A UF organization is fighting for immigrant rights — and members are risking their attendance and grades for their mission.
Students For Socialism at UF organized a walk out Thursday afternoon
to protest the UF Police Department’s 287(g) contract with U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The program allows the federal government to partner with local police to enforce immigration regulations. This authorizes officers
to interview people about their immigration status, check U.S.
Department of Homeland Security databases, detain people until ICE takes
custody of them and issue a notice that begins a person’s removal
process.
UF first partnered with ICE in April,
signing a 287(g) agreement following the detainment of a UF
international student who was arrested for driving under an expired
license.
THE ALLIGOATOR is a University of Florida student newspaper and across the country we are appalled and repelled by Chump's war on immigrants which leaves no one safe -- not immigrants, not citizens, not students, not grandparents, not day workers, not priests, not nurses, not teachers, the list is endless. And his war is illegal.
Racial profiling, he had to bring that illegal practice back to carry out his illegal war.
Across the country, we see the appalling results of the Convicted Felon's return to the White House.
This week? A superior court judge and a court intern -- both American citizens -- found themselves harassed and bullied by ICE. Vic Verbalaitis (DAILY BEAST) notes:
Immigration
and Customs Enforcement agents threatened a Rhode Island Superior Court
judge and an intern after they botched a detainment operation on
Thursday.
Outside
the Licht Judicial Complex in Providence, Rhode Island, ICE agents
briefly took a high school intern into custody who worked at the
Superior Court, WPRI 12 Newsreported.
Courthouse
security had noticed someone taking photos of the intern from outside
the courthouse earlier that day. The individual, when approached,
identified himself as an ICE agent before he was told to stop taking
pictures.
The
intern, unsettled by the federal agents stalking him, was offered a
ride home by Superior Court Judge Joseph McBurney. However, ICE agents
surrounded the judge’s car and threatened to smash its windows if they
did not exit the vehicle.
The Superior Court’s head of security intervened, telling the judge and the intern to stay in the car.
The intern was briefly handcuffed and taken into custody by ICE agents, as seen in video from bystanders.
After an argument ensued, the ICE agents confirmed they had misidentified their target and left the scene.
Oh, sure, no harm no foul, right? It's not like you didn't terrorize that kid and it's not like that was the actual intention, right? That is the intention and that was the action. CNN adds:
The agents took him out of a vehicle that
was being driven by Superior Court Associate Justice Joseph McBurney,
who was taking the teen to school.
The agents allegedly ignored the teen, who insisted they were detaining the wrong person.
Agents restrained the teen’s hands behind his back and took him across the street.
Katie Mulvaney (PROVIDENCE JOURNAL) notes that it was only the judge insisting that they had the wrong person repeatedly that forced ICE to check and see if this 16 year old was the predator of children that they claim they were looking for.
I started out the year calmly warning those of you participating in this where it would end for practice and, most importantly, where it would end for you personally as an ICE agent.
Some of you listened and acted.
I'm standing at the crossroads of the hell I look to the left I look to the right There're hands that grab me on every side
Mmh, mmh Mmh, mmh All you folks think I got my price At which I'll sell all that is mine You think money rules when all else fails Go sell your soul and keep your shell I'm trying to protect what I keep inside All the reasons why I live my life
Mmh, mmh Mmh, mmh Some say the devil be a mystical thing I say the devil he a walking man He a fool he a liar conjurer and a thief He try to tell you what you want Try to tell you what you need
-- "Crossroads" written by Tracy Chapman, first appears on her album CROSSROADS
Some of you listened and you're happy and you should be. What's going on is wrong and it is destroying lives. You can detach right now possibly, but not in the future. You will not be able to forgive yourself for what you've done. Your actions will haunt you. You'll need therapy -- and ICE won't be paying you then (though a class action suit could force them to) -- and you'll most likely self medicate on drink and illegal drugs putting you even more at risk.
The money is not worth it.
Some of you have not acted but have clearly listened -- based on your e-mails to the public e-mail account (common_ills@yahoo.com). Here's the thing guys (and all ICE agents e-mailing have been men), I'm not Mommy. I can't kiss your boo-boos and make them go away. You have got to act to save yourself. You know you're destroying lives, you know your breaking the law. Yes, Chump has destroyed the economy. Yes, employment is down across the country. But that's not going to help you in 2035 when you're living with what you did this year and Chump is dead and seen as the War Criminal he was and ICE is seen as a national disgrace.
We've talked about this before, let's note a new thing that should concern you. In the near future, your actions will not just be reviled by future employers but also future employers will think you are stupid and unqualified because, turns out, a lot of ICE hires are.
In
a rush to hire huge numbers of ICE officers across the U.S., a report
from NBC reveals that Immigration and Customs Enforcement has placed
recruits into its training program before they have completed the
required vetting process.
One current and two former Homeland Security Department officials told
the outlet that some of the recruits were later found to have failed
drug testing, had disqualifying criminal backgrounds, or did not meet the physical or academic requirements to serve.
In
one incident in Brunswick, Georgia, staff at ICE’s training academy
discovered a recruit had previously been charged with strong-arm robbery
and battery stemming from a domestic violence incident, according to
the current DHS official. Meanwhile, more than 200 new recruits were
dismissed during training due to not meeting ICE's hiring requirements, according to recently collected internal ICE data reviewed by the outlet.
The
data shows that the majority failed to meet ICE’s physical or academic
standards, and just under 10 recruits were let go for criminal charges,
failing to pass drug tests, or safety concerns that should have been
noted during background checks before they arrived at training.
