bendtom.bsky.social
@bendtom.bsky.social
High desert dweller. Lover of democracy, music and nature.
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Stop using Spotify until the ICE recruitment ads stop: indivisible.org/cancel-spotify?source=bluesky
December 22, 2025 at 7:03 PM
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Overall, this big @nytimes.com investigation identified $500m+ that was donated to Trump-backed groups AFTER the election from 346 donors.

It found that more than half of the donors have benefited in some way from actions by Trump or his administration. (gift link)
December 22, 2025 at 7:03 PM
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This legitimately reads as if it was written by the Kremlin.
War is peace. Russia is fully committed to peace in Ukraine.
December 22, 2025 at 6:56 PM
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US Immigration and Customs Enforcement is arresting people in front of their kids during school drop-offs, on the way to church, and at routine check-ins at immigration offices. Communities are pushing back, leading to clashes with police and protests.

These raids are remaking the country.
Trump plans to deport millions. Here’s how ICE is making it happen.
“Being forced apart like this is tearing through the heart of our home and community.”
www.motherjones.com
December 22, 2025 at 7:16 PM
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I’m launching a Substack. Why? Because Trump is completely unfit for office, his enablers are cowards, and the truth needs to be said plainly by someone who knows how these guys tick. Subscribe if you're with me. open.substack.com/pub/gtconway...
The Republic Won't Save Itself
This New Year, I’m Starting a Substack
open.substack.com
December 22, 2025 at 7:27 PM
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Seeing a summons for grand jury duty in your mailbox may seem like an unwelcome time-suck, but participation in the system has never been more important.

It’s an opportunity to stand for justice as other protections against autocracy erode or fracture under pressure.
Hero of 2025: Principled grand juries
The Trump administration tried to send people to prison for eight years over Subway sandwiches and a scraped hand.
www.motherjones.com
December 22, 2025 at 8:15 PM
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Wrong.

The First Amendment protects our right to record law enforcement activity in public — full stop.
DHS says recording or following law enforcement 'sure sounds like obstruction of justice'
Seven federal circuit courts have upheld the First Amendment right to record and monitor the police.
reason.com
December 22, 2025 at 8:12 PM
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I’m old enough to remember when CBS News would never have surrendered to a demagogic president or any other politician. Remember Edward R. Murrow?
December 22, 2025 at 6:01 PM
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CBS News may not want you to see its CECOT reporting, but I'm happy to share this powerful video that our team produced this year.
“An American Nightmare”: Three Men Deported to CECOT and Their Families Reflect on Their Monthslong Ordeal
For months, Carmen, Lina and Doris awaited news about their loved ones, who were sent to a maximum-security Salvadoran prison by the Trump administration. Now that the families have been reunited, the...
www.propublica.org
December 22, 2025 at 3:46 PM
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"The emergence of Witkoff as envoy to the Kremlin is partly a story of Putin maneuvering to nudge aside America’s diplomats...

"This month, Witkoff concluded his 6th trip to Russia, talking with Putin for five hours through midnight. Witkoff has yet to visit Ukraine..."

www.wsj.com/world/putin-...
How Putin Got His Preferred U.S. Envoy: Come Alone, No CIA
The Kremlin fueled the rise of Trump’s friend Steve Witkoff with a prisoner release, sidelining career diplomats.
www.wsj.com
December 22, 2025 at 5:31 PM
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endorse
BRENNAN: What are you going to do to force DOJ to comply?

MASSIE: The quickest way and most expeditious way to get justice for these victims is to bring inherent contempt against Pam Bondi. That doesn't require going through the courts. We're drafting that right now.
December 21, 2025 at 4:24 PM
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Among the 13,000 documents released, some are extensively or virtually totally redacted.

While the law permits withholding information to protect victims, obscured portions include the names and faces of numerous Epstein associates.
Trump’s Epstein coverup is just getting started
The president's underlings are charged with a release detailing the crimes of his "closest friend."
www.motherjones.com
December 21, 2025 at 12:00 AM
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We created a new tool that uses prescription label information to identify where your drug was made.

