#civilliberties — Public Fediverse posts

Gloria Steinem’s Final Essay before her death this week - "When you’re lucky enough to have lived a long life, as I have done, your role is to remind us how far we have come." https://periscope.corsfix.com/?https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newyorker.com%2Fculture%2Flife-and-letters%2Fgloria-steinems-final-essay= #civilliberties #women #girls #law #civilrights #justice #equality #publichealth #choice #privacy #freedom #voting #democracy

Gloria Steinem’s Final Essay before her death this week - "When you’re lucky enough to have lived a long life, as I have done, your role is to remind us how far we have come." https://periscope.corsfix.com/?https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newyorker.com%2Fculture%2Flife-and-letters%2Fgloria-steinems-final-essay= #civilliberties #women #girls #law #civilrights #justice #equality #publichealth #choice #privacy #freedom #voting #democracy

Gloria Steinem’s Final Essay before her death this week - "When you’re lucky enough to have lived a long life, as I have done, your role is to remind us how far we have come." https://periscope.corsfix.com/?https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newyorker.com%2Fculture%2Flife-and-letters%2Fgloria-steinems-final-essay= #civilliberties #women #girls #law #civilrights #justice #equality #publichealth #choice #privacy #freedom #voting #democracy

Gloria Steinem’s Final Essay before her death this week - "When you’re lucky enough to have lived a long life, as I have done, your role is to remind us how far we have come." https://periscope.corsfix.com/?https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newyorker.com%2Fculture%2Flife-and-letters%2Fgloria-steinems-final-essay= #civilliberties #women #girls #law #civilrights #justice #equality #publichealth #choice #privacy #freedom #voting #democracy

Gloria Steinem’s Final Essay before her death this week - "When you’re lucky enough to have lived a long life, as I have done, your role is to remind us how far we have come." https://periscope.corsfix.com/?https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newyorker.com%2Fculture%2Flife-and-letters%2Fgloria-steinems-final-essay= #civilliberties #women #girls #law #civilrights #justice #equality #publichealth #choice #privacy #freedom #voting #democracy

this.weekinsecurity:
"
Vigilantism comes for Flock
"
"More Americans than ever are destroying Flock license plate cameras amid rising backlash against the company. Is the tide turning on intrusive U.S. mass surveillance, and where does the privacy fight go next?"

https://this.weekinsecurity.com/vigilantism-comes-for-flock/

4.9.2026

#BigBrother #CivilLiberties #Flock #Freiheitsrechte #Kennzeichenscanner #LicensePlateCamera #LicensePlateTracking #Massenüberwachung #MassSurveillance #Privacy #Surveillance #Überwachung

this.weekinsecurity:
"
Vigilantism comes for Flock
"
"More Americans than ever are destroying Flock license plate cameras amid rising backlash against the company. Is the tide turning on intrusive U.S. mass surveillance, and where does the privacy fight go next?"

https://this.weekinsecurity.com/vigilantism-comes-for-flock/

4.9.2026

#BigBrother #CivilLiberties #Flock #Freiheitsrechte #Kennzeichenscanner #LicensePlateCamera #LicensePlateTracking #Massenüberwachung #MassSurveillance #Privacy #Surveillance #Überwachung

this.weekinsecurity:
"
Vigilantism comes for Flock
"
"More Americans than ever are destroying Flock license plate cameras amid rising backlash against the company. Is the tide turning on intrusive U.S. mass surveillance, and where does the privacy fight go next?"

https://this.weekinsecurity.com/vigilantism-comes-for-flock/

4.9.2026

#BigBrother #CivilLiberties #Flock #Freiheitsrechte #Kennzeichenscanner #LicensePlateCamera #LicensePlateTracking #Massenüberwachung #MassSurveillance #Privacy #Surveillance #Überwachung

this.weekinsecurity:
"
Vigilantism comes for Flock
"
"More Americans than ever are destroying Flock license plate cameras amid rising backlash against the company. Is the tide turning on intrusive U.S. mass surveillance, and where does the privacy fight go next?"

https://this.weekinsecurity.com/vigilantism-comes-for-flock/

4.9.2026

#BigBrother #CivilLiberties #Flock #Freiheitsrechte #Kennzeichenscanner #LicensePlateCamera #LicensePlateTracking #Massenüberwachung #MassSurveillance #Privacy #Surveillance #Überwachung

this.weekinsecurity:
"
Vigilantism comes for Flock
"
"More Americans than ever are destroying Flock license plate cameras amid rising backlash against the company. Is the tide turning on intrusive U.S. mass surveillance, and where does the privacy fight go next?"

https://this.weekinsecurity.com/vigilantism-comes-for-flock/

4.9.2026

#BigBrother #CivilLiberties #Flock #Freiheitsrechte #Kennzeichenscanner #LicensePlateCamera #LicensePlateTracking #Massenüberwachung #MassSurveillance #Privacy #Surveillance #Überwachung

Texas: Faith, Freedom, and Mind Your Damn Business

By Cliff Potts, CSO
Editor-in-Chief, WPS News

Baybay City, Leyte, Philippines — September 4, 2026, 9:15 p.m. PHT

Texas talks about faith constantly and practices freedom inconsistently. Religion is waved like a banner while personal liberty is quietly narrowed, regulated, or punished when it doesn’t line up with political fashion. This contradiction has become so normal that many Texans barely notice it anymore.

Faith is not the problem. Power is.

Faith Is Personal, Not Administrative

Texas is home to churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, meeting houses, and people who believe quietly or not at all. That pluralism is not a flaw. It is a fact. Faith has always been part of Texas life, but it has never belonged to the state.

When government begins enforcing one version of belief, it stops protecting faith and starts weaponizing it. That does not strengthen religion. It cheapens it. Faith that requires government backing is not faith—it is insecurity dressed up as authority.

People believe deeply without being coerced. The state does not need to supervise that.

Freedom Means Leaving People Alone

Texas politicians love to invoke freedom while inserting themselves into private decisions about bodies, families, education, and belief. That is not freedom. It is control wrapped in familiar language.

True freedom is not loud. It is boring. It is the quiet confidence that your neighbor’s life choices are none of your business unless they cause real harm. A free society tolerates disagreement without demanding conformity.

If a belief system is strong, it does not need the force of law to survive.

Religion in Schools Without Indoctrination

Teaching about religion is not the same thing as preaching it. Students benefit from understanding the beliefs that shape history, culture, and global affairs. Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Shinto, Indigenous traditions, and secular ethics all belong in a serious education.

Teaching one belief as truth while excluding others is not education. It is indoctrination. Texas should be confident enough to teach broadly without fear.

Knowledge does not weaken faith. It strengthens discernment.

The Myth of Moral Decline

Texas politics often leans on claims of moral collapse to justify intrusion into private life. These claims rarely hold up under scrutiny. Crime trends, family structures, and social behavior are influenced far more by economics, education, and stability than by religious enforcement.

Blaming social problems on belief differences avoids addressing harder causes like poverty, healthcare access, housing, and education. Moral panic is easier than policy work.

A serious state solves problems instead of sermonizing about them.

Faith Communities Do Real Work

Faith-based organizations are often the first to respond when communities struggle. They feed people, shelter families, provide counseling, and show up quietly without demanding credit. That work matters. It deserves respect and support.

What it does not require is political dominance. Faith communities are strongest when they act voluntarily, not when they are fused to state power.

Service speaks louder than slogans.

Freedom of Conscience Cuts Both Ways

Freedom of religion includes the freedom not to believe. It includes the freedom to change beliefs. It includes the freedom to practice quietly without public approval. Protecting conscience means accepting outcomes you may personally dislike.

That is the price of liberty. It is also its strength.

Texas cannot claim to honor freedom while punishing people for living differently.

When Government Picks Winners

History offers no shortage of warnings about governments that decide which beliefs are acceptable. Even when intentions begin as sincere, outcomes tend toward exclusion, resentment, and abuse. Texas is not immune to that pattern.

Keeping church and state separate does not weaken either. It protects both from corruption.

Personal Faith, Public Restraint

Leaders are allowed their faith. They are allowed to be guided by conscience. What they are not allowed to do is impose that conscience as law when it infringes on the rights of others.

Restraint is not betrayal. It is maturity.

What a Confident Texas Would Do

A confident Texas would protect freedom of worship for everyone and freedom from coercion for everyone else. It would teach religion academically, not devotionally. It would trust families and individuals to handle belief without supervision.

Most of all, it would stop confusing moral authority with legal power.

Why This Matters Going Forward

Faith will continue to shape Texas culture. That is not in question. The question is whether it will be used to inspire service and compassion—or to justify intrusion and control.

Freedom survives only when people mind their own damn business.

Texas is strong enough to do that.

This essay will be archived as part of the ongoing WPS News Monthly Brief Series available through Amazon.

References (APA)
Pew Research Center. (2025). Religious diversity and belief in the United States.
First Amendment Center. (2025). Religion, government, and constitutional boundaries.
National Council of State Legislatures. (2025). Religious freedom and public policy analysis.
Gallup. (2025). Public attitudes toward religion and government.
American Academy of Religion. (2025). Teaching religion in public education.

Texas: Faith, Freedom, and Mind Your Damn Business

By Cliff Potts, CSO
Editor-in-Chief, WPS News

Baybay City, Leyte, Philippines — September 4, 2026, 9:15 p.m. PHT

Texas talks about faith constantly and practices freedom inconsistently. Religion is waved like a banner while personal liberty is quietly narrowed, regulated, or punished when it doesn’t line up with political fashion. This contradiction has become so normal that many Texans barely notice it anymore.

Faith is not the problem. Power is.

