@isaballard.bsky.social
Reposted
"Rodrick Johnson, 67, is one of many residents who were detained by federal agents during the South Shore raid. A U.S. citizen, he said agents broke through his door and dragged him out in zip ties."
Massive immigration raid on Chicago apartment building leaves residents reeling: 'I feel defeated'
The Department of Homeland Security said federal agents with Border Patrol, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives arrested 37 people in the raid.
chicago.suntimes.com
October 2, 2025 at 3:14 AM
"Rodrick Johnson, 67, is one of many residents who were detained by federal agents during the South Shore raid. A U.S. citizen, he said agents broke through his door and dragged him out in zip ties."
Reposted
Acts of political violence aren’t acceptable. Non-political school shootings aren’t acceptable. Sacking the legislature isn’t acceptable. Military occupation of peaceful American cities isn’t acceptable. Abductions conducted in courthouse hallways by masked agents of the state aren’t acceptable.
September 10, 2025 at 8:36 PM
Acts of political violence aren’t acceptable. Non-political school shootings aren’t acceptable. Sacking the legislature isn’t acceptable. Military occupation of peaceful American cities isn’t acceptable. Abductions conducted in courthouse hallways by masked agents of the state aren’t acceptable.
Reposted
Warnings From Weimar
Why bargaining with authoritarians fails.
www.foreignaffairs.com
August 28, 2025 at 10:17 AM
Reposted
Finally, the old saw about how a grand jury will indict a ham sandwich is disproven
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/27/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/27/u...
Prosecutors Fail to Secure Indictment Against Man Who Threw Sandwich at Federal Agent
www.nytimes.com
August 27, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Finally, the old saw about how a grand jury will indict a ham sandwich is disproven
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/27/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/27/u...
Reposted
NEW: An Irish tourist visiting the US was jailed by ICE for 3 months after overstaying 3 days due to medical issue. Thomas agreed to be deported, but instead went to federal prison where he recounted horrific conditions + no medical care.
“Nobody's safe from the system if they get pulled into it"
“Nobody's safe from the system if they get pulled into it"
Irish tourist jailed by Ice for months after overstaying US visit by three days: ‘Nobody is safe’
Exclusive: For roughly 100 days, Thomas says he faced harsh detention conditions, despite agreeing to deportation
www.theguardian.com
July 15, 2025 at 6:41 PM
NEW: An Irish tourist visiting the US was jailed by ICE for 3 months after overstaying 3 days due to medical issue. Thomas agreed to be deported, but instead went to federal prison where he recounted horrific conditions + no medical care.
“Nobody's safe from the system if they get pulled into it"
“Nobody's safe from the system if they get pulled into it"
Reposted
it turns out that embracing a multi-racial, multi-faith democracy is the best path towards peace in this chaotic world.
June 25, 2025 at 3:26 AM
it turns out that embracing a multi-racial, multi-faith democracy is the best path towards peace in this chaotic world.
Reposted
"Woke" -- changing norms through social pressure -- is not, contra the reactionary centrists, another form of tyranny. It's the *alternative* to tyranny. It's new norms winning through the marketplace of ideas. The alternative is what we see now: enforcing norms via the threat of state violence.
May 7, 2025 at 7:23 PM
"Woke" -- changing norms through social pressure -- is not, contra the reactionary centrists, another form of tyranny. It's the *alternative* to tyranny. It's new norms winning through the marketplace of ideas. The alternative is what we see now: enforcing norms via the threat of state violence.
Reposted
1. Clay Jackson, a Texas lawyer, provided basic legal advice to an immigrant family fearing deportation
Then, two officers visited him at his home, accusing him of "obstructing an ongoing immigration investigation"
Then, after speaking publicly, he was fired from his job at a Fortune 500 company
Then, two officers visited him at his home, accusing him of "obstructing an ongoing immigration investigation"
Then, after speaking publicly, he was fired from his job at a Fortune 500 company
Fortune 500 company abruptly fires lawyer who helped immigrant family
On March 4, Clay Jackson, an attorney in the Dallas area, was at a gas station near his home when the attendant asked if he would help a local immigrant family.
popular.info
April 29, 2025 at 12:59 PM
1. Clay Jackson, a Texas lawyer, provided basic legal advice to an immigrant family fearing deportation
Then, two officers visited him at his home, accusing him of "obstructing an ongoing immigration investigation"
Then, after speaking publicly, he was fired from his job at a Fortune 500 company
Then, two officers visited him at his home, accusing him of "obstructing an ongoing immigration investigation"
Then, after speaking publicly, he was fired from his job at a Fortune 500 company
Reposted
I don't get how anyone can possibly be okay with ending the WHI. This study has accrued decades of data from 42000 women and it is still going. It helps to address critical research gaps that have been allowed to go unfilled because of durable misogyny and provides invaluable insight into aging.
