Reconstructed exPat
@panarmstrong.bsky.social
"Ravenswood" is a Dungeons & Dragons sounding name for a neighborhood.
Chicago based individual, but still New Orleans related. Georgia raised via UGA & SSI.
Chicago based individual, but still New Orleans related. Georgia raised via UGA & SSI.
Pinned
If you've got time to post, you've got time to send an email to your senators and House rep and tell them to fight loudly against this madness.
Every time another court holds these evil men accountable for the broad daylight lynching of Ahmaud Arbery, I'm reminded that the first two "tough on crime" DAs who reviewed the case were going to let it slide.
US appeals court upholds hate crime convictions of 3 Georgia white men in 2020 killing of Ahmaud Arbery
A federal appeals court on Friday upheld the hate crime convictions of three white men who chased Ahmaud Arbery through their Georgia subdivision with pickup trucks before one of them killed the runni...
www.wabe.org
November 14, 2025 at 11:44 PM
Every time another court holds these evil men accountable for the broad daylight lynching of Ahmaud Arbery, I'm reminded that the first two "tough on crime" DAs who reviewed the case were going to let it slide.
Real estate speculation wrecking nearby communities is one reason it is so hard to build civic amenities like the Bloomingdale Trail, the Lafitte Greenway in New Orleans, or the Atlanta Beltline.
A proposed crosstown bike trail has gained traction but some say it needs anti-gentrification measures. blockclubchi.co/3XsmxbM
November 14, 2025 at 11:21 PM
Real estate speculation wrecking nearby communities is one reason it is so hard to build civic amenities like the Bloomingdale Trail, the Lafitte Greenway in New Orleans, or the Atlanta Beltline.
"I don’t think the fascists are going to like what they’ve made us." - @thecorlew.bsky.social
reached back into my Cracked toolbox to write about six things I’ve learned during the ICE invasion of Chicago
www.lazyandentitled.org?p=162657790
www.lazyandentitled.org?p=162657790
6 Things You Learn Fighting ICE – Lazy & Entitled
www.lazyandentitled.org
November 13, 2025 at 11:39 PM
"I don’t think the fascists are going to like what they’ve made us." - @thecorlew.bsky.social
Reposted by Reconstructed exPat
Federal govt keep denying bond hearings to immigrants even though the feds keep losing habeas petitions. Their goal is to make people desperate enough that they’ll sign up for voluntary deportation, inflict pain so people leave, even if they have deep ties and good records in USA
A federal judge ruled Wednesday that the U.S. government’s mandatory detention of Diana Patricia Santillana Galeano, the day care teacher arrested at a Chicago preschool, is illegal and she must be given a bond hearing.
Judge rules mandatory detention of Chicago day care teacher by ICE is illegal
According to the ruling, Diana Santillana will be given a bond hearing in front of an immigration judge, who could order her released while her civil deportation case proceeds.
www.chicagotribune.com
November 13, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Federal govt keep denying bond hearings to immigrants even though the feds keep losing habeas petitions. Their goal is to make people desperate enough that they’ll sign up for voluntary deportation, inflict pain so people leave, even if they have deep ties and good records in USA
Reposted by Reconstructed exPat
Title:Suckers
Medium: Pixels on screen
Artist: 😺
Medium: Pixels on screen
Artist: 😺
November 12, 2025 at 10:51 PM
Title:Suckers
Medium: Pixels on screen
Artist: 😺
Medium: Pixels on screen
Artist: 😺
Reposted by Reconstructed exPat
Happening now: a small demonstration is getting underway in front of Chicago Police Department HQ, protesting cooperation between CPD and federal immigration agents.
One demonstrator is holding up a photo of Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino shaking hands with a CPD officer.
One demonstrator is holding up a photo of Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino shaking hands with a CPD officer.
November 12, 2025 at 12:16 AM
Happening now: a small demonstration is getting underway in front of Chicago Police Department HQ, protesting cooperation between CPD and federal immigration agents.
One demonstrator is holding up a photo of Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino shaking hands with a CPD officer.
One demonstrator is holding up a photo of Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino shaking hands with a CPD officer.