Get it? In terms of references, ICE is going to be about as helpful to you as a degree from Florida Memorial University.
It's time for you to save yourself. Again, I'm not Mommy. I can't make the boo-boos or the monsters in the closet go away. You've got to save yourself. Kristi Noem and Chump are more than willing to take advantage of you, throw a few coins your way and leave you shattered and walking towards suicide in the near future. It is not worth it and you have to save yourself.
And Americans are seeing and grasping what's going on. KGW reports protests took place in McMinnville on Saturday over the arrest of the 17 year old and they quote Abraham Mejia stating, "A 17-year-old minor being abducted in broad daylight -- whether
people agree with that or not, it's just unacceptable. It
hits home and it makes you feel almost fueled that you need to do
something about it and that's why I'm here today." Americans are on the streets protesting, they're addressing it with family, friends and members of their communities, they're speaking out and writing letters to the editor -- such as the one below.
Imagine yourself walking down the street when suddenly you are
approached by a beefy-dude who gets into your face and begins to
aggressively force himself upon you. As you attempt to break away you
find yourself surrounded by four other men, some who have completely
covered their face behind a mask, and each of them yelling at you,
taunting you, and wrestling you onto the ground to place you in
handcuffs. This violent assault leaves you disoriented, traumatized and
bewildered. You are aggressively thrown into a van, and taken away to a
location which only upon arrival do you realize you are being detained
and judged as an enemy of the State. Having lived peacefully and
lawfully, having held a job, having begun the process that leads toward
citizenship, you are now, with no due process of law cast into a hole,
not allowed to call your family, your lawyer, or a friend. You are
disappeared and have become subject to the lawless immorality that is
readily, purposely and cruelly eradicating the customs, traditions and
way of life that once made our nation a beacon of hope and light to all
the nations.
What can we the people do about this immoral and egregious practice
that is bringing shame to our beloved country? The Des Moines
Indivisible Citizens Movement, those who organize democracy rallies at
Big Catch Plaza, are joining up with a larger King County grass roots
movement called The Whistle Warriors to develop and distribute whistles
throughout our community. Our mission is to empower immigrant families
and community residents with a simple, effective, community-supported
tool for rapid alert, ensuring community safety and promoting neighbor
to neighbor solidarity during times of ICE raids.
We encourage all citizens who witness these types of assaults to film
the event, and to blow the whistle attempting to draw a crowd who can
collectively document as many details as possible, texting the
Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network (WAISN) hotline at
844-724-3737. Our goal is to hold ICE accountable to the rule of law,
and to protect as best we can those who have lived amongst us as friends
and neighbors. Such nonviolent actions on our part carry the promise
that “we the people” are present and observing as we insist on upholding
our higher community standards of justice and decency, particularly
from those who act in our name.
The whistles can be picked up at the Big Catch Plaza whenever we
rally for a return to democracy with its promise of liberty and justice
for all.
When children began coming to his shop by themselves holding their
family’s grocery lists, bakery owner Francisco Cuadra knew “things are
getting bad.”
As Operation Midway Blitz’s trail bled from Illinois into Northwest
Indiana neighborhoods, Cuadra, owner of Santa Maria’s Bakery in Hammond,
said some of his customers became too afraid to go out and get bread
and basic necessities, regardless of their citizenship status.
“Once it started showing up on Facebook on the Hammond pages, people
taking photos of ICE out on Columbia Avenue, I noticed business drop
down a lot,” Cuadra said. “Just like how once the rumors began in
Chicago, they saw their business drop. Our customers have had to send
their kids to pick up products, because the parents are afraid to come
out. It’s really sad to hear that. When kids are picking up the
groceries and bread, because their families are afraid to come out —
that’s horrible.”
Cuadra has owned the bakery since 2010 but rising costs and dwindling
customers have made him feel like the business is a “ticking time
bomb.” Despite this, he keeps grocery and bread prices affordable and
donates what he can.
When news of an ICE arrest at East Chicago’s La Rancherita bakery
reached him, Cuadra knew his customers would feel even less safe
patronizing his shop.
“(ICE agents) are not respecting people,” Cuadra said. “If you’re
Mexican, they treat you like someone here illegally, it doesn’t matter
if you’re here legally. They’re even snatching American citizens if they
don’t have a ‘REAL ID.’ Which a lot of people don’t have yet because
they’re waiting for their license to expire to get a new one. But the
government is saying if it’s not a REAL ID, and they’ll detain you,
because there’s no star in the corner. They say you have to have the
star in the corner of it, or they’ll basically claim it’s not real, it’s
a fake.”
These are the actions that lead Americans into the streets in protest. Americans of all ages recognize this is not American behavior and it must be called out. Ana Despa and Claire Cranford (DUKE CHRONICLE) report:
A week of immigration enforcement activity
across North Carolina culminated in youth-led demonstrations across
Durham on Friday, as students and community members protested
unannounced Customs and Border Protection and Immigration Customs
Enforcement operations in the Triangle.
City-wide walkouts and an evening rally drew hundreds of
Durhamites downtown. Students, workers and immigration-advocates alike
demanded accountability from local and federal officials. But they vowed
to continue organizing as uncertainty and fear surrounding “Operation
Charlotte’s Web” continue.
CBP agents first entered Charlotte Nov. 15 before making an unannounced expansion into Durham and Raleigh Tuesday. The Department of Homeland Security has reported over 250 detentions across the state thus far.
