pat_k
pat_k's JournalDeputized for Disaster: How President Trump's 287(g) Deportation Force is a Powder Keg for our Communities
https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2026/02/Deputized-for-Disaster_260227.pdfThis is a must read.
This report is the first in-depth and comprehensive review of the nature and impact of the second Trump administration’s unprecedented expansion of the 287(g) program. It builds on prior ACLU research and advocacy, including a 2022 report, License to Abuse, on the 287(g) program during the first Trump administration.
If your state or local law enforcement agencies are participating, this is a tool for organizing and lobbying lawmakers to STOP.
Participation is a disaster as law enforcement resources are drained and redirected, not to mention the costs of being sued and held liable for civil rights abuses under the program.
In addition, blurring the lines between immigration enforcement and community policing seriously undermines public safety as distrust leads to non-cooperation with law enforcement and non-reporting of crime.
If your state or local government is contemplating participation, use this as a tool for organizing and informing lawmakers that doing so would be disastrous.
And if your state and local governments are refusing to participate, use the key findings to inform people who think refusing to participate is a poke in the eye to law and order. The truth is, refusing to participate preserves local law enforcement resources and keeps them focused where they should be: protecting the public safety
The Felon's "whatever it takes" path forward. We MUST defend against this!!
We cannot not simply denounce and comment on the hellish path the felon is hellbent on forging. We need to find ways to Defend Ourselves and Defend Our Elections.
As Simon Rosenberg notes today:
We cannot allow ourselves to be overwhelmed and immobilized by the "whatever it takes" onslaught they are putting in motion (the go-to-war/billions of dollars of corruptly & oligarch funded mid-term SuperPACs/mafia-like media and tech takeover/unending AI slop/unprecedented foreign active measures on his behalf/end free and fair elections/).
We can, and MUST act to defend ourselves.
It may not sound like much, but pouring whatever dollars you can into strengthening State Democratic Parties is a CRITICAL starting place. Every dollar given now can be put to work NOW -- and that's worth a hell of a lot more than dollars given to campaigns months from now.
Support Marc Elias's efforts. They have been in high gear, but for the onslaught that is coming, it's time to go all out.
There are other ways to mobilize, with the most immediate being lobbying your Rep and Senators to support the War Powers Resolution next week and calling on others to do the same. Help flood phone lines -- particularly if you are in a Red state. If they have a FAX number, send faxes, they get noticed more than email. If you can, gather a small group together, contact the scheduler to set up a meeting with staff at the local office.
If you are dealing with a regime apologist, write a couple simple questions about why they have, and appear to be continuing to, surrender their power; why they are failing to take a stand for the nation. Get answers. Word the questions in a way that exposes how shameful their position is. Take note of the shameful rationalizations and post those on social media -- and call on others to call/write/visit to denounce the position.
House Massie-Khanna war powers resolution (H.Con.Res.38) targeting Iran.
Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Rand Paul (R-KY) War Powers Resolution in the Senate (S.J.Res.59),
American Prospect tracks the ICE reign of terror: 27 killed & 28 injured; 46 deaths in custody
They update the list regularly. Last update 2/24.
Names, dates, circumstances included.
A Running Count of How Many People ICE Has Killed and Injured
https://prospect.org/2026/01/29/ice-trump-killed-injured-list-dhs-cbp-border-patrol-renee-good-alex-pretti/
The title "Homeland" was an intentional embrace of ethnic nationalism and white supremacy.
All bullshit rationalizations to the contrary, the word "homeland" framed the United States not as a nation founded on universal ideals, but as a "white homeland."
When we either break up or remake that agency into one that strives to promote the safety and well-being of a diverse populous while protecting the civil rights of everyone living within our borders, we've got to drop that vile name.
Come on Dems! Draft articles of impeachment against 47, Vance, the cabinet, and the 6 black-robed traitors.
They are ALL violating the constitution and multiple laws in plain sight. Impeachment and removal is the remedy.
Draft the articles and make the case in the court of public opinion.
This is a moral imperative. To accuse them of crimes against both the spirit and the letter of the law WITHOUT seeking to impeach is a statement that the crimes do not rise to that level.
We need (1) Sweeping articles of impeachment and (2) A declaration stating the nature of the crimes in SIMPLE language that becomes the foundation for hammering them on their crimes and making the case that impeachment and removal of ALL the perpetrators is the ONLY remedy that meets the magnitude, depth, and breadth of the violations.
When it comes to high crimes, it is CONGRESS, not the courts that pass judgment.
And it starts in the people's house for a reason.
The high crimes are being committed against We the People. Our representatives have a DUTY to act.
