New Social Security rules will create hurdles for millions of seniors, report finds
https://www.kpbs.org/news/politics/2025/04/08/new-social-security-rules-will-create-hurdles-for-millions-of-seniors-report-finds?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub
Posted into Politics @politics-KPBSPublicMedia
New Social Security rules will create hurdles for millions of seniors, report finds
A new report from a left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities finds that upcoming changes to Social Security will amount to a "45-mile trip for some 6 million seniors."Ashley Lopez (KPBS)
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Continuing from here…
I put up a dipole this time, and while I did receive marginally more stuff than before (only in the 2m and 70cm bands), there was also a lot of noise. The length of each leg of the dipole was calculated like this, with the velocity factors estimated for the copper wire and insulation.
(299792458 / 52_000_000 * 0.95 * 0.95) / 4I did get the copper pipe for making a sleeve balun. Would that further improve things? :3c
Well, I tried building my own ¼-wavelength monopole with the metal railing and everything it's attached to as the ground plane, but it didn't work very well. :(I'm targeting 6-meter with this, but I thought it'd make sense to use the middle of the band (52 MHz) as the target, so I did
(C / 5200000000) / 4to get the length of 1.44 meters.What did I do wrong? :( #HamRadio #AmateurRadio
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In December of last year, my family canceled all our planned visit to the US that fell after Jan 26, 2025.
America is a 1 hr drive from here. I have friends, family, and activities that I love to there.
We have been actively engaged will all our associations to let them know that we would not be willing to participate in events that take place across that border.
I have started to reply to invites to attend conferences and events for work in the same manner.
America is not a safe place to visit. It is not a place I want to support if I can avoid it.
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The IRS finalizes a deal to share tax information with immigration authorities
The Internal Revenue Service reached a deal to share tax information about some immigrants without legal status, marking a major change in how tax records can be used.#news #npr #publicradio #usa
posted by pod_feeder_v2
Elon Musk knew Trump was going to nuke the economy with tariffs. This is why he restructured his Xitter debt, which was leveraged against his Tesla stock.
The sale to xAI seems like it was insider trading.
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"Old Puyallup River Bridge"
This bridge originally carried SR-167 across the Puyallup River. As it was rather narrow and in poor condition, it was in need of replacement. To do so, WSDOT simply moved the old bridge out of the way while building the new one.
#abandoned #bridge #mywork #photog #photography
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China is not backing down from Trump's tariff war. What next?
The US-China trade war shows no signs of slowing down, leaving the world unsure of what to expect.Yvette Tan, Annabelle Liang and Kelly Ng (BBC News)
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It was on this day in 1935 that Congress approved funding for President Franklin Roosevelt's Works Progress Administration, known as the WPA, a program designed to put unemployed Americans back to work. The WPA was run by Roosevelt's right-hand man, Harry Hopkins, a former social worker and public health administrator. Hopkins was a firm believer in the benefits of good work, even though employment was more expensive for the government than giving direct handouts. He said, "Give a man a dole and you save his body and destroy his spirit; give him a job and pay him an assured wage, and you save both the body and the spirit." A worker's average salary was $41.57 per month. By the time the WPA was dissolved in 1943, it had employed more than 8.5 million people, working on 1.4 million projects.The WPA's main focus was on public works, especially infrastructure projects. The WPA was funded for eight years, and during that time workers built or repaired 650,000 miles of roads, 124,00 bridges, 8,000 parks, 39,000 schools, and 85,000 other public buildings. They also worked on airports, dams, sidewalks, swimming pools, sewers, utility plants, and playgrounds. They served more than a billion school lunches, operated 1,500 nursery schools, and sewed half a billion garments.
Most of the WPA workers were men — more than 85 percent. In an attempt to distribute jobs as broadly as possible, only the "head of household" of each family was allowed to work for the WPA. Of the women who were employed, many worked in sewing rooms, producing millions of clothes, diapers, quilts, toys, and other items, which were distributed to public institutions or needy families (sometimes right back to the women themselves). The women tried to make the items fashionable and unique so that the people who wore them wouldn't be marked as welfare recipients.
