This week's comic: "Polarization" is a reality-obscuring weasel word
Edited 278d ago
authoritarianism
Madness #AmericanAutocracy
‘Vaguely Threatening’: #Trump Federal Prosecutor #EdMartin Queries Leading #Medical Journal
The New England Journal of Medicine [#NEJM] received a letter suggesting that it was biased & compromised by external pressure. Other journals have also received the letter.
#law #censorship #FirstAmendment #Constitution #democracy #AbuseOfPower #authoritarianism #tyranny #dictatorship #AntiIntellectualism #science #medicine
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/25/health/nejm-prosecutor-letter.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=p&pvid=68CE025A-703F-4C94-87AA-8D0D7D06D23B
#PBS sued #Trump on Friday to block an #ExecutiveOrder that would cut federal #funding for public television & radio, arguing that it was #unconstitutional.
The lawsuit, filed in DC by PBS & a public TV station in #Minnesota, says that Trump’s EO violates laws that “forbid the President from serving as the arbiter of the #content of PBS’s programming, including by attempting to defund PBS.”
#law #democracy #Constitution #FreePress #authoritarianism #AmericanAutocracy
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/30/business/media/pbs-trump-lawsuit-funding.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=p&pvid=BD8357FA-8CA8-4C37-B249-5CDD44A19A77
#JimmyLai, the #HongKong pro-#democracy #media mogul who spent decades as a defiant thorn in Beijing’s side, was sentenced on Monday to 20 years in prison, the harshest penalty ever handed down for a “national security” offense in the semiautonomous territory.
The landmark ruling completes a yearslong effort by Beijing to dismantle the influence of a man it blamed for masterminding Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement.
#law #journalism #authoritarianism #China
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/02/08/world/jimmy-lai-sentenced-hong-kong/heres-the-latest?smid=url-share
Judge blocks #Trump order to end #funding for #NPR & #PBS
A federal judge on Tuesday agreed to permanently block the Trump admin from implementing a presidential directive to end federal funding for National #PublicRadio & the #PublicBroadcasting Service.
#law #MafiaState #AbuseOfPower #authoritarianism #autocracy #despotism #dictatorship #fascism #tyranny
https://apnews.com/article/trump-npr-pbs-funding-executive-order-fbd9500e5f7400deab84ead188c35694
Internal #ICE records reveal the widespread #UseOfForce in “#detention” centers [#ConcentrationCamps].
Reports detail how guards have increasingly used chemical agents & physical tactics on detainees, including on people demanding adequate water, food & medical care.
#Trump #law #immigration #CivilRights #HumanRights #AbuseOfPower #Authoritarianism #Autocracy #fascism #HumanitarianLaw #TheCrueltyIsThePoint #PoliceBrutality #ExcessiveForce #WhiteSupremacy
https://wapo.st/4tdgBRA
This is not going to end well
#DHS has requested more than 20,000 #NationalGuard members to help with the #Trump admin’s #immigration crackdown, according to two US officials with knowledge of the plans.
The request to the #Defense Dept came after Trump asked DHS last week to increase its ranks by pulling in 20,000 officers from state or federal agencies.
#law #military #MilitaryState #authoritarianism #tyranny #autocracy
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/15/us/politics/national-guard-immigration.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=p&pvid=2101FB33-83F0-4325-83B5-04AFD6257B6C
Russian opposition leader #AlexeiNavalny was poisoned by the #Kremlin with a lethal toxin derived from the skin of poison dart frogs, 5 European countries said Saturday.
The foreign ministries of the #UK, #France, #Germany, #Sweden & the #Netherlands said analysis of samples from #Navalny, who died 2 years ago, “have conclusively confirmed the presence of epibatidine.”
#law #InternationalLaw #murder #authoritarianism #MafiaState #Putin #Russia
https://apnews.com/article/russia-navalny-poisoned-europe-4d92cd67f29d37b74b0d4842ea686b03?utm_source=onesignal&utm_medium=push&utm_campaign=2026-02-14-Navalny+case
The #Pentagon says the unnecessary deployment of #NationalGuard members & #Marines to #protests over #immigration raids in #LosAngeles is costing $134M.
