Gail Helt
@gailhelt.bsky.social
CIA analyst, 2003-14. Close Guantanamo. Human Rights. China. My posts reflect only my views.
The “take it down” act?
I mean, that’s what they did with the East Wing.
I mean, that’s what they did with the East Wing.
BARTIROMO: I want to talk about some of your great achievements in the WH. How is this term different?
MELANIA TRUMP: I'm very action orientated, & the first year we had great success in my office. We started with the Take it Down Act.
BARTIROMO: You also did a Zoom with schools across the country
MELANIA TRUMP: I'm very action orientated, & the first year we had great success in my office. We started with the Take it Down Act.
BARTIROMO: You also did a Zoom with schools across the country
January 29, 2026 at 2:44 PM
The “take it down” act?
I mean, that’s what they did with the East Wing.
I mean, that’s what they did with the East Wing.
What a liar. ICE is stopping citizens who aren’t protesting, who are simply trying to get to their jobs, or pick up their kids, or go to a doctors appointment.
CNN: How did we get to a place where we had Bovino having Border Patrol agents stopping citizens in interior of the country, asking them ID, creating fear? Who made the decisions to allow this kind of operation to proceed?
HOMAN: The reason for the massive deployment is bc of the threats & violence
HOMAN: The reason for the massive deployment is bc of the threats & violence
January 29, 2026 at 1:51 PM
What a liar. ICE is stopping citizens who aren’t protesting, who are simply trying to get to their jobs, or pick up their kids, or go to a doctors appointment.
And yet, his goons are out there shoving women, pepper spraying them in the face, and shooting them in their cars.
Melania Trump: "He would like to have a country where all of the people can walk down the street and not be harassed or murdered or women raped"
January 29, 2026 at 1:13 PM
And yet, his goons are out there shoving women, pepper spraying them in the face, and shooting them in their cars.
This same argument saved absolutely no one at Nuremberg.
Kristi Noem: "Everything I've done, I've done at the direction of the president and Stephen"
January 28, 2026 at 2:21 PM
This same argument saved absolutely no one at Nuremberg.
At this point I think Xi Jinping could send him legislation and he would sign it.
Wouldn’t be valid. But he’d sign it.
Wouldn’t be valid. But he’d sign it.
Trump: "China will be sending me a bill very shortly supporting year round E15 to my desk, and I will sign it without delay"
January 28, 2026 at 1:13 AM
At this point I think Xi Jinping could send him legislation and he would sign it.
Wouldn’t be valid. But he’d sign it.
Wouldn’t be valid. But he’d sign it.
I’m teaching a module on state sanctioned terrorism this semester, and I had no idea my own government was going to provide so much content.
January 28, 2026 at 1:07 AM
I’m teaching a module on state sanctioned terrorism this semester, and I had no idea my own government was going to provide so much content.
Reposted by Gail Helt
January 27, 2026 at 4:44 PM
And American voters will coalesce around a Democrat primary challenger.
Do. Not. Fund. Ice. Not in any way, shape, or form.
Do. Not. Fund. Ice. Not in any way, shape, or form.
Dems coalescing around 5 restrictions on ICE, I'm told:
DHS required to cooperate with state probes (big)
CBP stays at border
warrants for arrests
IDs, bodycams
ICE out of churches, schools
"That package unites a lot of Dems," Sen Chris Murphy tells me on the pod:
newrepublic.com/article/2057...
DHS required to cooperate with state probes (big)
CBP stays at border
warrants for arrests
IDs, bodycams
ICE out of churches, schools
"That package unites a lot of Dems," Sen Chris Murphy tells me on the pod:
newrepublic.com/article/2057...
A Dem Senator’s Harsh Takedown of Trump Hits Home: “Breaking Point”
As Trump scrambles to contain the damage from the latest ICE horrors, Senator Chris Murphy offers a sharp indictment of Trump-ICE lawlessness—and explains how Dems can meet the urgency of the moment.
newrepublic.com
January 27, 2026 at 1:25 PM
And American voters will coalesce around a Democrat primary challenger.
Do. Not. Fund. Ice. Not in any way, shape, or form.