Another branch of the WPA was its arts programs, collectively known as "Federal One," which included the Federal Writers' Project and the Federal Theater Project. At first, Harry Hopkins was criticized for including artists — some people argued that they never had steady jobs to begin with, so shouldn't be considered unemployed. Hopkins responded: "Hell! They've got to eat just like other people." Of more than 8 million people who worked for the WPA, only 40,000 were employed by Federal One, but the list included Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, John Cheever, Ralph Ellison, Richard Wright, Zora Neale Hurston, Saul Bellow, Kenneth Rexroth, Arthur Miller, and Orson Welles.
Artists working for the Federal Art Project collectively created more than 18,000 sculptures and 100,000 paintings and murals. The "easel artists" — who worked in offices or studios, as opposed to mural artists — were required to clock in at 8 a.m. and back out at 4 p.m. if they wanted to receive their day's pay. Jackson Pollock sometimes showed up in his pajamas in order to make the morning cutoff. But besides the strict hours, the "easel artists" were given a lot of leeway — they were unsupervised, and they were allowed to choose their subjects and styles, unlike the mural painters, who were usually instructed to paint American motifs. Mark Rothko was asked to submit an oil painting every four to six weeks, which would be given to a public building.
The flagship project for the Federal Writers' Project was a series of state-by-state guidebooks, but writers also collected folklore, indexed newspapers, recorded slave narratives and other oral histories, and wrote essays about great American literature. John Steinbeck wrote of the WPA guidebook series: "It was compiled during the Depression by the best writers in America, who were, if that is possible, more depressed than any other group while maintaining their inalienable instinct for eating." W.H. Auden wrote: "The Arts Project of WPA was, perhaps, one of the noblest and most absurd undertakings ever attempted by any state."
from The Writer's Almanac archives - https://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/index.php%3Fdate=2014%252F04%252F08.html
Spring by Marjory Wentworth | The Writer's Almanac with Garrison Keillor
'Spring' by Marjory Wentworth, and the literary and historical notes for Tuesday, April 8, 2014.writersalmanac.publicradio.org
Scientists say human-caused pollution may be masking the true extent of climate warming.
The findings will help develop more accurate climate models to predict future climate change. #ClimateChange
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Pass this on:
On April 20, 2025, Donald Trump’s advisory committee is expected to release its findings on whether he should invoke the Insurrection Act — a move that would allow him to deploy the military domestically and allow Trump to impose martial law. (San Francisco Chronicle).
https://wagingnonviolence.org/2025/04/what-to-do-if-the-insurrection-act-is-invoked/What to do if the Insurrection Act is invoked
With the Insurrection Act looming, now is the time to learn how it might unfold and the strategic ways to respond.Daniel Hunter (Waging Nonviolence)
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I like how they started all this before the factories are built... or were even thought of being built!
We're bringing the jobs back! Uh whaaaa? But we deliberately moved them for cheap labour! And we have no machines or buildings to put them in!
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and obviously, most or all of the places in the video are in so-called red states.
Says a lot. 👍🏻
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May I suggest the following to those interested?
https://eirenicon.org/peaceful-to-perilous/
How long before protest turns from peaceful to perilous?
Abstract In an age of algorithmic suppression, democratic erosion, and growing protest fatigue, the American public finds its traditional avenues of dissent increasingly constrained. This essay pos…eirenicon llc
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“’They're lying': Despite claims, Social Security office closures—which mean cuts—are coming.
A new analysis shows that already, in 35 states, more than 10% of seniors must travel over 45 miles to their closest field office.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/social-security-office #AtWhatCost
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How to: Use Signal
Download location: Google Play Store, Apple App Store System requirements: Android 5 or later, iOS 13 or later Version used in this guide: Android: 7.38.6 iPhone: 7.5.ssd.eff.org
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IDOH NEWS RELEASE: INDIANA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH CONFIRMS FIRST CASE OF MEASLES IN 2025
"...The case is in an unvaccinated minor in Allen County, and state and local public health officials are working together on the investigation and to confirm any additional cases. ..."
#measlesoutbreak #indiana #measles
IDOH NEWS RELEASE: INDIANA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH CONFIRMS FIRST CASE OF MEASLES IN 2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: April 7, 2025 media@health.in.State of Indiana
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Peregrine eggs on St Alban's Cathedral deliberately walked on during livestream
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cq80yqnl54eo
Peregrine falcon eggs smashed in St Albans Cathedral live stream
Police are investigating after reports that a man was seen walking across the nest.Danny Fullbrook (BBC News)
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United States Disappeared Tracker
803 persons disappeared (as of April 3).
https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/danielleharlow/viz/UnitedStatesDisappearedTracker/Map
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United States Disappeared Tracker
1,210 persons disappeared as of April 8 (+407)
https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/danielleharlow/viz/UnitedStatesDisappearedTracker/Map
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The Berkshires. Western MA. A favorite spot for summer recreation and a haven for the arts.
