Norm DePlume
@normdeplume.bsky.social
I love coffee, pets, and people who care about others more than power or money. Dislikes: racism and lima beans. Professional Christian, newspaper employee, public library trustee. Proud Pro-semite. She/her.
Reposted by Norm DePlume
I am trying not to post on these events in this state of mind but: I hope people understand what the observers are doing is brave and dangerous.
January 24, 2026 at 4:51 PM
I am trying not to post on these events in this state of mind but: I hope people understand what the observers are doing is brave and dangerous.
A question for 🧶 yarn people of Bluesky:
Is there anything worthwhile to do with all this novelty yarn? My mom used it to embellish the hats she knit for cancer patients, but that's not my thing. Should I keep any of it to maybe use, or bag it up and send it to the charity shop?
Is there anything worthwhile to do with all this novelty yarn? My mom used it to embellish the hats she knit for cancer patients, but that's not my thing. Should I keep any of it to maybe use, or bag it up and send it to the charity shop?
January 24, 2026 at 3:51 PM
A question for 🧶 yarn people of Bluesky:
Is there anything worthwhile to do with all this novelty yarn? My mom used it to embellish the hats she knit for cancer patients, but that's not my thing. Should I keep any of it to maybe use, or bag it up and send it to the charity shop?
Is there anything worthwhile to do with all this novelty yarn? My mom used it to embellish the hats she knit for cancer patients, but that's not my thing. Should I keep any of it to maybe use, or bag it up and send it to the charity shop?
Reposted by Norm DePlume
"Kamala Harris would've done the same thing" is the most obvious of ops.
January 23, 2026 at 9:56 PM
"Kamala Harris would've done the same thing" is the most obvious of ops.
Reposted by Norm DePlume
Two women trained as first responders were abducted by three ICE agents. One of the agents starts seizing. The other two don’t know what to do. The women jump into action and save the agent’s life, only to be re-handcuffed and processed.
www.startribune.com/detained-by-...
www.startribune.com/detained-by-...
Detained by ICE, two women became first responders during agent’s seizure
The women say they guided agents through the emergency, later raising concerns about medical protocols, weapons safety and accountability.
www.startribune.com
January 23, 2026 at 11:47 PM
Two women trained as first responders were abducted by three ICE agents. One of the agents starts seizing. The other two don’t know what to do. The women jump into action and save the agent’s life, only to be re-handcuffed and processed.
www.startribune.com/detained-by-...
www.startribune.com/detained-by-...
Reposted by Norm DePlume
It's not looking good in Atlanta...
January 23, 2026 at 3:25 AM
It's not looking good in Atlanta...
Reposted by Norm DePlume
Things worth really hammering to any family and acquaintances whose reflexive attitude is “but we gotta enforce the law”:
(1) Lots of the folks being targeted came here legally; the administration has retroactively declared them “illegal” despite having done nothing wrong
(1) Lots of the folks being targeted came here legally; the administration has retroactively declared them “illegal” despite having done nothing wrong
Venezuelan family seeking asylum -- entered legally, both parents with college degrees -- took their 7-year-old to the ER for a nosebleed and fever. ICE, which is now targeting hospitals as well as churches schools, blocked the child from getting care and detained them instead
The parents of a 7 year old, all of whom are in the process of applying for asylum, took their daughter to the ER when her nose wouldn't stop bleeding. ICE picked them up near the hospital and they are now in detention in Texas, presumably awaiting deportation. www.oregonlive.com/portland/202...
January 23, 2026 at 8:53 PM
Things worth really hammering to any family and acquaintances whose reflexive attitude is “but we gotta enforce the law”:
(1) Lots of the folks being targeted came here legally; the administration has retroactively declared them “illegal” despite having done nothing wrong
(1) Lots of the folks being targeted came here legally; the administration has retroactively declared them “illegal” despite having done nothing wrong
Reposted by Norm DePlume
Emphasizing that ICE is deliberately arresting people who are in the asylum process precisely because they are easy pickings; after all, they're complying with the government!
Amazingly, it's likely legal; but cruel, unjust, and very counterproductive by discouraging compliance!