The Epstein scandal could be the match that sparks unprecedented transformation
Epstein is SOOO much bigger than "who's on the list."
It is a decades long obscenity and corrupt, knee jerk protection of the rich and powerful over multiple administrations.
It is the embodiment of the corrosive effect the accumulation of wealth in the hands of the few at the expense of the many has on any society that allows it.
The blowback could transform the adoration of wealth and power so many have held onto into a recognition of the magnitude with which such power inevitably corrupts.
It could be the match that starts a firestorm that burns down resistance to reversing the current flow of dollars from the many to the few.
It could be the wake up call that we must end the obscene accumulation of wealth and its corruption of our society, and the beginning of transformational laws: minimum wage that reflects the increase of worker productivity over the last five decades, inheritance tax, wealth tax, progressive tax on income, higher tax on capital gains than earned income.
As we advocate for these things, we MUST do more than cite vague benefits, like strengthening safety nets, blah, blah. In addition to Universal Health Care, we need to be levying these taxes for something truly transformative -- something like Piketty-style "Inheritance for all"
I think Piketty's Inheritance for All is a tangible benefit that we need to start calling on our electeds to start the drumbeat for now. That would put us on the path to achieving it -- or something even better -- before the youth of today are our age.
We will never build the political will for such transformative change if no one is advocating for it.
Silence and surrendering in advance on anything the Democratic consultant class deems "unwinnable" helped bring us to this point.
I know many object to using AI summaries, but this one on inheritance for all does a better job of summarizing than I could:
What it is: A universal, one-time payment given to every citizen at age 25.
How it's funded: By significantly increasing wealth and inheritance taxes on the wealthiest individuals and estates.
How much: The amount is proposed to be around €120,000 or $150,000-$180,000 in other contexts.
The goal: To counteract the inequality created by inherited wealth by providing a "starter capital" for all young adults, thereby increasing their financial power and life choices.
Context: It is presented as one part of a broader "participatory socialism" plan, which also includes other reforms like higher income taxes and worker co-determination in corporations.
Where the hell are these headlines?!?
REPUBLICANS ALL LIED ABOUT THE ADMINISTRATION'S LEGAL OBLIGATION TO USE CONTINGENCY FUNDS FOR SNAP.
USDA SECTION 32 CURRENTLY HAS 23 BILLION AND WILL GET 30% OF THE TARIFFS COLLECTED THIS YEAR -- MANY TIMES THE NUMBER OF DOLLARS NEEDED TO FUND SNAP, WIC, AND ALL CHILDREN'S NUTRITION PROGRAMS DURING THE SHUTDOWN.
TRUMP'S LAWYERS CONTINUE TO LIE THAT USING SECTION 32 FUNDS FOR SNAP WOULD BE AN "UNACCEPTABLE RISK."
THE USDA HAS BEEN HOARDING SECTION 32 FUNDS INSTEAD OF USING THEM AS INTENDED, TO PURCHASE FOOD FROM FARMERS FOR FOOD BANKS, SCHOOL LUNCHES, AND OTHER PROGRAMS THAT FEED VULNERABLE AMERICANS.
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The fact is, funding Food Nutrition Service (FNS) Child Nutrition Programs is a key purpose for the 23 billion in the Section 32 fund
39% of SNAP recipients are children. That makes it a child nutrition program as important as WIC and school lunch programs.
Furthermore, buying food for food banks and for FNS Child Nutrition Programs are KEY purposes to be served by Section 32 funds. WHY DID THE USDA STOP DOING THAT? WHY ARE THEY HOARDING FUNDS INSTEAD OF KEEPING FARMERS IN BUSINESS WHILE FEEDING VULNERABLE AMERICANS???
Furthermore, Section 32 is funded by 30% of customs duties from the prior year. Hasn't Trump been telling us that they've collected trillions in tariffs? Even if reality is closer to 100 billion, that means come 1/1/2025, the Section 32 fund is getting a deposit of about 30 billion that is COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT OF APPROPRIATIONS.
On one hand they say they can't use Section 32 funds for SNAP because they need it for Child Nutrition Programs. Clearly SNAP IS a Child Nutrition Program. On the other hand, they say they can't use the funds for SNAP because it would leave a shortfall in Child Nutrition Programs like WIC and school lunch programs.
Section 32 has 23 billion in it. And that is after transferring 300 million to WIC for Oct and 450 million to WIC in Nov. If they take the 6 billion dollar SNAP shortfall out of Section 32, they still have 17 billion, with another 30 billion arriving in two months.
They have told the courts that taking the 6 billion poses an "unacceptable risk."
