Monday, October 13, 2025. We do not have time for the craven or the cowardly. If you're an elected Democrat and you think this is the time to flatter and praise Donald Chump, get your ass of TV, you're not helping anyone (not even, surprise,yourself).
THE NEW REPUBLIC's latest RIGHT NOW WITH PERRY BACON podcast is up:
In the latest episode of Right Now With Perry Bacon, Democratic strategist Arkadi Gerney argues that the United States is in the midst of a “cold civil war.” For liberals to win it, they must use “hardball” tactics, including borrowing from the Republicans’ playbook. Gerney says that Republican governors and attorneys general smartly coordinated during Joe Biden’s presidency to thwart him. He praised Democratic attorneys general for taking a similar tack, constantly filing and at times winning lawsuits against the Trump administration. He also lauded California Governor Gavin Newsom for immediately responding to Texas’s redistricting scheme with a proposal for California to redraw its district lines in ways favorable to Democrats. Newsom and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker’s threat to leave the bipartisan National Governors Association unless it condemns Trump’s National Guard deployments was also a savvy move, he says. A big and unresolved challenge for Democrats, according to Gerney, is dealing with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids and the guard deployments from Trump that target Democratic-leaning cities in blue states. You can read the transcript here.
From the podcast:
Bacon: You used the words hardball and deterrence a few minutes ago. So I think part of this is—and even when we’ve talked a few times—every time you talk, I’m sort of like, “Do I really want California to be using their pension to, like, force…” But the answer to these questions has got to be yes—part of what you’re saying is, things that make me queasy in sort of a liberal way, are gonna [happen]. We’re in a fight over power, and that requires hardball. Is that the subtext here, or the actual text?
Gerney: I think that’s right. For example, in the last 24 hours, Governor Pritzker and Governor Newsom sent letters to the National Governors Association, which is the bipartisan coalition of all 50 governors—and they said, “Hey, if you’re not going to say something about National Guard troops coming into our states without our request, we’re going to drop out of this organization.” And I think that’s a healthy response to something that’s not working anymore.
I think we have to be able to look squarely at what we have. At the end of the day, yes, we want to have a national bipartisan governors association where they talk about ideas across party lines. But if the red-state governors are not going to say something about something that is an across-the-board violation of the Constitution and of the role of states, what’s the point of being in something like this?
And look, I’ve talked about some of the challenges that blue states have around affordability and this sort of net migration toward red states. But blue states have a lot to be proud of too. If you look at educational outcomes, if you look at life expectancy—there’s a big difference. If you look at crime in cities—Republicans talk a lot about crime in Chicago and cities like that, but if you look at crime across states and control for urbanization, there’s more crime in red states. There are a lot of reasons for that, but I think there’s a lot that’s going reasonably well in blue states, and part of what you want to do is tell that story.
We are helped by strength and when we don't show it we embarrass ourselves. Senator Mark Kelly was a damn fool yesterday on CNN's STATE OF THE UNION -- see Ava and my "Media: Can Dems stop caving, can the media stop whoring?" Was his goal to have Republicans think, "Oh, he's the reasonable one." There are people you can pull off from Chump. Mark Kelly's bowing and scaping -- the same thing that Senator John Fetterman does -- is not going to help us or our country.
CNN reports this morning that the last Israeli hostages from the October 7th assault have been released this morning. That's good. That doesn't mean peace. It was 20 people. About what Joe Biden got out of each negotiated pause. It doesn't mean peace. You're an idiot if you can't grasp that. It didn't mean peace in the past as Ava and I noted:
This could very well be yet another pause masked as a cease-fire.
A true peace plan probably wouldn't result in what took place September 29th -- that's when Chump announced it . . . with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his side -- with only Netanyahu at his side.
The willful stupidity on the part of the press and the part of elected officials when it comes to this fact speaks to a very anti-Muslim point of view. We get that, right? When Chump pretends to have talks of peace re: Ukraine, the press and politicians notice if a Ukrainian representative is not present.
But leave, for example, Izz al-Din al-Haddad out of the announcement and it doesn't matter?
It matters and it's very significant.
There is no peace plan -- certainly not one that's going to benefit the Palestinian people.
How do you miss that? If it's not assuming that Palestinians are less human -- the anti-Muslim point of view we noted above -- then it's just exhaustion over this conflict that didn't begin in October 2003. But even that exhaustion goes to anti-Muslim bias. Because you're ready to embrace anything just to see it 'ended' -- you're willing to ignore the Palestinian needs.
