Purge of ICE leadership

"The Trump administration is restricting the number of refugees it admits annually into the country to 7,500 and they will mostly be White South Africans, a dramatic drop after the United States previously allowed in hundreds of thousands of people fleeing war and persecution from around the world."
— Associated Press, Trump sets 7,500 annual limit for refugees entering US. It’ll be mostly White South Africans, CNN, Oct 30, 2025

"And as for the purported criminals they’re arresting...? Sixty-five percent of the people arrested by ICE so far this year have no criminal records, per the Cato Institute, and more than 93% have never been convicted of a violent offense."
— Ian Kumamoto, Children Deserve A Fascism-Free Halloween: But, in many cities across the country, it doesn't look like they're going to get it. HuffPost, Oct 31, 2025

---

"ICE leadership is being purged," Andrea Pitzer reminds us. (When bad things get worse: Border Patrol, ICE, and the repetition of grim history. Degenerate Art, October 28, 2025)

She gives us this history:

"ICE and CBP were established under the Department of Homeland Security in 2003, as part of government reorganization in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. They were largely split out of the U.S. Customs Service (along with the Immigration and Naturalization Service, whose responsibilities were given to CBP).

ICE includes ERO, which stands for Enforcement and Removal Operations. CBP operates in theory to protect the borders, though how that border gets defined and how deeply into the mainland CBP gets to operate might surprise you.

For the last eight years, ICE has only had acting directors (none confirmed by the Senate), while Border Patrol "has been managed by acting directors more than half its existence."

"In rising authoritarian regimes, tension usually develops between the more law-and-order squads of the governing party’s goons—the ones who represent a more simple exacerbation of the existing awful system—and those who have embraced more radical forms of detention or extrajudicial violence." An example: "Before Trump took office again, I talked with Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, about the threat to immigrants ... if [Tom] Homan gained the upper hand in immigration policy, he would more or less expand the existing U.S. immigration system, putting it on steroids... [whereas Stephen] Miller’s crusade against immigrants risked becoming a much more dangerous project."

The Nazis, too, once they took power, were deciding whether to lean into Lawful Evil or Chaotic Evil. In 1934, Hitler limited arbitrary detention and released thousands of incarcerated people, but Himmler rearrested a thousand of them and convinced Hitler that more camps were needed. "In the months and years that followed, the Nazi concentration camp system devolved again and again into larger and more abominable forms—ones that would have been impossible to imagine in 1934."

Pitzer says:

"I expect that the coming months will bring a rapid expansion of impromptu facilities, more porous categories for apprehension, and more aggressive tactics applied indiscriminately to those who stand up for the rights of anyone targeted.

Maybe you’ve seen this coming all along. But if you had a failure of imagination at the beginning—not knowing how bad it had already gotten or realizing how much worse it might get if we didn’t take action then—don’t let despair over how we got here paralyze you. Don’t let that first failure of imagination lead you into another one: one where you fail to imagine ways that we can get out of this."

Four years ago, Nancy Mace claimed to be LGBTQ-inclusive. Now she opposes all of us.

Check out this evolution

Nancy Mace Claimed for Years to Be Pro-Gay. Now She Says It's "Not Adam and Steve": The politician previously voted for same-sex marriage rights twice. Samantha Riedel, Them, October 30, 2025:

In 2021, Mace presented herself as LGBTQ-inclusive:

"Earlier in her legislative career, Mace sought to cast herself as a gay and lesbian rights advocate who also wanted to preserve religious liberties. In 2021, she co-sponsored the “Fairness for All Act,” a Republican counter to the Equality Act which would have added sexuality and gender identity to the Civil Rights Act’s protections while carving out exceptions for religious leaders and institutions.

“I strongly support LGBTQ rights. No one should be discriminated against,” Mace told the conservative Washington Examiner at the time. “I do believe that religious liberty, the First Amendment, gay rights, and transgender equality can all coexist [....] Having been around gay, lesbian, and transgender people has informed my opinion over my lifetime.”"

But then, in late 2024, she became anti-trans while pretending to still be pro-gay:

"an exchange between Mace and a trans poster who called her out last November, shortly after Mace introduced a resolution to ban transgender women from women’s restrooms in the Capitol. The user, Boots, wrote to the Congresswoman on November 24, “you’re going to be against gay rights as soon as it becomes socially advantageous,” replying to Mace’s statement that “[g]ay rights have nothing to do with men invading women’s private spaces.” Mace replied minutes later, “Votes for gay marriage twice in fact” — likely referencing her votes for the RFMA. (A month after that back-and-forth, Mace again propped up her RFMA votes, writing that she “voted for gay marriage twice [...] Ppl can dress and modify their bodies however they want, just don’t do it to kids and don’t make the govt pay for it.”)"

Now, on October 28, 2025:

"“Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve,” Mace wrote on X on Tuesday afternoon, apparently unprompted."

Awesome.

s. baum writes for Erin in the Morning: "To many in the trans community, Mace’s pivot was a mind-numbingly obvious outcome. Of course, the GOP never meant to reserve attacks on human rights to just trans people."

For details, go back to 2024...

If a trans rep is elected, will they be allowed in the building?

1% of the population is trans. there are 435 seats in congress, we don't have a single representative (and if we did, it's not even clear if they'd be allowed in the building). call me back about AGAB privilege when that changes.

— Salty 🇵🇸 🇵🇸 (@nacl.sh) April 6, 2024 at 7:22 PM

It has changed, nearly

There was a time, long ago, where McBride knew how important it was to not comply with bathroom policies.

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— Erin Reed (@erininthemorning.bsky.social) November 20, 2024 at 8:57 PM

Nancy Mace: "It is offensive that a man in a skirt thinks that he's my equal. He's forcing his genitals into women's restrooms."

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) November 20, 2024 at 9:26 PM

Cis People: This is so stunning and brave! Trans people: We're absolutely fucked. They are already going to push for a national federal bathroom ban and this just greenlit the way. This will not stop Republicans even if it makes cis people feel good.

