Ray Hoffman
@rayhoffman.bsky.social
Proud to have been one of the voices of New York's legendary WCBS Newsradio 880. Always a Pittsburgher at heart; Pirates and Steelers fan since 1960. Passionately pro-democracy. Lyricist and singer in the jazz-and-standards vein. Photographer. Film Noir.
Reposted by Ray Hoffman
Reposted by Ray Hoffman
Live shot of Speaker Johnson's presser.....
November 13, 2025 at 2:14 AM
Live shot of Speaker Johnson's presser.....
Reposted by Ray Hoffman
Listening to these pathetic rationalizations from King, Hassan, Shaheen, whoever else they have queued up.
Disappointed that they're not having windup speech by Sen. Neville Chamberlain.
Disappointed that they're not having windup speech by Sen. Neville Chamberlain.
November 10, 2025 at 2:33 AM
Listening to these pathetic rationalizations from King, Hassan, Shaheen, whoever else they have queued up.
Disappointed that they're not having windup speech by Sen. Neville Chamberlain.
Disappointed that they're not having windup speech by Sen. Neville Chamberlain.
Reposted by Ray Hoffman
What would Trump do if he wanted the military to help him establish a dictatorship?
He’d order troops into U.S. cities.
He’d order strikes on foreign targets to show he could get the military to kill people without congressional OK.
He’d purge the military of top brass who might defend democracy.
He’d order troops into U.S. cities.
He’d order strikes on foreign targets to show he could get the military to kill people without congressional OK.
He’d purge the military of top brass who might defend democracy.
Hegseth Is Purging Military Leaders With Little Explanation
www.nytimes.com
November 9, 2025 at 8:07 PM
What would Trump do if he wanted the military to help him establish a dictatorship?
He’d order troops into U.S. cities.
He’d order strikes on foreign targets to show he could get the military to kill people without congressional OK.
He’d purge the military of top brass who might defend democracy.
He’d order troops into U.S. cities.
He’d order strikes on foreign targets to show he could get the military to kill people without congressional OK.
He’d purge the military of top brass who might defend democracy.
Reposted by Ray Hoffman
Two panels commemorating the contribution of Black American soldiers towards the liberation of the Netherlands in World War Two have been quietly removed from a cemetery in Limburg. It follows a complaint by right-wing think tank The Heritage Foundation to the American Battle Monuments Commission.
Op Margraten zijn twee panelen over zwarte Amerikaanse bevrijders van Nederland opeens weg. ‘Past bij beleid van de regering-Trump’
Op Margraten zijn twee panelen over zwarte Amerikaanse bevrijders van Nederland opeens weg. ‘Past bij beleid van de regering-Trump’
Op de Amerikaanse begraafplaats in Margraten is het opeens stil geworden rond de zwarte Amerikanen die hielpen Nederland bevrijden. Twee panelen die hun bijdrage herdachten – én wezen op hun strijd tegen racisme binnen het leger – werden zonder toelichting verwijderd.
www.nrc.nl
November 8, 2025 at 8:55 PM
Two panels commemorating the contribution of Black American soldiers towards the liberation of the Netherlands in World War Two have been quietly removed from a cemetery in Limburg. It follows a complaint by right-wing think tank The Heritage Foundation to the American Battle Monuments Commission.
Reposted by Ray Hoffman
Hundreds of thousands of people, dead because of a decision made by the world's richest man
One analytical model shows that, as of November 5th, the dismantling of U.S.A.I.D. has already caused the deaths of 600,000 people, two-thirds of them children. https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/jUzNSc
The Shutdown of U.S.A.I.D. Has Already Killed Hundreds of Thousands
The short documentary “Rovina’s Choice” tells the story of what goes when aid goes.
newyorkermag.visitlink.me
November 7, 2025 at 12:20 PM
Hundreds of thousands of people, dead because of a decision made by the world's richest man
Reposted by Ray Hoffman
This is the facility where masked thugs put our neighbors, friends, and community members after they snatch them off the street. Please note that they are doing this to long-term residents, too. This is not targeted at criminals. They are grabbing tamale vendors, landscapers, preschool teachers.
A family friend was telling us about what her husband shared about his experience in Broadview before he was deported back to Mexico. She's been sharing to friends and family because she's just in disbelief & horror what her husband told her. She wasn't able to talk to him until he was in Mexico.
