Michael Mechanic
@michaelmechanic.bsky.social
Mother Jones editor; author of "Jackpot," an "entertaining and eviscerating" (Jane Mayer) book on America's wealth insanity (readjackpot.com); piano player turned punk rock drummer turned old-time fiddler; dad of Gen Zers; gardener; curmudgeon about town.
Reposted by Michael Mechanic
Our reporters Nate Halverson and Sam Van Pykeren caught up with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) at Alex Pretti's memorial in Minneapolis on Monday.
"To lose a 37-year-old son, and then to have that son insulted as a terrorist as opposed to celebrated as a hero...I was furious."
"To lose a 37-year-old son, and then to have that son insulted as a terrorist as opposed to celebrated as a hero...I was furious."
January 28, 2026 at 7:23 PM
Our reporters Nate Halverson and Sam Van Pykeren caught up with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) at Alex Pretti's memorial in Minneapolis on Monday.
"To lose a 37-year-old son, and then to have that son insulted as a terrorist as opposed to celebrated as a hero...I was furious."
"To lose a 37-year-old son, and then to have that son insulted as a terrorist as opposed to celebrated as a hero...I was furious."
Reposted by Michael Mechanic
Rep. Ilhan Omar was quickly and rightly hailed for her fortitude on Tuesday night. All I could think was, thank God she’s not dead.
My latest on Trump's relentless, destructive politics of violence www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
My latest on Trump's relentless, destructive politics of violence www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
The attack on Ilhan Omar and Trump’s destructive politics of violence
The president's rhetoric portends worse to come.
www.motherjones.com
January 29, 2026 at 9:02 PM
Rep. Ilhan Omar was quickly and rightly hailed for her fortitude on Tuesday night. All I could think was, thank God she’s not dead.
My latest on Trump's relentless, destructive politics of violence www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
My latest on Trump's relentless, destructive politics of violence www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Reposted by Michael Mechanic
Senior reporter Nathan Halverson wanted to ask a federal law enforcement officer—someone trained in handling quick-moving altercations while armed—what he saw in the video with trained eyes.
Watch former FBI agent Ken Bagchi’s analysis and stay tuned for more reporting on ICE at MotherJones.com.
Watch former FBI agent Ken Bagchi’s analysis and stay tuned for more reporting on ICE at MotherJones.com.
January 29, 2026 at 10:38 PM
Senior reporter Nathan Halverson wanted to ask a federal law enforcement officer—someone trained in handling quick-moving altercations while armed—what he saw in the video with trained eyes.
Watch former FBI agent Ken Bagchi’s analysis and stay tuned for more reporting on ICE at MotherJones.com.
Watch former FBI agent Ken Bagchi’s analysis and stay tuned for more reporting on ICE at MotherJones.com.
Reposted by Michael Mechanic
Border Patrol employee found ‘covered in vomit’ in St. Paul, charged with drunk driving
Border Patrol employee found ‘covered in vomit’ in St. Paul, charged with drunk driving
Border Patrol employee Alfredo Mancillas Jr. of Corpus Christi, Texas, was charged with drunk driving in St. Paul.
sahanjournal.com
January 30, 2026 at 12:48 AM
Border Patrol employee found ‘covered in vomit’ in St. Paul, charged with drunk driving
Is this an Onion story?
Fraid not.
Fraid not.
President Trump has filed a lawsuit against the IRS, in which he demands that the IRS, which he as president controls, pay him $10 billion.
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
January 30, 2026 at 1:10 AM
Is this an Onion story?
Fraid not.
Fraid not.
More totally necessary demands: 1. CBP back to the border forever. 2. ICE cannot approach someone on the street and ask for proof of citizenship. Fuck that Nazi shit!
Trump Administration Live Updates: Senate Democrats and White House Reach Deal to Avoid Shutdown
www.nytimes.com
January 30, 2026 at 1:07 AM
More totally necessary demands: 1. CBP back to the border forever. 2. ICE cannot approach someone on the street and ask for proof of citizenship. Fuck that Nazi shit!
No real Christian would ever support this shit. So stop calling yourself one.
One Minnesota journalist doing remarkable work right now is Elizabeth Shockman/@eshockmanwrites.bsky.social for @mprnews.org. This article posted yesterday on child detentions is an essential read. An essential read.
