#characteristicsoffascism — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #characteristicsoffascism, aggregated by home.social.
-
#Anthropic Building a #PreCrime System to Surveil #AntiAI #Dissenters, Investigation Shows | Common Dreams
One legal expert said that as AI companies “become more hated, there’s more pressure on them to over-disclose knowing that some of the people they identify for law enforcement shouldn’t be targeted.”
by Brad Reed, September 9, 2026
"The American Prospect on Wednesday published an investigation revealing that top artificial intelligence firm Anthropic is building a predictive surveillance system aimed at tracking activists who are opposed to advanced AI development.
"The Prospect found that Anthropic last month issued a job posting seeking an intelligence specialist to “identify, assess, track, and investigate global threats including geopolitical instability, terrorism, crime, activism, nation-state targeting of the AI sector.”
Read more:
https://www.commondreams.org/news/anthropic-pre-crime-surveillance#PreCrime #ThoughtCrime #AIResistance #ResistanceIsFertile #AISucks #CriminalizingDissent #TheResistance #WaterIsLife #AirIsLife #HumanIntelligence #TechFascism #Fascism #CharacteristicsOfFascism
-
#Anthropic Building a #PreCrime System to Surveil #AntiAI #Dissenters, Investigation Shows | Common Dreams
One legal expert said that as AI companies “become more hated, there’s more pressure on them to over-disclose knowing that some of the people they identify for law enforcement shouldn’t be targeted.”
by Brad Reed, September 9, 2026
"The American Prospect on Wednesday published an investigation revealing that top artificial intelligence firm Anthropic is building a predictive surveillance system aimed at tracking activists who are opposed to advanced AI development.
"The Prospect found that Anthropic last month issued a job posting seeking an intelligence specialist to “identify, assess, track, and investigate global threats including geopolitical instability, terrorism, crime, activism, nation-state targeting of the AI sector.”
Read more:
https://www.commondreams.org/news/anthropic-pre-crime-surveillance#PreCrime #ThoughtCrime #AIResistance #ResistanceIsFertile #AISucks #CriminalizingDissent #TheResistance #WaterIsLife #AirIsLife #HumanIntelligence #TechFascism #Fascism #CharacteristicsOfFascism
-
#Anthropic Building a #PreCrime System to Surveil #AntiAI #Dissenters, Investigation Shows | Common Dreams
One legal expert said that as AI companies “become more hated, there’s more pressure on them to over-disclose knowing that some of the people they identify for law enforcement shouldn’t be targeted.”
by Brad Reed, September 9, 2026
"The American Prospect on Wednesday published an investigation revealing that top artificial intelligence firm Anthropic is building a predictive surveillance system aimed at tracking activists who are opposed to advanced AI development.
"The Prospect found that Anthropic last month issued a job posting seeking an intelligence specialist to “identify, assess, track, and investigate global threats including geopolitical instability, terrorism, crime, activism, nation-state targeting of the AI sector.”
Read more:
https://www.commondreams.org/news/anthropic-pre-crime-surveillance#PreCrime #ThoughtCrime #AIResistance #ResistanceIsFertile #AISucks #CriminalizingDissent #TheResistance #WaterIsLife #AirIsLife #HumanIntelligence #TechFascism #Fascism #CharacteristicsOfFascism
-
#Anthropic Building a #PreCrime System to Surveil #AntiAI #Dissenters, Investigation Shows | Common Dreams
One legal expert said that as AI companies “become more hated, there’s more pressure on them to over-disclose knowing that some of the people they identify for law enforcement shouldn’t be targeted.”
by Brad Reed, September 9, 2026
"The American Prospect on Wednesday published an investigation revealing that top artificial intelligence firm Anthropic is building a predictive surveillance system aimed at tracking activists who are opposed to advanced AI development.
"The Prospect found that Anthropic last month issued a job posting seeking an intelligence specialist to “identify, assess, track, and investigate global threats including geopolitical instability, terrorism, crime, activism, nation-state targeting of the AI sector.”
Read more:
https://www.commondreams.org/news/anthropic-pre-crime-surveillance#PreCrime #ThoughtCrime #AIResistance #ResistanceIsFertile #AISucks #CriminalizingDissent #TheResistance #WaterIsLife #AirIsLife #HumanIntelligence #TechFascism #Fascism #CharacteristicsOfFascism
-
#Anthropic Building a #PreCrime System to Surveil #AntiAI #Dissenters, Investigation Shows | Common Dreams
One legal expert said that as AI companies “become more hated, there’s more pressure on them to over-disclose knowing that some of the people they identify for law enforcement shouldn’t be targeted.”
by Brad Reed, September 9, 2026
"The American Prospect on Wednesday published an investigation revealing that top artificial intelligence firm Anthropic is building a predictive surveillance system aimed at tracking activists who are opposed to advanced AI development.
"The Prospect found that Anthropic last month issued a job posting seeking an intelligence specialist to “identify, assess, track, and investigate global threats including geopolitical instability, terrorism, crime, activism, nation-state targeting of the AI sector.”
Read more:
https://www.commondreams.org/news/anthropic-pre-crime-surveillance#PreCrime #ThoughtCrime #AIResistance #ResistanceIsFertile #AISucks #CriminalizingDissent #TheResistance #WaterIsLife #AirIsLife #HumanIntelligence #TechFascism #Fascism #CharacteristicsOfFascism
-
[Alleged] #Christian Employers Can Now Discriminate Against #TransPeople
A settlement with the Christian Employers Alliance blocks the EEOC from ever investigating the group’s members for gender identity discrimination.
Bryce Covert
September 1 2026Excerpt: "The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the federal agency tasked with protecting workers from illegal discrimination, inked an unprecedented settlement with a conservative Christian employer association that could have long-term, wide-ranging consequences.
"The lawsuit that led to the settlement was in reaction to #EEOC guidance issued under the Biden administration and after a 2020 Supreme Court ruling that Title VII protects against gender identity discrimination.
In the settlement, reached on August 18, the EEOC pledged to not pursue any claims of gender identity-based discrimination against the #ChristianEmployersAlliance — and made the pledge in perpetuity."The EEOC provides free investigation into complaints of discrimination and, in some cases, will bring lawsuits on behalf of employees at no cost to the plaintiffs.
"Now, however, anyone who works for a company with membership in the Christian Employers Alliance who believes they suffered gender identity-based discrimination won’t be able to avail themselves of the EEOC’s process.
"The settlement also contains an unusual provision: It applies not just to the more than 20,000 employers that are already members in the Christian Employers Alliance, but also to any future members, so long as they are members at the time that any claimed discrimination occurred.
"That means that any employer that decides to sign up for Christian Employers Alliance membership will get the benefit of blanket protection from the EEOC against all claims of #GenderIdentity discrimination, such as harassing someone for being #nonbinary or firing them for coming out as #trans .
" 'I am not aware of any settlement that just creates in perpetuity a freedom from investigation, 'said Karla Gilbride, a former EEOC general counsel under President Joe Biden who is now at the American Civil Liberties Union. 'I’ve never seen an organization get a settlement that allows protection to future members in this way.'
"The settlement will stay in place even if #AndreaLucas, the current Republican chair of the EEOC, is replaced with a Democratic chair under a future Democratic president. (The Christian Employers Alliance declined to comment, and the EEOC did not respond to an inquiry.)"
Read more:
https://theintercept.com/2026/09/01/christian-employers-settlement-gender-discrimination-eeoc/Archived version:
https://archive.ph/FnMei#WWJD #LoveOneAnother #USPol #GBLTQRights #HumanRights #TransRightsAreHumanRights #HumanRightsViolations #ChristoFascism #Fascism #CharacteristicsOfFascism
-
#Whistleblower Says #Trump Officials Are Defying Court Orders on #VotingByMail
A report detailed “grave concerns” that a new system being rushed into use by the U.S. Postal Service could imperil millions of mail ballots ahead of the midterm elections.
Chris Cameron
By Chris Cameron
Reporting from Washington
Sept. 1, 2026Excerpt: "A U.S. Postal Service official has alleged that the agency is moving forward with a 'secretive, rushed' effort to carry out President Trump’s order exerting federal control over mail voting, despite a court order blocking those plans.
"The official filed a whistle-blower report, published on Tuesday morning by the office of Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut, asserting that the 'risky and haphazard' implementation of Mr. Trump’s order could lead to a 'catastrophic failure' in the mail ballot system ahead of this year’s #MidtermElections. The report said that the agency had planned to complete the new digital system overseeing mail ballots by Sept. 1.
" 'Potentially millions of American voters may not receive their mail-in ballot this election cycle in a timely manner, or at all,' the official said in the report, which was prepared with the assistance of #WhistleblowerAid, a nonprofit group that represents people seeking to expose potential lawbreaking.
