Andrew H. Sowards
@andrewhsowards.bsky.social
Former criminal defense investigator, FPD (CHU) retired (disability not old). Picture taker, sawdust maker, occasional writer of words.
Pinned
Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness—-That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends...
Reposted by Andrew H. Sowards
Reposted by Andrew H. Sowards
fyi mine and @lollardfish.bsky.social's THE BRIGHT AGES is on sale as an ebook for only $4.99!
bookshop.org/p/books/the-...
bookshop.org/p/books/the-...
The Bright Ages: A New History of Medieval Europe
A New History of Medieval Europe
bookshop.org
February 6, 2026 at 5:23 PM
fyi mine and @lollardfish.bsky.social's THE BRIGHT AGES is on sale as an ebook for only $4.99!
bookshop.org/p/books/the-...
bookshop.org/p/books/the-...
Reposted by Andrew H. Sowards
#httc Sonny Jurgensen, Hall of Fame quarterback with Washington and Philadelphia, dies at 91 www.nfl.com/news/sonny-j...
Sonny Jurgensen, Hall of Fame quarterback with Washington and Philadelphia, dies at 91
Sonny Jurgensen, a 1983 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee and one of the purest passers of the 1960s, died at at the age of 91, his family announced Friday.
www.nfl.com
February 6, 2026 at 4:28 PM
#httc Sonny Jurgensen, Hall of Fame quarterback with Washington and Philadelphia, dies at 91 www.nfl.com/news/sonny-j...
Doesn't even look like he's trained in that gear. Looks like he's modeling it for the website selling it. Fuck the price tag might still be on it.
Was this very mid-2000s emo person press-ganged into ICE servitude?
February 6, 2026 at 4:28 PM
Doesn't even look like he's trained in that gear. Looks like he's modeling it for the website selling it. Fuck the price tag might still be on it.
Can we all start going to DC with our camping gear and just plan to stay until they leave? This shit has to end. I'm not spending my golden years in a fascist shithole. As it is, I'll be dead before we fix just one year. 3 more and it's over.
A screenshot from a video posted on Trump's Truth Social account: truthsocial.com/@realDonaldT...
February 6, 2026 at 4:23 PM
Can we all start going to DC with our camping gear and just plan to stay until they leave? This shit has to end. I'm not spending my golden years in a fascist shithole. As it is, I'll be dead before we fix just one year. 3 more and it's over.
The first QB I remember from my favorite team.
February 6, 2026 at 3:42 PM
The first QB I remember from my favorite team.
Reposted by Andrew H. Sowards
BREAKING: The federal government has filed a motion seeking to end asylum claims for the family of Liam Conejo Ramos, according to the lawyer representing the family.
DHS has requested expedited deportation proceedings against family of Liam Conejo Ramos
The federal government has filed a motion seeking to end asylum claims for the family of Liam Conejo Ramos, according to the lawyer representing the family.
www.mprnews.org
February 6, 2026 at 2:17 AM
BREAKING: The federal government has filed a motion seeking to end asylum claims for the family of Liam Conejo Ramos, according to the lawyer representing the family.
Shit. Dave Slutes ran (runs?) Club Congress music stuff for decades. He was the lead singer of The Sidewinders (Sand Rubies) back in the day. Hate to see this. Hope he finds his kid.
February 6, 2026 at 3:38 AM
Shit. Dave Slutes ran (runs?) Club Congress music stuff for decades. He was the lead singer of The Sidewinders (Sand Rubies) back in the day. Hate to see this. Hope he finds his kid.
Reposted by Andrew H. Sowards
Man Who Lost Everything In Crypto Just Wishes Several Thousand More People Had Warned Him https://theonion.com/man-who-lost-everything-in-crypto-just-wishes-several-t-1848764551/
February 3, 2026 at 11:00 PM
Man Who Lost Everything In Crypto Just Wishes Several Thousand More People Had Warned Him https://theonion.com/man-who-lost-everything-in-crypto-just-wishes-several-t-1848764551/
Isn't the American dollar fake enough for you? You have to use it to buy faker money?