Faith Is Personal, Not Administrative

Texas is home to churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, meeting houses, and people who believe quietly or not at all. That pluralism is not a flaw. It is a fact. Faith has always been part of Texas life, but it has never belonged to the state.

When government begins enforcing one version of belief, it stops protecting faith and starts weaponizing it. That does not strengthen religion. It cheapens it. Faith that requires government backing is not faith—it is insecurity dressed up as authority.

People believe deeply without being coerced. The state does not need to supervise that.

Freedom Means Leaving People Alone

Texas politicians love to invoke freedom while inserting themselves into private decisions about bodies, families, education, and belief. That is not freedom. It is control wrapped in familiar language.

True freedom is not loud. It is boring. It is the quiet confidence that your neighbor’s life choices are none of your business unless they cause real harm. A free society tolerates disagreement without demanding conformity.

If a belief system is strong, it does not need the force of law to survive.

Religion in Schools Without Indoctrination

Teaching about religion is not the same thing as preaching it. Students benefit from understanding the beliefs that shape history, culture, and global affairs. Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Shinto, Indigenous traditions, and secular ethics all belong in a serious education.

Teaching one belief as truth while excluding others is not education. It is indoctrination. Texas should be confident enough to teach broadly without fear.

Knowledge does not weaken faith. It strengthens discernment.

The Myth of Moral Decline

Texas politics often leans on claims of moral collapse to justify intrusion into private life. These claims rarely hold up under scrutiny. Crime trends, family structures, and social behavior are influenced far more by economics, education, and stability than by religious enforcement.

Blaming social problems on belief differences avoids addressing harder causes like poverty, healthcare access, housing, and education. Moral panic is easier than policy work.

A serious state solves problems instead of sermonizing about them.

Faith Communities Do Real Work

Faith-based organizations are often the first to respond when communities struggle. They feed people, shelter families, provide counseling, and show up quietly without demanding credit. That work matters. It deserves respect and support.

What it does not require is political dominance. Faith communities are strongest when they act voluntarily, not when they are fused to state power.

Service speaks louder than slogans.

Freedom of Conscience Cuts Both Ways

Freedom of religion includes the freedom not to believe. It includes the freedom to change beliefs. It includes the freedom to practice quietly without public approval. Protecting conscience means accepting outcomes you may personally dislike.

That is the price of liberty. It is also its strength.

Texas cannot claim to honor freedom while punishing people for living differently.

When Government Picks Winners

History offers no shortage of warnings about governments that decide which beliefs are acceptable. Even when intentions begin as sincere, outcomes tend toward exclusion, resentment, and abuse. Texas is not immune to that pattern.

Keeping church and state separate does not weaken either. It protects both from corruption.

Personal Faith, Public Restraint

Leaders are allowed their faith. They are allowed to be guided by conscience. What they are not allowed to do is impose that conscience as law when it infringes on the rights of others.

Restraint is not betrayal. It is maturity.

What a Confident Texas Would Do

A confident Texas would protect freedom of worship for everyone and freedom from coercion for everyone else. It would teach religion academically, not devotionally. It would trust families and individuals to handle belief without supervision.

Most of all, it would stop confusing moral authority with legal power.

Why This Matters Going Forward

Faith will continue to shape Texas culture. That is not in question. The question is whether it will be used to inspire service and compassion—or to justify intrusion and control.

Freedom survives only when people mind their own damn business.

Texas is strong enough to do that.

This essay will be archived as part of the ongoing WPS News Monthly Brief Series available through Amazon.

References (APA)
Pew Research Center. (2025). Religious diversity and belief in the United States.
First Amendment Center. (2025). Religion, government, and constitutional boundaries.
National Council of State Legislatures. (2025). Religious freedom and public policy analysis.
Gallup. (2025). Public attitudes toward religion and government.
American Academy of Religion. (2025). Teaching religion in public education.

Texas: Faith, Freedom, and Mind Your Damn Business

By Cliff Potts, CSO
Editor-in-Chief, WPS News

Baybay City, Leyte, Philippines — September 4, 2026, 9:15 p.m. PHT

Texas talks about faith constantly and practices freedom inconsistently. Religion is waved like a banner while personal liberty is quietly narrowed, regulated, or punished when it doesn’t line up with political fashion. This contradiction has become so normal that many Texans barely notice it anymore.

Faith is not the problem. Power is.

Faith Is Personal, Not Administrative

Texas is home to churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, meeting houses, and people who believe quietly or not at all. That pluralism is not a flaw. It is a fact. Faith has always been part of Texas life, but it has never belonged to the state.

When government begins enforcing one version of belief, it stops protecting faith and starts weaponizing it. That does not strengthen religion. It cheapens it. Faith that requires government backing is not faith—it is insecurity dressed up as authority.

People believe deeply without being coerced. The state does not need to supervise that.

Freedom Means Leaving People Alone

Texas politicians love to invoke freedom while inserting themselves into private decisions about bodies, families, education, and belief. That is not freedom. It is control wrapped in familiar language.

True freedom is not loud. It is boring. It is the quiet confidence that your neighbor’s life choices are none of your business unless they cause real harm. A free society tolerates disagreement without demanding conformity.

If a belief system is strong, it does not need the force of law to survive.

Religion in Schools Without Indoctrination

Teaching about religion is not the same thing as preaching it. Students benefit from understanding the beliefs that shape history, culture, and global affairs. Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Shinto, Indigenous traditions, and secular ethics all belong in a serious education.

Teaching one belief as truth while excluding others is not education. It is indoctrination. Texas should be confident enough to teach broadly without fear.

Knowledge does not weaken faith. It strengthens discernment.

The Myth of Moral Decline

Texas politics often leans on claims of moral collapse to justify intrusion into private life. These claims rarely hold up under scrutiny. Crime trends, family structures, and social behavior are influenced far more by economics, education, and stability than by religious enforcement.

Blaming social problems on belief differences avoids addressing harder causes like poverty, healthcare access, housing, and education. Moral panic is easier than policy work.

A serious state solves problems instead of sermonizing about them.

Faith Communities Do Real Work

Faith-based organizations are often the first to respond when communities struggle. They feed people, shelter families, provide counseling, and show up quietly without demanding credit. That work matters. It deserves respect and support.

What it does not require is political dominance. Faith communities are strongest when they act voluntarily, not when they are fused to state power.

Service speaks louder than slogans.

Freedom of Conscience Cuts Both Ways

Freedom of religion includes the freedom not to believe. It includes the freedom to change beliefs. It includes the freedom to practice quietly without public approval. Protecting conscience means accepting outcomes you may personally dislike.

That is the price of liberty. It is also its strength.

Texas cannot claim to honor freedom while punishing people for living differently.

When Government Picks Winners

History offers no shortage of warnings about governments that decide which beliefs are acceptable. Even when intentions begin as sincere, outcomes tend toward exclusion, resentment, and abuse. Texas is not immune to that pattern.

Keeping church and state separate does not weaken either. It protects both from corruption.

Personal Faith, Public Restraint

Leaders are allowed their faith. They are allowed to be guided by conscience. What they are not allowed to do is impose that conscience as law when it infringes on the rights of others.

Restraint is not betrayal. It is maturity.

What a Confident Texas Would Do

A confident Texas would protect freedom of worship for everyone and freedom from coercion for everyone else. It would teach religion academically, not devotionally. It would trust families and individuals to handle belief without supervision.

Most of all, it would stop confusing moral authority with legal power.

Why This Matters Going Forward

Faith will continue to shape Texas culture. That is not in question. The question is whether it will be used to inspire service and compassion—or to justify intrusion and control.

Freedom survives only when people mind their own damn business.

Texas is strong enough to do that.

This essay will be archived as part of the ongoing WPS News Monthly Brief Series available through Amazon.

References (APA)
Pew Research Center. (2025). Religious diversity and belief in the United States.
First Amendment Center. (2025). Religion, government, and constitutional boundaries.
National Council of State Legislatures. (2025). Religious freedom and public policy analysis.
Gallup. (2025). Public attitudes toward religion and government.
American Academy of Religion. (2025). Teaching religion in public education.

Texas: Faith, Freedom, and Mind Your Damn Business

By Cliff Potts, CSO
Editor-in-Chief, WPS News

Baybay City, Leyte, Philippines — September 4, 2026, 9:15 p.m. PHT

Texas talks about faith constantly and practices freedom inconsistently. Religion is waved like a banner while personal liberty is quietly narrowed, regulated, or punished when it doesn’t line up with political fashion. This contradiction has become so normal that many Texans barely notice it anymore.

Faith is not the problem. Power is.

Faith Is Personal, Not Administrative

Texas is home to churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, meeting houses, and people who believe quietly or not at all. That pluralism is not a flaw. It is a fact. Faith has always been part of Texas life, but it has never belonged to the state.

When government begins enforcing one version of belief, it stops protecting faith and starts weaponizing it. That does not strengthen religion. It cheapens it. Faith that requires government backing is not faith—it is insecurity dressed up as authority.

People believe deeply without being coerced. The state does not need to supervise that.

Freedom Means Leaving People Alone

Texas politicians love to invoke freedom while inserting themselves into private decisions about bodies, families, education, and belief. That is not freedom. It is control wrapped in familiar language.

True freedom is not loud. It is boring. It is the quiet confidence that your neighbor’s life choices are none of your business unless they cause real harm. A free society tolerates disagreement without demanding conformity.

If a belief system is strong, it does not need the force of law to survive.

Religion in Schools Without Indoctrination

Teaching about religion is not the same thing as preaching it. Students benefit from understanding the beliefs that shape history, culture, and global affairs. Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Shinto, Indigenous traditions, and secular ethics all belong in a serious education.