"The church should have been a place of safety, of protection. The act of prayer should have felt sacred. But in Chicago and its surrounding suburbs, there is no such thing as sanctuary." - @allisonhantschel.com
This month in @damemagazine.bsky.social I wrote about the siege of Chicago, what it feels like to live here, about the violation of the ICE invasion and the gratuitous violence of the president against a city he's hated for years:
ICE Is Bringing the Violence to Chicago - Dame Magazine
Inside St. Jerome Catholic Church in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood on a recent Sunday, incense wafted through the air as prayers in Spanish rose upward. The service was to honor friends and loved...
www.damemagazine.com
November 12, 2025 at 12:55 AM
"The church should have been a place of safety, of protection. The act of prayer should have felt sacred. But in Chicago and its surrounding suburbs, there is no such thing as sanctuary." - @allisonhantschel.com
Reposted by Reconstructed exPat
SNAP benefits are currently being held hostage by the Trump administration and their fate now lies with the Supreme Court.
Beneath the legal arguments are real people who simply need food—a former federal worker, a single mother of 4, a disabled man. I spoke to them. Here are their stories:
Beneath the legal arguments are real people who simply need food—a former federal worker, a single mother of 4, a disabled man. I spoke to them. Here are their stories:
The voices of SNAP
Recipients have become political pawns. They explained, in their own words, what Trump withholding funds has been like.
www.thehandbasket.co
November 8, 2025 at 3:08 PM
SNAP benefits are currently being held hostage by the Trump administration and their fate now lies with the Supreme Court.
Beneath the legal arguments are real people who simply need food—a former federal worker, a single mother of 4, a disabled man. I spoke to them. Here are their stories:
Beneath the legal arguments are real people who simply need food—a former federal worker, a single mother of 4, a disabled man. I spoke to them. Here are their stories:
If policing in America was really about "preventing violent crime," getting guns out of the hands of domestic violence offenders would be a much higher priority.
Roughly 1 in 4 domestic violence homicide victims in Tennessee’s five biggest cities were allegedly shot by someone who was legally barred from having a gun. @paigepfleger.bsky.social @wpln.bsky.social @mariamelba.bsky.social
How a Gap in Tennessee’s Probation System Leaves Domestic Violence Victims in Danger
Probation officers pause in-person visits and home searches for offenders facing an arrest warrant. That reduced supervision can last for months — in one case it was over a year. Six mothers died duri...
www.propublica.org
November 12, 2025 at 12:31 AM
If policing in America was really about "preventing violent crime," getting guns out of the hands of domestic violence offenders would be a much higher priority.
Really good thread on the historical roots of the politics of "Country vs City." Here in the USA, a huge part of Jim Crow politics & Lost Cause mythology was demonizing city life.
1. In the wake on Mamdani’s win, we’ll see a lot more far right anti-urban sentiment. Here’s a thread on its roots and evolution.
The idea that the city is evil and corrupt, and the countryside innocent and pure, goes back a long way: to Theocritus in Alexandria, and to the Old Testament. 🧵
The idea that the city is evil and corrupt, and the countryside innocent and pure, goes back a long way: to Theocritus in Alexandria, and to the Old Testament. 🧵
November 12, 2025 at 12:27 AM
Really good thread on the historical roots of the politics of "Country vs City." Here in the USA, a huge part of Jim Crow politics & Lost Cause mythology was demonizing city life.
Reposted by Reconstructed exPat
In the century leading up to 1975, nearly 6000 freighters went down in the Great Lakes.
The Edmund Fitzgerald was the last.
The last. In 50 years, not a single commercial freighter has been lost in the Great Lakes.
Why?
It's NOAA. Of course it's NOAA.
The Edmund Fitzgerald was the last.
The last. In 50 years, not a single commercial freighter has been lost in the Great Lakes.
Why?
It's NOAA. Of course it's NOAA.
November 11, 2025 at 1:50 AM
In the century leading up to 1975, nearly 6000 freighters went down in the Great Lakes.
The Edmund Fitzgerald was the last.
The last. In 50 years, not a single commercial freighter has been lost in the Great Lakes.