November 7, 2025 at 5:01 PM
This is the facility where masked thugs put our neighbors, friends, and community members after they snatch them off the street. Please note that they are doing this to long-term residents, too. This is not targeted at criminals. They are grabbing tamale vendors, landscapers, preschool teachers.
Reposted by Ray Hoffman
it's time for journos to start asking Johnson meta questions
"Speaker, on 5 occasions last week you said 'I haven't seen it' when asked about news events w/big implications for public policy. Do you ever read the news, and do you agree it's problematic for the Speaker to be so woefully uninformed?"
"Speaker, on 5 occasions last week you said 'I haven't seen it' when asked about news events w/big implications for public policy. Do you ever read the news, and do you agree it's problematic for the Speaker to be so woefully uninformed?"
November 3, 2025 at 3:36 PM
it's time for journos to start asking Johnson meta questions
"Speaker, on 5 occasions last week you said 'I haven't seen it' when asked about news events w/big implications for public policy. Do you ever read the news, and do you agree it's problematic for the Speaker to be so woefully uninformed?"
"Speaker, on 5 occasions last week you said 'I haven't seen it' when asked about news events w/big implications for public policy. Do you ever read the news, and do you agree it's problematic for the Speaker to be so woefully uninformed?"
Reposted by Ray Hoffman
The mural features a masked ICE agent, in a Dodgers hat, escorting a handcuffed Fernando Valenzuela, the iconic Dodgers pitcher.
Below the painting, a vinyl sticker on the wall declares: “I LOVE THE #DODGERS. But I Love My Community More! Community Over Profit.”
#WorldSeries
Below the painting, a vinyl sticker on the wall declares: “I LOVE THE #DODGERS. But I Love My Community More! Community Over Profit.”
#WorldSeries
Boyle Heights art shows Valenzuela arrested by ICE in Dodgers cap
At Distrito Catorce in Boyle Heights, a new painting replaces a beloved Dodgers tribute, capturing the disappointment and activism of longtime fans in response to the team’s silence on immigration rai...
boyleheightsbeat.com
November 2, 2025 at 4:27 AM
The mural features a masked ICE agent, in a Dodgers hat, escorting a handcuffed Fernando Valenzuela, the iconic Dodgers pitcher.
Below the painting, a vinyl sticker on the wall declares: “I LOVE THE #DODGERS. But I Love My Community More! Community Over Profit.”
#WorldSeries
Below the painting, a vinyl sticker on the wall declares: “I LOVE THE #DODGERS. But I Love My Community More! Community Over Profit.”
#WorldSeries
Reposted by Ray Hoffman
ICE has beaten, detained & arrested 170 citizens, at least 3 of whom were pregnant
George Retes is a US veteran who was held in solitary for 3 days
Kristi Noem says it’s not happening, but @motherjones.com has done the reporting
If they treat citizens this way, imagine what they do to immigrants
George Retes is a US veteran who was held in solitary for 3 days
Kristi Noem says it’s not happening, but @motherjones.com has done the reporting
If they treat citizens this way, imagine what they do to immigrants
More than 170 US citizens have been held by immigration agents
ProPublica uncovered that Americans have been kicked, dragged, and detained for days.
www.motherjones.com
November 2, 2025 at 4:56 AM
ICE has beaten, detained & arrested 170 citizens, at least 3 of whom were pregnant
George Retes is a US veteran who was held in solitary for 3 days
Kristi Noem says it’s not happening, but @motherjones.com has done the reporting
If they treat citizens this way, imagine what they do to immigrants
George Retes is a US veteran who was held in solitary for 3 days
Kristi Noem says it’s not happening, but @motherjones.com has done the reporting
If they treat citizens this way, imagine what they do to immigrants
Reposted by Ray Hoffman
NEW: Court filings reveal that states using the Trump administration’s untested citizenship verification system to purge voter rolls may be mistakenly flagging eligible voters at an alarming rate, risking the chance of voters being disenfranchised.
Trump’s Voter Citizenship Database Is ‘Flawed’ and Could Lead to Disenfranchisement, Election Administrator Warns
Read more here.
www.democracydocket.com
October 31, 2025 at 1:45 AM
NEW: Court filings reveal that states using the Trump administration’s untested citizenship verification system to purge voter rolls may be mistakenly flagging eligible voters at an alarming rate, risking the chance of voters being disenfranchised.
