James Leckie
@luckyleckie.bsky.social
Proud Marylander. I rant about things I read. Opinions are mine.
I also answer to Mister Love
I also answer to Mister Love
Reposted by James Leckie
that’s right
Spanberger ends relationship between ICE and Virginia State Police
“This is an absolutely huge first step because it sends a message that she cares about the trust that the community has with the government, not just law enforcement,” immigration advocate Luis Aguila...
www.wvtf.org
January 17, 2026 at 8:33 PM
that’s right
Reposted by James Leckie
January 17, 2026 at 1:41 PM
Reposted by James Leckie
Two days ago it was Elissa Slotkin. Last week it was Jerome Powell. Before that, Mark Kelly. Weaponizing the justice system against your opponents is an authoritarian tactic.
The only person not being investigated for the shooting of Renee Good is the federal agent who shot her.
The only person not being investigated for the shooting of Renee Good is the federal agent who shot her.
Breaking news: The Justice Department has issued subpoenas for Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey as part of an investigation alleging that they are impeding federal law enforcement officers’ abilities to do their jobs in the state.
Justice Dept. launches criminal investigation of Minnesota governor
The Justice Department has issued subpoenas for Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey as part of an investigation into impeding law enforcement.
www.washingtonpost.com
January 16, 2026 at 11:46 PM
Two days ago it was Elissa Slotkin. Last week it was Jerome Powell. Before that, Mark Kelly. Weaponizing the justice system against your opponents is an authoritarian tactic.
The only person not being investigated for the shooting of Renee Good is the federal agent who shot her.
The only person not being investigated for the shooting of Renee Good is the federal agent who shot her.
Reposted by James Leckie
Breaking: Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey are being investigated by the Trump DOJ for allegedly obstructing law enforcement activities, two U.S. officials told WCCO.
It's unclear how Walz and Frey allegedly obstructed law enforcement or what they were allegedly obstructing.
It's unclear how Walz and Frey allegedly obstructed law enforcement or what they were allegedly obstructing.
Department of Justice investigating Gov. Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Frey, U.S. officials say
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey are under federal investigation, two U.S. officials told WCCO on Friday afternoon.
www.cbsnews.com
January 16, 2026 at 11:10 PM
Breaking: Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey are being investigated by the Trump DOJ for allegedly obstructing law enforcement activities, two U.S. officials told WCCO.
It's unclear how Walz and Frey allegedly obstructed law enforcement or what they were allegedly obstructing.
It's unclear how Walz and Frey allegedly obstructed law enforcement or what they were allegedly obstructing.
With diplomas that big, they gotta stay worth something
The incoming Democratic governor of Virginia, Abigail Spanberger, has asked at least five members of the board overseeing the University of Virginia who were appointed by her Republican predecessor to resign, according to people briefed on the matter.
Some U.Va. Board Members Asked to Resign as Gov. Abigail Spanberger Takes Power
After months of upheaval at the state’s flagship university, a new Democratic governor appeared ready to shake up the school’s leadership.
nyti.ms
January 16, 2026 at 10:58 PM
With diplomas that big, they gotta stay worth something
Reposted by James Leckie
Minnesota residents delay medical care for fear of encountering ICE
by Liz Szabo
ICE raids are leading a growing number of people across the state to cancel important and even life-saving medical appointments
www.cidrap.umn.edu/i...
by Liz Szabo
ICE raids are leading a growing number of people across the state to cancel important and even life-saving medical appointments
www.cidrap.umn.edu/i...
January 16, 2026 at 10:20 PM
Minnesota residents delay medical care for fear of encountering ICE
by Liz Szabo
ICE raids are leading a growing number of people across the state to cancel important and even life-saving medical appointments
www.cidrap.umn.edu/i...
by Liz Szabo
ICE raids are leading a growing number of people across the state to cancel important and even life-saving medical appointments
www.cidrap.umn.edu/i...
Reposted by James Leckie
The more info we get about this raid, the worse it becomes. ICE had NO valid warrant (administrative warrants do not authorize forceful entry into a home), the guy's sole prior conviction was a since-dismissed drug charge from 2008, AND he had checked in with ICE just days earlier.
Immigration attorney: The arrest "during a Minnesota immigration crackdown that the Department of Homeland Security has called its largest enforcement operation ever, was a “blatant constitutional violation,” since the agents did not have a proper warrant..." www.minnpost.com/public-safet...
Attorney: No proper warrant for Minneapolis man's arrest in home
The arrest of Garrison Gibson came in a city increasingly on edge after an immigration agent shot and killed Renee Good last week.
www.minnpost.com
January 15, 2026 at 10:21 PM
The more info we get about this raid, the worse it becomes. ICE had NO valid warrant (administrative warrants do not authorize forceful entry into a home), the guy's sole prior conviction was a since-dismissed drug charge from 2008, AND he had checked in with ICE just days earlier.