In terms of the US, in terms of Mark Kelly, the bigger problem is he shot off his stupid and uninformed mouth.
Chump is putting US boots on the ground. Are we going to discuss that? They have no clear goals. This is, as Elaine notes in "Stupid Donald Chump works to create a quagmire," how you get a quagmire. And Idiot Mark Kelly, if that happens, you damn well better believe that your remarks will be remembered to insist the quagmire was built with bipartisan support. Why do you have to be so damn stupid?
At THE NEW REPUBLIC, Michael Tomasky puts it very concisely:
David Axelrod is far better known these days for occasionally wagging his finger at his fellow Democrats than for breathing partisan fire, so it caught my eye when he posted this on X Wednesday: “So far, the ICE gang has shot & killed an unarmed man & lied about the circumstances; shot a woman 5 times for obstructing their vehicle; roughed up elderly women and zip-tied small children; shot a clergyman in the face with a pepper ball; marched through downtown Chicago, masked and armed. And they’re not going after the ‘worst of the worse,’ [sic] as promised. Most of the people they’re snagging have clean records. Some are citizens. To be clear: This is NOT making Chicago safer. It’s state-sponsored mayhem; dangerous political theater calculated to provoke.”
Historians sometimes say that when societies are descending into fascism, it can be hard for the people to notice it in real time. Well, historians of the future, I’m here to tell you: We are noticing. Millions of us are noticing. And we are horrified and enraged. We are well aware: We once lived in a country that, for all its frequent imperfections, was a place where the rule of law was a broadly shared value and where leaders acted with democratic restraint. We now live in a country where there is no rule of law; where leaders, especially the president but also others who support him, spit on the idea not only of democratic restraint but of democracy itself; and where the timorous first reflex of nearly every member of one of our two political parties is, at virtually all times, to do precisely what the leader wants.
That’s fascism. It may be—for now—a comparatively mild form of fascism. Political opponents aren’t being jailed or shot, opposition media outlets aren’t being shuttered, and books aren’t being burned. But a lot of things are happening that are terrifying. And last year, we lived in a country where the three scenarios I just listed were barely conceivable. Today, we live in a country where they are more likely only a matter of time.
Let’s go back to Axelrod, and specifically, his use of the phrase “state-sponsored mayhem.” That is exactly what President Trump is imposing upon Chicago. To take just one of the incidents Axelrod cites: Pastor David Black of the First Presbyterian Church was with a small gaggle of protesters outside a Chicago ICE facility. Three agents stood on the roof of the two-story building as Black and the others stood on the sidewalk maybe 15 feet away from the building. Black raised his arms to the sky, as if in prayer. Someone who appears to be a fellow protester approached Black to confer with him. Next thing you see in this video is a considerable puff of smoke explode from Black’s forehead as he falls to the ground. That’s a clergyman. Exercising his First Amendment right (he’s fine, and he’s suing). Black later told CNN: “We could hear them laughing.”
He's right. David Axelrod is right. But there's Democratic Senator Mark Kelly on CNN praising and normalizing Convicted Felon Donald Chump. Some one needs to whip these lazy and self-serving Democratic politicians into shape because we don't have time right now for their efforts to get praised as 'reasonable' by FOX "NEWS."
Dems in Congress need to be demanding answers not offering cover for the administration. Fortunately, some are demanding answers.
Fortunately, former President Barack Obama is showing leadership.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris is speaking out.
The American people are speaking out -- which scares the hell out of Chump.
US House Rep Jim Jordan insists ICE is doing God's work. Was Jim doing God's work when he watched the college boys locker room? Was he doing God's business when he looked the other way as the team doctor was in the showers and walking around the locker room with an erection? Was Jim doing God's work when he mocked young men who complained about how the team doctor was always touching their cocks and balls? In what world are we supposed to believe that Jim can do anything but bear false witness?
In the same world where an increasingly diminishing number of Americans will insist that ICE is not harming anyone. The Chump administration thinks they can get away with this. But they also think they can pose -- with crosses around their necks -- as good Christians and that's not working either. Good Christians don't cover up for Jeffrey Epstein Good Christians don't let a man work directly under Kristi Noem when the media has reported for years on the two's alleged affair -- both are married. Good Christians don't take $50,000 bribes and other good Christians don't cover up for them. Good Christians don't try to bully US senators in a committee hearing. We can down the list all day but no one serving in Chump's corrupt and illegal administration qualifies as a good Christian.