For nearly four hours, a crowd of roughly 250 high school students
gathered at the CCB Plaza in downtown Durham by the Bull statue to speak
out against ICE and CBP agents targeting members of their community.
They passed a megaphone from one person to another, voicing support for
classmates who missed school this week as the presence of CBP agents
left the city on edge.
The classrooms felt empty, they said. Durham Public Schools reported a nearly 30% absenteeism rate this week, accounting for 9,209 of roughly 31,000 enrolled students.
The demonstration came together in less than a week,
growing out of a group chat of just 20 students who sought to take a
stand against the immigration raid in their city. Both students from
Durham and Chapel Hill were in attendance after they walked out of their
classrooms around noon. Some DPS students took the “unexcused absence”
to rally for their community.
This
month, American-born Pope Leo backed the U.S. bishops’ recent decision
to oppose indiscriminate mass deportations under the Trump
administration. Local church leaders brought that message of migrant
dignity to Colorado’s only federal immigration detention center.
Hundreds of people showed up to the event, called Immigrant Stations
of the Cross. It was organized by the Catholic Committee for the
Pastoral Care of Migrants and took place Saturday morning outside the
GEO/ICE facility in Aurora.
“I-I am… I’m moved,” said Father Luke Barder of St. Dominic Parish,
his voice shaking. “I look at this crowd, and I know many of them, and I
know many of them are all over the ideological spectrum. And it’s this
one thing that’s uniting us, and that they’ve come, is a sign of hope
for me.”
Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila and Auxiliary Bishop Jorge Rodriguez participated in the closing prayer.
“I’m really inspired to see the Catholic community, Archbishop
Aquila, Auxiliary Bishop Rodriguez, many clergy and laity stand together
and say that the Church is with you,” said Thomas Weiler of the
Catholic Committee for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Together
Colorado.
The gathering directly referenced the U.S. Bishops’ Special Message on Immigration
released this month by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which
stated, “To our immigrant brothers and sisters, we stand with you in
your suffering, since, when one member suffers, all suffer (cf. 1
Corinthians 12:26). You are not alone… We oppose the indiscriminate mass
deportation of people.”
Let's wind down with this from Senator Adam Schiff's office:
Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) joined MS NOW’s All In with Chris Hayes to
react to President Donald Trump signing the bill to release the Epstein
files and raise concerns about the administration’s continued efforts
to stall and stonewall on their release.
He also discussed the actions of Lindsey Halligan, President Donald
Trump’s handpicked U.S. attorney to bring the case against former FBI
Director James Comey, underscoring how her missteps in the case showcase
the true vindictive motivations of the Justice Department acting on
Trump’s orders.
On whether the Trump administration will commit to releasing the full Epstein files:
I’m not at all confident. I
think if past is prelude, what we can expect is more stonewalling, more
cover up, more inartful ways of explaining why they’re covering up. I
think when this chapter of history is written, it will be a test case
in how not to handle a crisis. This has already been dragged out for
almost a year. I think, by drip, drip, drip of new documents they put
out and more that they withhold it will continue to only feed the
appetite of the public to know the full truth. And the interesting irony
here is that by announcing investigations into Democrats in the Epstein
files and saying the president is not under investigation, well,
presumably that means that any documents that mention the president can
be released because he’s not part of an investigation — it’s only
Democrats that were named by Epstein that would be withheld.
So that’s a strange irony they’ll have to try to grapple with. But I
think we can fully expect that they will stonewall, and they will, I
think, incur the wrath of their base when they do. And the final point
on this is to bring it back to what really should matter here, and that
is the victims deserve this
accountability. I think it is what drove such a strong bipartisan vote.
They deserve to know the truth. They deserve to have these files
released, whoever they implicate, and hopefully that day will come.
On Trump’s hand-picked attorney admitting the grand jury never saw final Comey indictment:
It’s astonishing that the indictment that was ultimately presented to
a judge was never seen by the entire grand jury. So, they bring one
indictment in. It is three counts. The grand jury refuses to indict on
one of those counts. They should have brought a new indictment before
the grand jury and presented that. They didn’t. And it still seems that
maybe part of the answer is this strange practice of bringing in an
indictment that the grand jury hasn’t seen. But there’s also allegations
of missing pages of a grand jury transcript. There are also allegations
that this insurance lawyer turned prosecutor may have erroneously
instructed the grand jury as to the law. Another really serious
problem. You have the problem
of her appointment itself, which may have been unlawful. And considering
that she’s the only one who signed that indictment that could also get
this case thrown out.
And then you have, I think, what was really the gravamen of the hearing today, before it wasacknowledged
that the indictment, the new indictment, was never shown to the full
grand jury. And that is the retribution here, the retaliation here. The
evidence of that is so strong, where you have Trump telling Bondi, “You
got to go forward with these prosecutions.” You’ve got the firing of a
Republican U.S. Attorney who wouldn’t do it because there wasn’t
evidence. You’ve got firing of other top people. You have this personal
lawyer thrown in. It is so plainly, palpably vindictive that I can’t
imagine facts more compelling than the ones we’re seeing to have it
thrown out on that basis alone.
On Trump’s Justice Department putting the president’s interests before the rule of law:
[…] We’re seeing the same problem at multiple layers in the Justice
Department. So, you force out the career professionals. You bring in
this insurance lawyer. She goes alone into the grand jury or doesn’t
apparently have very good advice with her. And you have all these
problems in the grand jury. It’s one thing when you have an enabler at
the Justice Department, it’s another when you have one who is not
particularly competent. But then you have the kind of demonstration that
you played earlier of Pam Bondi, the Attorney General, saying, “We’re
opening this investigation of Democrats in the Epstein files because of
new evidence. Is that right? Did I say new evidence? Do we have new
evidence? It’s whatever Todd Blanche said it was in his tweet.”