After persistent questioning from #Democrats in #Congress on Tues, #Defense Secy #PeteHegseth turned to his acting comptroller, Bryn Woollacott MacDonnell, who provided the total & said the money will come from operations & maintenance accounts.
#Trump #law #Title10 #PosseComitatusAct #RightToProtest #authoritarianism
https://apnews.com/article/pentagon-congress-hegseth-signal-hearings-c53cd37c2eae4327dd74e4c717057469
#Trump’s Newest Crackdown on #Dissent
[BS] Assault charges against a #Democratic member of #Congress look more like #intimidation than #law enforcement.
#Trump #authoritarianism #autocracy #tyranny #law #democracy #UnitedStates #Constitution #SlouchingTowardsBethlehem
https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2025/05/lamonica-mciver-charged-justice-department/682864/?gift=guxsrl_dAdXUP9zqbQPWxX9kdA2YiTSgORe70HZMPrU&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share
#AUTOCRACY NOW!
#CurtisYarvin’s calls for an American king once seemed like a joke. Today, the right is ready to bend the knee.
#USpol #law #democracy #Constitution #authoritarianism #tyranny #FarRight #Trump #AmericanAutocracy
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/06/09/curtis-yarvin-profile?utm_social-type=owned&utm_brand=tny
ICE shot a journalist in the leg. A journalist.
They’re shooting people who are there to cover the protests as an essential part of the freedom of the press and the right to free speech.
It was apparently a non-lethal round, yet emergency surgery is required.
This regime has already silenced so many journalists.
Kicked them out of the Oval Office and filled it with “friendlies” (ie propagandists).
These are dark times:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/08/la-protests-photographer-hit-by-non-lethal-rounds
Well, the #PosseComitatusAct has officially been violated.
#NationalGuard troops have detained #civilians in #LAprotests, commander says
National Guard troops already have temporarily detained civilians in the #LosAngeles #protests over #immigration raids, the commander in charge said Wednesday, but they quickly turned them over to *#LawEnforcement* [the 30 second rule is only for food fools].
#Trump #law #democracy #RightToProtest #authoritarianism #tyranny #Gestapo
https://apnews.com/article/national-guard-immigration-raids-los-angeles-c9957a0d4ded48e40ce78efb0b7a8fbf
#MahmoudKhalil permitted to hold newborn son for the first time despite objections from the #Trump admin
Detained #Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil was allowed to hold his one-month-old son for the first time Thursday after a federal judge blocked the Trump admin’s efforts to keep the father & infant separated by a plexiglass barrier.
#law #immigration #Constitution #DueProcess #FirstAmendment #dissent #authoritarianism #AmericanAutocracy
https://apnews.com/article/mahmoud-khalil-louisiana-immigration-406c341b8edf1f92dc44695cefcd8f8c
Edited 1y ago
How is this even slightly legal?
(Hint, it’s not)
#Trump Admin Halts #Harvard’s Ability to Enroll #InternationalStudents
The move was a major escalation in the admin’s efforts to pressure the #college to fall in line with Trump’s demands.
#law #Constitution #FirstAmendment #AcademicFreedom #immigration #BrainDrain #AntiIntellectualism #authoritarianism #dictatorship #tyranny #AmericanAutocracy
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/22/us/politics/trump-harvard-international-students.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=p&pvid=FEF8C80B-EF9E-4A25-B3B7-9273FF569BA5
Edited 1y ago
#Trump to Send #NationalGuard to #LA to *Quell* #Immigration #Protests
Federal immigration officials squared off with protesters in #LosAngeles County on Saturday using #TearGas & #FlashBang #grenades. The unrest comes just a day after #ICE #raids were conducted through the city of Los Angeles.
#law #democracy #RightToProtest #FreedomOfAssembly #authoritarianism #tyranny #Gestapo #AmericanAutocracy
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/06/07/us/la-immigration-raid-protests?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
#Trump admin halts scheduling of ALL new #StudentVisa appointments
Trump ordered US #missions abroad to stop scheduling new appointments for student & #exchange visitor #visa applicants as the #State Dept prepares to expand #socialmedia vetting of all #ForeignStudents, acc/to an internal cable seen by Reuters on Tues.
