've seen people being forced to eat hot dogs with ketchup. Our deep dish pizza has gone shallow....It’s a challenge to survive here, but there’s no hellscape I’d rather be in." Late-night's Jimmy Kimmel, citing "demonstrators in animal costumes dancing to Farruko’s Pepas," asked viewers in Chicago, Portland, Memphis etc to prove how crimey their cities are by sending in videos:of their own war-ravaged communities under the hashtag #ShowMeYourHellhole.

Memes abound, especially in Portland, where proudly weird residents have embraced the goofy. "Breaking: Antifa founders identified!" (Churchill and FDR). "Boomerfita from the war zone" (boomers/his Land Is Your Land). "The Battle of Voo Doo donuts rages on!" (ICE/donuts). Deadly dance parties (large blow-up animals). Gavin Newsom: "WE FOUND THE PORTLAND WAR ZONE PETE !!" (Ditto.) Tales of brutal brunch lines, soup groups disrupted, an eight-year-old's soccer team clobbered by a gang of bandits. The OG Frog has been joined by a shark, chicken, dolphin, polar bear, alligator, maybe rooster, more frogs - "He's a friend from another pond" - and chants: "Frog, frog, frog."

Sunday also saw an emergency run of Portland's World Naked Bike Ride, a “quintessentially Portland way to protest” that draws up to 10,000 riders each summer. This one, in pouring rain with a die-in mid-ride, drew about 1,000, many in more-than-usual clothes or with clear ponchos over messages on chests and backs - "We're Cold But Not As Cold As ice, No Faux King Way, End Occupation" - and one brave soul playing bagpipes on a unicycle. The mood was jubilant. “Joy is a form of protest,"" said one. Also, "The people are willing to be vulnerable and stand up for something they believe in," and from a tearful 70-year-old, "Damn, this is a good place to live. This city has a beating heart of love and compassion.”

Not so a GOP horrified by the joyful spectacle. Asked where's the limit on "acceptable conduct" by federal agents facing protesters, sanctimonious prig and liar MAGA Mike cited their "abuse by radical leftist activists" before adding "the most threatening thing I've seen" was those giddy bicyclers: "I mean, it's getting really ugly." Go fuck yourself, Mike. He also charged they'd attacked cops (not), with many arrests. About 30 protesters have been arrested since June, with about half accused of "assaults" like spitting, shoving, throwing a water bottle, kicking back a tear gas cannister. Police made no arrests Sunday; ICE agents detained one person - a clarinetist with a protest band - for an unknown "crime."

For things getting "ugly," check out an evil plot, informally dubbed "Freaky Friday," wherein the feds will offer $2,500 bribes to previously tracked, unaccompanied migrant minors over 14 in exchange for them agreeing to be deported to the countries they fled. Advocates denounce the "cruel" notion of coercing vulnerable kids whose funding for legal support has been cut to waive their rights for a cash incentive, or "resettlement support stipend" - especially when they're told that, if they say no, they'll be picked up when they turn 18 by an abusive force of masked, armed federal agents repeatedly found to be the out-of-control aggressors - from smashing windows to people's faces - during arrests.

A so-called federal law enforcement official responds to being filmed. A so-called federal law enforcement official responds to being filmed.Photo from BlueSky

In response, ICE argues they use "objectively reasonable force." Tell it to Rafie Ollah Shouhed, a longtime, 79-year-old car wash owner in California who filed a federal civil rights suit seeking $50 million after ICE thugs stormed his business and body slammed him to the ground so hard he suffered multiple broken bones and a traumatic brain injury when he tried to tell agents grabbing his workers they had papers. He also told them he'd just had heart surgery, but three guys jumped on his back anyway, with one pressing a knee into his neck and telling him, "You don’t fuck with ICE." He was handcuffed, detained, held 12 hours with no care, calls, food or water. Five of his workers were also detained.