‘ICE conveyor belt’ illegally detaining, moving Minnesota children to Texas faster than courts can respond
ICE is pulling Minnesota immigrant families with legal status out of their driveways, homes and school commutes and sending them to Texas within hours — in at least two cases against a judge’s order. ...
www.mprnews.org
January 29, 2026 at 10:57 PM
No real Christian would ever support this shit. So stop calling yourself one.
Simple solution: Don't sign up for Medicare Advantage. Use traditional Medicare, which is not run by Wall Street.
A $1.2 Trillion ‘Rip Off’: Report Spotlights Massive Scale of Medicare Advantage Fraud www.commondreams.org/news/medicar...
This scam has been going on for decades. These uber-wealthy companies hire celebrities to make these plans look legit, but they are expensive, and the benefits are minimal
This scam has been going on for decades. These uber-wealthy companies hire celebrities to make these plans look legit, but they are expensive, and the benefits are minimal
A $1.2 Trillion ‘Rip Off’: Report Spotlights Massive Scale of Medicare Advantage Fraud | Common Dreams
"These private insurer-run plans are more expensive AND lead to worse outcomes for patients," said Rep. Pramila Jayapal. "It’s time to rein in Medicare DisAdvantage and protect traditional Medicare."
www.commondreams.org
January 29, 2026 at 10:51 PM
Simple solution: Don't sign up for Medicare Advantage. Use traditional Medicare, which is not run by Wall Street.
This guy is a disgrace to my home state. Put him out to pasture, Madison.
January 29, 2026 at 10:48 PM
This guy is a disgrace to my home state. Put him out to pasture, Madison.
Reposted by Michael Mechanic
I don't recall anyone ever voting for Stephen.
Kristi Noem: "Everything I've done, I've done at the direction of the president and Stephen"
January 29, 2026 at 8:20 PM
I don't recall anyone ever voting for Stephen.
Reposted by Michael Mechanic
A few weeks back ICE agents ate at a Mexican restaurant and then *detained the restaurant's workers* and they're complaining about how they can't eat out anymore?
Q: Can you be specific about how many ICE and CBP agents are currently operating in the state?
HOMAN: 3,000. There's been some rotations. They've been in theater a long time. Day after day, can't eat in restaurants, people spin on you, blowing whistles at you. But my main focus now is draw down
HOMAN: 3,000. There's been some rotations. They've been in theater a long time. Day after day, can't eat in restaurants, people spin on you, blowing whistles at you. But my main focus now is draw down
January 29, 2026 at 2:59 PM
A few weeks back ICE agents ate at a Mexican restaurant and then *detained the restaurant's workers* and they're complaining about how they can't eat out anymore?
Have they looked at any oilfields lately?
The Trump Administration Is Now Delaying Renewable Projects It Thinks Are Ugly
The Army Corps of Engineers is out to protect “the beauty of the Nation’s natural landscape.”
heatmap.news
January 29, 2026 at 7:42 PM
Have they looked at any oilfields lately?
Pete Hegseth whined about "DEI woke shit" before setting out to purge the military of any recognition of Black valor, among other petty moves, even though Black Americans serve at higher rates than other groups. As historian Matthew Delmont writes, this isn't a demographic he should be alienating.
Celebrating Black military service is not “DEI woke shit.” It’s essential to America’s defense.
The Trump administration has sullied the legacy of soldiers our nation relies on.
www.motherjones.com
January 29, 2026 at 7:18 PM
Pete Hegseth whined about "DEI woke shit" before setting out to purge the military of any recognition of Black valor, among other petty moves, even though Black Americans serve at higher rates than other groups. As historian Matthew Delmont writes, this isn't a demographic he should be alienating.
Do you trust the government to view the materials they seized in good faith? I sure don't. That's what happens when federal law enforcement becomes a tool of a corrupt leader. It becomes unreliable, untrustworthy, and dangerous.
Move to Seize Ballots Thrusts F.B.I. Into Trump’s Election Conspiracy Claim
www.nytimes.com
January 29, 2026 at 3:32 PM
Do you trust the government to view the materials they seized in good faith? I sure don't. That's what happens when federal law enforcement becomes a tool of a corrupt leader. It becomes unreliable, untrustworthy, and dangerous.
It is absolutely unhinged to have a bunch of heavily armed goons cosplaying soldiers in war zones running around terrorizing American families. It's psychotic. And intolerable.
