a twice-weekly news round-up,
usually on Tuesdays and Saturdays
In 2016, Donald Trump famously said, “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose any voters, OK? It’s, like, incredible.” He thought he was untouchable, invulnerable, invincible to justice.
Maybe someone will do something, all sane Americans have been saying, for years now. I still say it to myself, in optimistic moments, and hear others say it at the protests. Maybe someone will do something, but nobody has.
I’m starting to agree with Trump on only one thing: He is indeed untouchable, invulnerable, invincible to justice. It’s his America. We only live here, and only until we’re deported.

AND NOW THE NEWS
#513
APRIL 26, 2025
FBI arrests Wisconsin judge who wouldn’t allow ICE to arrest an immigrant in her courtroom
Judge says 2-year-old US citizen appears to have been deported with ‘no meaningful process’
Meet the new American refugees fleeing across state lines for safety

THE CRUELTY IS THE POINT
DOJ will investigate doctors who provide trans care to minors, attorney general says
ICE deports immigrant mother of an infant and 3 children who are US citizens, lawyers say
US citizen DHS detained for 10 days can’t read or write, but feds made him ‘sign’ a confession
Excerpt: … The department also posted a copy of Hermosillo’s sworn statement on X in which Hermosillo responded “yes” when asked if he had entered the U.S. illegally. The document shows a child-like signature that reads “Jose.”
In a phone interview Tuesday, Hermosillo’s parents told CBS News their son suffers from intellectual disabilities, cannot read or write and has trouble speaking. They said he could not have possibly known what he was signing when he was detained. …
Trump DOJ defunds National Prison Rape Resource Center

GOOD NEWS
Federal judge blocks Trump order that could disenfranchise millions of voters
I hesitate to include this, because inevitably the Trump regime appeals any court rulings that notice everything Trump’s doing is illegal. But surely this ruling is so blatantly obviously correct, even the Supreme Court, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Republican Party, can’t invent a justification to overturn it.
Right?
Minnesota sues Trump over “shameful bullying” of trans kids in sports
California court upholds $1.2 million fine against church that ignored COVID restrictions

BACK TO THE BAD NEWS
Utility assistance frozen after Trump administration fires program’s staff
Tornado victims blocked from federal recovery aid after Trump denies request
Trump cuts federal grants to plantation museum focused on reality of slavery
Civil rights advocates say Trump order guts protections against discrimination
“Identified themselves as Homeland Security officers” means someone said that, but no badges or papers were shown, which makes this more a kidnapping than an arrest.

GIVE US YOUR TIRED, YOUR POOR, YOUR HUDDLED MASSES YEARNING TO BREATHE FREE, SO WE CAN IMPRISON THEM
As immigrant arrests surge, complaints of abuse mount at America’s oldest detention center in Miami
Excerpt: … At Krome, reports have poured in about a lack of water and food, unsanitary confinement and medical neglect. With the surge of complaints, the Trump administration shut down three Department of Homeland Security oversight offices charged with investigating such claims. …
Intelligence assessment shows Trump regime’s Venezuelan gang war claims are lies

TO HELL WITH HEALTH AND SAFETY
USDA withdraws a Biden-era effort to limit salmonella levels in raw poultry

SCREW SCIENCE
Archivists try to save decades of US scientific data from deletion
New Trump order targets university accreditation

FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF DYSTOPIA
Trump orders Justice Dept to ‘investigate’ Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue
US texts Barnard employees and asks if they are Jewish
US attorney for DC accuses Wikipedia of ‘propaganda’, threatens non-profit status

AND I SAY TO MYSELF, WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD
US visa applications from Japan now require disclosing 5 years of social media history
Trump pressures Ukraine to accept a peace plan that sharply favors Russia
Children in school shelter among 25 killed in wave of Israeli strikes on Gaza
US to miss out on billions as Trump’s policies deter overseas tourists
I am open-mouth amazed that tourism to America is only down by 11.6%.
US campaign entices Canada tourists: “Come visit America and also maybe El Salvador!” [satire]
Oh, Canada:
Poilievre rushed to safety after actual journalist question makes it past security [satire]