Do. Not. Fund. Ice. Not in any way, shape, or form.
Glad bovino is out.
Noem and miller must follow.
Noem and miller must follow.
January 27, 2026 at 1:53 AM
Glad bovino is out.
Noem and miller must follow.
Noem and miller must follow.
Fascism is not here. Civil liberties are not suspended - as a local dem claimed before taking offense when I noted that if that were true, we wouldn’t be complaining about the regime on social media.
People need to stop making it sound as though resistance is futile. It isn’t. MN proves it.
People need to stop making it sound as though resistance is futile. It isn’t. MN proves it.
January 26, 2026 at 11:09 PM
Fascism is not here. Civil liberties are not suspended - as a local dem claimed before taking offense when I noted that if that were true, we wouldn’t be complaining about the regime on social media.
People need to stop making it sound as though resistance is futile. It isn’t. MN proves it.
People need to stop making it sound as though resistance is futile. It isn’t. MN proves it.
Reposted by Gail Helt
Take off masks. End immunities. Limit jurisdiction. Restrain tactics. All of this can be done through legislation without inhibiting humane immigration enforcement. And if it’s done correctly, legislative reform can lead to greater accountability across the whole of government. - David French
Opinion | ‘Kristi Noem Needs to Go.’ Three Columnists on ICE in Minneapolis.
www.nytimes.com
January 26, 2026 at 9:01 PM
Take off masks. End immunities. Limit jurisdiction. Restrain tactics. All of this can be done through legislation without inhibiting humane immigration enforcement. And if it’s done correctly, legislative reform can lead to greater accountability across the whole of government. - David French
Makes sense. Truth and facts are anathema to the regime Bezos supports.
From Paul Farhi at the other site. Former media reporter there.
January 26, 2026 at 7:50 PM
Makes sense. Truth and facts are anathema to the regime Bezos supports.
Reposted by Gail Helt
To Gregory Bovino: This is what brandishing a firearm at a protest looks like.
January 26, 2026 at 6:10 PM
To Gregory Bovino: This is what brandishing a firearm at a protest looks like.
If this guy was really in Afghanistan, and he thinks peaceful protesters are actually insurgents doing what he described here, we should all be grateful he’s no longer in Afghanistan. Good grief.
MAGA military geniuses are talking about Minnesota protestors like they are the Iraqi insurgency, the Taliban, and the Viet Cong all rolled into one.
January 26, 2026 at 6:16 PM
If this guy was really in Afghanistan, and he thinks peaceful protesters are actually insurgents doing what he described here, we should all be grateful he’s no longer in Afghanistan. Good grief.
So men who are probably traumatized because they either murdered a man or saw a man be murdered are still armed and policing communities. They get no support or treatment.
I have zero sympathy for them, but ICE is raising the odds that these guys murder again.
I have zero sympathy for them, but ICE is raising the odds that these guys murder again.
Bovino says they will never tell us which agents killed Alex Pretti— and they will keep working the streets.
January 26, 2026 at 3:07 PM
So men who are probably traumatized because they either murdered a man or saw a man be murdered are still armed and policing communities. They get no support or treatment.
I have zero sympathy for them, but ICE is raising the odds that these guys murder again.
I have zero sympathy for them, but ICE is raising the odds that these guys murder again.
Reposted by Gail Helt
pretty wild statement re: Republican Chris Madel drop from race for MN governor:
"Saying he cannot support the national GOP's 'stated retribution on citizens of our state, nor can I count myself a member of a party that would do so."
"Saying he cannot support the national GOP's 'stated retribution on citizens of our state, nor can I count myself a member of a party that would do so."
January 26, 2026 at 2:14 PM
pretty wild statement re: Republican Chris Madel drop from race for MN governor:
"Saying he cannot support the national GOP's 'stated retribution on citizens of our state, nor can I count myself a member of a party that would do so."
"Saying he cannot support the national GOP's 'stated retribution on citizens of our state, nor can I count myself a member of a party that would do so."
To decent people, helping your neighbor is never foolish.