#law #AbuseOfPower #immigration #surveillance #Constitution #AcademicFreedom #dictatorship #tyranny #authoritarianism #AmericanAutocracy
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-administration-halts-scheduling-new-student-visa-appointments-2025-05-27/
Edited 1y ago
Federal #trade #court blocks #Trump from imposing sweeping #tariffs under *#EmergencyPowers* #law
The ruling from a 3-judge panel at the New York-based Court of #InternationalTrade came after several lawsuits arguing Trump has exceeded his #authority, left US trade policy dependent on his whims & unleashed economic chaos.
#economy #inflation #recession #authoritarianism #AmericanAutocracy
https://apnews.com/article/trump-tariffs-trade-court-0392dbd59f548e49ad4f64254ae3f94a
In a sign of #California’s widening anger at the #Trump admin, including from the political center, the #LosAngeles Civic Alliance, a coalition of #business & #civic leaders that for years has served as the voice of the establishment in the Los Angeles region, condemned the deployment of the #NationalGuard in SoCal as an “#unconstitutional action” on Monday & charged that Trump had acted illegally.
#law #PosseComitatusAct #RightToProtest #authoritarianism #immigration
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/06/09/us/la-protests-immigration-ice-trump/ea69e3ad-ed95-5dfc-bb15-352685fd2fe2?smid=url-share
A #Venezuelan musician released a song critical of #Trump, then he was arrested by #ICE.
The Criminalization of Venezuelan Street Culture
#law #immigration #Constitution #FirstAmendment #FreeSpeech #FreedomOfExpression #AlienEnemiesAct #pretense #FigLeaf #Bullshit #authoritarianism #tyranny #WhiteSupremacy #dissent #AmericanAutocracy
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-lede/the-criminalization-of-venezuelan-street-culture
US #protests against #Trump & his tyrannical #immigration raids — photos from the AP
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#law #Title10 #PosseComitatusAct #democracy #RightToProtest #FreedomOfAssembly #authoritarianism #tyranny #Gestapo #AmericanAutocracy #LosAngeles #ICE #NationalGuard #Marines #USTroops
Federal agents have just handcuffed California Senator Alex Padilla and forcibly removed him from a news conference when he dared to question Kristi Noem. This is a demonstration on the body of a Latino elected official of what the Trump regime intends to do to any of us who question.
#Trump #authoritarianism #military
https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/live-updates-los-angeles-protests-thursday-june-12/3722189/
Edited 1y ago
#UnitedStates Sen. #AlexPadilla (D-#California) briefly interrupted #DHS Secretary #KristiNoem’s “news” [#propaganda] conference in the #LosAngeles #FBI headquarters, saying he had questions for her. Security pushed him out, telling him to put his hands up.
#Trump #PoliceState #Tyranny #authoritarianism #AmericanAutocracy #law #Constitution #FirstAmendment #FreeSpeech #immigration #Gestapo
#Marines were seen standing guard outside a federal building in #LosAngeles on Friday as they started operations after #protests erupted last week over #immigration raids.
Maj. Gen. Scott Sherman, commander of Task Force 51 who is overseeing the 4,700 troops deployed by #Trump, said the Marines finished [2 days of] training on civil disturbance & are starting their operations by replacing #NationalGuard #troops.
#law #PosseComitatusAct #authoritarianism #RightToProtest
https://apnews.com/article/immigration-raids-national-guard-lawsuit-los-angeles-f4809c7f39d09e4fdfa01982f44ec995
"We witnessed something today only seen in dictatorial regimes. California Democratic Senator Alex Padilla exercised his First Amendment rights and fulfilled his constitutional obligations to ask a question of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem while in his home state. He was viciously manhandled, thrown to the ground, and handcuffed. This is fascism."
~ Jennifer Rubin
#Trump #authoritarianism #fascism #violence #FreeSpeech #AlexPadilla #California
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