This is the problem when
people at the Justice Department at various layers view their
responsibility not to the law, not to the rules of ethics, but to the
president. And given that they’ve taken the position also that
the president, under their unitary executive thinking, is also empowered
to command prosecutions they can’t really claim — as they tried in
court today — that, well, this prosecutor wasn’t vindictive herself, and
therefore it’s not a vindictive prosecution when it was ordered by the
vindictive commander in chief.
[…]
These political prosecutions are not different in kind than the
administration’s efforts to silence critics at the universities, silence
critics at law firms, silence critics in the media. It is part of a
broad effort to intimidate and coerce people into silence. And I think
we need to see it as that kind of systemic attack on our democratic
society and our First Amendment.
As a duo Sonny & Cher were very successful. They weren't a one hit wonder. They too twenty songs onto BILLBOARD's top 100 singles chart -- 11 of which went top forty. (During the recording life of Sonny & Cher, as a solo artist, Cher had 16 singles make the top 100 and eleven of those went top forty. I'm counting this time from 1965 -- when they first charted -- through 1977 when they released their final singles "You're Not Right For Me." ) A lot of artists during that time period had one hit and that was really it. But if you listen to their debut album LOOK AT US, you'll find 12 solid tracks including their number one hit "I Got You Babe" as well as this song, their cover of "You Really Got A Hold On Me" and "500 Miles." Elaine's "Sonny & Cher's LOOK AT US " was a look back on that classic album.
Friday, November 21, 2025. Chump attacks and smears Democrats while revealing that the commander in chief has never even read the Uniform Code of Military Justice and a RAW STORY writer wants us to betray the Esptein survivors because the topic either ores him or makes him uncomfotable.
Let's start with Donald Chrump. What's the Convicted Felon done now? Senator Patty Murray's office issued the following:
Murray responds to outrageous posts from President Trump:
“I am calling on every one of my Republican colleagues: show some
courage. Don’t just brush this one off yet again. State plainly that the
President is not above the law—it’s right there in the constitution.
Don’t mince words: make it clear that calls for political violence are
unacceptable.”
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, released a new video message condemning President Trump’s recent post calling for members of Congress to be arrested for stating that the President is not above the law and his later repost of a call to hang members of Congress.
In the video message, Senator Murray slams President Trump
for endorsing political violence against elected members of Congress,
saying:
“Just think about this, the President of the United
States is using his platform to lift up people calling for political
violence. And then, in his own words, he called this video: ‘Seditious
behavior, punishable by death.’ This is twisted, dangerous stuff.
“As my colleagues, on both sides have said there is no
room in our democracy for political violence, or for rhetoric that
champions political violence. And as every single one of us remembers
from our own oath, in this country we swear loyalty to the constitution,
not to the President. The danger here should be obvious. Every single
one of my colleagues should be here with me saying: President Trump’s
behavior—his choice to amplify a dangerous call for violence—is
completely unacceptable.
“There is a whole lot more I could say about how clearly
unfit this President is for office. Believe me, I have some choice
words. But in the interest of unity—I’ve tried to keep my message simple
and restrained in the hopes that members on both sides will join me in
saying this loud and clear. Because it’s clear the President needs to
hear this message, but he needs to hear it from all of us. And frankly—I
need to hear it from my colleagues too. I need to know my colleagues,
who I work with every day, actually agree with me about the basic
bedrock of our democracy.”
A full transcript of Senator Murray’s remarks in the video message is below:
“I was disturbed—genuinely horrified—to see President Trump call for
members of Congress to be arrested for simply stating the fact that no
one is above the law—not even the President. It is infuriating. It is
enough to make your blood boil.
“I mean—I can’t think of anything more un-American, at least I
couldn’t until Trump went further and reposted a call to hang members of
Congress. All because Members of this Congress—veterans who served this
country selflessly and proudly—did nothing other than simply state the
plain letter of the law.
“Here’s what they said: ‘Our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal
orders… No one has to carry out orders that violate the law or our
constitution.’
“I whole-heartedly agree. I’ll say it myself. To the soldiers bravely
serving our nation—thank you. As a voice for many servicemembers from
Washington state let me state unequivocally: you can refuse illegal
orders.
“Just think about this, the President of the United States is using
his platform to lift up people calling for political violence. And then,
in his own words, he called this video: ‘Seditious behavior, punishable
by death.’ This is twisted, dangerous stuff.
“As my colleagues, on both sides have said there is no room in our
democracy for political violence, or for rhetoric that champions
political violence.
“And as every single one of us remembers from our own oath, in this
country we swear loyalty to the constitution, not to the President. The
danger here should be obvious.
“Every single one of my colleagues should be here with me saying:
President Trump’s behavior—his choice to amplify a dangerous call for
violence—is completely unacceptable.
“There is a whole lot more I could say about how clearly unfit this
President is for office. Believe me, I have some choice words. But in
the interest of unity—I’ve tried to keep my message simple and
restrained in the hopes that members on both sides will join me in
saying this loud and clear.
“Because it’s clear the President needs to hear this message, but he needs to hear it from all of us.
“And frankly—I need to hear it from my colleagues too. I need to know
my colleagues, who I work with every day, actually agree with me about
the basic bedrock of our democracy. Because how am I supposed to sit
across the table from people who are silent when the President lifts up
voices saying Democrats should be hanged?