There was also the ICE thug at a New York courthouse who brutally threw down Ecuadorian Monica Moreta-Galarza when she tried to stop agents from dragging her husband away from her and her two kids. The guy choked and body-slammed when he didn't step back fast enough from a curb as ordered. The goons roughing up bystanders filming, smashing car windows to drag a guy from his one-month-old, abducting a 27-year-old Colombian during his shift at an Iowa City market though he was mid-asylum-process, he wore an ankle monitor for tracking, and he, his wife, their infant son lived at a Catholic Worker House. The 8 goons who yanked a girl from her car as she screamed, "I'm 15."

There were also the 30 storm-troopers in riot gear who blocked a Portland ambulance from leaving with an injured protester as they argued about one riding with them in the ambulance, which isn't allowed; when the driver put the ambulance in park and it moved a few inches, one goon got in his face and screamed, "DON’T YOU EVER DO THAT AGAIN, I WILL SHOOT YOU." And there was the sad, strange story of Dr. Ian Roberts, the Black, beloved, charismatic Des Moines school superintendent, "tremendous advocate," "trusted partner (who) showed up in ways big and small for students" and former Olympic runner from Guyana arrested by ICE for being just another "criminal illegal alien.”

At first, the community rallied around him, praising his "leadership, empathy and responsiveness," fondly remembering his running against kids, usually in a dapper, three-piece suit, so they could boast, "I raced an Olympian." "His contributions are immeasurable," they said, "and we stand with him." But soon a labrythian history emerged of weapons charges, dubious claims of prestigious degrees, visas granted and denied. Officials faced questions about hiring practices, teachers and parents struggled to explain his absence to kids, especially Black ones, and many wrestled with "a dark and unsettling time in our country." For ICE, his arrest was a simple "wake-up call for communities to the great work our officers are doing (to) remove public safety threats.”

Former Olympic runner and school superintendent Dr. Ian Roberts races some of his kids. Former Olympic runner and school superintendent Dr. Ian Roberts races some of his kids. Photo from Des Moines school system

ICE's "great work" was also evident last month as Rev. David Black of Chicago's First Presbyterian Church stood in front of the Broadview detention facility, praying in his clerical collar, when heavily armed ICE agents on the roof fired pepper balls that struck him in the head; as he hit the ground, he could hear them laughing. At another Broadview protest, Black along with many others was also tased in the face, shoved to the ground and detained. He is one of dozens of faith leaders who've been shot multiple times with pepper bullets from ICE - "They are unhinged," says one Methodist - and have filed lawsuits challenging ICE policies and their treatment under the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

Faith leaders and activists, while denouncing ICE actions as "domestic terror," remain a visible presence at protests, often bearing signs that read, “Who would Jesus deport?" and "Love your neighbor, love your God, save your soul and quit your job." Black, too, keeps returning to "shout down these gates of hell"; above all, he praises "the unbelievably heroic people standing with me...proclaiming liberation in the face of evil itself." By rote, even facing off against clergy, that evil is steadfast: DHS goon Tricia McLaughlin calls the protesters “rioters” who assault agents, throw tear gas or rocks, and "endanger the safety of brave law enforcement officers and illegal aliens inside the facility.” God save her soul.

David Black gets repeatedly tased in the face at Broadview detention facility. David Black gets repeatedly tased in the face at Broadview detention facility.Photo by Ashlee Rezin of the Chicago Sun-Times.

The police state shows no more mercy to veterans, another group often turning up to protest the state of the country they risked their lives to defend, arguing "the basic freedoms we once swore to protect are under attack." They range from the famed Subway sandwich hurler in D.C. to a disabled 87-year-old arrested after he and his walker traveled from an assisted living facility in Florida to protest Trump's military parade in D.C. Veteran critics - most citizens, many brown - say they see "a pattern of state-sanctioned abuse" by ICE, along with ill-trained, reckless, "trigger-happy" agents who would be removed from a front line and court-martialed for their violence. So much for the highest male standard.