Reposted by Ray Hoffman
Trump didn't send armed agents to the Chicago area to quell violence. He sent them there to cause violence.
10/31/25🧊neo-nazis attacking Americans-2 blocks from Evanston Township HS🇺🇸🤬
October 31, 2025 at 8:44 PM
Trump didn't send armed agents to the Chicago area to quell violence. He sent them there to cause violence.
Reposted by Ray Hoffman
Americans are on the verge of losing their ability to choose their government. But they don't seem to have realized it yet.
Donald Trumps plan to subvert the midterms is underway
From David Graham, on the cover of the next edition of @theatlantic.com
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...
From David Graham, on the cover of the next edition of @theatlantic.com
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...
Donald Trump’s Plan to Subvert the Midterms Is Already Under Way
Our election system is reaching a breaking point.
www.theatlantic.com
October 28, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Americans are on the verge of losing their ability to choose their government. But they don't seem to have realized it yet.
Reposted by Ray Hoffman
The Founders knew Congress - especially the House - was the backbone of U.S. democracy. It should be a huge story that Mike Johnson, serving Trump, has all but shut it down
From the Reichstag Fire to Putin's toothless Duma, this is what dictators do. My new column www.inquirer.com/columnists/a...
From the Reichstag Fire to Putin's toothless Duma, this is what dictators do. My new column www.inquirer.com/columnists/a...
It didn’t take a Reichstag Fire to burn down Congress | Will Bunch Newsletter
Plus, what’s troubling about Maine’s Nazi tattoo flap.
www.inquirer.com
October 28, 2025 at 3:47 PM
The Founders knew Congress - especially the House - was the backbone of U.S. democracy. It should be a huge story that Mike Johnson, serving Trump, has all but shut it down
From the Reichstag Fire to Putin's toothless Duma, this is what dictators do. My new column www.inquirer.com/columnists/a...
From the Reichstag Fire to Putin's toothless Duma, this is what dictators do. My new column www.inquirer.com/columnists/a...
Reposted by Ray Hoffman
Breaking: Trump just banned states from being able to wipe medical debt from Americans’ credit reports.
The Biden-Harris administration had moved to wipe medical debt from credit reports. Now this new rule will keep $220 billion in medical bills on Americans’ records.
The Biden-Harris administration had moved to wipe medical debt from credit reports. Now this new rule will keep $220 billion in medical bills on Americans’ records.
October 28, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Breaking: Trump just banned states from being able to wipe medical debt from Americans’ credit reports.
The Biden-Harris administration had moved to wipe medical debt from credit reports. Now this new rule will keep $220 billion in medical bills on Americans’ records.
The Biden-Harris administration had moved to wipe medical debt from credit reports. Now this new rule will keep $220 billion in medical bills on Americans’ records.
Reposted by Ray Hoffman
2. New spending in the small arms category from January 20, 2025, the day Trump was inaugurated, through October 18, totaled $71,515,762. Most spending was on guns and armor, but there have also been significant purchases of chemical weapons and “guided missile warheads and explosive components.”
ICE boosts weapons spending 700%
A Popular Information investigation reveals tens of millions in new ICE spending on guns, chemical weapons, and explosives.
popular.info
October 20, 2025 at 12:37 PM
2. New spending in the small arms category from January 20, 2025, the day Trump was inaugurated, through October 18, totaled $71,515,762. Most spending was on guns and armor, but there have also been significant purchases of chemical weapons and “guided missile warheads and explosive components.”
Reposted by Ray Hoffman
1. ICE has sharply increased its spending on weapons in 2025, according to an analysis of federal gov't data by Popular Information.
Records reveal ICE has increased spending on “small arms" — a category that includes guns, armor, chemical weapons, and explosives — by 700% compared to 2024 levels
Records reveal ICE has increased spending on “small arms" — a category that includes guns, armor, chemical weapons, and explosives — by 700% compared to 2024 levels
October 20, 2025 at 12:37 PM
1. ICE has sharply increased its spending on weapons in 2025, according to an analysis of federal gov't data by Popular Information.