“A President who calls a simple recitation of the law ‘treasonous behavior, punishable by death?’
“We’ve seen where this path goes—where silence in the face of escalating calls for violence can lead. I was here on January 6th, as were many of my colleagues. I was here while they built a gallows outside and chanted ‘hang Mike Pence.’
“Are we going to sit here and say nothing while the President riles
up another crowd? Lifts up new calls for violence? Are we going to say
nothing as they build another gallows?
“What exactly do my colleagues think they will be chanting this time?
And why exactly do they think the President will care to stop the crowd
when today he is the one lifting up calls for violence?
“We cannot wait. We cannot pretend we don’t know how serious President Trump’s actions are.
“Now, I know we may not all be in perfect agreement on how to
respond, but this moment really requires us to speak with one voice.
“I am calling on every one of my Republican colleagues: show some courage.
“Don’t just brush this one off yet again. State plainly that the
President is not above the law—it’s right there in the constitution.
Don’t mince words: make it clear that calls for political violence are
unacceptable. Something I have heard members on both sides of the aisle
speak passionately about recently.
“None of that should be controversial. This is not a moment where our democracy can afford cowards and sycophants.
“I really hope every Member of Congress, every CEO, every community leader lifts up their voice.
“Say it plain: this kind of rhetoric is a disgrace—it’s not even
close to acceptable coming from an American President. That is the bare
minimum.”
Amna Nawaz: Half-a-dozen Democrats in Congress with military and
intelligence backgrounds are urging current service members to ignore
the chain of command if they're given unlawful orders.
Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-PA): Right now, the threats to our Constitution aren't just coming from abroad…
Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO): … but from right here at home.
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ): Our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders.
Ren. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI): You can refuse illegal orders.
Rep. Chris Deluzio: You must refuse illegal orders.
Sen. Elissa Slotkin: No one has to carry out orders that violate the law…
Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA): … or our Constitution.
Amna Nawaz: Now, they didn't specify which orders they consider
unlawful, but President Trump has fired back, writing on social media
these members of Congress should be — quote — "arrested and put on
trial," saying their actions are seditious behavior from traitors that
is — quote — "punishable by death."
Congressman Jason Crow of
Colorado is a retired Army Ranger and one of the Democrats you just
heard from in that video. He joins me now. Congressman, welcome to the show. Thanks for joining us.
Rep. Jason Crow: Hi, Amna.
Amna Nawaz: So, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary,
was asked about all this in the briefing today. I just want to play for
you her response.
Question: Just to be clear, does the president want to execute members of Congress?
Karoline Leavitt, White House Press Secretary: No. Let's be clear about what the president is responding
to. You have sitting members of the United States Congress who
conspired together to orchestrate a video message to members of the
United States military, to active-duty service members, to members of
the national security apparatus, encouraging them to defy the
president's lawful orders.
Amna Nawaz: Congressman, I just want to get your response to the latest from the White House on this.
Rep. Jason Crow: Well, first off, Karoline Leavitt is just lying. We
specifically said to unlawful orders — that they don't have to obey
unlawful orders, which actually is what the Constitution says, what the
Uniform Code of Military Justice says and what we were trained on when
we were in uniform as well. This administration wants people to
think that simply reminding people of their oath and what the law
requires is somehow criminal and should result in treason and hanging,
because, secondly, that is what the president said this morning. He
called for a treason trial. He called for our arrest. And he called
specifically for our execution by hanging.
Amna Nawaz: So, to be specific here, then, Congressman, which
unlawful orders are you asking military members to refuse? What did you
see that prompted you and others to make this video?
Rep. Jason Crow: The point of this video was not to point to specific
orders. It's to prepare our service members, our young men and women,
who are going to be put in very difficult positions in the years ahead
to understand their oath and their obligation. And there's plenty
of reason to be concerned. Donald Trump actually asked whether he could
shoot protesters in the leg during the protests at Lafayette Square.
Donald Trump has said he's going to go to war with Chicago and send
troops into our cities, several of which have already been declared
illegal by federal courts. So there's plenty of reason to be
concerned. And we want to start a public conversation about what the
obligation of our troops really is, in the very same way, I will say,
that I did before I deployed my paratrooper platoon to Iraq in 2003,
because once you get to the point where they are faced with an instant
decision, it's too late if you haven't already had that conversation
with them.
Amna Nawaz: Well, Congressman, for military members who are trying to
navigate this now, I want to put to you what I heard from the director
of The Orders Project, which is a nonprofit that offers legal advice to
military service members who are unclear about their orders or worried
about them. And they have been seeing an uptake in calls recently.
But this person also said that any service member who disobeys an order
on the basis that it's unlawful does run the risk that a military judge
will disagree. And then they have to face the consequences. Are you saying to military members they should take on that risk?
Rep. Jason Crow: Well, listen, every military member takes on that risk. Service is hard. Being in the military is very hard. So
what we want to do is send a message that members of Congress, their
fellow veterans, we stand by them, we see them, and we are reminding
them of their oath.
Amna Nawaz: Congressman, you have served honorably. We thank you for your service. So did most in that video. But
so did retired Four-Star General Barry McCaffrey. And he had this to
say in response to your video. He said: "This action by Democrats is
unwarranted and dangerous. Focus on your own responsibilities in
Congress to oppose military actions you believe are wrong or illegal.
Support the judicial system to push back. Don't call on the military to
stop Trump." What do you say to that?