Amazingly, it's likely legal; but cruel, unjust, and very counterproductive by discouraging compliance!
The parents of a 7 year old, all of whom are in the process of applying for asylum, took their daughter to the ER when her nose wouldn't stop bleeding. ICE picked them up near the hospital and they are now in detention in Texas, presumably awaiting deportation. www.oregonlive.com/portland/202...
ICE detains family seeking emergency care for child at Portland hospital
The Venezuelan parents and their 7-year-old daughter entered the U.S. legally.
www.oregonlive.com
January 23, 2026 at 8:34 PM
Emphasizing that ICE is deliberately arresting people who are in the asylum process precisely because they are easy pickings; after all, they're complying with the government!
Amazingly, it's likely legal; but cruel, unjust, and very counterproductive by discouraging compliance!
Amazingly, it's likely legal; but cruel, unjust, and very counterproductive by discouraging compliance!
Reposted by Norm DePlume
This is such an important point. This family tried to follow the rules.
The distinction is going to get more important when they start mass deporting the people whose TPS status Trump revoked. They’ll call them “illegal” too, even though they were here legally until Trump yanked the rug.
The distinction is going to get more important when they start mass deporting the people whose TPS status Trump revoked. They’ll call them “illegal” too, even though they were here legally until Trump yanked the rug.
People are missing a big thing about the saga of the detained 5-year-old. When Vance calls the father an "illegal alien" it seems to reflect a little-known Trump admin move that attempts to nullify asylum claims before they are even heard.
This policy is a horror:
newrepublic.com/article/2056...
This policy is a horror:
newrepublic.com/article/2056...
January 23, 2026 at 6:29 PM
This is such an important point. This family tried to follow the rules.
The distinction is going to get more important when they start mass deporting the people whose TPS status Trump revoked. They’ll call them “illegal” too, even though they were here legally until Trump yanked the rug.
The distinction is going to get more important when they start mass deporting the people whose TPS status Trump revoked. They’ll call them “illegal” too, even though they were here legally until Trump yanked the rug.
Reposted by Norm DePlume
As always: hire more religion reporters.
January 23, 2026 at 6:11 PM
As always: hire more religion reporters.
I often told my still-Republican mom that their purported love for Christians did not extend to our type of Christianity (liberal/mainline). She didn't believe me, of course. If she were still alive I'd be sorely tempted to try to convince her again to leave the Xtn-nationalism cult this morning.
January 23, 2026 at 5:26 PM
I often told my still-Republican mom that their purported love for Christians did not extend to our type of Christianity (liberal/mainline). She didn't believe me, of course. If she were still alive I'd be sorely tempted to try to convince her again to leave the Xtn-nationalism cult this morning.
Reposted by Norm DePlume
As clergy pray, arrests begin
January 23, 2026 at 5:00 PM
As clergy pray, arrests begin
Reposted by Norm DePlume
Happening now: a large group of mostly clergy — primarily local faith leaders, some not — are staging an anti-ICE protest at the Minneapolis airport.
January 23, 2026 at 3:59 PM
Happening now: a large group of mostly clergy — primarily local faith leaders, some not — are staging an anti-ICE protest at the Minneapolis airport.
Reposted by Norm DePlume
The Legacy Museum, which is “perhaps the closest thing America has to a national slavery museum,” is free from government control and displays the “history that the Trump administration aims to de-emphasize—if not outright erase,” @clintsmithiii.bsky.social argues.
The Power of Private Museums
The Equal Justice Initiative’s historical sites in Montgomery, Alabama, show what’s possible when history isn’t subject to federal funding cuts or executive orders.
bit.ly
January 19, 2026 at 3:45 PM
The Legacy Museum, which is “perhaps the closest thing America has to a national slavery museum,” is free from government control and displays the “history that the Trump administration aims to de-emphasize—if not outright erase,” @clintsmithiii.bsky.social argues.