"Shock rippled through the Berkshires when images of federal agents wearing masks and bulletproof vests, and black vehicles with tinted windows proliferated across social media Wednesday. Spotted alongside ICE agents were representatives of other federal agencies including the FBI and ATF."
#ICE #deportation #uspol
Unprecedented crackdown sees ICE agents detain at least 10 Berkshire community members in sweep
At least 10 people were detained by federal agents in a series of immigration raids across Berkshire County Wednesday.Josh Landes (WAMC)
#media #journalists #brokentimes #brokenpost
Will anyone with a microphone and access to the administration ask:
Why is it necessary for ICE agents and others supporting MAGA's program of mass deportation to hide their faces with masks and full head coverings?
Why are these raids and roundups being conducted by what can reasonably be described as a secret police force?
This looks to every normal person like an effort to avoid accountability and operate with impunity. Is it?
"Today, in America, the President or any of his accomplices can simply point their finger at you, declare you an enemy combatant, and have you incarcerated indefinitely in a secret prison without charge or representation, where they have institutionalized torture and murder.
And for those Americans who think they are exempt, and don't care about foreign citizens or their rights as human beings, think again.
You may have heard the term Habeas Corpus tossed around a lot lately, and heard that we have lost the right to it, but do you know what that means?
It means that you no longer have the right to be brought before an impartial judge to protest your imprisonment, or provide evidence that the charges against you are false.
For example, if a President secretly imprisons an American citizen they don't like they can simply claim they are an Afghani national caught on the battlefield of Iraq, even if they were actually a loyal citizen living in Boston who was illegally abducted at the mall while shopping.
And since you no longer have the right to Habeas Corpus you will never have a chance of the truth being told, and will be at the mercy of the executive branch of government for what remains of your lives."
SearingTruth
Protesters rally for the fourth week against Hungary's law banning LGBTQ+ Pride events - EUROPE SAYS
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating theEUROPE SAYS
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"Voter bribery is a crime. It’s illegal. Despite this, #Musk has been flagrantly bribing voters. He's attempted to evade prohibitions on vote-buying in a number of ways.
The🚨felony is defined in fed law (18 USC § 597) & (52 US Code § 10307(c)): “Whoever . . . pays or offers to pay or accepts payment either for reg to vote -fined not >$10K or imprisoned...
We must strenuously reject this kind of elite impunity."
Amplify: #TrumpMusk admin's #Corruption #Bribes...
#USPol https://www.thebulwark.com/p/yes-elon-musk-vote-buying-is-against-law-federal-wisconsin
Yes, Elon Musk’s Vote-Buying Is Against the Law
People have gone to prison for comparable schemes.Andy Craig (The Bulwark)
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It’s a sad day in America when student journalists must resign or write anonymously because they fear government reprisals.
This is the opposite of free speech.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/07/student-journalists-remove-stories-trump
US student journalists go dark fearing Trump crusade against pro-Palestinian speech
Newsrooms forced to adapt as writers resign and request takedown of stories to avoid potential repercussionsGuardian staff reporter (The Guardian)
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Supreme Court halts judge’s order to reinstate federal probationary workers
The case focuses on a judge's requirement that employees fired by the Trump administration be fully reinstated while litigation continues.Supreme Court halts judge’s order to reinstate federal probationary workers
The Supreme Court at least temporarily blocked a federal judge's ruling that requires six federal agencies to fully reinstate around 16,000 federal works the Trump administration wants to fire.Lawrence Hurley (NBC News)
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Sometimes what gets called “depression” in autistic humans is years of unmet needs
unprocessed grief and the exhaustion of performing a self that isn’t ours.
It’s not (always/only/et al) a chemical imbalance.
It’s a survival response.
And it makes sense.
Look how we are treated.