Rep. Jason Crow: Well, we're not calling on the military to stop Trump. We're calling on the military to fulfill oaths. And,
unfortunately, I think General McCaffrey doesn't understand the moment
that we're in, the challenges that this administration is presenting to
the troops. And I think he doesn't understand the time and the
challenges that leaders face right now.
Amna Nawaz: Do you not trust that the courts will continue to push back or slow or stop Trump policies as they have been doing?
Rep. Jason Crow: They may. They may not. And even when courts issue
orders, over a third of the time, this administration disregards lawful
orders of the courts, right? They simply disregard court orders time and
time again. So my job as a member of Congress is to do everything
possible to uphold the Constitution and to defend this country. I don't
rely on anybody to help me fulfill my duties, right? This is a project
the entire country needs to undertake. Courts have an obligation.
Citizens have an obligation. The military has an obligation. Law
enforcement has an obligation. And I have mine.
Amna Nawaz: We saw Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer say today
he's asked for special protections for Senators Slotkin and Kelly, who
appeared with you in that video, after the president's post about
seditions. Are you worried about your own safety? Have you seen any
increase in threats since the president's post?
Rep. Jason Crow: Yes, we have received threats. And we take those very seriously. I
mean, this is actually making the point that the president continues to
incite violence in vitriolic rhetoric and partisanship over and over
again. And it's very serious stuff, right? People sometimes act on what
Donald Trump and others say, right? They certainly did on January
6. So I understand the threats that we face right now. I take those
seriously. But I will not be intimidated. But what Donald Trump wants
is, he wants to use fear and intimidation to silence dissent, to silence
opposition, and to silence speech. And I am not allowed — I'm not
going to allow that to happen, because the moment we allow that to
happen is the moment we lose our democracy. And I will not allow it to
happen. Fear is contagious, but so is courage. And I intend to lead.
Amna Nawaz: Congressman Jason Crow of Colorado, thank you for making the time to speak with us. We appreciate it.
I am so sick of stupid. Donald Chump avoided the Vietnam War. He didn't protest it and he didn't serve in it. He got his daddy to buy his way out of it because he was a coward. Someone else went in his place. Someone else may be dead as a result.
He should never have been president of the United States. But here we are and while Americans are hard working, we have a non-working president. He doesn't learn.
He's a stupid piece of filth who just wants to stay stupid. You have never had a president of the United States make the idiot remarks that Chump did yesterday regarding the members of Congress.
There was nothing controversial about their remarks. Jason got to the most important part. Yes, absolutely the Constitution is the supreme law of the land. But I'm referring to UCMJ.
Some people are just as stupid as Chump.
Lt Ehren Watada. He refused to go to the Iraq War. Do we remember why?
Because it was an illegal war and he would be betraying the service members under him by obeying an illegal order. I agree with him -- you don't have to -- and I agreed with him and we covered him constantly when the US government tried to court-martial him.
In fact, I defended him against Amy Goodman and Norman Solomon. If you've forgotten, Norman had a side piece and she was going to be put on the stand!!!! On the stand!!! So Norman and Amy made it all about how Ehren had to stop defending himself and refusing to testify to 'save' her.
You may remember those two -- Norman and Amy -- were part of the effort to defeat Kamala last November (which meant electing Chump, don't give them a pass). They do that all the time, they destroy what needs to be supported.
His side piece -- who's now at IN THESE TIMES -- was going to have to decide whether to tefisy about her sources or not. The journalistic stance -- even Judith Miller understood this -- is that you don't give up your sources. If it means you spend a week or a month in jail, that's what you do. Unless Norman's crushing on you.
Then what you do is go after a young man fighting for his rights and you start shaming him on DEMCORACY NOW! with b.s. about how he could end the side piece's 'troubles' by taking the stand and then she wouldn't have to do this or do that or wah wah wah.
Some of us on the left are so f**king stupid that we let the same people betray us over and over and make no point to call them out for it.
Ehren didn't listen and good for him.
He took a brave stand based on his convictions.
And -- this is what you need to pay attention to -- his training.
He wasn't creating new guidelines, rules or codes. He was going by the UCMJ.
The no-working Chump didn't serve in the miliary and despite being given the title of commander in chief twice now, has never bothered to even glance at the UCMJ. Our troops follow UCMJ. Ehren was exposed to it through his training.
This was more nonsense from Chump. He's an idiot and people need to be calling him out. This is his second term as president and he's objecting to a very basic thing that is part of our laws and that the US military trains people in.
Propaganda Pig Karoline Levitt declared at the White House yesterday, "Every single order that is given to this United States military by this commander-in-chief and through this command chain of command, through the secretary of war, is lawful."
The porcine ugly needs to shut her uninformed mouth. There is no "secretary of war." The position is -- legally, you idiot -- Secretary of Defense. Congress has not changed it and they're the only ones who legally can. So you don't know the law, you don't know God you hypocrite hiding behind the cross around your neck and you don't know a damn thing.
Do not follow an illegal order? That's actually the law. That.
Not whatever Karoline, snout in air, is snorting about.
I think Donald's confusing sedition with treason and, in the dementia that now possesses him, is somehow projecting his attempt to overthrow the country on January 6th onto other people today. Neither he now Porky Karoline understand military justice -- not just military law but military justice. And they disgrace the country as they babble on about what they wrongly think is the law.
You're just so damn stupid, Donald.
The only thing we can take comfort in is the fact that you went into another rage last night. Yea! He's morbidly obese and eats junk food despite closing in on 80. Each one of these rages takes another few days off his life.