Records reveal ICE has increased spending on “small arms" — a category that includes guns, armor, chemical weapons, and explosives — by 700% compared to 2024 levels
Records reveal ICE has increased spending on “small arms" — a category that includes guns, armor, chemical weapons, and explosives — by 700% compared to 2024 levels
Reposted by Ray Hoffman
NEW: Mother Jones has learned that Bill Pulte himself committed an error in his own financial filings—the same kind of mistake that he has used to attack Trump’s political rivals.
The attack dog targeting Trump opponents over their paperwork hasn’t even filed his own
As chairman of the board of Fannie Mae, Bill Pulte was required to file a disclosure form with the SEC. He didn’t.
www.motherjones.com
October 14, 2025 at 6:31 PM
NEW: Mother Jones has learned that Bill Pulte himself committed an error in his own financial filings—the same kind of mistake that he has used to attack Trump’s political rivals.
Reposted by Ray Hoffman
The man was 77 years old and his wife previously organized one of the local ‘No Kings’ protests. All he did was write ‘You Lack Values’ and got an intimidation visit from Desantis’s Gestapo.
October 10, 2025 at 10:31 AM
The man was 77 years old and his wife previously organized one of the local ‘No Kings’ protests. All he did was write ‘You Lack Values’ and got an intimidation visit from Desantis’s Gestapo.
Reposted by Ray Hoffman
As bad as this headline is, the details are worse. Russel Vought is trying to roll back SS for the elderly, the disabled, the widowed and orphaned and FURTHER cut food stamps. Make sure to read and share this gift link: wapo.st/4qa8yoq
October 5, 2025 at 2:50 PM
As bad as this headline is, the details are worse. Russel Vought is trying to roll back SS for the elderly, the disabled, the widowed and orphaned and FURTHER cut food stamps. Make sure to read and share this gift link: wapo.st/4qa8yoq
Reposted by Ray Hoffman
"What kind of monsters grab children & take them outside without clothes? Who does that? What kind of govt permits its agents to abuse American citizens & non-citizens w/o the slightest concern for their rights, their well-being, indeed their basic humanity?"
www.americaamerica.news/p/got-a-minu...
www.americaamerica.news/p/got-a-minu...
Got a Minute or Two?: The Attack in Chicago
The night-time raid on a Chicago apartment building and its residents is an ugly escalation by an immoral regime—and an attack on all decent people
www.americaamerica.news
October 4, 2025 at 5:02 PM
"What kind of monsters grab children & take them outside without clothes? Who does that? What kind of govt permits its agents to abuse American citizens & non-citizens w/o the slightest concern for their rights, their well-being, indeed their basic humanity?"
www.americaamerica.news/p/got-a-minu...
www.americaamerica.news/p/got-a-minu...
Reposted by Ray Hoffman
We need a bigger national spotlight on this building raid, fam. Agents dropped from helicopters onto the roof. Citizens and non-citizens alike were dragged from their homes in the night. People who weren't kidnapped during the raid had their belongings seized after the fact. This is madness.
"Jones, 27, is among the residents left at 7500 S. South Shore Drive who are trying to piece together what remains after an early morning, high-powered federal immigration raid led to the arrests of dozens of their neighbors at their South Shore apartment building."
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 4:23 PM
We need a bigger national spotlight on this building raid, fam. Agents dropped from helicopters onto the roof. Citizens and non-citizens alike were dragged from their homes in the night. People who weren't kidnapped during the raid had their belongings seized after the fact. This is madness.
Reposted by Ray Hoffman
Every few months now I re-read this "Who Goes Nazi?" piece from 1941 and am blown away by how it captures the people we are dealing with 80 years later.
harpers.org/archive/1941...
harpers.org/archive/1941...
Who Goes Nazi?, by Dorothy Thompson
harpers.org
October 1, 2025 at 11:59 PM
Every few months now I re-read this "Who Goes Nazi?" piece from 1941 and am blown away by how it captures the people we are dealing with 80 years later.
harpers.org/archive/1941...
harpers.org/archive/1941...
Reposted by Ray Hoffman
the president of the united states wants to use the american military to kill american citizens on american soil. that's the whole story!
September 30, 2025 at 2:43 PM
the president of the united states wants to use the american military to kill american citizens on american soil. that's the whole story!