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DOGE "saves" a million dollars by taking critical government archives off of best-in-class, durable tape archives and putting them on hard drives
https://www.404media.co/doge-gsa-magnetic-tape-archives-digital-storage/
Another Masterful Gambit: DOGE Moves From Secure, Reliable Tape Archives to Hackable Digital Records
DOGE claimed it saved "$1M per year" by converting 14,000 magnetic tapes to digital storage.Samantha Cole (404 Media)
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Moss.and.fern.studio:
"Karen" for the greater good when you see ICE
https://www.threads.net/@moss.and.fern.studio/post/DFGRagxyFk_
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This is what the Sen & HSE Rs could make come to pass thru budget RECO; an⬆️in ICE's budget for DETENTION from🚨$3.4B to $45B -enough to detain 100s of 1000s of ppl at a time, potentially > in all fed prisons.
-AR Melnick
"Stunning find -glimpse at the DEATH STAR SCALE of "MASS DEPORTATION" spending foreseen in the RECO bill moving thru Con-.
By comp, #DHS last fiscal yr allocated ~$3.4B for the entire custody op overseen by #ICE."
-A Isacson
#Deportations #Cruelty #DueProcess #Immigrants #USPol
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Over the past month and a half, I've encountered a lot of Very Serious PeopleTM in my life, and on my TV, who seem to think that the best way to counteract Trump's fascist regime as it tears everything apart and starts trying to disappear political prisoners, is to "not take the bait" and wait for the courts to handle it. "We are still a nation of laws" these folks have assured me, even though I've spent the past four decades watching US presidents break the law in ways that are more acceptable to Pig Empire society than Trump does. Throughout that time, my question has always been "well what are you gonna do when he just ignores the law? I mean it's not like you can send the local sheriff to evict him from the White House, and the GOP is extremely unlikely to help their inept opposition to impeach him." To the degree that I've been able to actually ask that question in person, I have yet to receive a reasonable reply; which is unfortunate, because completely ignoring the courts appears to be precisely what Downmarket Mussolini and his merry gang of shitposting nazi freaks are doing:
Trump Officials Are Pretending A Judge Didn't Bar His Anti-Diversity Orders
"In at least one case, the senior executive says, a U.S. official told the international organization that they knew about the court injunction and what it meant, but that the senior ranks of the Trump administration had explicitly instructed staff to enforce Trump’s executive orders, to ignore the court’s injunction, and to pressure partner organizations if need be. This official also said that if the nonprofit’s leaders didn’t sign the new paperwork, they’d risk having their funding quickly terminated by the Trump administration, per the senior executive.
“The Trump administration is daring the courts in the United States to do something about this, and thus far, I don’t think most people in America understand that what’s at risk is the fundamental basis that there is fairness and justice and rule of law in the United States,” says the senior executive. “And whatever you think of DEI, we should all agree that running the government based on the rule of law is a requirement. The playbook that is being used in the U.S. is not new; we’ve seen it in country after country where there’s been an increase in authoritarianism. To see it in the modern United States itself is what’s new and disturbing.”
The other two sources, one of whom is a Trump appointee, tell Rolling Stone that the directive to comply with Trump’s DEI orders, despite what the judge said, has gone out to an array of nonprofit organizations and partners around the world."
This is kind of a messy article that spends a lot of words going over the timeline of the Trump administration's attempts to play dumb about what the judge's injunction actually blocks in terms of Trump's anti-diversity executive orders, but the key takeaway isn't that complex. Trump has knowingly, and directly ordered his administration to ignore the injunction and continue enforcing his anti-diversity orders both inside the government and towards outside contractors and partners. This is not speculative, several sources *inside* the Trump administration have confirmed that the regime knows what the injunction means, and government employees are being ordered to simply ignore the ruling. Borrowing a page from noted genocidal racist U.S. president Andrew Jackson, Trump has effectively declared "Adam Abelson has made his decision; now let him enforce it."
Should this come as a surprise to anyone in the American establishment "opposition?" Well, probably not, because as the article notes Trump and his minions have more or less been actively broadcasting their intentions to ignore court orders designed to block their fascist agenda:
"The episode is part of a broader pattern in which the second Trump administration has operated under the impression that judges’ orders and rulings don’t much matter. Vice President J.D. Vance has publicly argued that Trump can ignore judges’ orders, asserting: “Judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power.” Trump, for his part, has threatened to “look at” judges who rule against Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Over Presidents Day weekend, Trump admitted he thinks he can break any law he wants to — so long as he can loosely define doing so as part of his mission to “save” the country."