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— Alejandra Caraballo (@esqueer.net) November 20, 2024 at 3:28 PM

Nancy Mace's proposed ban would potentially expose trans and nonbinary people to harassment and discrimination at national parks, courthouses, IRS buildings, Social Security offices, some post offices and Native American lands.

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— Truthout (@truthout.org) November 27, 2024 at 4:19 PM

And there it is. Mace already promising to go further.

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— Alejandra Caraballo (@esqueer.net) November 20, 2024 at 3:36 PM

Don Moynihan: "The trans Democrat is blamed for "sparking" the crisis despite the fact she did nothing beyond be herself. Before she arrived to DC, or made any demands, the GOP preemptively turned her identity into a political issue. So, who is doing identity politics?"

Important note for reporters covering the GOP's effort to ban trans women from bathrooms on Capitol Hill: while Sarah McBride and Nancy Mace both have private bathrooms in their offices, the trans people who are not elected officials who have to work there every day do not.

— Ari Drennen (@aridrennen.bsky.social) November 19, 2024 at 9:07 PM

Note: I was incorrect about this. The transphobic bathroom resolution by Nancy Mace does not apply to visitors / the public HT @aridrennen.bsky.social

— Pablo Manríquez (@pabloreports.bsky.social) November 20, 2024 at 8:22 AM

What's upsetting me most here is this isn't just a story about McBride. It's a story about whether we can be equally heard in the literal halls of power--the people's House. I know transgender attorneys, staffers, reporters, lobbyists, and interns on the Hill, all of whom are now labeled suspect.

— Gillian Branstetter (@gbbranstetter.bsky.social) November 20, 2024 at 6:51 PM

Mike Johnson Calls Extra Press Conference Just To Make Anti-Trans Statement The House Speaker previously ducked a question about whether Sarah McBride, soon to be the first transgender member of Congress, is a man or a woman. Arthur Delaney, HuffPost, Nov 19, 2024

She responded.
Trans Congresswoman Responds To Speaker Johnson's Capitol Hill Bathroom Ban: Delaware's Sarah McBride said she had not been sent to Washington to "fight about bathrooms." Sara Boboltz, HuffPost, Nov 20, 2024

Nancy Mace has introduced a federal bathroom ban which would ban trans people from bathrooms in DCA and Dulles airports, national park bathrooms, museum bathrooms, and all federal building bathrooms.

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— Erin Reed (@erininthemorning.bsky.social) November 20, 2024 at 11:20 AM

I hope it’s remembered that the first trans female member of Congress was almost instantly targeted individually by half of Congress and then abandoned by the other half. This is life for trans women even in one of the highest offices in the world! This is standard transmisogyny!

— May Peterson 🦄 (@goddessblade.bsky.social) November 21, 2024 at 9:14 AM

Much emphasis has fallen on her reaction to this, but what stands out most to me is how quickly and thorough this issue came to the fore the moment we had a trans woman in Congress!

— May Peterson 🦄 (@goddessblade.bsky.social) November 21, 2024 at 9:16 AM

Her response shows me her attunement to the Democratic Party and the spirit in which they defend trans women—which is to say, almost not at all.

— May Peterson 🦄 (@goddessblade.bsky.social) November 21, 2024 at 9:20 AM

None of this is to say I agree with McBride’s response—I’m also willing to cede there were some better responses from some Democrats than I was aware of. My main point is that aggressive transmisogyny immediately became a sticking point as soon a trans woman took the office.

— May Peterson 🦄 (@goddessblade.bsky.social) November 21, 2024 at 10:23 AM

with the standing caveat that i don't cover politics and am not an expert -- i feel like dems could do worse than running AOC in 28. my takeaway from trump beating kamala is that "safe" candidates are overrated and voters vibe with (perceived) authenticity far more than focus-grouped policy stances

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— Will Oremus (@oremus.bsky.social) November 21, 2024 at 10:47 AM

I absolutely agree with this assessment. Republicans spent an insane amount of money on anti-trans bullying messaging, and Democrats spent nothing to counter it. What did this show? That we can't stand up to bullies. That we won't go to bat for the little guy. Who would vote for that?

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— Kelly Barnhill (@kellybarnhill.bsky.social) November 21, 2024 at 11:06 AM

Sarah McBride: "It is an attempt to distract ... Every single time we hear them say the word 'trans,' look what they're doing with their right hand. Look at what they're doing to pick the pocket of American workers, to fleece seniors by privatizing Social Security and Medicare."

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) November 24, 2024 at 11:31 AM

Fox News Host Misgenders Trans Lawmaker As Nancy Mace Continues Bathroom Ban Crusade, HuffPost https://www.huffpost.com/entry/sarah-mcbride-anti-trans-attacks-nancy-mace-gop_n_67440464e4b03c8ec6f8ec02

Representative Sarah McBride's argument that adhering to the rules will allow her to focus on legislation is dog crap. The House, Senate, Presidency, AND Supreme Court are all fascist. They're not going to let her pass any damn bill anyway.

— Bijhan Agha (@bijhan.bsky.social) December 4, 2024 at 1:32 PM

The person who supposedly “assaulted Nancy Mace” was just a foster youth advocate who literally did nothing more than shake her hand. Wow. imprintnews.org/top-stories/...

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— Erin Reed (@erininthemorning.com) December 11, 2024 at 9:30 AM

Read: Lauren Boebert Calls Security On Nonexistent 'Guy' In Women's Bathroom: The Colorado congresswoman reportedly thought the person was Rep. Sarah McBride, Congress' only transgender lawmaker. She later apologized. Nina Golgowski, HuffPost, Jan 24, 2025

I wrote about it: Delighting in Dragging People Out of Bathrooms and Out of Court In which Rep. Nancy Mace tells us what her favorite YouTube is, Tucker Lieberman (4 min read) Jul 28, 2025

CONNOLLY: The gentlelady has used a phrase that is considered a slur in the LGBTQ community NANCY MACE: Tranny tranny tranny, I don't really care, you want penises in women's bathrooms

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) February 5, 2025 at 11:13 AM

Sarah McBride is selling out trans people, negotiating away rights with Democrats to avoid alienating the cis people.