Teaching one belief as truth while excluding others is not education. It is indoctrination. Texas should be confident enough to teach broadly without fear.

Knowledge does not weaken faith. It strengthens discernment.

The Myth of Moral Decline

Texas politics often leans on claims of moral collapse to justify intrusion into private life. These claims rarely hold up under scrutiny. Crime trends, family structures, and social behavior are influenced far more by economics, education, and stability than by religious enforcement.

Blaming social problems on belief differences avoids addressing harder causes like poverty, healthcare access, housing, and education. Moral panic is easier than policy work.

A serious state solves problems instead of sermonizing about them.

Faith Communities Do Real Work

Faith-based organizations are often the first to respond when communities struggle. They feed people, shelter families, provide counseling, and show up quietly without demanding credit. That work matters. It deserves respect and support.

What it does not require is political dominance. Faith communities are strongest when they act voluntarily, not when they are fused to state power.

Service speaks louder than slogans.

Freedom of Conscience Cuts Both Ways

Freedom of religion includes the freedom not to believe. It includes the freedom to change beliefs. It includes the freedom to practice quietly without public approval. Protecting conscience means accepting outcomes you may personally dislike.

That is the price of liberty. It is also its strength.

Texas cannot claim to honor freedom while punishing people for living differently.

When Government Picks Winners

History offers no shortage of warnings about governments that decide which beliefs are acceptable. Even when intentions begin as sincere, outcomes tend toward exclusion, resentment, and abuse. Texas is not immune to that pattern.

Keeping church and state separate does not weaken either. It protects both from corruption.

Personal Faith, Public Restraint

Leaders are allowed their faith. They are allowed to be guided by conscience. What they are not allowed to do is impose that conscience as law when it infringes on the rights of others.

Restraint is not betrayal. It is maturity.

What a Confident Texas Would Do

A confident Texas would protect freedom of worship for everyone and freedom from coercion for everyone else. It would teach religion academically, not devotionally. It would trust families and individuals to handle belief without supervision.

Most of all, it would stop confusing moral authority with legal power.

Why This Matters Going Forward

Faith will continue to shape Texas culture. That is not in question. The question is whether it will be used to inspire service and compassion—or to justify intrusion and control.

Freedom survives only when people mind their own damn business.

Texas is strong enough to do that.

This essay will be archived as part of the ongoing WPS News Monthly Brief Series available through Amazon.

References (APA)
Pew Research Center. (2025). Religious diversity and belief in the United States.
First Amendment Center. (2025). Religion, government, and constitutional boundaries.
National Council of State Legislatures. (2025). Religious freedom and public policy analysis.
Gallup. (2025). Public attitudes toward religion and government.
American Academy of Religion. (2025). Teaching religion in public education.

Texas: Faith, Freedom, and Mind Your Damn Business

By Cliff Potts, CSO
Editor-in-Chief, WPS News

Baybay City, Leyte, Philippines — September 4, 2026, 9:15 p.m. PHT

Texas talks about faith constantly and practices freedom inconsistently. Religion is waved like a banner while personal liberty is quietly narrowed, regulated, or punished when it doesn’t line up with political fashion. This contradiction has become so normal that many Texans barely notice it anymore.

Faith is not the problem. Power is.

Faith Is Personal, Not Administrative

Texas is home to churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, meeting houses, and people who believe quietly or not at all. That pluralism is not a flaw. It is a fact. Faith has always been part of Texas life, but it has never belonged to the state.

When government begins enforcing one version of belief, it stops protecting faith and starts weaponizing it. That does not strengthen religion. It cheapens it. Faith that requires government backing is not faith—it is insecurity dressed up as authority.

People believe deeply without being coerced. The state does not need to supervise that.

Freedom Means Leaving People Alone

Texas politicians love to invoke freedom while inserting themselves into private decisions about bodies, families, education, and belief. That is not freedom. It is control wrapped in familiar language.

True freedom is not loud. It is boring. It is the quiet confidence that your neighbor’s life choices are none of your business unless they cause real harm. A free society tolerates disagreement without demanding conformity.

If a belief system is strong, it does not need the force of law to survive.

Religion in Schools Without Indoctrination

Teaching about religion is not the same thing as preaching it. Students benefit from understanding the beliefs that shape history, culture, and global affairs. Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Shinto, Indigenous traditions, and secular ethics all belong in a serious education.

Teaching one belief as truth while excluding others is not education. It is indoctrination. Texas should be confident enough to teach broadly without fear.

Knowledge does not weaken faith. It strengthens discernment.

The Myth of Moral Decline

Texas politics often leans on claims of moral collapse to justify intrusion into private life. These claims rarely hold up under scrutiny. Crime trends, family structures, and social behavior are influenced far more by economics, education, and stability than by religious enforcement.

Blaming social problems on belief differences avoids addressing harder causes like poverty, healthcare access, housing, and education. Moral panic is easier than policy work.

A serious state solves problems instead of sermonizing about them.

Faith Communities Do Real Work

Faith-based organizations are often the first to respond when communities struggle. They feed people, shelter families, provide counseling, and show up quietly without demanding credit. That work matters. It deserves respect and support.

What it does not require is political dominance. Faith communities are strongest when they act voluntarily, not when they are fused to state power.

Service speaks louder than slogans.

Freedom of Conscience Cuts Both Ways

Freedom of religion includes the freedom not to believe. It includes the freedom to change beliefs. It includes the freedom to practice quietly without public approval. Protecting conscience means accepting outcomes you may personally dislike.

That is the price of liberty. It is also its strength.

Texas cannot claim to honor freedom while punishing people for living differently.

When Government Picks Winners

History offers no shortage of warnings about governments that decide which beliefs are acceptable. Even when intentions begin as sincere, outcomes tend toward exclusion, resentment, and abuse. Texas is not immune to that pattern.

Keeping church and state separate does not weaken either. It protects both from corruption.

Personal Faith, Public Restraint

Leaders are allowed their faith. They are allowed to be guided by conscience. What they are not allowed to do is impose that conscience as law when it infringes on the rights of others.

Restraint is not betrayal. It is maturity.

What a Confident Texas Would Do

A confident Texas would protect freedom of worship for everyone and freedom from coercion for everyone else. It would teach religion academically, not devotionally. It would trust families and individuals to handle belief without supervision.

Most of all, it would stop confusing moral authority with legal power.

Why This Matters Going Forward

Faith will continue to shape Texas culture. That is not in question. The question is whether it will be used to inspire service and compassion—or to justify intrusion and control.

Freedom survives only when people mind their own damn business.

Texas is strong enough to do that.

This essay will be archived as part of the ongoing WPS News Monthly Brief Series available through Amazon.

References (APA)
Pew Research Center. (2025). Religious diversity and belief in the United States.
First Amendment Center. (2025). Religion, government, and constitutional boundaries.
National Council of State Legislatures. (2025). Religious freedom and public policy analysis.
Gallup. (2025). Public attitudes toward religion and government.
American Academy of Religion. (2025). Teaching religion in public education.

Trump Is Manufacturing an Election Crisis to Justify Military and ICE Power

Trump is manufacturing claims of foreign interference and noncitizen voting to discredit future election losses and prepare Americans for authoritarian federal action.

Trump Is Manufacturing an Election Crisis to Justify Military and ICE Power

Trump is manufacturing claims of foreign interference and noncitizen voting to discredit future election losses and prepare Americans for authoritarian federal action.

Trump Is Manufacturing an Election Crisis to Justify Military and ICE Power

Trump is manufacturing claims of foreign interference and noncitizen voting to discredit future election losses and prepare Americans for authoritarian federal action.

Trump Is Manufacturing an Election Crisis to Justify Military and ICE Power

Trump is manufacturing claims of foreign interference and noncitizen voting to discredit future election losses and prepare Americans for authoritarian federal action.

Indiana residents launch ‘Block Flock’ campaign against Flock Safety cameras.

https://www.21alivenews.com/video/2026/08/10/indiana-residents-launch-block-flock-campaign-against-flock-safety-cameras/ (21AliveNews)

Block Flock Protest: Saturday Aug 15th 2026

#Indiana #Block #Flock #Protest #BlockFlock #Campaign #GrassRootsMovement #Warrantless #MassSurveillance #Rights #CivilLiberties #StopFlock #FortWayne

I want to congratulate librarians, not famous for their physical strength or their powerful political connections or their great wealth, who, all over this country, have staunchly resisted anti-democratic bullies who have tried to remove certain books from their shelves, and have refused to reveal to thought police the names of persons who have checked out those titles. So the America I loved still exists, if not in the White House or the Supreme Court or the Senate or the House of Representatives or the media. The America I love still exists at the front desks of our public libraries.
-- Kurt Vonnegut (A Man Without a Country)

⬆ #Wisdom #Quotes #KurtVonnegut #Bullies #CivilLiberties #FreeThought #Libraries

⬇ #Photography #Panorama #Panopainting #Seashells #Everglades #Florida

Investigations| Jul 30 2026

Canadian universities set up a secret network to crack down on student Palestine demonstrators

Universities in Canada coordinated to spy on and violently clear student encampments. Then, they deleted the evidence

by Euan Thomson & David Slater

#Canada #cdnpoli #FreePalestine #encampments #civilliberties

https://breachmedia.ca/canadian-universities-set-up-a-secret-network-to-crack-down-on-student-palestine-demonstrators/

Revealed: Trump’s War on ICE Protesters Is Collapsing in Court

https://www.rawamerica.com/p/revealed-trumps-war-on-ice-protesters

• The billionaires own the government

• Trump’s sons are quietly building a defense tech empire funded by your tax dollars

• True history of the Capitol attack

#TrumpAdministration #America #Truth #UnitedWeStand #OneNation #UnderGod #AmericanJustice #CivilLiberties #SocialTruth #ICECourt #FederalAgents #FederalCourt #Government #Billionaires #TrumpsWar #CapitalRiots #CyberPolice #AIPoliceForce

Trump Is Manufacturing an Election Crisis to Justify Military and ICE Power

Trump is manufacturing claims of foreign interference and noncitizen voting to discredit future election losses and prepare Americans for authoritarian federal action.