Folks, like I've been telling you for a while, the cavalry ain't coming. If a GOP-controlled government won't impeach him, and the regime won't obey court orders, nothing short of an uprising is stopping these nazis anytime soon; no matter HOW much that scares an "opposition" establishment that hates people power.
#Trump #Fascism #Courts #DEI #Impeachment #GOP #Musk #ExecutiveOrder #JDVance #USPol #AndrewJackson #PorkReich #AdamAbelson
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So what's a fascist party to do when they've already said the courts don't have authority over them, they intend to ignore court rulings, and they want to impeach federal judges who won't play fascist Calvinball for them, but the injunctions and restraining orders keep coming anyway? Apparently, if you're noted Christian Nationalist, GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson, the answer is to threaten to dissolve the courts entirely.
"Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson (Louisiana) suggested on Tuesday that Congress might move to dismantle certain federal courts following at least 15 nationwide injunctions imposed by judges against executive orders issued by President Donald Trump.
“We do have the authority over the federal courts, as you know. We can eliminate an entire district court,” Johnson told reporters. “We have power of funding over the courts and all these other things. But desperate times call for desperate measures, and Congress is going to act.”
Look, by no means am I saying that I'm *against* taking the fascist Trump regime to court, to try and block as much of their techbro monarchist/fundie/nazi (depends on the moment with these guys) program as possible. What I'm saying however is that waiting around to see if you'll still have human, civil, and political rights after a long protracted legal battle, while the regime continues to install a fascist dicatorship in the meantime, is an incredibly shortsighted plan of action; and yet it seems to be the one much of the liberal establishment is adopting at the moment. This is particularly true when in so much as the regime is willing to acknowledge the authority of courts at all, it's so they can issue an emergency appeal to a 6-3 fascist high Supreme Court that already gave us nonsensical fascist Calvinball rulings like Dobbs, Chevron, and Trump v. United States.
"The Trump administration has attempted to bypass, circumvent, and even dismantle the judiciary in various ways since taking over the White House.
For instance, in response to federal judges restraining or enjoining many of Trump’s executive orders, the administration has increasingly turned to the Supreme Court with emergency appeals to overturn unfavorable rulings. Emergency applications typically request swift judicial intervention, claiming urgency to prevent significant harm or injustice.
“The Trump administration has now filed six emergency applications at #SCOTUS challenging rulings by six different federal district judges spread across five different federal district courts,” Steve Vladeck, author of The Shadow Docket: How the Supreme Court Uses Stealth Rulings to Amass Power and Undermine the Republic, said on Bluesky. “Maybe it’s not the judges who are ‘rogue’?”
Given all that, I think waiting on courts that literally cannot enforce their rulings without the backing of security forces wholly controlled by the Trump regime, and might get overruled anyway if guys like Sam Alito can find a amusing way to say Trump is God Emperor now, to start resisting fascism by any means necessary is a catastrophically bad plan; which stands to reason, because this is the same liberal establishment that by and large thought it would be a good idea to help Trump win the 2016 GOP primary contest because he'd be so "easy to beat."
We can have a debate till we're blue in the face about whether or not we're in a Constitutional Crisis yet; but nothing about that debate is going to change the fact that we're clearly in the middle of a fascist takeover by billionaire nazis, Christian Nationalists, and corrupt as fuck winger politicians, even SCOTUS judges, willing to pretend all of this is legal so long as the bribe monies are on time. The time to fight back, in government, in the media, and in the streets, is now. Waiting for the courts to solve the problem isn't a strategy, it's complicity.
#Fascism #Courts #GOP #Media #Dems #corruption #Congress #MikeJohnson #Trump #CivilRights #HumanRights #ResistEverywhere #Antifascism #SCOTUS #ConstitutionalCrisis
Mike Johnson Suggests Eliminating Federal Courts After Trump Rulings Blocked
“We can eliminate an entire district court,” Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters.Zane McNeill (Truthout)
I'm getting sick of saying "yes the Trump regime is unquestionably fascist" because at some point, the evidence that they are a bunch of repugnant nazis is so extensive, you have to be willfully ignorant to keep pretending this is still up for debate; as many big media outlets in the US appear to be doing. This story however, brings us to a point where I feel compelled to point out not only that the Trump regime is definitely fascist, but these assclown nazi pigs are also, objectively speaking, evil.