It also lets you see if and when that factory was inspected for quality and safety violations.

Try it out 👇
Where Was My Generic Prescription Drug Made? - Rx Inspector - ProPublica
The FDA won’t tell Americans where their generic drugs are made, so ProPublica did it instead. Use information on your prescription label to locate the factory and see inspection reports.
projects.propublica.org
December 21, 2025 at 12:00 AM
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Pope Leo: “Creation is crying. But many powerful people do not hear this cry: the wealth of the earth is in the hands of a few, very few, increasingly concentrated – unjustly – in the hands of those who often do not want to hear the groaning of the earth and the poor.” www.vatican.va/content/leo-...
December 20, 2025 at 1:25 PM
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“There has been erosion of trust in science & public health & medicine,” vaccine & infectious disease expert @peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social said in response to the Trump administration’s cuts to vaccine and medical research. “It’s a terrible tragedy,” said Dr. Francis Collins, former NIH director.
‘This is immoral’: Public Health experts respond to funding cuts to science & medicine 
Over the course of the year, the Trump administration cut billions in funding for the National Institutes of Health, and $500 million worth of mRNA vaccine research. “There has been erosion of trust in science and public health and medicine,” said Dr. Peter Hotez, co-director of the Center for Vaccine Development at the Texas Children’s Hospital. “But it’s not random, this occurred deliberately by bad actors for political motivation.” Dr. Francis Collins, the former director of the NIH, said he’s never seen anything like this. Cuts to NIH resulted in the cancellation of 383 clinical trials affecting 74,000 trial participants. “Many of these people very serious cancers for which we don't have a great answer, but maybe we're in the middle of discovering one, and then the trial gets stopped, and all that data is lost, and those people are basically left to drift,” Dr. Collins said. “This is immoral to drop somebody into that space.”
www.msnbc.com
December 20, 2025 at 7:35 PM
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December 21, 2025 at 2:01 AM
Unchecked Waters: The Constitutional Crisis of Trump’s Venezuela Oil Blockade www.commondreams.org/opinion/unch...
Unchecked Waters: The Constitutional Crisis of Trump’s Venezuela Oil Blockade | Common Dreams
A naval blockade—regardless of whether it is met with armed resistance—qualifies under both domestic and international law as a use of force.
www.commondreams.org
December 20, 2025 at 8:54 PM
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My bipartisan bill with Senator Grassley was signed into law.

We cannot allow children to be used as hostages in war.

www.northernnewsnow.com/2025/12/19/b...
Bipartisan bill to reunite abducted Ukrainian children with family becomes law
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Chuck Grassley of Iowa, who co-authored the legislation, made the announcement Wednesday.
www.northernnewsnow.com
December 20, 2025 at 7:04 PM
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And may every day be another wonderful secret.
December 20, 2025 at 7:14 PM
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Soccer Without Borders was launched in 2005 to support newly arrived youth, offering them some semblance of safety and camaraderie.

Now, Trump’s deportations have ratcheted up players’ anxiety.
This young soccer squad has never faced a rival like Donald Trump
Winning is substantially more challenging with ICE running interference.
www.motherjones.com
December 20, 2025 at 8:00 PM
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"All nonsense!": Michael Jackson’s former bodyguard slams the Trump administration for releasing a deceptive photo of Jackson and Epstein to try to make it appear that the two had ties.
December 20, 2025 at 8:20 PM
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“Witkoff has declined multiple offers from the CIA for a briefing on Russia.”
December 20, 2025 at 6:01 PM
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Some thoughts on the importance of Congressional Democrats developing a clear strategy to more forcefully challenge Trump's malevolent lawlessness 👇
www.hopiumchronicles.com/p/its-not-a-...
It's Not A Presidency. It's A Crime Spree - And It Needs To End
It's time now for Congressional Democrats to develop a clear strategy to more forcefully challenge Trump's destructive lawlessness
www.hopiumchronicles.com
December 20, 2025 at 6:07 PM