Tom Eblen
@tomeblen.com
Writer, photographer, Kentucky history nerd. Retired newspaper editor, columnist, reporter. (AP, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Lexington Herald-Leader.) “The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.” ― Plato
Pinned
Tom Eblen
@tomeblen.com
· Jun 23
Twenty Lessons, read by John Lithgow
Key selections from On Tyranny, for viewing and sharing
snyder.substack.com
This has never been more relevant for Americans to hear. Take 10 minutes and listen. Now.
snyder.substack.com/p/twenty-les...
snyder.substack.com/p/twenty-les...
"The only thing they tell you is to drink more water and the worst thing is that it seems like the water is what makes people sick here.”
www.propublica.org/article/life...
www.propublica.org/article/life...
The Kids Trump Sent to ICE’s Dilley Detention Center
ProPublica went inside the immigrant detention center for families in Dilley, Texas. Children held there told us about the anguish of being ripped from their lives in the United States and the fear of...
www.propublica.org
February 9, 2026 at 12:28 PM
"The only thing they tell you is to drink more water and the worst thing is that it seems like the water is what makes people sick here.”
www.propublica.org/article/life...
www.propublica.org/article/life...
Reposted by Tom Eblen
A massive scandal.
Kash Patel and Pam Bondi refusing to investigate the murders of American citizens to cover up Trump administration culpability.
Kash Patel and Pam Bondi refusing to investigate the murders of American citizens to cover up Trump administration culpability.
NYT confirming MS NOW reporting:
Prosecutors began investigating Renee Good's killing, then Washington told them to stop.
Federal prosecutors had a warrant to collect evidence from Good's vehicle, but Trump leaders said to drop it. About a dozen prosecutors have since departed.
Prosecutors began investigating Renee Good's killing, then Washington told them to stop.
Federal prosecutors had a warrant to collect evidence from Good's vehicle, but Trump leaders said to drop it. About a dozen prosecutors have since departed.
Prosecutors Began Investigating Renee Good’s Killing. Washington Told Them to Stop.
www.nytimes.com
February 7, 2026 at 8:30 PM
A massive scandal.
Kash Patel and Pam Bondi refusing to investigate the murders of American citizens to cover up Trump administration culpability.
Kash Patel and Pam Bondi refusing to investigate the murders of American citizens to cover up Trump administration culpability.
Reposted by Tom Eblen
Serious people abroad taking PET (Putin-Epstein-Trump) seriously.
www.reuters.com/world/poland...
www.reuters.com/world/poland...
Poland to probe possible links between Epstein and Russia, PM Tusk says
Poland will launch an investigation into possible links between the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and Russian intelligence, as well as any impact on Poland, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Tues...
www.reuters.com
February 8, 2026 at 12:07 AM
Serious people abroad taking PET (Putin-Epstein-Trump) seriously.
www.reuters.com/world/poland...
www.reuters.com/world/poland...
Reposted by Tom Eblen
The geniuses over at the Washington Post just fired 300 journalists because they alienated their audience in 2024 and 2025. Yet, they are still at it!
Support independent, pro-democracy media by signing up for Democracy Docket now. hubs.ly/Q03M8rql0
Support independent, pro-democracy media by signing up for Democracy Docket now. hubs.ly/Q03M8rql0
February 8, 2026 at 12:07 AM
The geniuses over at the Washington Post just fired 300 journalists because they alienated their audience in 2024 and 2025. Yet, they are still at it!
Support independent, pro-democracy media by signing up for Democracy Docket now. hubs.ly/Q03M8rql0
Support independent, pro-democracy media by signing up for Democracy Docket now. hubs.ly/Q03M8rql0
Will they get extra combat pay?
MAGA-aligned military commanders are pressuring enlisted service members to go to the Melania movie and bring their families. Troops at 8 different bases have complained. www.businessinsider.com/us-military-...
February 7, 2026 at 6:53 PM
Will they get extra combat pay?