Reposted by James Leckie
You may have heard that "social security is going to go bankrupt." Many younger people assume social security will not be there for them when they retire. In my latest paper I correct the record. SS is not going bankrupt but we'll need to revisit it soon 🧵
rooseveltinstitute.org/publications...
rooseveltinstitute.org/publications...
“Will Social Security Run Out?” Is the Wrong Question: How Lawmakers Can Protect Beneficiaries and Strengthen OASI
Is Social Security really in crisis? This report examines the OASI Trust Fund, lessons from 1983, and policy options to secure benefits for the future.
rooseveltinstitute.org
January 15, 2026 at 2:40 PM
You may have heard that "social security is going to go bankrupt." Many younger people assume social security will not be there for them when they retire. In my latest paper I correct the record. SS is not going bankrupt but we'll need to revisit it soon 🧵
rooseveltinstitute.org/publications...
rooseveltinstitute.org/publications...
Haha there's a small one. Hood College! Plus the community college, but people never mean that.
It's really developed a lot in the last 20 years. It's fun to go back occasionally.
It's really developed a lot in the last 20 years. It's fun to go back occasionally.
January 15, 2026 at 3:43 AM
Haha there's a small one. Hood College! Plus the community college, but people never mean that.
It's really developed a lot in the last 20 years. It's fun to go back occasionally.
It's really developed a lot in the last 20 years. It's fun to go back occasionally.
I'm from Frederick County, and it's crazy to me that Frederick is gonna be bigger than Columbia in a few years after being a small city for so long. With a lot of the gains in the last 10 years.
January 15, 2026 at 3:07 AM
I'm from Frederick County, and it's crazy to me that Frederick is gonna be bigger than Columbia in a few years after being a small city for so long. With a lot of the gains in the last 10 years.
It's astounding how much Frederick County ate MoCos lunch, but it seems like MoCo is growing again the last couple years.
January 15, 2026 at 3:03 AM
It's astounding how much Frederick County ate MoCos lunch, but it seems like MoCo is growing again the last couple years.
Reposted by James Leckie
We must stress: The only violence is coming from CBP/ICE. They are rioting in the face of sustained nonviolent protests by thousands of Americans across the country.
They are today’s Alabama State Troopers at the Selma bridge. They are Bull Connor’s police with firehoses in Birmingham.
They are today’s Alabama State Troopers at the Selma bridge. They are Bull Connor’s police with firehoses in Birmingham.
Protester blinded, skull fractured by DHS agent during Santa Ana demonstration, family says
Protester blinded, skull fractured by DHS agent during Santa Ana demonstration, family says
A young protester narrowly avoided being killed but was left permanently blind after a Department of Homeland Security agent fired a nonlethal round at close range during a Santa Ana protest last week, according to family of the victim.
www.latimes.com
January 13, 2026 at 2:27 PM
We must stress: The only violence is coming from CBP/ICE. They are rioting in the face of sustained nonviolent protests by thousands of Americans across the country.
They are today’s Alabama State Troopers at the Selma bridge. They are Bull Connor’s police with firehoses in Birmingham.
They are today’s Alabama State Troopers at the Selma bridge. They are Bull Connor’s police with firehoses in Birmingham.
Reposted by James Leckie
A teenage boy was walking home in Minneapolis yesterday when four masked men jumped out of a van & questioned him - with no parent or guardian present.
He was bundled into the van & taken away.
Bystanders heard the boy say: “Can I just go home?”
I don’t know how America comes back from all this.
He was bundled into the van & taken away.
Bystanders heard the boy say: “Can I just go home?”
I don’t know how America comes back from all this.
January 13, 2026 at 5:56 PM
A teenage boy was walking home in Minneapolis yesterday when four masked men jumped out of a van & questioned him - with no parent or guardian present.
He was bundled into the van & taken away.
Bystanders heard the boy say: “Can I just go home?”
I don’t know how America comes back from all this.
He was bundled into the van & taken away.
Bystanders heard the boy say: “Can I just go home?”
I don’t know how America comes back from all this.
Reposted by James Leckie
AOC: I want everybody to understand that the cuts to your health care are what’s paying for this. You get screwed over to pay a bunch of thugs in the street that are shooting mothers in the face.
January 13, 2026 at 1:20 AM
AOC: I want everybody to understand that the cuts to your health care are what’s paying for this. You get screwed over to pay a bunch of thugs in the street that are shooting mothers in the face.