NIH cancels its first and largest study centered on women
The Women’s Health Initiative has produced numerous influential findings
www.science.org
April 23, 2025 at 12:57 PM
I don't get how anyone can possibly be okay with ending the WHI. This study has accrued decades of data from 42000 women and it is still going. It helps to address critical research gaps that have been allowed to go unfilled because of durable misogyny and provides invaluable insight into aging.
Reposted
Almost every line of this story would have been simply unbelievable a few months ago:
—Pioneering cancer researcher;
—*Arrested* at airport in Boston;
—Now indefinite ICE detention in Louisiana;
—"Crime": not declaring some frog-embryo samples for research.
Read it.
www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
—Pioneering cancer researcher;
—*Arrested* at airport in Boston;
—Now indefinite ICE detention in Louisiana;
—"Crime": not declaring some frog-embryo samples for research.
Read it.
www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
New images could change cancer diagnostics, but ICE detained the Harvard scientist who analyzes them
Without scientist Kseniia Petrova’s expertise, no one can fully unlock the data’s potential, putting crucial advancements in early cancer detection at risk.
www.nbcnews.com
April 22, 2025 at 1:32 AM
Almost every line of this story would have been simply unbelievable a few months ago:
—Pioneering cancer researcher;
—*Arrested* at airport in Boston;
—Now indefinite ICE detention in Louisiana;
—"Crime": not declaring some frog-embryo samples for research.
Read it.
www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
—Pioneering cancer researcher;
—*Arrested* at airport in Boston;
—Now indefinite ICE detention in Louisiana;
—"Crime": not declaring some frog-embryo samples for research.
Read it.
www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
Reposted
With luck, there is a period of rebuilding ahead of us, an opportunity to remake the administrative state, research institutions, and social welfare programs in ways that work for people. Actively planning for that future, rather than letting it be foreclosed, is one way of resisting this regime.
April 16, 2025 at 9:22 PM
With luck, there is a period of rebuilding ahead of us, an opportunity to remake the administrative state, research institutions, and social welfare programs in ways that work for people. Actively planning for that future, rather than letting it be foreclosed, is one way of resisting this regime.
Reposted
I look at close to 100 stories a week and even more outside of work. I’ve done this ten years.
This is among the most horrific things I’ve ever read — testimony from dying children whose access to medicine has been cut off by the Trump administration.
www.npr.org/sections/goa...
This is among the most horrific things I’ve ever read — testimony from dying children whose access to medicine has been cut off by the Trump administration.
www.npr.org/sections/goa...
Haunted by hopelessness: 12 Zambians share their stories as HIV drugs run out
Mothers and children, husbands and wives, doctors, truck drivers and religious leaders are all grappling with the fallout from the sudden U.S. cuts in aid.
www.npr.org
April 17, 2025 at 1:58 AM
I look at close to 100 stories a week and even more outside of work. I’ve done this ten years.
This is among the most horrific things I’ve ever read — testimony from dying children whose access to medicine has been cut off by the Trump administration.
www.npr.org/sections/goa...
This is among the most horrific things I’ve ever read — testimony from dying children whose access to medicine has been cut off by the Trump administration.
www.npr.org/sections/goa...
Reposted
I’m about to board my flight to El Salvador, where I hope to meet with senior government officials to discuss the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
I also hope to see Kilmar and check on his condition — and remind him that we won’t stop fighting until he’s home.
I also hope to see Kilmar and check on his condition — and remind him that we won’t stop fighting until he’s home.
Headed to El Salvador to meet with government officials and discuss return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia
YouTube video by Senator Chris Van Hollen
youtube.com
April 16, 2025 at 10:13 AM
I’m about to board my flight to El Salvador, where I hope to meet with senior government officials to discuss the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
I also hope to see Kilmar and check on his condition — and remind him that we won’t stop fighting until he’s home.
I also hope to see Kilmar and check on his condition — and remind him that we won’t stop fighting until he’s home.
Reposted
we live in an extraordinarily wealthier society than our parents and grandparents. our problem is that we have not invested enough of that wealth in social goods, but i don’t think anyone actually wants to return to a time when even a “good” factory job was backbreaking labor
April 8, 2025 at 12:45 PM
we live in an extraordinarily wealthier society than our parents and grandparents. our problem is that we have not invested enough of that wealth in social goods, but i don’t think anyone actually wants to return to a time when even a “good” factory job was backbreaking labor
Reposted
The message is: crowd large.