Hollow Mockery: Douglass, Jefferson, and 250 Years of a Promise Unkept

Mike Cone

“Your 4th of July is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license . . . your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery.”
— Frederick Douglass (1852)

These words still resonate today.

In the wake of our celebration of the 250th birthday of our independence, let us not forget the ugly truths in the birth and history of this nation. To wash over these truths, as our current administration is wont to do, is tantamount to erasing that part of our past which we should strive to learn from, and to better ourselves as a people, to truly become that nation where the words penned by Thomas Jefferson are not just hollow mockery, but true:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. These are the unalienable rights bestowed upon us. These rights are not to be infringed upon for any reason, whether it be race, color, ethnicity, religious beliefs or social status. For this to be true, we as a people need to understand and accept that indeed “ALL” men are created equal. In this regard, we have failed as a nation time and time again. There are numerous examples of our nation suppressing the civil liberties of the many throughout our history: chattel slavery, the Tulsa Race Massacre, forced dispossession of ancestral Native American lands, Selma, Alabama, Jim Crow laws, the Alien and Sedition Acts, Japanese internment, Kent State, the Patriot Act, just to name a few. Hell, even Lincoln suspended habeas corpus during the Civil War.

My point in all this is we need to do better. It is morally important that we learn from our past and not ignore or erase it just because at times it can be ugly and messy. We need to continue to move forward, toward morality and virtue, because virtue will always prevail.

Our current president is unwilling in this regard. 

President Trump is the converse of morality and virtue and continually seems to move us backward with his version of revisionist history, distorting, altering and even falsifying historical evidence to fit his agenda. He is forever suppressing or attempting to suppress the civil liberties of those who oppose him. He has actively supported and empowered local governments to ban and remove books from public institutions. He has removed or altered exhibits, plaques and monuments from our National Parks, exhibits he terms “inappropriately disparaging to Americans past or living.” These exhibits include the nation’s first executive mansion, which detailed the nine people enslaved by George Washington; the Bunker Hill Monument, to eliminate language he deemed contrary to founding principles; and locations highlighting Japanese American internment and Native American conflicts. He has sent federal troops into our cities in direct defiance of the Posse Comitatus Act. He has allowed his defense secretary, who some call a Christian White Nationalist, to deny high-ranking promotions to senior Army and Navy officers, the majority being women and minorities, and to intervene in a Navy one-star admiral promotion list, removing nine highly vetted officers. The final list of 22 nominees contained zero women and only two non-white officers. Finally, his immigration policies appear to be an obvious attempt to rid the country of Black and Brown people. This is just a small sample of Trump’s penchant for authoritarianism and what this author feels is a deep hatred and disdain for anyone other than his own race. Donald Trump is the ideological antithesis to the phrase “all men are created equal.”

With that said, I was having a conversation with my good friend Nick Allison, an Army combat veteran and fellow Chaos Section contributor, the other day and mentioned my feelings of anger and visceral disgust for our current administration, so much so that I could not find a reason to celebrate our 250 years of independence, particularly as a veteran. I’ll end with Nick’s response:

“You know what? I think we can always find a reason to celebrate, regardless of the current occupant in the Oval Office, because there are always things and ideas and people worth celebrating. This is still a great country with great people and a wonderfully unique experiment in constitutional representative freedom. It gets messy and sometimes runs off the rails, but that’s kind of the whole point of the experiment: we’re a nation of people governing ourselves, which means it’s on us to correct course when things go sideways. Most of human history has been kings, monarchs and strongmen who never had to answer to anybody. Making it 250 years as a self-correcting experiment, messy and beautiful and stupid and wonderful all at once, is reason enough to celebrate. Don’t let one egotistical, narcissistic old man who will be out of office in a couple years, dead within ten, take that away from you.”

Mike Cone is a Marine Corps infantry veteran who served as a mortarman and forward observer in Weapons Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines. “Hollow Mockery” is his first piece for The Chaos Section. He lives on Long Island with his wife Cynthia.

Dawn of our Country's Semiquincentennial at the Lewistown Courthouse. #Semiquincentennial #anniversary #usaanniversary #usacelebration #celebration #history #historical #celebrate #patriotic #jingo #jingoism #civilwar #civilwarmonument #monument #concrete #courthouse #civilliberties #civilrights #scotusiscorrupt #potusiscorrupt #flotusiscorrupt #corruption #corruptioningovernment #governmentcorruption #EndCitizensUnited

Drawing the Line: Why the Palestine Action Case Matters for the Future of British Dissent & Direct Action!

Yesterday’s Court of Appeal ruling in R (Ammori) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [^1] isn’t just another dry legal headline. It marks a seismic shift in how the UK draws the line between passionate political protest and state-defined terrorism.

By reversing a February High Court decision [^2] that had quashed the government’s ban on the protest group Palestine Action, the Court of Appeal has sanctioned something unprecedented: using the state’s heavy-duty counter-terrorism apparatus to outlaw a domestic, corporate-targeted direct-action group. [^3]

For the first time, a group that does not target humans with physical violence has been officially proscribed—meaning it is now a criminal offense simply to belong to it, wear its emblems, or voice support for it. [^4] As the legal battle heads to the UK Supreme Court (#UKSC), the core of the argument isn’t just about one group; it’s about whether the British state is fundamentally rewriting the rules of democratic dissent.

1. The Legal Tug-of-War: How We Got Here

To understand why this is a massive deal, we have to look at how the Court of Appeal dismantled the High Court’s original, rights-protective ruling. The legal battle hinges on two main arguments.

The Policy Flip-Flop

When the High Court originally threw out the ban, it pointed out that the Home Secretary had violated her own explicit guidelines. [^5] Those guidelines state that the government shouldn’t just ban a group because they technically can under the broad wording of the Terrorism Act 2000. [^6] Instead, proscription is supposed to be a tool of last resort when ordinary policing fails. The High Court warned that using the automatic criminalization that comes with a ban as a shortcut to make policing easier was a dangerous, circular use of power.

The Court of Appeal completely rejected this. Lady Chief Justice Sue Carr ruled that the Home Secretary is entirely entitled to look at the big picture. If a ban gives the police “additional operational levers” to shut down a disruptive group, that is a perfectly legitimate reason to use it. [^7]

The Deference Trap

The High Court had carefully weighed the group’s rights to free speech (Article 10) and free assembly (Article 11) against the disruption they caused. [^8] But the Court of Appeal decided the lower court didn’t give the government enough credit. The appellate bench emphasized that because Palestine Action used a “covert structure of secret cells” to evade local police, the judges should defer to the executive’s judgment on national security. [^9]

2. The Activists’ Case for the Supreme Court

As the defense team prepares to take this case to the highest court in the land, their arguments are designed to highlight what they view as a dangerous constitutional overreach.

Argument I: The Ghost of the Suffragettes

Under section 1 of the Terrorism Act 2000, “terrorism” includes causing “serious damage to property” to advance a political or ideological cause. [^10] Activists argue that this creates a dangerous definition trap.

By this metric, historical vanguard movements like the Suffragettes—who intentionally smashed windows and targeted property to force political change—would be legally classified as terrorists today. [^11] The defense will argue that upgrading symbolic, corporate-targeted property destruction to “terrorism” erases a vital historical distinction between property damage and actual, physical violence against human beings.

Argument II: The Blanket Hammer vs. The Chilling Effect

The immediate fallout of the ban has been swift. Police have already made thousands of arrests, often targeting people simply holding placards that say “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action.” [^12] Under the law, expressing support for a banned group carries a penalty of up to 14 years in prison. [^13]

The problem with a total ban is that it is a blunt, indiscriminate weapon. Previous Supreme Court rulings, like DPP v Ziegler, [^14] established that the state must look at the specific, individualized proportionality of an arrest. A total ban bypasses that nuance entirely, creating a massive “chilling effect” where everyday citizens become terrified to voice anti-war or pro-Palestinian views for fear of being swept up in a counter-terrorism dragnet. [^15]

3. The Unresolved Blindspots: Where the Supreme Court Battle Will Be Won

If the activists’ legal team wants to win at the Supreme Court, they have to fix a few strategic blindspots that the Court of Appeal exploited.

Deconstruct the “Secret Cell” Narrative:
The Court of Appeal was clearly spooked by the group’s decentralized, horizontal structure. The defense must show that operating in decentralized groups is standard practice for modern social movements (like Extinction Rebellion or Just Stop Oil) to prevent heavy-handed, preemptive policing—not a sign of a clandestine terrorist syndicate. They must hammer home the fact that the state can and has successfully prosecuted these activists using ordinary criminal law. [^16]

Leverage International Law:
The Court of Appeal largely ignored warnings from the UN Special Rapporteur on Counter-Terrorism about the dangerous trend of Western states weaponizing national security laws against political dissenters. [^17] The Supreme Court must be reminded of European Court of Human Rights jurisprudence, which consistently rules that while states can punish property damage under domestic criminal law, upgrading non-violent protest to “terrorism” violates the democratic minimums of a free society. [^18]

Target the Original Intent:
Relying only on a human rights argument gives the Supreme Court an easy out to defer to the government on national security. Instead, the legal team needs to challenge the interpretation of the law itself. They must argue that when Parliament passed the Terrorism Act 2000, its intent for the phrase “serious damage to property” was aimed at high-consequence attacks on critical infrastructure (like blowing up the National Grid), not protestors throwing red paint on a corporate weapons facility.