Their victims include a 70-year-old Air Force veteran charged with assault after he "made physical contact" with an agent's arm at Broadview; a 35-year-old Marine vet and infantryman in Afghanistan shot with rubber bullets, tackled by thugs and arrested at Broadview; a Marine veteran who served in Afghanistan, protested in Portland, got his face slammed to the ground by goons snarling, “You’re not talking shit anymore, are you?" and is suing for $150,000 after being hospitalized. ICE said he "used fake blood to falsify injuries" and "perpetuated and encouraged violence.” ICE should know. No wonder a new American hero on an e-bike was born after he taunted ICE with, "Hey! I'm not a U.S. citizen!" before taking off. "Q: How many out-of-shape, masked ICE agents does it take to kidnap a delivery driver on a bike in downtown Chicago? A: More than these."

- YouTube www.youtube.com

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Nationwide Backlash Brewing Against Big Tech's Energy-Devouring AI Data Centers
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Nationwide Backlash Brewing Against Big Tech's Energy-Devouring AI Data Centers

America's biggest tech firms are facing an increasing backlash over the energy-devouring data centers they are building to power artificial intelligence.

Semafor reported on Monday that opposition to data center construction has been bubbling up in communities across the US, as both Republican and Democratic local officials have been campaigning on promises to clamp down on Silicon Valley's most expensive and ambitious projects.

In Virginia's 30th House of Delegates district, for example, both Republican incumbent Geary Higgins and Democratic challenger John McAuliff have been battling over which one of them is most opposed to AI data center construction in their region.

In an interview with Semafor, McAuliff said that opposition to data centers in the district has swelled up organically, as voters recoil at both the massive amount of resources they consume and the impact that consumption is having on both the environment and their electric bills.

"We’re dealing with the biggest companies on the planet,” he explained. “So we need to make sure Virginians are benefiting off of what they do here, not just paying for it.”

NPR on Tuesday similarly reported that fights over data center construction are happening nationwide, as residents who live near proposed construction sites have expressed concerns about the amount of water and electricity they will consume at the expense of local communities.

"A typical AI data center uses as much electricity as 100,000 households, and the largest under development will consume 20 times more," NPR explained, citing a report from the International Energy Agency. "They also suck up billions of gallons of water for systems to keep all that computer hardware cool."

Data centers' massive water use has been a consistent concern across the US. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on Monday that residents of the township of East Vincent, Pennsylvania have seen their wells dry up recently, and they are worried that a proposed data center would significantly exacerbate water shortages.

This is what has been happening in Mansfield, Georgia, a community that for years has experienced problems with its water supply ever since tech giant Meta began building a data center there in 2018.

As BBC reported back in August, residents in Mansfield have resorted to buying bottled water because their wells have been delivering murky water, which they said wasn't a problem before the Meta data center came online. Although Meta has commissioned a study that claims to show its data center hasn't affected local groundwater quality, Mansfield resident Beverly Morris told BBC she isn't buying the company's findings.

"My everyday life, everything has been affected," she said, in reference to the presence of the data center. "I've lived through this for eight years. This is not just today, but it is affecting me from now on."

Anxieties about massive power consumption are also spurring the backlash against data centers, and recent research shows these fears could be well founded.

Mike Jacobs, a senior energy manager at the Union of Concerned Scientists, last month released an analysis estimating that data centers had added billions of dollars to Americans' electric bills across seven different states in recent years. In Virginia alone, for instance, Jacobs found that household electric bills had subsidized data center transmission costs to the tune of $1.9 billion in 2024.

"The big tech companies rushing to build out massive data centers are worth trillions of dollars, yet they’re successfully exploiting an outdated regulatory process to pawn billions of dollars of costs off on families who may never even use their products," Jacobs explained. "People deserve to understand the full extent of how data centers in their communities may affect their lives and wallets. This is a clear case of the public unknowingly subsidizing private companies' profits."

While the backlash to data centers hasn't yet become a national issue, Faiz Shakir, a longtime adviser to US Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), predicted in an interview with Semafor that opposition to their construction would be a winning political issue for any politician savvy enough to get ahead of it.

“For any Democrat who wants to think politically, what an opportunity,” he said. “The people are way ahead of the politicians.”