“We are veterans and national security professionals who love
this country and swore an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of
the United States. That oath lasts a lifetime, and we intend to keep
it. No threat, intimidation, or call for violence will deter us from
that sacred obligation,” they wrote
in a joint statement posted by Kelly. “What’s most telling is that the
President considers it punishable by death for us to restate the law.
Our servicemembers should know that we have their backs as they fulfill
their oath to the Constitution and obligation to follow only lawful
orders. It is not only the right thing to do, but also our duty.” They
signed it with a reminder: “Don’t Give Up the Ship!”
Kelly later responded personally to Trump adviser Stephen Miller’s claim that their comments are part of an “insurrection” and “a general call for rebellion.”
“I got shot at serving our country in combat, and I was there when your boss sent a violent mob to attack the Capitol,” Kelly wrote. “I know the difference between defending our Constitution and an insurrection, even if you don’t.”
The president repeatedly posted on Truth Social, calling for the
veteran lawmakers to be arrested and suggesting they should be put to
death. He also reposted other Truth Social users who said they should be
hanged.
The death threats were clear and explicit.
“This is really bad, and Dangerous to our Country. Their words cannot be allowed to stand,” Trump said in the Truth Social post. “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!! LOCK THEM UP???”
“SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” he continued.
[. . .]
When asked about Trump’s posts, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA)
tried to deflect and point the finger at Democrats who said troops can
refuse to follow “illegal orders.”
“That was wildly inappropriate,” Johnson said
on Thursday. “It is very dangerous. You have leading members of
Congress telling troops to disobey orders. I think that’s unprecedented
in American history … I know young soldiers, airmen, sailors — they
don’t need that kind of nonsense from people in Congress.”
The Dems being targeted by Chump did nothing wrong. They repeated what the US military is trained on. They didn't make that up. It's actually part of the military training.
Now I get it. I know the only brigade Speaker of the closet Mike Johnson ever served in was Avon so the military escapes him. But your stupidity is not an excuse to use inflammatory and misleading speech to put people at risk. When your hate merchant was shot on stage not that long ago, you all wanted to posture about words and weeks later? Here we are with you lying to back up Chump. You're lying and you don't know what you're talking about. Mike Johnson should have pulled his usual nonsense answer out of his ass, "Uhm, golly, I didn't see that on TV. I don't know anything about that. I only knows what the TV tells me. TV and BLUE BOY and LATIN INCHES."
If you can't tell, I'm not in a good mood this morning. Chump isn't our only problem. We started with him but a stupid idiot at RAW STORY has me even more outraged.
I don't like dumb asses and I don't like f**king ass b**ches. Hope I have everyone's attention with that.
What am I talking about?
A garbage post from a garbage fool.
I don't need crap ass from crap asses who don't know s**t. It's amazing, I can remember in early 2005 when these same type of people were telling us to walk on away from Iraq as a topic. There are ways to take back the White House, these 'experts' said, but Iraq wasn't one of them. Really? Because when 2008 rolled around, it was the issue.
But crap asses were bored with the topic. Crap asses who didn't know s**t and who never know s**t.
An outlet has published a really bad article entitled "Trump will finally crash if we hammer him on this -- instead of Epstein." Oh, STFU. I hate the dualities to begin with. I hate the nonsense that it has to be this or that. I hated it when the 'revinventing government' neolibs pushed there either/or nonsense going into the Clinton years and I hated it when the soulless presented it while people were dying in the Iraq War.
Your own crap ass stupidity makes you think you can frighten people into focusing on what you want. So you try to threaten us -- oh, you're going to cost the election mumble mumble.
You don't know s**t and you should stick to coverage of what you can see because you know nothing of prognosis.
We, the American people, moved a mountain via Epstein. Those of us who focused on it and discussed it.
It has fractured MAGA.
Nothing else would have had that impact.
You're a stupid moron who doesn't understand politics.
John Kerry got Swift boated due to idiots like you.
Now we can and should focus on many issues. But idiots like the RAW STORY writer don't know a damn thing. The GOP's technique in elections has repeatedly been to take what we in the Democratic Party feel is a strength and to attack it. So John Kerry served in Vietnam and they rip apart his service.
Donald Chump claimed to be of the people -- he's not -- and couldn't shut up about Epstein and spent his first term pretending he was a savior of children. This exposed him for what he was. This became a real liability for him. It forced some people who had done everything for him to rethink him.
It has exposed him for what he is. There is probably nothing else that could have done that.
Why?
We all have an opinion on the topic. You need something shared like that so that the country can share revulsion. We can bond over it. And you saw it, you saw MAGA people -- including in Congress -- say they couldn't go along with a cover up.
It also wasn't some obscure mathematical model or something we needed to educate the public on. It had built-in appeal.
The idiot writes:
Look, I am not saying everything and anything associated with Epstein isn’t important, but I am saying it can’t become the thing.
I am saying we believe the women, who were victimized by these monsters. I am saying we keep calling for the release of everything to do with Epstein, and we keep asking the woman-abusing Trump one question, and one question only, blah blah blah
Condescending and rude. If you need to read it, click here, for SUBSTACK -- no, it's not the RAW STORY exclusive it's claimed to be at RS.
You don't like the topic. You've never liked it. You don't think it's political and you don't think it's important. Because you're a stupid idiot.
And here's the thing, we owe it to the survivors to continue to press on this issue. I never said it's the only issue. We also zoom in on Chump's war on immigrants, and many other things.. And we can do that and many other things. But here comes a RAW STORY writer -- fresh from decades at STARS AND STRIPES, with idiotic advice.
