Rob Schmidt (Blue Corn Comics)
robschmidt.bsky.social
Rob Schmidt (Blue Corn Comics)
@robschmidt.bsky.social
Freelance writer focused on Native American, social justice, and pop culture issues; publisher of Blue Corn Comics; host of Creative Spirit Screenwriters
Pinned
A new graphic novel from Blue Corn Comics--coming in 2026.
Reposted by Rob Schmidt (Blue Corn Comics)
Trump is privately worried about the "optics" of ICE raids and his advisers are looking for ways to soften them, Axios reports. I'm calling bullshit: The terror and violence cannot be hived off from the broader policy agenda. They are 100% intrinsic to it.

New piece:
newrepublic.com/article/2053...
Trump’s Own Advisers Suddenly Unnerved as ICE Raids Take Horrific Turn
So the president doesn’t like the “optics” of what ICE is doing. But there’s no such thing as sanitized, popular mass deportations—and this is by design.
newrepublic.com
January 16, 2026 at 7:26 PM
Reposted by Rob Schmidt (Blue Corn Comics)
Trump has deployed ICE on militarized invasions of blue cities for months. They’re only getting more violent.

Now, ten days after ICE murdered a woman on video, Democratic elites are very concerned that anyone might say, “Abolish ICE.”

w/ @swin24.bsky.social @zeteo.com

zeteo.com/p/trump-war-...
Trump Escalates His War on America as Dems Debate What Words They Can Say
The president is launching increasingly violent invasions of blue cities. Meanwhile, Democratic elites are concerned some might say: ‘Abolish ICE.’
zeteo.com
January 17, 2026 at 2:52 PM
"Pop Art as pop culture is something that contemporary artists continue to draw on their work today." It's influenced the work of artists, particularly Native American artists, who are grappling with the complexity of colonization and of dispossession. www.thedartmouth.com/article/2026...
‘American Pop’ reconsiders pop art across time and culture
The Hood Museum exhibition places canonical and contemporary works in dialogue to examine how Pop visual language has shaped American identity and consumerism.
www.thedartmouth.com
January 17, 2026 at 8:00 PM
"Democratic former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola said on Monday she would challenge Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan in this year’s midterm elections, delighting party leaders who view her candidacy as critical for efforts to retake control of the U.S. Senate." apnews.com/article/alas...
Mary Peltola, barrier-breaking ex-Alaska congresswoman, is challenging Dan Sullivan in Senate race
Democratic former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola announces her challenge against Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan in this year's midterm elections.
apnews.com
January 17, 2026 at 7:00 PM
"The problem with these mascots is that they're not about Native people at all. They're about, you know, white people fantasies about Native people, which have to do with a bunch of complicated psychological dynamics, again, that have nothing to do with Indians." ipmnewsroom.org/psychologist...
Psychologist discusses the impact of Native American mascots in schools and universities - IPM Newsroom
Joseph Gone, a member of the Aaniiih-Gros Ventre Tribal Nation and a psychologist and professor at Harvard University, told IPM's The 21st Show that Native American mascots can spread negative…
ipmnewsroom.org
January 17, 2026 at 6:00 PM
Reposted by Rob Schmidt (Blue Corn Comics)
I keep thinking about the toxic, pervasive mythology of "rugged individualism" as a driving force in American culture, and how the collective efforts in the Twin Cities right now are proof that the only way through hard times is together, as a community.
January 17, 2026 at 3:00 PM
Reposted by Rob Schmidt (Blue Corn Comics)
Miller’s miscalculation - the logic of a privileged and sheltered brat - is that violence would pull white folks away from black and brown folks, when in fact it’s done the opposite. And now America’s other cities also know how to face him.
Terror is essential to Miller's project. It's designed to dissuade us from showing solidarity with the immigrants getting removed. Stand in the way of ethnic cleansing and you risk violence yourself.

(h/t @whstancil.bsky.social and @sjshancoxli.liberalcurrents.com)

newrepublic.com/article/2053...
January 17, 2026 at 5:10 AM
Reposted by Rob Schmidt (Blue Corn Comics)
When the racist meme becomes national policy
January 17, 2026 at 4:53 AM
Reposted by Rob Schmidt (Blue Corn Comics)
Peter Yazzie, a Navajo man, was asked by ICE agents to prove he was a US citizen. He produced both US and Navajo IDs. They didn't care. www.azcentral.com/story/news/p...
January 17, 2026 at 5:01 AM
The Exclusive Citizenship Act seeks to ban dual citizenship for all U.S. citizens, requiring dual citizens to either renounce their foreign citizenship or their U.S. citizenship. For Natives, it could imply choosing between assimilation or their Tribal identity. icmagazine.org/ice-against-...
ICE Against Indigenous Peoples: The New Erasure of Native Americans through Immigration
Leticia Jacobo was scheduled to be released from Polk County Jail in Des Moines, Iowa, after being booked in for a traffic violation. Instead, the 24-year-old S
icmagazine.org
January 17, 2026 at 3:02 PM
"The irony is not lost on us," Frank Star Comes Out said. "Lakota citizens who are reported to be held at Fort Snelling — a site forever tied to the Dakota 38 — underscores why treaty obligations and federal accountability matter today, not just in history." www.wboy.com/news/native-...
Native American tribe accuses federal authorities of treaty violation after 4 members detained by ICE
“Members of the Oglala Sioux Tribe are United States citizens. We are the first Americans.”
www.wboy.com
January 17, 2026 at 2:00 PM
Reposted by Rob Schmidt (Blue Corn Comics)
I was one of the folks interviewed for this article

truthout.org/articles/dis...
January 14, 2026 at 3:12 PM
Reposted by Rob Schmidt (Blue Corn Comics)
January 16, 2026 at 10:20 AM
Reposted by Rob Schmidt (Blue Corn Comics)
Who was in charge of Japanese internment? The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). Why? B/c many Indian reservations were first established as prison camps. My rez is Prison Camp 334. Google ‘Poston.’ On the Navajo Nation, this was an internment camp within an internment camp. We’ve been here before.
January 16, 2026 at 4:35 AM
Reposted by Rob Schmidt (Blue Corn Comics)
An Indigenous perspective:

Democratic socialism has been here for thousands of years — everyone had a say, everyone had a vote, families didn’t starve, no one was homeless, children didn’t go hungry.