Reposted by Tom Eblen
Ranked #1: The Epstein files cover-up
Trump’s administration continues to withhold millions of documents required by law, shielding key facts from public view
More on this — plus #2–#10 — in this week’s publisher’s note @contrariannews.org👇 -TN
Trump’s administration continues to withhold millions of documents required by law, shielding key facts from public view
More on this — plus #2–#10 — in this week’s publisher’s note @contrariannews.org👇 -TN
Trump & Cronies’ Top 10 Corruption Scandals
And how YOU are helping fight back -- Publisher's Roundup 53
contrarian.substack.com
February 7, 2026 at 5:08 PM
Ranked #1: The Epstein files cover-up
Trump’s administration continues to withhold millions of documents required by law, shielding key facts from public view
More on this — plus #2–#10 — in this week’s publisher’s note @contrariannews.org👇 -TN
Trump’s administration continues to withhold millions of documents required by law, shielding key facts from public view
More on this — plus #2–#10 — in this week’s publisher’s note @contrariannews.org👇 -TN
Reposted by Tom Eblen
A sweeping boycott has begun — targeting tech giants who participants believe are enabling President Trump and his immigration crackdown. n.pr/4cd0u1o
DVDs and public transit: Boycott drives people to ditch Big Tech to protest ICE
A sweeping boycott has begun — targeting tech giants who participants believe are enabling President Trump and his immigration crackdown.
n.pr
February 7, 2026 at 3:46 PM
A sweeping boycott has begun — targeting tech giants who participants believe are enabling President Trump and his immigration crackdown. n.pr/4cd0u1o
Reposted by Tom Eblen
“One day after meeting Wiles, Gabbard told the NSA not to publish the intelligence report. Instead, she instructed NSA officials to transmit the highly classified details directly to her office.”
February 7, 2026 at 6:21 PM
“One day after meeting Wiles, Gabbard told the NSA not to publish the intelligence report. Instead, she instructed NSA officials to transmit the highly classified details directly to her office.”
Reposted by Tom Eblen
NEW: House Republicans unveiled a new version of their voter suppression bill that would erect unprecedented barriers for those hoping to register while imposing a nationwide photo ID requirement for voters.
The changes would gravely undermine the right to vote in the U.S. before the 2026 midterms.
The changes would gravely undermine the right to vote in the U.S. before the 2026 midterms.
New version of GOP suppression bill would impose nationwide proof of citizenship, photo ID requirements
The bill would undermine the right to vote in the U.S. ahead of the 2026 midterms.
www.democracydocket.com
February 7, 2026 at 6:14 PM
NEW: House Republicans unveiled a new version of their voter suppression bill that would erect unprecedented barriers for those hoping to register while imposing a nationwide photo ID requirement for voters.
The changes would gravely undermine the right to vote in the U.S. before the 2026 midterms.
The changes would gravely undermine the right to vote in the U.S. before the 2026 midterms.
Reposted by Tom Eblen
“He remembers ICE agents pulling him from a friend’s car outside a St. Paul shopping center and throwing him to the ground, handcuffing him, then punching him & striking his head with a steel baton. He remembers being dragged into an SUV and taken to a detention facility, where he was beaten again.”
Immigrant whose skull was broken in eight places during ICE arrest says beating was unprovoked
A Mexican immigrant whose skull was broken during his arrest by immigration officers last month in Minnesota says the beating was unprovoked.
apnews.com
February 7, 2026 at 5:41 PM
“He remembers ICE agents pulling him from a friend’s car outside a St. Paul shopping center and throwing him to the ground, handcuffing him, then punching him & striking his head with a steel baton. He remembers being dragged into an SUV and taken to a detention facility, where he was beaten again.”
Reposted by Tom Eblen
I read the “SAVE Act” (the GOP’s new voter suppression bill) so you don’t have to. This is my one page summary. Jesus it’s bad. 1/
February 6, 2026 at 7:54 PM
I read the “SAVE Act” (the GOP’s new voter suppression bill) so you don’t have to. This is my one page summary. Jesus it’s bad. 1/
Reposted by Tom Eblen
Metry and her husband of 4 years go to DHS to get their I-130 in motion. "Good news" a DHS employee told them, the form to start her naturalization was approved.
DHS employee asks the husband to follow him through a secure door. When it locks behind him, ICE detains his wife to deport her.
DHS employee asks the husband to follow him through a secure door. When it locks behind him, ICE detains his wife to deport her.
EXCLUSIVE: Terez Metry was 13 when her family fled to Tennessee from Egypt in 2011. Then, they left her behind. She only recently discovered she had an order of removal from 2011. But she was following the legal path to citizenship. On Monday, at a routine DHS meeting, Metry was detained.