If the Supreme Court doesn’t step in to narrow this definition, the line between aggressive political protest and terrorism will be permanently blurred. And that should concern anyone who believes in the right to stand up and disrupt the status quo.

Footnotes

[^1]: Ammori v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2026] EWCA Civ (15 June 2026); see Judiciary of England and Wales Official Judgment.

[^2]: R (Ammori) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2026] EWHC 292 (Admin); see analysis on Public Law for Everyone.

[^3]: See Haroon Siddique, ‘Ban on Palestine Action was lawful, court of appeal rules’, The Guardian (15 June 2026) The Guardian.

[^4]: Terrorism Act 2000, s 11, s 12. Available at legislation.gov.uk.

[^5]: Home Office, Proscription Policy Paper (27 February 2025).

[^6]: Ammori [2026] EWHC 292 (Admin) at [91]-[95]; see also Doughty Street Chambers Case Commentary.

[^7]: Ammori [2026] EWCA Civ, per Carr LCJ at [8].

[^8]: Human Rights Act 1998, Sch 1, Part I, Art 10, Art 11. See legislation.gov.uk.

[^9]: Ammori [2026] EWCA Civ at [12].

[^10]: Terrorism Act 2000, s 1(1)(b).

[^11]: Appellants’ skeleton argument summary; see historical parallels discussed in The Guardian (n 3).

[^12]: Metropolitan Police Service enforcement data cited in The Guardian (n 3).

[^13]: Terrorism Act 2000, s 11.

[^14]: DPP v Ziegler [2021] UKSC 23, [2022] AC 408.

[^15]: Liberty Policy Analysis, ‘Breaking down the Court of Appeal judgment on Palestine Action’s proscription’ (15 June 2026) Liberty.

[^16]: Ammori [2026] EWHC 292 (Admin) at [140].

[^17]: Written submissions of the UN Special Rapporteur on Counter-Terrorism and Human Rights, intervening; noted in Doughty Street Chambers summary (n 6).

[^18]: See e.g., Kudrevičius v Lithuania (2016) 62 EHRR 34.

https://twitter.com/The_Aftershock_/status/2066430617131377055

Jadon MacCormack Anti Pride Post Turns Freedom Into a Test He Fails

https://thedemocracyadvocate.com/news-to-know/civil-rights/jadon-maccormack-anti-pride-post/

Battle of The Beanfield

There are certain moments in modern British history that seem to sit just beyond the edge of official memory. Events that everybody vaguely remembers, yet somehow never quite make it into the comfortable national story we tell ourselves.

The Battle of Orgreave is one. The miners’ strike is another. The poll tax riots. Hillsborough. Brixton. They linger in photographs, old television footage and the memories of those who were there, carrying the uncomfortable reminder that Britain is not always as civilised, measured and orderly as it likes to imagine itself to be.

The Battle of the Beanfield belongs firmly in that category.

Forty years on, it remains one of the most controversial policing operations in modern British history. More than 1,300 police officers confronted a convoy of around 600 New Age Travellers attempting to reach Stonehenge on 1 June 1985. By the end of the day, dozens of people had been injured, hundreds had been arrested and an entire way of life had effectively been marked for destruction.

What happened in that Hampshire beanfield has never been the subject of a full public inquiry. Yet for many people who witnessed the decline of Britain’s traditional industries during the Thatcher years, the images remain painfully familiar.

I grew up in Yorkshire through the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. I watched pit villages hollow out. I watched steelworks close. I watched communities that had existed for generations suddenly find themselves described as obstacles to progress. There was a language that emerged during those years. Certain groups became “the problem”. Miners. Trade unionists. Travellers. Alternative communities. Anyone who stood outside the increasingly rigid idea of what Britain was supposed to become.

That is one reason the Battle of the Beanfield still matters.

To understand the confrontation itself, we first need to understand the strange, colourful and often misunderstood world that produced it.

The Stonehenge Free Festival began in 1974. It emerged from the wider countercultural movements of the late 1960s and early 1970s, combining music, environmentalism, spiritual exploration, political activism and communal living. Over the following decade it grew steadily, becoming one of the largest free gatherings in Britain. By the early 1980s thousands of people travelled to Stonehenge each summer to celebrate the solstice. The festival attracted an eclectic mix of punks, bikers, druids, musicians, environmental campaigners, anarchists, hippies and families living on the road.

The people who became known as the Peace Convoy were not a single organisation. They were a loose collection of travellers, festival-goers and alternative communities who spent much of the year moving between free festivals, protest camps and temporary settlements. Some were escaping unemployment. Some rejected consumer culture. Others simply wanted a different way of living. Many travelled in converted buses, coaches, ambulances and vans that doubled as homes.

To their supporters they represented freedom, creativity and resistance to conformity.

To their critics they represented disorder.

By 1984 tensions were reaching breaking point. The Stonehenge festival had become enormous. Estimates suggested attendance reached around 100,000 people. Concerns were raised about damage to the archaeological landscape, litter, unauthorised trading and open drug use. English Heritage, which had recently taken over management of the site, came under increasing pressure to act. Local authorities and police forces were equally determined that the gathering should not continue in its existing form. A High Court injunction was obtained to prevent the 1985 festival from taking place. The state had drawn a line.

On the morning of 1 June 1985, the Peace Convoy left Savernake Forest and began moving towards Stonehenge. Around 140 vehicles carried approximately 600 people. Many were families. Children were travelling alongside adults who had spent years living on the road. They knew there would be police opposition. Few appear to have anticipated what was waiting for them.

Police had prepared extensively.

The miners’ strike had ended only months earlier. During that bitter industrial conflict police forces had developed new methods of coordination, rapid deployment and large-scale public order operations. Senior officers later openly acknowledged that lessons learned during the strike had informed preparations for dealing with the travellers.

A four-mile exclusion zone had been established around Stonehenge. Roadblocks were prepared. Officers from multiple forces were assembled. Some estimates place police numbers at around 1,300. Others suggest even higher figures by the end of the operation.

The convoy encountered its first major roadblock near Shipton Bellinger, several miles from Stonehenge. According to police accounts, some traveller vehicles attempted to push through the blockade and rammed police vehicles. Travellers and independent witnesses tell a very different story. They describe a convoy seeking negotiation before finding itself trapped and surrounded.

Whatever happened during those first moments, the situation rapidly escalated.As vehicles attempted to leave the road and move into adjacent fields, police began smashing windows and making arrests. The convoy became scattered across farmland. Families were separated. Children became lost in the confusion. What followed would become one of the most infamous confrontations in modern British policing.

Television footage remains difficult to watch even now.

Officers in riot gear strike vehicle windows with truncheons. People are dragged from buses and vans. Terrified children can be seen inside shattered vehicles. Journalists and witnesses described police hitting men and women indiscriminately. Several accounts alleged pregnant women and individuals carrying babies were assaulted during the operation. Numerous vehicles that functioned as homes were systematically damaged.

The Earl of Cardigan, whose family owned Savernake Forest and who had followed the convoy on a motorcycle, later provided testimony that proved deeply damaging to official police narratives. He described officers rushing vehicles with drawn truncheons, shouting at occupants and creating scenes of intimidation and violence that contradicted many early police claims.

Journalists present that day reported similar concerns.

ITN footage captured scenes that shocked many viewers. Photographer Alan Lodge later described the event as an ambush rather than a battle. Others argued the very name “Battle of the Beanfield” created a misleading impression of two evenly matched sides. One side possessed riot shields, command structures, communications systems and overwhelming numerical superiority. The other consisted largely of civilians living in vehicles.

By the end of the operation, 537 people had been arrested. It remains one of the largest mass arrests of civilians in modern British history. Most of the charges eventually collapsed or were dismissed.

That fact alone raises uncomfortable questions.

If hundreds of supposedly dangerous lawbreakers had been lawfully apprehended while carrying out serious criminal acts, one might expect hundreds of successful prosecutions to follow. Instead, much of the legal case simply evaporated.

Years later, travellers successfully pursued civil actions against Wiltshire Police. Damages were awarded for wrongful arrest, false imprisonment and property damage. One police sergeant was convicted of actual bodily harm arising from the events of that day.

Yet despite these outcomes, there has never been a full public inquiry.

Perhaps that is because the Battle of the Beanfield was about more than Stonehenge.

Looking back now, it feels impossible to separate it from the wider atmosphere of Britain in the mid-1980s. This was a country being transformed at extraordinary speed. Traditional industries were disappearing. Unemployment was soaring in many regions. Entire communities were fighting for survival. Alternative lifestyles increasingly found themselves portrayed as threats to public order rather than expressions of individual freedom.

For many people in mining and industrial areas, there is a recognisable pattern.

First comes the language.

A group is described as troublesome, outdated or undesirable.

Then comes the media narrative.

Then comes the justification.

Then comes the force.

That does not mean every traveller was a saint, any more than every miner was. Human beings are messy. Large gatherings bring problems. Some attendees at the Stonehenge festivals undoubtedly caused damage. Some individuals within the traveller movement undoubtedly committed crimes. A serious historical assessment has to acknowledge that reality. The archaeological concerns surrounding Stonehenge were genuine. Local residents had legitimate complaints. Authorities were entitled to seek solutions.

But none of that explains the scale of what happened on 1 June 1985.

