October 16, 2025

States are protecting us from Trump's authoritarian invasion. You wanted this?

Rex Huppke

Let’s put things simply: U.S. states are now having to defend themselves against the federal government.

In a remarkable Oct. 6 news conference, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and other elected officials made clear they will protect Chicagoans and the other residents of the state from President Donald Trump’s federal forces, be they Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents or out-of-state National Guard troops.

Highlighting a “military-style raid” on a Chicago apartment building and the use of teargas and rubber bullets on peaceful protesters, Pritzker said of ICE agents and other federal law enforcement officers Trump dispatched to the city: “They have struck fear in our communities, including, notably, fear in the hearts of U.S. citizens. Trump and the thuggery that his agents have brought has actively made us less safe.”

Illinois officials sued Trump on Oct. 6 to stop him from sending Texas National Guard troops into Chicago. A judge gave the government three days to respond.

Another federal judge over the weekend granted Oregon’s request for a restraining order keeping National Guard troops from other states out of Portland.

This is all several steps beyond insane, and thank goodness Democrats like Pritzker have the spine to stand up to the president’s weaselly authoritarianism. The administration is making laughable and easily disproven claims about Democratic cities being war-torn hellscapes, crafting a facade to justify militarization.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2025/10/07/trump-national-guard-chicago-pritzker-illinois-lawsuit/86550671007/?tbref=hp

One reason I love JB. He's not flashy, but he takes no crap from anyone.

October 16, 2025

Exonerated after serving 40-plus years, he's now detained by ICE

In early October, after 43 years behind bars for a murder he apparently did not commit, Subramanyam “Subu” Vedam was ordered released.

But a day later, before he had even set foot outside the Pennsylvania prison where he has lived for decades, Vedam was taken into ICE custody. Now Vedam, 64, is on the verge of being sent back to a country he last lived in as an infant.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement cited a 1988 deportation order for the murder conviction and a drug crime in justifying his detention and deportation. Vedam’s exoneration for murder did not clear his drug conviction.

His family members, including a niece, are devastated by the likelihood that they will lose Vedam yet again.

"All we want is for him to be home with us and to be able to move forward in life," Zoë Miller-Vedam told USA TODAY from her home in California.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/10/15/exonerated-after-40-years-prison-ice-custody/86678344007/?tbref=hp

Oh, FFS!

October 16, 2025

Los Angeles County declares state of emergency to combat federal immigration raids

Los Angeles County officials have voted to declare a state of emergency in response to the Trump administration’s sweeping immigration crackdown, a move typically reserved for natural disasters.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 on Oct. 14 to approve the emergency declaration, which will allow the county to mobilize resources, expedite contracting and procurement, coordinate interagency response, and request state and federal assistance to protect communities affected by recent federal immigration raids. The board of supervisors said the proclamation will remain in effect until it's terminated by the board.

The proclamation, introduced by county supervisors Lindsey P. Horvath and Janice Hahn, said the tactics used by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activities and other federal agents have "created a climate of fear, leading to widespread disruption in daily life and adverse impacts to our regional economy."

Ongoing immigration raids and operations across Los Angeles County — which is home to over three million immigrants — have led to a decrease in workplace attendance and strained critical services such as schools, hospitals, and places of worship, according to the board of supervisors.

"What’s happening in our communities is an emergency — and Los Angeles County is treating it like one," Horvath said in a statement on Oct. 14. "Declaring a Local Emergency ensures that the full weight of County government is aligned to support our immigrant communities who are being targeted by federal actions."

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/10/15/los-angeles-county-state-of-emergency-immigration-raids/86715481007/?tbref=hp

More of this, please!

October 15, 2025

US soybean crisis is a 'man-made disaster caused by' Trump. And farmers know it.

Chris Brennan


John Bartman was where he wanted to be on Oct. 14 – but not doing what he wanted to be doing – while sitting on the tractor his grandfather purchased in 1965, on the Illinois farm his family has worked for five generations.