SCOOP: Sarah McBride and other Dems have discussed how the party must accept Ds with differing stances on trans rights to not alienate people “We have to create more space in our tent,” she told me An inside look at Dems’ reshuffling on trans issues: www.notus.org/congress/tra...

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— Oriana González (@oriana.bsky.social) March 21, 2025 at 7:45 AM

Read: "Republican Nancy Mace says she likes to watch videos of ICE detaining people: Congresswoman says she ‘can think of nothing more American’ than Ice dragging people out of court." Ramon Antonio Vargas, The Guardian, July 28, 2025

I interviewed @MarcyRheintgen, the trans woman arrested in Florida for using a bathroom. We talked about her being a Centrist and a Catholic, and why she “loves” Nancy Mace and Matt Walsh. Live now: youtu.be/dG9pcMecvlo?...

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— dead domain 🐐🏳️‍⚧️ (@domaindead.bsky.social) April 10, 2025 at 1:58 PM

Three new U.S. federal rules toward ending trans healthcare for youth

In the Trump regime's quest to ban trans healthcare for people under 19, says Erin Reed today, it's been "threatening and subpoenaing providers for trans youths’ medical records, attempting to pull federal grants from hospitals and universities that offer gender-affirming care, and issuing vague guidance that’s driven even longtime allies into overcompliance. Now the administration is escalating with a blitz of three new rules that could effectively end most transgender youth care nationwide if enacted..."

Today, they finalized a federal rule (PSLF rule (full text)) to "bar nonprofits from qualifying for Public Service Loan Forgiveness" if any minor gets trans healthcare there. It will take effect July 1, 2026. "The change would punish entire institutions: doctors, nurses, and staff at any hospital, university, or nonprofit that provides gender-affirming care to minors would lose access to loan forgiveness, effectively coercing organizations to abandon care or risk their employees’ financial security."

Two more (see the first and second) are expected very soon. "One would prohibit federal Medicaid reimbursement for gender-affirming care provided to anyone under 19. The other would go even further, barring hospitals that treat transgender minors from receiving any Medicaid funds at all — a measure that would effectively eliminate access to such care nationwide, except at the few private clinics able to forgo Medicaid entirely, a rarity in transgender youth medicine."

It's about the federal shutdown too, Reed says:

"The new rules echo the negotiations over the FY26 appropriations bills tied to the ongoing shutdown fight, where House Republicans are similarly pushing to ban federal funding for gender-affirming care nationwide. As the shutdown drags on, transgender advocates and trans Americans are watching closely to see whether any of those provisions slip into law. Though the shutdown has primarily centered around a clean continuing resolution without those provisions, there has been some shift towards negotiation of the full appropriations bills, which could be a mechanism for anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ+ provisions to enter into federal law. If Trump gains access to even a fraction of the restrictions embedded in those House bills, it would further streamline his administration’s efforts to dismantle trans health care across the country."

It's not just for kids. Trans adults' healthcare is also threatened. Katelyn Burns said several days ago:

"...a federal judge in Mississippi overturned an Obama era rule mandating that health care providers and insurers can not deny trans people gender affirming care if that same care would be available to cisgender people for reasons other than transitioning their sex.

The court's ruling is incoherent, and essentially establishes trans people as a disfavored class of American citizen, with fewer rights than everyone else. If you're cis, you can walk into a doctor's office tomorrow and ask for a breast augmentation or reduction and they will do it, no questions asked. But if you are trans, no such luck.

If you are cis, and you want testosterone so you can feel horny again, that's fine as long as you're cis. Go pound rocks if you're trans. If you want estrogen for your perimenopause, go ahead. Fuck you if you're trans."

Please also read:

Informed Consent Doesn't Go Far Enough: The Case for Hormones Over-the-Counter. Jane Migliara Brigham, Assigned Media, Oct 23, 2025

TWIBS: University of Virginia Rolls Over, Shows Soft Underbelly to Trump, Aly Gibbs, Assigned Media, Oct 24, 2025

"DOJ tried to subpoena an online trans health care provider. A judge quashed it."
Seattle-based U.S. District Judge Jamal Whitehead says DOJ’s demand serves an “improper purpose” of executing Trump’s orders targeting gender-affirming care. Josh Gerstein, Politico, October 29, 2025

Image: Toilette - Frau vor Spiegel (Woman in front of a mirror). Art by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880-1938) © public domain. Wikimedia Commons.

Degraded info quality leads to authoritarianism

Today, "I Peeked at Grokipedia", and it's as horrible as you might imagine. A fake encyclopedia, deliberately rightwing.

I retreated to read one of my subscriptions, written by a human. Brian Klaas in the Garden of Forking Paths ("Brain Food," Oct 23, 2025):

"Now, Fukuyama is out with a new essay (on Substack) in which he reaches the same conclusion that I’ve been pushing for years: the rise of authoritarian populism, across the globe, at around the same time, isn’t primarily due to material or economic backlash, but rather to the breakdown of information systems, facilitated by the rise of the internet and the spread of social media.

* * *

Of course, monocausal explanations for complex phenomena are silly; there’s not just one reason why Trump emerged at the same time as all the other would-be despots of his ilk. But Fukuyama, like me, has concluded that the most salient cause—the biggest driver—is the breakdown of information pipelines."

Relatedly, Avram Alpert writes ("What we misunderstand in the debate over free speech," The Guardian, Oct 23, 2025):

"Most defenders of “free speech” only seem to care about the freedom to express themselves. They fight for the right to say anything, not whether the speech itself comes from a position of freedom.

...free speech, properly conceived, is not just about the right to say what one wants. It is also about being the kind of person who has been so conscientious in their thinking, learning and discussion that they have become a free subject whose speech is directed toward the pursuit of truth.