As part of its unconstitutional scheme to traffic migrants, without due process, to a slave labor prison in El Salvador in order to wage a made up war against "gangs" and "Venezuela" apparently, Trump's DHS has admitted they "accidentally" deported a Maryland man, Abrego Garcia, who is A) married to a US citizen B) has a five year old disabled child, and C) had a judge's order *not* to deport him to El Salvador.
Trump Administration Admits Accidentally Deporting Maryland Father to El Salvador Mega Prison
“Although [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] was aware of his protection from removal to El Salvador, Abrego Garcia was removed to El Salvador because of an administrative error,” the government admitted in response to Abrego Garcia’s complaint.
The government nevertheless argued in its filing that the court can’t order officials to bring Abrego Garcia home because he’s not in U.S. custody. The Trump administration is paying El Salvador to jail him, but the U.S. can’t force El Salvador to return the jailed men, the government claims.
It can only “entreat” or “cajole” its “close ally,” according to the filing.
“They claim that the court is powerless to order any relief,” Abrego Garcia’s attorney, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, told The Atlantic. “If that’s true, the immigration laws are meaningless—all of them—because the government can deport whoever they want, wherever they want, whenever they want, and no court can do anything about it once it’s done.”
Holy sweet fuck; let me restate that for clarity. The US govt just admitted, in court, that they unlawfully "deported" a guy who has been working and raising a family peacefully in the US for years while seeking *legal* asylum, despite a judge's order not to, as part of a nazi kabuki theater human trafficking (deportation, requires a hearing before an immigration judge) scheme. Despite this, the regime's lawyers are arguing, simultaneously, that they can't get him back because he's not in US custody, and they aren't obligated to obey a judge's order to return him because US courts don't have jurisdiction over El Salvador.
Wait, it gets better because the U.S. government is *also* arguing that they shouldn't have to do anything to correct this "mistake" because the man isn't in danger, and "even if Abrego Garcia is being wrongfully imprisoned, he hasn’t suffered irreparable harm." This is despite both the 2019 judge's order granted because Garcia was “more likely than not” to face persecution" in his country of origin (El Salvador), *and* a 2023 US State Dept report that "found credible reports that inmates in El Salvador had been electrocuted, tortured, and beaten to death." Finally it should be mentioned that the regime hasn't offered any legal reason (beyond "oopsie") for why it was trying to deport Garcia in the first place, given that even if Trump's bullshit invocation of the Alien Enemies Act walks in court somehow, Garcia isn't Venezuelan, and the state's own filing calls El Salvador a "close ally" - meaning we're not even at *fake* war with them in the Trump regime's own bubble of unreality.
Naturally, if the US wasn't being run by maliciously evil fascists, one might expect some degree of contrition; but that's not how the Pork Reich rolls. Vice President JD Vance took to social media to justify the actions his regime's own lawyers just admitted were a "mistake" by spewing fact-free excuses about MS-13 that had to be corrected multiple times because Vance didn't even read the government's own filing. As the article notes, even Vance's lies about gangs made no sense because ICE's previous case against Garcia (from 2019) was based on the testimony of one anonymous source and fell apart when the state couldn't produce anyone to testify; which is why he was still in the country and granted protected status while he sought asylum.
Folks, this wasn't a mistake; when you purposely ignore all the legal processes designed to prevent "mistakes" like this, we call that criminal negligence. The Trump regime wanted planes full of nonwhite migrants to display like war trophies on prime time TV, and Garcia fit the bill. They didn't care about the law; his skin tone and status as an asylum seeker made him an acceptable target. The cruelty was the point, which is why they don't want to return Garcia even after admitting their "mistake."
#Trump #Fascism #ElSalvador #DHS #ICE #WhiteNationalism #JDVance #AbregoGarcia #Courts #Evil
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And they are bigots too.
How can you tell? Because being Hispanic and possibly having tattoos is all the evidence Trump and his sociopaths need to deport people to a foreign prison for an unknown length of time, and very specifically, the Venezuelans deported and imprisoned in El Salvador have no connection to that country.
This kind of unsupported discrimination and imprisonment is illegal and exactly why we have due process laws going back 250 years.
LAWLESS
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@Urban_Hermit
*Especially* because the majority of #Latine persons in the #US are not #immigrants - they were born here, and often their parents as well.
This is a *thing* that #politicians appear to be unaware of.
@Urban_Hermit
Here again, you're talking about immigrants.