Speaking to reporters by phone on Monday, Mr. Blumenthal said of the report that 'the main takeaway for me is that the Postal Service has designed a system to disenfranchise millions of Americans. One-third of all Americans cast their ballots by mail, and the #USPS puts all of their votes at risk.'
"A Postal Service official declined to comment on the record."
Read more:
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/01/us/politics/whistle-blower-voting-by-mail.htmlArchived version:
https://archive.ph/IJg8U#USPol #Elections2026 #Fascism #USElections #Trump #StealingElections #VoterSupression #TrumpIsAFascist #VoterDisenfranchisement #CharacteristicsOfFascism
-
So, I've been downloading #GBLTQ resources and historical documents (including #QueerTalk, a radio show on #WMPG hosted by one of my first friends after I moved to #Maine). Why am I doing this? Because I don't trust #Trump and fiends to be in charge of public university archives. I'll be uploading those precious digital records to the @internetarchive soon. So grateful IA are there to be an independent repository of #History and #Culture! 📚 🎧 🎥
#PreservingCulture #PreservingHistory #InternetArchive #FundingCuts #MemoryHole #USPol #CharacteristicsOfFascism #LGBTQ #QueerHistory
-
Federal Judge Blocks #Idaho Law Criminalizing #Transgender Bathroom Use
Six transgender residents claimed that the #BathroomBan, the most restrictive in the nation, violated their constitutional rights.
By Amy Harmon, June 16, 2026
Excerpt: "Twenty states besides Idaho restrict transgender people from using bathrooms that align with their gender identity, according to the #MovementAdvancementProject, which tracks state-level legislation on #LGBTQ issues. But the restrictions elsewhere apply only to schools and colleges, government-owned buildings and public places like parks and airports.
"Idaho’s measure is viewed as the most restrictive such law in the nation because of its broad application and because of the penalties it imposes. Repeat violators face up to five years in prison. The law covers restrooms in all publicly owned buildings as well as privately owned settings such as restaurants, retail stores and business offices. It includes bathrooms with a single stall. Idaho’s law also applies more immediately, including no provision like the one in #Florida that requires a transgender person to refuse to leave a bathroom that does not match their sex at birth in order to establish a violation.
"State officials argue that even if the law is challenging to enforce, it is not unconstitutionally vague because it is clear about what must be proved. They noted that a person’s biological sex could be determined later through objective means, such as a birth certificate or DNA testing, even if it cannot be done at the scene."
Read more:
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/16/us/transgender-idaho-bathroom-law.htmlArchived version:
https://archive.ph/VjZXW -
Congress members join protest against #oligarch’s dinner for #Trump thrown by Ellisons
#Paramount #Skydance CEO fetes administration as it weighs $110bn merger with CNN parent #WarnerBros Discovery
Jeremy Barr in Washington
Thu 23 Apr 2026 20.43 EDT"Dozens of protesters, including members of Congress, gathered along the National Mall on Thursday to protest an 'intimate' dinner being held by #ParamountSkydance’s chief executive, #DavidEllison, 'in celebration of the first amendment' and 'honoring the Trump White House and CBS White House correspondents', and attended by Donald Trump.
"Paramount has faced criticism for the dinner, which has been seen by some as illustrative of the cozy relationship between the #Ellisons and the White House – right as the Trump administration is weighing whether to approve the company’s $110bn merger with CNN parent company #WarnerBrosDiscovery ( #WBD ). The dinner comes before Saturday’s White House correspondents’ dinner, which Trump will attend. His defense secretary, #PeteHegseth, is expected to sit at one of the many tables bought by CBS News for the event.
"Earlier Thursday, WBD shareholders voted 'overwhelmingly' to approve the merger, which will still require approval from the Department of Justice and European regulators.
"The US representative Jamie Raskin, who has been vocal in his criticism of the Ellisons’ ownership of CBS News, referred to the event as 'a lavish oligarch’s dinner for Donald Trump'.
" 'We’re gathered here together tonight [because] in the building behind us, David Ellison is hosting a dinner to honor President Trump, a dinner that’s designed to cement the Ellisons to the president in their years-running corrupt merger scheme,' Raskin said."
Read more:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/23/david-ellison-trump-dinner-paramount-skydance-cnnArchived version:
https://archive.ph/hQ6Ku#USPol #PowerCorruptionAndLies #CorporateSuckUps #Oligarchy #Fascism #SilencingDissent #SilencingCriticism #OligarchsDinner #Oligarchs4Dinner #EatTheRich #CharacteristicsOfFascism
-
So, maybe I'm biased, but I personally think that degrees in #LiberalArts and #Humanities are very important in having well-rounded citizens -- who are exposed to art, history, geography, philosophy, etc. And I think that sort of education should be free and start at the high school level (or even before).
Hampshire College Will Close Amid Student Enrollment Declines
Other small private colleges like Hampshire have closed in recent years as financial pressures and competition for students increase.
by Mark Arsenault, April 14, 2026
Hampshire president, Jennifer Chrisler: “Some of it is a persistent and ill informed, I think, belief at the federal level that the only value of an education is what you earn four years after your graduation”.
Archived version:
https://archive.ph/snPv7#Authoritarianism #DumbingUsDown #CharacteristicsOfFascism #HigherEducation #Education #LearningForLearningsSake
-
In today's episode of #PowerCorruptionAndLies...
"Sen. #JohnCornyn, R-Texas, reversed himself on the Senate filibuster Wednesday after years of unflinching support for the 60-vote threshold to pass most bills.
"Now, locked in a competitive Republican runoff for his Senate seat and eyeing President Donald #Trump's endorsement, Cornyn says he'll support 'whatever changes to Senate rules that may prove necessary' to pass the #SAVEAmericaAct, a sweeping election overhaul bill that Trump has called his No. 1 priority."
#SAVEAct #VoterDisenfranchisement #USPol #GOPNazis #Fascism #CharacteristicsOfFascism
-
#ICE Is Expanding Across the US at Breakneck Speed. Here’s Where It’s Going Next
ICE plans to lease offices throughout the US as part of a secret, monthslong expansion campaign. WIRED is publishing dozens of these locations.
February 10, 2026
Excerpt: "As of January, ICE’s expansion is heavily concentrated in a few key states. #Texas has at least 9 leasing projects underway. In #Harlingen, located near the US border with Mexico, a lease has been awarded at 222 East Van Buren, in the same building as the city’s Department of Labor–aligned outpost. (ICE has already detained dozens of Harlingen-area residents.) In the #Woodlands, a district near #Houston, ICE appears poised to move into an office building at 1780 Hughes Landing Boulevard, blocks away from a Primrose preschool. In #ElPaso, ICE is moving into the Epicenter Office Community, a large campus of buildings right off Interstate 10 near many local health providers and other businesses. In #SanAntonio, ICE is considering a move into a building located at 15727 Anthem Parkway, near apartment buildings, dozens of restaurants, and the Methodist Hospital Landmark. In #EaglePass, ICE appears to be looking at a move into a building at 3381 US Highway 277, where at least one government office—the Drug Enforcement Administration—is already located.
"A Trump administration official recently told WIRED that #California and #NewYork are 'next' for the type of fraud investigation that culminated in 3,000 ICE agents in Minneapolis. At least seven leasing projects are underway in California. In #Sacramento, ICE has installed security features at the John E. Moss building ahead of further expansion. The location is already the site of a Justice Department immigration court. In Irvine, a city in Orange County located an hour’s drive from #LosAngeles, ICE is moving into offices on 2020 Main Street, located right next to the airport and a childcare agency. In #VanNuys, a neighborhood of Los Angeles, ICE is expanding its offices at the James C. Corman federal building that also has offices for the IRS and Health and Human Services. Further expansion of ICE offices is also underway throughout the state, in federal buildings in Los Angeles, at San Diego’s Edward J. Schwartz Courthouse and federal building, and in Santa Ana’s federal building. The #SantaAna federal building is located within blocks of a church, the stadium for one of the nation's top high school football programs, and many government services.
"In New York and #NewJersey, ICE is expanding its physical footprint rapidly. In #RoselandNJ, less than an hour’s drive from New York City, ICE is moving into a building at 5 Becker Farm Road. The building is located near the Roseland Child Development Center. In #WoodburyNY, a hamlet in #LongIsland, ICE is moving into offices located at 88 Froehlich Farm Boulevard, near an expedited passport center. In #NewWindsor, New York, a town within driving distance of New York City along the Hudson River known for the Storm King Art Center, ICE is moving into offices at 843 Union Avenue. All three of these locations are within an hour and a half from a warehouse in #ChesterNY, that DHS is pursuing as an immigrant detention center.