* * *

There are many factors – both benign and malign – that have incredible power to influence our thinking. Our minds, for example, tend to overemphasize negative and frightful information through what psychologists call “affect heuristics” and “availability heuristics” – shortcuts in our thinking bequeathed by evolution so that we quickly recall information and react immediately to danger.

But these same shortcuts can make us susceptible to manipulation – even when we know we’re being manipulated. That’s what makes a false idea like “immigrant crime” so powerful. Even though statistics show that migrants commit far less crime than others, these heuristics trick our minds into recalling recent news stories and becoming afraid. So when someone insists on their right to demonize immigrants, that is not free speech – it is fear speech. Again, we neither can nor should make fear speech illegal, but we can create cultural norms that promote genuine free speech.

This includes an open and engaged public sphere, an educational and scientific research system that expands knowledge, active public venues that encourage people to learn about each other’s points of view, and public labors to produce and circulate factual information and counter propaganda and misinformation."

"Trump — in an unhinged Truth Social post over the weekend — claimed that [comedian Seth] Meyers “endlessly” discussed electric catapults (or part of a carrier used to help aircraft achieve faster takeoff speeds) during his Thursday monologue before calling the host “100% ANTI TRUMP, WHICH IS PROBABLY ILLEGAL!!!” (HuffPost, Nov 3, 2025)

ALL of today's climate change is human-caused?

Volcanic CO2 was, even at the time of this 2009 article, not even 1% of human-caused CO2. As the article further explains, SO2's role is complex and its net effect may be cooling rather than warming.

"Are Volcanoes or Humans Harder on the Atmosphere?": Does one major volcanic eruption generate more climate-altering gas than that produced by humans in their entire history?, Scientific American, February 11, 2009

So, given ‘Off-the-charts records’: has humanity finally broken the climate? Damian Carrington, Nina Lakhani, Oliver Milman, Adam Morton, Ajit Niranjan and Jonathan Watts, in The Guardian, 28 Aug 2023

Analysis: Why scientists think 100% of global warming is due to humans | @hausfath.bsky.social #CBarchive Read here: bit.ly/3g1vEtL

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— Carbon Brief (@carbonbrief.org) October 28, 2025 at 11:42 AM

Tonoccus McClain: Congress only 'looks alive from the outside'

USA: Is the federal government done?

Tonoccus McClain wrote on Facebook on October 22:

"No Speaker of the House who seriously wants to end this government shutdown would disband Congress with no firm date to return. Period.

It is simply impossible to navigate negotiations of any kind and also not be at work. In fact, not only do the actions of the Speaker more closely align with those of a person not planning to reopen the federal government anytime soon, his actions suggest he isn’t planning to reopen it at all."

Further, "by failing to publish a calendar or set a date of return, the Speaker of the House caused the House of Representatives to cease to exist as an active governing body." Johnson's "48-hour recall rule is actually a death note of paralysis dressed up as flexibility. Members are told to stay 'on standby,' ready to return to Washington within two days of notice," which is burdensome since "members juggle hundreds of staff, district obligations, and fixed travel windows. A published schedule lets them plan hearings, show up for votes, and coordinate oversight. Without that schedule, they’re forced into immobility, for fear of missing a vote entirely."

And:

"By withholding the public legislative calendar, the Speaker sealed the only real window the people have into how their government works. Without a predictable schedule to anchor responsibility, nobody knows when the government is failing in its promises or whom to blame.

When the public can’t see Congress work, they lose their most basic tool of oversight: knowing when government business happens. The House calendar decides when members must be in Washington, when votes will be held, and when committees meet. It is the frame that keeps the window clear. When a Speaker hides or shifts that calendar unpredictably, transparency vanishes, and the public can’t tell when—or even if—their representatives are working. Reporters can’t pinpoint when a missed vote, broken promise, or delayed bill should have been handled. Constituents can’t say, “You failed to vote on X last week,” because there was no published “last week.”

No votes can occur. There’s no mechanism to restart proceedings or challenge the Speaker’s schedule. The Speaker becomes the sole decider of when government acts, making criticism easy to deflect. Skipping a voicemail is far easier than facing an enraged constituent outside the Capitol."

Congress only "looks alive from the outside — members still going on CNN and FOX News, staff still answering phones and dodging constituent questions." As the shutdown wears on, "the return of what we once took for granted grows less likely, and the idea of a permanently diminished Congress begins to feel normal."

"The government isn’t “waiting to reopen.” It’s been locked shut, deliberately and indefinitely," as a "containment strategy."

Incidentally, Trump's building a new bunker

"The bunker under the East Wing will also be upgraded, sources told CBS News. The White House Military Office is handling the renovation of the bunker, which is known as the President's Emergency Operations Center." (CBS News, Oct 22)

"An action that would almost certainly have met with condemnation [the destruction of the East Wing] if suggested to Trump voters in October 2024 is, in October 2025, viewed positively for little more reason than that Trump did it." Philip Bump, "Yes, most Americans oppose the East Wing demolition. But…" October 30, 2025

My essay

Why we feel sad about the East Wing of the White House

No deal on maritime carbon emissions

Six months ago: All Authors Working on Flagship U.S. Climate Report Are Dismissed: The Trump administration told researchers it was “releasing” them from their roles. It puts the future of the assessment, which is required by Congress, in doubt. (New York Times, April 28):

"On Monday, researchers around the country who had begun work on the sixth national climate assessment, planned for early 2028, received an email informing them that the scope of the report “is currently being re-evaluated” and that all contributors were being dismissed."

Essentially, that cancels the assessment going forward.

Today, the Financial Times wrote this editorial: "Trump’s victory for fossil fuels in shipping: US pressure has derailed a landmark deal to curb maritime carbon emissions":

"Since Donald Trump came to office in January, he has fought a remorseless battle against any move to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Some of his efforts have hit home in the US, where large solar projects have been pointlessly cancelled and important weather and data services gutted. Cuts to US foreign aid have hurt climate programmes in developing countries.