There's been no justice for the survivors. But before anything's even released, he's wanting Democrats to give up on the issue.
That'll hurt us. If we weren't really vested in it to begin with? That would mean Chump's 'hoax' talk was accurate.
This was the perfect issue to expose Chump on -- it's one that the entire nation cares about. But we picked up the issue because we care about the survivors. It was a great issue to go with politically but it was also a great issue to go with in terms of helping those in need.
We didn't need that garbage from RAW STORY. And we don't need marching orders from these idiots either. Go back to your propaganda post at STARS AND STRIPES.
MS NOW last night.
As you can see, they were able to cover a number of different topics throughout their programming.
It doesn't have to be just one story.
We've got two more things. From Senator Elizabeth Warren's office:
Paramount Skydance made deals
with Trump prior to gaining merger approval, now reportedly admin
favorites to take over Warner Bros.
Senators warn that botched merger review could raise costs, reduce choices for Americans
“The American people deserve
full confidence that the federal government is enforcing these laws
independently, transparently, and free from political pressure or
financial influence.”
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren
(D-Mass.) led Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Richard Blumenthal
(D-Conn.) in writing to U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust
Division Assistant Attorney General Abigail Slater, warning that a
potential Warner Bros. deal could be tainted by political favoritism and
corruption. Warner Bros., in an upcoming formal auction process, is
expected to receive bids from major media companies potentially
including Paramount Skydance, Netflix, Apple, Amazon, and Comcast,
raising the specter of a new, massive media giant that drives up costs
and reduces choices for American families.
Recent reporting revealed that the Trump administration prefers for
Paramount Skydance to win the bid, raising questions of political
favoritism. The close relationship between the Trump administration and
Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison could politicize the merger
approval process. In July, the Trump administration approved the merger
between Paramount and Skydance, just weeks after Paramount donated $16
million to Trump’s Presidential Library — and after Ellison reportedly
agreed to a secret “side deal” to run millions of dollars’ worth of
pro-Trump ads.
“The Department of Justice (DOJ) must guarantee that any review of a
potential Warner Bros. transaction is conducted transparently,
independently, and in accordance with federal antitrust and
anti-corruption laws — not politics,” wrote the lawmakers. “Regardless
of which bidder is selected, the combination of one of these companies
with Warner Bros. would further consolidate the media market — risking
higher prices and less variety for consumers.”
The lawmakers demanded that the review of any potential transaction
involving Warner Bros. follow the law and avoid the taint of corruption
and political favoritism. If the review is botched and a new media giant
emerges, the company would have even more market power to raise costs
at a time when working- and middle-class Americans are already being
squeezed by skyrocketing costs across the board.
To ensure the DOJ review is fact-based and transparent, the senators
are pressing for answers on interactions that might bias the transaction
review process. In particular, the senators ask whether DOJ officials
have discussed any matters related to a potential Warner Bros.
transaction with lawyers, lobbyists, or consultants hired by Warner
Bros. or any of the reported bidders. They also seek further
clarification on whether conversations have been held with non-DOJ
lawyers, as well as White House officials or Donald Trump, relating to
transaction review at the DOJ, including a potential transaction
involving Warner Bros.
“A transparent and lawful merger review process ensures that
antitrust and public interest laws function as intended — to protect
competitive markets, prevent concentration of power, and safeguard
American families from higher prices and fewer choices,” the lawmakers concluded.
“The American people deserve full confidence that the federal
government is enforcing these laws independently, transparently, and
free from political pressure or financial influence.”
Senator Warren has consistently fought back against corrupt corporate media consolidation:
On October 10, 2025, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) questioned Skydance’s refusal to address President Donald Trump’s reported secret side deal.
On August 1, Senator Warren released
a statement in response to Paramount’s and Skydance’s responses to her
letters to each of the companies, describing the responses as “dodgy”
and calling for “a full, independent investigation” into whether the
companies or their executives engaged in any criminal behavior connected
to the approval of the companies’ multi-billion-dollar merger.
On July 24, Senator Warren responded
to the Trump administration’s approval of the Paramount-Skydance
megamerger, saying “bribery is illegal no matter who is president.”
On July 23, Senator Warren published an op-ed in Variety: “Elizabeth Warren on Colbert 'Late Show' Cancellation: Is the Paramount Trump Payoff a Bribe?”
On July 21, Senators Warren, Sanders (I-Vt.), and Wyden (D-Ore.) pressed
David Ellison, CEO of Skydance, about reports of a secret deal between
Skydance and President Trump—and how it may be related to Paramount’s
recent multi-million-dollar settlement agreement with Trump.
On July 17, Senators Warren and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), along
with Representatives Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.), Jamie Raskin (D-Md.),
Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.), and lawmakers in Congress, unveiled
the Presidential Library Anti-Corruption Act to close loopholes that
allow presidential libraries to be used as tools for corruption and
bribery.
On July 15, Senator Warren released a new report
exposing how companies, special interests, and foreign governments may
be pledging donations to President Trump’s future Presidential Library
as a corrupt tool to secure favorable outcomes from his administration.
On July 2, Senator Warren called for an investigation into Paramount’s settlement with Trump.
On May 19, Senators Warren, Sanders, and Wyden wrote
to Shari Redstone, Chair of Paramount, with concerns regarding whether
Paramount may be engaging in potentially illegal conduct involving the
Trump Administration in exchange for approval of its megamerger with
Skydance.