The thing is, they are no longer the dominant demographic for hispanic/chicano/latine people in the US.
That's the part that is consistently missed.
Don't kid yourself. They're not unaware. They have just already gotten away with treating people as subhuman and will continue until someone breaks their goddamn kneecaps. Or they'll wait a decade and try it again.
Sometimes, a relatively simple story will encompass multiple arguments I've been making about the intentions and actions of the fascist Trumpenreich regime all at once. For example, this piece about a federal judge ruling that the Trump administration violated his court order, in order to punish Democrat states by withholding FEMA funding as part of official regime policy to target Sanctuary Cities for reprisal, is pretty much an encapsulation of why the Trump regime is unquestionably a fascist entity, enacting a fascist agenda.
Federal judge reveals 'undisputed evidence' Trump is deliberately sabotaging blue states
"A federal judge ruled today that the Trump administration, including U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, violated his court order to unfreeze Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) relief to at least 19 states. The judge says the administration appears to be making a “covert” effort to punish states who oppose Trump’s oppressive immigration practices.
The New Republic reports U.S. District Judge John McConnell issued an injunction in March on behalf of 23 states suing the White House after the administration moved to pause FEMA aid to states. The Obama era judge ruled the hold-up “fundamentally undermines the distinct constitutional roles of each branch of our government.”
The federal reluctance applies only to states with Democratic attorneys general, and McConnell found the Trump administration ignored his March court order, with at least 19 states submitting “undisputed evidence” they were not receiving FEMA funds appropriated by Congress. Hawaii reported that FEMA had yet to respond to its $6 million request and subsequent $500k reimbursement for climate-related wildfires. The state of Oregon, meanwhile, reported that FEMA had yet to respond to a request for $129.4 million in federal funds for wildfires, severe winter storms, flooding, and mudslides."
Let me just make sure you understand what you're reading here. These nazi chucklefucks are ignoring the law and direct judicial orders, to illegally target their perceived political enemies, for not complying with their ethno-nationalist targeting of migrants, under the guise of a made up invasion that purportedly gives the president extraordinary dictatorial powers, in precisely the same way they falsely accused the Biden administration of politicizing FEMA aid last hurricane season, before Trump was elected. No, really; that's what a judge just ruled is definitely happening. This is the kinda shit that would make Goebbels himself blush.
#Fascism #Trump #FEMA #IdeologicalPolicing #GOP #Courts #Law #MigrantRights #Unreality #EveryAccusationIsAConfession
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As I've written in the past, it remains unclear if the judiciary branch of the US government is willing to, or for that matter capable of stopping a fascist Trump regime that has to various degrees ignored court orders, argued that courts have no power to stop Der Führer's executive orders, and threatened to remove judges, or even dissolve courts that rule against the regime's authoritarian and often blatantly unconstitutional actions. As yesterday's tepid rulings in support of Trump's torturing of American law to justify fascist repression, by a 6-3 fascist high SCOTUS, makes clear - the regime still has an ace up its sleeve in court battles because it can use the Supreme Court to override all the other courts trying to stop it; assuming of course at least five judges in that body agree.
Despite this "trump" card however, the larger fascist GOP is rapidly beginning to coalesce around the idea that if the courts won't give Downmarket Mussolini what he wants, the solution is to limit the court's authority to rule on Trump's orders, remove judges who aren't ideologically aligned with the fascist regime's (often illegal) activities, or simply dissolve circuit courts that don't give them what they want without too much of a fuss. Why? Well, because they're fascists running a fascist party and they support the overwhelming majority of the Trump agenda; but also, Elon Musk's role as the new kingmaker of Republican politics means they'd much rather get funding from Musk to support the regime, than run against someone funded by Musk in Republican primaries to punish or remove politicians who don't toe the official white nationalist line.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/07/republicans-trump-musk-attacks-us-judges
Alarm as Republicans in Congress back Trump and Musk’s attacks on US judges
"As Donald Trump and Elon Musk widen their radical attacks on US judges who have stalled some of Trump’s executive orders and Musk’s slashing of federal agencies, they’re gaining backing from top House Republicans and other politicians, including some to whom the tech billionaire made big campaign donations.