But last week’s regrettable derailment of a landmark global deal to cut shipping emissions is one of Trump’s most successful attempts yet to force all countries, rich and poor, to back his push to prolong the era of fossil fuels.

The decision to defer adoption of the deal for a year is likely to have immediate effects on an industry that has long escaped internationally co-ordinated climate measures even though it accounts for around 3 per cent of global emissions, roughly the same as Japan. That share is forecast to rise sharply without action."

About 'No Kings' on Oct 18

"October’s No Kings rallies were different. People had their bearings. There was a widespread understanding – both at the rally I attended and the many rallies I watched unfold on the internet – that the mealymouthed norms enjoyers had no place here anymore, for there are no more norms. They’re all gone, and fuck, that might be a good thing. There was anger, visceral anger, about how the country had been sold to the highest bidders, how anti-constitutionalism had become normalized by the regime and its frothing allies on the Supreme Court. Republicans had told us for generations that it was us – their opponents – who hated America. The No Kings rallies rejected that framing. No, we said, it’s you who hate this country. It’s you who are committing crimes against it and its people. America has an enemy, and it is you."

Honk If You Feel Alone Against The Leviathan, Denny Carter, Bad Faith Times, Oct 20, 2025

---

"CBS News, newly conservative, played “No Kings” very quietly on their website — by Sunday afternoon, you had to search to find it. And when you did, the first paragraph managed to include the Republican diss. It went like this: “Crowds hit the streets Saturday … to vent their anger over President Trump’s policies in ‘No Kings’ protests, which Republicans have slammed as ‘Hate America’ rallies.”

‘Who cares?’ About 7 million people, that’s who: Media coverage of Saturday’s ‘No Kings’ protests included the New York Times’s shrug, Margaret Sullivan, Oct 20, 2025

---

"No Kings 2.0 was a huge success. More than 7 million (by some estimates, more than 8 million) showed up. We were peaceful. We were patriotic (many of us waved American flags). We stuck to one message: that we refuse to live under a dictator. We had fun (the costumes and signs were fabulous). We felt powerful in our solidarity.

And we are powerful.

What’s next? How do we use that power? What should we do now? I’ll leave to others bigger or more dramatic suggestions. Mine boil down to a dozen simple ones..."

What Should We Do NOW? What comes next, after No Kings 2.0, Robert Reich, Oct 21, 2025

---

"When I look out at the world, not at the cowardice of large institutions but the actions of actual human beings, I am verklempt at the scale of love, rage and (most of all) principled action that I see all around me. Honestly, every single step that I wish was being taken right now is in fact being taken. Sometimes a million times over. Mass protests? Direct civil disobedience against agents of state violence? Ad-hoc community safety networks? Mutual aid? Big-hearted people running for office for the right reasons? Bodies on the line? Writing that speaks truth and buoys spirits? Potlucks? People are doing it. You’re doing it. We are doing it."

Here is a very specific thing you can do right now that will meet the moment quite nicely: Maybe do it five or six times, actually Garrett Bucks, The White Pages, Oct 22, 2025

---

"I’ll talk to you, specifically, because if you’re reading this you’re interested in change, in politics, in defeating fascism. If you’re reading this you’re probably among the growing majority of the US population who thinks we’re on the wrong track. Or, you might live elsewhere and think our species is on the wrong track in a few key ways. Most importantly, you probably want to do something about it.

* * *

I moved into community and city-wide organizing instead. These changes came out of a desire to build power, to build institutions that would allow us to care for one another and actively shape a better society, instead of just responding to the ills of the current system. My politics now are rooted in the slower and steadier work of building power in my neighborhood, and in my city.

* * *

Some folks lash out under stress, a natural response. But effectiveness doesn’t mean berating those who you think are ineffective. Effectiveness in the fight against fascism means figuring out how to bring millions and millions of people into this work. It means remembering that all of us once knew less, were less politicized, were less radical. It means helping people on their own journeys rather than mocking those who aren’t yet where you think they need to be.

My journey from protest to organizing: How millions in the streets can move to millions of organizers, J. P. Hill, Oct 21, 2025

---

What comes after 'No Kings' is crucial, from Cardinal Pine

Fenway Healthcare in Boston will only provide trans healthcare to age 19+

"We didn’t think this would happen here. For years, Massachusetts has been the place families point to when they say, “at least we’re safe here.” But on October 13th, Fenway Health, one of the most trusted names in LGBTQ+ care, announced it could no longer provide medical gender-affirming care for anyone under nineteen." — Rebecca Minor, We Thought We Were Safe Here: What Fenway’s Decision Reveals About Bureaucratic Fear, Oct 14

Fenway Health Restricts Treatment for Patients Under 19 In Capitulation To Trump: “This is a fundamental betrayal to the core mission of Fenway and the patients they serve.” s. baum, Erin in the Morning, Oct 14, 2025

MassEquality responds (PDF). Oct 15, 2025.

Contact the Trans Youth Emergency Project if you need help. You can also try GLAD Law. If you're a parent in a court case or going to mediation with the other parent, please write a parenting plan and try to anticipate situations like this that may affect your child.

What the heck was this email I received, then, post-Skrmetti?

"By cutting off the very trans youth who helped build its reputation today, Fenway is abandoning their mission. If the line isn’t drawn here, when it’s our lives on the chopping block, who will be left to draw it when it’s theirs?" — A Line Must Be Drawn: The Cowardice Of Historic LGBTQ+ Provider Fenway Health: Fenway Health must return to its roots and care for those the government casts aside. Erin Reed, Oct 22, 2025

Protect Trans Futures and ACT UP Disrupt Charity Gala at Fenway Health: The LGBTQ+ community health center recently announced they would no longer offer gender-affirming care to trans young people under the age of 19. Evan Urquhart, Assigned Media, Nov 14, 2025

Hate Crimes Awareness Month

For Hate Crimes Awareness Month, Michael Lieberman (no relation to me), SPLC Senior Policy Counsel regarding Hate and Extremism, has written Hate Crimes, Explained (dated today, October 17, 2025). It's on the website of the Southern Poverty Law Center. See also the SPLC's report We can fight hate and build community (October 7).

