Dear Everybody:
The big news today is once again a killing by ICE:
--ICE agents killed a Cuban immigrant, Geraldo Lunas Campos, in an ICE detention center in Texas on January 3rd. The doctor at the facility has listed the manner of death as a homicide, saying the death was caused by "asphyxia due to neck and chest compression."
--The man had been in line for medications, but refused to go back to his cell area, saying he had not received his medications, and the guards pinned and choked him. Another prisoner at the detention center testified he saw five guards choking the man and that he heard the man cry, "I cannot breathe, I cannot breathe," and then silence. Other staff said they saw him in distress.
--According to the AP, "the federal government has provided a differing account." (Translation: They’re lying again.) They claim the immigrant tried to commit suicide. "Campos violently resisted the security staff and continued to attempt to take his life. During the ensuing struggle, Campos stopped breathing and lost consciousness." (Note: They originally said he died after experiencing "medical distress.")
--Campos was one of 4 people who died over a ten-day period at the start of the new year. 32 people have died in ICE custody this year.
But that wasn’t ICE’s only atrocity:
--ICE threw flash bangs at an intersection, and one rolled under a van which was trying to leave the besieged neighborhood. The van had a family with six kids inside, including a baby. The force of the explosion lifted the van off the van and caused the van’s air bags to deploy. The car immediately filled with tear gas, and the baby stopped breathing and had to be given CPR and then be rushed to the hospital. His mother described him as being "lifeless...foam around his mouth." Three of the kids are currently hospitalized.
--Moggs said ICE "refused to call an ambulance for the small children, the six month old had to be given CPR on the side of the street. Republican monsters."
--McKey2: "And there have been multiple reports that the munitions they’re using aren’t just tear gas and may also include HC gas canisters. If so...holy shit. That stuff is banned under the CWC because it’s chlorine-based and toxic."
--Ever empathetic, the DHS tweeted, "It is horrific to see radical agitators bring children to their violent riots. PLEASE STOP ENDANGERING YOUR CHILDREN!" (Note: This is an example of DARVO, a technique in which you deny, attack, reverse victim and offender. They do it every single time. The bad guy isn’t ICE, it’s the baby.)
--Journalist Adam Cochran: "DHS did NO investigation and rushed to lie to defend the officers."
--After a huge outcry online, DHS deleted the post.
--darren: "Government forces choking little babies to death with tear gas and with total immunity. My view is we are approaching something big and one way or the other something big is going to break."
--Internet Conspiracy Dork: "They are not violent riots, they are peaceful protests. Kristi Nazi hates that fact so much she has to lie."
--Liliki: "See? They know exactly what they’re doing. They can also gauge the public’s opinion and decide whether to sanewash their actions or scrub them out of view. Their sadism isn’t a bug, it’s a top feature."
--Lafler Accof: "ICE is the new Gestapo."
In other ICE/Gestapo news:
--Trump once again threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act: "In Minnesota, the Troublemakers, Agitators, and Insurrectionists are in many cases highly paid professionals. The governor and mayor don’t know what to do, they have totally lost control, and our (sic) currently being rendered USELESS! If and when I am forced to act, it will be solved, QUICKLY AND EFFICIENTLY!"
--ICE agents grabbed four members of the Oglala Sioux tribe. They released one, but are holding the other three in a detention center as a bargaining chip to raid the reservations.
--DHS says they will be kept there "unless the tribe agrees to enter into an immigration agreement with ICE." (What the hell would that be? Native Americans are NOT immigrants. They are, in fact, the ONLY native-born Americans.)
--Wu Tang is for the Children: "Insane...ICE Nazis kidnapped 4 men of the Oglala Sioux tribe, released one and now can’t ‘locate’ the other 3. The one who was released said, "There is nobody more American than American Indians. We are American. How can you possibly target Native Americans? It’s legally impossible."
--MKey2: "ICE thugs stole a high school student’s cell phone and sold it at a kiosk for cash while they had him and his father in handcuffs. Not only did they NOT have any reasonable suspicion to stop and detain him on his way to school, but taking his property and selling it was most definitely also criminal."
--ICE is now in central Florida, putting in play Operation Tidal Wave. People are doing training sessions on how to protest and buying whistles.
--ICE is planning to "surge" into Maine next week.
--lisaduffels: "Honestly, their biggest mistake was thinking a video that called her a fucking bitch would exonerate him, when 169 million women quietly took note."