Why?
It's NOAA. Of course it's NOAA.
The Edmund Fitzgerald was the last.
The last. In 50 years, not a single commercial freighter has been lost in the Great Lakes.
Why?
It's NOAA. Of course it's NOAA.
Reposted by Reconstructed exPat
Humans: capable of building entire skyscrapers but still afraid to put the scary number on one of the floors
November 10, 2025 at 2:35 AM
Humans: capable of building entire skyscrapers but still afraid to put the scary number on one of the floors
Reposted by Reconstructed exPat
Trump is 30 points underwater. Dems swept the special elections. People know the GOP is responsible for the shutdown. So the Dem Senators pulled out their big guns... and shot themselves in the foot.
November 10, 2025 at 1:53 AM
Trump is 30 points underwater. Dems swept the special elections. People know the GOP is responsible for the shutdown. So the Dem Senators pulled out their big guns... and shot themselves in the foot.
Reposted by Reconstructed exPat
The average SNAP benefit per month is $177 a person.
The average ACA benefit per month is up to $550 a person.
People want us to hold the line for a reason. This is not a matter of appealing to a base. It’s about people’s lives.
And working people want leaders whose word means something to them.
The average ACA benefit per month is up to $550 a person.
People want us to hold the line for a reason. This is not a matter of appealing to a base. It’s about people’s lives.
And working people want leaders whose word means something to them.
November 10, 2025 at 1:49 AM
The average SNAP benefit per month is $177 a person.
The average ACA benefit per month is up to $550 a person.
People want us to hold the line for a reason. This is not a matter of appealing to a base. It’s about people’s lives.
And working people want leaders whose word means something to them.
The average ACA benefit per month is up to $550 a person.
People want us to hold the line for a reason. This is not a matter of appealing to a base. It’s about people’s lives.
And working people want leaders whose word means something to them.
Reposted by Reconstructed exPat
This is really good to see: Miki Sherrill just put out a statement sharply criticizing the Senate Dems' pending cave in the government shutdown, ripping it as "malpractice" and a betrayal of the people who are "counting on us to fight for them." Sherrill knows what drove her victory. Wake up, Dems.
November 10, 2025 at 1:38 AM
This is really good to see: Miki Sherrill just put out a statement sharply criticizing the Senate Dems' pending cave in the government shutdown, ripping it as "malpractice" and a betrayal of the people who are "counting on us to fight for them." Sherrill knows what drove her victory. Wake up, Dems.
Reposted by Reconstructed exPat
I’m to exhausted from all of this to make the graphic, so someone go ahead and make a 28-3 graphic with the dems as the Atlanta Falcons
Major concession from Democrats here is enhanced ACA funds aren’t extended. Preserving them was Dems’ central demand in this fight. They secured a promise of a vote (which Thune has been offering for weeks), but that could still fail. Even if it passes, Johnson has made no promise of a House vote.
Tentative Senate deal to end shutdown, multiple sources tell me & @frankthorp.bsky.social:
—CR through Jan 30
—Approps minibus
—Fully funds SNAP
—Reverses Trump’s shutdown RIFs
—Promise of Senate vote on ACA subsidies by Dec second week (details/outcome uncertain)
—Led by King/Shaheen/Hassan
—CR through Jan 30
—Approps minibus
—Fully funds SNAP
—Reverses Trump’s shutdown RIFs
—Promise of Senate vote on ACA subsidies by Dec second week (details/outcome uncertain)
—Led by King/Shaheen/Hassan
November 10, 2025 at 1:41 AM
I’m to exhausted from all of this to make the graphic, so someone go ahead and make a 28-3 graphic with the dems as the Atlanta Falcons
Millions of dollars & billions of words are being spent right now to try and convince people this "bipartisan" deal is a good thing for the country.
November 10, 2025 at 1:34 AM
Millions of dollars & billions of words are being spent right now to try and convince people this "bipartisan" deal is a good thing for the country.
Reposted by Reconstructed exPat
Keep thinking about the words of wisdom from @bradlander.bsky.social that the divide in Democratic politics right now is between folders and fighters.