Caring for people wasn’t a hard math.
January 16, 2026 at 4:51 AM
Reposted by Rob Schmidt (Blue Corn Comics)
Congratulations to North of North!

When the Writers Guild of Canada announced the nominees for its 30th annual awards, North of North appeared five times, sweeping every nomination for the Comedy Series category.

redpopnews.com/north-of-nor...

#redpopnews #northofnorth #indigisky
North of North Earns All Five Comedy Series Nominations for the 2026 WGC SCREENWRITING AWARDS
North of North sweeps the Comedy series category, as the Writers Guild of Canada marks30 years of honouring excellence in Canadian screenwriting.
redpopnews.com
January 16, 2026 at 6:07 AM
Reposted by Rob Schmidt (Blue Corn Comics)
At the heart of a new report about the importance of Australian Native Foods and increased First Nations leadership by Marlon Motlop, a former Port Adelaide footballer & proud Larrakia, Gulumoerrgin, Kungarrakan, and Erub man, is a story about connection.

redpopnews.com/how-marlon-m...

#redpopnews
How Marlon Motlop Connects Indigenous Foods, Culture, and Economic Self-Determination
At the heart of a new report about the importance of Australian Native Foods and increased First Nations leadership by Marlon Motlop, a former Port Adelaide footballer and proud Larrakia, Gulumoerrgin...
redpopnews.com
January 16, 2026 at 2:09 PM
Reposted by Rob Schmidt (Blue Corn Comics)
big strong savvy gavin newsom apparently doesn’t even have the wherewithal to stand up to ben “i have never satisfied a woman in my life” shapiro
Only 15 days in and we have a strong contender for most embarrassing headline of the year.

Ben. Shapiro. The guy who can't get his wife wet. The guy who needs an old person to open the pickle jar for him.
January 16, 2026 at 1:22 PM
Reposted by Rob Schmidt (Blue Corn Comics)
I'm sorry, Appeasement Democrats, but we already tried your way. Working to hide Trump's malfeasance from the public, sanding off as many rough edges as possible, working to avoid confrontation under the theory that he wants confrontation, then trying to move on as if it didn't happen failed. Badly.
January 15, 2026 at 4:27 PM
Reposted by Rob Schmidt (Blue Corn Comics)
"There comes a point where we have to start questioning whether or not he’s actually aware of what’s happening around him & the harm he’s doing. It’s similar to historical figures like Nero or Caligula. Their madness took over & they started doing wildly destructive things. Trump is in that place."
Simon Rosenberg on Trump’s no good, very bad year
"It’s grotesque. He’s become a grotesque figure."
www.publicnotice.co
January 16, 2026 at 2:55 PM
Reposted by Rob Schmidt (Blue Corn Comics)
a year in and trump is in free fall with the public across every conceivable issue
CNN poll finds majority of Americans say Trump is focused on the wrong priorities | CNN Politics
Public opinion on nearly every aspect of President Donald Trump’s first year back in the White House is negative, a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS finds, with a majority of Americans saying Trump is f...
www.cnn.com
January 16, 2026 at 1:27 PM
"In late October, the team unearthed the pommel of a 16th-century Spanish sword — rare evidence that Soto not only traveled through rural southwestern Georgia, but also set up camp there with a small army." www.jmu.edu/news/2026/01...
JMU professor leads research to discover Hernando de Soto’s first campsite
JMU professor’s 20-year search uncovers 486-year-old Spanish camp.
www.jmu.edu
January 16, 2026 at 11:00 PM
Reposted by Rob Schmidt (Blue Corn Comics)
Many have observed the similarities between Noem's ICE and the Proud Boys.

But folks, I have the receipts. I reviewed tapes from 2016-2017 of Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes.

Everything Noem is doing in Minneapolis is laid out in his vision from then.

www.salon.com/2026/01/16/h...
How Kristi Noem turned ICE into the Proud Boys
Footage shows the right-wing group’s founder developing the “recruit giant losers” strategy
www.salon.com
January 16, 2026 at 3:08 PM
Reposted by Rob Schmidt (Blue Corn Comics)
Neighbors, if you haven't figured it out yet, this 👇 is true. I witnessed this in Chicago this summer. ICE is really just an armed group of red state maga idealogues who have always hated what they call "Liberal America", and they're going around "punishing liberals" who are American citizens. 👎🖕
Yes. ICE service is being sold to disaffected MAGA goons as an opportunity to wage a campaign of cleansing, restorative violence against Americans as an act of patriotic national service. And most normies now see that this isn't anything akin to real law enforcement.

newrepublic.com/article/2052...
January 16, 2026 at 2:20 PM
Reposted by Rob Schmidt (Blue Corn Comics)
CNN poll shows that Trump's approval is cratering among many of the people who put him in the White House:
-29% of independents approve
-30% of Latinos approve
-30% of adults younger than 35 approve
www.cnn.com/2026/01/16/p...
CNN poll finds majority of Americans say Trump is focused on the wrong priorities | CNN Politics
Public opinion on nearly every aspect of President Donald Trump’s first year back in the White House is negative, a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS finds, with a majority of Americans saying Trump is f...
www.cnn.com
January 16, 2026 at 2:49 PM