Video: How Battlefield Tech Was Used in Minneapolis
Our reporter Thomas Gibbons-Neff, who deployed twice to Afghanistan as a Marine and later was our Kabul bureau chief, looks at the battlefield technology used for an immigration arrest at a home in Mi...
www.nytimes.com
January 29, 2026 at 3:27 PM
It is absolutely unhinged to have a bunch of heavily armed goons cosplaying soldiers in war zones running around terrorizing American families. It's psychotic. And intolerable.
Reposted by Michael Mechanic
Homan says agents have been “in theater a long time”. They see this as combat, as war.
Q: Can you be specific about how many ICE and CBP agents are currently operating in the state?
HOMAN: 3,000. There's been some rotations. They've been in theater a long time. Day after day, can't eat in restaurants, people spin on you, blowing whistles at you. But my main focus now is draw down
HOMAN: 3,000. There's been some rotations. They've been in theater a long time. Day after day, can't eat in restaurants, people spin on you, blowing whistles at you. But my main focus now is draw down
January 29, 2026 at 2:47 PM
Homan says agents have been “in theater a long time”. They see this as combat, as war.
Reposted by Michael Mechanic
GEORGIA — @ossoff.senate.gov : “This is a SEISMIC event. This should have people across 🇺🇸 absolutely shook. This is an FBI raid on the Fulton County elections office… this is a shot across the bow at the midterm elections.” (H/T @atrupar.com )
January 29, 2026 at 5:46 AM
GEORGIA — @ossoff.senate.gov : “This is a SEISMIC event. This should have people across 🇺🇸 absolutely shook. This is an FBI raid on the Fulton County elections office… this is a shot across the bow at the midterm elections.” (H/T @atrupar.com )
Reposted by Michael Mechanic
Yes, it’s astonishing that Kristi Noem still has her job after the deaths, lies, and failures on her watch.
But the American people have the final say when it comes to holding this entire administration - from the president on down - accountable for its cruelty and corruption.
But the American people have the final say when it comes to holding this entire administration - from the president on down - accountable for its cruelty and corruption.
January 29, 2026 at 4:18 AM
Yes, it’s astonishing that Kristi Noem still has her job after the deaths, lies, and failures on her watch.
But the American people have the final say when it comes to holding this entire administration - from the president on down - accountable for its cruelty and corruption.
But the American people have the final say when it comes to holding this entire administration - from the president on down - accountable for its cruelty and corruption.
Another demand Dems should make: Stop detaining law-abiding people who are going through the legal asylum process! ICE has been doing this right and left, at courthouses and on the street, and it's WRONG.
A courthouse arrest, a surprise pregnancy, and one family's shattered dreams
"I can't go back to Colombia."
www.motherjones.com
January 29, 2026 at 2:19 AM
Another demand Dems should make: Stop detaining law-abiding people who are going through the legal asylum process! ICE has been doing this right and left, at courthouses and on the street, and it's WRONG.
Reposted by Michael Mechanic
Reposted by Michael Mechanic
Reposted by Michael Mechanic
I know all eyes are on Minneapolis, but there's a fast-approaching nightmare in Springfield, Ohio.
Trump is revoking protected status for tens of thousands of Haitians living there on Feb. 3.
Reportedly, on Feb. 4, 1000 ICE agents are arriving to remove this population. Ethnic cleansing.
Trump is revoking protected status for tens of thousands of Haitians living there on Feb. 3.
Reportedly, on Feb. 4, 1000 ICE agents are arriving to remove this population. Ethnic cleansing.
January 28, 2026 at 11:38 PM
I know all eyes are on Minneapolis, but there's a fast-approaching nightmare in Springfield, Ohio.
Trump is revoking protected status for tens of thousands of Haitians living there on Feb. 3.
Reportedly, on Feb. 4, 1000 ICE agents are arriving to remove this population. Ethnic cleansing.
Trump is revoking protected status for tens of thousands of Haitians living there on Feb. 3.
Reportedly, on Feb. 4, 1000 ICE agents are arriving to remove this population. Ethnic cleansing.
Reposted by Michael Mechanic
Things are terrible, but we need to be strategic right now.
January 28, 2026 at 8:05 PM
Things are terrible, but we need to be strategic right now.