November 10, 2025 at 1:24 AM
Keep thinking about the words of wisdom from @bradlander.bsky.social that the divide in Democratic politics right now is between folders and fighters.
Reposted by Reconstructed exPat
This is not a deal — it's an empty promise.
Trump and his Republican Congress are making healthcare more expensive for the middle class and ending it for working families.
Time for Democrats to stand tall for affordable healthcare. www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
Trump and his Republican Congress are making healthcare more expensive for the middle class and ending it for working families.
Time for Democrats to stand tall for affordable healthcare. www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
Senate reaches deal on ending the shutdown
Democrats are coalescing around a bipartisan agreement to fund the government.
www.politico.com
November 10, 2025 at 12:50 AM
This is not a deal — it's an empty promise.
Trump and his Republican Congress are making healthcare more expensive for the middle class and ending it for working families.
Time for Democrats to stand tall for affordable healthcare. www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
Trump and his Republican Congress are making healthcare more expensive for the middle class and ending it for working families.
Time for Democrats to stand tall for affordable healthcare. www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
Reposted by Reconstructed exPat
Reposted by Reconstructed exPat
Reposted by Reconstructed exPat
And now, if you read the devastating piece about what Venezuelan deportees endured at the El Salvador torture prison, read what incarcerated U.S. citizens endure in Alabama prisons.
State prisons in the U.S. that are massive systems of human rights violations.
www.theguardian.com/film/2025/oc...
State prisons in the U.S. that are massive systems of human rights violations.
www.theguardian.com/film/2025/oc...
‘How is this possible?’: a new film looks inside the appalling abuses of the Alabama prison system
In the year’s most shocking documentary, The Alabama Solution, prisoners share astonishing footage in a plea for help
www.theguardian.com
November 9, 2025 at 4:38 PM
And now, if you read the devastating piece about what Venezuelan deportees endured at the El Salvador torture prison, read what incarcerated U.S. citizens endure in Alabama prisons.
State prisons in the U.S. that are massive systems of human rights violations.
www.theguardian.com/film/2025/oc...
State prisons in the U.S. that are massive systems of human rights violations.
www.theguardian.com/film/2025/oc...
Reposted by Reconstructed exPat
I’ve come to believe that we need to gather considerable forces and a campaign to demand the removal of face masks by ICE, Border Patrol, FBI and police.
It is a practice in conflict with the principles of transparency & accountability that are central to the concept of democracy.
It is a practice in conflict with the principles of transparency & accountability that are central to the concept of democracy.
Video on social media shows an immigration agent pulling a gun in Little Village and holding it to the side — which is not an appropriate or safe way to hold a gun. (Among other issues.)
November 9, 2025 at 3:41 AM
I’ve come to believe that we need to gather considerable forces and a campaign to demand the removal of face masks by ICE, Border Patrol, FBI and police.
It is a practice in conflict with the principles of transparency & accountability that are central to the concept of democracy.
It is a practice in conflict with the principles of transparency & accountability that are central to the concept of democracy.
Reposted by Reconstructed exPat
We sold out 2 tamale vendors, bought out 2 more vendors, and absolutely swarmed a family owned bakery. It was a good day with some the very best of #BikeChi 🥰 for the 4th installment of the Street Vendor Bike Tour. We persist. ✊🏽
November 9, 2025 at 2:07 AM
We sold out 2 tamale vendors, bought out 2 more vendors, and absolutely swarmed a family owned bakery. It was a good day with some the very best of #BikeChi 🥰 for the 4th installment of the Street Vendor Bike Tour. We persist. ✊🏽
Unverified rumors of violence are always the quickest way to manufacture a headline during a crisis.
This is the most comprehensive reporting released on the DHS-alleged shooting so far. Read the entire story (reminder: reporters don't usually choose headlines).
For folks asking if it's true an ICE agent was shot: no, that is a verifiably false rumor. No injuries. A lot else remains in question.
For folks asking if it's true an ICE agent was shot: no, that is a verifiably false rumor. No injuries. A lot else remains in question.
November 8, 2025 at 10:34 PM
Unverified rumors of violence are always the quickest way to manufacture a headline during a crisis.