Immigration process turns sour for an Antioch woman - Nashville Banner
Terez Metry, a dental assistant in Middle Tennessee with no criminal history, was detained by ICE during an interview as she followed legal steps toward citizenship.
nashvillebanner.com
February 6, 2026 at 10:00 PM
Metry and her husband of 4 years go to DHS to get their I-130 in motion. "Good news" a DHS employee told them, the form to start her naturalization was approved.
DHS employee asks the husband to follow him through a secure door. When it locks behind him, ICE detains his wife to deport her.
DHS employee asks the husband to follow him through a secure door. When it locks behind him, ICE detains his wife to deport her.
Reposted by Tom Eblen
"Donald Trump engaging in this behavior during Black History Month is no accident," writes Columnist Solomon Jones. "His childish attempt to taint the legacy of America’s most accomplished Black couple is about more than insulting the Obamas. It is meant to demean all of us."
Trump’s racist Truth Social post is meant to demean us all | Solomon Jones
www.inquirer.com
February 6, 2026 at 9:52 PM
"Donald Trump engaging in this behavior during Black History Month is no accident," writes Columnist Solomon Jones. "His childish attempt to taint the legacy of America’s most accomplished Black couple is about more than insulting the Obamas. It is meant to demean all of us."
Reposted by Tom Eblen
Judge Reyes starts with a comparison: George Washington versus Kristi Noem.
![[start quotation] MEMORANDUM OPINION
On December 2, 1783, then-Commander-in-Chief George Washington penned: “America is open to receive not only the Opulent & respected Stranger, but the oppressed & persecuted of
all Nations & Religions.”1
More than two centuries later, Congress reaffirmed President
Washington’s vision by establishing the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program. See 8
U.S.C. § 1254a (TPS statute). It provides humanitarian relief to foreign nationals in the United
States who come from disaster-stricken countries. It also brings in substantial revenue, with TPS
holders generating $5.2 billion in taxes annually. See Part VI.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem has a different take."[end quotation]
Underneath is a screenshot of a tweet, which reads: " Secretary Kristi Noem
@Sec_Noem
I just met with the President.
I am recommending a full travel ban on every damn country that's been flooding our nation with killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies.
Our forefathers built this nation on blood, sweat, and the unyielding love of freedom-not for foreign invaders to slaughter our heroes, suck dry our hard-earned tax dollars, or snatch the benefits owed to AMERICANS.
WE DON'T WANT THEM. NOT ONE.
6:52 PM
Dec 1, 2025
13.2M Views](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2vtbmhmrwzbqcfv4we4uxzzt/bafkreibseafaz2alyw7z2wcopu7uht4x26giiuqqov5cznw34rhdgqub7u@jpeg)
February 3, 2026 at 12:49 AM
Judge Reyes starts with a comparison: George Washington versus Kristi Noem.
Trump, in an Escalation, Calls for Republicans to ‘Nationalize’ Elections
www.nytimes.com
February 3, 2026 at 12:20 AM
"Democrats should vow that once in the majority they will conduct exacting oversight of the Justice Department, pursue Bondi’s impeachment, and ensure she and her accessories are held accountable to the fullest extent of the law and face disbarment."
open.substack.com/pub/contrari...
open.substack.com/pub/contrari...
Arresting Two Journalists Is Pure Fascism
Pam Bondi must go.
open.substack.com
February 2, 2026 at 1:11 PM
"Democrats should vow that once in the majority they will conduct exacting oversight of the Justice Department, pursue Bondi’s impeachment, and ensure she and her accessories are held accountable to the fullest extent of the law and face disbarment."
open.substack.com/pub/contrari...
open.substack.com/pub/contrari...
Reposted by Tom Eblen
Also, the problem is CBP writ large.
“The population of CBP agents and officers who have been arrested since 2005 would make it roughly the nation’s fourth largest police department — equal to the size of the entire Philadelphia police.”
www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/accountabi...
“The population of CBP agents and officers who have been arrested since 2005 would make it roughly the nation’s fourth largest police department — equal to the size of the entire Philadelphia police.”
www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/accountabi...
February 1, 2026 at 10:26 PM
Also, the problem is CBP writ large.
“The population of CBP agents and officers who have been arrested since 2005 would make it roughly the nation’s fourth largest police department — equal to the size of the entire Philadelphia police.”
www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/accountabi...
“The population of CBP agents and officers who have been arrested since 2005 would make it roughly the nation’s fourth largest police department — equal to the size of the entire Philadelphia police.”
www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/accountabi...