ICYMI: Arturo Dominguez, Jewish Academics Denounce Flawed ADL Antisemitism Hate Crime Data: The ADL’s audit of antisemitic incidents was characterized as ‘misleading and dangerous’ for Jewish people while glossing over the most targeted group, Black people, May 7, 2025

Trump 'peace plan' in Gaza is not holding

Good lord. @apnews.com

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— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla.bsky.social) October 8, 2025 at 4:45 PM

“I’ll declare war on you if you don’t give me the peace prize” is an incredible bit

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— James Medlock (@jdcmedlock.bsky.social) October 9, 2025 at 5:16 PM

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Israel claims that Hamas can turn over six more bodies of hostages. Hamas says it doesn't have them.

As a result, Trump is already saying that his "peace plan" for Gaza does not have to be obeyed by Israel. On October 15, he said Israel can police Gaza again "as soon as I say the word." The next day, he alleged that Hamas was killing people in Gaza and that if they persisted, "we will have no choice but to go in and kill them."

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No more free support for Windows 10 — pay or else your computer is e-waste

Jason Koebler writes yesterday for 404 Media that people are either going to keep using unsecure Windows computers or else throw the computers into the trash. Yesterday's

end of free Windows 10 support is an environmental disaster in the making, with as many as 400 million computers that cannot be upgraded to Windows 11 set to be cut off from receiving free security updates. The move is an egregious example of planned obsolescence that will inevitably result in the early deaths of millions of computers that would have otherwise had years of life left, and it is set to affect as many as 42 percent of all Windows computers worldwide.

“There’s 400 million computers that are going to enter the waste stream. That’s a disaster, just in terms of the sheer volume,” Nathan Proctor, director of consumer rights group PIRG’s right to repair campaign, said on the 404 Media Podcast. “And then you have people who are going to ignore the warnings and use a computer that’s insecure, so there’s going to [eventually] be some widespread security problems with these older, unsupported, no longer getting security updates computers.”

Koebler adds: "Notably, Microsoft is going to continue offering security updates to customers who pay for them, meaning that it would be trivial for the company to continue to offer critical security updates for free." In other words, the security update exists, it's just that Microsoft wants money, either by making people pay for the security update or by prompting them to toss out their old computer and buy a new one.

Also read: The Life and Death of Things: A Call for Action: Can ‘planned obsolescence’ — building things that don’t last, to maximise profit — be replaced by the sharing economy? Anouk Patel-Campillo, Ph.D. Medium, October 15, 2025

Somewhat relatedly: Human waste

In case you missed it: "Is it time to revolutionize the toilet?" Jacqui Palumbo, CNN, February 22, 2024

Trump's military aggression against South America

Stories to read:

‘Patently Illegal’: Experts Raise Major Red Flags About Trump’s Drug Boat Bombings: “As history shows, no nation can kill their way out of the drug problem,” argued one critic. Brad Reed, Common Dreams, Sep 24, 2025

Trump Anoints Himself Judge, Jury And Executioner Of Alleged Drug Smugglers: While the president jokes about the killings, legal experts worry he could use the same logic to target others, even those in the U.S. S.V. Date, HuffPost, Sep 25, 2025

Read this too:

"A confidential memo obtained by The Intercept that was sent to multiple congressional committees this week asserted that the president had sweeping discretion to order the executions of alleged drug smugglers because he had declared a state of “non-international armed conflict” against boats that are part of “designated terrorist organizations.”

But if the U.S. is at war, that’s for Congress to decide—not Trump—and the administration has offered no actual evidence to back up its claims that the vessels were linked to any drug cartel at all."

— The Chilling New Detail About Trump’s “Drug Boat” Attacks: Report: Donald Trump has apparently claimed the right to unilaterally declare war. Edith Olmsted, The New Republic, October 3, 2025

"The US military carried out another strike on a boat operating in the Caribbean officials deemed to be a “narco-trafficking vessel” on Friday morning, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced in a social media post. The strike killed all four people who were on board, Hegseth said.

The attack marks at least the fourth known US military strike in the Caribbean since the beginning of September..." (CNN, Oct 3, 2025)

Trump’s phony war on Venezuela — and his larger war on reality: Why is Trump attacking Venezuela? All the usual reasons: Wounded pride, limitless greed and conspiracy theories. Andrew O'Hehir. Salon, October 5, 2025

Exclusive: Classified Justice Department opinion authorizes strikes on secret list of cartels, sources say Natasha Bertrand, Zachary Cohen, CNN, Oct 7, 2025

Fact check: Trump’s absurd claim that he saved 100,000 lives by attacking alleged Venezuelan drug boats, Daniel Dale, CNN, Oct 8, 2025

"The US military conducted yet another strike on a boat alleged to be trafficking drugs off the coast of Venezuela, killing six people on board...This is at least the fifth time the US has announced such a strike." Six killed after US strikes another boat off coast of Venezuela, CNN, Oct 14, 2025

Not all of those five strikes were against Venezuela. One was against Colombia.

"The third publicly acknowledged strike on September 19 targeted a boat leaving Colombia..." (At least one US military strike on alleged drug trafficking boat in Caribbean targeted Colombians, CNN, Oct 15, 2025)

And:

"Venezuela escalation: President Trump said he was considering expanding his military operations in the Caribbean to include ground strikes in Venezuela, which would be a significant escalation of the campaign that has so far targeted vessels at sea. The Trump administration has said, without evidence, that those strikes had hit boats transporting drugs for cartels. “We are certainly looking at land now, because we’ve got the sea very well under control,” he said." NY Times, October 15, 2025

More info on Common Dreams and in the Washington Post

Trump said on Oct 15 that "he authorized the CIA to operate inside Venezuela to clamp down on illegal flows of migrants and drugs from the South American nation, but stopped short of saying they would have authority to remove President Nicolas Maduro." (CNN)