Bartman wanted to be harvesting his soybeans – Illinois ranks first among American states in land dedicated to that crop – and selling them to China. Instead, he was using his phone to speak in a Zoom meeting arranged by the Democratic National Committee.

Bartman told the journalists on that call that his family has seen hard times come and go in farming. He recalled the American farm crisis of the 1980s as a time of particular strife. And he blames his current predicament on one man.

"Let's be clear: This is a man-made disaster caused by Donald Trump and his administration," Bartman said as soybean farmers across America, in the middle of their annual harvest, have anxiously watched their biggest market vanish.

China, which until 2024 was the biggest importer of American soybeans, has retaliated against Trump's chaotic trade war tariffs by refusing to buy the crop from our country now, shifting its purchases to other countries.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2025/10/15/trumps-tariff-war-china-soybean-farms-risk/86692005007/?tbref=hp

I don't think even I anticipated that it would be this bad, so I'll give the farmers some grace.

October 14, 2025

New York Times, AP, Newsmax among news outlets who say they won't sign new Pentagon rules

News organizations including The New York Times, The Associated Press and the conservative Newsmax television network said Monday they will not sign a Defense Department document about its new press rules, making it likely the Trump administration will evict their reporters from the Pentagon.

Those outlets say the policy threatens to punish them for routine news gathering protected by the First Amendment. The Washington Post, The Atlantic and Reuters on Monday also publicly joined the group that says it will not be signing. AP confirmed Monday afternoon that it would not sign.

“Reuters is bound by its commitment to accurate, impartial and independent news,” the agency said in a statement. “We also steadfastly believe in the press protections afforded by the U.S. Constitution, the unrestricted flow of information and journalism that serves the public interest without fear or favor. The Pentagon’s new restrictions erode these fundamental values.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reacted by posting the Times’ statement on X and adding a hand-waving emoji. His team has said that reporters who don’t acknowledge the policy in writing by Tuesday must turn in badges admitting them to the Pentagon and clear out their workspaces the next day.

The new rules bar journalist access to large swaths of the Pentagon without an escort and say Hegseth can revoke press access to reporters who ask anyone in the Defense Department for information — classified or otherwise — that he has not approved for release.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/14/new-york-times-ap-newsmax-pentagon/

Newsmax too? Well well...

October 14, 2025

Cafes, restaurants across Chicago put up signs barring immigration agents

It’s a small, but mighty sign: “Everyone is welcome here, except I.CE.” Katherine Duncan, owner of Katherine Anne Confections, fastened it proudly on her shop’s front door.

“It was a no-brainer for me,” Duncan said on a recent Wednesday afternoon, hours after she put the sign up at the storefront on 3653 W. Irving Park Road. “I feel so helpless. With my business and my kids, I can’t escort students to and from school or other things like that. So it was like, well — what can we do?”

In recent weeks, Chicago has seen an increase in Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions, which have been met with significant criticism from activists, local government and community groups, spurring protests, legal challenges and a new executive order from Mayor Brandon Johnson creating citywide “ICE-free zones” to push back against the federal crackdown. For restaurant and cafe workers, many of whom are immigrants, the looming threat of unannounced visits by ICE, which have already led to arrests in restaurants, outside grocery stores and in the parking lots of businesses in Chicago, has created anxiety and uncertainty about their future.

Business owners like Duncan are left searching for ways to support and protect their staff. Solidarity signs have been a quieter approach to denouncing ICE.

“Two blocks from our store in Logan Square, people were taken — by having the signs, we’re very much hoping that anyone who is concerned or who needs a safe haven for even a moment knows that they can come in,” she said.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/14/chicago-restaurants-ice-agents/

Great idea---starve the bastards!

October 14, 2025

Cyprus has a cat problem: One feline for every resident

The island of cats has a cat problem.