Pope Leo XIV encouraged leaders and volunteers of the Catholic Charities USA network to persevere in their work pointing out that they follow the Gospel mandate to recognise Christ in the poor, the hungry, the homeless, and all those in need.
His words of gratitude came in a message to the network is gathered in San Juan, Puerto Rico or its 115th Annual Meeting.
Agents of Hope
Quoting Pope Francis’ definition of hope as “the desire and expectation of good things to come, despite our not knowing what the future may bring,” Pope Leo underlined the importance of Catholic Charities’ work across its 168 diocesan agencies.
He described them as “agents of hope” for millions of people in the United States, especially the most vulnerable, the migrants, refugees, and those unable to rely on their own resources.
“Through providing food, shelter, medical care, legal assistance, and many other gestures of kindness,” he wrote, “Catholic Charities affiliates across the United States show what Pope Francis often referred to as God’s ‘style’ of closeness, compassion, and tenderness.”
Witnesses of Hope
The Pope said that while poverty and forced migration bring immense challenges, migrants and refugees also serve as “witnesses to hope,” both by their resilience and through the faith they bring to the communities that welcome them, to find their new homes in your country.
He described them as “missionaries of hope,” strengthening parishes and building bridges across nations and cultures.
Wesley United Methodist Church will offer an “Immigration 101: Welcoming the Stranger” workshop for community members to learn about current immigration issues.
The free workshop will be held from 12:30 to 3 p.m. Oct. 12 at the church, 14 N. May St., Aurora.
“Wesley UMC and our UMC Northern Illinois Conference advocacy partner present a workshop to help us understand the current issues facing our immigrant neighbors – and give us some ideas of how we can support and help provide for neighbors in need!” Wesley United Methodist Church’s lead pastor, the Rev. Tammy Scott, said in a news release.
Some 50 peacemakers, including members of the Pax Christi USA National Council held a prayer service and vigil in support of immigrants outside of the headquarters of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency in Washington, DC on Friday, 3 October. The service was sponsored by Pax Christi USA, Pax Christi Metro DC - Baltimore, the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker, Franciscan Action Network, Congregation Action Network, Sisters of Mercy, the Quixote Center and other groups.
The service began with a welcome from Pax Christi USA Executive Director Charlene Howard. Sherry Simon, outgoing chair of the National Council, then read this message from Pax Christi USA Bishop President John Stowe, OFM Conv:
"I wish I could be there in person with Pax Christi USA and others for this witness on this eve of the Feast of Saint Francis. I hope that the words of Cardinal McElroy from the march on the World Day of Migrants and Refugees are still resounding in DC and beyond. He called out the assault on the most vulnerable that is taking place in DC and many places throughout the country.
"It is so vital that we who call ourselves Christians remind ourselves of the most fundamental Christian values, love of God and love of neighbour. As you bear witness in the nation's capital you are affirming the importance of human dignity, which is God-given and is more basic than our nationality or citizenship. You are also striving to uphold the common good, recognizing that we are one community in the US, brought together from all over the world and our immigrants have made us stronger and better and will continue to do so. Let us remember the biblical imperative that we welcome the stranger, and recognize that it is Christ himself whom we welcome. Let us insist on the respect for human dignity and the rights of all, for law-enforcement personnel to clearly identify themselves and their authority, and continue to work for the comprehensive immigration reform that can allow millions of our immigrant sisters and brothers to leave among us without fear."
The participants then sang Sweet Honey in the Rock's song, 'We who believe in freedom shall not rest,' which was followed by this reflection from Pax Christi USA 2016 Teacher of Peace Art Laffin:
Yosef said he was holding a microphone and leading chants on a sidewalk when an ISP trooper started pushing protesters out of the way and approached Yosef.
“It was like I had no time to react, and next thing I know I was grabbed, they locked my arms and the other [troopers] came with him and threw me to the ground, pinned me down,” Yosef said about two hours later after he was released.
“All I saw was just the ground, and I saw sideways. I couldn’t see nothing. It was like I was literally trapped,” he said, adding that he was on his stomach as three troopers knelt on his back.
“I couldn’t resist. I was like crushed,” he said.
And MSNBC did the following video report Saturday.
The following sites updated:
- Gloria Estefan: Tiny Desk Concert3 hours ago
- Diane Keaton1 day ago