Another attack

Some survivors after US strikes another suspected drug boat in the Caribbean, sources say, Natasha Bertrand, Kylie Atwood, CNN, October 16, 2025

US has seized survivors after strike on suspected drug-carrying vessel in Caribbean, AP sources say, Konstantin Toropin and Lisa Mascaro, AP, October 17, 2025

U.S. Returning Caribbean Strike Survivors To Colombia And Ecuador, Trump Says: The U.S. military flew the survivors to a U.S. Navy warship in the Caribbean after they were rescued. Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali. Reuters, Oct 18, 2025

Abby Phillip Calls Scott Jennings A Liar As On-Air Fight Spills Onto Social Media: The two tangled over Trump's bombing attacks on vessels he alleged were carrying fentanyl to the U.S. Ron Dicker, Oct 20, 2025

History shows that Trump’s Venezuela campaign will be disastrous: Trump is just the latest president to meddle in Latin America — and the outcome will be no different, Heather Digby Parton, October 21, 2025

UN experts say US strikes against Venezuela in international waters amount to 'extrajudicial executions', Jasper Ward, Reuters, October 21, 2025

The U.S. Isn’t Even Bothering With Its Usual Lies to Sell Its Regime Change War in Venezuela, The days of justifying American military intervention anywhere in the world are on their way out. Séamus Malekafzali, The Intercept, Oct 22, 2025

Trump Insists He Doesn't Need Congressional Approval To Kill Alleged Drug Smugglers, Lydia O'Connor, HuffPost, Oct 23, 2025

Trump Balks At Declaring War For Venezuelan Drug Cartel Strikes: ‘We’re Just Going To Kill People’, Antonio Pequeño IV, Forbes, Oct 23, 2025

"Meanwhile, Hegseth says US has conducted 10th strike against alleged drug smuggling boat, killing 6" From CNN's Michael Williams, October 24, 2025

US Moving Huge Navy Firepower Close to Venezuela: Live Updates, Amanda Castro and Gabe Whisnant, Newsweek, Oct 24, 2025

U.S. Is Sending An Aircraft Carrier To Latin America In Major Escalation Of Military Firepower: The U.S. military has conducted its 10th strike on a suspected drug-running boat, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said earlier Friday. Konstantin Toropin, AP, Oct 24, 2025

Trump’s Escalation Against Venezuela Continues as Hegseth Deploys Aircraft Carrier Strike Group to Latin American Waters: An aide to Brazil’s president warned that a US regime change operation in Venezuela “could inflame South America and lead to radicalization of politics on the whole continent.” Stephen Prager, Common Dreams, Oct 24, 2025

US sanctions Colombian president, CNN, Oct 24, 2025

Relations between Colombia and US ‘absolutely dire’, says expert, CNN, Video: 18:40

Video Trump insists he can strike alleged drug traffickers without Congress declaring war, CNN, Video: 6:56

Panetta: One US misstep could result in small war with Venezuela, CNN, Video: 4:36

Trump considering plans to target cocaine facilities inside Venezuela, CNN, Video: 1:27

Rand Paul: "In the one instance you're killed on sight. On the other instance, if you're captured, we just say, 'Oh well, we're gonna send you back to your country.' It doesn't make any sense."

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) October 26, 2025 at 8:45 AM

Venezuela's Maduro Says The US Is Fabricating A War, Seeks To Revoke Citizenship Of Opponent López: In a national broadcast on Friday night, Maduro accused the administration of President Donald Trump of “fabricating a new eternal war." AP, Oct 25, 2025

Read: "Trump administration says it’s given 7 classified briefings to Congress on US military boat strikes," CNN, Oct 27, 2025

"There were three strikes in the Pacific on Monday — with one hitting two boats at once — and bringing the number of known strikes carried out by the US military on alleged drug-smuggling vessels to 13 since the start of September. To date, those operations have destroyed 14 boats and killed 57 people — with three survivors." (CNN, Oct 28)

U.S. Military Required To Sign NDAs Tied To Latin America Mission: Reuters: The step is highly unusual, given that U.S. military officials are already required to shield national security secrets from public view. Phil Stewart, Reuters, Oct 29, 2025

Democrats Fume After GOP Shuts Them Out Of Briefing On Trump's Military Strikes Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) called the move "corrosive not only to our democracy but downright dangerous for our national security." Igor Bobic, HuffPost, Oct 30, 2025

"The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk called for an investigation into the strikes, in what appeared to mark the first such condemnation of its kind from a United Nations organization."
U.N. Human Rights Chief Says U.S. Strikes On Alleged Drug Boats Are 'Unacceptable' The attacks, which Donald Trump has justified as necessary to stem the flow of drug into the U.S., have killed at least 61 people. Associated Press, Oct 31, 2025

"Sources told the Herald that the targets — which could be struck by air in a matter of days or even hours — also aim to decapitate the cartel’s hierarchy."
— U.S. poised to strike military targets in Venezuela in escalation against Maduro regime, Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, October 31, 2025

Trump Administration Admits It Doesn’t Know Who Exactly It’s Killing in Boat Strikes, Nick Turse, The Intercept, October 31, 2025

Pentagon Admits to Striking Boats Without Identifying Victims’ Drug Links: The White House cannot “satisfy the evidentiary burden” to prosecute those they have been killing, one lawmaker said. Chris Walker, Truthout, October 31, 2025

"The Pentagon has deliberately shifted its strategy in recent weeks to striking suspected narcotraffickers in the eastern Pacific Ocean, rather than the Caribbean Sea, because administration officials believe they have stronger evidence linking cocaine transport to the US from those western routes, according to people familiar with the matter.

The intelligence suggests that cocaine is far more likely to be trafficked from Colombia or Mexico, rather than Venezuela, the sources said, raising more questions about the true purpose of the US military buildup in the Caribbean Sea.