Reposted by James Leckie
exceptional article, I think this gets at the heart of why Minneapolis is such a target for the Trump admin even above & beyond other liberal American cities
January 12, 2026 at 11:09 PM
exceptional article, I think this gets at the heart of why Minneapolis is such a target for the Trump admin even above & beyond other liberal American cities
Reposted by James Leckie
A recent Israeli decision to bar Doctors Without Borders and other aid groups means international staff and aid can no longer enter Gaza or the West Bank. Local staff must rely on dwindling supplies and no international expertise.
Inside a Gaza medical clinic at risk of shutting down after an Israeli ban
A recent Israeli decision to bar Doctors Without Borders and other aid groups means international staff and aid can no longer enter Gaza or the West Bank. Local staff must rely on dwindling supplies and no international expertise.
n.pr
January 11, 2026 at 8:01 PM
A recent Israeli decision to bar Doctors Without Borders and other aid groups means international staff and aid can no longer enter Gaza or the West Bank. Local staff must rely on dwindling supplies and no international expertise.
The United States Doesn’t Have a Housing Crisis
It Has Three.
mnolangray.substack.com
January 11, 2026 at 7:19 PM
Reposted by James Leckie
It's really this fucking easy. Everything, EVERYTHING is a political choice and we need to remember that.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani and City Council Speaker Julie Menin on Saturday announced an initiative to install more public bathrooms across the city.
January 11, 2026 at 6:20 PM
It's really this fucking easy. Everything, EVERYTHING is a political choice and we need to remember that.
Reposted by James Leckie
People pay monthly health insurance premiums over the years with the expectation that when they fall ill, they will be protected from risk of financial ruin. Claim payment should be guided by medical necessity and appropriateness, not by familial relationship to insurance executives.
Blue Cross had refused to pay thousands of claims for the center’s patients, but on several occasions executives at the insurance company had signed special one-time deals with the center to pay for their wives’ cancer treatment.
(Published April 2025)
(Published April 2025)
“Slow Pay, Low Pay or No Pay”: Trial Reveals How Insurers Try to Wield Power Over Doctors
Blue Cross authorized mastectomies and breast reconstructions for women with cancer but refused to pay the full doctors’ bills. A jury called it fraud and awarded the practice $421 million.
www.propublica.org
January 11, 2026 at 2:04 AM
People pay monthly health insurance premiums over the years with the expectation that when they fall ill, they will be protected from risk of financial ruin. Claim payment should be guided by medical necessity and appropriateness, not by familial relationship to insurance executives.
Welp, the low income earners have the slowest wage growth again. That pretty much just sucks.
January 11, 2026 at 3:58 PM
Welp, the low income earners have the slowest wage growth again. That pretty much just sucks.
Reposted by James Leckie
Frey: "I think the initial impetus to come to MN was to arrest & deport a bunch of Somali people. They got here & realized the Somali people that would be deported are all citizens. Then they turned their ire toward our Latino community & others. These are communities that make Mpls a better place."
January 10, 2026 at 4:58 PM
Frey: "I think the initial impetus to come to MN was to arrest & deport a bunch of Somali people. They got here & realized the Somali people that would be deported are all citizens. Then they turned their ire toward our Latino community & others. These are communities that make Mpls a better place."
Reposted by James Leckie
The last few years have really shown us that some people truly enjoy and thrive off the misery of others, for no other reason than their privilege lets them enjoy the show.
January 10, 2026 at 8:42 PM
The last few years have really shown us that some people truly enjoy and thrive off the misery of others, for no other reason than their privilege lets them enjoy the show.
Reposted by James Leckie
A woman recording an ICE agent tells him "Shame on you."
The agent responds, "Have you all not learned from the past couple of days?"
"Learned what?" she asks
Then he knocks her phone out of her hand
The agent responds, "Have you all not learned from the past couple of days?"
"Learned what?" she asks
Then he knocks her phone out of her hand
January 10, 2026 at 2:52 PM
A woman recording an ICE agent tells him "Shame on you."
The agent responds, "Have you all not learned from the past couple of days?"
"Learned what?" she asks
Then he knocks her phone out of her hand
The agent responds, "Have you all not learned from the past couple of days?"
"Learned what?" she asks
Then he knocks her phone out of her hand
Reposted by James Leckie
Minneapolis, after the murder of Renee Nicole Good.
January 9, 2026 at 11:30 PM
Minneapolis, after the murder of Renee Nicole Good.
I was in Pittsburgh around that convention once. On the way to Youngstownn. Funny experience.
January 9, 2026 at 2:04 AM
I was in Pittsburgh around that convention once. On the way to Youngstownn. Funny experience.