Officials in Cyprus, the small island nation in the eastern corner of the Mediterranean, estimate there is roughly one feral cat for every one of its 1 million inhabitants — though activists contend the actual population is hundreds of thousands higher.

In late September, the island’s parliamentary committee on the environment was told that an existing sterilization program is too limited to contain the burgeoning cat population.

“It’s a good program, but it needs to expand,” said Environment Commissioner Antonia Theodosiou, noting that the program conducts only about 2,000 sterilizations annually on a budget of just 100,000 euros ($117,000).

While there is no official comparative data, Theodosiou said Cyprus has gained a reputation for having a cat population that is exceptionally large relative to its human inhabitants.

https://apnews.com/article/cyprus-cats-felines-population-sterilization-000eb683385513e6ff3761840714520a

They are doing TNR, but need to be doing more of it!

October 13, 2025

Sikh man with tumour held by US immigration denied medical care - family

For over two months, Paramjit Singh, 48, a US green card holder battling a brain tumour and a heart condition, has been held in a detention centre by US immigration authorities.

Mr Singh, an Indian passport holder, has lived in the US on a green card since 1994. He lives in Indiana with his family, who own a chain of gas stations. His wife and two children are US citizens.

But Mr Singh now faces the threat of deportation.

On 30 July, he was detained by immigration authorities at Chicago O'Hare International Airport while returning from a trip to India and has since been in their custody.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) authorities have cited two decades-old cases as reasons for his detention, but Mr Singh's family and lawyer say there are no active cases against him.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm2z7gkd87lo

There is no excuse for this

October 12, 2025

Trumpian smearing of Chicago gets the scrutiny it deserves in a federal courtroom

When confronted with assertions from Trump administration officials regarding Chicago (it’s a “war zone,” a “hellhole,” etc.), most of us who live here understand that the picture being painted of our city bears little resemblance to reality.

That doesn’t stop President Donald Trump and lieutenants such as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem from reiterating these demeaning untruths. What most of us understand is that Trump views Chicago through the lens of his personal animosity toward Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Mayor Brandon Johnson, both of whom are caustically demeaning of Trump in response.

But it’s one thing to hold forth on Fox News. It’s quite another for the administration to have to back up its rhetoric and fact-challenged narrative in a court of law, where evidence and argument (usually) win the day.

So what transpired last week in the courtroom of U.S. District Judge April Perry was satisfying, at least insofar as reality was allowed at last to make an appearance. Perry questioned Justice Department attorney Eric Hamilton closely during the Thursday hearing, pressing him on exactly what the hundreds of National Guard troops in Chicagoland would be doing. Would they be patrolling streets? Making arrests? Stopping and searching people and vehicles?

Hamilton was unable to answer other than in generalities. “You’re the ones who are deploying them,” Perry said to him. “What are they being trained and deployed to do?”

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/12/editorial-april-perry-ice-national-guard-justice-department/

What, indeed? And even more so, in Portland, where it's even more peaceful///and more silly.

October 11, 2025

'Next Charlie Kirk' Hypes Gen Z Turnout in Room of Boomers

Rising MAGA influencer Brilyn Hollyhand embarrassed himself by touting the incredible Gen Z turnout at his Alabama speaking event while proving the crowd was mostly comprised of boomers.

Hollyhand, who some conservatives have seen as the protegé of the late Charlie Kirk, spoke at the University of Alabama Friday night. On his social media accounts, the 19-year-old activist wrote, “Standing room only at the University of Alabama last night is more proof that this isn’t a fad or trend: Gen Z is off the sidelines and in the fight and our movement is stronger than ever!

“Gen Z’s time isn’t in the future. It’s today!”

However, the photograph Hollyhand posted of the speaking event hardly looks like the youthful jubilee he described. Instead, the crowd looks largely comprised of senior citizens.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/magas-next-charlie-kirk-hypes-gen-z-turnout-in-room-of-boomers/

Read the room, dumbass!