"The same pattern plays out in dozens of other cities across the US. ICE’s expansion includes not just its own preexisting space—or sharing an office with other government agencies—but also situates its agents near sensitive civilian locations.
"That often includes places of worship. In #Hyattsville, Maryland, ICE is expanding its offices at the Metro 1 building on 6505 Belcrest Road, which sits a few blocks from a Lutheran church. In #Tennessee, OPLA is planning to move into the #Nashville House office building, a business center in the city near multiple churches. The #OneCityCenter building in #PortlandME, where ICE plans to expand its offices, is within walking distance to at least six churches, a mosque, one synagogue, and a Salvation Army adult rehab center. [Good to know. We'll be there protesting!]
"Several planned ICE office spaces are located near schools and early-childhood care centers. ICE is poised to move into a building on 1000 Westlakes Drive in the #Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, suburb of #Berwyn; the Hillside Elementary School is about a mile away. In #Hartford, Connecticut, OPLA is poised to expand existing ICE office space in the Abraham A. Ribicoff federal building, which sits two blocks from the Betances elementary school. Back in Tennessee, ICE is ready to move into offices at 5904 Ridgeway Center Parkway in Memphis, in a building near the private all-girls Hutchison School. In the #ColumbusOH, suburb of #Westerville, OPLA appears ready to move into a small office building at 774 Park Meadow, near the Oakstone Academy High School. In #MeridianID ICE is moving into the Portico at Meridian Center, which is located near the Spalding STEM Academy high school. And in #OakbrookIL, a suburb of #Chicago, ICE is moving into the Oakbrook Gateway, an office building located near both a Bright Horizons daycare center and a hospice center.
"Many other planned locations are near hospitals and medical offices. In #YorkPA, ICE’s OPLA division has leased space at Yorktowne Medical, a facility with multiple medical offices. In #ColumbiaSC, ICE is poised to move into offices at 1441 Main Street, which sits blocks away from the Prisma Health Baptist Hospital. In #NaplesFL, ICE is poised to move into offices at 75 Vineyards Boulevard, close to Physicians Regional Pine Ridge campus hospital.
"Other locations appear to be strategically situated near buildings that ICE either currently uses or could use to detain immigrants. The #Hyattsville location is about an hour and a half from a warehouse DHS recently purchased that ICE has said will be used to detain immigrants, as is a second office marked for OPLA use in #CockeysvilleMD.
"Among the many ICE leasing projects underway in Florida is Research Commons, a building located in #Orlando at 12249 Science Drive that’s less than 25 minutes away from another warehouse identified by the Post as a potential large-scale detention center. The York, #Pennsylvania, location is also an hour and 20 minutes away from a warehouse recently purchased by ICE for nearly $90 million that a Republican congressman said will be used as a processing and immigrant detention facility.
"In Alexandria, Louisiana, ICE is moving into a building on 1201 3rd Street, located right in the city’s historic downtown center and a 16-minute drive from the Alexandria Staging Facility, where immigrants have been detained, transferred, and then deported.
"#AlexandriaLA has emerged as a key location for ICE’s activities in the state and around the country, and an investigation from The Guardian alleged a pattern of abuse and alleged due process violations at the Alexandria facility that’s operated as a deportation 'hub.'
"This is just a sampling of the dozens and dozens of lease locations in the process of being awarded to ICE in every single GSA leasing region, which spans the entire country and US territories. ICE agents and officers will share buildings with doctors, restaurants, and businesses. They’ll expand existing offices and move in with unrelated government agencies—at 801 Arch Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for example, they’ll share space with the DMV."
Read more:
https://www.wired.com/story/ice-expansion-across-us-at-heres-where-its-going-next/Archived version:
https://archive.ph/BQfRW#USPol #DefundICE #DefundDHS #BorderPatrol #MurderPatrol #DetentionCenters #ICERaids #Terrorism #ICESucks #TrumpSucks #CharacteristicsOfFascism
-
Six Prosecutors Quit Over Push to Investigate #ICEShooting Victim’s Widow
Joseph H. Thompson, a career federal prosecutor who was the acting U.S. attorney for #Minnesota last year, was among those who resigned as the Justice Department sought to examine the woman’s supposed ties to #activist groups.
By Ernesto Londoño
Jan. 13, 2026Updated 1:16 p.m. ET"Mr. Thompson’s resignation came after senior Justice Department officials pressed for a criminal investigation into the actions of the widow of #ReneeNicoleGood, the #Minneapolis woman killed by an #ICE agent on Wednesday.
"Mr. Thompson, 47, a career prosecutor, objected to that approach, as well as to the Justice Department’s refusal to include state officials in investigating whether the shooting itself was lawful, the people familiar with his decision said.
"The other senior career prosecutors who resigned include Harry Jacobs, Melinda Williams and Thomas Calhoun-Lopez. Mr. Jacobs had been Mr. Thompson’s deputy overseeing the fraud investigation, which began in 2022. Mr. Calhoun-Lopez was the chief of the violent and major crimes unit."
Read more:
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/13/us/prosecutors-doj-resignation-ice-shooting.htmlArchived version:
https://archive.ph/JUzp1#USPol #ICEOutForGood #JusticeForRenee #ResistICE #ReneeGood #BeccaGood #TrumpedUpCharges #FalsifyingInformation #DoubleSpeak #DOJLies #DOJTargeting #Fascism #Authoritarianism #CharacteristicsOfFascism
-
Texas A&M is banning #Plato, citing his “#GenderIdeology.”
Brittany Allen January 12, 2026
"Today, Texas A&M resumes classes for the spring semester—but a number of canonized texts will not be welcomed back to school. The public research university has lately been caught in the crossfire between state and stupid.
As The Texas Tribune has reported, faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences were informed just last week that 'a new system policy restricting classroom discussions of race and gender' is set to take effect today.
The policy, engineered and approved by the Texas A&M University Regents last November, requires that the school’s president sign off on every syllabus with an eye to scrubbing 'problematic' content. But the foes were loosely framed.
Under the new restrictions, gender ideology is defined as 'a concept of self-assessed #GenderIdentity replacing, and disconnected from, the biological category of sex.' Race ideology entails 'attempts to shame a particular race or ethnicity' or anything that 'promotes activism on issues related to race or ethnicity rather than academic instruction.'
As a European history professor pointed out at the time, this wording could effectively prohibit a professor from teaching about the Holocaust.
The regents used AI analysis software to audit syllabi for unapproved content. Thanks to this rude mech, 200 courses have been cancelled, stripped of core curricular credit value, or forced into revision.
The hammer came down over the weekend for assorted religion, film, ethnic studies, sociology, communications, and literature classes. And in a truly-beyond-parody move, a philosophy professor, Martin Peterson, was told to 'either remove ‘modules on race and gender ideology' ' from his course, or be reassigned to teach a different class entirely.
Most philosophy nerds will recognize the 'gender ideology' readings in question, which are lifted from the Symposium. The university apparently quibbled with Plato’s reference the the 'Myth of #Androgyne,' in which #Aristophanes describes three genders.
Most musical theatre nerds will also catch the reference—the same myth was called up in #JohnCameronMitchell and #StephenTrask’s epic ballad, 'The Origin of Love,”'from Hedwig and the Angry Inch.
Even as we note the rise of smoothbrain rhetoric sea to sea, the fact that Plato has been deemed inappropriate for an Introduction to Philosophy course is a surreal escalation of terms.
Meanwhile, A&M students are set to be deprived of so much recent world. Including but not limited to 'literature with major plot lines that concern #gay, #lesbian or #transgender identities,' #feminist and #queer film, or #race and #ethnicity as a subject…fullstop.
As Abby Monteil at them reports, these curricular restrictions have all trickled down from the Trump administration, which continues to dangle federal funding as a carrot for universities compliant with its agenda. We simply hate to see it.
As you go about your reading today, pour one out for the Aggies."
Source:
https://lithub.com/texas-am-is-banning-plato-citing-his-gender-ideology/#USPol #Censorship #AncientHistory #Philosophy #Philosopher #GBLTQ #History #CharacteristicsOfFascism
-
#IlhanOmar: #Trump's ‘obsession' is ‘#creepy and unhealthy' as raids expand
Jason K. Morrell
Thu, December 4, 2025 at 7:17 AM EST"Two major federal #immigration operations were underway Wednesday in #Minneapolis and #NewOrleans. They unfolded just as President Donald Trump delivered new attacks on Somali immigrants and on Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar.
"#CivilRights groups say the timing and rhetoric are escalating fear in immigrant communities already bracing for enforcement actions.
Omar responds to Trump's comments
"Trump on Wednesday launched a new round of criticism aimed at #Somali immigrants, Minnesota's largest immigrant community. He told reporters that 'Somalians should be out of here" and claimed they had "destroyed our country.'