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Fed Governor Warns 'Job Growth Has Probably Been Negative' as US Labor Market Stalls
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Fed Governor Warns 'Job Growth Has Probably Been Negative' as US Labor Market Stalls

Christopher Waller, a Federal Reserve governor, warned on Friday that the US labor market at the moment is in poor shape and showing little sign of improvement.

In an interview on CNBC, Waller said that the data released by processing firm ADP earlier this month showing that the economy lost 32,000 jobs in September was "consistent with what we're starting to see with [Bureau of Labor Statistics] data."

"Job growth has probably been negative the last few months," he explained. "It doesn't look like it's doing much better. Anecdotally... I don't hear anybody with big hiring plans. All I ever hear is, 'We're not backfilling, we're not firing, we're holding off any job things.' That's the anecdotal evidence."

Waller's analysis was shared by Ed Al-Hussainy, rates strategist with Columbia Threadneedle investments, who told Axios on Friday that the job market was "bed rotting," with employers reluctant to make any major hiring commitments in the face of economic uncertainty.

Al-Hussainy also warned that the current problems with the job market could "continue to get worse, until they reach a tipping point where consumption starts to degrade, and then you have another recession scare."

Earlier in the week, Fortune reported that Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, estimated that there was "essentially no job growth" in the last month, while pointing to the Conference Board's recent report showing that US consumers haven't been this pessimistic about the labor market since the end of the Covid-19 pandemic.

"There’s no better predictor of changes in unemployment, which thus likely rose again in September," he added.

Abby McCloskey, a columnist at Bloomberg and a former economist at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, argued in a Friday column that the US economy had now slowed down so much that even supporters of President Donald Trump were rating it unfavorably.

"Only 44% of Republicans think the economy is excellent or good, according to new data from the Pew Research Center," McCloskey explained. "Compare this to the soaring approval of GOP voters in Trump’s first term before Covid hit—when 81% thought the economy was good."

She then noted that, despite a record-breaking stock market and stabilized inflation, voters' concerns about the economy appeared to be justified.

"Despite enormous tax cuts in this summer’s reconciliation bill and sweeping reductions to the federal workforce—things Republicans would typically cheer—tariffs and political uncertainty are taking a toll," she argued. "When a voter balances the tax cuts from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act against tariffs raising prices on everything from groceries to clothes, it feels like running just to stay in place."

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Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY)
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Sanders, AOC Blast GOP Sabotage of US Healthcare During Shutdown Town Hall

Two weeks into the government shutdown that was triggered when Democrats in Congress refused to help the Republican Party rip healthcare subsidies and coverage away from millions of Americans, two of the top progressive lawmakers in the US were resolute Wednesday night at a town hall held by CNN.

Democrats, said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) "need to see ink on paper"—legislation that is passed in the House and Senate and signed by President Donald Trump to extend Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies—before they agree to a spending package to reopen the government.

"I don't accept IOUs, I don't accept pinky promises, that's not the business that I'm in," said Ocasio-Cortez when CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins asked her and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) whether Democrats would accept "commitments from the White House and Republicans," who have claimed they will hold votes on healthcare after the government reopens.

Ocasio-Cortez added that she would not support a Republican proposal for a one-year extension of the subsidies, which help millions of Americans pay for monthly health insurance premiums for coverage purchased through the ACA marketplace. Once the subsidies expire—as they are currently set to at the end of 2025—KFF has estimated that the average ACA premium will more than double.

Whether at the end of this year or after next year's midterm elections, said the congresswoman, "what we will not accept is for the ACA premiums to skyrocket on the American people."

"What we will not accept is the doubling of these premiums. And what we will not accept is allowing the teetering of this system to collapse right before everyone’s eyes,” she said.

Republicans have persisted in repeating the baseless claim that instead of opposing skyrocketing health insurance costs, Democrats are refusing to vote for a continuing resolution to reopen the government—which needs 60 votes to pass in the Senate—because they want to give "free healthcare" to undocumented immigrants.

Undocumented immigrants are not eligible for coverage under the ACA, Medicaid, or Medicare. The Republicans' massive, broadly unpopular One Big Beautiful Bill Act stripped legal asylum recipients, green-card holders, and other legal permanent residents of their eligibility for those healthcare programs, a provision which Democrats have called to reverse.