"The New York Times identified more than 5,300 files containing more than 38,000 references to Mr. Trump, his wife, his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, and other related words and phrases in the latest batch ... " Let that sink in.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/01/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/01/u...
How Trump Appears in the Epstein Files
www.nytimes.com
February 1, 2026 at 10:41 PM
"The New York Times identified more than 5,300 files containing more than 38,000 references to Mr. Trump, his wife, his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, and other related words and phrases in the latest batch ... " Let that sink in.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/01/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/01/u...
Trump's power play isn't about law enforcement; it's about illegally and unconstitutionally flexing his power to stay in power. FREE LINK
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/26/o...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/26/o...
Opinion | The Best Weapon You Have in the Fight Against ICE
www.nytimes.com
February 1, 2026 at 3:33 PM
Trump's power play isn't about law enforcement; it's about illegally and unconstitutionally flexing his power to stay in power. FREE LINK
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/26/o...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/26/o...
Reposted by Tom Eblen
This week, President Donald Trump and the GOP kicked their intertwined anti-voting crusades — promoting lies about the 2020 election, and restricting voting in 2026 and beyond — into high gear. And Democracy Docket tracked them every step of the way. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
This week at Democracy Docket: A shocking FBI raid, a monster voter suppression bill — and Trump officials run scared
This week, President Donald Trump and the GOP kicked their intertwined anti-voting crusades — promoting lies about the 2020 election, and restricting voting in 2026 and beyond — into high gear. And we...
www.democracydocket.com
February 1, 2026 at 2:31 PM
This week, President Donald Trump and the GOP kicked their intertwined anti-voting crusades — promoting lies about the 2020 election, and restricting voting in 2026 and beyond — into high gear. And Democracy Docket tracked them every step of the way. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
Reposted by Tom Eblen
The Trump admin’s whole case regarding Haitians in Ohio is racism, xenophobia, and lies. There’s literally nothing else to it.
Legal status, proper papers. No criminal record. Employers, neighbors, local leaders say they’re a benefit to the community.
It’s showy, bigoted cruelty, nothing more.
Legal status, proper papers. No criminal record. Employers, neighbors, local leaders say they’re a benefit to the community.
It’s showy, bigoted cruelty, nothing more.
“about 350,000 Haitians will lose their status on Tuesday — ending their right to live and work in the United States legally and putting them at risk of immediate detention and deportation”
"‘Reminds me of Anne Frank’: Jewish seniors are offering to hide their Haitian caregivers as Trump’s TPS end looms"
February 1, 2026 at 2:25 PM
The Trump admin’s whole case regarding Haitians in Ohio is racism, xenophobia, and lies. There’s literally nothing else to it.
Legal status, proper papers. No criminal record. Employers, neighbors, local leaders say they’re a benefit to the community.
It’s showy, bigoted cruelty, nothing more.
Legal status, proper papers. No criminal record. Employers, neighbors, local leaders say they’re a benefit to the community.
It’s showy, bigoted cruelty, nothing more.
Reposted by Tom Eblen
Here’s a gift link to a NY Times story explaining Trump’s huge financial claims against the U.S. government and how he may use his position as president to order underlings to transfer taxpayer money to him personally. Outrageous.
Trump Sues I.R.S. Over Tax Data Leak, Demanding $10 Billion
www.nytimes.com
February 1, 2026 at 3:20 AM
Here’s a gift link to a NY Times story explaining Trump’s huge financial claims against the U.S. government and how he may use his position as president to order underlings to transfer taxpayer money to him personally. Outrageous.
"The newly released documents contain a list of unverified assault allegations against Trump compiled by FBI officials last year. There are also FBI notes about a woman who accused Trump in a lawsuit of raping her when she was 13 ... "
www.cnn.com/2026/01/31/p...
www.cnn.com/2026/01/31/p...
What 3 million new documents tell us about Trump’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein | CNN Politics
President Donald Trump is mentioned more than 1,000 times in the three million Jeffrey Epstein documents released Friday, after the president initially resisted the effort. While some of the reference...
www.cnn.com
February 1, 2026 at 12:58 AM
"The newly released documents contain a list of unverified assault allegations against Trump compiled by FBI officials last year. There are also FBI notes about a woman who accused Trump in a lawsuit of raping her when she was 13 ... "
www.cnn.com/2026/01/31/p...
www.cnn.com/2026/01/31/p...