"He said Somalia was 'not even a nation' and that he hoped never to visit, drawing condemnation from Minneapolis officials.
"The president then turned his ire to Omar, who is #SomaliAmerican and a frequent target his attacks. He said, "You have her talking about ‘The constitution provides me with …' Go back to your own country and figure out your constitution.'
"Omar responded, saying, 'Our president's obsession with me and the Somali community really is creepy and unhealthy.'
"She added that her constituents 'are not going to be scapegoated' and 'are here to stay.'
"NBC News reporting indicates federal officials are preparing an enforcement operation in Minnesota that could focus heavily on Somali immigrants living unlawfully in the U.S.
Raids already underway in Minneapolis
"Federal immigration agents began operations in Minneapolis just hours before Trump made the comments. Officials say they are targeting immigrants accused of serious crimes, though advocates warn the sweeps are casting a much wider net.
What's happening in New Orleans
"In #NewOrleans, specifically in #Kenner, a suburb with one of #Louisiana's largest #Hispanic populations, residents saw #BorderPatrol agents in marked and unmarked vehicles driving slowly through neighborhoods, gas stations and big-box store parking lots, according to the Associated Press and NBC News.
"Reporters observed agents stopping at least one man mowing a lawn and surrounding another home where a man climbed onto the roof until officers eventually left. Many agents wore Border Patrol identifiers but had their faces covered.
"A #DHS official said the New Orleans surge is aimed at immigrants accused of crimes including home invasion, armed robbery, grand theft auto and rape. The agency has blamed 'sanctuary-style' local policies for allowing some people with ICE detainers to be released from custody.
Fear across immigrant neighborhoods
"The tactics have rattled families across #JeffersonParish and surrounding communities.
"A #Honduran immigrant told Noticias Telemundo he has avoided leaving his home for two weeks.
" 'We've stopped going to work because our fear is that we'll be stopped,' he said."
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/ilhan-omar-trumps-obsession-creepy-121756009.html
#SanctuaryCities #USPol #ICETerrorism #ICESucks #MurderPatrol #TooManyCreeps #TrumpIsACreep #CharacteristicsOfFascism
-
Firm Tied to #KristiNoem Secretly Got Money From $220 Million #DHS Ad #Contracts
The company is run by the husband of Noem’s chief DHS spokesperson and has personal and business ties to Noem and her aides. DHS invoked the “emergency” at the border to skirt competitive bidding rules for the taxpayer-funded campaign.
by Justin Elliott, Joshua Kaplan and Alex Mierjeski
November 14, 2025Excerpt: "No firm has closer ties to Noem’s political operation than the #StrategyGroup. It played a central role in her 2022 South Dakota gubernatorial campaign. Corey Lewandowski, her top adviser at DHS, has worked extensively with the firm. And the company’s CEO is married to Noem’s chief spokesperson at DHS, Tricia McLaughlin.
"The Strategy Group’s ad work is the first known example of money flowing from Noem’s agency to businesses controlled by her allies and friends."
Read more:
https://www.propublica.org/article/kristi-noem-dhs-ad-campaign-strategy-group#USPol #Corruption #RexElsass #BenYoho #ChristoFascism #CharacteristicsOfFascism #PowerCorruptionAndLies
-
Live Updates: #Trump Threatens to Use #EmergencyPowers to Bypass Courts and Deploy Troops
The president said he was considering invoking the #InsurrectionAct to send #NationalGuard units to #Chicago and #PortlandOR., over local objections. Gov. #JBPritzker of Illinois called the mobilization 'an unconstitutional invasion.'
Julie Bosman, Shawn Hubler, Anna Griffin and Eric Schmitt
Reporting from Chicago, Los Angeles, Portland, Ore., and Washington.October 6, 2025
Here’s the latest. (updated at 7:30 PM EDT).
"A federal judge on Monday declined to block the deployment of National Guard units to Illinois, a mobilization that the state’s governor, JB Pritzker, labeled an 'unconstitutional invasion' by the federal government, as President Trump threatened to assume emergency powers to bypass court battles and send in the troops.
"The outcome of the court hearing in Illinois, which allows the Trump-ordered deployment to move ahead for now, came as a military official said 200 troops from the #TexasNationalGuard were set to fly to the Chicago area late Monday and begin operating there later in the week. A similar effort to deploy Texas troops in Portland, Ore., has been blocked by a judge for now."
Archived version:
https://archive.ph/DPjY9#Authoritarianism #EmergencyPowers #InsurrectionAct #SilencingDissent #USPol #TrumpIsAFascist #CharacteristicsOfFascism
-
'This Is What #Autocrats Do': Concern Grows Over Single Paragraph Buried Deep in #GOPBill
The provision would force those challenging Trump "to pay up in the form of a posted bond—something many people can't afford to do. That means only the wealthy will be able to even attempt to challenge the most powerful man in the country."
Jon Queally
May 31, 2025"A single paragraph buried deep in a spending bill that passed the GOP-controlled House of Representatives earlier this month is causing growing concern among democracy watchdogs who warn the provision will make it so only the well-to-do would be in a good position to launch legal challenges against a #Trump administration that has shown over and over again its disdain and disregard for oversight or judicial restraint of any kind.
"Coming just about half-way through what President Donald Trump has dubbed the Republican Party's so-called "One #BigBeautifulBill Act"—which progressive critics point out is a giant giveaway to the nation's wealthiest at the expense of the working class and the common good—the language in question is slight, but could have far-reaching impacts.
" 'This is what autocrats do. Consolidate power, increase the penalty for objecting, ultimately making it more difficult—eventually impossible—to challenge them.'
"On Saturday, #HumanRightsWatch (#HRW) noted in a detailed social media thread how the provision 'hasn't gotten nearly enough scrutiny' from lawmakers or the public.
"A recent piece by USA Today columnist Chris Brennan put it this way: 'One paragraph, on pages 562 and 563 of the 1,116-page bill, raised alarms for reasons that have nothing to do with America's budget or safety-net programs or debt. That paragraph invokes a federal rule for civil court procedures, requiring anyone seeking an injunction or temporary restraining order to block an action by the Trump administration to post a financial bond.
" 'Want to challenge Trump? Pay up, the provision said in a way that could make it financially prohibitive for Americans to contest Trump's actions in court.
"HRW details how the provision, if included in the final legislation, 'would make it more expensive to fight Trump's policies in court by invoking a federal rule that effectively punishes anyone willing to stand up against the administration.'
"Anyone seeking a legal action that would involve an injunction request against a presidential order or policy, the group said, would to face a much larger barrier because Republicans would make it so that anyone challenging Trump in court in this way would 'have to pay up in the form of a posted bond—something many people can't afford to do. That means only the wealthy will be able to even attempt to challenge the most powerful man in the country."
Read more / listen to audio:
www.commondreams.org/news/trump-buried-provision#CharacteristicsOfFascism #USPol #AuthoritarianRule #SilencingDissent #Fascism #BigUglyBill #BigUglyFascists
-
Because an educated populace might not fall for #fascism and #AuthoritarianRule!
#Trump Finds a New Way to Attack Education: Cutting Aid for #Students Who Are Parents
The Trump administration proposed eliminating #CCAMPIS, a vital child care program for LowerIncome parenting students.
by Jessica Washington, May 28 2025
Original article:
https://theintercept.com/2025/05/28/trump-aid-student-parents-college-child-care/Archived version:
https://archive.ph/0ttW8#TrumpHatesThePoor #TrumpIsDumbingUsDown #MAGA #CharacteristicsOfFascism #LearnToBeASerf #USPol #MadKingTrump #NoKings
-
via @kenwhite.bsky.social
"Willing to bet a very large amount that most of that 413% rise in 'assaults' on ICE agents represent unarmed people attacking ICE fists with their faces and boots with their kidneys.
Because these people are lying scum."
#ResistICE #Gestapo #ICESucks #ACAB #CharacteristicsOfFascism #SilencingDissent #PoliceState #Resist #Authoritarianism #AuthoritarianRule
-
#Trump Is Building a #GlobalGulag for #Immigrants Captured by #ICE
The U.S. is in talks with 19 nations, including #Libya, #Kosovo, #Rwanda, and #Moldova to accept deportees from other countries.
Nick Turse, Jonah Valdez
May 15 2025,Excerpt: "In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, the #GeorgeWBush administration created a worldwide network of secret prisons and torture sites as part of its global war on terror. Its crown jewel, the Guantánamo Bay detention center, was established in January 2002 as a place for the United States to hold so-called enemy combatants.
"The U.S. government chose the U.S. Naval Station Guantánamo Bay because it was seeking a site where neither U.S. nor international law applied — a legal black hole where they could disappear people indefinitely. Over time, Guantánamo became emblematic of gross human rights abuses. “Forever prisoners” of the war on terror are still being held there today. Others caught up in America’s counterterrorism dragnet were detained at torture prisons in Afghanistan and Iraq or kidnapped and 'rendered' to CIA black sites — secret prisons in at least eight countries around the world.