When asked whether the US should provide healthcare for undocumented immigrants at the town hall, Ocasio-Cortez took aim at the "common lie" that's been spread by GOP leaders including Vice President JD Vance—and vehemently defended the established statute, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, which requires all hospitals that participate in Medicare to provide emergency treatment to anyone who needs it, regardless of immigration status.

"I don't know about you, but me, as a human being, I don't want to live in a world where if a human being is struck by a car or is getting rushed into a hospital, that people in the ER surgical room are asking for your insurance information or asking for documents before they save your life," said the congresswoman.

Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez expressed empathy with federal workers who are missing paychecks as a result of the shutdown, and told audience members who are unable to obtain government-backed loans to buy a home or struggling with a loss of income that they aim for the shutdown to end "as quickly as possible."

But Ocasio-Cortez rejected one suggestion from an audience member who pointed out that about 80% of people who benefit from ACA subsidies live in states that voted for Trump and in "rural, mostly Republican areas."

"If the Republicans are so insistent on sticking it to their own voters on this issue, why don't the Democrats just let them?" asked the town hall participant.

The question illustrated how Trump is "dividing this country," said Sanders, who pointed out that he and Ocasio-Cortez have spoken to large crowds in rural, conservative areas as part of his Fighting Oligarchy Tour.

"It also speaks to a big difference between someone like Trump and someone like me, and someone like Bernie," said Ocasio-Cortez. "Trump believes that if you don't vote for him, he doesn't have to be your leader... I don't care if someone voted for me or not. I don't care if someone is a Republican or an independent or a Democrat... That will never change the fact that I'm going to fight for them to have healthcare."

"And that is the difference," she said, "between a strongman and an authoritarian, and a leader of a democracy."

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Wisconsin Democrats 2025 Convention
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House Democrats Blast Trump's Antifa Designation and Terrorism Memo Targeting Critics

Over 30 Democrats in the US House of Representatives wrote to President Donald Trump on Thursday to condemn his designation of antifa as a domestic terrorist organization and a related memorandum targeting the Republican's opponents.

Democratic Reps. Mark Pocan (Wis.), Jared Huffman (Calif.), and Pramila Jayapal (Wash.) led the letter, which builds on criticism that has mounted since late last month, when Trump issued the executive order against antifa—even though the nationwide anti-fascist movement has no central organizational structure or leaders.

Days later, Trump signed National Security Presidential Memorandum 7 (NSPM-7), which, as the letter details, "directs federal officials to crack down on organized political violence, which you define to include 'anti-Christianity,' 'anti-capitalism,' and 'hostility toward those who hold traditional American views on family, religion, and morality.'"

The lawmakers wrote that "while protecting public safety and countering genuine threats are essential responsibilities of government, the sweeping language and broad authority in these directives pose serious constitutional, statutory, and civil liberties risks, especially if used to target political dissent, protest, or ideological speech."

"Regardless of whether the president agrees with someone's political views, the Constitution guarantees their right to speak and assemble peacefully," they stressed. They also noted that "neither the memo nor the executive order clearly defines 'antifa' as a specific entity. Instead, the executive order conflates nonviolent protest and activism with doxing and violent behavior."

"While the threat of political violence demands vigilance, your administration must not use this moment to undermine the very constitutional and democratic principles we are sworn to uphold," they concluded. "These actions are illegal, and we demand you immediately rescind both the memorandum and the executive order. We stand ready to take legislative action should you fail to do so."

The letter, which its organizers began circulating earlier this month, was sent to Trump ahead of a second round of "No Kings" protests planned for Saturday. Demonstrators intend to take to the streets in over 2,500 US communities to denounce the president's unprecedented and accelerating attacks on democracy. A key ally of Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), on Wednesday called for passing his bill to "prosecute" funders of the rallies.

In addition to dozens of House Democrats—including lawmakers from Illinois and Oregon, where Trump has deployed immigration agents and tried to federalize the National Guard, sparking court battles—the letter is endorsed by American Atheists, American Humanist Association, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Amnesty International, Council for Global Equality, Freedom From Religion Foundation, Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, Immigration Equality, MPact Global Action, National Women's Law Center, and Secular Coalition for America.