The House speaker, Mike Johnson, and judiciary panel chairman Jim Jordan have echoed some of Trump’s attacks on judges, and a judiciary subcommittee hearing on 1 April explored “judicial overreach” and ways to curb judges who have stymied some Trump orders or Musk’s “department of government efficiency” (Doge) and its draconian cuts to the federal government."
At this point, we're mostly talking about words and committees, but I think it's important to understand that while many in corporate media and the political class are counting on public pressure to force the Republican Party to reign in Trump's most authoritarian instincts and intentions, GOP leaders are wrangling support to make Trump's dictator dreams a reality, regardless of what the courts say. While fundie fascist bootlickers like Mike Johnson and Jim Jordan are the face of these efforts, Musk's immense wealth and control of internal GOP primaries have created a core of support within elected Republicans operating in lockstep with the White House to implode judicial authority over the regime; and that core is growing.
"Despite such fears, many of Trump’s hardcore loyalists in Congress are jumping on board to further fuel Trump’s attacks on judges, while benefiting from Musk’s campaign largesse.
At least seven Republican members, including Andy Ogles of Tennessee and Brandon Gill of Texas, who echoed Trump’s call for impeaching Judge Boasberg, or advocated other “action” against judges who ruled against Trump orders, received checks from Musk for $6,600, the maximum he could donate.
Although Republican leaders have suggested that impeachment of judges won’t happen because they don’t have the votes, their public efforts to bolster Trump’s war on judicial independence has been accelerating, with allies exploring other avenues to curb judges."
I can't predict the future, but if you're asking me whether or not these GOP nazis are serious, I would strongly suggest that both their fascist ideological positions, and the incentive structure to support the regime against the judiciary, created by Musk's money and influence over the party, strongly suggests they are in fact dead serious about this. Is anyone in the opposition establishment even aware of this? Who knows, after all we've collectively spent the past nine or so years asking if Trump and the fascist GOP actually mean the things they say, when they promise to install the fascist regime we're watching them install right now. At this point I've been quoting the wisdom of Maya Angelou for so long I should have her on macro, but that repetition doesn't make her words any less true: "when someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time." The best time to take these nazis seriously was the day Trump came down that escalator; the second best time is now.
#Fascism #Trump #Dictatorship #MikeJohnson #JimJordan #GOP #Courts #MayaAngelou #SCOTUS #ElonMusk
Alarm as Republicans in Congress back Trump and Musk’s attacks on US judges
Mike Johnson and Jim Jordan echo president and key ally as experts express fears for ‘bedrock constitutional principles’Peter Stone (The Guardian)
I am getting tired of the idea that all branches of the US government are specifically coequal and nobody can do anything about abuse in another branch, specifically the President.
There are no "Checks and Balances" if the President can ignore all court orders at will.
The spineless, fucking SCOTUS - the Roberts court, has created the situation where the Pres only runs to them because he knows he is their favorite, soon to be, dicktator. Otherwise he will ignore them too.
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A 'US-Made iPhone' Is Pure Fantasy
"The army of millions and millions of people screwing in little, little screws to make iPhones, that kind of thing is going to come to America."Jason Koebler (404 Media)
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![More automation is coming to Apple manufacturing lines. But that work is slow going, many of Apple’s products are still assembled largely by hand, and it is not clear who will build the theoretical machines and factories that would automate iPhone manufacturing. This is a point that Ryan Petersen, the CEO of logistics company Flexport, brought up on Bloomberg’s Odd Lots podcast Monday.
“I talked to two different people who had to pause their factory buildouts [in the U.S.] because of the tariffs, because the machines they were going to buy are too expensive now,” Petersen said. “Factories require machinery and components from other countries, so if machinery gets really expensive you’re going to have less manufacturing, not more. So I think this is very unlikely to yield the results that they want.”](https://f.kawa-kun.com/photo/preview/640/2636603 "More automation is coming to Apple manufacturing lines. But that work is slow going, many of Apple’s products are still assembled largely by hand, and it is not clear who will build the theoretical machines and factories that would automate iPhone manufacturing. This is a point that Ryan Petersen, the CEO of logistics company Flexport, brought up on Bloomberg’s Odd Lots podcast Monday.
“I talked to two different people who had to pause their factory buildouts [in the U.S.] because of the tariffs, because the machines they were going to buy are too expensive now,” Petersen said. “Factories require machinery and components from other countries, so if machinery gets really expensive you’re going to have less manufacturing, not more. So I think this is very unlikely to yield the results that they want.”")
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