"As the Trump administration has expanded the Bush and #Obama-era terrorism paradigm to cast immigrants and refugees as terrorists and gang members, it has reconceptualized rendition and even pressed Guantánamo Bay into service as a way station for Venezuelan men expelled to El Salvador."
Read more:
https://theintercept.com/2025/05/15/trump-ice-immigrants-deport-prisons-cecot-libya/Archived version:
https://archive.ph/07iRS#SilencingDissent #Authoritarianism #AuthoritarianRule #USPol #WorldPol #CharacteristicsOfFascism #ResistICE #PoliceState
-
#LawFirms, #universities and now #CivilSociety groups are in #Trump’s sights for #punitive action
By LISA MASCARO
Updated 12:04 AM EDT, April 18, 2025WASHINGTON (AP) — "First the nation’s top law firms. Then its premier universities. Now, President Donald Trump is leaning on the #advocacy groups that underpin U.S. civil society.
"Trump said Thursday that the administration is looking at the tax-exempt status not just of Harvard, but environmental groups and specifically the ethics watchdog organization Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or #CREW. It could be a devastating financial blow to the #nonprofit organizations — and his perceived #PoliticalFoes.
"The president’s remarks, during an event at the White House, began to confirm what advocacy groups have been quietly warning: Trump’s campaign of retribution is coming next for them.
" 'It’s supposed to be a charitable organization,' Trump said about CREW, in particular. 'The only charity they had is going after Donald Trump. So we’re looking at that. We’re looking at a lot of things.' "
#CharacteristicsOfFascism
#SilencingDissent #USPol #Authoritarianism #AuthoritarianRule #CriminalizingDissent #EnvironmentalGroups #WaterIsLife #AirIsLife #LandIsLife #FightForTheFuture #DefendMotherEarth -
Congressional Analysis: #GOP Tax Gifts to #Rich Would Explode Deficit They Always Complain About
"This bill gives enormous additional tax cuts to wealthy people and corporations, spikes the deficit, and strips healthcare from millions of Americans," said one critic.
Jessica Corbett
May 13, 2025Excerpt: " 'Reckless tax cuts for the top and new corporate loopholes appear to be the big features of this bill, and they're paid for by cutting our healthcare and making American communities more vulnerable to floods, fires, and storms,' she stressed. 'The revenue raisers—which don't stop this from being extremely expensive—seem to be about picking winners and losers, rather than passing rational, consistent policies.' "
https://www.commondreams.org/news/gop-reconciliation-package
#BigUglyBill #Environment #Ethics #TaxBreaksForTheRich #CorporatePolluters #AirIsLife
#WaterIsLife #LandIsLife
#TrumpHatesTheEnvironment
#TrumpHatesThePoor #Corporatocracy #CharacteristicsOfFascism
#SilencingDissent #USPol #HR9495 #StopHR9495 #TaxPackage #Authoritarianism #AuthoritarianRule
#FightForTheFuture -
What’s in Trump’s big bill? Trillions in tax cuts, changes to Medicaid and more
By KEVIN FREKING and LISA MASCARO
Updated 8:21 PM EDT, May 13, 2025WASHINGTON (AP) — "#Republicans in Congress are moving with rapid speed to advance President Donald Trump’s big bill of #TaxBreaks, #SpendingCuts and beefed-up border security funding as leaders work to enact many of his campaign promises.
"House committees have been laboring for months to draft the legislation, which Republicans have labeled 'THE ONE, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL,' a nod to Trump himself. Speaker Mike Johnson is pushing to approve the package and send it to the Senate by Memorial Day.
"Democrats say they will fight what House party leader #HakeemJeffries calls 'this extreme and toxic bill.' "
https://apnews.com/article/trump-tax-cuts-bill-medicaid-work-requirements-17cbde167f3b434e925a199c3253b8e1#BigUglyBill #Environment #Ethics #StudentLoans #Medicaid #TaxBreaksForTheRich
#CorporatePolluters #AirIsLife
#WaterIsLife #LandIsLife
#MAGADeathCult #TrumpHatesTheEnvironment
#TrumpHatesThePoor
#AntiLife #Greenpeace
#Indivisible #FreePalestine
#CREW #PeaceAndJustice
#Corporatocracy #CharacteristicsOfFascism
#SilencingDissent
#USPol #HR9495 #StopHR9495
#TaxPackage #Authoritarianism
#AuthoritarianRule
#FightForTheFuture
#Section112209 -
This is what I sent to Maine Senators Susan Collins and Angus King...
Dear Senator Collins / King, I beg you to vote "no" on Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill." The passing of this will hurt many Mainers, and could impact Maine non-profits (Section 112209). Many Mainers are already struggling to pay their bills, and putting more of a burden on them, while giving tax breaks to the rich is unfair to working and disabled Mainers. Thank you.
#HR9495 #BigBeautifulBill #BigUglyTaxBill #ToxicBill #Environment #Ethics #AirIsLife #WaterIsLife #LandIsLife #TrumpHatesTheEnvironment
#TrumpHatesThePoor #CorporatePolluters #Corporatocracy
#CharacteristicsOfFascism
#SilencingDissent #USPol
#HR9495 #TaxPackage
#Authoritarianism #AuthoritarianRule #StopHR9495 #FightForTheFuture
#Section112209 -
House Republicans look to help Trump strip tax-exempt status of nonprofits he says support terrorism
By ALEXA ST. JOHN and MATTHEW DALY
Updated 1:37 PM EDT, May 13, 2025WASHINGTON (AP) — "A proposal by Republicans in Congress would allow President Donald Trump’s administration to remove the tax-exempt status of nonprofits that it says support #terrorism, creating what some #nonprofits say is an arbitrary standard to financially punish #charities that advocate for issues that don’t align with his agenda.
"Unusual language added Monday to a reconciliation bill from the House Ways and Means Committee — the tax-writing committee — would allow for terminating the tax-exempt status of groups the administration deems 'terrorist supporting organizations.' The language mirrors a bill from the last Congress that passed in the House but did not pass the Senate.
"The definition and criteria for determining whether or how an organization supports terrorism are unclear. The bill also targets nonprofits in other ways, echoing complaints by Trump, who has called the tax-exempt status a 'privilege' that has been 'abused.' Trump has threatened to revoke tax-exempt status for groups that don’t abide by his directives or agree with his views."
[...]
"Michelle Roos, executive director of the Environmental Protection Network, which represents hundreds of former scientists and regulators, said last month 'we all pay the price' when charitable organizations are silenced based on politics.
"For example, the move to revoke #TaxExempt status could choke off funding for groups that urge greater action to promote clean air, water and land, work to help communities most affected by industrial pollution and advocate for projects and policies to combat #ClimateChange — among other issues.
" 'It threatens the rights, health, and future of every community,' Roos said in a statement.
Last month, Trump said he could target environmental groups and the ethics watchdog organization Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington."
#Environment #Ethics #AirIsLife #WaterIsLife #LandIsLife #MAGADeathCult #TrumpHatesTheEnvironment #TrumpHatesThePoor #AntiLife #Greenpeace #Indivisible #FreePalestine #CREW #PeaceAndJustice #CorporatePolluters #Corporatocracy #CharacteristicsOfFascism #SilencingDissent #USPol #HR9495 #TaxPackage #Authoritarianism #AuthoritarianRule #StopHR9495 #FightForTheFuture #Section112209
-
3 ways #Trump's #immigration #crackdown could hit #USCitizens
Brittany Gibson, Apr 23, 2025
"#Trump administration officials are suggesting their immigration crackdown could expand to include deporting convicted U.S. citizens and charging anyone — not just immigrants — who criticizes Trump's policies.
"Why it matters: Such moves — described by officials in recent days — would show how U.S. citizens could be impacted by the growing number of tactics President Trump is using to, in his view, improve national security.
"They'd also be certain to ignite new legal battles over how far Trump's team can go in fighting illegal immigration and responding to #dissenters.
"Zoom in: Here are three tactics the administration has teased that legal analysts say would challenge Americans' rights:
1. Sending convicted U.S. citizens to prisons abroad.
This has been floated as a spinoff of Trump's deal with El Salvador, where a high-security prison is holding about 300 U.S. immigration detainees that the administration says are suspected criminals and gang members.
"Homegrowns are next," Trump said during an Oval Office meeting with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele last week, referring to sending Americans convicted of crimes to serve time in foreign prisons.
"We always have to obey the laws," Trump said, "but we also have homegrown criminals that push people into subways, that hit elderly ladies over the head ... I'd like to include them in the group of people to get them out of the country."