The images of smashed homes, frightened children and riot police advancing across fields continue to disturb because they seem wildly disproportionate. They suggest a state determined not merely to enforce an injunction but to send a message.

And the message was received.

The traveller movement never fully recovered.

Legislation introduced during the following years increasingly restricted nomadic lifestyles and unauthorised gatherings. The Public Order Act 1986 and later the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 created new powers that made life significantly harder for travellers, free festivals and eventually the emerging rave culture.

In many ways the Beanfield became a blueprint. The same language used against travellers would later be applied to ravers, squatters, protesters and environmental activists. Alternative communities were increasingly framed not as citizens exercising freedoms but as public order problems requiring management.

Yet the legacy of the Beanfield refuses to disappear.

Songs were written about it. The Levellers turned it into a folk-punk anthem that introduced a new generation to the story. Hawkwind referenced it. Writers, filmmakers and activists kept returning to it. Every summer solstice the memory resurfaces among those who remember what happened.

Perhaps that is because the Battle of the Beanfield sits at the crossroads of so many larger questions.

Who gets to occupy public space?

Who decides what constitutes a legitimate way of living?

How much power should the state possess when dealing with communities that reject mainstream norms?

And perhaps most importantly of all, what happens when governments begin to see certain groups not as citizens but as enemies?

Forty years later those questions feel remarkably current.

The travellers who set out for Stonehenge in 1985 were not trying to overthrow the government. They were trying to reach a festival. They were trying to celebrate a solstice. They were trying, in their own eccentric and imperfect way, to live differently.

Many paid a heavy price for that.

For those of us who grew up watching pits close, furnaces go cold and communities written off as inconvenient relics of the past, the Beanfield feels like part of the same story. Different people. Different landscape. Different politics perhaps. But the same underlying lesson.

When power decides a group no longer belongs, it rarely begins with dialogue.

It begins with exclusion.

Then comes the roadblock.

Further Reading

Andy Worthington, The Battle of the Beanfield

Christopher Chippindale, Stoned Henge: Events and Issues at the Summer Solstice, 1985

Emma Hallett, BBC News, Summer Solstice: How the Stonehenge Battles Faded

Tony Thompson, The Observer, Twenty Years After, Mystery Still Clouds Battle of the Beanfield

English Heritage, Stonehenge 1977–85: A Dig in Time and a Confrontation

Copyright © Mysterious Times 2026. All rights reserved. This article may not be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form without prior written permission from Mysterious Times, except in the case of brief quotations used for review, criticism or scholarly reference.

A quotation from Henry Commager

Who are those who are really disloyal? Those who inflame racial hatreds, who sow religious and class dissensions. Those who subvert the Constitution by violating the freedom of the ballot box. Those who make a mockery of majority rule by the use of the filibuster. Those who impair democracy by denying equal educational facilities. Those who frustrate justice by lynch law or by making a farce of jury trials. Those who deny freedom of speech and of the press and of assembly. Those who press for special favors against the interest of the commonwealth. Those who regard public office as a source of private gain. Those who would exalt the military over the civil. Those who for selfish and private purposes stir up national antagonisms and expose the world to the ruin of war.

Henry Steele Commager (1902-1998) American historian, writer, activist
Essay (1947-09), “Who Is Loyal to America?” sec. 3, Harper’s Magazine, Vol. 195, No. 1168

More about this quote: wist.info/commager-henry-steel…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #henrycommager #America #civilliberties #civilrights #corruption #demagoguery #democracy #disloyalty #division #firstamendment #freepress #freespeech #freedomofreligion #freedomofspeech #freedomofthepress #injustice #jingoism #justice #loyalty #loyaltyoath #military #patriotism #publicoffice #religiousfreedom #unAmerican #usvsthem #votersuppression #votingrights #war #warmongering

This never stops - #ICE agents will be stationed outside #MarineCorps #graduation events in #SouthCarolina. As the U.S. continues to fight the war in #Iran, the Marine Corps has boosted protection measures on bases, requiring everyone to present REAL IDs, #passports or #birthcertificates to access any sites. #civilliberties #democracy #military https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/ice-agents-will-stationed-marine-corps-graduation-events-south-carolin-rcna265941 #democracy #government #politics

Will Boone, “ICE”, 2014, vinyl on paper, 27.9 × 21.9 cm ★ USA ★ https://www.davidkordanskygallery.com/artist/will-boone #WillBoone #contemporaryart #collage #ICE #Iceout #antiICE #migrantophobiaisracismandnothingmore #civilliberties #lettrism #visualpoetry #words #acronyms #literas #DavidKordansky #2010s

How tight is the #RightToProtest?

From 418 arrests in 1977 to fresh clashes in Sydney: Debate over #Australia’s right to protest continues

"What many may not realise is that the right to protest in Australia is not protected by one simple law. It’s implied in the constitution under freedom of political communication and exists under international human rights law, which Australia has agreed to uphold. Only #Queensland, #Victoria and the #ACT explicitly protect the right to peaceful assembly, freedom of association and freedom of expression. And laws protecting the right to peaceful protest in Australia can be limited."

By Rhiannon Stevens
Sat 14 Feb, 2026

" 'The day of the political street march is over,' Joh Bjelke-Petersen declared. 'Don’t bother to apply for a permit. You won’t get one. That’s government policy now.'

"A few weeks later, thousands of people defied then-Queensland premier Bjelke-Petersen’s proclamation and gathered in Brisbane for an #AntiUranium march.

"Ian Curr remembers an intense, unrelenting heat on that day nearly 50 years ago. It was 'boiling hot', the long-time #AntiNuclear activist says. So hot that when protesters sat on the road, arms linked in passive defiance, it was 'not very pleasant' because the tarmac was scorching. Other memories emerge from the haze: lines of police, three and four deep, surrounding protesters; a woman with tears streaming down her face who had just heard her partner was arrested.

"Fear swirled up spines and into the air. These were the years after the #Springbok tour #AntiApartheid protests had been violently suppressed.

"That afternoon in October 1977, 418 people were arrested and Queensland’s 'RightToMarch' movement quickly entered a new era. #CivilLiberties demonstrations continued until the ban — originally enacted to curb a growing anti-nuclear movement — was lifted two years later.

"Ross Gwyther was exhilarated seeing some 5,000 anti-nuclear marchers turn out that day. But the sensation was tempered by an 'intense fear because there’d already been many cases of #PoliceBrutality'.

"These were extraordinary times, as the Fitzgerald Inquiry would later attest. For Gwyther and many of the #ratbags, #activists and #CivilLibertarians of Queensland it was a defining moment. That era in Brisbane radicalised a lot of people, Gwyther says, who embarked on a lifetime of 'political activism, both through parliamentary politics or by grassroots politics'.

"These moments mark you, Curr says, turning to the events in Sydney this week. 'The people who saw that violence in Sydney, in 40 or 50 years, they will not forget it. In the same way I do not forget police brandishing batons and punching and throwing people into paddy wagons. It’s something you do not forget.'

"In the aftermath of last Monday’s protest against Israeli President #IsaacHerzog’s visit in #Sydney, shaky, chaotic videos began to emerge online. A man lies on tram tracks, restrained by officers who punch him 18 times. #Protesters are pushed, they struggle to their feet, crowds stumble around them. Men bowed in prayer are wrenched from their worship by police. A grandmother is in hospital with a spinal injury. She says she feared being suffocated in a stampede as she lay on the ground in agony. She alleges she was pushed over by police."

Read more:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-15/right-to-protest-fragile-police-powers-gaza-herzog/106331356

#ACAB #AustraliaPol #AusPol #CriminalizingProtest #Australia #AntiProtestLaws #WaterIsLife #LandIsLife #UraniumMines #WorldPol #IsraeliWarCrimes

EFFecting Change: Get the #Flock Out of Our City

Flock contracts have quietly spread to cities across the country. But Flock #ALPR erode #civilLiberties from the moment they're installed. While officials claim these #cameras keep neighborhoods safe, evidence tells a diff story. The data reveals how Flock has enabled #surveillance of people seeking #abortions , #protesters exercising #FirstAmendment #rights , & communities targeted by #discriminatory policing
#privacy

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/02/effecting-change-get-flock-out-our-city

EFFecting Change: Get the Flock Out of Our City

February 19, 2026 - 12:00pm to 1:00pm PST Online

But #Flock #ALPR erode #civilliberties from the moment they're installed. While officials claim these #cameras keep neighborhoods safe, the #evidence tells a different story. The data reveals how Flock has enabled #surveillance of people seeking #abortions , #protesters exercising #FirstAmendment #rights , and communities targeted by discriminatory policing.
#privacy

https://www.eff.org/event/effecting-change-get-flock-out-our-city

“This is the tip of the iceberg” for tech powering ICE. For years activists have warned about automatic licence plate readers. Not to mention the sources of data that can be scooped up online, surveillance cameras. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DSFDgvIDAIg/?igsh=MTd6aHllYXNiNW51aQ==

#tech #electronics #digital #technology #activism #civilrights #civilliberties #activismworks #demonstration #protests #socialjustice #civilrights #censorship #democracy #equalrights #humanrights #socialjustice

Now this is an IT company. Can you imagine all the weird stuff people will be able to experience when their governments demand their citizens to have a digital ID?

#DigitalID #DigitalPrivacy #SurveillanceState #PrivacyMatters #BigBrother #DigitalDystopia #GovernmentSurveillance #CivilLiberties #DataPrivacy #TechEthics
https://cloudisland.nz/@parisba/115710491106723110

The Holiday Odor Trap

Filed Under: Odor Politics

Most people assume the holiday rush is measured in miles, delays, and crowded kitchens. The truth is uglier. From Thanksgiving through New Year’s Eve, the country sees a spike in traffic stops that begin with the same old claim, that an officer “smelled marijuana.” Courts have spent years separating odor from impairment, yet the loophole stays wide open. It gives law enforcement a way to turn ordinary travel into a fishing expedition.