February 5, 2026 at 11:35 PM
Isn't the American dollar fake enough for you? You have to use it to buy faker money?
Reposted by Andrew H. Sowards
NEW: 150 days of Kavanaugh stops, and it just keeps getting worse.
Kavanaugh stops would always be bad. As a tool in the Trump administration's authoritarianism arsenal, they are worse. The consequences are everywhere.
This evening, at Law Dork:
Kavanaugh stops would always be bad. As a tool in the Trump administration's authoritarianism arsenal, they are worse. The consequences are everywhere.
This evening, at Law Dork:
150 days of Kavanaugh stops, and it just keeps getting worse
Kavanaugh stops would always be bad. As a tool in the Trump administration's authoritarianism arsenal, they are worse. The consequences are everywhere.
www.lawdork.com
February 5, 2026 at 11:08 PM
NEW: 150 days of Kavanaugh stops, and it just keeps getting worse.
Kavanaugh stops would always be bad. As a tool in the Trump administration's authoritarianism arsenal, they are worse. The consequences are everywhere.
This evening, at Law Dork:
Kavanaugh stops would always be bad. As a tool in the Trump administration's authoritarianism arsenal, they are worse. The consequences are everywhere.
This evening, at Law Dork:
I'm no financial math wizard, but losing almost half in 4 months can't be good.
February 5, 2026 at 9:09 PM
I'm no financial math wizard, but losing almost half in 4 months can't be good.
Reposted by Andrew H. Sowards
"Understaffing" is an untreatable symptom of mass incarceration.
The reality is that prisons lock up so many people that they can't find enough guards to staff the facilities – and, ultimately, incarcerated folks suffer the most from it.
The reality is that prisons lock up so many people that they can't find enough guards to staff the facilities – and, ultimately, incarcerated folks suffer the most from it.
NEW: State prisons in the United States became more violent and nearly 50% deadlier over the past five years as authorities struggled to keep enough guards on the job, according to a government-funded report to be released on Wednesday.
www.reuters.com/world/us/sta...
www.reuters.com/world/us/sta...
February 5, 2026 at 7:54 PM
"Understaffing" is an untreatable symptom of mass incarceration.
The reality is that prisons lock up so many people that they can't find enough guards to staff the facilities – and, ultimately, incarcerated folks suffer the most from it.
The reality is that prisons lock up so many people that they can't find enough guards to staff the facilities – and, ultimately, incarcerated folks suffer the most from it.
Reposted by Andrew H. Sowards
NEW: State prisons in the United States became more violent and nearly 50% deadlier over the past five years as authorities struggled to keep enough guards on the job, according to a government-funded report to be released on Wednesday.
www.reuters.com/world/us/sta...
www.reuters.com/world/us/sta...
February 4, 2026 at 12:22 PM
NEW: State prisons in the United States became more violent and nearly 50% deadlier over the past five years as authorities struggled to keep enough guards on the job, according to a government-funded report to be released on Wednesday.
www.reuters.com/world/us/sta...
www.reuters.com/world/us/sta...
Nifty email from the new Dr. Oz show....oops, I mean Medicare.
February 5, 2026 at 7:45 PM
Nifty email from the new Dr. Oz show....oops, I mean Medicare.
Reposted by Andrew H. Sowards
As The Washington Post goes dark, today is a good day to give your money to nonprofit newsrooms like @mississippifreepress.org.
Far from laying people off, we're hiring *more* journalists and growing vital, democracy-building work.
And we have no paywalls!
Give here: givebutter.com/mfpdonate
Far from laying people off, we're hiring *more* journalists and growing vital, democracy-building work.
And we have no paywalls!
Give here: givebutter.com/mfpdonate
February 4, 2026 at 8:02 PM
As The Washington Post goes dark, today is a good day to give your money to nonprofit newsrooms like @mississippifreepress.org.
Far from laying people off, we're hiring *more* journalists and growing vital, democracy-building work.