AND ALSO
COVID-like shortages for US consumers ‘within weeks’
Feds accidentally publish secret plan to kill NYC congestion pricing
Gen Z increasingly listens to peers over doctors for health advice
I tried, but couldn’t bear to read the “article,” which, since it’s from Axios, is merely a collection of blips instead of actual writing and journalism.
As for the headline, well, duh. Seeing an MD in America is difficult, expensive, time-consuming, and often doesn’t feel worth the co-pay, if you’re lucky enough to have insurance. “Health care providers” have made it such a hoop-jumpy and slow process, that seeing a doctor is about my fourth choice when I’m ill.

HORRID, HORRID PEOPLE
Trump pardons Nevada politician who got plastic surgery with funds meant to honor a slain officer
OUR FRIENDS, THE DEMOCRATS
DNC chair rebukes David Hogg over plan to primary ‘out of touch’ Democrats
Rebuke away, ya dumb fuck Dems. What the young Mr Hogg is attempting — funding primary challengers to the most empty-suit Democrats — might be futile, might not, but I respect the effort.
“Wake up, wake up,” he shouts at the corpse of the Democratic Party, which will probably wake up only long enough to smack him away, and then go back to sleep.

MEDIA MALPRACTICE
Trump plans to meet with Atlantic editor who was added to secret Signal chat
What the fuck and why? What’s to be gained from this, for The Atlantic or its editor, Jeffrey Goldberg? Shit-can this dumb idea right here and now, please.
Abrego Garcia’s wife is forced into hiding after DHS slip-up
DHS publicly announced this American woman’s home address, and New Republic calls it a slip-up? BS. It’s not a “slip-up” unless there’s an apology and the info is taken down, which hasn’t happened, and won’t. This was a DHS doxing.
Trump administration is still resisting the judge’s orders in Abrego Garcia deportation case
More sane-washing. A judge’s orders can be either followed or appealed, but in the entire history of me reading the news, I don’t remember ever seeing a headline about someone “resisting” court orders.

EYE ON AI
Here’s a brief AI anecdote, insignificant as a gnat in your ear:
A click on the internet takes me to a one-person or small-group website, which is the only kind of website I’m excited about finding. The writing seems solid on the first article, so I click further within the site, giving them a try-out — if I like a second article, I’ll add the site to my surf cycle.
But the next article starts, “I was reflecting on the idea of propaganda and started talking to ChatGPT about it.”
Only the quote varies, but the same thing has happened at three sites in recent weeks. Almost nothing chases me away quicker, than when people turn to artificial intelligence, over their own.
Microsoft is dedicated to building a dodgy new database of every Windows 11 user’s online behaviors
Musk’s X sues to block Minnesota ‘deepfake’ law over free speech concerns

MY BROWSER HISTORY, MINUS THE PORN
“Whoever did commit that act, I really do see him as a hero and a martyr.”
How to get past all the disinformation
In five paragraphs, the author sums up the situation well, and provides an easy, handy rule — what politicians do matters, and what they say doesn’t. Not sure I’ve seen it said more succinctly.
Comics Journal interviews Rebecca Burke about her lovely vacation in America

4/23 — AMERICAN POLICE ARE OUT OF CONTROL
4/22 — IGNORING THE CLIMATE EMERGENCY
4/25 — THE LORD WORKS IN MYSTERIOUS WAYS

And that’s the way it is,
and nothing will
meaningfully improve
until billionaires fear for their lives
4/26/2025
Logo illustration by Jeff Meyer. Tip ‘o the hat to the Anderson Valley Advertiser, Bleepity-Bleep, Lorem Ipsum Dolor, Sloth Unleashed, Toad’s Lily Pad, Voenix Rising, and anywhere else I’ve stolen links, illustrations, or inspiration.
Special thanks to Linden Arden, Becky Jo, Joey Jo Jo emeritus, Jeff Meyer, John the Basket, Dave S, Name Withheld, and always extra special thanks to my lovely late Stephanie, who gave me 21 years and proved that the world isn’t always shitty.

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