Some states have ruled that smell alone cannot justify a search, while others treat it as fair game. The public rarely knows the difference. Drivers heading to see family pass through counties where a scent on a jacket is enough to escalate a stop. Officers use it because it works. It softens the ground for questioning, it expands their authority, and it moves the conversation away from what actually matters, which is whether the driver is safe.

Most holiday travelers are not impaired. They are tired, stressed, and trying to get where they are going. cannabis lives in homes and clothes the same way kitchen spices do. A single smoked joint on Thanksgiving Eve can leave a jacket scented for days. Officers know this. Courts know this. Yet people still get pulled aside because the scent is treated like a confession.

The pattern is predictable. The officer leans in, mentions odor, then asks questions that have nothing to do with driving. People feel cornered and start explaining things they never needed to explain. That is the moment a simple stop becomes a long delay on the side of the road.

Holiday traffic and police practice collide in a way that punishes normal life. The country is filled with legal markets. People buy edibles and flower for the same reason they buy wine. They visit friends. They share a moment on the porch. The plant is legal in half the country, but its scent is still treated like probable cause.

The holiday season should not require a legal strategy, yet that is where the country stands. Smell is treated as suspicion even in states that claim to respect legalization. People drive through a patchwork of laws that shift from town to town. What protects a driver in one county is ignored in the next.

The courts may eventually close the gap. Legislatures may force consistency. Until then, drivers are left with common sense and preparation. The safest choice is to remove the excuse entirely. Officers cannot prove what they cannot smell, and they cannot escalate what they cannot justify.

Practical Tips For Holiday Drivers Who Want To Avoid The Odor Trap

Keep jackets and bags outside the smoking area. Most odor claims come from clothing, not the person.

Use clean gear during travel days. People who vape during the holiday tend to switch to something low profile. This is where PAX vaporizers fit naturally because they keep the ritual clean and contained.

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F O R T H E C U L T U R E B Y T H E C U L T U R E

N.Y. CANNABIS SCANDAL

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Weed shops profit from cannabis culture while refusing to hire the people who shaped it. Insurers, compliance officers, and corporate rules punish cannabis users even in legal states. Testing myths, background screening, and liability fear filter out anyone with real experience. The result is a workforce designed to exclude the culture that keeps the industry…

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Do not store old flower containers or ash in the car. Empty jars and forgotten tubes hold scent long after they are cleaned.

Seal anything with a smell. A simple airtight pouch prevents the easiest excuse an officer can use.

Travel clear headed. Some readers prefer relief without impairment during long drives. Endoca CBD has become a steady choice because it stays consistent.

Know the rules in the state you are driving through. Odor is not probable cause in some states, yet it remains a tool in others.

Keep conversations simple and respectful. You do not need to explain your holiday habits.

Remember that odor is not evidence of impairment. Courts have split them apart. Officers blend them because it expands their authority.

©2025 Pot Culture Magazine. All rights reserved. This content is the exclusive property of Pot Culture Magazine and may not be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission from the publisher, except for brief quotations in critical reviews.

Affiliate Disclosure: Pot Culture Magazine may receive commissions from purchases made through affiliate links such as Cheech & Chong and Endoca. This helps support our independent journalism without affecting our editorial standards.

F O R T H E C U L T U R E B Y T H E C U L T U R E

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Federal lawmakers quietly inserted language into a budget bill that could criminalize countless cannabis seeds based solely on the THC profile of the parent plant. The move threatens growers, breeders, medical cultivators, and the genetic diversity that built modern cannabis culture. This seismic shift puts control of the plant’s future in the hands of federal…

Reefer Report Card Vol. 26: Nov 29-Dec 06

This week’s Reefer Report Card exposes the scromiting panic, Washington’s latest hemp crackdown, and the Supreme Court inching toward a decision that could rewrite prohibition. Patients and veterans stayed stuck in outdated systems while global reform moved forward with hesitation. Panic got headlines. Weed got scapegoated. The world kept smoking anyway.

THE SCROMITING SCAM

American newsrooms turned a simple overuse incident into a nationwide scare. Scromiting headlines exploded overnight, burying real CHS facts under panic and misinformation. Pot Culture breaks down what actually happened, why the media keeps confusing overuse with syndrome, and how fear travels faster than truth when cannabis is involved.

Omaha Tribe Legal Cannabis vs Nebraska Prohibition

Nebraska still criminalizes cannabis, yet the Omaha Tribe has built a legal system with real rules, licensing, and a working industry on sovereign land. This update shows how the Tribe keeps moving forward while the state stays rooted in prohibition. The border is now the flashpoint. Step across it with cannabis and everything changes.

Virginia Is For Tokers

Virginia just greenlit its long-delayed cannabis market. But is the launch plan built to last, or is it already showing cracks? The blueprint promises equity, protection from corporate takeover, and sustainable access. Advocates say it could be the first real test of Southern legalization. Pot Culture breaks it all down with facts, receipts, and no…

Holiday Survival with Cannabis, Not Chaos

The holidays hit harder than they should. Travel turns messy, families spark arguments, and the season demands cheer nobody actually feels. Cannabis becomes the counterweight, steadying people through the noise while alcohol keeps causing wreckage. This feature cuts through the lies, the pressure, and the culture, showing how the plant helps people survive December without…

#blackFriday #cannabis #cannabisCommunity #cannabisCulture #cannabisRights #cannabisSmell #cannabiscommunity #carSearches #civilLiberties #consumerSafety #courtRulings #crime #holidayTravel #lawEnforement #legalMarkets #marijuana #marijuanaNews #odorLaws #odorPolitics #police #policeStops #potCultureMagazine #roadsideEncounters #search #searchPractices #smell #thanksgiving #trafficStops #travelPrep

#Update

A number of Democratic lawmakers are questioning the legality of a #BorderPatrol predictive intelligence program that singles out & detains drivers for suspicious travel inside the country.

Sen #EdMarkey (D-MA) sent a letter to #CBP’s parent agency calling the license plate reader program an “invasive #surveillance network” that “poses a serious threat to individuals’ #privacy & #CivilLiberties” & said it may run afoul of the #US #Constitution.

#law #Trump
https://apnews.com/article/border-patrol-surveillance-license-plate-readers-immigration-5daca3741b28c55374912d8eebeec8db

Not that I'm planning on traveling to the USA anytime soon, but I've been thinking about how to hand the TSA goons an empty digital vessel.

https://boingboing.net/2025/09/04/travel-under-trump-2-0-dont-cross-a-u-s-border-without-a-perfect-burner-phone.html

#Privacy #Autocracy #Authoritarian #HumanRights #CivilLiberties #Trump #NoMandate #AntiTrump #AntiGOP #AntiMAGA #Republicans #HalfHeartedFanatic

President Trump’s War on “Woke AI” Is a #CivilLiberties Nightmare

A new executive order called “Preventing #WokeAI in the Federal Government,” released alongside the #AIActionPlan , seeks to strong-arm #AI companies into modifying their models to conform with the #Trump Administration’s #ideological agenda.
#artificialintelligence #rights #eo #executiveorder

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/08/president-trumps-war-woke-ai-civil-liberties-nightmare

"The White House’s recently-unveiled “AI Action Plan” wages war on so-called “woke AI”—including large language models (LLMs) that provide information inconsistent with the administration’s views on climate change, gender, and other issues. It also targets measures designed to mitigate the generation of racial and gender biased content and even hate speech. The reproduction of this bias is a pernicious problem that AI developers have struggled to solve for over a decade.

A new executive order called “Preventing Woke AI in the Federal Government,” released alongside the AI Action Plan, seeks to strong-arm AI companies into modifying their models to conform with the Trump Administration’s ideological agenda.

The executive order requires AI companies that receive federal contracts to prove that their LLMs are free from purported “ideological biases” like “diversity, equity, and inclusion.” This heavy-handed censorship will not make models more accurate or “trustworthy,” as the Trump Administration claims, but is a blatant attempt to censor the development of LLMs and restrict them as a tool of expression and information access."

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/08/president-trumps-war-woke-ai-civil-liberties-nightmare

#USA #Trump #AI #GenerativeAI #AIActionPlan #LLMs #WokeAI #Censorship #DEI #CivilLiberties

#Texas just gutted #FreeSpeech on #college #campuses. Is your state next?

New laws in the Lone Star State will silence dissent and undermine #faculty authority.

By Laura Benitez and Jonathan Friedman
July 14, 2025

"As thousands of students return to college campuses this fall, they will find themselves stepping into an environment reshaped by political and ideological mandates. Across the country, state legislators have been racing to exert new influence over free expression in higher education. Now, Texas has surged to the forefront, closing its 2025 legislative session by passing two alarming laws that take effect Sept. 1.

"Signed by Gov. Greg Abbott (R) in June, the new laws amount to a stunningly aggressive legislative crackdown on campus protest (#SB2972) and academic shared governance (#SB37) at public colleges and universities. The laws will not just silence dissent and undermine faculty authority in Texas; they provide a blueprint for how to dismantle academic freedom and chill speech on campus state by state.

"Only a few years ago, conservative lawmakers railed against college 'free-speech zones,' arguing that liberal administrators were muzzling students on the rest of campus. In 2019, Texas legislators joined other states in taking action by declaring all outdoor spaces on public campuses open for protest and speech by students, employees and the general public.