Reposted by Norm DePlume
no matter how hard Greg Bovino tries to exude rugged masculinity he always comes off like Don Knotts in a Portlandia sketch
January 23, 2026 at 2:41 AM
no matter how hard Greg Bovino tries to exude rugged masculinity he always comes off like Don Knotts in a Portlandia sketch
Reposted by Norm DePlume
Understatement of the century
Democrats needing to message on affordability as the country endures a brutal authoritarian takeover is tragic. Take it from someone who lives in occupied Minneapolis. Our problems go deeper than prices.
January 23, 2026 at 4:27 AM
Understatement of the century
Reposted by Norm DePlume
Notching a rare win: House passed spending bills with all anti-trans riders removed—no care bans, no school funding threats, nothing.
Sarah McBride and Dem appropriators fought for this for months. open.substack.com/pub/aridrenn...
Sarah McBride and Dem appropriators fought for this for months. open.substack.com/pub/aridrenn...
BREAKING: House Passes Spending Bills With All Anti-Trans Riders Stripped Out
Provisions targeting gender-affirming care and trans students were removed during negotiations. The bill now heads to the Senate
open.substack.com
January 23, 2026 at 3:27 AM
Notching a rare win: House passed spending bills with all anti-trans riders removed—no care bans, no school funding threats, nothing.
Sarah McBride and Dem appropriators fought for this for months. open.substack.com/pub/aridrenn...
Sarah McBride and Dem appropriators fought for this for months. open.substack.com/pub/aridrenn...
Reposted by Norm DePlume
Early press accounts, presumably informed by DHS, claimed that the teenage girl in the first photo and another teen passenger were arrested after "colliding" with a vehicle driven by federal immigration officials.
The second photo depicts the "collision."
(Both photos via Getty Images)
The second photo depicts the "collision."
(Both photos via Getty Images)
January 22, 2026 at 10:55 PM
Early press accounts, presumably informed by DHS, claimed that the teenage girl in the first photo and another teen passenger were arrested after "colliding" with a vehicle driven by federal immigration officials.
The second photo depicts the "collision."
(Both photos via Getty Images)
The second photo depicts the "collision."
(Both photos via Getty Images)
Reposted by Norm DePlume
Here in Minneapolis, hundreds of clergy from all over the country have been deployed into the streets to participate in ICE/DHS watch.
The hail from a range of religious traditions, and have come from all over.
This particular group is in a heavily immigrant neighborhood.
The hail from a range of religious traditions, and have come from all over.
This particular group is in a heavily immigrant neighborhood.
January 22, 2026 at 5:41 PM
Here in Minneapolis, hundreds of clergy from all over the country have been deployed into the streets to participate in ICE/DHS watch.
The hail from a range of religious traditions, and have come from all over.
This particular group is in a heavily immigrant neighborhood.
The hail from a range of religious traditions, and have come from all over.
This particular group is in a heavily immigrant neighborhood.
I almost kind of wish people would yell at me first, just so I know what I reposted today that has earned me several new blocks.
But also, I am glad that they didn't. Because if blocking me helps them deal with the mad that they feel, then that's good for the world, right?
But also, I am glad that they didn't. Because if blocking me helps them deal with the mad that they feel, then that's good for the world, right?
January 22, 2026 at 7:33 PM
I almost kind of wish people would yell at me first, just so I know what I reposted today that has earned me several new blocks.
But also, I am glad that they didn't. Because if blocking me helps them deal with the mad that they feel, then that's good for the world, right?
But also, I am glad that they didn't. Because if blocking me helps them deal with the mad that they feel, then that's good for the world, right?
Reposted by Norm DePlume
April 22, 2000. INS
Yesterday. ICE, which replaced INS.
You need a plan for what happens after you actually have the votes to abolish. The current realities do suck. But they’re already funded by the Republican budget. You can only get so much done to throw sand in the gears in the short term.
Yesterday. ICE, which replaced INS.
You need a plan for what happens after you actually have the votes to abolish. The current realities do suck. But they’re already funded by the Republican budget. You can only get so much done to throw sand in the gears in the short term.
January 22, 2026 at 5:19 PM
April 22, 2000. INS
Yesterday. ICE, which replaced INS.