And we have no paywalls!
Give here: givebutter.com/mfpdonate
Far from laying people off, we're hiring *more* journalists and growing vital, democracy-building work.
And we have no paywalls!
Give here: givebutter.com/mfpdonate
Reposted by Andrew H. Sowards
Support real local journalism that centers real Mississippians daily—and how power on all levels affects us.
We aren’t deep-pocket journalism; we survive and thrive due to people like you. Please give to help us keep growing. 💜🥂
We aren’t deep-pocket journalism; we survive and thrive due to people like you. Please give to help us keep growing. 💜🥂
As The Washington Post goes dark, today is a good day to give your money to nonprofit newsrooms like @mississippifreepress.org.
Far from laying people off, we're hiring *more* journalists and growing vital, democracy-building work.
And we have no paywalls!
Give here: givebutter.com/mfpdonate
Far from laying people off, we're hiring *more* journalists and growing vital, democracy-building work.
And we have no paywalls!
Give here: givebutter.com/mfpdonate
February 5, 2026 at 1:01 PM
Support real local journalism that centers real Mississippians daily—and how power on all levels affects us.
We aren’t deep-pocket journalism; we survive and thrive due to people like you. Please give to help us keep growing. 💜🥂
We aren’t deep-pocket journalism; we survive and thrive due to people like you. Please give to help us keep growing. 💜🥂
Reposted by Andrew H. Sowards
Ian McKellen performs “The Strangers’ Case” speech from “Sir Thomas More” on Colbert.
February 5, 2026 at 1:07 PM
Ian McKellen performs “The Strangers’ Case” speech from “Sir Thomas More” on Colbert.
Reposted by Andrew H. Sowards
‘One officer told me that I "had no chance of returning to Minnesota" and that "the best thing for (me] is self-deportation." …
She offered me $2600 to self-deport.
I refused.
I wanted to talk to my attorney.
They didn't tell me the judge had already ordered my release and return to Minnesota.’
She offered me $2600 to self-deport.
I refused.
I wanted to talk to my attorney.
They didn't tell me the judge had already ordered my release and return to Minnesota.’
![…
25. This Cibola jail was horrible. It was cramped. I was chained up again.
The officers mocked
me and called me their enemy. They laughed at me. I was kept at the jail for what felt like around three hours. I wasn't given an explanation for why I was there.
26. Security
guards then put me on a bus. I think it was around January 27.
No one said
anything about where I was going. I was handcuffed. It felt like the middle of the night. It was freezing cold in the bus because the driver had the AC on. We had no jackets. The bus eventually took me back to El Paso in the carly morning of Tuesday, January 27th.
27. I was put in a cold cell where I had to sleep on the bare cement floor. Around 10 in the morning my cellmate asked to speak to an ICE officer. Three officers came into the cell so I had a chance to speak to them too. One officer told me that I "had no chance of returning to Minnesota" and that "the best thing for (me] is self-deportation." She told me that if I fought my case, I would spend two to three more months here in El Paso. She offered me $2600 to self-deport. I refused. I wanted to talk to my attorney. They didn't tell me the judge had already ordered my release and return to Minnesota. If I hadn't managed to talk to my attorney who told me a while back that I was ordered released. I might have given up at this point and signed the self-deportation forms because the conditions were so unbearable.
…
30. When I was taken back to the detention center from the airport, after missing the flight, I overheard an ICE officer saying in English, "the judge in Minnesota wants this one back." I was put in a cold jail cell again until early next morning (January 28). But again no one had told me directly that a judge had ordered my release
…
32. When I arrived in Minneapolis, I was handed off to ICE
… I had to sign lots of papers saying that I wasn't going to be a part of any "groups." I didn't know what they meant by "groups." They never told me why I was detained](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:5cn3kbi4g5blrtahon34xbu4/bafkreiccqxmfncofjqinoveiqscwale2ox5xpiqt46veqjdh3jmimkrxhq@jpeg)
February 5, 2026 at 6:04 AM
‘One officer told me that I "had no chance of returning to Minnesota" and that "the best thing for (me] is self-deportation." …
She offered me $2600 to self-deport.