--John S: "Being shot in the face for not showing respect sounds like Mafia stuff to me."
--televisionary: "Trump’s framing legitimizes coercive state power while weakening accountability. ‘Disrespect’ becomes a marker of enemy status, justifying force, shifts scrutiny from police to civilians. Rights are replaced by obedience, recasting civilians as risks. Classic norm erosion and democratic backsliding."
--Jamie Raskin: "Donald Trump’s very dubious characterization of Renee Good as having been disrespectful is not only factually suspect, but it’s legally irrelevant. The police do not have the right to shoot people in the head because they consider them having acted in a disrespectful way. That legal standard would have led to a slaughter on January 6."
The situation with ICE is even getting to Trump’s people:
--Senior ICE official Madison Sheaban stepped down today, ostensibly to run for Congress, but many are saying she is trying to get while the getting’s good. (I’m not sure how good "I ran ICE" is as a campaign slogan.)
--And Karoline Leavitt, who usually stands there imperturbably smiling and lying in her White House press conferences, completely blew up. When a reporter asked her how she could say ICE is doing everything correctly when 32 people died in ICE custody, 170 US citizens were detained and Renee Good was shot in the head, she totally blew up at him: "Ok, so you’re a biased reporter with a leftwing opinion...because you’re a left-wing hack. You’re not a reporter, posing in this room as a journalist. And it’s so clear by the premise of your question. And you and the people of the media who have such biases but fake like you’re a journalist, you shouldn’t even be sitting in that seat. But you’re pretending like you’re a journalist, but you’re a leftwing activist. And the question you just raised and your answer proves you’re biased. You should be reporting on the facts. You should be reporting on the cases...shame on people like you in the media who have a crooked view and have a biased view and pretend like you’re a real, honest journalist."
--CyberMindGrrl: "Every victim of abuse recognizes what Leavitt just did there."
In Nobel Peace Prize news:
--From Trump’s point of view, the big news of the day was Venezuelan opposition leader Machado’s giving him her Nobel Prize:
--She didn’t really. She can’t. The Nobel committee had already declared that the prize was non-transferable. They made it clear that Machado does not have the authority to transfer her award. They released a statement saying that its decision "is final and stands for all time. A medal can change owners, but the title of a Nobel Peace Prize laureate cannot."
--She did it to try to earn Trump’s backing in Venezuela, so he will let her lead the country.
--Machado, speaking to reporters after the meeting with Trump, said she "presented her medal" to Trump "as a recognition for his unique commitment with our freedom."
--Interestingly, the meeting was not public and Machado did not say whether Trump accepted the medal. The White House didn’t respond to a request for comment either. The whole thing was uncharacteristically low-key, which either means 1) just giving it to him wasn’t enough, or 2) the White House knew this would create all kinds of unfavorable press (when has that ever stopped them?) or 3) Trump was in no shape to be seen.
--Machado was seen leaving the White House with a large dark red Trump-branded swag bag.
--Trump later said he would keep the medal, calling it "a wonderful gesture."
--Daily Kos: "Venezuelan Opposition Leader Gives Big Baby Trump Her Nobel Peace Prize."
--CNN: "Venezuela’s Machado gave Trump her Nobel Prize. In return she received a swag bag but no promise of support."
--John: "Trump: ‘Thanks for the pretty shiny thing, now go away and let me pillage your country.’"
--True Blue: "4 US Presidents have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize--Teddy Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Jimmy Carter, Barack Obama. One US President BEGGED for a Nobel Peace Prize and DIDN’T get one, but accepted SOMEONE ELSE’S. Trump is a laughingstock.
--He had met earlier in public with the Florida Panthers, who gave him a T-shirt and a golden hockey stick. Trump: "Ooh, that looks nice. I hope it’s the stick and not just the shirt. That stick looks beautiful. Maybe I get both, who the hell knows. I’m president, I’ll just take them."
--Also Trump while the team stood there: "What’s going on in Minnesota--we’re taking out some of the worst criminals in the world are being taken out of our country. Murders, drug dealers, we have the best crime numbers we’ve ever had." And "We are now drilling more oil than any time, any country ever in history. And oil prices in many states are down to $1.99 a gallon. That’s like a major tax cut."
--Update: I just found out why the Machado event wasn’t public--because Trump refused to grant Machado an official visit. (Translation: here, give me the prize, but if you think you’re getting anything in return, you’re crazy.)