The order and memo are just part of the Trump administration's broad crackdown on dissent, which has also included trying to deport foreign students who criticize Israel's US-backed genocide in the Gaza Strip, cutting reporters off from the Pentagon for refusing to sign a "flatly unconstitutional" press policy, and bullying Disney-owned ABC into temporarily suspending late-night host Jimmy Kimmel.

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Boat before US bombing
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Trump Admin Reportedly OKs CIA Action in Venezuela Amid Growing Alarm Over Bombed Boats

As outrage over US President Donald Trump's deadly boat bombings mounts, The New York Times reported Wednesday that his administration secretly authorized the Central Intelligence Agency "to carry out lethal operations in Venezuela and conduct a range of operations in the Caribbean," with the ultimate aim of ousting the country's leader, Nicolás Maduro.

"The agency would be able to take covert action against Mr. Maduro or his government either unilaterally or in conjunction with a larger military operation," according to the Times, which cited unnamed US officials. "It is not known whether the CIA is planning any operations in Venezuela or if the authorities are meant as a contingency."

"But the development comes as the US military is planning its own possible escalation, drawing up options for President Trump to consider, including strikes inside Venezuela," the newspaper noted. The administration's Venezuela strategy was "developed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, with help from John Ratcliffe, the CIA director."

The White House and CIA declined to comment on record, though some observers speculated it was "an authorized leak." The reporting comes as Democrats in Congress, human rights groups, and legal scholars sound the alarm of Trump's five known strikes on boats he claims were smuggling drugs, which have killed at least 27 people.

Critics highlighted the United States' long history of covert action in Latin America, as well as how the reported CIA authorization contrasts with Trump's so-called "America First" claims.

"This is absolutely insane," said Tommy Vietor, a former Obama administration official who went on to co-found Crooked Media. "America First was not sold as CIA regime change operations in Venezuela."

Critics also noted Trump's mission to secure the Nobel Peace Prize; this year, it went to María Corina Machado, a right-wing Venezuelan who dedicated the award to not only the people in her country, but also the US president.

"Now that Trump has delegated his preposterous politicking for a Nobel Peace Prize to sycophants, he can finally get around to declaring unilateral war on Venezuela, a war crime, as he murders Colombian civilians at sea, another war crime, and endorses collective punishment in Gaza, another war crime," journalist Seth Abramson said Wednesday.

As Senate Democrats last week unsuccessfully fought to stop Trump's boat strikes of the Venezuelan coast, Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on social media that one of the bombed vessels appeared to be carrying citizens of his country.

"A new war zone has opened: the Caribbean," he said at the time. "Evidence shows that the last boat bombed was Colombian, with Colombian citizens inside. I hope their families come forward and file complaints. There isn't a war against smuggling; it's a war for oil, and the world must stop it. The aggression is against all of Latin America and the Caribbean."

The Trump administration recently claimed in a confidential notice to Congress intended to justify the deadly bombings that the president decided drug cartels "are nonstate armed groups, designated them as terrorist organizations, and determined that their actions constitute an armed attack against the United States."

While that notice leaked to the press, the ACLU and Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) on Wednesday filed a Freedom of Information Act request seeking the Office of Legal Counsel's guidance and other related documents regarding the strikes.

"All available evidence suggests that President Trump's lethal strikes in the Caribbean constitute murder, pure and simple," said Jeffrey Stein, staff attorney with the ACLU's National Security Project. "The public deserves to know how our government is justifying these attacks as lawful, and, given the stakes, immediate public scrutiny of its apparently radical theories is imperative."

CCR legal director Baher Azmy stressed that "in a constitutional system, no president can arbitrarily choose to assassinate individuals from the sky based on his whim or say-so."

"The Trump administration is taking its indiscriminate pattern of lawlessness to a lethal level," Azmy added. "The public understanding of any rationale supporting such unprecedented and shocking conduct is essential for transparency and accountability."

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