I refused.
I wanted to talk to my attorney.
They didn't tell me the judge had already ordered my release and return to Minnesota.’
She offered me $2600 to self-deport.
I refused.
I wanted to talk to my attorney.
They didn't tell me the judge had already ordered my release and return to Minnesota.’
Reposted by Andrew H. Sowards
Breaking Reuters:
A team working for Tulsi Gabbard last spring led an investigation into Puerto Rico's voting machines.
The goal was to work with the FBI to investigate claims that Venezuela had hacked voting machines in Puerto Rico.
The probe did not produce any clear evidence of interference.
A team working for Tulsi Gabbard last spring led an investigation into Puerto Rico's voting machines.
The goal was to work with the FBI to investigate claims that Venezuela had hacked voting machines in Puerto Rico.
The probe did not produce any clear evidence of interference.
Exclusive: US spy chief's office investigated voting machines in Puerto Rico
A team working for President Donald Trump's spy chief, Tulsi Gabbard, last spring led an investigation into Puerto Rico's voting machines, said Gabbard's office and three sources familiar with the pre...
www.reuters.com
February 5, 2026 at 1:55 AM
Breaking Reuters:
A team working for Tulsi Gabbard last spring led an investigation into Puerto Rico's voting machines.
The goal was to work with the FBI to investigate claims that Venezuela had hacked voting machines in Puerto Rico.
The probe did not produce any clear evidence of interference.
A team working for Tulsi Gabbard last spring led an investigation into Puerto Rico's voting machines.
The goal was to work with the FBI to investigate claims that Venezuela had hacked voting machines in Puerto Rico.
The probe did not produce any clear evidence of interference.
"Large buildings purchased to be turned into camps burn down all the time sir, the world's an imperfect place."
a man wearing a plaid shirt and a white shirt looks at the camera
Alt: John Bender, a man with long brown hair in a plaid shirt, from The Breakfast Club breaking into a smile
media.tenor.com
February 5, 2026 at 2:15 AM
"Large buildings purchased to be turned into camps burn down all the time sir, the world's an imperfect place."
Reposted by Andrew H. Sowards
We are deciding right now whether we want to be a country with ethnic cleansing and concentration camps.
This is another effort that has taken a HUGE amount of local activism, led by community folks who care.
It CAN be done. Get involved where you live and push back.
www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/i...
It CAN be done. Get involved where you live and push back.
www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/i...
New Mexico Senate approves bill to ban ICE detention centers
The New Mexico Legislature approved the Immigration Safety Act. House bill 9 bars the state from allowing ICE detention centers.
www.elpasotimes.com
February 5, 2026 at 2:01 AM
We are deciding right now whether we want to be a country with ethnic cleansing and concentration camps.
Reposted by Andrew H. Sowards
NEW: Abigail Spanberger this afternoon ordered that all state agencies leave ICE's 287(g) program.
This means that the state police (and some other agencies) will no longer be empowered to detain and arrest people for ICE.
Big, big move by the governor within weeks of coming into office.
This means that the state police (and some other agencies) will no longer be empowered to detain and arrest people for ICE.
Big, big move by the governor within weeks of coming into office.
Virginia’s New Governor Ends ICE Program. Local Contracts Remain, For Now. - Bolts
Abigail Spanberger left the 287(g) program, which empowered state law enforcement to detain immigrants. Will Democrats also bar local police and sheriffs from the program?
boltsmag.org
February 4, 2026 at 10:36 PM
NEW: Abigail Spanberger this afternoon ordered that all state agencies leave ICE's 287(g) program.
This means that the state police (and some other agencies) will no longer be empowered to detain and arrest people for ICE.
Big, big move by the governor within weeks of coming into office.
This means that the state police (and some other agencies) will no longer be empowered to detain and arrest people for ICE.
Big, big move by the governor within weeks of coming into office.