Trump's suggestion — echoing a similar proposal Bukele made to Secretary of State Marco Rubio in February — drew a storm of criticism from legal advocates, who called it unconstitutional.2. Putting critics of the administration's policies in jeopardy.
Some officials say U.S. citizens who #criticize administration policies could be charged with crimes, based on the notion that they're aiding terrorists and criminals.
"You have to ask yourself, are they technically aiding and abetting them, because aiding and abetting criminals and terrorists is a crime," White House senior director for counterterrorism Seb Gorka said in an interview with Newsmax.
Trump's team also has questioned the legality of civic groups providing #immigrants with "#KnowYourRights" trainings on how to respond to federal agents. Border czar Tom Homan suggested that such seminars help people evade law enforcement.
"They're trying to use terrorism laws to attack people for their speech and for their political activism, and that's an authoritarian effort," said Kerri Talbot, co-executive director of the Immigration Hub, an immigration advocacy group.3. Questioning the authority of court orders.
The administration's resistance to returning Kilmar Abrego Garcia — who was legally in the U.S. with an order not to be deported back to El Salvador, but deported to the prison there anyway — has raised questions about how far Trump's team can go in trying to skirt court orders.
The White House says the decision to return #AbregoGarcia rests with El Salvador because the U.S. Supreme Court told the administration only to "facilitate" his return, not "effectuate" it.Advocates worry the resulting confusion has laid the groundwork for Trump's team to send a #USCitizen to a foreign prison, then claim that person couldn't be returned.
A federal judge raised this concern in Abrego Garcia's case.
"If today the Executive claims the right to deport without due process and in disregard of court orders, what assurance will there be tomorrow that it will not deport American citizens and then disclaim responsibility to bring them home?" wrote Judge Harvie Wilkinson III.
"And what assurance shall there be that the Executive will not train its broad discretionary powers upon its political enemies?"What they're saying: Michelle Brané, former executive director of the Biden administration's Family Reunification Task Force, echoed Wilkinson.
"If they can send a noncitizen to a prison in El Salvador without due process ... why would a U.S. citizen be safer?"
The White House didn't respond to a request for comment. But officials have argued that they have an electoral mandate for stricter immigration enforcement, and that opposition to their policies is against the will of voters.
Trump's handling of immigration polls well in public surveys.
But sending immigrants to El Salvador's prison without criminal convictions or due process does not — about 60% were opposed in a recent YouGov survey.Between the lines: U.S. citizens have been mistakenly detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) before, including cases this month in Arizona and Florida.
"People are realizing that this is going to impact all communities," Talbot said, "and that if one citizen can be picked up, then any of us can be picked up and put into proceedings, or labeled a #terrorist, or removed to a foreign prison."
Original article:
https://www.axios.com/2025/04/23/trump-immigration-crackdown-us-citizensArchived version:
https://archive.ph/wUUdG#SilencingDissent #CriminalizingProtest #CriminalizingDissent #USPol #DontQuestionBigBrother #Fascism #Authoritarianism #MemoryHoled #Orwellian #ThoughtCrime #WaterDefenders #LandDefenders #Resisters #HumanRightsDefenders #IhrePapiereBitte #Fascism #Authoritarianism #Nazis #SecretPolice
#Disappeared #USCitizens #ICEDetention
#IllegalDeportations #CharacteristicsOfFascism #Deportations #Disappeared #MemoryHoled #NineteenEightyFour #DoublePlusUngood -
[Thread] State by State Pending and Recently Passed #AntiProtestLaws: #Arizona
HB 2880: #Banning #protest encampments on campus
Would bar protest encampments on the campuses of state colleges and universities without prior authorization. Under the bill, individuals or groups that establish an unauthorized “encampment” would no longer be lawfully present on campus for the purpose of speech protections under Arizona law; they would be criminally liable to prosecution for trespass and damaging public property; and they would be liable for “direct and indirect costs” of any damage “that resulted from the individual’s intentional or negligent conduct relating” to the encampment. The bill defines “#encampment” as “temporary shelter” installed on campus and used to stay overnight or “for a prolonged period of time.” The bill would require colleges and universities to order individuals to dismantle and vacate unauthorized encampments; if the individuals refuse to comply, the institution would be required to take disciplinary action and report the individuals to local law enforcement for trespassing. The bill's sponsor said that it was motivated by #ProPalestine protests on college campuses.
Full text of bill here: https://apps.azleg.gov/BillStatus/BillOverview/83353
Status: ENACTED!
Introduced 12 Feb 2025; Approved by House 3 March 2025
Issue(s): Campus Protests, #Trespass, Camping
HB 2007: Harsh penalties for protesters who conceal their identity
**Note: HB 2007 was signed into law following amendments that removed the most restrictive provisions.** As originally introduced in the House, the bill made it a felony to wear any kind of #disguise at a protest. The introduced bill broadly prohibited disguises, "whether partial or complete," that an individual wore at a protest, political event, or any other public event in order "to evade or escape discovery, recognition or identification." Under the introduced bill, police would have had authority to detain any individual wearing a disguise in order to verify his or her identity and determine if the person had committed a crime; violation of the disguise ban would have been a Class 6 felony, subject to one year in prison. The sponsor of the bill said it was inspired by clashes between police and protesters, some of whom were masked, outside a 2017 rally for President #Trump. Following widespread criticism, the bill was comprehensively revised to a single provision that would allow courts to consider it an aggravating factor, for sentencing purposes, if an individual wore a #mask or other disguise to hide their face while committing a criminal offense.
Full bill text here: https://apps.azleg.gov/BillStatus/BillOverview/69619
Status: enacted with improvements
Introduced 21 Nov 2017; Governor Ducey signed it 23 March 2018 but the most problematic provisions were defeated.
Issue(s): #FaceCovering
#FirstAmendment #CriminalizingDissent
#Authoritarianism #Fascism #Clampdown #CriminalizingProtest
#CharacteristicsOfFascism #USPol #CriminalizingDissent #AntiProtestLaws
#StudentProtests #CampusProtests #FreePalestineProtests #Facemasks -
#S937: Barring #StudentProtesters from #FederalLoans and #LoanForgiveness
"Would exclude student protesters from federal financial aid and loan forgiveness if they commit any crime at a campus protest. The bill would cover someone convicted of 'any offense' under 'any Federal or State law” that is “related to the individual’s conduct at and during the course of a protest' at a college or university. As such, a student convicted of even a nonviolent, state law misdemeanor at a campus protest, such as failing to disperse, would be deemed ineligible for federal student loans; they would also be ineligible for having existing federal loans forgiven, cancelled, waived or modified. The sponsor of the bill said it was a response to #ProPalestine protests at colleges and universities.
(See full text of bill here)Status: pending
Introduced 11 Mar 2025.
Issue(s): #CampusProtests, Limit on Public Benefits
Bill sponsor Sen. #TomCotton (R-Ark.):
https://www.jns.org/cotton-introduces-two-bills-targeting-rotten-culture-on-university-campuses/Full text of bill:
https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/937#CriminalizingDissent #AntiProtestLaws
#Authoritarianism #Fascism #Clampdown #StudentProtests #CampusProtests #CharacteristicsOfFascism #FreePalestineProtests -
#PineAndRoses #NewEngland #DSA protests #ICEDetentions
Posted by #MaineDSA and Wes Pelletier | Mar 27, 2025
"Last week, the #MaineCoalitionForPalestine organized a protest of ICE detention of #ColumbiaUniversity student leader #MahmoudKhalil. Since then, ICE has operated as the #Trump Administration’s #SecretPolice, abducting a growing number of immigrant organizers for exercising their right to #FreeSpeech and protesting the U.S.-sponsored #genocide in #Gaza. The list includes #RumeysaOzturk, #YunseoChung, #BadarKhunSuri, #MomodouTaal, #RanjaniSrinivasan, as well as #farmworker organizer #AlfredoJuarezZerefino. Maine DSA member and Portland District 2 City Councilmember #WesPelletier spoke at the Portland Mahmoud Khalil protest and DSA chapters around New England issued a joint declaration reprinted below against the ICE abduction of Rumeysa Ozturk.
New England DSA chapters demand freedom for Rumeysa Ozturk
"Yesterday, ICE agents abducted Rumeysa Ozturk, a graduate student and pro-Palestine activist at Tufts.
"The kidnapping comes after almost 400 #ICEArrests in Massachusetts, as well as the #doxxing of Ozturk by the pro-Isreal website #CanaryMission.
"ICE’s abductions—of Ozturk, Khalil, and many others—is an unprecedented attack on basic #CivilRights in the name of U.S. Empire, whether those detained are peaceful #PoliticalActivists or undocumented #migrants seeking safety, jobs, and a better life.