In Trump’s Napoleon/Hitler World Domination Tour news:
--Trump’s running into problems with his Greenland invasion. GOP Rep Don Bacon: "The White House talk of invading Greenland is WRONG and will backfire in the worst way. America stands by our allies."
--When JD Vance said, "Denmark hasn’t done a good job at keeping Greenland safe, Tom from Temecula responded: "Just out of curiosity, when was the last time that a Greenlander was shot dead by a masked agent of their own government?"
--The Guardian: "Some of Donald Trump’s biggest campaign donors and investors...are positioned to potentially profit from any American takeover of Greenland." (Follow the money.)
--Dem Rep Maxine Waters: "Trump, I understand that you are now the acting President of Venezuela, but you are out of your mind. Everyone knows you have invaded Venezuela to steal their oil. And you want to annex Greenland to the US because you and the billionaires who support you are trying to get hold of Greenland’s minerals. Your brazen, deceitful, criminal activities are causing us to lose support from our allies and to see you for who you really are: a gangster criminal with no conscience, morals, or dedication to freedom." (I love Maxine!)
--Daily Kos: "Trump is putting America on a war footing because war is good for him as it is for all dictators. War confers emergency powers. It justifies ignoring the niceties of elections. It allows dictators to imprison and intimidate opponents and enemies. It enables them to create their own personal slush funds. It distracts the public from other things (remember Jeffrey Epstein?) War gives dictators like Trump more power and more wealth. Period."
In Epstein news:
--Senator Ron Wyden is using "Follow the money" to investigate Epstein. He’s examining Epstein’s transactions at a Wall Street bank, BNY Mellon.
In historical news:
--On May 4, 1970, members of the Ohio National Guard fired into a crowd of Kent State University demonstrators, killing four and wounding nine Kent State students. I can still remember that shocking photo of the college girl leaning over one of the shot and screaming in horror. Kent State triggered a nationwide student strike that forced hundreds of colleges and universities to close and profoundly changed attitudes about Vietnam and about Nixon.
In Resistance news:
--Democrats are currently opposing funding the DHS unless it puts in stricter rules for agents, including them being subject to arrest and trial and them not wearing masks.
--San Jose’s City Council just voted to deny ICE use of any city facility, including parking lots, parking garages, libraries, community centers, and City Hall.
--A Free America Walkout is scheduled for January 20th at 2 p.m.
In other news:
--Trump has released his much-touted health care plan, which he called "overly generous." The "plan" consists of 386 words (not much longer than an online post) and does not go into any detail whatsoever.
--Iran threatened Trump’s life, saying, "This time bullet won’t miss," which may be the reason Trump has backed off from talking about invading Iran. (Or he may have decided to back off when a Chinese plane landed in Iran. Or when Israel secretly called the Iranian regime to assure them they won’t participate in an attack on Iran. Or when Saudi Arabia denied the US use of its airspace to mount the attacks from.)
Since it’s Friday, you need an especially large dose of good news:
--A new generic cystic fibrosis drug cuts treatment costs over 99.5%, making treatment possible for many who couldn’t previously afford it.
--When the Bureau of Land Management tried to auction off 20,000 acres of public land in Colorado for oil and gas drilling, there were no takers.
--A federal court rejected the GOP effort to block California’s redistricting, which was done in response to red states’ illegal gerrymandering.
--Iraq nationalized the Russian stake in Lukoil of Iraq’s West Qurna-2 oil fields, which produce 75% of Lukoil’s oil. (This will eliminate Russia getting tax revenues from these oil fields, another economic blow.
--Over 85% of voters have seen the video of Renee Good’s murder, which means the news is breaking through to EVERYONE in the country (and not just ICE’s version.)
--Congress is pushing to call Kristi Noem and and Tom Homan to testify before Congress about Renee Good’s death.
--It’s not strictly news, but you have to see this gorgeous bird, the crimson-rumped toucanet. It’s the embodiment of good news: https://ebird.org/species/crrtou1
Best comment of the day, from JV Last: "In Iran today we have stories about police firing on unarmed protesters. Tell me, is there a single Republican in America willing to say, ‘Well, if the protesters refused to comply with orders from the Gesht-e Ersbad, then they should expect to be killed’?"
Today’s fragment of poetry, from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: "And the night shall be filled with music, and the cares, that infest the day, shall fold their tents, like the Arabs, and as silently steal away."
May the cares that infested your week do the same thing.
Keep calm and carry on,
and have a nice weekend,
Connie Willis