Having 17 billion with a least 30 billion on the way sure doesn't sound like an unacceptable risk to me. And if we take Trump as his word about more than a trillion in tariffs, then...
I sure hope Judges Talwani and McConnell call BULLSHIT.
They are cruel lying liars who illegally withhold and redirect funds appropriated by Congress to exact vengeance and implement project 2025. But they REFUSE to feed people.
Scenes from Seattle's No Kings
It was difficult to get a shot of the overall crowd (everywhere with a good vantage was packed with people, which I count as a good thing!). FWIW, here is some of what I captured.
BTW, news outlets are estimating about 90,000 in Seattle (20,000 over the previous No Kings event).
Personally, I think the three venues that came together (Cal Anderson Park, Seattle Center, and the Ferry Terminal) numbered more than 100,000, but that's not based on much more than starting with a guesstimate of how many visual blocks of about 100 people went by in a minute of the march (about 10) and multiplying by the 2 hours it took to get from the beginning to the end.
Let Them Eat Cake
Trump is Putin's Bitch
On Edit:
Another nice collection of photos/signs from Seattle over on r/Seattle
https://www.reddit.com/r/Seattle/comments/1oac5v4/im_never_leaving_seattle
And some great overviews (that capture how lovely the city is too).
https://www.reddit.com/r/Seattle/comments/1oa635i/no_kings_seattle_center
Connect with others who are doing things locally.
That's the most effective way to keep hope alive.
As you get involved locally, you see up close good people doing good things, and you become aware that there is more going on, on the ground, then we ever hear about. It becomes less about them, and more about us.
There's much to connect with. Indivisible, your state or county Democratic party, or groups that are working to bridge divides, like Braver Angels or living room conversations, just to name a few. I think in-person work is more powerful, but you can also find things like the Card Campaign for Democracy.
As Tad Stoermer points out, Hope is the life's blood of resistance, as much as lies are the life's blood of authoritarians.
If we are going to turn the tide, we must not allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by fear or fall victim to the lie that the MAGA forces are too powerful for us.
Finding ways to build our own virtuous cycle of hope and action is job one. Hope and action are contagious.
The only way we lose is by allowing ourselves to be immobilized by hopelessness and cynicism.
Don't mistake cynicism for realism. Hope that spurs action in the face of enormous challenges IS grounded in reality.
Ariella Elm's posts highlight some of what's happening and are a mainstay for me. You learn more about things people are doing. Some of which are great ideas to emulate.
"It's the action, not the fruit of the action, that's important. You have to do the right thing. It may not be in your power, may not be in your time, that there'll be any fruit. But that doesn't mean you stop doing the right thing. You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result."
-- Mahatma Gandhi
Republicans want to cut your healthcare so badly, they'll shut down the government to do it.
Suggestions on the messages to hammer from Tamara Massengale Miro @UnmuteAlabama
https://sez.us/l/4nt9r15k
The news makes it sound like a procedural fight in Washington. Meetings canceled. Deadlines looming. Continuing resolutions. Yawn.
Here’s what I’m saying: Republicans want to cut health care so badly, they’re willing to shut down the government to get it done.
This isn’t about Beltway squabbles. It’s about whether families can afford to see a doctor.
Medicaid is facing the biggest cuts in U.S. history.
ACA tax credits are expiring, which means premiums could jump by an average of 75%.
Medicare is on the chopping block for more than $500 billion in cuts.
Hospitals, rural clinics, even children’s cancer research could lose funding.
When you talk about the shutdown, don’t start with politics. Start with people.
This shutdown isn’t just “government dysfunction.” It’s a health care crisis manufactured on purpose.
👉 The “how” matters.
Say “Republicans want to cut your health care so badly…” instead of “Democrats and Republicans can’t agree.”
Say “millions of families will lose coverage” instead of “funding lapses.”
Say “research into children’s cancer will stop” instead of “budget line items.”
If we lead with the human cost, the politics takes care of itself.
And an additional suggestion from Anat Shenker Osario (Freedom Over Fascism toolkit):
Refuse to frame it as a government shutdown fight. Frame it as refusing to be an accomplice to turning the government into a weapon against the people.
I think that message can be pulled in by saying things like:
We refuse to be accomplices in the biggest cuts to Medicaid in U.S. history.
We refuse to be accomplices to increasing healthcare premiums for 75 million Americans by an average of 75%.
We will not be accomplices to the Republican Congress's cowardly refusal to demand that Trump stop breaking his oath of office and carry out the laws passed by Congress.
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Gender: Do not displayCurrent location: Seattle, WA
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