"We must stand up against this brazen attack on #Palestine, #FreeSpeech, and the #RightToProtest.
"We must stand in solidarity with our neighbors and communities under attack from Trump, ICE, and all agents of #imperialism.
"Governor Healey, the courts, and the Democratic Party establishment are not coming to save us—we must mobilize, agitate, and organize in our workplaces and campuses to defend working-class rights.
In Solidarity,
#BerkshiresDSA, #BostonDSA, #BostonUniversityYDSA, #CapeCodDSA, #ConnecticutDSA, #MaineDSA, #NortheasternYDSA, #RiverValleyDSA, #SimmonsYDSA, #SouthernNewHampshireDSA, #UpperValleyDSA, #WorcesterDSA"
Source:
https://pineandroses.org/news/new-england-dsa-protests-ice-detentions/
#ResistICE #ResistFascism #Resistance #District13 #District13Resists #Fascism #USPol #Authoritarianism #TurReich #CharacteristicsOfFascism -
#Trump demands unprecedented control at #ColumbiaUniversity, alarming scholars and speech groups
By COLLIN BINKLEY and JAKE OFFENHARTZ
Updated 7:52 PM EDT, March 14, 2025NEW YORK (AP) — "The Trump administration brushed aside decades of precedent when it ordered Columbia University to oust the leadership of an academic department, a demand seen as a direct attack on academic freedom and a warning of what’s to come for other colleges facing federal scrutiny.
"Federal officials told the university it must immediately place its #MiddleEasternStudies, #SouthAsianStudies, and #AfricanStudies Department under 'academic receivership for a minimum of five years.' The demand was among several described as conditions for receiving federal funding, including $400 million already pulled over allegations of #antisemitism.
"Across #academia, it was seen as a stunning intrusion.
"'It’s an escalation of a kind that is unheard of,' said Joan Scott, a historian and member of the academic freedom committee of the American Association of University Professors [#AAUP]. 'Even during the #McCarthy period in the United States, this was not done.'"
https://apnews.com/article/columbia-university-mahmoud-khalil-ice-arrests-1921e26f6b5a8585ad5cbda790846324
#CharacteristicsOfFascism #USPol #Censorship #DumbingUsDown #Authoritarianism #SilencingDissent #AcademicFreedom #Fascism -
#PortlandME - The American Civil Liberties Union of #Maine says dozens of federal detainees are currently being held at the #CumberlandCountyJail and many others are being held at the #FederalPrison in #BerlinNewHampshire.
"Last week, the #ACLU of New Hampshire said it confirmed that Immigration and Customs Enforcement was already holding prisoners in Berlin. The Los Angeles Times has reported more than 500 detainees could be held at #FCIBerlin.
"As of Monday, March 10, 2025, at ACLU says there were 61 people held in ICE custody at the Cumberland County Jail in Portland."
Read more:
https://www.wmtw.com/article/federal-detainees-held-maine-jail-nh-federal-prison/64148626
#HumanRightsViolations #ICEDetention #IndefiniteDetention #PrivatePrisons #Fascism #CharacteristicsOfFascism #ResistICE #ImmigrantsRights -
#MaineACLU Denounces ‘Cruel’ Use of #NewHampshire #FederalPrison to Hold #ICEDetainees
By Edward TomicMarch 11, 2025
"The #Maine American Civil Liberties Union (#ACLU) has issued a statement denouncing the use of a New Hampshire federal prison by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain suspected illegal aliens.
"Last month, media outlets began reporting on a leaked memo, signed Feb. 6, that indicated ICE was intending to use #FCIBerlin, a medium-security prison in Berlin, N.H., to hold immigration detainees in custody.
"That memo noted that the units at FCI were not currently available due to there being a 'substantial amount of preparation and resources' needed before the prison could accept detainees, such as additional funding for staffing, food, utilities, clothing and other items.
"The memo also indicates that the federal Bureau of Prisons or warden at each locally designated prison may approve or reject a request by ICE to hold an ICE detainee for any reason, such as for lack of space, or medical, mental health, safety or security reasons.
"ICE lodges immigration detainers against unlawfully present noncitizens who have been arrested on criminal charges or who the agency has probable cause to believe are deportable from the U.S.
"'The government should not be using federal prisons to support the president’s #MassDeportation efforts,' said Carol Garvan, legal director of the ACLU of Maine, in a Monday statement.
"'The federal government itself acknowledged that FCI Berlin would require a ‘substantial amount of preparation,’ yet just weeks later they have already begun detaining people there,' Garvan said. 'We have strong concerns about the #inhumane treatment of people in ICE custody, and we will not stand by while our region is used to carry out these cruel policies.'"
https://www.themainewire.com/2025/03/maine-aclu-denounces-cruel-use-of-new-hampshire-federal-prison-to-hold-ice-detainees/
#HumanRightsViolations #ICEDetention #IndefiniteDetention #PrivatePrisons #Fascism #CharacteristicsOfFascism #ResistICE #ImmigrantsRights -
#MaineACLU Denounces ‘Cruel’ Use of #NewHampshire #FederalPrison to Hold #ICEDetainees
By Edward TomicMarch 11, 2025
"The #Maine American Civil Liberties Union (#ACLU) has issued a statement denouncing the use of a New Hampshire federal prison by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain suspected illegal aliens.
"Last month, media outlets began reporting on a leaked memo, signed Feb. 6, that indicated ICE was intending to use #FCIBerlin, a medium-security prison in Berlin, N.H., to hold immigration detainees in custody.
"That memo noted that the units at FCI were not currently available due to there being a 'substantial amount of preparation and resources' needed before the prison could accept detainees, such as additional funding for staffing, food, utilities, clothing and other items.
"The memo also indicates that the federal Bureau of Prisons or warden at each locally designated prison may approve or reject a request by ICE to hold an ICE detainee for any reason, such as for lack of space, or medical, mental health, safety or security reasons.
"ICE lodges immigration detainers against unlawfully present noncitizens who have been arrested on criminal charges or who the agency has probable cause to believe are deportable from the U.S.
"'The government should not be using federal prisons to support the president’s #MassDeportation efforts,' said Carol Garvan, legal director of the ACLU of Maine, in a Monday statement.
"'The federal government itself acknowledged that FCI Berlin would require a ‘substantial amount of preparation,’ yet just weeks later they have already begun detaining people there,' Garvan said. 'We have strong concerns about the #inhumane treatment of people in ICE custody, and we will not stand by while our region is used to carry out these cruel policies.'"
https://www.themainewire.com/2025/03/maine-aclu-denounces-cruel-use-of-new-hampshire-federal-prison-to-hold-ice-detainees/
#HumanRightsViolations #ICEDetention #IndefiniteDetention #PrivatePrisons #Fascism #CharacteristicsOfFascism #ResistICE #ImmigrantsRights -
#MaineACLU Denounces ‘Cruel’ Use of #NewHampshire #FederalPrison to Hold #ICEDetainees
By Edward TomicMarch 11, 2025
"The #Maine American Civil Liberties Union (#ACLU) has issued a statement denouncing the use of a New Hampshire federal prison by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain suspected illegal aliens.
"Last month, media outlets began reporting on a leaked memo, signed Feb. 6, that indicated ICE was intending to use #FCIBerlin, a medium-security prison in Berlin, N.H., to hold immigration detainees in custody.
"That memo noted that the units at FCI were not currently available due to there being a 'substantial amount of preparation and resources' needed before the prison could accept detainees, such as additional funding for staffing, food, utilities, clothing and other items.
"The memo also indicates that the federal Bureau of Prisons or warden at each locally designated prison may approve or reject a request by ICE to hold an ICE detainee for any reason, such as for lack of space, or medical, mental health, safety or security reasons.
"ICE lodges immigration detainers against unlawfully present noncitizens who have been arrested on criminal charges or who the agency has probable cause to believe are deportable from the U.S.
"'The government should not be using federal prisons to support the president’s #MassDeportation efforts,' said Carol Garvan, legal director of the ACLU of Maine, in a Monday statement.
"'The federal government itself acknowledged that FCI Berlin would require a ‘substantial amount of preparation,’ yet just weeks later they have already begun detaining people there,' Garvan said. 'We have strong concerns about the #inhumane treatment of people in ICE custody, and we will not stand by while our region is used to carry out these cruel policies.'"
https://www.themainewire.com/2025/03/maine-aclu-denounces-cruel-use-of-new-hampshire-federal-prison-to-hold-ice-detainees/
#HumanRightsViolations #ICEDetention #IndefiniteDetention #PrivatePrisons #Fascism #CharacteristicsOfFascism #ResistICE #ImmigrantsRights -
#MaineACLU Denounces ‘Cruel’ Use of #NewHampshire #FederalPrison to Hold #ICEDetainees
By Edward TomicMarch 11, 2025
"The #Maine American Civil Liberties Union (#ACLU) has issued a statement denouncing the use of a New Hampshire federal prison by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain suspected illegal aliens.