Many politicians, administrators, and business leaders, in bowing to Trump, have drawn confidence and comfort from the perceived vibe shift.
Events like this puncture that delusion.
Many politicians, administrators, and business leaders, in bowing to Trump, have drawn confidence and comfort from the perceived vibe shift.
Events like this puncture that delusion.
You can stop asking where the mass opposition is. It's everywhere.
People poured out to protest not only what Trump has done—and what they fear he will do next.
www.motherjones.com
April 5, 2025 at 11:37 PM
The message is: crowd large.
Many politicians, administrators, and business leaders, in bowing to Trump, have drawn confidence and comfort from the perceived vibe shift.
Events like this puncture that delusion.
Many politicians, administrators, and business leaders, in bowing to Trump, have drawn confidence and comfort from the perceived vibe shift.
Events like this puncture that delusion.
Reposted
This is going to be a fascinating experiment in policy feedback - it’s very clear that the link between real world material policy and political views has been greatly weakened. But to what extent, and how bad do things need to get to break through the media environments? We’ll see…
April 3, 2025 at 3:09 AM
This is going to be a fascinating experiment in policy feedback - it’s very clear that the link between real world material policy and political views has been greatly weakened. But to what extent, and how bad do things need to get to break through the media environments? We’ll see…
Reposted
In which I try to call things what they are. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/02/o...
Opinion | Unmarked Vans. Secret Lists. Public Denunciations. America’s Police State Has Arrived.
Those of us who’ve seen secret police in action can’t shake a feeling of dreadful familiarity.
www.nytimes.com
April 2, 2025 at 6:21 PM
In which I try to call things what they are. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/02/o...
Reposted
Authoritarianism is a very real threat, but everything the administration is doing is making it more difficult for them to consolidate power. However, the opposition has to mobilize in full force and present a clear alternative if it is to succeed.
March 28, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Authoritarianism is a very real threat, but everything the administration is doing is making it more difficult for them to consolidate power. However, the opposition has to mobilize in full force and present a clear alternative if it is to succeed.
Reposted
On the kidnapping of Rumeysa Ozturk www.vox.com/politics/406...
March 27, 2025 at 9:32 PM
On the kidnapping of Rumeysa Ozturk www.vox.com/politics/406...
Reposted
Unidentified men grabbing someone off the street and putting her in a car because she wrote an op-Ed. This as flatly authoritarian as anything we’ve seen in this country in a very long time.
Video of the international student at Tufts being arrested by "federal authorities" in Massachusetts has been released and it's terrifying.
They're not even uniformed officers. Just secret police thugs in hoodies and masks.
From WCVB: youtu.be/PuFIs7OkzYY
They're not even uniformed officers. Just secret police thugs in hoodies and masks.
From WCVB: youtu.be/PuFIs7OkzYY
March 26, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Unidentified men grabbing someone off the street and putting her in a car because she wrote an op-Ed. This as flatly authoritarian as anything we’ve seen in this country in a very long time.
Reposted
This guy is in one of the worst prisons in the world with no way out and may spend the rest of his life there because, it appears, he has an autism awareness tattoo in honor of his little brother.
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
March 26, 2025 at 11:46 PM
This guy is in one of the worst prisons in the world with no way out and may spend the rest of his life there because, it appears, he has an autism awareness tattoo in honor of his little brother.
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
LFG!!!
AOC: One thing I love about Arizonans is that you all have shown that if a US Senator isn’t fighting hard enough for you, you’re not afraid to replace her with one who will.
March 21, 2025 at 7:06 PM
LFG!!!
Reposted
So this is absolutely an attack on democracy, but I am struck by the sequencing, because it doesn't resemble - to me at least - the normal sequencing for an authoritarian takeover.
But I think it makes sense given a conspiratorial and inaccurate view of where liberal support comes from. 1/
But I think it makes sense given a conspiratorial and inaccurate view of where liberal support comes from. 1/
This is, quite literally, how democracies die www.nytimes.com/2025/03/19/u...
March 19, 2025 at 3:21 PM
So this is absolutely an attack on democracy, but I am struck by the sequencing, because it doesn't resemble - to me at least - the normal sequencing for an authoritarian takeover.
But I think it makes sense given a conspiratorial and inaccurate view of where liberal support comes from. 1/
But I think it makes sense given a conspiratorial and inaccurate view of where liberal support comes from. 1/
Reposted
This is, quite literally, how democracies die www.nytimes.com/2025/03/19/u...
March 19, 2025 at 1:50 PM
This is, quite literally, how democracies die www.nytimes.com/2025/03/19/u...