"Now, some of the same legislators have done an about-face. The campus protest law actually directs public colleges and universities to implement a version of free-speech zones and adopt sweeping limitations on protests. #Encampments? Banned. #Megaphones or #speakers during 'class hours'? Forbidden — if anyone claims your 'expressive activity' is one that 'intimidates others' or 'interferes' with an employee’s duties. Even wearing a mask during a protest — something many do for safety — could land a student or employee a disciplinary hearing resulting in 'sanctions.' And any expressive activity between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. is off-limits altogether."

Read more:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/07/14/texas-campus-free-speech/

Archived version:
https://archive.ph/2LuBD

#TexasProtestLaws #ProtestLaws #ProtestLawsTexas #Project2025 #AntiProtestLaws #Authoritarianism #SilencingFreeSpeech #Censorship #AcademicFreedom #AntiMaskLaws #Fascism #USPol #CivilLiberties #Texas

How Civilian Phone Civil Liberties are Violated

https://archive.org/details/DanielRigmaiden-AaronSwartzDay2017
#AaronSwartz #cut #suicide #AaronSwartzDay
#Feds #AdministrativeSubpoena #IMEI #NIC #BaseTransciever #CellSiteSimulator #Masquerade
DRT Inc. , Key/w --> #ThirdParty #CivilLiberties
#LEAP - Local Number Portability Enhanced Analytical Platform
#ISP #Cellular #PenLink #E911 #ACAB

https://archive.org/
subject:“Cell Phone Surveillance”
#Brax #Phone #iodeOS #HighWare

1/2 US Protest Law Tracker - Updates to #Federal #Protest Laws introduced in 2025.

Latest updates: Jun. 10, 2025 (US Federal)

Providing for deportation of non-citizens who commit protest-related offenses

Would cancel the visa of any individual convicted of protest-related crimes and provide for the individual’s deportation within 60 days. Under the bill, individuals convicted of any “crime (i) related to [their] conduct at and during the course of a protest; (ii) involving the defacement, vandalism, or destruction of Federal property; or (iii) involving the intentional obstruction of any highway, road, bridge, or tunnel” would be deportable. The bill requires that such individuals’ visas be “immediately” cancelled and the individuals removed from the US within 60 days. If enacted, a non-citizen convicted of even a nonviolent misdemeanor “related to” a protest, such as trespass or disorderly conduct, could face deportation. The bill’s sponsor cited protests around immigration raids in #LosAngeles as the impetus for his bill.
(Full text of Bill: https://www.cotton.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/61025novisasforviolentcriminalsactreintro.pdf)
Status: pending
Introduced 10 Jun 2025.
Issue(s): Traffic Interference

Heightened penalties for "#riot" offenses

Would amend the federal #AntiRioting law to raise the maximum penalty to ten years in prison, instead of five, for participating in or inciting a “riot,” or aiding or abetting someone to do so. The federal definition of “riot” is broad, requiring only a “public disturbance” where one individual in a group commits violence. Under the bill, someone who committed or abetted an “act of violence” during the commission of a “riot” offense would face a minimum one-year sentence, while an individual who assaulted a law enforcement officer would face a sentence of at least one year and up to life in prison. Federal law defines “act of violence” broadly to include using force against #property—or just attempting or threatening to use such force. As such, if enacted, the bill could result in steep criminal penalties for protesters who do not actually engage in violence or destructive conduct. The bill’s sponsor cited protests around immigration raids in Los Angeles as the impetus for his bill.
Status: pending
Introduced 10 Jun 2025.
Issue(s): Riot

HR 2272: Blocking #FinancialAid to students who commit a "riot"-related offense

Would bar federal financial assistance and loan forgiveness for any student convicted of a crime in connection with a “riot.” The bar would apply to students convicted of “rioting” or “a) inciting a riot; b) organizing, promoting, encouraging, participating in, or carrying on a riot; c) committing any act of violence in furtherance of a riot; or d) aiding or abetting any person in inciting or participating in or carrying on a riot or committing any act of violence in furtherance of a riot.” Many states define “riot” broadly enough to cover peaceful protest activity; many also have broad laws criminalizing “incitement to riot” that cover protected expression. The bill would bar financial aid and #LoanForgiveness for students convicted under such provisions. As written, the bill would also bar financial aid and loan forgiveness to students convicted of any offense related to “#organizing, #promoting, encouraging” a riot, or “aiding and abetting” incitement or participation in a riot, which could cover an even wider range of expressive conduct, from sharing a social media post to cheering on demonstrators in a protest that was deemed a “riot.”
(Full text of bill: https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/2272)
Status: pending
Introduced 21 Mar 2025.
Issue(s): #CampusProtests, Riot, Limit on #PublicBenefits

#HR2273: Providing for visa revocation and deportation of #noncitizens who commit a "riot"-related offense

Would require the Secretary of State to revoke the visa of and make deportable a noncitizen #student, #scholar, #teacher, or #specialist convicted of a crime in connection with a “riot.” Under the bill, individuals in the US on an F-1, J-1, or M-1 visa would have their visas revoked and would be deportable if they were convicted of “rioting” or “a) inciting a riot; b) organizing, promoting, encouraging, participating in, or carrying on a riot; c) committing any act of violence in furtherance of a riot; or d) aiding or abetting any person in inciting or participating in or carrying on a riot or committing any act of violence in furtherance of a riot.” Many states define “riot” broadly enough to cover peaceful protest activity; many also have broad laws criminalizing “incitement to riot” that cover protected expression. The bill would provide for the deportation of foreign students, scholars, and others convicted under such provisions. As written, the bill would also provide for their deportation if convicted of any offense related to “organizing, promoting, encouraging” a riot, or “aiding and abetting” incitement or participation in a riot, which could cover an even wider range of expressive conduct, from sharing a #SocialMediaPost to cheering on #demonstrators in a protest that was deemed a “riot.”
(Full text of bill: https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/2273)
Status: pending
Introduced 21 Mar 2025.
Issue(s): Campus Protests, Riot

#S1017: New federal criminal penalties for protests near #pipelines

Would create a new federal #felony offense that could apply to protests of planned or operational pipelines. The bill would broadly criminalize under federal law “knowingly and willfully” “#vandalizing, tampering with, disrupting the operation or construction of, or preventing the operation or construction of” a gas pipeline. A range of peaceful activities could be deemed “disrupting… the construction of” a pipeline, from a rally that obstructs a road used by construction equipment, to a #lawsuit challenging a pipeline’s #permit or# zoning approval. The bill does not define “disrupt,” such that even a brief delay would seemingly be covered. Further, the underlying law provides that any "attempt" or "conspiracy" to commit the offense would be punished the same as actual commission. As such, individuals as well as organizations that engage in the planning or facilitation of a protest that is deemed to “disrupt” pipeline construction could be covered. The offense would be punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for an individual, or $500,000 for an organization.
(Full text of bill: https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/1017)
Status: pending
Introduced 13 Mar 2025.
Issue(s): Protest Supporters or Funders, #Infrastructure

#ProtestLaws #protestors #protestors_in_prison #CivilLiberties #Fascism #USA #USPol #NoKings #Project2025 #TrumpIsAFascist

#HaymarketBooks | #Trump's Hammer, Our Hope

"Join Naomi Klein, Chenjerai Kumanyika, Astra Taylor, and Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor for an emergency town hall on the continuing attacks on both marginalized communities and on #freeSpeech at the hands of the current administration."

https://youtu.be/9vP5p_oTmZU
#USpol #USpolitics #MAGA #stateRepression #civilLiberties #civilRights #USleft #AmericanLeft #activism #leftActivism #leftOrganizing #antifascism #antiracism

#HaymarketBooks | #Trump's Hammer, Our Hope

"Join Naomi Klein, Chenjerai Kumanyika, Astra Taylor, and Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor for an emergency town hall on the continuing attacks on both marginalized communities and on #freeSpeech at the hands of the current administration."

https://youtu.be/9vP5p_oTmZU
#USpol #USpolitics #MAGA #stateRepression #civilLiberties #civilRights #USleft #AmericanLeft #activism #leftActivism #leftOrganizing #antifascism #antiracism

#HaymarketBooks | #Trump's Hammer, Our Hope

"Join Naomi Klein, Chenjerai Kumanyika, Astra Taylor, and Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor for an emergency town hall on the continuing attacks on both marginalized communities and on #freeSpeech at the hands of the current administration."

https://youtu.be/9vP5p_oTmZU
#USpol #USpolitics #MAGA #stateRepression #civilLiberties #civilRights #USleft #AmericanLeft #activism #leftActivism #leftOrganizing #antifascism #antiracism

#HaymarketBooks | #Trump's Hammer, Our Hope

"Join Naomi Klein, Chenjerai Kumanyika, Astra Taylor, and Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor for an emergency town hall on the continuing attacks on both marginalized communities and on #freeSpeech at the hands of the current administration."

https://youtu.be/9vP5p_oTmZU
#USpol #USpolitics #MAGA #stateRepression #civilLiberties #civilRights #USleft #AmericanLeft #activism #leftActivism #leftOrganizing #antifascism #antiracism

Building secure and privacy protecting mobile phones

https://fifthdimensionnews.substack.com/p/upwardly-mobile

#EFF #Rayhunter #IMSI #CitizenLab #Deibert
#mobile #mobian #Debian #KaliNetHunter #PostMarketOS #Jolla #SailfishOS #Finland #EU #Pine64 #OnionMobileDev #TOR #GuardianProject #press #Journalism #FDE #RFERL #GrapheneOS #Whonix #phone #encryption #CivilLiberties #FirstAmendment #FourthAmendment #USA #Development #FreedomOfThoughtandExpression