"Last month, media outlets began reporting on a leaked memo, signed Feb. 6, that indicated ICE was intending to use #FCIBerlin, a medium-security prison in Berlin, N.H., to hold immigration detainees in custody.
"That memo noted that the units at FCI were not currently available due to there being a 'substantial amount of preparation and resources' needed before the prison could accept detainees, such as additional funding for staffing, food, utilities, clothing and other items.
"The memo also indicates that the federal Bureau of Prisons or warden at each locally designated prison may approve or reject a request by ICE to hold an ICE detainee for any reason, such as for lack of space, or medical, mental health, safety or security reasons.
"ICE lodges immigration detainers against unlawfully present noncitizens who have been arrested on criminal charges or who the agency has probable cause to believe are deportable from the U.S.
"'The government should not be using federal prisons to support the president’s #MassDeportation efforts,' said Carol Garvan, legal director of the ACLU of Maine, in a Monday statement.
"'The federal government itself acknowledged that FCI Berlin would require a ‘substantial amount of preparation,’ yet just weeks later they have already begun detaining people there,' Garvan said. 'We have strong concerns about the #inhumane treatment of people in ICE custody, and we will not stand by while our region is used to carry out these cruel policies.'"
https://www.themainewire.com/2025/03/maine-aclu-denounces-cruel-use-of-new-hampshire-federal-prison-to-hold-ice-detainees/
#HumanRightsViolations #ICEDetention #IndefiniteDetention #PrivatePrisons #Fascism #CharacteristicsOfFascism #ResistICE #ImmigrantsRights -
#MaineACLU Denounces ‘Cruel’ Use of #NewHampshire #FederalPrison to Hold #ICEDetainees
By Edward TomicMarch 11, 2025
"The #Maine American Civil Liberties Union (#ACLU) has issued a statement denouncing the use of a New Hampshire federal prison by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain suspected illegal aliens.
"Last month, media outlets began reporting on a leaked memo, signed Feb. 6, that indicated ICE was intending to use #FCIBerlin, a medium-security prison in Berlin, N.H., to hold immigration detainees in custody.
"That memo noted that the units at FCI were not currently available due to there being a 'substantial amount of preparation and resources' needed before the prison could accept detainees, such as additional funding for staffing, food, utilities, clothing and other items.
"The memo also indicates that the federal Bureau of Prisons or warden at each locally designated prison may approve or reject a request by ICE to hold an ICE detainee for any reason, such as for lack of space, or medical, mental health, safety or security reasons.
"ICE lodges immigration detainers against unlawfully present noncitizens who have been arrested on criminal charges or who the agency has probable cause to believe are deportable from the U.S.
"'The government should not be using federal prisons to support the president’s #MassDeportation efforts,' said Carol Garvan, legal director of the ACLU of Maine, in a Monday statement.
"'The federal government itself acknowledged that FCI Berlin would require a ‘substantial amount of preparation,’ yet just weeks later they have already begun detaining people there,' Garvan said. 'We have strong concerns about the #inhumane treatment of people in ICE custody, and we will not stand by while our region is used to carry out these cruel policies.'"
https://www.themainewire.com/2025/03/maine-aclu-denounces-cruel-use-of-new-hampshire-federal-prison-to-hold-ice-detainees/
#HumanRightsViolations #ICEDetention #IndefiniteDetention #PrivatePrisons #Fascism #CharacteristicsOfFascism #ResistICE #ImmigrantsRights -
#ElonMusk and Texas governor celebrate firing of worker over pronouns in email signature
Billionaire #Trump ally and #GregAbbot tweet about Frank Zamora, who was let go after refusing to remove pronouns
“However, we have chosen to make them a politicized topic and a hot-button issue. I felt that this order was strictly passed down to appease a certain political movement, and that it was strictly done, essentially, to win a culture war. And I do not believe that the #LGBTQ+ community – trans individuals, non-binary, intersex or any individuals who choose to display their preferred pronouns – deserve to be made political collateral or to be put on the chopping block.”
by Erum Salam, Thu 6 Mar 2025 14.03 EST
"The Texas governor, Greg Abbott, and, later, Elon Musk showed support on Wednesday for the firing of a state employee who refused to remove his pronouns from his work email signature.
"#FrankZamora, 31, was let go from his job as a program manager at the Texas real estate commission (TREC) last month because he refused to comply with a mandate from the organisation to employees to remove gender pronouns from email signatures.
"'I actually anticipated this coming, just because we knew that many changes that were being made at the federal level were being mimicked at the state level,' Zamora said.
"Abbott celebrated the move on X, sharing a report from the Austin American-Statesman on the firing and writing: 'A Texas state employee refused to remove pronouns from email signature. He was fired before noon.'"
Read more:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/06/musk-greg-abbott-fired-worker-pronouns
#TransRightsAreHumanRights #WeExist #NonBinary #Fascism #ResistFascism #Resistance #ChristoFascists #CharacteristicsOfFascism #USPol -
#Florida officials report hundreds of books removed from schools
#Beloved by #ToniMorrison, #NormalPeople by #SallyRooney and #SlaughterhouseFive by #KurtVonnegut, among books pulled
by Coral Murphy Marcos
Tue 12 Nov 2024 23.10 EST"Florida’s department of education has released a list of more than 700 books that were 'removed or discontinued' from schools across the state after changes to a state law last year that allows parents and residents to challenge the content of #LibraryBooks.
"This year’s list, which has doubled in size from last year, includes titles such as Beloved by Toni Morrison, Normal People by Sally Rooney, and Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut.
"The list comes after #HouseBill1069 went into effect last July, requiring school districts to set up a mechanism for parents to object to anything they consider pornographic or inappropriate.
"Since then hundreds of titles have been removed from elementary, middle and high school libraries. In Florida, 33 out of about 70 school districts #BannedBooks.
"American classics such as #BraveNewWorld by #AldousHuxley, #ForWhomTheBellTolls by #ErnestHemingway and The Adventures of #TomSawyer by #MarkTwain are among those that have been pulled. Contemporary novels by bestselling authors such as #MargaretAtwood and #StephenKing have also been removed.
"Members of the #FloridaFreedomToReadProject, a group comprised of public school parents, said the measure has led to an unprecedented rise in #censorship, mostly driven by conservative interest groups, and has limited students’ access to diverse #literature.
“'We believe in a fair, thorough, and public objection process that ensures decisions reflect the needs of each school community - not the broad, district-wide censorship we see today that’s inspired by the vague language in #HB1069 and ‘bad book’ lists like this one,' the group said in a statement.
“'Censorship is happening right here in Florida. Lists like this that include award-winning, #ClassicLiterature and books about #BanningBooks cannot be spun or shoved into a narrative about extremely targeted removals,' they added.
"#PENAmerica found that Florida and #Iowa recorded the highest number of book bans during the 2023-2024 school year, leading in the country with over 4,500 book bans in Florida and over 3,600 in Iowa. These bans have cost districts about $34,000 to $135,000 a year.
"A study on educational censorship in Florida found a 'climate of compliance, fear and stress' that threatens students’ academic performance and the well-being of both teachers and students'."
#BannedBooks #Censorship #FloridaSchools #Education #CharacteristicsOfFascism #ChristoFascism
-
#Ohio offers a new way to use public money for #ChristianSchools. Opponents say it’s unconstitutional
By JULIE CARR SMYTH
Updated 12:09 AM EST, November 17, 2024COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — "Around the country, advocates for Christian education have been finding legal ways to tap #taxpayer money used more typically for #PublicSchools. One new approach in Ohio is benefiting schools tied to a burgeoning #conservative political group and facing objections from defenders of the #SeparationOfChurchAndState.
"In President-elect Donald #Trump, backers of school choice have gained an ally in their efforts to share taxpayer money with families to pay for things like private school tuition. Trump has cast school choice as a way to counter what he calls leftist indoctrination in public classrooms and is expected to seek a boost for the movement at the federal level.
"The Ohio case shows how governments can push the envelope to funnel money to private schools.
"The state has put a small part of its budget surplus toward competitive grants for expanding and renovating #ReligiousSchools. Most of the winning construction projects are associated with the #CenterForChristianVirtue, an Ohio-based advocacy group that’s seen its revenues balloon amid the state’s push to expand religious educational options. "
Read more:https://apnews.com/article/christian-private-school-choice-ohio-3c49fe1477a678377ede32e5de5f6db3
#ChristoFascism #ChristianCoalition
#ChristianNationalism
#Fascism #CharacteristicsOfFascism