The last four US military strikes targeting suspected drug smugglers were carried out in the eastern Pacific, according to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and sources said that future attacks are likely to be concentrated in that area because of the stronger link to US markets."
— Natasha Bertrand & Zachary Cohen, "Pentagon shifts to Pacific strikes seeking stronger link between targets and US drug trafficking," CNN, October 31, 2025

El Tiempo: Estados Unidos refuerza su despliegue militar en el Caribe con el crucero lanzamisiles USS Gettysburg en medio de tensiones con Venezuela

14 strikes. 61 dead. “But the administration does not know their identities.” 🤷🏼 🛶 💣 theweek.com/politics/pen...

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— The Tennessee Holler (@thetnholler.bsky.social) November 1, 2025 at 9:25 AM

"The Trump administration is inching closer to entering the U.S. into war with Venezuela without providing evidence justifying it, pursuing any formal debate or authorization or outlining a plan to deal with the chaos experts say will almost certainly ensue." Hey: "Military officials told Congress on Thursday that they do not know exactly who they have killed so far, Democratic lawmakers said after a briefing." It would be the second time in Trump's second presidency that he has attacked "a nation that has not attacked the U.S. in less than a year — the first being against Iran in June...underscoring the hollowness of Trump’s claims he is enhancing world peace." (HuffPost, Nov 1, 2025)

Hegseth bars military officials from discussing drug boat strikes with Congress without prior approval, Natasha Bertrand, CNN, November 2, 2025

Mike Johnson Brags Of 'Exquisite' Drug Boat Intel While Lawmakers Beg For Any Bit Of Evidence: The House speaker said the Pentagon has plenty of proof the vessels belong to "narco-terrorists," just none it can share with congress yet. Kelby Vera, HuffPost, Nov 2, 2025

What if, and stay with me, the barbaric and imperious way the United States responded to 9/11 is an enormous part of how we got here

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— Jonathan M. Katz (@katz.theracket.news) November 2, 2025 at 1:35 PM

The boats are "in most cases far too small to have been en route to the United States without requiring multiple stops for refueling," and Trump's claims that bombing them is "disrupt[s] fentanyl trafficking into the U.S. are belied by what Pentagon officials have told members of Congress in recent briefings." A congressional source told reporters: "They’ve not recovered fentanyl in any of these cases. It’s all been cocaine." (HuffPost, Nov 4, 2025)

"One of these lists is tied to Trump’s undeclared war in the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean, where the U.S. military is summarily executing alleged drug traffickers. There are reportedly dozens of groups on the list, but only two organizations — the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and the Colombian guerrilla group Ejército de Liberación Nacional — are publicly known.

* * *

Unlike with prior lists, such as the State Department’s register of FTOs, it’s currently impossible to know if you are a member of a domestic terrorist group and what the penalties might include."

Are You on Trump’s List of Domestic Terrorists? There’s No Way to Know. The Trump administration is using NSPM-7 to compile the names of alleged domestic terror groups. It won’t tell us who’s on the list. Nick Turse, The Intercept, November 4 2025

Trump has free rein to kill: The Office of Legal Counsel is rubber-stamping extrajudicial killings in Latin America, Jesselyn Radack, Salon, Nov 4, 2025

Venezuela’s Maduro, fearing US attack, promotes app to report suspect behavior, CNN, Nov 5, 2025

"Trump administration officials told lawmakers on Wednesday that the US is not currently planning to launch strikes inside Venezuela and doesn’t have a legal justification that would support attacks against any land targets right now, according to sources familiar with the briefing conducted by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and an official from the White House’s Office of Legal Counsel."
Trump admin tells Congress it currently lacks legal justification to strike Venezuela, Natasha Bertrand, Jennifer Hansler, Katie Bo Lillis, Zachary Cohen, Kylie Atwood, CNN, Nov 6, 2025

"The Senate on Thursday rejected a bipartisan resolution seeking to stop the Trump administration from taking military action against Venezuela without congressional approval."
Senate rejects effort to block unauthorized US military action against Venezuela, Veronica Stracualursi, CNN, Nov 6, 2025

"Senate Republicans on Thursday rejected a bipartisan war powers resolution aimed at stopping the Trump administration from continuing its bombing of alleged drug boats or attacking Venezuela without lawmakers’ assent, as required by law."
Senate GOP Kills Bill That Would Block Trump Boat Bombings and War on Venezuela “Shame on the Republicans who continue to shirk their duty and deny their constituents a voice,” said one retired US Army general. Brett Wilkins, Common Dreams, Nov 6, 2025

Trump’s Murderous Policy Against Venezuela Is Part of a Bloody History: On the long tail of US intervention in Latin America and the Caribbean. Chuck Idelson, Common Dreams, Nov 6, 2025

Trump Accused Boat Crews Of Being Narco-Terrorists. The Truth Is More Nuanced. The Associated Press learned the identities of four of the men who were slain, providing the first detailed account of those who died in the U.S. military strikes. Regina Garcia Cano, AP, HuffPost, Nov 7, 2025

Trump Has a Secret List of 24 “Designated Terrorist Organizations.” We Got Some of the Names. The U.S. claims it is engaged in “armed conflict” with Tren de Aragua, Ejército de Liberación Nacional, and Cártel de los Soles, among others. Nick Turse, The Intercept, November 7 2025

US military strikes 2 boats, killing 6 in Eastern Pacific, Natasha Bertrand, CNN, Nov 10, 2025

Exclusive: UK suspends some intelligence sharing with US over boat strike concerns in major break, Natasha Bertrand, CNN, Nov 11, 2025

As Washington weighs options on Venezuela, US invasion of Panama offers an imperfect blueprint for military action, Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Nov 14, 2025

US ramps up pressure campaign on Venezuela, set to designate cartel as foreign terrorist organization, CNN, Nov 16, 2025

US military carried out 21st strike on alleged drug boat, killing 3, CNN, Nov 16, 2025

Trump says he’d be "proud" to strike drug facilities in countries such as Mexico and Colombia. From CNN's Donald Judd, Nov 17, 2025

‘President Trump has put the gun on the table:’ John Bolton on new escalation with Venezuela (2:01), CNN video, Nov 17, 2025