Meanwhile the WSJ editorial page says that Pretti — a nurse — “foolishly” tried to assist a woman who was being gassed, and that his actions “warranted arrest”
www.wsj.com/opinion/time...
www.wsj.com/opinion/time...
January 26, 2026 at 3:00 AM
To decent people, helping your neighbor is never foolish.
I do not need to see our aging former presidents marching in -20 degrees in Minneapolis.
I would, however, like to see them join together and do a PSA about the importance of standing united against the darkness MAGA is trying to bring down on us.
I would, however, like to see them join together and do a PSA about the importance of standing united against the darkness MAGA is trying to bring down on us.
January 26, 2026 at 12:38 AM
I do not need to see our aging former presidents marching in -20 degrees in Minneapolis.
I would, however, like to see them join together and do a PSA about the importance of standing united against the darkness MAGA is trying to bring down on us.
I would, however, like to see them join together and do a PSA about the importance of standing united against the darkness MAGA is trying to bring down on us.
Well hello, four day weekend!
January 26, 2026 at 12:07 AM
Well hello, four day weekend!
Ah yes, the bearing of false witness that MAGA does well.
We saw him murdered with our own eyes. There was no riot. No threat. He was no communist (but if he was he doesn’t deserve to die. He stopped to help a woman. He was bearing witness to horror. He was a patriotic American, and died for it.
We saw him murdered with our own eyes. There was no riot. No threat. He was no communist (but if he was he doesn’t deserve to die. He stopped to help a woman. He was bearing witness to horror. He was a patriotic American, and died for it.
Yesterday, evangelical influencer Meg Basham reposted Babylon Bee Managing Editor Joel Berry who wrote:
“Communists in Minnesota are now engaging in Hamas martyrdom tactics. They count every dead rioter as a victory, and they want more.” x.com/joelwberry/s...
“Communists in Minnesota are now engaging in Hamas martyrdom tactics. They count every dead rioter as a victory, and they want more.” x.com/joelwberry/s...
January 25, 2026 at 10:06 PM
Ah yes, the bearing of false witness that MAGA does well.
We saw him murdered with our own eyes. There was no riot. No threat. He was no communist (but if he was he doesn’t deserve to die. He stopped to help a woman. He was bearing witness to horror. He was a patriotic American, and died for it.
We saw him murdered with our own eyes. There was no riot. No threat. He was no communist (but if he was he doesn’t deserve to die. He stopped to help a woman. He was bearing witness to horror. He was a patriotic American, and died for it.
So Trump is trying to wag the dog to divert from his goons murdering a man in cold blood? Won’t work—I can be outraged over multiple things at once.
Khamenei has reportedly moved to a fortified underground shelter in Tehran after senior security officials warned of a possible US strike, per Jerusalem Post. Iranian opposition outlet claims his son, Masoud, has assumed day-to-day management and serves as the main channel to the gov exec branches.
Secretary-General of Iraq’s Hezbollah Brigades calls for preparing for a “comprehensive war” backing Iran.
January 25, 2026 at 9:51 PM
So Trump is trying to wag the dog to divert from his goons murdering a man in cold blood? Won’t work—I can be outraged over multiple things at once.
Reposted by Gail Helt
Quite a statement by the Republican governor of Vermont
January 25, 2026 at 9:10 PM
Quite a statement by the Republican governor of Vermont
Reposted by Gail Helt
You’d think Trump would grasp that the foreign investment allegedly (yes I know) pledged in the near future is gonna flee with a swiftness from a country with an armed secret police force that detains/kills anyone it feels like detaining or killing. What business will want to send their people here?
January 25, 2026 at 8:45 PM
You’d think Trump would grasp that the foreign investment allegedly (yes I know) pledged in the near future is gonna flee with a swiftness from a country with an armed secret police force that detains/kills anyone it feels like detaining or killing. What business will want to send their people here?
Guy actively pursuing Russian foreign policy says what now?
Trump: “China is successfully and completely taking over the once Great Country of Canada. So sad to see it happen. I only hope they leave Ice Hockey alone! President DJT”
January 25, 2026 at 6:48 PM
Guy actively pursuing Russian foreign policy says what now?