You need a plan for what happens after you actually have the votes to abolish. The current realities do suck. But they’re already funded by the Republican budget. You can only get so much done to throw sand in the gears in the short term.
Yesterday. ICE, which replaced INS.
You need a plan for what happens after you actually have the votes to abolish. The current realities do suck. But they’re already funded by the Republican budget. You can only get so much done to throw sand in the gears in the short term.
Reposted by Norm DePlume
This is basically how I view the subject. Like, no duh, the United States has done some incredibly awful stuff over the centuries. But we also have a very powerful strand of humanitarianism, especially in the post World War II era, and I will damn well lean into that part of our national identity.
People who say this are clearly speaking aspirationally about a shared American creed they hold dear. “Have you heard of the Trail of Tears?” is not a very helpful response, because they probably have and the priority right now is moral opposition to fascism and not fake-educating each other.
I fear my tipping point into madness is "Thus is un-American" posts in response to ICE terrorizing immigrants. I beg you to open Wikipedia (I would say a book but let's start small) and read up on The Trail of Tears, Fugitive Slave Catchers, Japanese internment, Indian Boarding schools & Jim Crow
January 22, 2026 at 2:27 PM
This is basically how I view the subject. Like, no duh, the United States has done some incredibly awful stuff over the centuries. But we also have a very powerful strand of humanitarianism, especially in the post World War II era, and I will damn well lean into that part of our national identity.
Reposted by Norm DePlume
kidnapping a 5 year old to bait his father and then shipping them thousands of miles away should put you in prison, yes, but it should also cause every friend and family member you have ever had to permanently reject you in disgrace, and if they don’t, they share your shame
January 22, 2026 at 4:44 AM
kidnapping a 5 year old to bait his father and then shipping them thousands of miles away should put you in prison, yes, but it should also cause every friend and family member you have ever had to permanently reject you in disgrace, and if they don’t, they share your shame
Good thing Trump & Pals gutted FEMA, eh?
I am very worried about the widespread, long-lasting power outages that may follow the icy side of this storm.
Prolonged power outages during prolonged frigid temperatures is a recipe for hypothermia, frostbite, and carbon monoxide poisonings.
Prolonged power outages during prolonged frigid temperatures is a recipe for hypothermia, frostbite, and carbon monoxide poisonings.
Dangerous winter storm's blackouts will coincide with life-threatening cold
Long-lasting power outages during frigid weather may endanger many vulnerable people in the days ahead.
www.damweather.com
January 22, 2026 at 5:12 AM
Good thing Trump & Pals gutted FEMA, eh?
Reposted by Norm DePlume
While it made it as far as dress rehearsal, Tommy Brennan's Weekend Update desk bit on Trump's ICE deployments in his home state of Minnesota did not make it to SNL broadcast.
But they've made it available anyway. And you should watch it.
But they've made it available anyway. And you should watch it.
Weekend Update: Tommy Brennan on Trump's ICE Deployments in Minnesota - SNL
YouTube video by Saturday Night Live
youtu.be
January 21, 2026 at 10:19 PM
While it made it as far as dress rehearsal, Tommy Brennan's Weekend Update desk bit on Trump's ICE deployments in his home state of Minnesota did not make it to SNL broadcast.
But they've made it available anyway. And you should watch it.
But they've made it available anyway. And you should watch it.
Reposted by Norm DePlume
Lmfao so Kat misses a forum here in Chicago last night and blamed her narcolepsy. Meanwhile she’s hosting a fundraiser in…Los Angeles tonight and has been there since Monday.
On behalf of the voters in this district, stick to podcasts 🤡
On behalf of the voters in this district, stick to podcasts 🤡
It appears Kat Abughazaleh is still in Los Angeles, hosting a meet-and-greet fundraiser in LA tonight
January 22, 2026 at 2:45 AM
Lmfao so Kat misses a forum here in Chicago last night and blamed her narcolepsy. Meanwhile she’s hosting a fundraiser in…Los Angeles tonight and has been there since Monday.
On behalf of the voters in this district, stick to podcasts 🤡
On behalf of the voters in this district, stick to podcasts 🤡